Chapter 117: World Four 【3】

What finally made Wen Ruyue decide wasn’t her Master’s advice, nor the fact that she was a hidden, die-hard fur-enthusiast. It was because, while Wen Ruyue was distracted, Jing Ke directly bit down on her wrist.

As the little tiger fangs pierced the skin and drew blood, an ancient and domineering Contract completely bound Wen Ruyue and Jing Ke together.

“It’s not a Master-Servant Contract. It should be an Equal Contract, right?” Under the concerned gazes of everyone, Wen Ruyue frowned and described her feelings. “I can vaguely sense the little Divine Beast’s condition. It seems to be absorbing my Spiritual Power…”

Head Wen carefully examined her Head Disciple’s body, then glanced at the Little White Tiger nestled in her disciple’s arm, eyes half-closed, tail swaying back and forth.

“It seems the little Divine Beast has recognized you. After hearing you wanted to leave it behind, it directly forced a binding on you,” Head Wen said with a hint of helplessness.

“You must pay attention to cultivating more. Raising a Divine Beast is no simple matter,” Head Wen advised, not knowing for a moment whether her Head Disciple’s luck was good or bad.

Throughout history, those who could make a Divine Beast proactively form a contract numbered fewer than ten. None of those who gained a Divine Beast’s recognition were nameless individuals.

But, unfortunately, this was the Age of Dharma Decline. The path of cultivation was already difficult to tread. Adding a minor Divine Beast, practically a gold-devouring beast, her Head Disciple would probably have to toil daily just to feed it.

“Yes, Master,” Wen Ruyue answered seriously, then suddenly felt an itch on her wrist.

Looking down, she saw the Little White Tiger, which had its eyes closed just a moment ago, had changed position and was now licking the wound on her wrist with its little tongue.

The remaining bloodstains quickly disappeared, and along with them, the wound that had been bleeding continuously moments before.

“The wound on Eldest Senior Sister’s wrist healed? Is this a Divine Power inherent to Divine Beasts?” Zhu Qiuyu asked. Her eyes had barely left the Little White Tiger, almost moving back and forth following the sway of its tail.

“It should be. There aren’t many records related to Divine Beasts to begin with, and many ancient texts have been lost or damaged, so what we can know is even less,” Head Wen exhaled softly.

Head Wen: “Since Ruyue, you’ve already formed a contract with the little Divine Beast, don’t be in a hurry to leave. First, go to the Library and read through all the relevant materials and commit them to memory before going out on tasks.”

“Yes, Master,” Wen Ruyue nodded in agreement. Her fingertips, hidden in the Little White Tiger’s downy fur, gently moved, stroking the soft belly of the Little White Tiger with extreme restraint.

Sensing Wen Ruyue’s movement, Jing Ke cooperatively stretched in her arms and let out a milky “Awoo.”

How Wen Ruyue managed to hold back from wildly inhaling the fluffy cuteness was unknown to anyone. But Zhu Qiuyu, watching from the side, was already gritting her teeth in endurance.

Eldest Senior Sister had such a ruthless, cold heart! Such an adorable Little White Tiger stretching in your arms, how could you not rub its belly, not kiss its little nose, its little mouth, its little belly!

Tang Ming and Gong Cang had average interest in fluffy things. After confirming Eldest Senior Sister hadn’t been hurt from the little Divine Beast’s bite, they returned to their rooms to cultivate in seclusion.

The battle against the Divine Beast Remnant Soul had given them a sliver of insight, requiring time to settle and comprehend it.

As for Qin Guang, he tightly clutched the Tiger Fang he had picked up. He hid the jealousy that shouldn’t have appeared very well, merely showing a hint of envy.

Even though it would bring many troubles, who wouldn’t want to contract a Divine Beast and make it their companion?

—

Following her Master’s instructions, Wen Ruyue postponed her mission for the Special Administration Bureau and focused on staying in the Library to memorize the few remaining records about Divine Beasts.

The White Tiger was a Divine Beast that had existed since ancient times, possessing numerous Divine Powers. As a Divine Beast associated with Slaughter and Warfare, the White Tiger was most famous for its immensely strong offensive power, and its ability to ward off evil and dispel calamities was also beyond doubt.

Wen Ruyue seriously flipped through these preserved ancient texts at the desk. Only after confirming she was completely alone and the Little White Tiger in her arms was sound asleep did she, with extreme restraint, place her hand on the little White Tiger’s back and stroke it very gently.

Whether it was the slight upward curve of Wen Ruyue’s lips or her eyes overflowing with affection, everything looked completely different from the cold and seemingly heartless Eldest Senior Sister of ordinary days.

After a couple of strokes, Wen Ruyue continued reading the ancient texts while also diligently practicing an Illusion Technique.

It couldn’t be helped. The white tiger was currently a Class 1 nationally protected animal. Unless Wen Ruyue could truly lock the Little White Tiger up at home all day, she would definitely have to find a way to use a spell to confuse ordinary people’s perception.

The corresponding Divine Beast materials in the Library were few. In less than two days, Wen Ruyue had memorized them all backwards.

The relatively troublesome part was figuring out how to use an Illusion Technique on a Divine Beast. Although the Little White Tiger was a cub, its bloodline rank was right there. Low-level spells landing on it would be automatically nullified.

After struggling for seven days and discovering her researched Illusion Techniques still had no effect on the Little White Tiger, Wen Ruyue could only carry the Little White Tiger—which spent twenty-three hours a day clinging to her—to her Master, explaining the difficulty.

“Master, can you try using an Illusion Technique on the Little White Tiger? The apartment I chose isn’t in the City Center, but there’s still a fair amount of foot traffic normally…” Wen Ruyue said with a touch of distress.

Wen Ruyue: “If the Little White Tiger can’t change its appearance in the eyes of ordinary people, I probably won’t be able to take it on missions.”

“Illusion Technique?” Head Wen raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you read the materials? A pure White Tiger bloodline can break through Illusions. Not to mention Your Master, even a Nascent Soul great power could not use an Illusion Technique on a White Tiger.”

Wen Ruyue looked down at the Little White Tiger playing with its own tail, sighing helplessly. “Master, in that case, I’ll just have to use Illusion Techniques on every passerby I encounter.”

Head Wen shook her head upon hearing this. “That’s too troublesome, and oversights are inevitable.”

“Master, what should this disciple do?” Wen Ruyue asked.

“We cannot use Illusion Techniques on the Little White Tiger, but you can teach the Little White Tiger how to transform its shape. Just have it turn itself into another animal,” Head Wen said.

“This… will it work?” Wen Ruyue couldn’t help looking down at the Little White Tiger in her arms again.

The Little White Tiger she was holding seemed to have heard their conversation. It opened its big, innocent eyes wide and even deliberately tilted its head cutely.

Wen Ruyue’s body stiffened. She swallowed silently. After composing herself for a moment, she softened her voice and asked, “Little White Tiger, did you hear that? Are you willing to learn the Transformation Art?”

“Awoo~” Jing Ke cooperatively cried out, then rubbed her furry head against Wen Ruyue’s chest.

So soft… was this the special treatment of being a cub?

“Are you agreeing?” Wen Ruyue asked, a little uncertain. After the contract was signed, though she could vaguely sense the Divine Beast’s mood, it was still far from mind-reading.

For example, right now, Wen Ruyue could only feel the little Divine Beast was very relaxed and seemed quite happy.

“Master, when can Divine Beasts speak human language to communicate with me?” Wen Ruyue looked at her Master with a pleading gaze.

“Well, Your Master has never raised a Divine Beast. Generally speaking, Spirit Beasts can speak human language only after reaching Foundation Establishment, but for Divine Beasts…” Head Wen was also somewhat uncertain.

Based on her knowledge, Divine Beasts were born with knowledge. Since the Little White Tiger could understand what they were saying, it should be able to communicate with them.

Taking a step back, even if the Divine Beast didn’t want to communicate with outsiders, her Head Disciple was the existence the Divine Beast proactively contracted with. They should be able to understand each other’s intentions, right?

Head Wen’s understanding wasn’t wrong, but unfortunately, Jing Ke always remembered something someone once said: reading another person’s inner thoughts without greeting them first was an extremely impolite act.

So, the very polite Jing-Little-White-Tiger-Ke had switched off the mutual telepathy function, leaving only a vague perception of emotions.

“Little White Tiger, if you’re willing to learn the Transformation Art, jump onto the table. If you’re not willing, just lie still and don’t move,” Wen Ruyue said.

Jing Ke blinked. After a moment’s thought, she chose to place her tail on the table and forcefully tapped it twice.

“Are you agreeing?” Wen Ruyue raised an eyebrow and asked.

“Awoo~” Jing Ke cried out softly.

“Fine, then I’ll take that as your agreement.” A look of helplessness appeared on Wen Ruyue’s face. “Master, I might need to stay within the sect for another period. If the Special Administration Bureau comes asking, I’ll have to trouble Master to deal with it for this disciple.”

“Go ahead. I’ve already spoken to the Director of the Special Administration Bureau. She was very happy that you successfully subdued… successfully formed a contract with a Divine Beast,” Head Wen said.

Head Wen: “Don’t worry about the mission matters. Tang Ming has already gone to help. It’s just an ordinary Qi Condensation Stage Demon Beast; he can handle it.”

“Yes, Master.” Wen Ruyue looked once more at the Little White Tiger in her arms. Meeting its innocent amber eyes, she could only restrainedly stroke its fur with her fingertip, then continue researching the Transformation Art.

A small Transformation Art was incredibly simple for Jing Ke. She didn’t even need to learn; she could transform into a silver tabby American Shorthair without any flaws.

But influenced by her true form, Jing Ke particularly enjoyed her alone time with Wen Ruyue.

So Jing Ke pretended to be a somewhat slow-reacting Little White Tiger. It took her a whole half-month just to barely change from a little tiger into a harmless little cat.

During this period, Jing Ke also encountered Qin Guang trying to use her Mother’s Memento to attract her attention. The first time, Jing Ke ignored him. The second time, Jing Ke impolitely gave him a swipe of her paw.

By the third time, Jing Ke directly bit his hand, snatched back her Mother’s Memento, turned around, and stuffed it into her own built-in Storage Space.

When Qin Guang went to Head Wen to complain, bearing the injury on his hand, Jing Ke obediently sat on the table, swaying her tail and tilting her head innocently at Wen Ruyue.

“Junior Brother, perhaps the Little White Tiger misunderstood you. You carry the scent of its mother. It’s normal for it to be a bit hostile towards you,” Zhu Qiuyu, the fur-fanatic, was the first to defect.

“But can’t the Divine Beast understand our words? It should know its mother’s death had nothing to do with me,” Qin Guang couldn’t help muttering quietly. “The Divine Beast Remnant Soul was clearly defeated by Eldest Senior Sister…”

“Then the Little White Tiger was just playing with you and momentarily failed to control its strength,” Zhu Qiuyu said.

Although Zhu Qiuyu usually treated Qin Guang quite well, before a fluffy creature, Junior Brother was somewhat insignificant.

What fault could such an adorable fluffy thing have? It was just a misunderstanding of Junior Brother! Fluffy things have no faults!

Tang Ming was on a mission and couldn’t offer an opinion.

Gong Cang was somewhat displeased about the Little White Tiger injuring Junior Brother. But hearing his Master say the Little White Tiger’s current strength was not inferior to the Foundation Establishment Stage, he silently shut his mouth.

A Foundation Establishment Demon Beast could snap Junior Brother’s spine with a single flick of its tail. Now, Junior Brother had only been bitten. Because it was a Divine Beast, he didn’t even need a vaccine shot. It was already quite good.

“Medical expenses, I’ll pay.” Now that things had quieted down, Wen Ruyue spat out four terse words, definitively ending the matter.

Seeing the Sect Master didn’t object to this outcome, and that the Third Senior Brother and Little Senior Sister who normally favored him remained silent, Qin Guang could only swallow his resentment and accept it.

—

Thus, after staying at the Sect Grounds for roughly a month, Wen Ruyue was finally able to leave, bringing Jing Ke, who had already transformed into a harmless little cat.

Theoretically, Divine Beasts only needed to absorb the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth. However, unfortunately, after leaving the Sect Grounds, the concentration of Spiritual Energy dropped by three or four times.

Wen Ruyue could only follow the “Divine Beast Rearing Guide,” freely gifted by the Beast Taming Sect Leader, and feed the Little White Tiger in her arms one relatively average quality Spirit Stone daily.

It couldn’t be helped. Although Wen Ruyue’s personal wealth was second only to the Sky Vault Sect Elders, she only had about a hundred or so High-grade Spirit Stones, each worth millions. If she fed one per day, within six months, her pockets would be completely empty.

According to the current Spirit Stone grading, one High-grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to one hundred average-quality Common Spirit Stones, and one Common Spirit Stone was equivalent to one hundred Inferior Spirit Stones.

What Wen Ruyue didn’t know was that, as a Divine Beast favored by heaven and earth, Jing Ke had been cherished by the World Consciousness the moment she awoke.

Therefore, even if Wen Ruyue didn’t feed her, Jing Ke could lie down and still increase her Cultivation Base. If she just lay around for one or two decades, her strength would probably break through automatically.

However, adhering to the idea that things obtained with difficulty are treasured more, Jing Ke accepted all of Wen Ruyue’s offerings without refusal.

When Wen Ruyue fed her a Spirit Stone, Jing Ke would crunch it to pieces right in front of her, then gulp it down with a swallow.

—

After successfully driving to her apartment complex, Wen Ruyue held Jing Ke, now transformed into a silver tabby American Shorthair, took the elevator from the Underground Garage, and arrived at her apartment, 1202.

Wen Ruyue had timed her return around lunchtime. The elevator stopped once on the first floor, and three exhausted office workers and a delivery person holding takeout entered.

The Little White Tiger had indeed transformed into the appearance of a little cat, but Wen Ruyue had never heard the Little White Tiger meow. She was a bit worried it might suddenly let out a milky Tiger’s Roar.

So as the elevator filled, Wen Ruyue silently stepped back, covering the little cat with her jacket to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

The elevator smoothly stopped on the twelfth floor. Wen Ruyue stepped out holding the little cat and took out her keys to unlock the door.

“Little Sister Wen, you’re finally back! Were you on a business trip?” Before Wen Ruyue could open the door, the young woman living in apartment 1201 proactively greeted her, holding the lunch she’d just received from the delivery person.

“Mm,” Wen Ruyue answered briefly, turning the key and opening the Main Entrance.

“Little Sister Wen, wait a sec! The homeowner’s association ran a survey a few days ago. I kept your copy for now. Let me go get it for you,” the neighbor girl said.

Ducking inside with her takeout, the girl quickly came back out holding a paper questionnaire.

“Little Sister Wen, here it is. It’s a survey from the HOA about satisfaction with the property management. Just fill it out, take a photo, and upload it,” the girl said, her sharp eyes spotting the little cat in Wen Ruyue’s arms.

“Little Sister Wen, is this your cat?! How did you manage to bring back a cat from a business trip?” the girl exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

If not for the little cat pressing so tightly against Wen Ruyue’s chest, the girl might have already reached out for a stroke.

“Mm. Met it on the road. Liked it, so I adopted it,” Wen Ruyue trotted out her pre-prepared explanation.

“Wow, this must be a purebred silver tabby, right? And golden eyes, so beautiful,” the girl said excitedly. “Little Sister Wen, where did you adopt it?”

“Encountered it during a business trip to Shuangyang City. It was on the road,” Wen Ruyue patched up her story.

“Ugh, how come I never run into such a pretty kitty,” the girl said, her envy practically overflowing.

Wen Ruyue instinctively held Jing Ke tighter. “Don’t you have a cat? I remember it was an orange tabby?”

“It is, but you can never have too many cats, right?” the girl chuckled, blinking as she made her request. “Little Sister Wen, what’s this kitty’s name? Can I pet it?”

“Name, ah…” Wen Ruyue froze. She’d been raising this Little White Tiger for nearly a month, and it seemed she still hadn’t given it a name yet.

“Mm, I call it… Little White.” Wen Ruyue omitted the last ‘Tiger’ part. “It’s a bit shy, hasn’t had its shots yet, and bites.”

“Little White, huh… That name is… quite nice.” The girl chose to praise with her eyes closed, then silently withdrew her itching-to-move hand.

She had her vaccinations, but getting bitten would still hurt a lot.

She’d just feast her eyes on it. Later, she’d go back to her room and pet her own orange tabby more instead.