As soon as this thought emerged, even he was startled.
His heartbeat involuntarily sped up, and his gaze naturally became complex.
His heavy gaze fell upon Selene’s lower abdomen.
Selene immediately sensed his gaze, her heart tightening as she exaggeratedly covered her belly with her hand, striking a highly defensive pose.
"Don’t get any ideas, I’m not going to give birth to your children."
She glared at him after she finished speaking.
Caleb saw her bracing herself as if faced with an enemy, and fell silent.
After a while, he slowly lowered his eyes, his lips twitching as he spoke in a husky tone.
"I was overthinking."
There was a hint of self-mockery in his voice, along with a touch of disappointment.
Today, Joni wore a formal dress, its hem embroidered with vine patterns in silver thread, with a delicate beast skin belt cinching her waist.
She was supposed to see an important elder to discuss the improvement of drugs and had applied a thin layer of protective medicinal powder on her face to avoid allergies.
But just as she arrived at the intersection, she was stopped by this female and her companion.
The atmosphere between the two was so intense that even the air seemed to freeze.
Unable to avoid, the corner of her dress accidentally brushed the muddy water by the roadside.
The originally white hem instantly got stained with a gray-brown smudge.
She looked down at it with distress, her brow tightly furrowed.
This dress was something she had exchanged for after saving up points for several months.
It symbolized her status in the Apothecaries’ Guild, and now it was ruined like this.
"I don’t care what you do," she gritted her teeth, "I need to leave now, move aside."
She didn’t want to waste time here.
She clung tightly to the medicine bottle in her hand, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Inside the bottle was the newly developed pain-relieving potion, incredibly precious.
If spilled, the consequences would be unimaginable.
She stubbornly stared at the female opposite her.
But when her gaze met Selene’s depthless eyes, her heart suddenly clenched.
Those eyes were too cold, too calm, as though they could see through one’s soul.
She involuntarily turned her head away, not daring to look directly any longer.
"This thing I bought with a lot of Star Coins; it’s mine, and no matter what you say, I’m not handing it over."
"It seems there’s no other way."
The female’s face suddenly turned cold.
Before she finished speaking, a powerful spiritual wave suddenly spread from her body.
"It’s actually A-level spiritual power!"
The surrounding males instantly erupted.
The crowd whispered a moment ago fell silent.
Then they burst out with barely concealed exclamations.
Their gazes turned fiery, wishing they could rush forward and embrace the female immediately.
A female with A-level spiritual power was extremely rare in the entire Star Sector.
If they could form a spiritual contract with such a female.
Not only would their mental state be greatly stabilized, avoiding potential future spiritual rampages.
More importantly, any offspring could possibly inherit her talent, producing children with A-level aptitude!
This was not just an emotional union.
It was a turning point of destiny, a chance for countless low-ranking males to finally rise up.
For those struggling on the edge of B-level, fighting mental disorders day after day.
It was like a heaven-sent opportunity.
Joni’s face turned pale like paper at that instant.
Although she was a Spiritual Power User with an A-level.
In the entire A-level hierarchy, she barely made it into the ranks.
Her strength was only slightly stronger than B-level, and when truly facing high-rank A-levels, she had no power to resist.
"You... what do you mean? Do you plan to use force to take it?"
She bit her lower lip hard, the taste of blood spreading between her lips and teeth, bearing the intense pain coming from within her body.
Refusing to let her knees give in.
But the oppressive feeling grew stronger, making even breathing difficult.
"I... will never give this to you, even if it costs my life!"
The female opposite her narrowed her eyes coldly, her tone sinking completely.
"I have already given you plenty of face, and my attitude was decent. Don’t be unappreciative; today, I must take this thing."
"To you, it has absolutely no benefit and keeping it is just a waste! I’m willing to pay ten times the price to buy it, which is already generous. What more do you want? Do you have to force me to a dead end before you’re satisfied?"
Joni’s voice was already hoarse.
Finally, under continuous pressure from the other side.
She could no longer hold up, suddenly spitting out a mouthful of hot blood.
The scarlet blood mist drew an arc in the air.
Then her entire body knelt heavily, both knees striking the hard ground.
Her orange hair glimmered faintly red under the afternoon sunlight.
The blood on her lips was not yet dry, sliding slowly along her chin.
Many males upon seeing this scene showed expressions of pity and sympathy.
But as they took a step forward, they were firmly pulled back by old soldiers or companions next to them.
"Don’t go! Don’t act rashly! She is a Spiritual Power User with A-level; approaching recklessly, your mental defenses might be shattered by her aura directly! At best, you’ll faint; at worst, you’ll become a fool, never waking up!"
Joni’s hand still clutched that small medicine bottle tightly.
Even though she was already kneeling on the ground, her body trembling violently.
She did not let go for even a moment.
"I... won’t give it to you..."
She gasped for air, each word speckled with blood foam.
"How can you be certain... it’s useless to me? You simply... simply don’t know what it means..."
The female completely lost patience, her gaze growing icily cold.
"You are from the Canary Clan, born to sing from within a cage, while I am from the Butterfly Clan, possessing powerful spiritual perception. This potion containing pure floral fragrance can nourish my spiritual power, repairing cracks caused by overuse. But for you, smelling it at most makes you think the scent is pleasant, elevating your mood, without any substantial use; what meaning is there in keeping it?"
Although the Butterfly Clan’s spiritual power is strong, they are regarded as one of the few species in the Universe with the ability to resonate minds.
But precisely because of this, their daily life is also extremely difficult.
Every female from the Butterfly Clan must simultaneously form spiritual contracts with multiple Beast Husbands to maintain their group’s reproduction and power inheritance.
And daily soothing those emotionally volatile, wild, untamed Beast Husbands requires consuming a vast amount of spiritual power.
In the long run, the mental burden is heavy, often feeling exhaustion, even experiencing symptoms such as mental instability or consciousness blur.
And their means of restoring mental strength is exceptionally unique.
They must rely on the pure floral fragrance in nature to soothe nerves and regulate the frequency of brain waves.
Yet in this era of resource depletion and severe environmental degradation, genuine flowers have nearly vanished.
The remaining plants have mostly undergone radiation mutations.
Not only are their forms distorted, but even the most basic fragrance has faded completely.
The upper society does have artificially cultivated flowers, reviving a few classical blooms in appearance and scent through genetic optimization and constant-temperature greenhouse technology.
But these cultivated items are exceedingly scarce.