Chapter 97: A Harem for the White Lion
Chapter 97: A Harem for the White Lion
"A partner?"
Xiang Ling asked as she stared at Zhang Xuan with wide eyes. She had no clue that the White Lion was a female, let alone the last one alive from the White Lion Clan. Little did she know that calling it cute on a whim would end up like this.
"Right! A partner." Zhang Xuan nodded his head as he confirmed that she wasn’t just hearing things. "Or there can be more than just one. You know - the more the merrier. If she also wants a harem of her own, like you, I’m sure you will be okay with it. Right?"
Xiang Ling immediately opened her mouth to defend herself but his arched eyebrow made her halt even before a single word left her mouth. Finally, after a moment or two, she spoke, "It’s not my harem. It’s Chen Xiang Ling’s."
"But you own it now. Don’t you?" Zhang Xuan wasn’t one to step back that easily and Xiang Ling knew she couldn’t win against him no matter how hard she would try. So, in order to save her energy, she decided to no longer comment on the topic of her own harem and decided to focus on the White Lion’s harem.
Pointing at the spirit beast inside the Divine globe, she asked, "Do... do I really have to do that? Find a partner for her?"
"Of course." Zhang Xuan answered as if she just asked a question with the most obvious answer. "You have already brought her here all the way from Tianlin mountains where she has been living for centuries in peace. Now, you will make a contract with her and become her master. Don’t you think it’s your duty to make sure that she meets decent partners and gives birth to a couple of female cubs to keep her line alive?"
The way he asked that question almost made it sound like he was accusing her of being a clueless master. And the twinkle in his eyes made it clear that he was doing it on purpose to entice her.
Xiang Ling just stared silently at the White Lion who was totally clueless about the conversation of her potential future partner or partners, that was taking place at the moment.
"Where will I even find another White Lion?" Xiang Ling wondered as she chewed on her lower lip - a habit she had recently picked as she was dealing with stress almost every other day.
"If my calculation is right, then there must be around twenty male White Lions living around the Five Realms. I’m sure if you will try hard, you will find at least one or two. Besides, there’s no need to find a male White Lion. As long as the male partner is less powerful than the female White Lion, the children will be born in the lineage of their mother and not the father. In the rarest case, the children might even have powers of both the parents." Zhang Xuan presented his piece of knowledge that completely overwhelmed Xiang Ling.
Who would have thought that her infatuation with pretty and cute things would bring her such trouble?
Letting out a sigh, she shook her head to get her thoughts straight. If possible, she would have loved to send the White Lion back to the Tianlin Mountains but that was never an option. If she refused to form a contract with the spirit beast and sent it back to her habitat, it would harm the beast’s morale and make her believe that she wasn’t worthy to be someone’s contracted spirit beast. That’s why, after taking any spirit beast under one’s protection, it was punishable by heavenly laws if that person refused to form a contract with that beast.
Another deep sigh escaped Xiang Ling’s lips and she just gave up on ever finding any peace during her time in the Mortal Realm. She was supposed to suffer during her life tribulation and fate was making sure she wouldn’t get any moment of peace.
Ignoring Zhang Xuan, she turned her attention toward Little Pink and asked, "What about you? What do you want to say?"
Little Pink, who had been silently listening to the ongoing conversation between Zhang Xuan and Xiang Ling from the sidelines, immediately took center stage to voice out what it had been holding back all this time. "There are quite a few things. So, let’s start with the most important one - when are you officially taking me as your spirit beast?"
It took quite some effort on Xiang Ling’s part to not let out another sigh. Putting a smile on her face, she answered, "Let’s do it tonight. I will take both you and the White Lion as my contracted spirit beasts. Alright?"
Little Pink hurriedly nodded its head in happiness. Its almost transparent wings shone with a pink hue to showcase its true happiness which put Xiang Ling’s mind at a little ease. She somewhat liked Little Pink but since it was a spirit beast that belonged to Heavenly Empress, she couldn’t find it in herself to trust it completely.
"Second important matter - I’m about to make a breakthrough within the coming few days. I will soon enter the eighth circle of cultivation!" Little Pink beamed with pride as it broke the news to Xiang Ling who smiled warmly at it and congratulated.
The cultivation process for spiritual beasts and plants was divided into a total of nine circles. Once they broke through the ninth circle, they could face heavenly tribulation and upon passing it, they could gain human forms.
"Third, after I told Her Majesty about all the progress you have made these days in the Mortal Realm and how well you have been taking care of the Crown Prince, you are now allowed to open another area of your space." Little Pink informed Xiang Ling who was clearly happy to hear the news.
"Is there anything else?" Xiang Ling asked when she noticed Little Pink still needed to say more.
Nodding its head, the little beast spoke - "There is. I’m also a girl, Master. How about you get me a harem as well?"