When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

The spirit beasts of the cultivation world differed greatly from mundane animals. Just like the hedgehog and the Poison Spike Rat—though nearly identical to the naked eye, their destructive capabilities were worlds apart. Yet simultaneously, certain characteristics remained common between spirit beasts and ordinary animals. Wolves, for instance, whether spirit beasts or mundane animals, were always pack creatures.

Unlike Mount Mingxia's back mountain, Mount Tianyang's small secret realm wasn't just a place where random spirit beasts were thrown in for disciples to practice upon. Since it had been forged into a secret realm, a complete ecosystem had long since formed within. Wolf packs lived in groups, fierce beasts like tigers and leopards each claimed their own territories, and creatures low on the food chain, like spirit rabbits, continued to struggle for survival under their natural predators' hunting.

When Yun Qingyue was first at the Qi Refinement stage, she trained on her own Mount Mingxia's back mountain. Later, after reaching Foundation Establishment with significantly increased combat power, those spirit beasts became too easy for her. So she switched to Mount Tianyang's small secret realm for training.

Mount Tianyang belonged to the Sect Leader's lineage, so its small secret realm was naturally a sect resource that disciples from other peaks could access by spending contribution points. Yun Qingyue was different, however. Her master, Peak Master Qingyu, stayed in seclusion year-round, leaving her disciples to fend for themselves. Several uncle and aunt masters often showed her care when they met. Qingxiao, as Sect Leader, provided her with even more guidance, and the Mount Tianyang small secret realm was completely open to her, without requiring contribution points.

Thus, from early Foundation Establishment to Grand Perfection, she spent nearly five years in Mount Tianyang's small secret realm, only ceasing her visits after advancing to Golden Core.

During those five years in the Foundation Establishment period, Yun Qingyue became thoroughly familiar with Mount Tianyang's small secret realm. When the little white tiger pointed east, she immediately knew about the Snake Valley there, how formidable those snakes were, and how to deal with them.

Now that the little white tiger feared snakes and was unwilling to go to Snake Valley, Yun Qingyue quickly selected a new opponent for her. Though her selection wasn't aimed at helping the little white tiger grind for points, setting her against the Wind Speed Wolf pack was indeed Senior Sister's deliberate training method—from this perspective, Yun Qingyue's target selection speed surpassed even System's precise calculations.

Of course, Yun Qingyue's speed wasn't limited to her mental selection of targets, but also her sword flight.

Carrying the little white tiger, Yun Qingyue appeared above a forest to the west in just a few breaths. Looking down from above, one could only see a verdant expanse of trees. Occasionally, small animals moved through the forest, carefree and seemingly unaware of the cultivator who had suddenly appeared in mid-air.

The little white tiger peered down curiously. Having experienced flight many times, she no longer feared heights. However, she didn't quite understand why Senior Sister had stopped after such a short flight—had they already reached their destination?

Before the little white tiger could ask, Yun Qingyue said under her puzzled gaze: "We're here."

Really here already?

The little white tiger peered down at the forest once more, then heard System's mechanical voice finally coming through: "Host, I know what's down there. This is the Wind Speed Wolf's lair, with over a hundred of them."

The little white tiger might not know about other spirit beasts, but Wind Speed Wolves were her former opponents during the competition. How severely she had been injured, how fast the Wind Speed Wolf had been, how powerful its attacks were—all remained fresh in her memory. Though she had awakened from her injury-induced unconsciousness to find Senior Sister had already healed her wounds, the pain she had endured during that desperate struggle had been all too real.

When the little white tiger heard that the Wind Speed Wolf's lair was below, she instinctively shuddered... Yes, she had ultimately won, and she was indeed different now, but there were over a hundred wolves in that den.

Anyone with common sense knew that wolf packs were the most adept at coordinated group attacks!

Thinking of this, the little white tiger felt her entire being deteriorate. She just wanted to grind some points; it really wasn't worth a life-or-death struggle with a wolf pack. Unfortunately, before she could express her unwillingness and urge Senior Sister to leave this place, the flying sword beneath their feet had already carried the person and tiger into the forest.

The cultivation world had no shortage of ancient trees, especially in secret realms. What had appeared as a lush green forest from above revealed itself, upon entering, to be filled with towering ancient trees at least an arm-span thick. However, unlike ordinary forests, even with scant sunlight penetrating the branches and leaves, walking here didn't feel gloomy but rather pleasantly comfortable.

After landing, Yun Qingyue set the little white tiger down. Before the latter could appreciate the surroundings, she looked up and met a pair of bright yellow beast eyes. Looking closely—what else could it be but a Wind Speed Wolf?

The little white tiger's fur immediately bristled. Point-grinding shouldn't come this fast, this suddenly!

Facing a wild beast again, Jiang Mo's mind blanked momentarily before she instinctively turned to look for Yun Qingyue. But Yun Qingyue, who had landed with her, had suddenly disappeared. She hadn't heard any sound and didn't know where she had gone. There was no time to ask System for help—in this short period, the Wind Speed Wolf across from her had already fixed its gaze on her and pounced without hesitation...

Wolves were decisive and fierce creatures; simultaneously, they were intelligent and united. The little white tiger's sudden appearance naturally startled this solitary Wind Speed Wolf, but it quickly recognized her as a cub that was more bluster than substance.

After a brief assessment, the Wind Speed Wolf judged itself stronger than the tiger cub and chose to attack without hesitation. Out of caution, it let out a high-pitched howl before striking, sufficient to summon nearby companions.

Here we go again, she hadn't even done anything!

Jiang Mo inwardly wailed in complaint, but in reality, with her combat experience, she maintained a high degree of clarity and vigilance. Thus, as soon as the Wind Speed Wolf moved, even before System could issue a warning, she immediately reacted. Her small body quickly twisted, avoiding the wolf's sharp claws and teeth, dodging its first pounce with relative ease.

The Wind Speed Wolf's movements remained as swift as ever, but undeniably, with her greatly increased combat power, the little white tiger's reactions and movements had also become much more agile. Facing the Wind Speed Wolf's successive pounces, though somewhat awkward in her dodging, she genuinely avoided injury to even a single strand of fur.

By now, the Wind Speed Wolf also realized that the cub before it wasn't so easy to deal with. Already taking it seriously, the wolf became even more focused. As it pounced toward the little white tiger again, while she twisted to dodge, the Wind Speed Wolf opened its mouth, suddenly gathering a green energy ball among its sharp canines, then releasing it toward the little white tiger.

Wind Speed Wolves were called such because they were among the rare wind-attribute spirit beasts. They could naturally manipulate wind, enhancing their speed significantly during daily running and fighting by utilizing wind spiritual energy. Wind blades were also among their standard techniques.

The green energy ball released from the wolf's mouth transformed into multiple wind blades flying toward the little white tiger after leaving its mouth.

It must be said that the little white tiger's luck wasn't particularly good. The Wind Speed Wolf before her was considerably more talented than its peers. For instance, with this wind blade technique, ordinary Wind Speed Wolves could only release one blade at a time. Though this wolf might not have more spiritual energy than its peers, it could divide the energy needed for a single wind blade, transforming it into multiple smaller wind blades.

In other words, a sharp blade had been divided into hundreds of pieces. Though the killing power was somewhat reduced, being hit would result in death by a thousand cuts. From another perspective, what was originally a single-target attack skill had become an area attack under this Wind Speed Wolf's modification.

Wind blades were formless and colorless, nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. System only had time to shout: "Host, be careful!"

The golden tiger eyes narrowed slightly. Though she couldn't clearly see the wind blades hidden in the wind ball, the instinctive sense of crisis made her choose defense immediately—a golden light faintly covered the little white tiger's body, instantly transforming her into a small golden tiger.

Then, in the next moment, "ping ping pang pang" sounds like metal being struck rang out around the little white tiger. This wasn't all; perhaps accustomed to being "stingy" when killing Poison Spike Rats earlier, the little white tiger used limited spiritual energy to defend against this attack. The thin layer of golden light almost couldn't withstand the wind blade assault, frightening the little white tiger into immediately increasing her spiritual energy output.

Fortunately, she acted quickly enough and didn't sustain any damage.

But passively taking hits clearly wasn't the correct choice. Therefore, after breathing a sigh of relief, the little white tiger immediately regrouped. This time, she not only dodged and defended but began counterattacking.

Jianbing was originally a war god, a metal-attribute divine beast born for battle, fighting with broad, powerful movements... Blood inheritance likely guided them this way, but this particular one was an exception. Having not received her blood inheritance, combined with her previous life's memories and habits, her fighting style took an entirely different approach.

Dodge, dodge, defend, defend, then seize an opportunity to sneakily scratch with her claws...

This fighting style was somewhat underhanded, nothing like the majestic presence a White Tiger divine beast should possess, but its effectiveness was undeniable. Especially after the little white tiger learned to infuse spiritual energy into her claws—one scratch from her small paws on the Wind Speed Wolf immediately left deep claw marks several times larger than her actual claws. In just a few exchanges, she had reduced a perfectly fine Wind Speed Wolf to a bloody mess.

The forest's fresh air gradually filled with the scent of blood. Originally, Jiang Mo should have found this disgusting and nauseating, but perhaps influenced by her White Tiger body, she instead became increasingly excited.

The Wind Speed Wolf could no longer defeat her!

After several probing attacks, the little white tiger finally landed a decisive blow, tearing open the wolf's abdomen. Blood and internal organs spilled onto the ground. The once majestic Wind Speed Wolf lay on the ground, the ferocity in its bright yellow wolf eyes fading as their light dimmed, with only faint whimpers escaping its throat.

At her core, the little white tiger was still human. Though she had caused this bloody scene herself, she instinctively stepped back a few paces. Then she felt somewhat proud, slightly raising her head and calling "awoo": "I won, and this time I didn't need Senior Sister's help. I won fair and square." And she hadn't been injured and still had energy to spare—wasn't that worth being proud of?

System, the only one present who could understand her words, remained silent for a moment before saying: "Congratulations, host. This could be considered revenge." After a pause, it added: "But host, haven't you forgotten that this is the Wind Speed Wolf's den, and wolves hold grudges?"

Yes, wolves hold grudges, and they have keen senses of smell. Moreover, the little white tiger had killed a wolf and covered her paws in blood.

Jiang Mo realized this, and her pride instantly froze as she recalled the howl the Wind Speed Wolf had let out before attacking—had it been summoning its companions? Would the wolf pack arrive soon?!

With this thought, the little white tiger immediately felt her entire being deteriorate, no longer concerned with pride. She wiped her paws on the soil, then turned her head and called "awoo" several times, seemingly trying to find Yun Qingyue. However, Yun Qingyue was deliberately testing her and wouldn't appear at this moment. With no choice, the little white tiger opted to retreat on her own, immediately asking System to plan an escape route before taking off at full speed.

Sure enough, before the little white tiger had run very far, wolf howls erupted all around. Shortly after, a long howl sounded behind her, filled with anger and grief...

This was bad—she was about to be hunted by the wolf pack. Run, run, don't get surrounded!

The little white tiger ran at full speed, with System's light orb constantly flying ahead to guide her, carving out an escape route through the wolf pack's encirclement. Though she escaped being surrounded, she couldn't shake off the Wind Speed Wolves tracking the scent of wolf blood in her wake. Thus, in a continuous chase, the peaceful forest was thrown into complete chaos.

After the little white tiger and the Wind Speed Wolves had all run off, a white figure suddenly appeared before the dead wolf's body. She lowered her head to examine the wounds on the Wind Speed Wolf, her beautiful brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.