Animal-eared Girl Era: Start by Forming a Contract with an SSS-Class School Belle

This function was super practical.

Before, extracting rule fragments, you could just get them by slaying a fierce beast.

Now, extracting Law Core Fragments, you could get them directly by killing a law cultivator or a law-cultivating fierce beast.

It took three Law Core Fragments to synthesize a Law Core.

It seemed complicated, but was much easier than hunting desolate beasts.

When you killed a desolate beast, you had to wait until the desolate beast emerged from the Desolate Realm before you could kill it.

But when it came to law-related cultivators or demon beasts, there were countless numbers of them in the universe.

Spreading out his divine sense, Xiao Ye saw that the flame-red-haired Lu Xueqi was still squatting pitifully beside the rift in the Desolate Realm, waiting for the next desolate beast to show up.

Xiao Ye shook his head and withdrew his divine sense.

*There were a ton of great power-level desolate beasts lurking in the Desolate Realm.*

*If a great power-level desolate beast popped out, Lu Xueqi would be dead meat for sure.*

At this stage, his goal was to hunt fierce beasts above the Emperor Realm, collect Law Core Fragments, and synthesize a Law Core.

Also, he wanted the beast girls to keep training in the Space-Time Hall.

The Sovereign Realm had already started feeling a bit limited.

With a flash, he headed to the Ancestral Empress's manor in Wilderness Base City.

At that moment, the Time Empress was actually inside the Ancestral Empress's manor, sharing her excitement with her.

The Ancestral Empress stared at the Time Empress's pouting, swollen lips, widened her eyes, and gasped,

"Whoa, sis, did you eat a red-hot branding iron or something?"

"Why are your lips sticking out and swollen like that?"

The Time Empress rolled her eyes, "You're the one who ate a branding iron. My lips got swollen because someone kissed them."

"Yeah, that someone was the Human Emperor."

"The Human Emperor said he liked me, and really, really rewarded me. See, my puffy lips here, those are his marks."

"Hee hee!"

As she kept talking, the Time Empress laughed with happiness.

*The Ancestral Empress was utterly shocked.*

*How long did they kiss for? How intense did it have to be, to kiss someone's mouth till it was this swollen?*

"Hey, wait up!"

"Did you say the Human Emperor kissed you so hard you got swollen?"

The Ancestral Empress finally reacted, her beautiful eyes lighting up as she spoke.

The Time Empress proudly lifted her chin, "Yup! This Empress is just that charming, totally had the Human Emperor wrapped around my finger. He kissed me for a whole hour before he let go."

"Heh heh, Human Emperor, all mine."

The Ancestral Empress exclaimed, "Wow, sis, you're amazing!"

"So, did you get the boss's approval then?"

The Time Empress's smile froze, "Nope."

"I haven't gone to the boss yet."

"I still haven't figured out how to explain it."

"If I just run in, what if I piss her off? That would really suck."

Just then, Xiao Ye appeared behind the Time Empress.

The Ancestral Empress stood up gracefully and said, "Husband, you're here."

Panic flashed in the Time Empress's eyes.

*Oh no, was the Human Emperor going to kiss her again?*

*She couldn't take it anymore.*

Xiao Ye hugged the Ancestral Empress and kissed her on the cheek, saying,

"Let's go eat over at Huangfu Xiangling's place together."

"I'll spend the whole day with you guys."

"Tomorrow, I've got stuff to do."

The Ancestral Empress nodded, "Sure."

The Time Empress softly asked, "Human Emperor, what about me?"

Xiao Ye glanced at her and said, "You should go see Bingxi. Yesterday, I married the Ancestral Empress and Huangfu Xiangling, so today, I need to spend time with them. It wouldn't be right for you to join in."

"Anyway, Grandpa Dean is the matchmaker who pulled us all together. Bingxi and the others shouldn't mind you. Just bring up Grandpa Dean if you need to."

The Time Empress nodded, ready to leave.

"Wait up!" Xiao Ye called out, "Heal your lips before you go. If you show up like that, Bingxi and the others will definitely think I two-timed them."

"Okay." The Time Empress was a little reluctant—this was the mark of her first kiss with the Human Emperor, after all.

But since the Human Emperor had spoken, she could only comply.

It was just some swelling anyway. She used her energy to heal her poor, battered lips, restoring them in a millisecond to that smooth, natural, and sexy look.

Now, they didn't look like they'd been attacked by a branding iron.

The Time Empress headed out of the manor. The City Lord's Mansion was nearby, and she would walk there. Before going, though, she needed to prepare some gifts.

It wasn't about how valuable the gifts were—it was the thought that counted…

Xiao Ye took the Ancestral Empress's hand and brought her into the big manor next door.

These new manors were all built around the City Lord's Mansion, pretty close together.

The big manor next door was where Huangfu Xiangling's family lived.

Even before going in, Xiao Ye and the Ancestral Empress could smell the unique scent of rice being cooked over a wood fire, with that earthy, smoky aroma—really something special.

Voices of surprise rang from inside the manor.

"Xiangling, just wait for us in the living room. You've got such delicate skin, and you don't even know how to cook over a fire. Look at you, your face is all smudged with soot."

"Yeah, cooking is my and your stepmom's specialty. Back in the day, the Huangfu Clan only hired us as maids because of our skills in the kitchen."

"Hmph, your mom and I might not serve up imperial banquets, but our home-cooked dishes taste every bit as good as one."

"Stepmom, Mom, I want to learn how to cook too! If I get good at it, I can make food for Xiao Ye. I could be a good wife, you know? He'd work hard outside, I'd stay home, cook, and keep the house clean—hee hee."

"Nonsense! Since when does a Great Emperor have to stay home and cook? You should stand by your husband and battle out there with him."

"That's right, that's right. Since when do men earn money and women only look pretty? In the beast girl era, we all fought, trained, and grew together. Us women should pull our weight, just like the men."

"Come on, I was just joking. Don't gang up on me."

Xiao Ye and the Ancestral Empress stood at the door, quietly listening to Huangfu Xiangling chat and joke with her mom and stepmom.

The two exchanged a smile, understanding each other's amusement.

*Huangfu Xiangling, who'd missed out on a warm childhood, finally had a loving family now—a family with really solid values, too.*

*The two of them were genuinely happy for Huangfu Xiangling.*

"Hey, Xiao Ye, you're here?"

Huangfu Xiangling, her face totally blackened from the smoke, bounded out with happiness and threw herself into Xiao Ye's arms, rubbing her sooty cheeks all over his chest.

Xiao Ye watched as she absentmindedly smeared soot all over his clothes and said, a bit helpless,

"Xiangling, I came with the Ancestral Empress to have dinner with you guys, maybe catch up."

"You guys don't mind, right?"

Huangfu Xiangling looked up, her small face now sparkling clean, and pouted,

"What do you mean 'don't mind'? This is your home, you know!"

"You're my husband. The Ancestral Empress is my sister. Come whenever you want—it's all family here!"

Xiao Ye and the Ancestral Empress laughed.

They headed into the living room.

Huangfu Xiangling's mom and stepmom carried in bowls and plates of rustic dishes, setting them on the table.

"Son-in-law, you and Xiangling keep chatting. The food will be ready soon," said his mother-in-law with a smile.

Xiao Ye nodded.

Soon, the table was full of those unique country-style dishes, a dozen plates in all—specialties from the Imperial Capital's rural surroundings.

Xiao Ye and the Ancestral Empress had a great meal with Huangfu Xiangling's family, sharing a few drinks with her mom and stepmom, too.

The dinner was quickly finished in a cozy, heartwarming atmosphere.