Chapter 76 : One Month
The "zizi" sound of electrical current rang in the little white tiger's ears, abruptly interrupting her romantic thoughts, bringing the tiger back to reality with a touch of regret and vexation. Then quickly, the now-alert little white tiger realized that the sound might be coming from the system, which had possibly been struck by tribulation lightning, causing poor electrical contact.
With this thought, the little white tiger temporarily set aside her frustration and looked around, discovering that finding the system's light cluster among a swarm of fireflies would be exceedingly difficult. She lowered her voice and called out several times: "System, system, is that you? Where are you?"
The system didn't respond verbally, but the "zizi" electrical current sound became increasingly urgent, seemingly its way of answering.
The little white tiger understood immediately—the system had likely been damaged by the lightning strike and couldn't emerge on its own. This made her feel somewhat uneasy, because almost everything she currently possessed came from the system—setting aside the body she had already taken over, her game level and combat power completely depended on the system. If the system was truly broken, would she be ruined as well?!
With this thought, the little white tiger's unease intensified, and her desire to train under Divine Lord Zhiming grew stronger. However, that was a matter for later; right now, she needed to find the system and see if there was any possibility of salvaging this piece of junk.
Unable to rely on the system to appear on its own, the little white tiger had no other method. She searched among the swarm of fireflies until her eyes blurred, and finally resorted to jumping up and down and even rolling in the grass. Fireflies weren't particularly brave—they either hid in the grass or perched on leaves, and would be startled into flight whenever the vegetation moved... The light cluster that couldn't fly away would probably be the system.
The little white tiger began her efforts with this goal in mind, but perhaps due to the cultivation world's lack of environmental pollution and abundant spiritual energy, the night grass was truly teeming with fireflies. With a "whoosh," a swarm of fireflies was startled into flight, and before the little white tiger could get a clear look, another batch of fireflies had already gently descended, their starlike lights nearly converging to illuminate the surroundings.
She suddenly thought that perhaps she had been mistaken earlier—with so many fireflies obscuring her vision at night, it might be better to return during the day to search for the system.
Just as the little white tiger began to waver, she suddenly felt herself lifted—Yun Qingyue had casually picked her up. The latter had been observing her for quite some time, initially thinking she was just playing, but later realizing she might genuinely be searching for something.
Yun Qingyue stroked the little white tiger's head and asked softly, "What are you looking for? Would you like my help?"
The little white tiger considered, then shook her head in refusal. Aside from the fact that she couldn't reveal the system's existence to anyone, even if Senior Sister sincerely wanted to help, the system's light cluster had always been visible only to her, so Senior Sister couldn't assist even if she wanted to. She could only search by herself, and if there were too many distractions making it impossible to find, she would just have to come back during the day.
Although the little white tiger refused, Yun Qingyue seemed to perceive hesitation and helplessness in her furry tiger face. Being naturally intelligent, though she couldn't completely guess the latter's thoughts, she had some understanding.
After a moment's reflection, Yun Qingyue didn't do much—she simply raised her sleeve, and an invisible force dispersed outward with her at the center.
A Nascent Soul cultivator possessed the power to topple mountains and drain seas, but Yun Qingyue's action was clearly restrained. When the force spread out, it didn't harm a single blade of grass or leaf, and even the fireflies resting on the leaves remained uninjured. Yet this force, like a strong wind sweeping through, bent all vegetation, naturally startling the insects resting on leaves into flight.
With a "whoosh," a large swarm of fireflies rose into the air, flying toward the sky as if frightened—quite a spectacular sight at first glance. The little white tiger was also startled by this sudden movement, then quickly looked back to scan the grass.
With so many distractions dispersed at once, the situation in the grass became immediately clear.
Points of light still lingered in the grass, perhaps injured fireflies unable to fly, or perhaps bold anomalies. But compared to before, the distractions had significantly decreased, and the little white tiger spotted her target with just a glance—the light of the system cluster differed from that of the fireflies, its color tone cooler, standing out instantly among the few remaining options.
Seeing this, the little white tiger became excited, patted Senior Sister's hand in gratitude, then leaped from her embrace once more. In a few bounds, she reached the grass where the system was located, brushed aside the newly descended fireflies, and then stood helplessly before the system's light cluster.
Yes, she suddenly remembered—the system had no physical form. Though the tiger and system often interacted, with the system frequently being "swatted" away by her, the tiger knew from personal experience that her swipes merely passed through air. The system appeared to be swatted away only because this drama queen was willing to play along to make her happy.
But now with the system lying here, how could she take it away, let alone repair it?!
The little white tiger was troubled. She opened her character panel again, finding it still covered in garbled code. Then she tentatively clicked on other functions, including messages and the store, all showing either garbled code or failing to load.
There was no precedent for something like this!
The little white tiger circled the system twice, at a loss, feeling stumped for the first time. Yet her actions appeared extremely strange to Yun Qingyue, since from Senior Sister's perspective, there was absolutely nothing in the spot the little white tiger was guarding. Fortunately, Yun Qingyue had always known the little white tiger harbored secrets and had no intention of probing too deeply, so she simply waited quietly for her next move.
After a while, the little white tiger, truly unable to think of a solution, reluctantly tried to reach out and touch the now flickering system light cluster. The best outcome would be that she could touch it; the worst would be that the system would give her another electric shock.
Anyway, with Senior Sister present, there should be no problem... right?
Emboldened by Senior Sister's presence, the little white tiger's courage increased, and she extended her paw, intending to prod the system light cluster. However, as her paw made contact with the system cluster, the previously flickering light suddenly went out. She jumped in fright, withdrawing her paw as if electrocuted, and when she looked back at where the system had been, she saw that there was nothing there.
The little white tiger's eyes widened in shock. Her paws unconsciously curled inward, afraid she had accidentally destroyed the system. She then cautiously called out "system" a couple of times, but received no response—even the previous "zizi" electrical sounds had vanished.
This made the little white tiger somewhat panic-stricken. After a frantic, directionless search, she remembered to check the game panel.
The system panel was still there, which relieved the little white tiger. When she opened it, she found that the screen of garbled code had disappeared. However, the system panel hadn't recovered; instead, it had become a blank white screen with only four blood-red characters saying "System Malfunction," like a business that had closed down, ceasing all services with an indefinite recovery time.
Nevertheless, this change immediately set the little white tiger's anxious heart at ease, as this abrupt transformation at least proved the system was intact, and through the recent contact, it had likely returned to her body.
This should not be a bad thing, right?
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After spending a long time at the Lightning Bramble Forest late at night, at least her wishes were fulfilled, making the trip worthwhile. Having found the system, the little white tiger ceased her antics and obediently returned to the private residence with Senior Sister.
Whether by coincidence or design, when the human and tiger returned to the residence, they ran right into Peak Master Qingyu. The master, usually immersed in secluded cultivation, was for some unknown reason not practicing today. She glanced at the human and tiger who had just dismounted from the flying sword, her brows slightly furrowing: "Qingyue, you should be in seclusion consolidating your cultivation right now. Why are you out so late at night?"
The sect competition had ended, but the Three Sect Martial Arts Competition followed, with less than a month remaining. This one-month period was barely enough for Yun Qingyue to stabilize her realm—how could she waste time on entertainment?
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue didn't explain, immediately lowering her head to acknowledge her mistake: "Disciple acknowledges her error. Please punish me, Master."
The little white tiger, cradled in Yun Qingyue's arms, cowered a bit at the sight of Master's stern face, but now felt guilty and uneasy seeing Yun Qingyue taking the blame for her. So she struggled out of Yun Qingyue's embrace and earnestly barked "aowu" toward Peak Master Qingyu, explaining: "It's not Senior Sister's fault. I wanted to go out, and Senior Sister was just worried about me and went looking for me."
Peak Master Qingyu didn't understand animal language, but seeing the little white tiger's hasty explanation, she could guess about seventy to eighty percent of the meaning. Her brow furrowed even more, and when she looked back at her senior disciple, there was a sense of disappointment, as if her protégé were neglecting important matters for trivial ones.
For Peak Master Qingyu, the sect's guardian divine beast was certainly important, but her senior disciple held an equally significant place in her heart. It was one thing for Yun Qingyue to habitually cuddle Jianbing like a pet cat—after all, Jianbing had no objections and was actually quite clingy. But now Yun Qingyue had just broken through in her cultivation, at a crucial moment for stabilizing her realm—how could she be distracted by external matters?
Even Jianbing shouldn't disturb her at this time!
With this thought, Peak Master Qingyu raised her hand, and the little white tiger was drawn through the air into her grasp. Holding the divine beast by the scruff of its neck, she earnestly instructed her disciple: "The Three Sect Martial Arts Competition is in one month. These days, you should focus on secluded cultivation to stabilize your realm. Jianbing will stay with me."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue instinctively looked up, and seeing the little white tiger being held obediently by the scruff of her neck, she inexplicably felt a pang of distress. Her fingers twitched, but she didn't dare contradict her master. Besides, she truly couldn't afford delays now, and leaving the little white tiger with her master would give her peace of mind. So she swallowed her words and, recalling the incident on the mountain path, said: "Master, disciple has something to report."
Qingyu wasn't particularly harsh—she held the little white tiger by the scruff only to prevent her from struggling and running away. Upon hearing this, she raised an eyebrow slightly: "What is it? Do you have objections to your master's arrangements?"
Yun Qingyue hurriedly replied, "Disciple wouldn't dare," then explained the incident on the mountain path.
Regarding Chu Yang, Yun Qingyue had already reported to Qingyu before. Now that she needed to retreat into seclusion to stabilize her realm, with no time for other matters, it was naturally most prudent to inform her master. Unfortunately, although Chu Yang occasionally revealed flaws, they had yet to catch any evidence of his ill intentions, and since Chu Yang had already become Qingxu's disciple, it was not appropriate to act rashly.
After listening, Qingyu's gaze darkened slightly, but she didn't say much, merely nodding: "Master understands."
The subsequent matters were beyond Yun Qingyue's control, and even more so for the little white tiger. They exchanged a glance—the little white tiger looked pitiful, held by the scruff of her neck, while Yun Qingyue merely sighed lightly before taking her leave to return to secluded cultivation to stabilize her realm.
Only after Yun Qingyue's silhouette disappeared from view was the little white tiger, still held by the scruff, brought into Qingyu's embrace. She stroked the little white tiger's smooth fur and lightly patted her head twice. Though her voice was cold, her tone wasn't too severe as she admonished: "Be good, don't disturb her. If she doesn't stabilize her realm now, it will affect her future path."
Hearing this, the little white tiger's ears drooped, and she truly didn't dare act rashly again, even feeling some regret for previously causing Senior Sister to come looking for her. But she still missed her so much—Senior Sister would be in seclusion for a month, meaning they wouldn't see each other for that long?
She already missed her, even though they had just parted...
It was all the system's fault!