Lady Ji hesitated, then nodded. She had witnessed Goku's power firsthand—the strongest being of this age. Even Donghuang Taiyi of the Yin–Yang School could not compare. Donghuang Taiyi was formidable, yes, but slicing the entire roof off a royal audience hall with a single stroke? Impossible.
Since Goku was acting for her daughter's sake, she would not refuse.
"It seems the young lady's birth will shake the world," the High Priestess murmured in awe. To be nurtured personally by Lord Goku—what kind of prodigy would this child become? She knew the truth: Goku was a god who walked among mortals. A child shaped by a god… the thought alone was terrifying.
Just then, Xiao Xiuxiu, the Pixiu curled beside Lady Ji, bounded into Goku's arms, licking his hand and patting its own belly with its forepaws—adorable beyond words.
"Xiao Xiuxiu seems hungry," Xiao Li said quietly.
Goku turned his hand, and a chunk of millennium cold-iron appeared in his palm. At the sight, Xiao Xiuxiu's eyes gleamed; drool pooled at its lips. It snapped up the ingot, hopped onto the table, and—under Xue Nu and Lady Ji's stunned stares—began crunching away as if it were a carrot.
"T-that's millennium cold-iron… and it's eating it?" Xue Nu pointed, astonished. That iron was unimaginably hard, yet under those neat little teeth it crumbled like a root vegetable. She was at a loss for words.
"Pixiu are ancient divine beasts; they feed on refined metals," Xiao Li explained. "Nothing strange about that. Though thanks to Goku… its teeth are even sharper than a normal Pixiu's."
"'Not strange,' you say…" Xue Nu exhaled, then sighed. "But feeding it millennium cold-iron—isn't that excessive? Who could afford such a pet?"
"I can," Goku said mildly. "Shame it can't manage ten-thousand-year cold-iron yet. Otherwise I'd feed it that."
He was a Sovereign—precious materials could be created ex nihilo by bending the rules.
Xue Nu and Lady Ji stared at him, speechless. The longer they followed Goku, the more unfathomable he became. Each time they thought they understood him, reality overturned their assumptions—their knowledge was only the tip of an iceberg.
---
Deep into the night, they left Lady Ji's room and retired.
As the High Priestess slipped into Goku's room after him, Xue Nu's brows knit for a moment.
Passing by, Xiao Li said evenly, "If you can't accept other women at his side, you should leave. Goku's status is… beyond what you can imagine. He isn't someone a single person can 'claim.'" With that, she disappeared into her room.
Xue Nu's gaze lingered on Goku's closed door, her expression smoothing back to calm. "A status beyond imagination… interesting. Goku, you only make me more curious." She pushed open her own door and went in.
Inside, Goku watched the High Priestess straighten his bedding and shook his head. "Once you were a lofty High Priestess; now you're folding quilts for me. Don't you feel wronged? I've told you—you don't have to."
She shook her head, eyes steady. "Serving you is my honor."
"Because of my status?" he asked.
She nodded—then shook her head.
"Because the goddess ordered it?"
Another nod… and another shake.
"Then why?" he sighed.
Her eyes flickered; she fell silent, shaking her head again.
"Talking with you is exhausting," Goku muttered, flopping into a chair like a lord. "Forget it. Fetch some water—I want to wash my feet."
"You're not returning to your own world tonight?" she asked.
"Not tonight. I'm going to hold you and sleep," he said lightly. He had already adjusted the time flow of his world; a decade here would be only days there.
"Ah? I—" Color flooded her face. "That… I… um…"
"If you don't want to, just say so."
"It's not that…"
"Then it's settled."
"I… I understand." Flustered, she bowed her head in acquiescence.
Goku chuckled. "Relax. I'm teasing. Go draw the water."
"Just teasing…" She exhaled in relief—though a tiny, complicated disappointment stirred before she pushed it aside and left.
Warm water steamed around Goku's ankles as her soft hands worked with gentle care. No wonder nobles liked being attended—there was something dangerously pleasant about it.
When she finished and slipped out, closing the door carefully—as if afraid he'd pull her back into bed—Goku sat on the edge of the mattress instead of sleeping. He had only recently broken through; it was time to savor the new realm and higher spatial laws.
He also carried a large share of Sovereign Force gifted by the goddess at their parting. The Dimensional God-Orb had absorbed it and was now feeding higher-order rule-power back to him—a bounty he had yet to fully comprehend.
The pearl floated before him, gleaming. It was a treasure indeed, saturated with the rules of a Dimensional Deity—but to gain from it required exchanging other Sovereign Forces.
At first, Goku hadn't understood why. Now he did: the Dimensional God sought to use his hands to recover strength. It was a transaction—Goku received the rule-power he desired; the god hastened his awakening from slumber.
He sealed the room with a barrier; no one could see in.
Near three in the morning, a piercing scream split the night.
"Ahhh! A lecher—someone stop the panty-thief!"
A woman's voice—sharp enough to wake the dead. The entire inn erupted in chaos.
"A panty-thief? Where?"
"Beat him to death! Nothing's worse than a panty-thief!"
"Back courtyard! He's running that way!"
The racket didn't touch Goku. His seal cut off all outside disturbance; only if danger threatened the women—each marked with his protective sigil—would he sense it.
Just then, a shadow appeared at his window. The latch lifted; a figure slipped through—
"Ah—!"
A scream choked off into a thud. The intruder had sprinted headfirst into Goku's invisible spatial wall—as if he'd slammed into a stone cliff. He crumpled to the floor, blood seeping from his brow, and lay still.
It was only a privacy barrier, but the rebound was no joke. Lucky for him he hadn't killed himself outright.
With the commotion inside, Goku canceled the seal and rose. One glance at the black-clad, masked figure and the shouts outside told him everything.
"A panty-thief? You have guts breaking into my room." Heat sparked in his eyes. He stepped forward and drove a swift kick straight into the intruder's groin. "I hate scum like you most of all."
A muffled grunt—clean contact.
Goku froze. "Huh? …Nothing there?" Cold sweat beaded on his brow. Don't tell me—
"Could be a eunuch," he muttered, crouching to check.
---
He rolled the body over and reached for the mask—when the "man's" figure twisted strangely. The once-flat chest swelled before his eyes.
"…So it's a girl." Goku wiped his forehead, a wry pang of guilt surfacing. He had just kicked her there. Even unconscious, her brows were pinched with pain.
He was about to pull down the veil when his door suddenly swung open.