Chapter 20: He Xiaoxiao

From the conversation between Xiong Da and Xiong Er, Zhai Guangyi vaguely pieced together the whole story.

It turned out that Xiong Da had been a girl in her previous life, while Xiong Er had been a boy, and the two had been a couple. Now, the lovers had ended up as siblings—truly a cause for celebration.

At that moment, Xiong Er emerged from the small wooden hut, wearing a dress made from animal skins mixed with flowers and green leaves. Paired with the small round bear ears on her head, she looked incredibly youthful, energetic, and adorable.

“Hahaha, Chen Dabai, if your buddy Zhai Guangyi were here, I’d definitely tell him all about it—how Chen Dabai, that tough guy, has turned into a cute girl now! I’m dying of laughter!”

Xiong Da was still clutching her stomach, rolling exaggeratedly on the grass.

“Damn it, I want to leave this world! I want to go back! I want to see my adorable He Xiaoxiao, not a man named Xiong Da!”

Xiong Er covered her small head, howling in agony.

“What’s wrong? I am your adorable He Xiaoxiao!”

Xiong Da suddenly sat cross-legged, batting her eyelashes at Xiong Er with a shy expression.

Xiong Er immediately started retching.

“Ugh, ugh, damn it. I never had a girlfriend like this. Thank goodness Zhai Guangyi isn’t here, or with his big mouth as an online keyboard warrior, my reputation would be ruined sooner or later.”

Sorry, buddy, but I’m right here.

As a tree, Zhai Guangyi silently took note of all this. If he ever got the chance, he would definitely mock this good friend mercilessly.

Zhai Guangyi also remembered that Xiong Er had been so scared when surrounded by Wind Demon Panthers that she had wet herself.

He never expected that the ones who had transmigrated here were actually his acquaintances. Zhai Guangyi suddenly felt a sense of familiarity toward Xiong Da and Xiong Er, but he wanted to hide his identity even more now.

At least they still looked human, while he was still a tree. What right did he have to laugh at them? Besides, things were fine as they were—at least they respected him as the Divine Tree now.

He Xiaoxiao was also Zhai Guangyi’s high school classmate. She and Chen Dabai had ended up attending the same prestigious university. He never expected the two of them to still be together after all these years.

Unlike Zhai Guangyi, who had been single for years, Chen Dabai was a muscular tough guy with excellent grades and a wealthy family—the epitome of success in many people’s eyes.

As for himself, he had been a shut-in for years, obsessed with anime and video games since childhood, rarely going out. Even in university, he often hid in his dorm room. Now that he had become a tree, he could avoid social interactions altogether—it was simply blissful.

If he were to turn human now, or if the two of them found out that this tree was Zhai Guangyi, it would be even more awkward. He didn’t want to be a third wheel.

Even though the two of them were arguing fiercely now, they still slept together at night—that was just playful bickering! Zhai Guangyi didn’t want to talk to them. It was better to just be a Divine Tree, respected and worshipped by others.

At that moment, Xiong Batian brought nine Storm Demon Wolves, all between Levels 18 and 20. They were relatively young and talented, including the Little Husky Two that Zhai Guangyi had healed earlier.

Its father seemed to have died while on patrol.

Zhai Guangyi’s naming skills really weren’t great. The Storm Demon Wolves ended up with names like Big Husky, Husky Two, Little Husky Two, Husky Three, Husky Four…

Among them, Zhai Guangyi paid special attention to that Little Husky Two and found that its talent was indeed quite impressive. While the others had only evolved into Storm Holy Wolves, it had transformed into a Holy Spirit Demon Wolf.

It also seemed more gifted in hunting compared to the other Storm Demon Wolves. To advance from Level 5 to Level 20 in just two months, it must have defeated many powerful Magical Beasts and possessed decent skills.

Race: Holy Spirit Demon Wolf (Little Husky Two)

Level: 20

Life Value: 1000

Magic Power: 250

Strength: 500

Defense: 100

Speed: 450

Skills: Storm Resistance Level 2, Gale Level 3, Holy Spirit Transformation Level 1, Magic Devour Level 1, Magic Resistance Level 1.

Blessed One: Nameless

Magic Devour appeared to be a very rare skill, capable of devouring others’ Magic to restore a small amount of one’s own Magic Power, provided the Magic released by the opponent was within the range one’s Magic Power could withstand.

Zhai Guangyi himself felt somewhat tempted just looking at it—this was truly an excellent Magic.

“Ding, detectable learnable skill: Magic Devour (50 points).”

Just as Zhai Guangyi thought this, the System’s prompt sounded. It was like receiving a pillow when drowsy.

However, Zhai Guangyi currently had no Skill Points to allocate. He was still very short on Followers and Magic Crystals! Without these, he couldn’t grow stronger. At his current level, he was still quite weak.

What if that City Lord of Banwang City suddenly had a brain lapse, refused peaceful coexistence, and directly attacked?

Zhai Guangyi needed more races like the Storm Demon Wolves to join his ranks of Followers.

He directly transmitted his voice to inquire of Xiong Batian.

“Are there any powerful tribes nearby? I want to expand my influence.”

Zhai Guangyi spoke quite directly with Xiong Batian, after all, Xiong Batian was a relatively honest and simple-minded Native. Their conversations wouldn’t be awkward, nor would they expose the fact that he was actually just an ordinary person and not some Divine Tree.

“Yes, there is a group of Goblins across the river to the south. They often harass the Wind Demon Panther Pack to the east.”

Xiong Batian answered truthfully. She paused to think for a moment, then continued.

“Behind the Northern Mountains to our north, there are also some fairly powerful Trolls.”

“Goblins, Wind Demon Panthers, Trolls… So there are Wind Demon Panthers living near us!”

Zhai Guangyi was somewhat surprised. These Wind Demon Panthers had previously come to harass them, but now they had basically become food for Xiong Batian and the others, with a few brought back to eat every day.

“Yes, they were frequently harassed by the Goblins before, so they wanted to cross the river and migrate to our side. But after failing, they settled there permanently. Besides the Goblins harassing them, I also take the Storm Demon Wolves to bother them.”

Xiong Batian raised her nose, speaking with a hint of pride.

“What do you think, is it possible for the Trolls to join us?”

Zhai Guangyi continued to inquire.

“Impossible. Trolls are inherently fond of battle and are only loyal to tribes stronger than themselves. Moreover, when encountering powerful tribes, they choose to fight madly until every one of them is defeated. Only then might they be conquered.”

Xiong Batian answered straightforwardly, seeming very familiar with the Trolls.

“What about tribes to the west?”

“There are, our Black Bear Clan. However, we were driven out by them, so I’m afraid I can’t help the Lord Divine Tree win them over.”

When Xiong Batian mentioned matters of the west, she seemed rather disinterested, so Zhai Guangyi did not press further. He decided it would be better to find another opportunity to learn more from Xiong Da and the others.