Chapter 565: Chapter 561: Fox Girl’s Growth – Conquering the Underground

The Beastmen were beside themselves with excitement because Luo Zhancheng suddenly had a daughter.

Even the mightiest of beings would make these loyal Beastmen feel somewhat unstable without an heir or successor.

Otherwise, if something were to befall Luo Zhancheng, they’d be without someone to serve, and the great momentum they’d so painstakingly built could vanish like smoke in the air.

Without a strong king, it wasn’t about the Beastmen’s numerous tribes fighting amongst themselves, but they surely wouldn’t be able to defend their current holdings and would most likely lose their status as the supreme overlords of the continent. It would be one thing to be driven out of this rich region by the various races of the Southern Continent again, but the real fear was internal strife among the Beastmen. Should the continent’s races take advantage of this, it could lead to an unimaginably terrifying calamity.

To everyone’s surprise, their powerful Beastman King not only had a woman on the outside, but he also had a child who was already so grown-up, instantly setting everyone’s minds at ease.

Although it was a daughter, among the Beastmen, strength reigned supreme. Powerful female Beastmen were just as respected and adored. For instance, among the top ten formidable warrior tribes, the Snake-Man Clan revered females, with male Snake-Men being inferior in both size and war power. So, the Beastmen did not discriminate against women, only the weak.

Besides, the fact that Luo Zhancheng even had a daughter proved there was no issue on his part, and the likelihood of siring a few more children in the future was high–a prince could very well be born!

At this moment, even those muscle-bound warriors felt greatly relieved, not to mention the wise men among the Beastmen.

“If only Your Majesty had mentioned earlier that these many years of bachelorhood were due to an affection for a lady you had in mind. You’ve caused us such worry.”

Immediately, a devoted elder Beastman stepped forward and said, “May I know where the Princess is now? Your Majesty, why not bring the Princess back to the Royal Palace as soon as possible? Then the vast Palace will have a lady of the house. When Your Majesty is out on campaigns, there’d be someone to oversee the home front and stabilize the army’s morale!”

His words gained the approval of all the Beastmen present, even those disguised members of the Beast Taming Sect nodded in agreement, showing eager anticipation.

Of course, their acquiescence was merely to blend in better. Those in the know would certainly not trouble Luo Zhancheng.

“This…”

Luo Zhancheng shook his head helplessly, trying to think of an excuse to deflect the matter when Luoluo, whom he was holding in his arms, spoke up: “Mother is in closed-door cultivation and can’t come out for a while.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Luo Zhancheng looked back at Li Miaozhen.

Li Miaozhen nodded: “Otherwise, how could my little sister sneak out?”

“I see!”

Luo Zhancheng patted his daughter on the back: “Why so disobedient? Aren’t you afraid your mother will punish you to copy the Dao Scripture once she’s out of cultivation?”

“I missed daddy!”

Luoluo clung to her father’s neck coquettishly, a move that instantly filled Luo Zhancheng with great comfort: “Haha, truly my daughter…”

On the other hand, the High Priest who had been raised by Luoluo as her father was now staring blankly at Qin Feng, as tears welled up in the beautiful and charming eyes.

“Teacher!”

She pushed past the Beastmen in front of her and rushed to Qin Feng, gazing at him without blinking: “Teacher, I finally see you again…”

Before she could finish speaking, tears fell like rain from her eyes, streaming down her beautiful cheeks and wetting the front of her Priest Robe.

“Uh?”

Qin Feng scrutinized the Foxman Priestess before him, hesitantly saying: “You are… Tena?”

He couldn’t help but be puzzled, finding it difficult to reconcile the strikingly charismatic woman wearing a High Priest robe with the once scrawny and weak Fox Clan girl.

“Yes, Teacher, I am Tena!”

The Fox Girl was overjoyed that Qin Feng recognized her, her face unconsciously breaking into a happy smile, yet tears kept streaming from her eyes, unstoppable.

So many years had passed, and she had grown from that small, frail Little Fox Girl into the grand High Priest of the Beastman Clan, deeply trusted and given great responsibility by the Beastman King.

Yet she had never forgotten that all this was because she had had the good fortune to meet a great teacher.

Ever since they parted, Qin Feng hadn’t made an appearance on the main roads. Even after Tena became accomplished and sent people to inquire far and wide, no news of Qin Feng came. She also went more than once to inquire with the Beastman King Luo Zhancheng, supposedly her teacher’s superior, but he only said the time was not yet right, telling her to wait patiently.

Because Luo Zhancheng never mentioned any misfortune befalling Qin Feng, Tena never lost belief that her teacher would one day reappear before her.

Like now!

She had imagined more than once the respect with which she would greet her teacher to express her gratitude once he appeared. But when Qin Feng truly stood before her, all she had imagined dissipated, and only boundless joy remained, leading to tears of happiness!

“Hehe, no crying, no crying!”

Qin Feng patted her head twice, just as he had when he taught her back in the day, and then took a few moments to size up Tena, saying involuntarily: “Who would have thought that little Tena would have grown so much?”

Indeed, the girl who could only have been described as scrawny, with little to look at, had not only grown into a young woman but her strength was also formidable. It was a wonder how Luo Zhancheng had done it, managing to increase Tena’s strength to the level of a High Priest, a rate of cultivation that wasn’t slow even compared to his own.

However, forcibly increasing cultivation with external help came at the cost of future potential. At best, she could now only reach the Demigod Realm, and any further progress would be impossible.

In fact, none among Luo Zhancheng and the others had considered training a divine being among the Beastmen. With such resources, wouldn’t it be better to train an Immortal for their own Sect?

But for Tena, this was already more than enough. The little fox girl, who once faced uncertain dawns and the constant threat of tribal annihilation, to achieve what she had now was nothing short of a miraculous stroke of luck. She had never yearned for more.

Many of the surrounding beastmen looked over in surprise. Who would have thought that High Priestess Tena’s master would be someone so young?

Surely, the one who mentored High Priestess Tena must also be a priest?

…

Come nightfall, the Beastman Royal City was brightly lit.

The entire Royal City resounded with the news that the daughter of the Beastman King had returned. The Beastman Kingdom was about to welcome the arrival of Her Highness the Eldest Princess. Thus, the entire Royal City was bustling with excitement. Countless beastmen spread the news, raised their cups, and drank merrily, elated that their king now had an heir.

It must be said that Luo Zhancheng had, since becoming the Beastman King, completely won the loyalty of the myriad beastman tribes.

Beastmen worship strength, and Luo Zhancheng himself could be touted as the unparalleled warrior of the age!

Beastmen relished battle, and Luo Zhancheng had led them in conquering campaigns to the east and west–subjugating alien races, occupying the richest lands, seizing countless treasures, and bringing to these beastmen endless merit and glory!

Most importantly, under his command, the Beastman Army saw victory in every battle, never once defeated, naturally winning the hearts of countless beastmen and compelling many to willingly die for him.

Hence, the numerous beastmen who adored Luo Zhancheng celebrated jubilantly upon hearing the news.

The Beastman Palace at night was even more lively. Each beastman expert was a big drinker. They drank so heavily that “heavy drinking” was an understatement. Their faces flushed with excitement, they frequently toasted to express their exhilaration.

Even after three days, the city was still abuzz with activity. However, within the Royal Palace, an air of solemnity lingered.

“The Underground World is not only vast in territory, but it also harbors numerous precious resources waiting for us to harvest,”

said Luo Zhancheng, glancing at the beastman experts around him and speaking with a grave tone, “But before we can claim those treasures, there are certain nuisances we need to deal with!

The Underground World is not a safe place. Apart from the Spider Evil God adept at luring living beings to corruption, there are several powerful lords who rule over their own lands, independent and established.

Of these, the Evil Eye Tyrant is the most vicious, the Underground Black Dragon the most conservative, the territory of the Flame Giant the broadest, and the Chaos Land the most dilapidated. Yet, these regions also happen to be where the most resources are concentrated. To safely extract ores in the future, we have to eliminate those forces.

Moreover, after this battle, we shall enslave countless beings from the Underground World for our use!”

“Your Majesty!”

An experienced and composed beastman expert stepped forward to offer his counsel, “Although chaotic, the entities of the Underground World are not weak–the southern races of the continent have formed alliances to oppose us. Is it wise to attack the Underground World at this time?

If the southern races learn of our large-scale assault on the Underground World, they might seize the opportunity to act.

Despite the strength of our Beastman Kingdom, fighting a war on two fronts could prove to be a stretch. In my view, it would be better to wait until we’ve completely defeated the alliance of the southern races, ensuring no rivals are left on the continent’s surface. Only then should we conquer the Underground World–wouldn’t that be better?”

“Hmm!”

Luo Zhancheng nodded, “There is reason to what you say.”

However, before the seasoned beastman expert could show his relief, Luo Zhancheng continued, “But you have underestimated the resolve of the tribal alliance. If they find themselves in a losing position, they will certainly not send troops to guard the underground exits anymore and might even sabotage the passages, or even form alliances with the Underground Forces to resist us.”

“This… surely not?”

The beastman expressed some confusion, “Allying with the Underground Forces–isn’t that like inviting a wolf into your home?

Won’t they be afraid that once the powerful entities of the underground come to the surface, they will not easily return to the Underworld, and may even seize their lands, igniting a chaotic war?”

“Heh, when their very survival is at stake, who has time to worry about the reliability of an ally? Even if it’s a mere straw, they will grasp at it!”

Luo Zhancheng had long planned on how to conquer this world. Besides, this venture into the underground was to combat the Evil God, sweep the Underground Forces, and provide the Sect with another stable source of resources. It was also intended to capture the Spider Evil God’s lair for Qin Feng to refine treasures.

Now that Qin Feng had become the Master of Qi Luck, the Sect would naturally go to great lengths to elevate his Cultivation Realm. As long as the requests were not too preposterous, the Sect would agree.

As long as his Cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, the benefits to the Sect would be plentiful.

“Your Majesty.”

Another beastman inquired, “The beings of the Underground World are powerful–otherwise, they wouldn’t have been vigorously guarded against by the races for so many years. Especially the Spider Evil God–setting aside its ability to tempt hearts, simply the level of its divinity is beyond our comparison. And the other lords are experts of the Peak Demigod Realm. How do you plan to contend with these powerful entities?”

“Heh, there’s no need for concern!”

Luo Zhancheng said with a smile, “For this campaign, I have already invited extremely powerful beings to enter the Underground World with us. There’s no need to worry about dealing with those creatures.

Moreover, this campaign also aims to prevent the southern races of the continent from colluding with the Underground World–even before, I had already received intelligence that some races, unable to withstand pressure, have shown signs of negotiating cooperation with the Underground Forces.”

Saying this, he slowly rose from his throne. His imposing stature was replete with an oppressive force, his face radiating immense confidence, “Once I return from the underground, I shall lead the invincible Beastman Army to conquer the entire continent in one fell swoop and completely defeat the southern tribes.

The day the Beastman Empire is established will be the day Your King achieves divinity!”

His words were blood-stirring, making numerous beastman experts’ blood boil with fervor. Unable to restrain their inner passion, they erupted in cheers, their roars shaking the heavens.

It was indeed a tremendous stimulation for them, for they would have the honor of witnessing their king ascending to divinity.