Chapter 188: They Are All My Cubs
"So many beastmen have already acknowledged it, Clan Elder. You’re not going to say this is all fake, are you?"
The Clan Elder glanced at the excited beastmen in the crowd and gritted his teeth. "Of course not! I believe you. You’ve passed this trial. All that’s left is to accept the challenges from the beastmen of the tribe."
The moment the Clan Elder finished speaking, Jin Ling and the others slowly walked onto the altar. His gilded eyes swept over the beastmen below.
"We are the Clan Leader’s mates. Anyone here today may challenge any one of us."
"Father, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get on stage!" Sangqi said, anxiously pushing Sangze, who was hesitating to go forward.
Sangze looked at his cub with some confusion. "But Sangqi, I’m not Xixi’s mate."
Sangqi stomped his foot in frustration. ’Silly father! You aren’t one now, but you will be if you go up there!’
"If you don’t go, what if she needs help and doesn’t have enough defenders?"
"You’re right. I’ll go up at once."
Seeing the males lined up in a row behind Qiao Xixi, the other males in the crowd hesitated.
It wasn’t that none of the males were eager to make a move, but they couldn’t forget about Sangkun and Sanggu, who had their beast bones broken.
"I wish to challenge."
A male black bear, built like a small mountain, stepped out from the crowd.
Jin Ling coolly regarded him. "Who do you wish to challenge?"
"You."
"Fine."
"Jin Ling?"
Hearing Qiao Xixi’s voice, Jin Ling gave her a reassuring look.
"Xixi, trust me."
Qiao Xixi nodded, stepping aside to leave the altar to them.
The male black bear’s beast soul level was equivalent to Jin Ling’s; neither had an advantage over the other in terms of star rank.
The male black bear immediately shifted into his beast form and lunged in Qiao Xixi’s direction.
Jin Ling dodged his attack with a nimble leap.
Noticing Qiao Xixi’s tension, Sunxiao’s cool voice sounded by her ear. "He’s no match for Jin Ling."
Qiao Xixi nodded. "I trust Jin Ling." ’He must be confident to have accepted the challenge.’
Sure enough, after hundreds of exchanges, the male black bear was sent flying off the altar by a single swipe of Jin Ling’s tiger claw.
THUD!
The male black bear’s massive body crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
It took him a moment to get back to his feet. With no anger on his face, he said, "I lost."
Jin Ling nodded slightly and looked at the other beastmen. "Does anyone else wish to challenge?"
"I... I want to challenge that snow fox male."
Feiyan raised an eyebrow. ’Alright, a good chance to stretch my limbs.’
Feiyan already possessed a 7-star beast soul, which made him a high-ranking warrior in the Divine Leopard Tribe. However, the challenging male gray wolf’s star rank wasn’t low either, and their fight was a stalemate.
"I’ll bet one piece of fruit that Father will have to take two more punches to win."
Qiao Ang disagreed. "At least two more kicks. I feel like Father is a bit rusty. His moves aren’t sharp enough."
"But Father Feiyan looks really strong to me... Oof, he really did take another punch!" Sangqi was astonished. ’Qiao Qiao and her brothers know their father so well.’
Qiao Lie added grimly, his little face deadpan, "He still needs to get kicked in the butt."
Qiao Xixi: ...
Feiyan won, but it seemed he really did take quite a beating.
Oddly enough, right up until dusk, no one challenged Sunxiao.
Meeting Qiao Xixi’s gaze, Sunxiao’s lips curved slightly. "No one wants to be swallowed."
Uh...
"Are there any other beastmen who wish to challenge?"
The Clan Elder shouted enthusiastically from the altar, but the crowd below remained silent.
A few cubs from the clan elders’ families had gone up, but they were all beaten black and blue. Everyone had witnessed the strength of Jin Ling and his mates. Who would willingly go up just to get a beating?
Most importantly, Qiao Xixi could cure the rotten gut disease. That alone was enough for them to accept her.
"No more! We are willing to have Qiao Xixi as the Clan Leader of the Divine Leopard Tribe!"
"Clan Leader! Clan Leader!"
"Clan Leader Qiao Xixi!"
Qiao Xixi successfully became the Clan Leader of the Divine Leopard Tribe and moved into the inner city.
After the ceremony ended, Qiao Xixi and her family prepared to go home and pack their things.
"Xixi, no, wait, I mean Clan Leader, are you all moving out tonight?"
Qiao Xixi nodded. She had seen it; Red Rabbit had been shouting the loudest in the crowd today.
"Red Rabbit, thank you for today."
"Clan Leader, I was just speaking the truth. You don’t need to thank me. We’re the ones who should be thanking you."
Red Rabbit then had her mate go get some fruit to give to Qiao Xixi.
"If you miss me, come find me in the inner city."
"Okay, Xixi. I’ll really miss you."
Seeing that it was getting dark, Red Rabbit reluctantly hugged Qiao Xixi, then watched them leave.
When Qiao Xixi arrived, Sangze had already arranged everything in the inner city.
"Xixi, you all will be living here from now on. The beastmen in charge of managing the tribe’s various affairs will come to see you tomorrow."
"Okay."
In Qiao Xixi’s room was a large wooden bed, already covered with a thick hide mattress that looked incredibly warm to sleep on.
On the first floor, there was a large backyard with a kitchen and a bathing room.
After she finished unpacking, Qiao Xixi came out of her room to the sound of her cubs’ cheerful laughter as they played with their fathers downstairs. Feiyan’s laugh was the most boisterous of all, and Qiao Xixi couldn’t help but smile.
But when she glanced to the side, she saw Jin Ling leaning against the corridor railing, lost in thought as he watched the playful cubs.
Qiao Xixi walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Jin Ling came back to his senses and gently took her hand. "Do you want to bathe? I’ve already heated the water for you."
Qiao Xixi stood on her tiptoes and rested her chin on his shoulder. "What were you looking at just now?"
Jin Ling turned around and pulled her into his embrace, his gilded eyes seeming to hold a galaxy of shattered stars. "Seeing the cubs so healthy and happy makes me happy too."
Qiao Xixi gave a muffled hum of agreement. "Yeah... Do you think if we had a cub of our own, he would also have fun playing with his older brothers and sisters?"
Jin Ling froze for a moment, lowering his lashes to hide the flicker of emotion in his eyes. He lifted Qiao Xixi’s hand to his lips and kissed it, his voice a little hoarse. "Qiaoqiao and the others are all my cubs."
"But... I want a cub that belongs to us."
The pain in Jin Ling’s eyes became unbearable. He hugged Qiao Xixi even tighter. "Xixi, I’m sorry."
Before he could finish, Qiao Xixi covered his mouth. "You haven’t done anything wrong, so don’t apologize to me. I’ve prepared a surprise for you. Wait for me tonight."
After speaking, Qiao Xixi turned and ran downstairs.
Qiao Xixi had just stepped out of the bathing room when she was enveloped by a black mist. "Little female, tonight you’re m— AHH!"
Before Sangze could finish his sentence, the mist was dispersed by a crimson halo of light.
Freed, Qiao Xixi turned and ran upstairs. Standing on the corridor, she gave Sunxiao a sweet smile, then turned and went into Jin Ling’s room!