Chapter 43 : Special Training
Most spirit beasts possess their own innate abilities—like the fire lions' sea of flames or the wind speed wolves' wind blades. These abilities don't require learning, as they're born with them; the only practice needed is mastering control.
In a sense, divine beasts are a type of spirit beast, each with their own attributes. The Azure Dragon governs wood, the Vermilion Bird governs fire, the White Tiger governs metal, and the Black Tortoise governs water. They're born with inherited bloodline memories—to say they possess innate knowledge is no exaggeration—and each has divine powers from their bloodline inheritance... with the exception of the little useless tiger who died and was reborn, essentially a retired account forced to start over.
What differentiates divine beasts from ordinary spirit beasts is that besides their bloodline divine powers, they can also learn cultivator techniques based on their attributes. For instance, the Black Tortoise can learn water-attribute techniques, while the White Tiger can learn metal-attribute techniques.
This was the conclusion reached by Divine Lord Zhiming, the guardian deity of Xuanqing Sect, though Divine Lord Zhiming generally looked down upon Xuanqing Sect's techniques.
Indeed, cultivators diligently practice their cultivation, yet few can successfully cross tribulation and ascend. Divine beasts, however, are cherished by heaven and earth. As long as they don't indulge in slaughtering innocents and accumulate evil karma, ascension is practically inevitable for them. Their inheritance differs fundamentally from human cultivation, and the power they manifest is incomparable, so naturally, they wouldn't think highly of human cultivation techniques.
But now there was an exception, and that exception was Jiang Mo. Being an exceptionally intelligent person, Yun Qingyue had realized during the competition that the little tiger cub could only use her claws and pounce, showing she couldn't manifest divine powers. Yesterday, seeing her pierced all over by the Poison Spike Rat, she understood her predicament even better.
Cultivation realm is important, but at times it seems utterly useless. Merely possessing a cultivation realm without corresponding means of attack and defense is no different from a tiger without claws and fangs. It may look fierce and imposing, but it's merely a bluff. Once someone sees through the facade, you're at their mercy.
Yun Qingyue didn't want to leave the little white tiger in such a vulnerable position. Even though she was an ice-attribute cultivator, and even though Xuanqing Sect's techniques were far inferior to divine beast inheritances, she still wanted to teach the little white tiger some self-defense methods.
Of course, before teaching the little white tiger, she explained all the intricacies clearly: "Spirit beasts have their own inheritances and originally don't need to learn human cultivation techniques. Or rather, most early cultivator techniques were derived from observing spirit beasts. Divine Lord Zhiming greatly disdains Xuanqing Sect's techniques. What I can teach you, compared to the Jianbing's inherited techniques and divine powers, might not even qualify as rudimentary..."
Jiang Mo listened obediently until Yun Qingyue finally asked: "Do you really want to learn from me? Learning human cultivation techniques might lead you astray—it might not necessarily be beneficial for you."
No, no, no, this was definitely a good thing. She couldn't unlock White Tiger skills until level 41. Fighting Qi Refinement minor enemies was manageable at her current level, but what about encountering Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core spirit beasts in the future? They would all be spitting water, breathing fire, and casting spells, while she would still be relying solely on her claws and fangs to fight head-on. She might not even get the chance to get close—that would be a severe disadvantage.
The little white tiger understood this clearly, so she wasn't concerned about Yun Qingyue's words. She moved closer, nuzzling against her hand, and wrapped her tail around Senior Sister's snow-white wrist, letting out an "awoo" that clearly and firmly expressed her desire to learn.
Fortunately, while Yun Qingyue had asked the question, her determination to teach hadn't wavered. Seeing the little white tiger's genuine desire to learn, she patted the tiger's head and began her instruction.
Teaching a divine beast to cultivate for the first time, Yun Qingyue deliberated extensively before deciding to teach her as she would a newly admitted disciple. Starting with sitting meditation, she then roughly explained human meridians and spiritual energy circulation. Although the white tiger's physical structure was obviously different from a human's, and her spiritual energy circulation would certainly differ from human cultivation, since she could cultivate, she naturally had her own operational patterns. The reason for teaching her human cultivation methods was simply to provide a reference point for better understanding.
The little white tiger listened attentively, and during the lecture, she finally discovered another benefit from this transmigration: photographic memory. The human body's meridians and acupoints are incredibly complex, and even though Senior Sister only gave a rough overview, it wasn't something that could be summarized in just a few words. When she pointed to the acupoints on her own body while explaining, she only mentioned each once, yet Jiang Mo remembered everything clearly.
This discovery pleased Jiang Mo, but as Yun Qingyue's explanation continued, she became confused again—spiritual energy transformation, energy circulation, internal visualization... she heard it all as if through a fog and didn't understand.
Yun Qingyue quickly taught the basics of cultivation once through, then asked Jiang Mo: "Did you understand?"
The little white tiger, with her round eyes, shook her head, her face full of bewilderment and innocence.
Seeing this, Yun Qingyue wasn't annoyed and asked: "Which part don't you understand?"
The little white tiger lowered her head in shame again, her left paw stepping on her right paw, too embarrassed to tell the other that she didn't understand any of it.
This wasn't really her fault. Cultivation is inherently esoteric, while she had grown up learning materialist principles. She couldn't see or touch concepts like spiritual energy or essence, so naturally, she couldn't comprehend them. She had quickly memorized everything that needed memorizing and still remembered every word Yun Qingyue had said earlier, but she simply couldn't understand.
Seeing her reaction, Yun Qingyue guessed about seventy to eighty percent of the problem. Her eyebrows knitted almost imperceptibly before she raised her hand to lift the little white tiger's drooping head: "Tell me what you don't understand, and I'll explain it to you in detail again."
These were just the basics, and she had already explained them very thoroughly. Ordinary initiates would understand.
The little white tiger knew this too, but how could she tell Yun Qingyue that she couldn't comprehend spiritual energy circulation? Moreover, communication between them was already difficult, making this even harder to explain. She called "awoo, awoo" several times, once again frustrated by her inability to speak.
Fortunately, Yun Qingyue was patient. Seeing her frustration, she said: "Don't worry, I'll explain it from the beginning again. Interrupt me wherever you don't understand."
The little white tiger's eyes brightened at these words, and she nodded hurriedly.
So Yun Qingyue explained again. When she reached the part about transforming spiritual energy into essence, the little white tiger excitedly stepped on her foot. She didn't stop immediately but continued, and when she got to the circulation of essence, the little white tiger stepped on her foot again. As she continued, the frequency of these interruptions increased. Eventually, with the little tiger cub treading on her shoes as if kneading them until they were completely dirty, she realized that the cub simply couldn't comprehend the concept of cultivation itself.
Was this even possible? Even if she had advanced through pill consumption, the little white tiger had reached Foundation Establishment. How could she not understand even the most basic spiritual energy circulation?
Deep doubts filled Yun Qingyue's eyes, but what she didn't know was that Jiang Mo's cultivation didn't rely on absorbing spiritual energy at all. She didn't know how to cultivate; all she had was a game system. "Foundation Establishment" was merely the external manifestation of a level increase in the game.
Human and tiger stared at each other, both eyes filled with confusion.
After a long while, Yun Qingyue finally gave up trying to understand and said with furrowed brows to the little white tiger: "Since you don't understand, we'll have to try a shortcut." As she spoke, her thin lips pressed together slightly, her expression becoming more serious: "Jianbing, do you trust me?"
Yun Qingyue rarely called Jiang Mo "Jianbing," and this immediately made Jiang Mo tense up slightly.
Then the little tiger cub nodded firmly, stepped forward to hug Yun Qingyue's leg, and rested her head on her knee, nuzzling against it. The trust and dependence in her golden tiger eyes were clearly visible.
Seeing this, Yun Qingyue's expression softened slightly. She placed her hand on the little white tiger's head and stroked it before continuing: "Since you trust me, I'll inject spiritual energy into your body and guide it through your system. You can learn from this experience. However, I must warn you upfront—although this method allows you to quickly comprehend spiritual energy, it's inherently very dangerous. Unless it's someone you trust, never allow this."
Jiang Mo understood this; she hadn't read all those novels for nothing. It was like opening the city gates to let troops in—if they were allies, all would be well, but if they were enemies, they could wreak havoc, destroying the city and killing its people.
The little white tiger nodded firmly, indicating she understood. What she didn't know was that Yun Qingyue was also taking a significant risk. Even though the current little white tiger was weak and couldn't even mobilize spiritual energy, seemingly as helpless as a fish on a chopping board, she was still a White Tiger. Even if she had no intention of counterattacking, divine beasts are inherently favored by the Dao—how could a mere human cultivator dare to offend them?
If the little white tiger truly trusted Yun Qingyue completely, all would be well. But if she had even a thought of resistance, Yun Qingyue would definitely be severely injured.
Anyone else wouldn't dare act so rashly and would have taken the little white tiger to seek Divine Lord Zhiming's guidance. But after spending so much time together, Yun Qingyue had developed some trust in the little white tiger who sent her gifts daily, so she proceeded without further comment.
After both parties were clear on the arrangement, Yun Qingyue brought the little white tiger in front of her, sitting her properly, while she herself sat cross-legged. Then she closed her eyes and extended a finger, touching it precisely to the little white tiger's forehead.
Jiang Mo had originally kept her eyes open, wanting to observe what she would do, but as soon as that finger touched her forehead, she involuntarily closed her eyes.
Soon, Jiang Mo found herself in a mystical state. In the blackness before her eyes, there appeared to be a patch of gold. When this gold remained motionless, it resembled golden sand filling her vision. Gradually, some mysterious force began to move them. The "golden sands" were initially reluctant to move, lazily resisting, but eventually succumbed to that force, slowly forming a long stream of golden light.
Jiang Mo had some vague understanding but merely observed without taking any action.
The golden light began to move according to some pattern that Jiang Mo didn't understand. At first, it cautiously probed, but then it gradually became more fluid. The golden light moved faster and faster, continuing even after the guiding force disappeared.
Jiang Mo didn't know how long she remained in that mystical state, only that when she opened her eyes, the morning sunlight was already streaming into the room.
Had a whole night passed silently?
Jiang Mo moved her body, feeling no discomfort whatsoever, as refreshed as if she had slept the whole night. But she clearly hadn't been sleeping; she had been in that mystical state and hadn't felt the passage of time. Before she could explore further or turn to look for Senior Sister, she heard System's notification sound—
[Congratulations, host has independently comprehended the "Meditation" skill. We hope host will continue to strive and explore courageously!]
Jiang Mo was momentarily stunned—so that's what meditation and cultivation felt like. Thinking of this, she focused her mind, closed her eyes, and sensed for a moment. Sure enough, she "saw" that patch of golden light again, now lazy and scattered without the external urging.
That must be the spiritual energy in her body. So the game levels weren't so virtual after all—they were truly storing spiritual energy inside her!
Jiang Mo suddenly felt elated. Although she hadn't had time to learn any spells during the night, being able to mobilize the spiritual energy in her body was already significant progress for her. Besides, utilizing spiritual energy didn't necessarily require spells, did it?
At this moment, the little white tiger was eager to try, her body acting faster than her mind. As soon as she thought of this, she channeled a thread of golden spiritual energy to coat her extended claws. Visibly, her pure white claw tips were wrapped in a metallic sheen, and when the little white tiger scratched the floor, there was a "zhi" sound, and the previously smooth and flat floor instantly gained several clear claw marks!
The floor was paved with bluestone, and the bluestone in the cultivation world was not the same species as in the mortal realm—it was several times harder. Previously, when the little white tiger had sharpened her claws on the floor, she hadn't left even the slightest mark, but now she had effortlessly scratched through the floor.
Jiang Mo was overjoyed, but before her smile could fully bloom, she heard a mechanical voice exclaiming by her ear: "Host, what are you doing? How could you damage the floor? This is Senior Sister's room!"
The little white tiger's smile froze, and she immediately retracted her claws, then guiltily hid her paws behind her back like a thief.