Yu Wenxu was very curious.
The Flood Dragon clan was a rather special race among beast-kin—they were the only ones capable of enhancing their abilities without relying on insect cores. This process was called "Dragon Ascension" among the Flood Dragons.
Dragon Ascension could elevate a Flood Dragon's ability by at least one rank, and anything more depended on the individual's talent.
This Pei Wenye was only half-ascended, yet he was already an SS-rank ability user. If he fully completed the ascension, rising to SSS-rank shouldn't be a problem either.
With talent like that, he should have been among the most exceptional in the Flood Dragon clan.
Even if the whole clan hadn't rallied behind him, he still shouldn't have ended up on a desolate wasteland star.
When these matters were brought up, a vicious glint surfaced in Pei Wenye's vertical pupils, and the contamination levels that had just been stabilized by the suppressant began to fluctuate again.
Just then, a broad palm landed on his shoulder.
Pei Wenye looked at Fu Shiyi and quickly suppressed the brutality churning inside him.
He let out a silent breath, his expression relaxing. "Just a minor mishap. Not worth mentioning."
It was clear he didn't want to continue this topic, and Yu Wenxu wasn't the type to lack social awareness, so he naturally didn't press further.
The group followed Jenkins into the elevator and ascended to the office area on the 80th floor.
You Lu was an excellent teacher, and Yunyang's comprehension was by no means lacking.
In less than half an hour, Yunyang had fully mastered another method of purification.
No contact needed, no need to enter the male's mental landscape—purification could be achieved solely through the female's formidable psychic power.
She was eager to try the new method, but her psychic energy was insufficient.
"By the way, Lady You Lu, can our psychic energy only be recovered through rest?"
This was one of Yunyang's biggest frustrations.
Every time she expended too much psychic energy, she could only sleep it off, wasting precious time.
Though it wasn't as if she'd be doing much with that time anyway...
You Lu fell silent for a moment.
Yunyang assumed her question had been too stupid and was about to start feeling awkward, when You Lu grabbed her and pulled her into the private restroom of the office area.
Inside the restroom, You Lu looked a little uncomfortable.
"Lady Yunyang, have you perhaps heard of... dual cultivation?"
Yunyang: "..."
Dual cultivation—wasn't that a term from the cultivation novels she'd read in her past life?
If she remembered correctly, dual cultivation involved doing this and then that.
Seeing the blush creeping across Yunyang's face, You Lu knew she understood what dual cultivation meant.
She let out a sigh of relief and explained in a low voice: "If you want to recover psychic energy quickly, you need to enter your beast-husband's mental landscape and dual cultivate with his spirit body."
"The higher the genetic compatibility between your beast-husband and you, the stronger the effect of dual cultivation."
Yunyang's face was a picture of shock.
So dual cultivation was on a spiritual level?
Wasn't that a bit too intense?
Wait, no.
After the initial bashfulness passed, Yunyang's eyes turned suspicious.
"I can only send my psychic threads into my beast-husband's mental landscape. How am I supposed to... with his spirit body..."
You Lu's face grew even redder. She leaned in close to Yunyang's ear and whispered a few words.
·
After emerging from the restroom, the heat on Yunyang's face hadn't subsided.
Her five beast-husbands gathered around her with concern.
"Mate, are you feeling unwell?"
"No." Yunyang shook her head, too embarrassed to explain what she'd just heard.
Seeing that she seemed to be in good spirits, Qin Mo and the others didn't press further.
Only Fu Shiyi, without a word, scooped her up and set her down on the soft sofa in the office area.
You Lu was also seated on a sofa by her beast-husbands.
The two females sat side by side, and when they accidentally caught each other's eyes, both of their ears turned red.
Yunyang opened the star network to distract herself.
Watching her, You Lu remembered something and asked proactively: "Yunyang, what's your optical brain ID number?"
Perhaps because they'd just discussed something a bit too scandalous together, the two had grown much closer, already using each other's nicknames.
Yunyang pulled up the system page on her optical brain and exchanged IDs with You Lu.
After adding each other as friends, the two scrolled through the star network separately.
Their beast-husbands crowded around them, each with a clear division of duties to attend to them.
Half an hour later, after resting enough, the two left the purification tower together.
On the return shuttle, Qin Mo and the other three surrounded Yunyang completely, leaving no room for Pei Wenye to squeeze in.
Pei Wenye didn't need to guess to know that the four rival suitors were uniting to exclude him.
But he was his mate's lawful beast-husband, with the highest genetic compatibility with her—he was no outsider!
Since he couldn't get through in human form, Pei Wenye shifted into his form as the Little Black Flood Dragon, slithered through the gaps between the four rivals, crawled up to Yunyang's hand, and looped the tip of his tail around her wrist.
Seeing that black coil wrapped around their mate's fair wrist, the four beast-husbands' faces darkened.
Rong Jin reacted first, shifting into his Little Panda form and leaping onto Yunyang's lap in two bounds, claiming her embrace.
The Little Tiger Cub and Little Wolf Cub squeezed in as well.
Fu Shiyi's beast form wasn't advantageous, so he sat beside Yunyang, taking her hand and interlacing their fingers.
Surrounded by three bundles of fluff, Yunyang managed to free her other hand, stroking the tiger's head, pinching the wolf's ears, and giving the Little Panda a good rub.
For a sucker for fluffy things, this feeling was pure bliss!
Pei Wenye's tail tip stayed wrapped tightly around her, while Fu Shiyi watched her with a gentle, steady gaze.
Two hours later, the family of six returned to Yunyang's villa.
Xuan Yu and Fu Shiyi headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner, while Qin Mo and Rong Jin flanked Yunyang on the sofa, staring at Pei Wenye with appraising looks.
"Pei Wenye, where's your dowry?" That was Qin Mo.
"We all brought our entire fortunes to our mate when we came. You didn't forget yours, did you?" That was Rong Jin.
Facing the interrogation from his two rivals, Pei Wenye lowered his head in silence. "Forgive me, mate. Something... came up, and I wasn't able to prepare a dowry."
Earlier at the central star's purification tower, although Yunyang had been walking ahead with You Lu, she'd still caught the gist of the conversation between Pei Wenye and Yu Wenxu.
She was a little curious. "Is it an accident you can't tell me about?"
Pei Wenye shook his head immediately. He would never hide anything from his mate, but other people were a different matter.
He glanced at Qin Mo and Rong Jin.
Yunyang understood—this was something he couldn't say in front of the other beast-husbands.
But her curiosity was piqued, so she waved her hand decisively: "Pei Wenye sleeps with me tonight."
The two husbands on either side of her, plus the two in the kitchen, all turned to look at her the moment she said it.
Qin Mo said anxiously: "Mate, your heat cycle hasn't ended yet. You can't mark Pei Wenye."
Rong Jin's fluffy tail brushed against Yunyang's arm. "Mate, Pei Wenye's contamination levels are too high. It's not safe for him to sleep with you."
After saying that, Rong Jin added in a small voice: "And last time it was Xuan Yu—this time it should be one of us."
The Little Panda mentioning it reminded Yunyang of how, before her heat cycle, all four beast-husbands had taken turns with her...
Yunyang shot Rong Jin a glare.
"It's Pei Wenye. I'm still on my cycle, so what's there to fight over?!"
Rong Jin pursed his lips.
Even if nothing happened, just sleeping beside his mate would've been nice.
That black dragon got off easy!
