The Beastmen on the Yongchang Continent lived comfortable lives, unlike the Beastmen outside the forest who had to strictly follow the rules laid down by their ancestors, lest they suffer the consequences.
The fact that males’ Beast Marks could be transferred was the very foundation that gave males and females the freedom to choose their own mates.
It was also a widely accepted fact that a Beast King could openly have multiple female partners.
Hearing Beast King Xiao Cheng’s words, the crowd was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. "You can’t be serious, Ling Wei? You’re a Beast King! What kind of female couldn’t you have? And yet you’re resorting to such a foolish method to win someone over?"
"Did that female make you swear an oath? You’re not actually going to stay with just one female and grow old alone, are you? Have you lost your mind?"
"Guanping Beast King, what are you thinking, going to such lengths for a single female? But that’s you, and we are us. As the host, shouldn’t you arrange for some female companions for us to show your hospitality and welcome?"
Beast King Xiao Cheng chuckled. "I’m afraid not. I’m chaste and devoted solely to my Si Shuo Divine Servant. Why should you get to cuddle with other females right in front of me?"
"What if I can’t control myself and make a mistake? I’m afraid this Beast King’s throne would have to find a new occupant."
"In any case, this is a very serious Five Countries exchange meeting, so let’s dispense with such trivial matters. If you really can’t bear it, you can either return to your own country and send someone else, or you can swear an oath to a female you take a liking to."
"The females of our Guanping Beast Country all deserve respect. They are not for you to trifle with as you please."
The delegates couldn’t help but roll their eyes. ’If we wanted to swear an oath, we would have just found a female in our own countries.’
"It seems the Guanping Beast King is quite determined to win this exchange meeting," one remarked. ’If he dares to obstruct us on this matter, then he should be prepared to be humiliated during the events.’
They all began to coldly ponder how they could embarrass Guanping Country.
Beast King Xiao Cheng smiled and nodded. "I do have such an ambition. I hope you will all be gracious about it."
Hearing him say that, the crowd was stunned for a second before bursting into loud laughter. ’Has this Guanping Beast King been so flattered by his little female that he’s lost all sense of direction?’
In previous years, Guanping Beast Country would have held a national celebration just for not coming in last place, let alone taking first.
Where did he get the confidence to say something like that?
’He’s probably just putting on a brave face to save his dignity!’
After the bland and uninspired welcome feast, everyone returned to their quarters, quite displeased and eager to vent their frustrations the next day.
「The next morning」
The entire Pingjing City was abuzz. Beastmen flocked to the largest plaza, unwilling to miss such a grand event.
Many other Beastmen had also traveled from other Beast Countries and several neighboring Beast Cities, packing the surrounding streets until they were shoulder-to-shoulder.
However, Si Shuo had recently been studying Array Flags, runes, Spirit Storage Talismans, and Crystal Stones. Through her persistent efforts, she had discovered a way to embed Spirit Storage Talismans within the Array Flags, so long as they were powered by a sufficient supply of attributeless crystal stones.
As long as a superpower was stored within the Spirit Storage Talisman, the talisman would act like a converter, drawing Spiritual Energy from the attributeless crystal stones and endlessly replenishing the stored superpower.
For example, now that Xu Chi had a deeper understanding of Space Law, he could set up a Spatial Array!
The morning sun had already risen. Si Shuo ascended the high platform with Beast King Xiao Cheng. Surrounding them were the leaders of the Five Countries Delegation, who were generally State Elders, Princes, or Princesses from their respective nations.
"Guanping Beast King, your Guanping Country hasn’t changed a bit after all these years. Are we really going to hold our spars in such a small venue?"
"Look at that massive sea of Beastmen outside. They can only pitifully listen in on the commotion."
"That’s right. It’s not like our Lou Wan, where we hold it directly in a valley. The two cliffs are dotted with caves, allowing many Beastmen to watch at the same time..."
"The way I see it, Guanping Beast Country is probably afraid of embarrassing themselves, so they’re deliberately preventing more Beastmen from watching."
From the very beginning, the delegates from these four Beast Countries exuded a sense of superiority, belittling Guanping Beast Country both overtly and subtly.
Beast King Xiao Cheng smiled and clapped his hands. Behind him, Yin Jiang held a bundle of Array Flags. He flapped his wings and flew into the air, infusing the Array Flags with Spiritual Power and tossing them one by one to the edge of the stands.
With each Array Flag that landed, the crowd felt a powerful fluctuation of Spiritual Power in the air. They wondered if it was their imagination, but the previously packed crowd gradually began to spread out.
It was as if the ground had suddenly expanded out of thin air, and the distance between any two people grew larger and larger!
Yin Jiang threw a total of ninety-nine flags, transforming the entire venue into something resembling two semi-enclosed valleys. The tiers of the stands became as steep as cliffs, making any Beastman with a fear of heights feel dizzy just sitting there.
The delegations on the high platform, who had been standing close to each other just moments ago, were now separated by thirty meters!
Two of the delegates couldn’t help but exclaim in shock, "Is this a Pocket Dimension Space?"
’That’s not right,’ they thought. ’Pocket Dimension Spaces are usually set up inside caves, houses, carriages, or wooden boats. From the outside, a place with a Pocket Dimension Space looks unchanged in size, but once you enter, the interior is vast—a whole new world.’
Pocket Dimension Spaces were extremely rare, passed down through generations from some unknown ancestor who had received the Beast God’s blessing.
There were also some extraordinarily talented Beastmen who could refine such a Space Device.
But in all they had ever heard or seen, there had never been one on such a massive scale!
Everyone was utterly stunned. Then, the Beastmen of Guanping Beast Country erupted in cheers and continued to pour into the now-spacious stands.
"So, is the venue of our Guanping Beast Country still small?" Beast King Xiao Cheng said with a smile.
The delegates all shook their heads in a daze. Immediately, one of them strode forward with a smile. "This is a gift from our Qiongya Beast King. One hundred Level 18 attributeless crystal stones!"
The other delegates, not wanting to be outdone, quickly presented the most precious gifts they had brought with them.
"I wonder if the Guanping Beast King has any spare Array Flags that you could allow us to take back and study?"
Beast King Xiao Cheng watched them with a detached expression, seemingly uninterested—and in truth, he was. They already had Level 18 attributeless crystal stones at home. With his little female’s improved replication ability, they were already using Level 18 attributeless crystal stones for their Cultivation every day, a true luxury. As they accumulated more, their cultivation levels naturally skyrocketed.
He took out a Beast Skin Bag, opened it, and revealed a handful of Level 18 attributeless crystal stones. "If you had Level 19 or Level 20 attributeless crystal stones, I might have considered it."
"Unfortunately, I already have Level 18 ones. These offerings of yours are hardly impressive."
Level 19 attributeless crystal stones were very precious; not every Beast Country possessed them. Even those that did were concentrated in the hands of High level Beastmen.
"In that case, why don’t we add a little wager to the spars between the Beastmen to make things interesting?"
"As the host, the Guanping Beast King surely wouldn’t refuse, would he? We’re not greedy. How about you put up a hundred or so of those Array Flags as the stake, and we’ll put up what we have in our hands? What do you say?"