Chapter 47: The Divine Beast's Honor Challenged

"Feng Yu, you're back? Where is the Divine Phoenix?" Feng Xiao asked about Chier the moment he saw his son.

"Chier and his mother are resting in the treehouse I used to live in," Feng Yu replied, offering a respectful bow to his father before finding a seat.

"You brought his mother back with you as well? The Elders sent someone to Luyu to make inquiries, and everyone there expressed extreme dissatisfaction with this female. The Council's decision is that you and the Divine Phoenix may stay, but that female must leave," Feng Xiao said expressionlessly as he conveyed the Council's decree.

"Father, are you joking? How do you expect a female to survive out there on her own?" Feng Yu looked at his father in utter disbelief, feeling profoundly grateful that he had come to see him alone. If Qiyue had heard those words, how mortifying it would have been for her.

"The Council's stance is that the Divine Phoenix must remain within the tribe. If you are worried about Chier, you may stay as well; if you aren't, you are free to leave with that female. She is an outsider and was never meant to stay in the tribe in the first place. Besides, her reputation is quite poor. The Council advises you to break the bond and find another female within the clan." Influenced to varying degrees by the circulating rumors, Feng Xiao did not look favorably upon Qiyue either.

"Heh, Father, did you know? The bonding ceremony between Qiyue and me was ancient and sacred; it cannot be broken." Feng Yu had never been more thankful for his impulsive decision back then.

Upon hearing this, Feng Xiao frowned and rebuked angrily, "Feng Yu, how could you be so foolish? If that is the case, you will have to wait until she dies before you can take another female."

"Heh, Father, our vow is one of shared life—to live and die together." Feng Yu inwardly praised his own brilliant foresight even more. This completely blocked his father's arguments; no one could possibly tear their partnership apart now.

"You..." Feng Xiao was at a loss for words. What kind of magic did that female possess to make his usually mature and steady son go to such lengths?

"Father, the rumors in Luyu are entirely untrustworthy. I have lived with her for half a year, and she is a rare and precious female who has never been with any male other than me. You must believe me! Furthermore, Chier will not stay in the tribe; wherever his mother is, that is where he will be. You cannot tear mother and son apart," Feng Yu stated firmly.

"While I can understand your perspective, the elders and the clansmen will never agree to it," Feng Xiao said, furrowing his brow.

"Father, Qiyue and Feng Chi are not members of the Fengyan tribe; we only came back to visit you. If this place has no room for them, we will leave immediately," Feng Yu declared with absolute finality.

"I am afraid they won't let you leave that easily. Aren't you worried they might do something to harm Qiyue?" Feng Xiao asked with deep concern.

"I am not worried about that. However, since the clan holds such an attitude, shouldn't we leave as soon as possible? Will Father come with me to meet his mother and child?" To prevent any complications that might arise from staying too long, leaving early was the safest course of action.

"Very well, I certainly cannot bring myself to tear a mother and child apart," Feng Xiao said as he stood up and accompanied Feng Yu to his dwelling.

Meanwhile, inside Feng Yu's dwelling, a group of females led by Feng Zhu were cursing their mates, while Qiyue sat calmly holding Feng Chi, a cold sneer playing at the corners of her lips and an unmasked impatience in her eyes.

Feng Chi glared with bloodshot eyes, staring angrily at the females as flickers of fire began to manifest in his gaze. If not for his mother telling him to ignore them and keeping him tightly embraced, he would have long since burned them to ashes.

The dignity of a divine beast could not be provoked, let alone having one's mother insulted. He merely left a single thought in his mind for his father: *The dignity of the divine beast has been challenged.*

The moment Feng Yu stepped out of his father's hut, he sensed his son's bloodline resonance. Seized with anxiety, he instantly transformed and flew back at top speed. Left with no choice, Feng Xiao also transformed and followed closely behind.

To his surprise, before they even reached the hut, he saw a crowd of females gathered outside, with several phoenixes hovering in the chaos of the mid-air. Angry shouts were echoing from within his dwelling.

Seeing the Chieftain and the Young Chieftain arrive, the crowd subconsciously fell silent, parting a path in the air for them to pass through.

Noticing Feng Yu's return, Qiyue maintained her cold sneer and taunted, "You're back, Yu? Your Fengyan tribe's hospitality is truly extraordinary! Are these females meant to be part of the harem your tribe has prepared for you to favor? There are quite a lot of them! Does your clan have an abundance of females, allowing one male to be matched with several?"

Feng Yu sensed that his little companion was angry; she had never used such an expression or tone with her before. Right now, his only option was to play along and let her vent her frustration, or else he would be the one suffering later. "Of course not! We practice monogamy here as well, and I have nothing to do with them."

"Oh! Is that so? Then why does your Fengyan tribe have so many shameless females who fancy snatching already-mated males? Look at these twisted, jealous faces—truly hideous! Chier, when you look for a female in the future, you must never pick one this ugly. It would deeply offend your mother's eyes," Qiyue said, gesturing forward.

"Mother, Chier will certainly not find such an ugly female. Chier will definitely find one that Mother likes," Chier replied, cooperating with his mother as he watched the expressions of those females drain of color.

"What a good boy," Qiyue said, planting a rewarding kiss on Feng Chi's little cheek.

"Yu, the females in your tribe are so casual, entering a male's dwelling without the owner's permission. Do they always act like this? If they happened to stumble upon an orc completely naked, I wonder if they'd even feel ashamed?" *If you are going to make things difficult for me, nobody gets to have peace,* Qiyue thought. She no longer had any reason to fear them; at worst, they would simply sever all ties and part ways.

"Yue, I am sorry. It's just a few senseless ones in the tribe, and you had to run into all of them," Feng Yu said apologetically as he sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

Their words turned the faces of the surrounding females green with humiliation and rage. Unable to endure the shame, several of the younger females burst into tears and fled outside. Aside from Feng Xiao who had followed behind, there remained only one female dressed in red beast-skin inside the hut. Among the females who had just been present, her appearance was quite striking: her skin was slightly lighter than the females of the Luyu tribe, and she possessed a head of long golden hair, with large golden eyes filled with pride, disgust, and fury.

Feng Yu looked at her in confusion. "Why aren't you leaving?"

"Are you chasing me away?" the female retorted.

This female was Feng Yu's former mate, Feng Zhu. From the very first moment she laid eyes on Qiyue, she had disliked her. Not only was she younger and prettier than herself, but there was also Qiyue's outsider status, the rumors about her gathered by the clansmen from the Luyu tribe, and most importantly, Qiyue had given birth to a fire phoenix with a bloodline even purer than Feng Bing's. This made the reason for her own broken bond seem utterly ridiculous; her appearance made others think she lacked the powerful bloodline to propagate a fire phoenix. Jealousy, disdain, and mortification combined meant Feng Zhu's hatred for Qiyue had reached an extreme level.