As far as Tian Shu was concerned, only two words could describe Yu An: "courting death."

A nameless dread washed over him. If he had known things would escalate this far, he never would have come! 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The flow of time in the Upper Realm differed from that of the various lesser worlds. In the Upper Realm, both Tian Shu and the Pseudo Beast God, Tian Fu, were from the youngest generation of their family.

The Pseudo Beast God, Tian Fu, had been sent by the family to the Beastman World. Once he successfully completed his mission, he was set to become the Tian Family’s heir.

But having been away for so many years, he was completely out of touch with the family’s affairs and had no idea that the Tian Family already had a Young Master.

Tian Shu was the Young Master’s man. He was ostensibly assisting the Pseudo Beast God, Tian Fu, with his mission, but in reality, his job was to ensure that once the mission was complete, Tian Fu would be left behind here—permanently.

The mission wasn’t supposed to be difficult, which was why Tian Shu had fought so hard for the assignment. But who could have known it would turn into this mess!

’If only I had known... If only I had known not to touch the beastmen of the Endless Land! The Blood Crystals collected from the Beastman Continent and Beast God Continent alone were enough to meet the family’s quota.’

"It’s over..."

Tian Shu muttered.

’When the Heavenly Punishment appears and Yu An is brought before the Heaven and Earth Stone, it won’t just be me... The entire Tian Family will be finished!’

Seeing him collapse limply to the ground, Yu An averted her gaze and summoned the first-ranked Cloud Beast. "Little One, when the Heavenly Punishment takes me away, I’ll release all of you. Please, take good care of Little Wolf for me."

"If I don’t ever come back, take Little Wolf to Beast God City to find Feng Xuan. Tell him that I..."

She was about to leave her last words, but before she could finish, Little One formed a hand to scratch its head, then nudged against her in confusion. "But An’an, you’re not going to be taken away by the Heavenly Punishment."

It had been wanting to say something for a while but hadn’t found the chance.

Now that it had finally found an opening, it only managed to get a sentence out before the other Cloud Beasts swarmed over.

"Yeah, yeah! Why would we take you away?"

"An’an, An’an! I like it here! I don’t want to go back to the Heaven and Earth Stone! It’s so barren there, and not fun at all."

"Oh, I get it! An’an thinks she violated the administrator’s code and has to face the Heavenly Punishment, but we *are* the Heavenly Punishment!"

"Really? Really? Oh, yeah, yeah! I’m the Heavenly Punishment too! I almost forgot that’s who I am. I’m not gonna punish An’an, nope."

"If you’re not punishing her, then I’m not either."

"Since none of you are, I won’t either."

"..."

With so many Cloud Beasts speaking at once, Yu An felt as if she were surrounded by a flock of five thousand ducks. She paid the noise no mind, however; her attention was entirely fixed on what the Cloud Beasts were saying.

"You’re the Heavenly Punishment?!"

’How is that possible? They’re not Cloud Beasts... Wait.’

’The Beastman World has no such creature as a Cloud Beast. The Cloud Beasts have always been in the manor, and the manor itself is a spatial domain.’

’And that domain was a gift from the Heaven and Earth Stone. So, that means the Cloud Beasts are connected to the Heaven and Earth Stone, making it highly likely that they are, in fact, the Heavenly Punishment!’

’The Heavenly Punishment is, in essence, being struck by lightning. As it so happens, Cloud Beasts can also summon lightning.’

As she was thinking this, Little One conjured a bolt of lightning. Yu An silently sensed its power—it was truly the thunder of Heavenly Punishment.

Her earlier sense of heroic sacrifice vanished in an instant, replaced by the melancholy of not knowing how to quickly get to the Upper Realm.

The Cloud Beasts had said that they, um, didn’t know how to get back either.

"An’an, why don’t we ask this guy? He’s from the Upper Realm, so he should know, right?"

Little One was eager. "If he doesn’t talk, I’ll strike him with lightning! Xiao Er can drop hail on his head, and Xiao San can drench him like a drowned rat..."

The fluffy, cute white clouds instantly transformed into menacing dark thunderheads, muttering amongst themselves about how to extract useful information from Tian Shu.

He had just learned that he and his family wouldn’t have to die, but before he could even feel relieved, a rattling barrage of hail began to fall.

Tian Shu was pelted until he was covering his head and scurrying about like a frightened mouse. The pain on his body was nothing compared to the growing panic in his heart.

’These things that look so soft, cute, and harmless are actually the Heavenly Punishment! If they decide to get serious, will I even make it out of here alive?!’

Tian Shu was a selfish man. If he and his family had to die, they would die together. But if only one side could live... he would choose himself.

’Sure, if I reveal the family’s secrets, I’ll be hunted down. But what if there’s no one left in the family to hunt me?’

’Better you than me,’ he thought. ’And a wise man knows when to bend to the circumstances.’ He decisively chose to abandon his family to save his own skin!

"Stop! Stop it! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

With a wave from Yu An, the Cloud Beast, Xiao Er, immediately stopped. Tian Shu breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t immediately spill what Yu An wanted to know.

"Let’s go somewhere else," he said, forcing a strained smile. "Too many eyes and ears here."

’I can’t betray the family in public,’ he thought. ’I have to leave myself an escape route. If the family ends up on top, I can just claim everything I told Yu An was a lie.’

"Tian Shu, you dare betray the family!"

One of Tian Shu’s subordinates glared at him. Strictly speaking, they weren’t Tian Shu’s men, but the Young Master’s, only temporarily taking orders from Tian Shu.

The others chimed in, "If you dare reveal a single word, when we return to the family, we will implore the Family Head to purge the family of this filth!"

Tian Shu froze, not daring to move.

’The Young Master is the Family Head’s son, and these men are his trusted confidants. If it ever came down to it, the Young Master would surely believe them over me.’

"Tian Shu," Yu An said suddenly, "if you swear to the heavens that not a single word you are about to tell me is false, I will kill them for you right now."

"Once I have the answers I need, I’ll let you go. How about it?"

People from the Upper Realm did not make oaths lightly, because with the Heavenly Punishment in existence, vows really did come true.

Tian Shu’s eyes lit up. He was clever enough to hesitate for a moment before saying, "You have to swear an oath as well."

Yu An nodded. "Agreed."

To put Tian Shu’s mind at ease, she made her vow first. Tian Shu promptly did the same.

The moment the last word was spoken, Yu An produced a sword and, without the slightest hesitation, ran Tian Shu’s subordinates through.

Tian Shu cautiously checked for their breath, only relaxing after confirming they were all dead.

Yu An instructed Lu Yi to look after the people of Winter City, then led Tian Shu elsewhere. Lu Yi was just about to have the corpses carried away for disposal when several vines suddenly coiled around them and dragged them off.

"Alright, talk. What are those things you placed in eight locations around Winter City? And why does the light they emit turn people into these cubes?"

Tian Shu took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "We placed small Blood Arrays. They can turn people into Blood Crystals—which are those cubes you’re seeing."

"The family provided the Blood Arrays and gave me the mission. I honestly don’t know what the family wants with the Blood Crystals."

He timidly looked up. "My status in the family isn’t high. I’ve vaguely heard some rumors... I think it has something to do with spiritual power. Beyond that, I don’t know any details."

With the oath binding him, Yu An wasn’t worried about him lying. She pressed on, "How do you reverse it?"

Tian Shu shook his head. "I-I don’t know. I really don’t! How would a nobody like me know something so secret?"

Yu An asked doubtfully, "You were all inside Winter City at the time. If you’d been hit by the red light, wouldn’t you have turned into Blood Crystals, too?"

"Don’t forget the oath you swore."

As she spoke, Little One, who had tagged along, sent a bolt of lightning striking the ground at Tian Shu’s feet. Tian Shu jumped in fright.