Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

Chi Heng's rambling came to an abrupt halt. His eyes widened, his crimson pupils shrinking to two tiny dots in the light, and a series of complex expressions flashed across his face—shock, dissatisfaction, what nonsense are you spouting, I'm going to fight you.

He took a step back, pointed at Youlie, and loudly retorted, "She treats you like a pet, I am her beast husband!" He said this with great confidence, after all, he was the one who gave him the tail feather, and he was the one who claimed the position of beast husband first. Why should Youlie, who was just pretending to be a dog, compete with him?

Youlie stood up. Not in the slow, lazy way before, but in a very imposing way, rising from the floor. His silver-gray fur gleamed with a cold metallic sheen under the light. His body stretched out completely as he stood up, his shoulders a full 1.5 meters tall, and the shadow he cast enveloped Chiheng entirely.

Chi Heng's reaction was as swift as his mouth—he turned and ran. His dark red robe stretched out in a straight line behind him, and his bare feet stomped on the floor with a clattering sound. He dashed out of the living room, out of the yard, and into the observation area corridor.

Ghost Hunter followed closely behind, his silver-gray figure brushing past the corridor wall, moving with the speed of lightning skimming the ground. Chi Heng sprinted without looking back, rushing into his observation area number four, slamming the heavy security door shut behind him; the electronic lock clicked shut automatically. He leaned against the door, panting heavily, then turned around, looking at Ghost Hunter through the half-meter-thick crystal glass wall, a smug smile spreading across his face.

"Can't get in, you stupid dog!"

Ghost Hunter stood in the corridor, looking through the glass wall at the smug firebird inside, its tail practically wagging like a propeller. Then he transformed into human form.

His long, silver-gray hair cascaded over his shoulders, his grey-blue eyes were cold and calm, his features were deep and strong, and his face was expressionless. He stretched out his slender fingers, pulled a black access card from his waist, and aimed it at the security door's identification area.

"Beep".

Chi Heng's pupils shrank into two terrified red dots: "You, you, you! You have no martial ethics!" He turned and flew towards the rocky mountain. His wings were only half open when You Lie pushed open the door and came in.

Chaos erupted in Observation Zone No. 4.

Chi Heng transformed into beast form and struggled desperately in the confined space. Its crimson wings flapped so loudly that the air whistled, and its tail feathers swung back and forth in the narrow observation area, crashing against the rocky mountain and scattering clusters of sparks.

However, his greatest advantage, aerial suppression, was completely ineffective due to the limited altitude of the observation area. The ceiling was less than three meters above his head; he had barely taken off and his wings were not yet fully extended when he crashed into the energy shield at the top, and when he was bounced down, his feathers exploded into a red dandelion-like mass.

The Ghost Hunter didn't even jump; it patiently waited for the moment he landed from the air, then raised a front paw and precisely and mercilessly pressed it against Chi Heng's neck, pinning the bird firmly to the floor. The Vermilion Bird's true fire flowed across its feathers, but for the SS-level Cang Lang, this temperature was like taking a hot bath.

Chi Heng struggled twice, finding he couldn't break free at all. He lay on his back, wings spread, the softest pale red down on his belly exposed to the air, like a turtle turned upside down. He panted heavily, his crimson eyes meeting You Lie's grey-blue eyes looking down at him. From those terrifyingly calm wolf eyes, he read a very clear message—did he submit?

Chi Heng readily accepted good advice.

"I was wrong! I admit defeat!" he shouted quickly and loudly, showing no shame whatsoever. For him, admitting defeat in a fight was perfectly natural; winning was a huge bonus, losing wasn't a loss. "You be the boss, I'll be the subordinate, okay?"

As Chi Heng said this, he was already happily calculating in his mind—so what if he was a concubine? He'd still get cakes, milk tea, strawberry ice cream, and mango mille-feuille. Anyway, his goal was to get Ye Tang to feed him, not to compete with You Lie for the title of concubine.

Besides, Ghost Hunter is now an SS-rank, so it's not shameful for an S+ to be beaten to a pulp by an SS-rank. Thinking about this, he even felt that his decision was quite brilliant, a million times smarter than Ling Shou, that free-range chicken who was still squatting in Observation Zone No. 3 eating nutrient solutions.

"You're smart enough to know your place." Ghost Hunter released its paw, gave him a cold glance, and transformed back into its beast form. The silver-gray wolf shook its mane, which had been ruffled by bird feathers, turned around, and strode out of Observation Zone Four with steady steps. Its tail swayed slowly behind it, its demeanor as composed as if it had just taken a stroll. That bearing was exactly the air of the eldest son of the family.

In Observation Zone Three, Ling Shou stood on his perch, having witnessed the entire fight from beginning to end. He had originally come to watch the spectacle—the fact that Chi Heng had been beaten was something worth sitting on and enjoying with some melon seeds. But the longer his gaze lingered on You Lie, the deeper the shock in his eagle eyes became.

He knew Youlie's combat strength: a major general of the Canglang Clan, peak S-rank, deputy commander of the Northern Territory, roughly on par with him. But the oppressive aura emanating from Youlie now was no longer S-rank. That oppressive feeling was completely different from before—heavy, cold, and impenetrable, like a moving wall. He could vaguely feel it even through several layers of glass.

"The Shadow Hunter has broken through to SS rank?"

"Yeah," came Chi Heng's voice from next door, a hint of schadenfreude in his tone, "You just realized?"

Ling Shou remained silent for several seconds. He sensed that You Lie's strength had improved in the past few days, but he hadn't considered the possibility of him reaching SS rank. It was common knowledge that the Canglang clan was a commoner race without the bloodline of ancient divine beasts. The strongest Canglang in history was only at the peak of S rank—the upper limit written in their bloodline, a height no Canglang had surpassed in the past two thousand years. And now you're telling him that You Lie has broken through the shackles of his bloodline?

Ling Shou couldn't sit still any longer. He transformed into human form and jumped down from the perch, walking a few steps to the glass wall. His silver-gray eagle eyes churned with disbelief and a strange, inexplicable anxiety: "How...how did he do that?"

Chi Heng stood behind the glass wall next door, leisurely tidying up the few flight feathers that You Lie had just disturbed, combing them one by one with his beak, his movements so relaxed it was almost infuriating. After combing his wings, he combed his tail feathers, and then turned to groom the soft feathers on his chest, showing no intention of answering.

"Hmm... From what I've observed," Chi Heng tilted his bird head, a glint of extremely irritating light flashing in his crimson eyes, "I'm not telling you."

"Chiheng!" Ling Shou slapped the glass wall.

"Hehehe, I'll make you mad." Chi Heng flicked his tail feathers, hopped onto the rocky hill with bird-like steps, squatted down and folded his wings, looking down at Ling Shou next door with a superior gaze. He rolled his eyes and thought to himself, "Stupid bird, do you even need to ask?"

Isn't it obvious? He's relying on being the warden's dog. But he won't say it out loud. This free-range chicken is still stubbornly sticking with Ye Tang, eating so many nutrient supplements every day that his face is almost green. Sharing information with him is absolutely out of the question.

Chi Heng smugly recalled the "negotiation results" with You Lie just now—it didn't matter whether he was big or small, since he was ranked second anyway, and Ling Shou didn't even have the right to be ranked.

In a good mood, he dug out the half-eaten box of strawberry ice cream he hadn't finished that morning from under the rocky hill and took a bite right in front of Ling Shou. Ling Shou nearly crushed the communication panel in front of him.