Chapter 105: The Sovereign of the Wild Geese Above

A phoenix cries in the ruins.

Before him, Yu Yan was already beginning to reveal her true brilliance.

She harbored a vast repository of treasures that others could only dream of; with a casual toss of a few pieces of spirit beast meat, she could "create" several formidable superhumans. For others, it required a life-or-death struggle to slay even a single high-tier spirit beast, consuming its flesh and blood to awaken their powers just to become a superhuman.

But for Yu Yan, she could forge an entire team of superhumans whenever the mood struck her. And to her, this was as simple as eating or drinking.

So, the "Phoenix" her grandfather spoke of was not the double-S rank dungeon "Phoenix Cry Ruins" at the village entrance, but the true phoenix among humans standing right before him! At this moment, Lou Yuhui finally confirmed the vague suspicion he had harbored.

With the advent of the dungeon world, the era where firepower and artillery defined one's strength had become a thing of the past. In this brand-new world, the rules were being rewritten. There was no doubt that Yu Yan would be among the select few who would redefine those rules. More than that, she would be the most powerful among them.

Realizing this, Lou Yuhui quickly knelt on one knee. If not now, when would he pledge his loyalty?

"My Lady Yan, I, Lou Yuhui, pledge my life to your service!"

Lou Yuhui’s voice was high and resonant, startling several birds from the canopy. These birds had nested in the tree earlier, only to be frightened away by Yu Wan’s agonizing wails. After circling once, they had returned, finding no danger, only to settle back into their nests—barely steady before being spooked again by Lou Yuhui. They dared not return for quite some time.

Yu Yan: "..."

She was, to some extent, taken aback. She had taken on followers before—some voluntarily, some not—but she had never encountered someone who would drop to one knee at the slightest provocation. Still, having experienced her share of trials, Yu Yan maintained a calm and unruffled expression, as if being "pledged" to by Lou Yuhui was nothing out of the ordinary.

Yu Yan looked as steady as a rock. Her gaze swept over Lou Yuhui, as if evaluating whether his strength made him worthy of serving her. Lou Yuhui’s heart hammered against his ribs until Yu Yan’s cold, clear voice drifted down from above: "Rise. I acknowledge your intent."

Lou Yuhui: "???"

That was it?

It was.

Yu Yan had already turned her head, continuing on her way.

Lou Yuhui rose dejectedly and followed behind her. This was a pledge of loyalty, after all—shouldn't Lady Yan offer some verbal encouragement or perhaps a tangible reward? He wasn't asking for much; a piece of Black Tortoise meat or Qu-Ru meat would have sufficed.

He estimated he was likely the first person to offer his allegiance to the "Goddess Yan." After all, people with his level of insight and boldness were rare before the dungeons arrived, and surely wouldn't be common afterward. As the first, didn't he deserve some special treatment?

Having made up his mind to follow Yu Yan, even his internal designation for her had changed. In his eyes, Yu Yan was unfathomable, possessing treasures that could create teams of superhumans in mere minutes. If he didn't deify her to express his worship, who would? She was the one and only goddess in his heart.

Little did he know, the moment his "Goddess Yan" turned away, her cheeks twitched uncontrollably.

Being pledged to was a first in her life. How to put it? It felt fresh, novel, and perhaps just a tiny bit flattering.

Lou Yuhui was a master of the soft sword, observant and tactful. Even without meeting Yu Yan, he would likely have grown into a local powerhouse or become the most lethal blade in some magnate's hand. Now that he had pledged his life to her, even though Yu Yan did not know his true motives or how much sincerity he held, it was, regardless, the greatest validation of her efforts since her rebirth.

Had she, without realizing it, already become a figure of infinite potential—a future titan in the eyes of others?

Yu Yan’s lips curled upward; she was in a good mood.

Given how sharp Lou Yuhui was, she didn't mind gifting him a sixth-grade blood crystal or spirit plant. The Qu-Ru meat Lou Yuhui had refined was ninth-grade; powers derived from seventh-grade or higher earth-tier spirit beast meat would not be annihilated by the pulse of her Spirit Vein imprint. At most, the grade of his ability might drop by two levels, which was a minor issue. If he refined the blood crystal or spirit plant, he would, like her and her daughter, become a cultivator of both the Spirit Vein and super-abilities—a tiger with wings!

To those with insight, Yu Yan didn't mind being generous—even more generous. Just as the ancients paid a thousand gold pieces for the bones of a fine horse, she would use her Spirit Veins to attract talent. It would make for a fine story, wouldn't it?

The process of luring monsters this time had not gone smoothly, though it had started well enough. Yu Yan had ordered Lou Yuhui to slaughter a litter of Rift-Tooth Tigers. Their grade was lower than the Iron-Hedgehog beasts; the six half-grown ones were not even graded, and only the two adults barely counted as first-grade monsters. Logically, the predators they attracted should have been weaker than the Pegasus herd.

Yu Yan had planned to slay the predators drawn to the bait and then use their corpses to lure more. Who could have known that a pair of earth-tier dungeon monsters would show up? The female was heavily pregnant, seemingly carrying young. In such a state, dungeon monsters about to become parents were exceptionally vigilant and troublesome. They would ruthlessly exterminate anything that posed even a potential threat to their offspring, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let a threat slip by. Never mind that one of them was eighth-grade—Yu Yan couldn't possibly win against that. Even if she could barely manage it, she wouldn't choose such a death-seeking path to test their temper.

Thus, she could only watch helplessly as the little "couple" happily enjoyed their feast of Rift-Tooth Tigers. She dared not interfere; instead, she felt grateful that her hypothesis was correct: her deep-level shapeshifting could indeed deceive the spiritual senses of earth-tier monsters!

Of course, this held true only as long as she and Lou Yuhui remained sensible and made no sound. Yu Yan didn't even dare to gamble on whether a slightly heavier breath would alert the two high-tier monsters below.

The two of them crouched in the tree, not daring to move, their exposed skin covered in the brown, branch-like texture of her camouflage. Below, the two dungeon monsters were leisurely at ease. The male, displaying a gentlemanly demeanor, watched his companion with gentle eyes, not rushing to claim the meat. The female leisurely tore the flesh of the Rift-Tooth Tigers with her claws, plucking the most tender cut from beneath the ribs and sliding it into her mouth. After chewing slowly and finishing, she pulled out something bloody—Yu Yan guessed it was the heart of a tiger.

After finishing the heart, the female looked at the remaining meat with disdain and moved toward the second carcass. Only after she had patronized all the tigers and left behind a bloody mess of leftovers did she seem full, letting out a satisfied snort toward the male.

The male, good-naturedly, nuzzled his companion and stepped forward to "clean up the battlefield." He was less particular in his eating. Like autumn leaves swept by the wind, the flesh and blood of the eight Rift-Tooth Tigers were devoured in moments. A flash of uncharacteristic regret passed through his beastly pupils, as if he were lamenting why this free meal had been so small. He hadn't even had his fill, so why was it already gone?

As for whether this litter of Rift-Tooth Tigers could have been a trap set by others...