"Chen’Er?" Mu Gu Tian’s mouth fell open as he stared at the blue-haired young man standing atop the Giant Beast. The look of astonishment on his face instantly turned to elation. "Chen’Er is back! That Magical Beast isn’t an enemy!"
The Mu Family Members present were all stunned by Mu Gu Tian’s reaction. It was clear that the family members who had come to the wall were all much older than Mu Chen, so they all knew who this young man was. The one Mu Gu Tian called "Chen’Er" was none other than the Mu Family’s Fourth Young Master, Mu Chen—the one once rumored to be useless, who later had a fortuitous encounter and became a genius!
"Chen’Er!"
Without a moment’s hesitation, Mu Gu Tian shot up from the city wall, landing beside Mufeng. However, as the Patriarch of the Mu Family and Mu Chen’s grandfather, Mu Gu Tian wasn’t as overcome with emotion as Mufeng—so emotional that he hadn’t even noticed the change in Mu Chen!
"This... Chen’Er, your arm..." Mu Gu Tian’s mouth hung open, too surprised to speak.
Hearing this, Mufeng’s gaze snapped to Mu Chen’s right arm. His pupils constricted as he gasped, "Chen’Er, your arm! No! This can’t be real."
Looking at his slightly travel-worn grandfather and the astonished Mufeng who had rushed over, a warmth spread through Mu Chen’s heart. He nodded. "Father, Grandfather, my arm has recovered! And yes, it’s real!"
"Really?!" The corners of Mufeng’s mouth stretched, his jaw dropping further and further. His disbelieving eyes began to mist over, and their rims reddened involuntarily. "Heavens! It’s real! Chen’Er’s arm has recovered! This... this is incredible!"
Seeing his two relatives nearly overwhelmed with emotion, Mu Chen quickly said, "Father, Grandfather, once we’ve successfully defended against the Beast Tide, I’ll explain everything in detail. For now, the most important thing is the Beast Tide in front of us! Xiaobai, step out of the Spatial Rift!" With that, Mu Chen ordered Xiaobai to emerge, as more than ten elite experts from the Xuanling Empire were still behind it.
"Yes, Father!"
The ancient, world-weary voice reached the ears of the surrounding Magical Beasts, causing all of them to let out low growls. For some reason, deep in their subconscious, this Magical Beast felt like their Emperor, making them want to submit from the depths of their souls. This was a feeling they hadn’t even experienced when facing the Golden Behemoth!
But for a Magical Beast that could evoke such feelings in them to call a human "Father," a deep sense of insult arose within their subconscious urge to submit. ’If the Emperor we acknowledge in our hearts calls a human "Father," then what does that make us?!’
"HUUFF... ROAR..."
At that moment, nearly all the Magical Beasts turned their gazes to a strange-looking ox-like Magical Beast! This giant black ox had a pair of enormous, two-meter-long curved horns. But the horns were peculiar; one was bent at a ninety-degree angle with a sharp tip, while the other, though also bent, had a smooth, sliced-off surface at its tip.
Its entire body was covered in metallic armor, marking it as a Magical Beast with extremely high Defense Power. The surface of this armor was also coated in a faint halo of Primordial Power. The halo didn’t look particularly special, but anyone who knew this beast’s name would be utterly shocked! The Dark Kui Ox!
At this moment, the Dark Kui Ox’s crimson eyes were wide, a flicker of confusion within them. But that confusion was instantly replaced by a flash of gold.
"ROAR!!"
Suddenly, the giant ox lifted its front hooves high and slammed them down onto the ground. A massive shockwave erupted, and deep gullies instantly spread from beneath its hooves, snaking all the way to the base of Luofeng City’s North City Gate!
At the Dark Kui Ox’s signal, countless Magical Beasts understood what to do!
’I feel like I’ve seen this one’s form somewhere before...’ The Dark Kui Ox’s Demon Beast Realm was clearly very high, as it was already capable of human speech.
’Even though my heart wants to submit to it, as a Magical Beast, it sides with insignificant humans. I refuse to acknowledge this feeling in my heart...’
"ROAR!"
"AWOO!"
"RUMBLE!"
Upon receiving the Dark Kui Ox’s command, all the Magical Beasts that had paused in their advance charged toward Luofeng City once more, their speed reaching a frenzied peak!
Just then, the massive body of the Snow Qilin, Xiaobai, leaped out from the Spatial Rift, and the figures of Di Cang, Qin Garden, Mu Bingling, and the others were fully revealed!
"Whoa! We can finally see the sun again! But what’s that rumbling sound?" Little Tiger stretched lazily the moment he appeared. While inside the spatial tunnel, they had been completely unaware of what had just transpired outside, as Mu Chen’s voice was not powerful enough to penetrate space.
"Holy shit! So many Magical Beasts!" Standing on Xiaobai’s back, Imro looked toward the source of the tumultuous noise. The sight made his scalp tingle instantly!
"This is a Beast Tide!" Qing Lei’s expression, which had relaxed slightly upon exiting the spatial tunnel, turned grim the moment he saw the tens of thousands of ferocious beasts swarming below. With his Spiritual Power and Sensitivity, he could feel that the Magic Beast Levels of the horde were no lower than their own—many of them even surpassed the Emperor Realm!
"Father!"
Just then, instead of looking at the Beast Tide, Mu Bingling’s gaze fell upon Mufeng, who was hovering beside Mu Chen. Next to Mufeng stood a white-haired old man.
"Grandfather!"
"Bing’Er!" Mufeng immediately turned at the sound of her voice. Seeing Mu Bingling, he exclaimed joyfully, "So you were with Chen’Er this whole time? That’s wonderful!"
’He’s... Mu Chen’s father...’ Mo Qing muttered in a voice only she could hear. Then, as if realizing something, her face flushed crimson. ’If he’s Mu Chen’s father, then wouldn’t he also be my... Ah! Shuangshuang, do I look like a mess right now?’ As she spoke, Mo Qing furtively tugged on Ye Shuangshuang’s hand and whispered her question.
Ye Shuangshuang replied, "Yes, a total mess!"
"What? Where? Quick, tell me."
"Right here," Ye Shuangshuang said, grinning as she placed her hand over Mo Qing’s heart. Feeling it pounding rapidly, she shook her head. "But that’s nothing. The real mess is down there."
Ye Shuangshuang pointed at the scene below. Mo Qing looked down, and her face immediately paled. But as she did, her gaze met a pair of familiar eyes staring up at her.
"Father Emperor!" A soft cry escaped Mo Qing’s lips. Although she desperately wanted to leap off Xiaobai’s back and go to Xuan Yin’s side, she thought it would be impolite to leave with Mu Chen’s father right there. So, after her soft cry, she obediently lowered her head and stood beside Mu Bingling.
Seeing Mo Qing act like this, Ye Shuangshuang shook her head helplessly. ’It looks like Mo Qing has truly made Mu Chen her everything, giving him her whole heart and soul. In the past, countless men pursued her. The sons and grandsons of the old court officials all treated her like a precious, fragile treasure, afraid she might suffer the slightest harm. They put her on a pedestal.’
’But now, Mo Qing is acting like a timid young woman, standing behind Mu Chen. She won’t even go down to see her own father, afraid of leaving a bad impression on Mu Chen’s.’
Hearing Mo Qing’s voice, Mu Chen turned his head and smiled. "Qing’Er, go on. Go to your Father Emperor. You don’t have to be so formal. My father isn’t as old-fashioned as you might think." With that, he gave her an encouraging look.
Mo Qing glanced at Mu Chen, then at Mufeng, who bore a strong resemblance to him. She nodded shyly. "Uncle, Mu Chen, then... I’ll be going..." With that, she leaped from Xiaobai’s back and flew down to Xuan Yin’s side.
"Father Emperor!"
"Hm? Jiu’Er!" Xuan Yin was startled at first, but upon seeing Mo Qing, he cried out and caught her in a tight embrace.
Before coming to Luofeng City, his biggest worry had been Mo Qing. He hadn’t known if he would ever see her again. If he died in this Beast Tide, to whom could he entrust her lifelong happiness? It was his only remaining concern. But now, Mo Qing had appeared as if from the heavens; he was overjoyed.
Seeing the affectionate reunion between Mo Qing and Xuan Yin, Mu Chen smiled faintly. Mufeng noticed this smile and gave his son a peculiar look. After clearing his throat twice, Mufeng asked, "Chen’Er, that young lady... does she have some kind of special relationship with you?"
Mu Chen let out a questioning "Hm?" before noticing Mufeng’s strange expression. He rubbed his nose helplessly. "Uh, I’ll tell you about that later. The priority right now is stopping this Beast Tide! I didn’t expect Xiaobai’s Space Transfer to be so precise, bringing us directly to Luofeng City’s North City Gate. The Magical Beasts are upon us! Everyone! Stopping the Xuanling Empire’s Beast Tide is up to us now!"
With that, Mu Chen leaped directly off Xiaobai’s head. He spread his arms, and immense Primordial Power erupted from within him. The Red Lotus Ice Technique activated on its own, and six crystalline Ice Crystal Petals materialized out of thin air, rotating slowly behind him!
"Profound Dragon Arm! Nether Bone Arm! Activate!"
"ROOOOAR!"
"WHOOSH!!"
A crystalline Frost Giant Dragon and a jet-black Demon Flame Dragon soared into the sky. After circling each other once, they locked onto Mu Chen and charged violently toward him!
"BOOM!!"
With a sky-shattering boom, Mu Chen’s combat form was revealed in an instant. As Demonic Flame and Ice Extreme fused, Mu Chen flung a thumb-sized purple sphere directly toward the densest area of Magical Beasts below!
...