At night, Xiao Tian, still wide awake, sensed a familiar presence tiptoeing toward his bedside.
"Young Master, are you asleep?"
Beneath the dim glow of the moonstone, a lovely girl with green hair woven into twin tails and eyes the color of jade crouched beside the bed, stealing a few glances at Xiao Tian.
After a faint rustling, the green-haired figure gently lifted the edge of the quilt and slipped inside like a nimble fish.
The moment she entered, she felt an arm enfold her. Her body stiffened instantly. Stammering, she whispered,
"Yo-Young Master... you are still awake?"
"I was just about to sleep when a little loach burrowed in." Xiao Tian opened his eyes with a smile and looked at Qing Lin nestled beside him.
"Yo-Young Master, Qing Lin is already eighteen. She can already..."
Qing Lin's voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum, her face burning crimson.
"Have you thought this through? No regrets?"
"No regrets. Even unto death."
Qing Lin lifted her gaze to meet Xiao Tian's eyes, her own shining with unwavering resolve.
The following day, Xiao Tian did not cultivate. Instead, he remained with the girls, guiding them in practicing Dou Techniques. He also imparted the Void Preacher Art to Ya Fei and Yun Yun. Even Medusa emerged to learn it.
Xiao Tian considered briefly and taught her as well. After all, Medusa could never slip free of his grasp.
That night, while the sisters were engaged in a heartfelt conversation, a night raid occurred.
Quadra kill.
By the time the sun hung high at noon the next day, Xiao Tian had placed the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python coiled around his arm into the care of the girls. He could not be certain whether any accidents might occur when entering the secret realm.
Xiao Tian stood in the clearing before the palace. He cast a glance toward the girls' chambers and drew a deep breath.
Without hesitation, he produced the secret realm map and merged it with the World Preacher Needle. The space before him shattered instantly, transforming into a dark, swirling portal that unfurled slowly before his eyes.
A mysterious aura seeped from the vortex. He lifted his foot and stepped resolutely into the dark gateway.
The instant he entered the vortex, Xiao Tian felt a powerful suction seize him and swallow him whole. The scene before his eyes blurred into chaos.
Simultaneously, the portal at the palace entrance shrank steadily until it vanished entirely.
The girls stood at the palace threshold—even Medusa among them—gazing at the spot where the vortex had disappeared. They remained silent for a long while, as though offering prayers for Xiao Tian's safety.
After an indeterminate stretch of time, Xiao Tian sensed that he had arrived in a place saturated with rich world energy and vibrant vitality.
The moment Xiao Tian opened his eyes to survey this world clearly, he was met with a colossal white claw print.
"Be careful!"
A faint, weakened female voice called out from behind him.
"Ouch. What was that for? Hardly honorable. Lightning Shield!"
A massive shield formed of swirling blue coalesced before Xiao Tian.
"Boom!"
The enormous claw struck Xiao Tian's shield with devastating force, producing a thunderous sound.
The power behind that claw was roughly equivalent to a full-strength blow from a nine-lightning Dou King, yet it failed to shatter Xiao Tian's lightning Shield.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Tian finally got a clear view of the source.
It was a Tier 5 Magical Beast, a White Flame Tiger.
The White Flame Tiger was a peak presence among Tier 5 Magical Beasts. Once fully grown, its combat prowess could even threaten ordinary Tier 6 Magical Beasts.
Its body was colossal, its fur like pristine snowflakes shimmering with a faint luminescence. A striking flame pattern adorned its back, appearing to the naked eye like a living blaze, radiating faint heat.
A pair of razor-sharp fangs jutted from its maw. Its tail swept the ground in slow arcs, each motion carrying undeniable power.
The woman who had shouted the warning was covered in wounds. Even her garments bore numerous claw marks.
She appeared to be around sixteen, with a slender, graceful figure clad in a black dress that exuded a trace of cold pride. Her cheeks were slightly gaunt yet exquisitely delicate.
Most remarkable of all was that this woman's cultivation stood at the Dou Emperor realm.
A Dou Emperor had been battered to such a state by a mere Tier 5 Magical Beast?
Before Xiao Tian could ponder further, the White Flame Tiger opposite him had already lunged.
Its fangs and claws gleamed with a bone-chilling light beneath the sun, like blades capable of rending anything apart.
"Quick, get out of the way!"
The woman leaned against the tree trunk, shouting with all her remaining strength.
Xiao Tian's figure flickered, instantly reappearing to the side and evading the pounce.
The White Flame Tiger whipped its head around and spat a searing fireball. Xiao Tian sidestepped to evade. The flames struck the ground, instantly scorching a massive crater into the earth.
Xiao Tian smirked. The golden-red ring on his finger shifted form instantly, transforming into a pair of gauntlets.
"Your fur is truly beautiful. I like it very much."
Xiao Tian materialized before the White Flame Tiger in a flash and drove his fist toward its skull.
The White Flame Tiger unleashed a roar, carrying a deafening blast and a gust of foul wind, attempting to repel Xiao Tian.
This was the White Flame Tiger's innate ability, Tiger Roar in the Mountains and Forests, possessing immense sound-wave penetration. Ordinary cultivators under such an assault would have already bled from all seven orifices.
Xiao Tian ignored it entirely. An attack of this caliber had no effect on his formidable soul force.
He continued his assault, his wind-laden fist howling as it descended upon the White Flame Tiger's head with unstoppable momentum.
The White Flame Tiger hastily raised its front paw to block.
Gauntlet and claw collided, erupting in a deafening roar. The overwhelming force sent the White Flame Tiger hurtling backward like a kite with its string severed, crashing into a thick tree trunk behind it.
The massive tree snapped cleanly in two under the impact of the White Flame Tiger's colossal body.
Watching from the distance, the woman could not help but let her mouth fall slightly agape. She had never witnessed such terrifying brute force.
The White Flame Tiger struggled to its feet. A flicker of terror darted through its eyes as it registered the man's overwhelming power. Its body began retreating inch by inch, searching for an opening to flee.
Xiao Tian perceived its intent and granted it no opportunity. His figure shot forth like lightning, launching yet another ferocious strike.
"lightning Blast."
In an instant, lightning energy coiled around his palm, condensing into an enormous sphere of raging wind roughly the size of a basketball. He hurled the wind sphere toward the White Flame Tiger. It streaked forward, trailing a long tail.
*Hmm? Wait... basketball?*
The White Flame Tiger opened its maw wide and expelled a colossal fireball with every ounce of its might, attempting to block the wind sphere.
But the wind sphere's power was far too immense. On contact, the fireball was instantly obliterated. The sphere continued hurtling toward the White Flame Tiger with unrelenting force.
The beast opened its jaws again, desperate to unleash more white flames, but it was already too late.
Its gaping maw, wide open, instead appeared exactly as though it were opening its mouth to receive the wind sphere.
The sphere surged straight into its body through its open mouth, transforming into a devastating tornado current that tore through its entire form in an instant.
The White Flame Tiger let out a harrowing shriek. Its colossal frame crashed heavily to the ground, never to move again.
The wind power had charred its internal organs to cinders. A faint scent of scorched flesh even wafted from its blasted-open maw.
The golden-red ring on Xiao Tian's finger transformed into a longsword. He drove it through the beast's skull to finish it off.
Shifting into a knife once more, Xiao Tian carefully peeled away its snow-white tiger pelt, dried the bloodstains, and stored it.
When all was done, Xiao Tian turned to look at the woman who had warned him earlier. He surmised that she had originally been battling the White Flame Tiger. He had materialized directly in the middle of their fight, suffering an undeserved calamity in the process.
"Thank you for saving me..."
The woman, seeing Xiao Tian slay the White Flame Tiger, offered her thanks. Then she collapsed immediately, her body crumpling straight to the ground.