Chapter 151: Aoi and Nozomi

The Beastmen Kingdom.

Today marked the official establishment of the Beastmen Kingdom's Ministry of Commerce. In exchange for the resources of their realm, the beastmen acquired the gold coins minted by Yun Xuan, solely because Yun Xuan’s stamped currency was exquisitely crafted and had already achieved widespread circulation in the Ogi Kingdom.

A new currency represented a new era. With the establishment of the Ministry of Commerce, the Beastmen Kingdom began collecting commercial management fees, a venture poised to generate billions of gold coins annually.

Yun Xuan allocated twenty percent of the commercial chamber's revenue to the Fox Clan, earning the strong backing of the Fox Clan chieftain. His commercial network rapidly expanded across the entire Beastmen Kingdom, and consequently, no one dared to challenge the collection of commercial management fees.

Yun Xuan deployed thirty androids to oversee the management of these establishments, while the workforce consisted of robots and bionics. He had acquired seven hundred additional bionic units from the apocalyptic world, having secured the necessary resources by wiping out a small survivor encampment.

The situation in the apocalypse was complex, and Yun Xuan's faction had a bounty on its head, but fortunately, thanks to bionic masks, Yun Xuan had no fear of exposure.

The chamber of commerce embarked on the path of formal operation. Communication devices had become a symbol of nobility, with nearly every beastmen aristocrat possessing one in their home.

The steep annual fee of one thousand gold coins charged by Yun Xuan meant little to these beastmen nobles.

Virtually everyone in the Beastmen Kingdom was now well-fed and gainfully employed, causing the military forces to grow somewhat lax. Yun Xuan hired a battalion of one thousand beastmen soldiers at a monthly salary of ten thousand gold coins.

Their duties were to protect the chamber of commerce's assets from loss and to mine for ores.

The Beastmen Kingdom was abundantly rich in iron, coal, copper, and gold ore, and even possessed deposits of raw jade and diamonds.

These treasures, which no one had previously bothered to harvest and which the beastmen regarded as entirely useless, were accumulated by Yun Xuan in massive quantities.

...

The Beastmen Kingdom, Northern Forest.

"Your mission is singular: capture the ten individuals who have fled into the forest. Whether you bring back their corpses or their heads matters not. You have four hours. If you fail to complete the task, there will be no dinner for you today," Imai Nobume stated coldly, standing before the cat-eared girl and the rabbit-eared girl.

"Understood," the two replied in unison. After ten days of rigorous training, they had both reached Tier 2, a feat made possible by Imai Nobume's tutelage and the restorative treatments of the nutrient pods.

The cat-eared girl was named Aoi, and the rabbit-eared girl was named Shi. The task Yun Xuan had entrusted to Imai Nobume was to cultivate them both to Tier 4. Aoi was destined to become Yun Xuan's bodyguard, while Shi served as Imai Nobume's disciple and a member of the Naraku assassination organization.

The two beast-eared maidens stepped into the forest, which harbored ten heinous ordinary criminals. What Yun Xuan sought to temper was not merely their combat prowess, but their psychological resilience.

Only by transcending the barrier between life and death could one become a true powerhouse. Shi had already attained this realization, but Aoi, after all, was just an ordinary girl.

In the silent forest, the cat-eared girl Aoi gripped a long saber, while the rabbit-eared girl Shi stood off to the side, watching her with icy eyes.

"Must we truly kill him?" Aoi asked, looking at the man whom Shi had beaten to near-fatal conditions, a trace of reluctance still lingering in her eyes.

"They are vicious criminals among humans, responsible for countless murders. You may choose not to kill them. However... someone who cannot kill will be of no use whatsoever to the Master," Shi said coldly.

"From this day onward, I am your master..." Yun Xuan's image flashed through Aoi's mind—the one who had saved her when she had absolutely nothing.

*Slash.*

The long saber swept across the neck of the criminal on the ground. The cat-eared girl's hand stopped trembling, and she banished the hesitation from her face.

"Let's go," Shi said, moving forward. They only had four hours.

From initial hesitation to eventually racking up a tally of six eliminated criminals, the cat-eared girl Aoi emerged from the forest, a lingering haze of bewilderment still clouding her eyes.

"Not bad. From now on, you are my person. Brandish the sword in your hand for me," Yun Xuan said, stepping up to Aoi and gently stroking her cat ears.

"So warm..." Aoi closed her eyes, savoring a moment that felt far from unpleasant.

Standing beside Imai Nobume, the rabbit-eared girl Shi looked at Yun Xuan with an expression that clearly marked him as human scum.

Nighttime, dinner hour.

Yun Xuan stood inside his palace. This entire domain within a radius of one hundred square kilometers belonged to him. The palace was controlled by Yakumo Yukari, heavily fortified with mechanical traps and an array of heavy projectile weaponry, and guarded by Aoheixiong, the strongest Tier 4 powerhouse of the Bear Clan.

Aoheixiong had broken off his engagement with the Third Princess of the Fox Clan, an endeavor that took him three days, before unifying the entire Bear Clan under his banner. The Bear Clan territory surrounded Yun Xuan's domain, currently serving as one of his major military assets.

"Aoheixiong, Imai Nobume, Yukari, while I am away, the territory is in your hands," Yun Xuan instructed.

"Understood," three voices replied in unison.

Aoheixiong controlled the Bear Clan, responsible for security and ore extraction. Yukari handled all administrative affairs, managing Yun Xuan's business empire—a task for which Yukari's intermediate-level intelligence was more than adequate.

Imai Nobume was establishing Naraku, and the first batch of one hundred orphans was about to arrive. He believed it would not take long for Naraku to flourish, especially considering the differing flow of time between reality and the fantasy world.

"Aoi, you will continue your training alongside Shi for the time being. Once you reach Tier 5, you may become my personal maid. Keep it up," Yun Xuan said, stroking Aoi's cat ears once more, eliciting yet another pair of disapproving glares from Imai Nobume and Shi.

After dinner, Yun Xuan made his way to the hot springs, followed by Aoi clad in a swimsuit.

Yun Xuan intended to leave the fantasy world tomorrow and return to the primary world. When Aoi expressed her desire to serve her master one last time, Yun Xuan had told her to follow him in her swimsuit.

Reclining in the open-air hot spring pool, Yun Xuan gazed up at the starlit night sky. The fantasy world lacked industrial pollution; the air was pristine, and a gentle night breeze rustled past, inducing a profound sense of tranquility.

"Master, is it comfortable here?" Aoi stepped into the hot spring, standing close beside Yun Xuan.

"Mm, very comfortable. All the fatigue just melts away," Yun Xuan stretched lazily and smiled gently.

"Is the Master's home in the Ogi Kingdom?" Aoi asked with lingering curiosity.

"My home? It's in a very, very distant place. There is an abundance of delicious food there, and countless fascinating toys, except the pollution is severe, and the air isn't very clean..." Yun Xuan recounted tales of Earth from his past life, leaving Aoi listening with a face full of yearning.

"The Master's home sounds like a miraculous place. Was it created by a god?" Aoi mused with whimsical imagination.

"Perhaps I have already met a god, for all I know," Yun Xuan thought of the Gacha System. With angels, demons, and gods thrown into the mix, the picture seemed complete.

"The Master has met a deity?" Aoi asked, her mouth agape in astonishment.

"I believe that once one's power reaches a certain threshold, one can also become a god-like existence," Yun Xuan extended a hand, making a grabbing motion at the full moon in the sky.

"Can beastmen and humans both attain godhood?" Aoi whispered softly.

"Come, let's go. It happens to be a full moon; we mustn't waste it." Without answering her question, Yun Xuan stood up and walked over to the open-air clearing beside the hot spring, where a stone platform engraved with a summoning array awaited.

Primary Summoning Ritual (Unknown Rank): The initial use must be performed during a full moon, yielding a high probability of acquiring a Silver-tier character.

The summoning technique Yun Xuan had acquired could only be used once every six months, falling rather short compared to Asuna the Third's frequency.