Chapter 138 – Arrival at Yicheng

Chapter 138 – Arrival at Yicheng

When Cheng Yang rode the white tiger back to Liu Xiyue and Niu Bing, their expressions were a sight to behold.

A bit of shock was inevitable, but it didn’t last long as they quickly noticed Cheng Yang riding on the tiger’s back. If Cheng Yang could ride it, then clearly the beast wasn’t a threat.

“Yang, you’re absolutely badass! How did you get this thing?” Niu Bing drooled, unable to resist flattering Cheng Yang. Even the most honest people have their moments of smooth-talking.

Before Cheng Yang could respond, the white tiger let out a roar, sending Niu Bing stumbling back a few steps, his face pale. Fortunately, the tiger seemed to understand that these two weren’t enemies of its master, so it didn’t attack. It knew better than to defy Cheng Yang now that its life was in his hands as his pet.

*I’m a wise tiger who knows the bigger picture!* the tiger thought to itself.

Cheng Yang chuckled, “This guy understands human speech. Calling it a ‘thing’ naturally upset it.”

Niu Bing, who had been about to retort to the tiger to boost his own confidence, swallowed his words upon hearing this. He forced a laugh and said, “Brother Tiger, Lord Tiger, please don’t hold it against me. I didn’t know your majesty earlier. I apologize. Please look out for me in the future.”

The tiger nodded in a very human-like manner and then ignored Niu Bing. In its eyes, Niu Bing was too weak. If it weren’t for his relationship with its master, a single swipe of its tail could end his life.

Niu Bing didn’t mind the tiger’s disdain and continued eagerly, “Yang! Lord! What’s going on here?”

“Don’t call me that, it’s making me cringe,” Cheng Yang said with a look of disdain. “This is my new pet. As I’ve told you before, besides demonized beasts, there are also mutated beasts in this world, and mutated beasts can be tamed as pets.”

Niu Bing immediately said, “Then I should try my luck too and see if I can find a mutated beast.”

Cheng Yang was startled. It seemed Niu Bing’s desire for a pet was quite strong, fitting for his profession. But Cheng Yang was worried he might actually go looking for one. “If you don’t want to die early, you’d better drop that idea. Not only is it hard to find a mutated beast, but even if you do, you’d probably be close to death. I was just lucky this time to get a mutated beast pet so easily.”

Niu Bing mumbled a bit but didn’t say anything more.

Cheng Yang said he got the tiger by luck, but that wasn’t entirely true. When he first saw the tiger, he had already decided to tame it. To ensure success, before attacking the giant python, Cheng Yang had upgraded his Bone-Devouring Pearl to level 3, spending 110,000 spirit energy points.

Cheng Yang’s plan was to release the Bone-Devouring Ants if he couldn’t kill the python in one strike. He estimated the python’s remaining health wouldn’t exceed 300 points, and with his attack, it would be enough to finish it off.

But the python turned out to be so weak that it was killed in one strike, saving him a lot of trouble. So, in a way, it was luck.

Throughout this, Liu Xiyue had been quietly watching, not saying a word. She knew that if a pet like this was something she could obtain, Cheng Yang would definitely tell her how when she was strong enough.

“Alright, let’s move out. We still need to reach Yicheng today,” Cheng Yang said.

Niu Bing looked at Cheng Yang riding the massive white tiger and couldn’t help but sigh. “Boss, the difference in treatment is too big. How about we all ride it together…”

Before he could finish, the tiger glared at him, making Niu Bing’s heart race. This beast was too violent, and Niu Bing didn’t dare provoke it.

Cheng Yang had no solution for this. Although the tiger was his pet, it had its own intelligence, and he couldn’t force it too much. Besides, while the tiger was strong, carrying three people would be too much for it.

Cheng Yang glanced at Liu Xiyue. The tiger might be able to carry her, but… as a lord, he couldn’t take advantage of his subordinate. That wouldn’t be right.

Of course, Cheng Yang would never admit that he was just too embarrassed to ask.

“Xiyue, you should ride it,” Cheng Yang finally said, jumping off the tiger. Among the three of them, Liu Xiyue was the slowest, so having the tiger carry her was the best choice.

Before Liu Xiyue could respond, the tiger had already crouched down, looking at her with a讨好 expression.

Cheng Yang and Niu Bing both cursed the tiger in their hearts. *This damn perverted tiger! It’s the perfect example of a beast that goes weak in the knees at the sight of a beauty!*

But Cheng Yang only mentally scolded it. Seeing Liu Xiyue hesitate, he urged, “Just get on. This way, we can reach Yicheng sooner.”

Liu Xiyue hesitated for a moment but then gracefully jumped onto the tiger’s back.

“Little White, you better walk steadily. If you let her fall, you’ll regret it,” Cheng Yang maliciously gave the tiger a name.

The tiger’s eyes showed a hint of resentment. As an intelligent mutated beast, it understood that “Little White” wasn’t the most ideal name. But it never expected this tragic name would stick with it for life.

If it had known, it wouldn’t have been so eager to let Liu Xiyue ride it. At least it could have pretended to be矜持! Ah, too inexperienced.

The trio and the tiger continued their journey.

Cheng Yang felt that taming Little White was an absolutely correct decision. With it leading the way, any thorns blocking their path were easily cleared with a swipe of its claws, allowing the group to move forward effortlessly.

With Little White’s 80-point physical attack power and sharp claws, tearing through thorns was overkill. But Cheng Yang couldn’t help but appreciate it.

With this speed, the group moved much faster. Even when encountering demonized beast hordes, Little White’s presence made things much easier. Any beast below late-stage first rank was instantly killed with a single swipe. And now, Liu Xiyue didn’t need to hide anymore. Sitting on Little White’s back, she freely used her Holy Words, turning late-stage first rank demonized beasts into corpses one after another.

Watching from a distance, Niu Bing became even more determined to get a good pet. Although he could summon Shadow Wolves now, they were limited in strength and duration, making them unsuitable for riding.

After over an hour, Little White’s stamina had fully recovered. Cheng Yang noticed that as long as it wasn’t engaged in intense activity or using its天赋 skill, its stamina recovered at a rate of 1 point per minute, which was quite fast.

Now, Cheng Yang hoped to encounter an early-stage second rank demonized beast. With their current lineup, even an early-stage second rank beast would be no match for them. Even a mid-stage second rank beast would be manageable.

But reality played a joke on Cheng Yang. Despite his high hopes, they didn’t encounter a single early-stage second rank beast, let alone a mid-stage one.

By the time Little White’s stamina was fully restored, they were less than a kilometer from their destination.

Cheng Yang didn’t plan to head straight to Yicheng to rescue people. Instead, he intended to first find and occupy a territory altar. So, under his lead, the trio headed straight for the altar’s location.

Liu Xiyue, with the farthest vision, was the first to signal Little White to stop. She had already spotted the massive horde of demonized beasts ahead.

Unlike the demonized beast hordes she had seen before, this one wasn’t composed of a single species but a mix of various demonized beasts, numbering no less than ten thousand.

Liu Xiyue had fought large hordes of demonized beasts with Cheng Yang before, but those were at most one or two thousand strong. A horde of ten thousand was something she had never encountered.

Cheng Yang didn’t need to look to guess the situation ahead. He had traveled this path many times in his previous life and was certain that the territory altar he sought was up ahead.

“What’s wrong?” Niu Bing asked, confused.

Liu Xiyue said, “There are too many demonized beasts ahead, and they’re not of a single type… Lord, what should we do? Fight or go around?”

A hint of joy flashed across Cheng Yang’s face. “The only thing that can gather different types of demonized beasts together is a territory altar. With so many demonized beasts here, there must be a territory altar nearby… It seems you two are in luck.”

Liu Xiyue and Niu Bing hadn’t expected Cheng Yang to say this. Hearing about the territory altar, they both lit up with excitement. They knew very well how powerful a territory altar could be.

“Yang, with my eightfold cultivation speed, I can reach high-level apprentice in three to four days at most. After we take the altar, let’s give the opportunity to Liu Xiyue,” Niu Bing said after some thought.

Liu Xiyue, however, said, “My cultivation speed isn’t slow either. I can reach high-level in six days. Giving it to me would be a waste too.”

Cheng Yang smiled wryly. “When I asked you to come with me this morning, why didn’t you bring this up? Now where am I supposed to find someone suitable to be the village chief of this altar?”

“I… I thought the chance of finding an altar here was too small, and the journey was too dangerous. I didn’t want to risk others,” Liu Xiyue murmured, genuinely afraid Cheng Yang would blame her.

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