Housekeeper Qiao could already imagine an epic love-hate saga between Lord Locke and Ms. Zhi Zhi, one nearly a million words long.
The Empire's public testing day was held as scheduled.
On this day, all females within the territory were required to participate.
It was just like how males had to begin testing their Strength at the summer solstice.
In the Valoran Empire, a male's Strength represented everything.
The more powerful a male was, the more naturally he could climb to a higher position.
For females, however, Fertility was the main factor in their grading.
On this day, Yu Zhizhi changed into the light blue, princess-style long dress the Housekeeper had sent over.
Lisa was helping her adjust the petticoat. She bent over, carefully and considerately lowering the tiered, cake-like hem of the dress.
A male servant stood at the door, holding a pair of diamond-encrusted shoes.
After Lisa finished arranging the skirt, he walked forward and knelt on both knees. "Ms. Zhi Zhi, please extend your right foot."
With Lisa's support, Yu Zhizhi gently lifted her right leg.
The male servant gently slipped the shoe on her foot.
He saw that the shoes fit her perfectly, and his movements paused for a moment.
Lisa coughed to remind him.
The male servant frantically bowed his head, his beast ears trembling slightly. "I'm sorry, Ms. Zhi Zhi! I shouldn't have wasted your time!"
He recalled a colleague who had once served a young lady of the Leopard Clan. For not putting on her jewelry correctly, he was whipped fifty times and died of a high fever on a stormy night.
The Empire's high-Level females were known for being arrogant and domineering.
To them, the lives of commoners, whether male or female, were worthless!
Relatively speaking, female servants had it a bit better...
This was because the lowest-Level females were all sent to the Female Cave or to various slaughtering grounds to be hunted as prey.
Those who could become servants in the great families, however, came from decent backgrounds and had a Comprehensive Rating of at least C.
C-Level females had an extremely low probability of conceiving, but it wasn't Zero.
It might take them many, many years...
But as long as they possessed some Fertility, they wouldn't have to suffer in the Female Cave. They could work as servants, attending to the young ladies and madams of the family.
Seeing how frightened he was, Yu Zhizhi gently reassured him, "It's alright. I was just admiring the shoe."
The male servant lifted his head in a daze.
He saw that the young lady before him had a sweet smile—not a cold, contemptuous sneer, but a sincere, innocent warmth that reached her eyes.
A whimper escaped him—
'If today wasn't such an important day, he really wanted to change into his Beast Form, turn back into a little Hamster, and roll around at Ms. Zhi Zhi's feet.'
'How long has it been since I've seen such a cute and gentle female master!'
'If Ms. Zhi Zhi just smiles, this little hamster would give his life for her!'
Once everything was ready, Yu Zhizhi left the castle under Housekeeper Qiao's guidance.
The K family's territory was the size of an island. The place used for testing Levels was called the Blue Divine Tower.
This area was located in the northwest corner of the territory and consisted of four Black Divine Towers. In the center, surrounded by the towers, was a place resembling an altar.
Due to the influence of a gaseous vortex, the rest of the territory was sunny and pleasant, but here the sky was slightly dim, and the air was filled with faint, sparkling, translucent particles...
Yu Zhizhi's arrival made all the Beastmen turn to look.
"Look, that's the female who gave Lord Locke four wolf cubs!"
"I heard her rating is D!"
"So miraculous? I don't know if the rating was wrong or if she just had dumb luck and hit a one-in-ten-thousand chance..."
"Everything depends on today—I heard that if her rating is higher than A, Housekeeper Qiao will start preparing the wedding!"
"But isn't it said that only an S-Class has the right to be the madam of a great family?"
"But that's four wolf cubs! Even if she's an A, she's qualified to stay by Lord Locke's side!"
Nearby, a female from the Leopard Clan, dressed in a black, noble long dress and a felt hat with a black veil covering the upper half of her face, stood watching.
Hearing the surrounding gossip, she gripped her cane tightly.
A cold sneer flashed in the Leopard Clan female's eyes as she looked at Yu Zhizhi.
'This ridiculous, low-level rabbit...'
'She must have gotten pregnant with Lord Locke's cubs by some fluke.'
'Just you watch.'
'Today's test will expose her for what she truly is!'
'The Leopard Clan must form a marriage alliance with the K family. No matter what, the position of Don Locke K's wife can only be mine!'
Everyone from the K family had arrived.
The open ground around the Blue Divine Tower was almost completely filled with the figures of Beastmen.
The test began.
The first to go up was the K family's sixth young lady. She had just come of age and reached the testing age.
The beast-eared girl in a light pink long dress walked up with light steps.
As a pale white light shot out from the device, the crowd saw a letter materialize in mid-air—
[A!]
The Beastmen of the K family couldn't help but cheer.
That was already considered excellent!
[B is a passing grade, C is subpar, and D is for the useless among females!]
[And A means excellent Fertility!]
Although it required a great deal of effort, it would take an A-Level female about five to eight years to bear a cub.
Furthermore, they could only conceive once in their lifetime.
And they could only give birth to one cub at a time.
But that single cub would perfectly inherit the family's powerful bloodline!
"Next, we invite Miss Nana of the Leopard Clan."
The most doted-on young lady with the purest bloodline of the Leopard Family lifted her black princess dress and ascended the crystal steps.
Her neck was long and slender, and she held a silver cane in her hand.
Once she was on the platform, the female leopard looked out at the crowd of Beastmen with pride.
The letter on the device appeared—
[A+!]
That was already very high! Almost S-Class!
But Nana slowly raised her cane. "It's not over yet."
"Today—"
"—is also the day my spiritual power and Superpower both awaken."
What!
Today of all days?
The Beastmen grew excited!
With a blinding flash of light, the crowd saw two lines of ancient script appear behind the young lady of the Leopard Clan—
[Spiritual Power: 10]
[Superpower: One Sleep, Good for Three Days.]
It was rare for an ordinary female to awaken these two abilities. They were almost exclusive to male Beastmen.
But if a female did awaken them, they would be factored into her Comprehensive Rating—
Sure enough!
After her spiritual power and Superpower awakened, the Leopard Clan's young lady's Comprehensive Rating jumped directly from A+ to a brilliant, golden S!
She had become the Leopard Clan's one and only S-Class female to date!
The young Black Panther lady walked down from the high platform with pride and grace. As she passed Yu Zhizhi, she shot her a contemptuous glance.
'This frail female rabbit was abandoned by the Rabbit Clan. That alone proves she's a D-level piece of trash.'
'After all, among all the Beastman families in the Empire, females from the Rabbit Clan are some of the most sought-after.'
'Because females of the Rabbit Clan have two wombs—'
'They're far more fertile than any other female beast!'
"Next, we invite Ms. Zhi Zhi to test her abilities," Housekeeper Qiao announced.
Yu Zhizhi held up her long dress and slowly walked up the steps.
She arrived at the center of the Crystal Platform.
Her magnificent dress pooled on the ground. When she turned around, every Beastman in attendance unconsciously held their breath—
This little female from the Rabbit Clan was too beautiful!
She had naturally stunning features: skin as white as snow, cherry lips, pink cheeks, and innocent, almond-shaped eyes that seemed to shimmer like water. She was refreshingly delicate and lovely.
Among all the females, her looks were the most striking, enough to make any beast's heart pound.
Her attire today, a noble long dress, especially highlighted her aura. She was like the Empire's Little Princess, making all the Beastmen want to willingly submit at her feet.
Even Lisa blushed as she watched.
'Ms. Zhi Zhi is so beautiful...'
The gazes of all the Beastmen were fixed on her.
"Look! The results are out!"
A male from the Beast Clan shouted in excitement.
As the testing device activated, lines of ability data began to appear before the crowd.
Yu Zhizhi nervously clutched the hem of her skirt.