Bio-engineered Dinosaur in the immortal world

Zou Fang froze.

He didn't know what to say.

Because the truth?

He had no idea.

Or rather—he wasn't the one who had done it.

It was all Wei Long.

Wei Long had taken over his body, thrown those punches, and delivered that savage, merciless beating to Angola.

Zou Fang himself?

He was just along for the ride.

And now, with every single person in the sect staring at him, waiting for an answer—

He had to make something up.

His mind was blanking until, suddenly, Wei Long's voice echoed from within his spiritual sea.

"Make up a story. Just lie."

Zou Fang almost choked on air.

"Lie?!" he yelled internally.

"Of course! You think you can tell them the truth? Just say something dramatic! Make it convincing!" Wei Long urged.

Zou Fang's face twitched.

But… Wei Long was right.

So, after a brief moment of hesitation, Zou Fang took a deep breath—

And he went for it.

"It all started when I was born."

The entire sect hall fell silent.

Every disciple. Every elder. Even Angola, who was still in pain, seemed to focus on him.

Zou Fang was about to weave the greatest lie of his life.

"Yes," he continued, his voice steady, but filled with a hint of sadness, "from the moment I took my first breath, I was different from others."

Some of the younger disciples leaned in, intrigued.

"I was born with a unique gift…" Zou Fang paused dramatically, allowing tension to build.

"A gift that connected me to the very souls of beasts."

Gasps.

Even the elders narrowed their eyes, listening closely.

"My mother always told me that when I cried as a baby, the beasts around our village would wail along with me. That even the birds in the sky would lower their wings as if mourning my sorrow."

A disciple gasped again, gripping his robes.

"When I laughed, the wolves in the mountains howled in joy. When I was angry, the cattle refused to graze."

The exaggeration was absurd.

And yet, he said it with such conviction that people actually started considering it.

Zou Fang placed a hand on his chest, lowering his eyes as if remembering painful memories.

"But it was not always a blessing."

He shook his head, his face darkening.

"No… it was a curse as well."

The tension rose.

"I once befriended a great beast in my village—a loyal companion who followed me everywhere. But one day, hunters came. They captured him, and though he could have escaped… he did not."

"Do you know why?" Zou Fang asked, his voice heavy with emotion.

The crowd hung on his words.

"Because he could feel my pain. He knew that if he ran, I would be heartbroken. So he let himself be captured... for me."

A disciple wiped a tear from his eye.

Another clutched his chest.

An elder stroked his beard, nodding solemnly.

Zou Fang continued, eyes deep with "pain":

"I vowed that day… that I would never let another beast suffer without understanding their pain first. So I studied them. I trained my senses. I listened to their very souls."

The tension hit its peak.

"That, Elder Fan Ming, is why I knew Angola was dying."

The hall was dead silent.

No one moved.

Not a single disciple dared to breathe too loudly.

Zou Fang stood there, maintaining the perfect expression of a man who had endured countless hardships.

But inside?

He was screaming.

"What the hell did I just say?! Why did I make it so complicated?!"

He felt like he had dug his own grave with the absurdity of his story.

And yet—

Despite how ridiculous it all was—

Despite how obviously over-the-top his tale had been—

No one was calling him out.

In fact—some people actually looked moved.

The young disciples looked at him in awe.

Some of the elders were nodding as if they understood.

Even Angola, who was still bruised and sore, looked confused but strangely impressed.

Zou Fang, seeing the expressions around him, had a horrifying realization.

They were actually believing it.

Then, Zou Fang noticed something.

Among the believers, some faces were still skeptical.

The older, more experienced elders.

The veteran beast breeders.

They weren't fully convinced.

They had heard too many legends, seen too many exaggerated tales to accept things so easily.

Their eyes narrowed.

Zou Fang knew if he stopped now, the doubt would linger.

So, he doubled down.

"But…" he sighed, shaking his head.

"I do not expect all of you to understand."

The moment he said that—

The doubters immediately looked uncomfortable.

Because now, if they questioned him, it would seem like they "didn't understand" something profound.

Zou Fang fought back a smirk.

Then, he clenched his fist, as if recalling some deep pain.

"It's not something that can be explained easily… It's just something I feel."

He looked up, letting his eyes glow with 'mystery'.

"Some things in this world cannot be put into words… they can only be felt by the heart."

Another devastating silence fell over the sect hall.

Then—

A disciple in the crowd broke down sobbing.

"He's so wise…"

Another nodded tearfully.

"I… I understand now."

Even some of the elders looked like they were seriously contemplating his words.

Zou Fang, meanwhile, was internally panicking.

"I just made up the biggest pile of nonsense and they're actually EATING IT UP?!"

Finally, he exhaled and lowered his head.

"That… is how I knew Angola was dying."

The entire hall descended into complete silence once more.

Everyone stared at him—

Eyes wide. Mouths slightly open.

No one spoke.

Not even the elders.

Not even the great Elder Fan Ming.

Because at that moment—

They had no words.

Suddenly, the sect hall erupted.

Chaos. Pure, unfiltered chaos.

"Wait, wait, wait!" one of the beast breeders shouted, eyes nearly bulging out of his skull.

"Are you telling me… that's just normal?!"

Another disciple stood up, pointing at Zou Fang with a trembling hand.

"Breeders like us have always had a connection with beasts! That's how we train them! That's how we raise them! It's literally our entire job!"

A younger disciple, his voice full of disbelief, added:

"Yeah! We can all feel when a beast is unwell! We study their behavior, their breathing, their energy flow! That's what we do!"

More and more voices began to join in, like a rising tide of doubt and frustration.

"How is this any different from what we do every single day?!"

"Are you seriously telling us he just… beat Angola up and miraculously saved him?!"

"That's not some profound talent! That's just dumb luck!"

The words hit like a hammer.

Zou Fang froze.

He could feel his own sweat dripping down his back.

"Wait… how did they figure it out?!"

He had made his story so grand, so dramatic!

He had poured his heart into it!

And yet—they had still seen through it?!

He was speechless.

Completely. Utterly. Speechless.

He stood there, not saying a single word.

Inside his spiritual sea, Wei Long was laughing so hard he was wheezing.

"Hahahaha! Oh man! They figured it out instantly! I told you it was ridiculous!"

"Shut up!" Zou Fang snapped internally, his face twitching.

His whole body stiffened as he sensed a heavy gaze locking onto him.

It was Elder Fan Ming.

The elder was silent, stroking his beard slowly, his eyes narrowed in deep thought.

For a moment, it looked like he didn't believe them.

But then, hesitation flickered in his expression.

Elder Fan Ming was old. He had seen countless disciples, trained many talented individuals, and witnessed all kinds of miracles and frauds alike.

If what the breeders were saying was true…

Then there was only one conclusion.

He exhaled deeply and asked in a calm, steady voice:

"Zou Fang."

Zou Fang swallowed.

"Did you truly know Angola was dying… or did you just beat him up and accidentally save him?"

Dead silence. No noises. And not even a sound of a needle being dropped. As they were all speechless to what they just thought.

The question hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.

Zou Fang felt all the blood drain from his face.

The other breeders looked smug.

The disciples were staring, waiting for his answer.

Even Angola, the giant lizard, turned its bruised and battered head to look at him.

Zou Fang opened his mouth.

No words came out.

Inside his spiritual sea, Wei Long was grinning.

"Well, kid? What's the plan now?"

Zou Fang gritted his teeth.

He wanted to come up with another excuse—another elaborate tale to cover it all up.

But this time, he couldn't.

Because even if he spoke, it was over.

They had already connected the dots.

So he did the only thing he could do.

He said nothing.

The silence stretched for so long that it became painful.

One of the younger disciples whispered:

"He's not denying it…"

Another nodded, eyes widening. They were shocked. They couldn't believe it. Is what they said true?

"That means—"

It means it is absurd.

Before the murmurs could spread further, Elder Fan Ming suddenly chuckled.

"Hmph."

His voice cut through the noise like a blade.

"It doesn't matter."

Everyone snapped their heads toward him.

"What?!" one of the breeders blurted out, his face full of frustration.

Elder Fan Ming's expression was calm, unreadable.

"It does not matter whether he knew or not."

The elder gestured toward Angola.

"The result is the same. Angola was dying. Angola is now saved. That is all that matters. He helped Angola. And we just have to thank him and nothing else matters."

For a second, no one knew what to say.

Even Zou Fang, who had been mentally preparing for disaster, was caught off guard.

"That's it?"

He had been exposed.

He had been questioned directly.

And yet…

Elder Fan Ming just let it go?

The other elders seemed to accept it too.

Even the breeders who had doubted him couldn't argue.

Because in the end—Angola really was saved.

Whether by skill, accident, or pure brute force…

It didn't matter.

Zou Fang exhaled slowly.

He had dodged a spear to the heart.

But then—

A soft, pained sound came from behind him.

Everyone turned to look at Angola.

The giant lizard, who had been beaten black and blue, finally processed what had just been said.

It blinked once.

Then twice.

Then, with a sudden shuddering realization, its huge, battered body trembled.

It looked at Elder Fan Ming.

Then at Zou Fang.

Then back at Elder Fan Ming.

And its expression could only be described as absolute horror.

"Saved…?"

"Beaten to the point of nearly dying…? But saved??"

Angola couldn't speak human language.

But the way its massive eyes welled up with emotion, the way its scaly jaw trembled, the way its entire body slumped as if its spirit had left its body—

It was clear what it was thinking.

"What the hell kind of logic is that?!"

It didn't matter that it couldn't talk.

Everyone in the sect understood exactly what Angola was feeling.

A few disciples had to look away, their expressions twisting in second-hand embarrassment.

Some of the beast breeders suddenly felt pity.

Even Elder Fan Ming… let out a small cough.

Angola, on the other hand, was still trembling.

It couldn't even get angry.

Because what could it even do?

Nothing.

It could only accept its fate.

And then—

Just as the awkward silence threatened to stretch on forever—

Another voice, hoarse with age, deep with wisdom, echoed through the hall.

"Perhaps… it was not Zou Fang."

The moment the words were spoken, the atmosphere shifted.

The elders immediately turned toward the source.

The disciples followed suit.

Even Zou Fang felt his breath hitch.

An old, withered figure stepped forward, leaning heavily on a wooden cane.

His eyes were sharp. His presence carried weight.

He looked at Zou Fang.

Then at Angola.

And then—

He spoke once more.

"Perhaps… it was because of his beast."

Silence.