After nearly an entire day, Yuan returned to Bai Sulan and Feng Yuxiangâs side.
"Where did you go?" Bai Sulan asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"To the serpentâs lair."
Bai Sulan continued asking, "Then did you find any treasures?"
In her eyes, there was only one reason why Yuan went out of his way to go there, and that reason was to find treasures.
"No, there was no treasure."
"Then why are you covering up the tunnel?" Bai Sulan raised her eyebrows in a doubtful manner, as Yuan was currently closing up the hole to the tunnel, clearly trying to hide something.
"Whatâs wrong with fixing a massive hole in the ground? I donât want anyone accidentally falling into it."
Bai Sulanâs jaw dropped at his terrible excuse and said a moment later, "You do realize that weâre deep into the Heavenly White Tiger Clanâs territory, right? Only magical beasts roam this area, and even theyâre not stupid enough to fall into such a massive hole."
Yuan smiled and said, "If you donât believe me, youâre free to check it out yourself. Thereâs really no treasure there."
"..."
Bai Sulan looked at the hole with intrigue, but she ultimately shook her head and said, "No, itâs fine. I donât really care."
Yuan then spoke, "Anyway, what about your trial?"
Bai Sulan retrieved a Phantasm Serpent corpse from her spatial ring and said, "Fortunately, I defeated one before that massive serpent ambushed me, so I didnât fail my trial."
"So youâre ready to return to the Heavenly White Tiger Clan?" Yuan asked.
She nodded, "Yes, I can return now."
Once Yuan completely filled the hole, he followed Bai Sulan to the Heavenly White Tiger Clan, which took nearly a week of journey.
"We will arrive at my home soon," said Bai Sulan, who was traveling in her beast form.
A few hours later, Yuan and Feng Yuxiang spotted a cluster of white buildings appearing in the distance. As they drew closer, Yuan could sense numerous powerful presences emanating from the area.
"Weâre here!" Bai Sulan declared.
When they reached the massive gates, the guard there approached Bai Sulan and asked, "Who are these two with you?"
"Theyâre my friends and savior," she said. "They are also here for Senior Brother Xutao and Senior Sister Ning."
"Your savior...?" The guard looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Yes, they saved me from an accident," she said, purposefully not giving too many details as she didnât want to appear weak.
"Alright."
The guard gave her a quick nod before opening the gates for them.
"Letâs go, handsome little brother." Bai Sulan walked over to Yuan and suddenly held his hand, pulling him toward the entrance.
When she noticed Feng Yuxiang staring at her with a sharp gaze, she chuckled and explained, "I am doing this so the others wonât bother him. This may sound weird, but handsome little brother here has an attractive scent to him. I fear he might become overwhelmed by the females in our clan if they see him."
"An attractive scent?" Feng Yuxiang tilted her head closer to Yuan and leaned in, giving him a deep, deliberate sniff.
"He does smell very good, but I donât get itânot to say my Young Master isnât attractive. Or maybe I am just used to it by now," she remarked.
"Itâs very subtle, but we Heavenly White Tigers have a strong sense of smell," said Bai Sulan.
Once they were inside, Bai Sulan said, "Iâll bring you to our guest room for now. As for meeting with Senior Sister Ning or Senior Brother Xutao, youâll have to speak with their servants."
"Sure."
As Bai Sulan led them to the guest room, Yuan and Feng Yuxiang could sense numerous presences gathering around them, though none revealed themselves directly.
"I knew youâd attract the others, but I didnât expect this many to show up this quickly," Bai Sulan remarked when she also noticed their presence.
"Should I be worried?" Yuan asked calmly.
"No... at least not yet," Bai Sulan replied. "Weâre still in the outer area, where most of the lower-ranking members live. As long as Iâm with you, they wonât dare come too close."
"Lower-ranking?" Yuan asked.
"Itâs similar to how sects work," Bai Sulan explained. "Weâre divided by the quality of our bloodline."
"Iâm from the main family, so my status is automatically at the top. Also, while everyone is required to complete trials, those of us in the main family face far harsher requirements, and for us, failure simply isnât an option, as we are killed for it."
"Meanwhile, the others train as soldiers or servants. If their bloodline meets the standards, they might earn a chance to move up in rank. Ohâand itâs strictly forbidden for those with high-quality bloodlines to breed with lower-quality ones, so only those of the same rank are allowed to mate."
To preserve and strengthen their bloodline, it was common for beasts to engage in selective breeding practices like this. Of course, humans werenât much better, and they simply used talent as their measure instead. Thatâs why geniuses often look down on those with inferior talent and arranged marriages between two powerful families are incredibly common.
"Whatâs the population like in your clan?" Feng Yuxiang suddenly asked.
Bai Sulan pondered for a moment before responding, "Around 3,000,000, I guess."
"Thatâs quite the population..." Yuan mumbled with a surprised look on his face.
"Thatâs because we Heavenly White Tigers often give birth to more than one child at a time. In fact, anything beyond four children is considered abnormal," said Bai Sulan.
"So not only are you guys perverted, but you also have ridiculous reproductive capabilities?" Feng Yuxiang remarked.
"P-Perverted...?" Bai Sulan could only shake her head in silence at Feng Yuxiangâs remark since she wasnât entirely wrong.
Eventually, they reached the next area, where the middle-ranking members lived.
"I only have enough authority to bring you this far into our territory. Wait here while I contact Senior Sister Ning and Senior Brother Xutaoâs servants for you," Bai Sulan said once they arrived at the guest house.