Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.
In the center of a swamp, a mysterious and powerful creature lay sprawled.
This enormous being, covered in golden scales, had half of its body submerged in the swamp. Despite this, its massive size still loomed like a small mountain.
This was the core of the Star Dou Great Forest.
And the only one who could exist here was the absolute ruler of the forest.
Indeed, this gigantic and enigmatic creature was none other than the Emperor Crocodile, the sovereign of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Mm~"
Two strong breaths puffed out of its nostrils, as if sensing something. It slowly opened its eyes and gazed in a certain direction.
"It seems a new formidable soul beast has emerged."
The Emperor Crocodile murmured this and then closed its eyes again.
Just moments ago, it had sensed an extraordinarily powerful energy fluctuation.
Even it, the ruler of the Star Dou Great Forest, felt a slight twinge of danger from that energy.
But that was all.
Though domineering, it was also sufficiently proud.
Just a soul beast with a bit of potential, with power estimated around fifty thousand years. Not worth its effort.
It planned to wait another ten to twenty thousand years before making a move to kill it.
The Emperor Crocodile had absolute confidence in its own strength.
Any soul beast under a hundred thousand years was no match for it.
Besides, it was currently at a critical juncture, unable to spare the time.
Its cultivation was nearing a bottleneck, on the verge of breaking through to two hundred thousand years of cultivation.
Every hundred thousand years of breakthrough for a soul beast required enduring a lightning tribulation.
The Emperor Crocodile was at the most crucial phase of preparing for its two hundred thousand years breakthrough.
...
Elsewhere.
"Boss, what do you think of this place?"
Er Ming pointed ahead, fawningly seeking Su Bai's approval.
Indeed, after witnessing Su Bai's immense power, the three soul beasts, including Xiao Wu, were completely subdued.
Initially, they thought Su Bai was going to devour them and were prepared for death.
Unexpectedly, Su Bai offered to let them follow him.
They agreed without hesitation.
Joking aside, how could they refuse a protector as invincible as Su Bai, a being unrivaled below a hundred thousand years?
With Su Bai's protection, they were safe.
No longer would they need to fear the emergence of enemies like the Azure Tiger.
For soul beasts, following a strong being was also a means of survival.
Thus, Da Ming and Er Ming became Su Bai's underlings.
Xiao Wu, too, was grateful to Su Bai for saving them and agreeing to protect them, developing a favorable impression of him.
"Yes, very good!"
Su Bai looked around and nodded in satisfaction.
Er Ming had indeed found an excellent spot.
There was a large lake here, and the surrounding environment was quite pleasant.
Su Bai was very pleased with it.
"Hehe, as long as you're satisfied, Boss."
Er Ming scratched his head, grinning.
Su Bai said, "Since we've decided to settle here, the next step is to build a cave dwelling."
"Boss, leave it to Er Ming and me."
Da Ming wanted to take the opportunity to impress and volunteered to handle the construction.
With that, he dragged Er Ming along to get started.
"I'll help too!" Xiao Wu wanted to assist.
Da Ming declined, "No need, Xiao Wu. You just keep the Boss company."
Then, Da Ming pulled Er Ming away.
Xiao Wu was indeed too small to be of much help in constructing the large cave dwelling they needed.
Moreover, Su Bai's attitude towards Xiao Wu was clearly different from his attitude towards them.
That's why they suggested Xiao Wu stay with Su Bai.
Su Bai was deep in thought.
Seeing Su Bai not speaking, Xiao Wu felt a bit bored.
She pulled out a carrot from nowhere and started munching on it with a 'crunch' 'crunch' sound.
Hmm?
Su Bai's thoughts were interrupted by Xiao Wu's carrot-eating noise. He turned to look at her.
Xiao Wu noticed Su Bai's gaze, and their eyes met.
After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Wu took out another carrot and reluctantly said, "Boss, this is my last one. I don't have any more, but you can have it."
Pfft!
Su Bai couldn't help but laugh.
Xiao Wu looked so adorable, obviously reluctant yet still offering him her last carrot.
But she didn't consider that, given his current size, the carrot wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap between his teeth.
Su Bai shook his head and said, "No need, Xiao Wu. You keep it for yourself."
"Alright... But remember, you can't say I didn't share."
Xiao Wu said this, but she already had the carrot halfway to her mouth, her protective stance over her food looking irresistibly cute.
Just now, Su Bai was pondering the system.
Saving Xiao Wu and her companions had always been for Xiao Wu's sake.
Moments ago, he had successfully bound Xiao Wu as his wife.
But what left him frustrated was that there was no immediate reward after binding.
The system explained that he would need to reach a certain level of favorability with Xiao Wu to receive any rewards.
There was no other way but to take it slowly.
Once the cave dwelling was built, the four soul beasts settled down there.
Besides cultivating a bond with Xiao Wu every day, Su Bai occasionally hunted soul beasts that intruded into their territory.
Time passed by bit by bit.
A year later.
[Ding! Wife Xiao Wu's favorability has reached 100,000. Reward: two Transformation Pills.]
Hmm?
In his cave, Su Bai, who was in a half-sleep state, suddenly heard the system prompt and couldn't help but feel ecstatic.
A year had passed, and he finally received a reward.
Moreover, it was the Transformation Pills.
He checked the description of the Transformation Pills and immediately widened his eyes.
The system's Transformation Pills not only allowed soul beasts to take human form and enhance their intelligence but also disregarded the age limit.
In other words, he could take the Transformation Pill and transform into a human right now.
And the most crucial part was that after taking the Transformation Pill, he could still revert to his original form.
In other words, he could freely switch between human form and his true form.
Incredible, absolutely incredible.
As expected of a system product, everything was top-notch.
Without hesitation, Su Bai swallowed one of the pills.
Soon,
Su Bai's body began to change.
His enormous dragon form started to shrink slowly, becoming the size of an average human.
Moments later,
A tall, perfectly proportioned young man appeared in the cave.
His features were strikingly handsome, and he exuded an inherent aura of superiority—a trait of his bloodline.
"Su Bai... brother?"
While Su Bai was admiring his new form, an uncertain voice came from beside him—Xiao Wu.
To foster their bond, the two had been living together for the past year.
Hearing Xiao Wu's call, Su Bai smiled and turned to her, saying, "It's me."
Whew~
Relieved by Su Bai's response, Xiao Wu let out a breath.
If it weren't for her familiarity with Su Bai's aura, she would have hardly recognized him.