Chapter Two: Worthy of It

Bai Feiyu glanced upward, hesitated only briefly, then headed toward the source of the commotion.

The disturbance was actually quite far away, but as he drew nearer, the tremors in the ground grew more pronounced, and even the air seemed to ripple with the force of the clash.

Cautiously, Bai Feiyu crept closer and saw, by a mountain spring not far off, a massive, silver-white snow tiger locked in combat with four disciples of the Gui Xu Sect.

Yet the clothes these four wore were somewhat different from his own.

Rummaging through the memories of his current body, Bai Feiyu quickly found the explanation.

The golden patterns embroidered on their robes marked them as inner disciples.

Moreover, among them was a striking young woman, a touch of cinnabar between her brows, who was both the most gifted and beautiful among the inner disciples—the sect master’s daughter, Qian Shuang.

His memory also made it clear that the junior sister he had pulled to safety earlier was none other than this Qian Shuang.

At the time, she had simply thanked him before being whisked away by her companions—who, it seemed, were those at her side now.

But that mattered little. What mattered was the snow tiger. His ability to "pick up" was not limited to people; he could acquire things from plants as well.

So...

He grew excited, wondering what he might gain from a beast.

Just then, as if further enraged, the snow tiger unleashed a chilling aura; shards of ice formed out of thin air and rained down toward the four.

Caught off guard, none of them could react in time.

Bai Feiyu’s mind moved instantly.

“Activate the Mystic Turtle Technique.”

He appeared before Qian Shuang in a flash, a brown light erupting from him, shielding them from the falling ice.

Qian Shuang had shut her eyes in fear as the ice came down, but the expected pain never arrived.

Opening her eyes, she found a handsome youth standing before her, and for a moment, she was stunned.

Wasn’t this the one who’d helped her before?

Qian Shuang was unscathed. Bai Feiyu, though somewhat drained, suffered no other loss, and as the snow tiger’s attack subsided, he saw orbs of light appear all over the ground.

Without hesitation, he rushed to gather them.

“Gained one point of ice energy.”

“Gained five energy points, automatically converted to cultivation.”

“Gained three points of Snow Tiger’s strength, automatically converted to strength attribute.”

As the words faded, Bai Feiyu felt his body surge with new power, his depleted strength instantly replenished.

He exhaled deeply, gazing at the snow tiger that was still shedding orbs of light, and surged forward.

“Lend me your sword!” he called, taking Qian Shuang’s blade.

“Be careful!” Qian Shuang cried instinctively.

But Bai Feiyu had already dashed ahead.

To the amazement of Qian Shuang and her companions, this outer disciple—merely at the fourth level of the Qi Refining stage—charged straight in, sword raised.

“Detected ice-attribute weapon in host’s hand. Ice energy will be automatically infused. Host will receive ten percent less damage from ice attacks and deal ten percent more to ice-attribute creatures.”

The Mystic Turtle Technique shone protectively from Bai Feiyu, warding off the snow tiger’s blows as he brought the sword down.

By now, Qian Shuang’s companions had recovered from their earlier panic. Watching Bai Feiyu fight the snow tiger, their expressions grew complicated.

Chen Xuan squinted at Bai Feiyu for a moment, then, noticing that Qian Shuang’s gaze was fixed on him, said irritably, “Junior sister, where did this kid come from? So reckless! Does a mere Qi Refining disciple think he can kill a snow tiger? We’re all at the Condensing Qi stage and couldn’t handle it, and he—”

Before he could finish, Bai Feiyu’s sword plunged into the snow tiger’s skull, shattering its demon core.

Chen Xuan’s face twisted in disbelief.

In truth, Bai Feiyu’s battle was nothing like what they saw. The snow tiger continuously dropped orbs of light; as long as he stayed close, his power kept stacking, especially his ice damage and resistance.

That was how he so easily pierced its vital point.

The snow tiger let out a dying cry, but with its demon core broken, it collapsed helplessly.

Bai Feiyu watched as a large energy orb formed atop the tiger, surrounded by countless smaller ones, and eagerly reached out.

“Gained one point of White Tiger bloodline. Would you like to enhance your own strength?”

This large orb turned out to be White Tiger bloodline!

Though it was but a single point, the boost it brought far surpassed any previous energy orb. Bai Feiyu sensed that, if the snow tiger were to face him again, he could crush it with his bare fists.

He didn’t leave a single orb behind, gathering up every last one as the others looked on in bewilderment.

“What’s he doing? Did the snow tiger hit him on the head?” someone muttered.

“No idea,” Chen Xuan replied off-handedly, then, impatient, strode over to pull Bai Feiyu away.

Bai Feiyu had just collected the last orb, and merely frowned but paid him no mind.

He turned and returned Qian Shuang’s sword to her.

“Thank you, junior sister!”

“No, I should be thanking you,” Qian Shuang replied.

Chen Xuan’s expression soured. “An outer disciple dares call Qian Shuang junior sister? Don’t bother with him. He’s clearly up to something. Let’s divide up the snow tiger!”

Qian Shuang frowned slightly.

“But the snow tiger was killed by him. According to the rules of the secret realm, whoever slays a beast is entitled to its spoils.”

She glanced at Bai Feiyu with a touch of curiosity.

This disciple’s cultivation was unremarkable, yet his battle had been astonishing. No one had expected a mere Qi Refining disciple to slay a second-tier snow tiger.

And when he wielded her sword just now, it seemed… even more powerful than when she herself had used it.

Such a disciple must be one of the more outstanding in the outer sect.

But in Chen Xuan’s eyes, Qian Shuang’s attention meant something else entirely.

Annoyed, Chen Xuan sneered, “Rules or not, it depends on the person!”

“He’s just an outer disciple, only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Who knows what secret arts he used? We’re inner disciples and found the snow tiger first. If he wants it, he’s got to be worthy!”