Three earth-shaking tiger roars in succession jolted Tang Hongluan awake from her sweet dreams once again.
She rubbed her ears, she was used to it. In the past, she was woken by an alarm clock; now, she was roused by tigers every day. It was a rather unique wake-up call.
This time, however, the roars didn’t come from beside her ears but from the plaza.
Three tiger roars signaled an urgent summoning of the beastmen, indicating that something unexpected had happened in the tribe.
Before she even reached the door, she saw her four beast husbands dart out one after another, of course, Xiao Shuo was the fastest. The other three outsiders were slightly less enthusiastic but still arrived promptly.
Yan Chen, however, was nowhere in sight.
Tang Hongluan couldn’t be bothered to care. With a gossip-loving mindset, she jogged over to the plaza.
There, Yan Chen and the tribal chief had both taken their beast forms, baring their fangs and looking ready for a fight.
“Yan Chen?” Tang Hongluan was baffled. Were Yan Chen and the chief about to brawl?
She wasn’t the only one confused. Nearly everyone who had been summoned by the tiger roars was equally clueless.
“Dad!” Jiang Xin began her act. “Don’t fight! At worst, I’ll just let this matter slide. I won’t hold Yan Chen accountable for his actions. Let’s just disperse everyone!”
The crowd grew even more bewildered. What was going on?
Let what slide? What wasn’t she holding him accountable for?
“Yan Chen! Three choices: pair with Xinxin, go to the dungeon, or oppose the Tiger Tribe. Choose!” The nearly three-meter-tall tiger spoke in human words, glaring fiercely at Yan Chen.
“Yan Chen! How dare you force yourself on Xinxin? Do you think we’re just for show?” Jiang Xin’s beast husbands had also learned of the matter and now looked ready to fight, though none of them had transformed yet, merely posturing with words.
Finally, the crowd understood. This was some juicy gossip!
Tang Hongluan’s lips twitched. She naturally knew this had to do with Jiang Xin, but she had no idea what had happened in between to lead to this scene, was Yan Chen trying to force himself on Jiang Xin?
She suppressed a laugh. Served him right for being so fierce!
The remaining four beast husbands’ expressions turned peculiar upon hearing this. Who knew Yan Chen had such tastes?
Xiao Shuo pondered, his cold eyes sweeping over Jiang Xin. Though she was the chief’s daughter and flaunted her looks arrogantly around the tribe, was Yan Chen really that desperate?
To the point of forcing himself on this woman?
Pathetic!
“Who is that woman?” Bi Ze asked Yun Li, who was standing nearby, pointing at Jiang Xin, who was dramatically acting with tears on her face.
“I don’t know!” Yun Li glanced at Jiang Xin dismissively. “Oh, right! I think I cursed at her once.”
“Why?”
“She was screeching for no reason, so I cursed at her.”
Bi Ze nodded. This woman did look annoying. So, Yan Chen liked this type…
Qing Yuan, perched on a nearby tree, recalled how, on their way back yesterday, he had seen Jiang Xin fooling around with another beastman in the wild. Could it be that Yan Chen had seen it too and gotten jealous, deciding to copy the act?
Even while carrying Tang Hongluan on the journey, he still found time to entertain such thoughts, truly shameless! Then again, Qing Yuan glanced at Tang Hongluan, skinny as a twig, no wonder Yan Chen had no interest in her.
Previously, Jiang Xin had no idea that Jiang Mao had demanded Yan Chen to become her sixth beast-husband. So, when she heard the three choices left for Yan Chen, she felt a small thrill of surprise. If she could take this opportunity to claim Yan Chen for herself, it would truly be an unexpected delight!
“Yan Chen, if you’re willing, I’ll take you as my sixth beast-husband!” Jiang Xin continued her act. “You’re still young. I don’t want to see you thrown into the dungeon for a momentary mistake, nor do I want you to become an enemy of the Tiger Clan!”
“Exactly! Jiang Xin is being so magnanimous. Becoming her beast-husband is the best choice for Yan Chen!” someone chimed in.
“Truly the daughter of the tribal chief, such broad-mindedness is unmatched!”
“Jiang Xin is far better than Tang Hongluan! If I were Yan Chen, I’d seize this chance to become her beast-husband!”
“Everyone knows Tang Hongluan’s beast-husbands never touch her. Yan Chen must’ve been so pent-up that he couldn’t help but make a mistake…”
“What a waste of those beast-husbands!”
“Such a pity!”
“Yan Chen, rein it in before it’s too late. This isn’t a big deal, don’t ruin yourself!” someone shouted at him, trying to persuade him.
Yan Chen’s fury burned even hotter. He never expected this little viper Jiang Xin to be so adept at twisting the truth, turning black into white. She was the one caught in adultery, yet now she was pinning the blame on him, making it seem like he had tried to force himself on her. How could he swallow this injustice?
A roar that nearly shattered the heavens erupted from him as he unleashed his ultimate skill, Crimson Tiger Devours the Sky, igniting the flames of the divine beast bloodline within him to form a colossal fiery tiger…
Everyone staggered back, gaping in shock at the lethal technique Yan Chen had just unleashed.
Clearly, he had rejected the offer to become Jiang Xin’s beast-husband. Now, he was declaring war on the Tiger Clan!
“Hmph!” Xiao Shuo sneered coldly, unimpressed. The memory of Yan Chen aggressively forcing him to kowtow resurfaced in his mind. Finally, he had a chance to repay the humiliation in kind. “An enemy of the Tiger Clan? You’ve got a death wish!”
Xiao Shuo shifted into his beast form, the White Tiger’s frost-based ultimate skill, Soul-Severing Frostblade, ready to strike at any moment.
Jiang Mao was stunned. He had initially been hesitant, but seeing Xiao Shuo step in to assist, he felt much more at ease. The two were evenly matched, why not let them fight it out first…
Tang Hongluan frowned deeply. These two were at it again! Xiao Shuo was clearly holding a grudge over Yan Chen forcing him to kowtow earlier…
“Come at me together if you dare!” Yan Chen bellowed at the crowd, his rage reaching new heights. He had never felt so humiliated in his life! The only way he’d accept this injustice was if the sky came crashing down!
“Oh dear…” Tang Hongluan massaged her temples. This was spiraling out of control… She had only meant to tease Yan Chen a little, who knew it would escalate to this?
Seeing Xiao Shuo take a stand, Jiang Xin’s five beast-husbands seized the moment to demonstrate their loyalty, transforming into their beast forms and roaring at Yan Chen.
[Little Host, with the mess Yan Chen’s stirred up today, you can’t escape responsibility!]
The System chimed in mischievously.
Tang Hongluan’s lips twitched. Though she wasn’t entirely clear on the details, it was obvious Yan Chen had caught Jiang Xin in the act, leading to this chaos…
It wasn’t like she’d done it on purpose!
[Your mission is to save Yan Chen at all costs!] the System added slyly.
Tang Hongluan grimaced, her expression indescribable. “Damn system, are you trying to get me killed?”
[The last reward still hasn’t been issued!]
“No, can this mission be canceled too?” Tang Hongluan didn’t hesitate for a second, saving Yan Chen? Don’t be ridiculous! It’s way too difficult.
Though she felt guilty, these beastly husbands of hers had also bullied her quite a bit, hadn’t they…
[Nope! I’ll send you the reward right now!]
Tang Hongluan stared at the panel, baffled. “What is this thing?”
[A talisman that temporarily suppresses the power of beastkin!]
Her brows furrowed slightly. Suppress the power of beastkin? Suppress Yan Chen? Or Xiao Shuo? Or maybe the tribal chief?
[You’re quite clever, little master. One talisman can only suppress one beastkin!]
Tang Hongluan wanted to strangle this damn system. It was truly a trap.
Her mind raced, only one talisman. Who should she use it on? Xiao Shuo?
If Xiao Shuo were suppressed, no one would be able to restrain Yan Chen…
But if Yan Chen won, could he even stay in the Tiger Clan? What would become of the clan? A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood?
The battle between the Crimson Flame Tiger and the Ice Slash intensified, swelling rapidly like two demonic forces of fire and ice floating in the sky! The power of awakened bloodline beastkin was indeed legendary. Though only at the 5th tier now, it was enough to terrify everyone present.
The battle was on the verge of erupting!
Tang Hongluan tapped the panel lightly, and the talisman fell onto her fingertips. Silently, she whispered the incantation in her heart.