Chapter 81: Beast Form Awakening

How, exactly, had this happened...?

Wen Yuzhi hid under the blanket with a deadly serious expression, trying to replay everything in his head.

He remembered he’d been combing through Mansendis’s mind. He remembered seeing an incomparably enormous silver giant beast in Mansendis’s mental sea.

And then... then he got swallowed by that beast.

But he was let back out soon after.

And then...

He thought of how the silver giant beast lay there all alone, looking unbearably lonely and desolate, and Wen Yuzhi couldn’t help wanting to change it.

He planted flowers in Mansendis’s mental sea. He even turned into a butterfly and rested on the beast’s horn.

The beast fell asleep.

And he fell asleep too.

And right before he drifted off, Wen Yuzhi—half-asleep and hazy—had even thought: the beast beneath him was really huge, really imposing. If only, someday, he could grow up to look as cool as Dad did.

Clinging to that thought, the cub sank deep into sleep.

Wen Yuzhi slept for a long time.

He felt exhausted, like the only way to ease it was to keep absorbing energy.

And then, without realizing it...

Wen Yuzhi absorbed too much energy in his sleep and ended up “stuffing himself.”

That abundant energy gathered inside him. Wen Yuzhi’s body began to heat up, and his limbs grew especially sore.

The process went on for a long time.

And because everyone knew the little prince had fallen asleep after combing through the king’s mind, they were afraid of disturbing the cub’s rest.

So while the little prince slept, the Saint Clan in the base deliberately avoided the room he was in.

Which meant Wen Yuzhi’s abnormality wasn’t discovered.

It wasn’t until Merita noticed the little prince had been asleep longer than usual—and came in to check—that she realized something was wrong in the room.

But before she could see clearly, the cub on the bed went whoosh and hid under the blanket.

“D-don’t... don’t come closer...!”

From beneath the blanket came the cub’s soft, muffled voice.

Wen Yuzhi sounded a little panicked.

Merita stopped in place immediately, not daring to move.

“Little prince...”

She didn’t know what had happened, and worry crept into her expression.

But no matter what she said, Wen Yuzhi refused to let her approach, and refused to come out from under the blanket.

The standoff dragged on for quite a while.

Afraid the cub might be unwell—or that something else had happened—Merita didn’t dare delay. She could only have Yiluo and Feier, who were guarding at the door, go notify Mu Luo.

And the moment Yiluo and Feier went to find Mu Luo, the news that the little prince might be sick spread through the base like wildfire.

It reached Mansendis’s ears in no time.

The silver-haired sovereign, still in the middle of handling affairs, immediately threw everything aside and rushed over.

That was how the current scene came to be.

Wen Yuzhi stayed curled under the blanket, still refusing to come out.

He was scared.

He’d only slept.

But when he woke up, it felt like everything had become... a little wrong.

He lifted his hand—only to see a furry paw.

For a split second, Wen Yuzhi even thought he was seeing things.

But when he closed his eyes and opened them again—

the paw was still there.

Even the pink little pads were still there.

Wen Yuzhi still hadn’t snapped out of the shock of his hand turning into a paw when he heard Merita push the door open.

It was almost pure reflex—his body moving faster than his brain.

By the time Wen Yuzhi realized it, he’d already chosen to burrow under the blanket and hide.

And when Merita tried to come closer, he’d stopped her.

Wen Yuzhi’s thoughts were still a mess.

He didn’t know what changes had happened to his body, and that made him even less willing to show himself.

He was afraid he’d turned into a monster, so he instinctively rejected any Saint Clan getting close.

Merita didn’t approach again.

Just as Wen Yuzhi finally relaxed a little, Mansendis arrived.

Hearing the silver-haired sovereign’s voice, Wen Yuzhi lay under the blanket, tangled up inside.

Because of fear, his instinct was to throw himself into Dad’s arms—

but because of what had changed in his body, he was too scared to go out.

The two emotions yanked back and forth inside him.

Before Wen Yuzhi could decide, Mansendis was already walking over.

The scent that belonged to the silver-haired sovereign drew closer and closer.

Wen Yuzhi’s heart clenched.

He didn’t even notice that, from fear and tension, the blanket wasn’t wrapped around him completely.

A part of his body was still exposed outside.

And it was that tuft of something fluffy—like a tail—

that Mansendis saw.

Mansendis’s gaze tightened slightly.

He couldn’t help calling, “Zhizhi.”

The blanket shifted.

Then the cub’s voice came through the thick blanket.

“Dad...”

Muffled and stuffy through the layers.

But Mansendis could hear the unease and panic in the cub’s tone.

“I’m... scared, Dad...”

As he spoke, Mansendis tried carefully, “Zhizhi... can you lift the blanket?”

Silence.

A long moment passed before the cub’s muffled voice finally came again.

“...Okay.”

“But... Dad can’t be scared.”

Wen Yuzhi emphasized the words “be scared.”

What he feared most was that he’d turned into some kind of monster.

If he really had become a monster... would Dad hate him?

He didn’t want Dad to hate him...

Wen Yuzhi thought, a little miserable.

Mansendis already had a guess in his heart, but what the truth was would only be clear after the blanket was lifted.

The silver-haired sovereign slowly bent down.

Under the tense stares of every Saint Clan present, he lifted the blanket covering the cub.

With the blanket gone, the cub beneath was fully exposed.

A fluffy little baby beast—snow-white all over—was curled up on the bed.

It looked no bigger than an adult man’s palm. Two tender little dragon horns sat on its head. And behind it, besides the familiar small wings, there was now an additional tail—plush and fluffy.

As for just how fluffy...

Mansendis looked at the cub’s tiny body, then looked at the tail behind it—so thick with fur it could practically cover the cub.

If he couldn’t be certain the cub in front of him was his child, Mansendis would’ve almost suspected this was some kitten from who-knew-where.

...Why did it look so catlike?

The little snowball lay on the bed. Maybe it sensed that the silver-haired sovereign had lifted the blanket and then gone strangely still.

It lifted its head, nervous.

Those round, pale-gold eyes looked like the чистest gemstones in the world, catching the light with a watery, innocent sheen.

It looked at Mansendis carefully, eyes a little timid.

“Guji?”

The snowball tilted its head again and made that sound that resembled the Gumu.

Soft, and carrying a milky little sweetness.

Mansendis hadn’t closed the door when he came in, so this entire scene was unobstructed for the Saint Clan standing at the entrance.

“......”

“..........”

After a long silence, not a single Saint Clan—inside the room or outside it—made a sound.

Every gaze was locked on the little beast on the bed.

Th-this was the little prince’s... beast form?!

There was no way any Saint Clan present could mistake Wen Yuzhi’s scent, and this was the little prince’s room.

And now the delicate, miniature little doll from before was gone—replaced by a fluffy snowball.

It was curled up on the equally white bed, its round body like a cloud of cotton candy.

It looked soft.

Just one look and you could tell it would feel good to pet.

Alvin pushed up their glasses, trying hard to keep it together.

But the moment the cub’s gaze swept over—

Crack.

The poor lenses finally couldn’t hold out, and shattered under the hand of an adjutant known for being calm and gentle.

That slip, however, didn’t draw anyone else’s attention.

Because everyone else was barely doing any better.

After all...

the little prince, like this, made every Saint Clan present feel like their heart had been hit.

Two words: adorable!

Four words: ridiculously, unbelievably adorable!

That white little fluffball was the cutest cub they’d ever seen in their entire lives!

But seeing all those Saint Clan frozen in place—silent—just staring at him with those vertical pupils, the courage Wen Yuzhi had finally scraped together leaked away in an instant.

He felt more and more uncertain.

What, exactly, had he turned into?

Did he look really weird...? Or really ugly...?

Wen Yuzhi couldn’t help looking toward where Mansendis stood.

“Gu... Dad... d-did I turn into a little monster?” Wen Yuzhi asked, hesitant.

A little monster?

Mansendis looked at the cub—soft and milky and fluffy—and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t connect this snowball to the words “little monster.”

What kind of monster was this cute?

Mansendis couldn’t imagine it. Seeing the cub keep looking at him so softly, he simply picked the fluffy snowball up.

The moment he lifted the cub, the silver-haired sovereign casually weighed it in his hand.

Light as air.

Like a newborn kitten.

Which made it obvious that the puffed-up, round look was mostly fur.

Mansendis didn’t know there was a word for this kind of thing.

—Looking huge, but actually weighing almost nothing.

Still, being held in Dad’s arms again made Wen Yuzhi happy.

That meant Mansendis hadn’t distanced himself because of Wen Yuzhi’s changes—much less started to dislike him.

Wen Yuzhi skillfully found a comfortable spot in the silver-haired sovereign’s arms.

He’d just been about to rub against Dad when Mansendis’s palm landed on the top of his head.

The sovereign first touched the small, rounded little dragon horns—still childish and tender.

Then, beneath the horns, the cub had a pair of oversized ears, almost like a fennec fox’s.

They drooped on either side of the cub’s head, and the fluff on the pointed tips trembled with each breath.

Cute.

When Mansendis’s fingers slid down, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) he couldn’t resist lightly rubbing one.

Wen Yuzhi noticed immediately.

The spot the silver-haired sovereign touched felt a little ticklish.

Those drooping ears snapped upright at once.

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But Mansendis had already drawn his hand back with perfect composure, as if everything he’d just done had been nothing more than checking the cub’s condition.

And when the cub looked over with those round eyes, the silver-haired sovereign said evenly, “Zhizhi, do you want to look in a mirror?”

Mansendis successfully led Wen Yuzhi’s thoughts away. Hearing “mirror,” Wen Yuzhi nodded quickly without even thinking.

What he wanted most right now was to see what he’d turned into.

Mond immediately found a mirror.

They held it up in front of the cub.

Wen Yuzhi glanced once—and froze.

Th-this...!!!

Staring at the unfamiliar little beast in the mirror, Wen Yuzhi’s mind went nearly blank.

That was... him?

He... he turned into this?!

Even though the furry paws had already given him a bit of mental preparation...

seeing it with his own eyes still stunned him.

Driven by a need to confirm it, Wen Yuzhi lifted his hand—no, his paw now.

He pressed it to the mirror.

And the little beast in the reflection made the exact same motion.

Wen Yuzhi pulled the paw away.

The reflection did too.

Only a tiny pawprint—like a plum blossom—was left on the glass.

At that sight, Wen Yuzhi’s last bit of doubt vanished.

Okay.

That really was him.

He’d turned into a... animal?

Mansendis said, “Zhizhi awakened a beast form.”

Not a little monster.

Beast form...?

Wen Yuzhi instantly remembered the last thought that had drifted through his head before sleep.

If only, someday, I could have a beast form as huge and imposing as Dad’s.

So...

Because he kept thinking about it, he suddenly awakened a beast form?

Wen Yuzhi blinked.

But why...

Wen Yuzhi tilted his head at the mirror.

And the little beast in the reflection tilted its head too, the drooping ears swaying as they moved.

Because he remembered...

Mansendis’s beast form, and the other Saint Clan’s beast forms, didn’t seem to look like this at all.

They weren’t this childish.

They didn’t look this soft.

Mond, however, said with perfect calm, “The king has horns.”

Wen Yuzhi looked in the mirror.

He had horns too.

Mond continued guiding, “The king has a tail.”

Wen Yuzhi looked at the new tail.

He... seemed to have a tail too...

Mond added, “The king has wings.”

Wen Yuzhi gave the wings behind him a shake.

His little wings were still there!

“You see, you and the king’s beast forms share many similarities. It’s just that you’re still too young. Your down hasn’t shed yet. Once it sheds, you’ll look exactly like the king.”

That was what Mond said.

It might also be tied to the little prince’s innate deficiency. Normally, after hatching, a Saint Clan member’s body had hard scales, and wings and claws sharp enough to cut.

It was likely that, in ancient times, to survive harsh environments, they evolved the most combat-suited body structure.

But that same pattern didn’t apply to the cub.

Wen Yuzhi was clearly the most special one among the Saint Clan.

Not only was his human form soft and harmless—his post-hatch form had been tiny too, like a doll.

And now, even in beast form, he was still cute and soft.

If other races saw this, they probably couldn’t imagine such a snowball could be a brutal, vicious Saint Clan.

Wen Yuzhi couldn’t imagine it either.

This beast form was pretty far from what he’d pictured at first.

But the more he stared, the more he got used to it.

And he weirdly started to think the tail swaying back and forth looked kind of fun.

He grabbed his own tail in both paws, hugging it like it was a fascinating toy.

But when the fluff brushed his nose, the cub couldn’t help sneezing.

Even his little ears shook hard twice.

Seeing the little prince playing with his own tail made every Saint Clan present feel like their hearts were melting.

By the time Mu Luo finally managed to squeeze through the ring of tall Saint Clan bodies, sweat was already dripping down.

“...Where’s the little prince?”

Mu Luo said it aloud—

only to see every Saint Clan present turn their gaze, in perfect unison, toward the little beast in the silver-haired sovereign’s arms.

Mu Luo followed their line of sight.

And, with absolutely no surprise, Mu Luo was immediately charmed too.

Luckily, the noble virtue of practicing medicine still won out.

Or maybe it was because the cub’s side came with the single most terrifying guardian in the entire galaxy.

Either way, Mu Luo snapped back to their senses quickly.

They hurried to examine the cub first.

“Please extend your paw.”

Mu Luo said.

Wen Yuzhi obediently set his little paw down.

Mu Luo connected the instrument—and taking advantage of being able to touch up close, secretly, quietly pinched the little paw pad.

Wen Yuzhi blinked.

...Huh?

Did something just squeeze him?

Before Wen Yuzhi could think too hard, Mu Luo said, “The little prince absorbed too much energy.”

Too much energy had accumulated inside his body. And Wen Yuzhi had kept fixating on wanting to become a giant beast, so by pure accident, he awakened his beast form.

“This is a good thing. It means the little prince’s body is growing quickly.”

Wen Yuzhi’s growth was even faster than Mu Luo expected.

But that was normal.

Wen Yuzhi’s current state was basically this:

because of his earlier innate deficiency, after awakening mental energy, his body began growing again.

That growth wasn’t truly starting from infancy. Instead, as his energy was replenished, the little prince was getting closer and closer to the teenage form he originally had.

This beast form was the best proof.

As for why the beast form was still so childish...

Mu Luo’s thinking matched Mond’s.

It was most likely connected to the conditions of Wen Yuzhi’s birth, but that wasn’t something Mu Luo could dig into.

So Mu Luo only told Mansendis that the little prince’s body was fine.

And once Wen Yuzhi mastered how to shift forms in a few days, he would be able to turn back into his original appearance.

However, before that...

Wen Yuzhi still had to face one difficult problem.

He didn’t know how to walk yet.