But this time, Du Yu didn't put up much of a fight.

Maybe it was dissatisfied with Du Yu slacking off—this time, the Fire Phoenix Tree didn't give him a tip.

So annoying!

After getting freeloaded, Du Yu was full of resentment, mumbling something like, "I'll strip your bark sooner or later," and then followed the aroma into the dining room.

He happened to see Fu Jianzhou putting the covers on the dishes and taking off his apron.

"Senior Brother Fu."

"Call Master Qing down to eat in a bit," Fu Jianzhou said as he hung up the apron and quickly tidied up the kitchen counter.

Du Yu looked puzzled. "Where are you going?"

Fu Jianzhou: "Master Qing said, once I finish cooking lunch, I should leave."

Du Yu: "..."

Poor Senior Brother Fu. Not only is he the chauffeur, now he has to be the cook too, and after making food, he's not allowed a bite?

"Junior Brother, I'm heading off now. Call me if you need anything."

Du Yu quickly trailed after Fu Jianzhou, following him through the corridor all the way to the elevator: "Take care, Senior Brother."

"Smack!"

Standing by the elevator, Fu Jianzhou gave Du Yu a hearty slap on the shoulder. "You've got talent and guts! I believe you'll catch up to me in no time. Keep it up!"

Looking at the blessing and anticipation written all over Fu Jianzhou's face, Du Yu just felt he was up to something.

If I catch up to you, then what?

So I'll take your place as Master Qing's chauffeur and cook?

Fu Jianzhou backed into the elevator, flashed Du Yu a bright smile, and waved goodbye.

Du Yu smacked his lips, then walked back to the wooden stairs at home, calling upward, "Master Qing, time to eat."

"Mm."

Hearing the woman's response, Du Yu turned and went to the dining room. Just as he was setting out the bowls and chopsticks, Yang Qingqing, dressed in an elegant robe, finally appeared at the doorway.

It was obvious—Master Qing really liked that royal style, and definitely loved green. From dark to light green, who knows how many robes she owned, changing them up daily.

Yang Qingqing sat down at the table and glanced at the Little Fire Fox. "Two tails now—she can start learning Earth-level Demon Skills."

"Yeah, I'll start training her next."

"But first, I'll teach you the Demon Tamer Journeyman Contract. That way, she can absorb even more energy from you. Also, you need to keep your mindset in check."

"What?" Du Yu looked confused.

Yang Qingqing: "During this round at the Shadow Gu Tower, you were basically the main force on the team. But as your Demon Pet evolves, it won't be long before your Demon Pet is the one protecting you.

The gap between races is terrifying. The Human Race's advantage is our intelligence, but in things like Demon Skills and physical prowess, we just can't match the Beast Race."

"Ying~" Xiaoyan seemed to understand what Master Qing said, jumped up happily, and proudly lifted her little furry head.

"That's fine by me," Du Yu grinned, turning to the smug Xiaoyan, "the stronger you get, the better."

"Heh." Yang Qingqing gave a light laugh. "If you and I had been born a few hundred years ago, I'd never say anything like this to you."

"Huh?"

Yang Qingqing: "Because back in the day, the battle power of the Human Race wasn't inferior at all to the Demon Beasts."

Du Yu suddenly realized that Yang Qingqing was so insistent on sending Senior Brother Fu away probably because she wanted to tell him something.

Yang Qingqing elegantly crossed her legs, tilted her body slightly. Layers of flowers and leaves behind her seamlessly merged into a chair back, letting her lean back comfortably.

"Where should I start..." She thought for a moment, then said, "Your Shadow Gu Tower story is, in a way, an origin story."

Du Yu nodded silently. Chapter One: 'Origin'?

Yang Qingqing: "It tells of how its master died tragically, and how it fell into evil hands."

She paused, then sighed. "What we didn't expect was that this origin story actually involves the Twin Trees—and it holds a top-secret message."

Du Yu: "That special Twin Trees?"

Yang Qingqing: "Yes, you noticed something off the moment you saw it and even asked me about it. Actually, that's the true, orthodox Twin Trees."

"Oh?" Du Yu raised his eyebrows. "The one I saw in the South Suburb Newbie Realm, one withered, one vibrant, wasn't the real deal?"

"It's the real deal, but it only ended up like that later. Long ago, all Twin Trees were alive—none of them withered."

Du Yu quickly asked, "Why did they become like this?"

Yang Qingqing thought for a bit and said, "During the hundred years of the 3rd century, the war between the Human Race and the Beast Race hit its fever pitch—the world was turned upside down.

We can't really trace all the details; all we have now are fragmented stories. Honestly, there's probably no one left who could tell the whole thing straight. Anyway, after the 4th century began, all the Twin Trees in this world changed form.

Both the ancient ones and the newly emerged Twin Trees all turned into what they are now."

Du Yu: "One dead, one alive?"

Yang Qingqing suddenly asked, "Why are the Twin Trees called 'Twin' Trees?"

Du Yu shook his head.

Yang Qingqing suddenly lifted her hand, and flower stalks twined together, recreating a model of the Twin Trees.

She explained, "One trunk of the Twin Trees is called the Demon Breath Tree.

It's the vibrant one now, constantly releasing Demon Beast Breath and nourishing Demon Beast life."

Yang Qingqing extended her finger and tapped the other entwined stalk. "The other trunk is called the Divine Tree.

That's the one that's withered now. It used to release Divine Spiritual Qi to nourish the Human Race."

Du Yu: "Nourished us humans?"

Yang Qingqing: "Demon Taming became humanity's desperate lifeline when our ancestors were cornered and on the brink of extinction.

Before the 3rd century, there were always Demon Tamers, but no one cared about them. Demon Tamers, back then, were seen as fringe occultists.

You probably can't imagine how deep the rift between humans and Demon Beasts ran at that time. Back then, our ancestors were all Spirit Masters."

Du Yu: "Spirit Masters!"

Slowly, a flower stalk reached out and gently tapped Du Yu's Spirit Ruins Acupoint on the left side of his chest. "Spiritual Qi—Spirit Master."

Du Yu just stared, mouth agape, unable to process all this. Not a hint of this could be found in history books or anywhere online.

Yang Qingqing's voice was a bit emotional. "Maybe, to end this endless war, the Twin Trees made a choice. Between the Human Race and the Beast Race, it abandoned us humans.

From then on, the tree that used to release Divine Spiritual Qi wilted away, while the one releasing Demon Beast Breath grew even more lush."

Du Yu: "So we humans… lost?"

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