Perhaps due to her previous impressive feats in the arena, or maybe drawn by the mouthwatering aroma of her barbecue, a steady stream of males came over to court Su Cha.
She politely rejected them all and asked them to take their gifts back.
Yang Juan’s male roasted meat according to Su Cha’s method.
Although it didn’t look as perfectly golden and crispy as hers, it still tasted much better than usual.
The group ate with great relish, praising Su Cha endlessly.
Su Cha unhurriedly ate her barbecue, casually watching the bustling venue.
Females in the beast world were precious and scarce.
The gender ratio was severely imbalanced, and females with a stage ranking were even rarer.
Aside from a basic lifespan of a hundred years similar to humans, Beastmen here could live an additional fifty years for every extra beast mark they possessed.
A longer lifespan meant a longer reproductive period.
Yunxi was currently the highest-ranking female in the clan.
Hu Luoluo and Yu Yue’er were both Second-stage Beastmen.
The rest of the young females were basically ordinary, unranked females.
Of course, as long as one was female, she would be highly sought after in the beast world.
The clan had plenty of single males, but very few single females.
Even the original owner of this body—a female looked down upon by Beastmen because she was incapable of Transformation—had males courting her, though none were particularly outstanding.
The rules of the beast world granted males formidable strength, yet required them to spend their entire lives protecting delicate females.
“Sorry, I already have a male, and I don’t plan on…” Seeing someone approach, Su Cha half-recited the line she had repeated countless times before looking up and recognizing the person.
“Mu Beichen?”
Mu Beichen was momentarily stunned by her words.
His bewitching face soon broke into his usual frivolous smile.
“Enjoying a meal all by yourself isn’t a good habit.”
Without standing on ceremony, he sat down right next to her.
From a distance, he had seen the flickering firelight casting shadows over this female’s face.
Even though she wore a faint smile, he sensed a profound loneliness radiating from her.
She looked entirely out of place amidst the laughter and chatter, resembling an aloof bystander.
That was why he had unconsciously walked over, not even knowing what his own intentions were.
Casting a strange look at him, Su Cha handed over the skewer of meat she had just finished roasting.
Mu Beichen was instantly captivated by the delicious food and eagerly brought over his own portion of meat for her to cook.
Su Cha was full of disdain but ultimately succumbed to his bribery, working hard like a pack mule to grill his meat.
Fortunately, Yang Juan’s male noticed she was overwhelmed and came over to help.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the venue.
“Yunxi, look over there.
Isn’t that the Snake Beastman who was following you before?
That piece of trash Su Cha is actually roasting meat to curry favor with him.
Bah, how shameless!” Yu Yue’er took a bite of the barbecue handed to her by a male, her face full of indignation.
Following Yu Yue’er’s pointing finger, Yunxi saw the harmonious scene unfolding over there.
Su Cha was casually chatting with a middle-aged female beside her while grilling, and Mu Beichen was relishing the meat she cooked.
He exchanged words with Su Cha from time to time, the light in his eyes looking incredibly gentle.
An uncomfortable feeling instantly surged in Yunxi’s heart.
She was the one who had saved Mu Beichen, and he had promised to repay her.
Not only had he inexplicably helped the very person she despised earlier, but now he was also laughing and talking happily with Su Cha.
Mo Ze quickly noticed the gloomy aura radiating from Yunxi.
Handing her a peeled apple, he asked, “Xi’er, what’s wrong?” Following her gaze, he saw Su Cha quietly roasting meat for a male.
Compared to the lovestruck fool who used to relentlessly chase after him, this current version of Su Cha looked inexplicably pleasing to the eye.
Unwilling to let Mo Ze stare at Su Cha any longer, Yunxi accepted the apple and flashed him a gentle smile.
“It’s nothing.”
Standing nearby, Hu Luoluo had also noticed Su Cha’s direction.
Having spent the past few days with Yu Yue’er and Yunxi, she had heard quite a bit about the new Snake Beastman in the clan.
She heard he was a young, handsome Snake Beastman.
Intrigued, Hu Luoluo leaned closer to Yunxi.
“Yunxi, do you think it’s possible for me to choose him as my male?”
Yunxi stiffened upon hearing this, feeling even more displeased.
Mu Beichen was by no means inferior to Mo Ze.
However, to maintain her image, she offered a forced reply.
“Mu Beichen isn’t a male from our tribe, after all.
Although I saved him, I haven’t spent much time with him, so I’m not very sure.”
Yu Yue’er, on the other hand, suddenly became energetic.
“Luoluo, you’re the Witch Doctor’s daughter.
You can definitely outshine a useless vixen like Su Cha who runs around seducing males.”
Hu Luoluo frowned slightly, disagreeing with Yu Yue’er’s insults.
“Su Cha defeated a Fourth-tier Beastman.
She’s not weak.
You’ve also lost to her, so it’s not right for you to keep calling her useless.” Compared to the vulgar and unreasonable Yu Yue’er, Hu Luoluo much preferred the gentle, polite, and strong Yunxi.
Yu Yue’er choked on her words.
“Hmph, so what?
She’s still a vixen.”
“Su Cha isn’t a fox beast,” Hu Luoluo corrected.
“She’s an Ape Clan Beastman.
She doesn’t have a beast form.”
Yu Yue’er was utterly speechless.
Yunxi really didn’t want to hear this naive female defend Su Cha any longer.
She interrupted, “The Clan Leader will be here soon.
Besides Mu Beichen, are there any other males you want to choose?”
Hearing this, the group immediately dove into an enthusiastic discussion, tossing the previous topic aside.
Yu Yue’er pulled her male, Lang Tu, closer and whispered something in his ear.
Lang Tu nodded and left.
Sitting closest to her, Yunxi overheard everything.
She merely cast an unintentional glance toward Su Cha’s direction without saying a word.
During the latter half of the event, the number of males approaching Su Cha visibly decreased, allowing her to heave a sigh of relief.
Soon after, the Clan Leader and his female finally arrived.
His mate was an elderly tiger female who was over a hundred years old; she had only survived this long because she had consumed numerous blue crystals.
Blue crystals were obtained from dragon beasts, and a single one could extend a female’s lifespan by twenty years.
The Clan Leader’s female was unable to reproduce and currently only had the Clan Leader as her sole male.
Because of this, Mo Ze was the prime candidate to take over.
Of course, Mo Ze only enjoyed the treatment of a Young Master for now.
When the old Clan Leader stepped down, a duel and a vote would be held.
Only those with the most votes could participate in the duel, and the ultimate victor would become the new Clan Leader.
Soon, the Clan Leader’s aged but authoritative voice rang out across the venue.
“Today is the coming-of-age ceremony for the Witch Doctor’s child, Hu Luoluo.
Luoluo is the Beastman in our tribe most likely to become the next Witch Doctor.
It will be an incredible stroke of luck for the male she chooses.
Of course, any Beastman who has someone they admire can boldly confess their feelings today.
Any Beastman who successfully forms a union today will receive half a deer or half a jar of fine salt.”
As soon as these words were spoken, cheers erupted all around.
Everyone’s enthusiasm surged.
Amidst the cheers, Hu Luoluo walked up to the Clan Leader.
Her slightly raised face carried the unique pride of a female.
Today, she was the center of attention.
“Among all the males here,” the Clan Leader asked, “have you decided who you will choose as your mate?”
Hu Luoluo’s gaze swept over the present males.
Many Beastmen looked back at her with eyes full of anticipation, greatly satisfying her ego.
“I choose him.”