Lan Yue was beautiful, yes. Gentle too. But compared to Su Qinglan... she became completely dull.

Even while pretending to be timid, her eyes still carried confidence. Especially when she looked at people. It was as though she did not fear anyone, not even him.

Rong Yanchen slowly leaned back against the chair. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"And they actually sent her away..."

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.

Why else would Su Mingxuan live separately from Wang Mulan for so many years?

Clearly they had hidden their daughter in some remote tribe deliberately so he would never find her.

His lips curled coldly. "They really treated me like a fool."

A murderous aura flashed through his eyes. But soon, that anger slowly turned into obsession.

Now he no longer cared about the past. He only wanted one thing, and that was her, Su Qinglan.

Over these days, he had already observed her household clearly.

She had four mates. The thought alone made his chest tighten painfully. His fingers clenched hard against the chair until cracks appeared.

That female...

How could she actually accept four mates?

His breathing became heavier. The image of her swollen belly flashed in his mind.

And suddenly, an unbearable irritation spread through his chest.

No. He hated it. She should belong only to him. His eyes became increasingly dark and twisted.

"She was already mine from birth..."

He muttered coldly.

"She is my mate."

His mate. His childhood fiancée. The female destined for him. But now she already had such a large family around her.

And those males... Rong Yanchen’s gaze became colder. One by one, he recalled them.

The wolf beastman, who was only early seventh rank, yet unexpectedly sturdy. Then that tiger beastman, Hu Yan, who was seventh rank.

Both were decent fighters, but to Rong Yanchen, they were nothing worth fearing.

After all, he himself already stood at the pinnacle of eighth rank. Just one step away from becoming a true overlord.

Those two alone were not enough to threaten him.

But then... his thoughts paused on another figure.

Shi Feng. The lion beastman. Rong Yanchen’s eyes narrowed slightly. That man was troublesome.

A beastman from some lowly remote tribe should never have reached the peak of seventh rank so young.

Especially without enormous resources. Everyone knew advancement after fifth rank became extremely difficult. Pure fighting alone was no longer enough.

One needed treasures, resources, rare herbs, crystal cores. Without them, progressing further was almost impossible.

Yet Shi Feng had still reached this stage. Rong Yanchen could not understand it.

Even he himself had relied on countless precious resources from the Nine Tailed Fox Clan to become this powerful.

But Xuan Long... he clearly possessed terrifying talent.

Still... Rong Yanchen remained confident.

Peak seventh rank was still peak seventh rank. No matter how much those beastmen improved, the difference between them and him was still enormous.

In his eyes, they were merely struggling prey trying to stand before a predator far above them. The gap in strength was something they could never easily cross.

But then...

His expression slowly darkened once more.

That snake.

The moment Rong Yanchen recalled the quiet snake beastman standing beside Su Qinglan, a strange vigilance immediately surfaced in his eyes.

That man was different.

At first glance, he almost looked harmless, like an ordinary beastman who could disappear into a crowd without attracting attention. Yet Rong Yanchen knew better. He still remembered the terrifying scene from that day at the city gate with absolute clarity.

That suffocating pressure.

The overwhelming force had descended without warning, almost crushing everyone present beneath it.

The weaker beastmen could barely breathe, while others instinctively lowered their heads in fear. For a brief moment, it had felt as though death itself had quietly arrived.

Even Rong Yanchen had sensed danger.

A female like Su Qinglan was simply too dazzling.

It was only natural that powerful males would gather around her like beasts instinctively surrounding a precious treasure. Just imagining those males staying beside her day after day caused Rong Yanchen’s expression to become colder and colder.

Especially after remembering her stomach again.

And those cubs.

Those three little cubs clinging to her while calling her "mother" so affectionately.

The image replayed endlessly inside his mind like sharp blades repeatedly stabbing into his chest.

Every time he remembered it, an unbearable irritation surged violently through him. His breathing gradually became rough, while something dark and uncontrollable spread inside his heart.

It grew wildly, almost swallowing his rationality whole.

"No..."

He muttered coldly into the silent night.

"I won’t allow it."

At that moment, his eyes were filled with frightening darkness.

He would never share his female with other males.

Never.

Even if...

Even if he had to kill every single one of them.

The thought surfaced naturally in his mind without the slightest hesitation, as though it were the most reasonable thing in the world.

To Rong Yanchen, those beastmen were utterly unworthy of standing beside her anyway. If they disappeared completely, then Su Qinglan would eventually have no choice but to accept reality and stay obediently by his side.

As for the cubs...

His gaze turned utterly emotionless. He could simply wait until she gave birth.

Afterward...

Those cubs could easily be sold away into the slave markets. He did not care what happened to them.

As long as Su Qinglan remained beside him in the future, nothing else mattered.

Rong Yanchen slowly stood up from where he had been sitting. Under the moonlight, his tall figure cast a long shadow across the floor. The cold night wind entered through the open window, causing his black robes to flutter violently in the darkness.

Yet his expression remained terrifyingly calm.

Which only made him appear even more frightening.

The silence in the room stretched for a long time before a low chuckle suddenly escaped his lips.

"Lan Lan..."

He whispered her name slowly, almost tenderly, as though savoring every syllable on his tongue.

His dark eyes carried terrifying possessiveness as he stared into the endless night.

"You can only belong to me."