Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Everyone’s Just a Tool!

Pei Xuan’s Half-Spirit Realm aura remained completely unrestrained.

It rolled through the forest like a crushing tide, bending branches, flattening grass, making the smallest creatures go still in terror. Wherever he passed—wild beasts, devil beasts—everything fled, scrambling into undergrowth, vanishing into shadows, desperate not to be seen.

The gap in power was so vast it felt like a natural disaster wearing a man’s face.

A father who had lost his son was the most frightening kind of monster. Even the Beast Emperor wouldn’t dare take him head-on.

They fought until night fell. Linhai Garden was left scarred and broken—trees split, flowers trampled, paths gouged as if clawed by giants. At last, Zi Qi, heart aching at the ruin, finally offered a truce.

In the end, he admitted the truth: a mouse clan female had taken Little Hao away using Blink.

But that mouse clan female only had Green Rank talent. Blink shouldn’t have been possible.

Something didn’t add up.

Pei Xuan knew Su Yan carried secrets—how she’d clearly died and yet returned, how she could raise a cub’s talent with pills… but he would never hand that knowledge to the Beast Emperor.

…

Back in the forest, the “impossible” was currently snarling and fighting for his life.

“You chased me! You bullied me!” Little Hao barked, voice sharp with childish fury. “I’m going to beat you to death!”

Purple-gold thunder lashed from his body, striking joints, striking the gaps where armor met flesh. The air smelled of scorched earth and sharp ozone.

The devil-beast spider realized too late that it had misjudged him. Talent, instinct, and a perfect elemental counter turned confidence into a trap. Even retreat became difficult—its legs jerked, its timing broke, its movements growing clumsy under the numbing bite of lightning.

Up in the tree, Su Yan spoke to Little Mei, pride bright in her chest.

[See? My eldest son is incredible. Even a Profound Rank devil beast can’t handle him.]

Little Mei’s reply came cool and immediate.

[Host should consider giving birth again. The mortal beast-grade childbearing system cannot bear children with a Spirit Rank male.]

Su Yan’s eyes narrowed, irritation flashing hot.

[When I enter the Divine Beast Academy, I’ll find a partner.]

[Right now, I’m teaching my kid.]

Little Mei fell silent.

Su Yan had nearly fifty thousand points. If she wanted, she could trade that for lifespan and live for more than a century. The comfort of that number had made her careless—soft at the edges.

But the childbearing system didn’t intend to let her stay comfortable, especially after detecting a Spirit Rank male.

The warning arrived like a blade dropped onto a table.

[Within three months, if Host does not become pregnant and give birth, the system will treat it as Host refusing childbirth, and the Earth rebirth plan will be terminated.]

Su Yan’s face darkened.

[I never said I wouldn’t. Three months is harsh.]

[Reminder: that condition was part of the agreement before binding the childbearing system.]

Su Yan remembered. She had agreed.

She drew a slow breath, forced herself not to snap, and answered through clenched teeth.

[I understand.]

The moment she spoke, her vision swam. The world tilted—like the frame of reality had been grabbed and yanked sideways.

Su Yan vanished from the branch.

…

Not long after, Pei Xuan arrived.

He’d sensed Little Hao’s purple-gold thunder aura from a distance, and he came straight here—only to witness his son finish the fight.

Little Hao opened his mouth and spat a finger-thick pillar of purple-gold thunder, driving it straight into the spider’s body.

The devil beast went still.

“Crack!” Little Hao shouted, voice high and fierce.

Fissures raced through the spider’s hardened limbs with a sickening shatter. Its body broke apart as if something inside had exploded, fragments scattering across the ground.

Pei Xuan stared.

His son—his cub—had just killed a Profound Rank devil beast.

Little Hao pawed through the broken pieces until he found a dirt-yellow upper-grade crystal coin tucked inside. He snatched it up and lifted his head toward the branch where Su Yan had been.

“Mom, I made money—” He froze, ears flicking. “Huh? Where’s Mom?”

“Little Hao.”

Pei Xuan’s voice cut through the confusion.

Little Hao’s head snapped around. He grabbed the crystal coin in his mouth and bounded over, puffing up like he wanted to be seen as fierce. “Dad! I killed a devil beast! This is my loot!”

Pei Xuan scooped him up and held him tight, pressing the cub against his chest as if he could anchor him there. The frantic fear that had been chewing at his ribs finally eased into something bearable.

“Good son,” he said hoarsely. “Dad saw. You were amazing.”

“I am amazing.” Little Hao wriggled proudly, then craned his neck to look around again. “Where’s Mom?”

Pei Xuan’s jaw tightened.

“She went back to the inn,” he said after a heartbeat, choosing the lie that hurt the least. “The Divine Beast Academy starts tomorrow. Your mom has to take the entrance exam.”

Little Hao was small. The answer satisfied him.

Pei Xuan shifted into beast form and set Little Hao on his broad back. “Want to go hunt more devil beasts with Dad?”

Little Hao’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Mom said she wants a dress, and it’s expensive. I’m going to earn money to buy Mom a dress!”

On Pei Xuan’s back, Little Hao looked like a cub carried by a mountain—safe, secure, untouchable.

Pei Xuan moved deeper into the Beast Forest. “Good.”

…

At Wanfang Inn, Su Yan stood in her room with water still drying in her hair, her expression ugly.

[Little Mei! What did you do?]

This Blink had not been her choice—and it still cost her points.

Little Mei replied, unruffled.

[You took the cub away and triggered the father’s killing intent.]

[The system detected the father’s killing aura. To ensure Host’s safety, it activated an emergency Blink.]

Su Yan’s stomach twisted.

[Pei Xuan wanted to kill me?]

[He’s the father of the son I gave birth to!]

Little Mei’s next words were as cold as a verdict.

[To the father, the female who bears children is only a tool for breeding.]

Something in Su Yan’s chest cracked—anger flaring so hard it burned.

[Then they’re the tools.]

The words came out sharp and raw, like they’d been scraped from her throat.

Little Mei spoke again.

[Detected strong emotional fluctuation in Host. Initiating emotional cache wipe.]

Su Yan went still.

A nameless sadness surged up her chest so fast it stole her breath—heavy, aching, almost unbearable—

And then it was gone, like a hand wiping fog from glass.

…

The next morning, Bai Kai Xin stepped out of the inn in fresh clothes, looking brighter than he had in days.

A carriage waited outside. Su Yan was already inside, watching the street with an easy smile that gave nothing away.

“Little White,” she called. “Get in.”

“Sister Su?” Bai Kai Xin climbed up, eyes wide with relief. “When did you come back?”

As the carriage began to roll, he explained what had happened the night before.

Su Yan listened without much reaction. When he finished, she only said, “I won’t go to Royal Beast Street No. 1 again.”

The carriage stopped at the gate of the Divine Beast Academy.

A long line of students already stretched out, packed shoulder to shoulder. Voices rose in a steady buzz, the air thick with nerves and anticipation.

Bai Kai Xin hopped down first and ran to the back. “Sister Su, I’ll hold our place in line!”

“Alright.” Su Yan stepped down at her own pace. “I’ll buy something to drink.”

She sent the coachman back to settle the inn bill, then headed for a roadside drink shop.

It was crowded, voices buzzing with excitement about the entrance exam.

“…The Little Princess isn’t the Beast Emperor’s biological daughter. She’s the posthumous child left by the Beast Emperor’s brother.”

“Old news. The Beast Emperor’s talent is too high. No female can carry his offspring. His harem is full, but not one of them has given birth—not a single one.”

“Enough,” someone muttered, glancing around. “Keep it down. The Academy Patrol Squad is everywhere. If they hear you, they might ban you from testing.”

The shopkeeper spoke up kindly, brows lifted in warning. “Talk about that in private.”

Su Yan ordered tea and fruit juice.

When the shopkeeper handed them over, he noticed the registration tag on her wrist. “You’re taking the exam too?”

“Yes.” Su Yan nodded. “Is there anything I should watch out for?”

The shopkeeper chuckled. “For females, before the entrance exam, you have to take a fertility test. Or bring proof you’ve been tested elsewhere—otherwise you can’t move on to the talent test.”