The Mysterious White Tiger

The horizon turned a fish-belly white. The vermilion sun leaped over the great mountains of the Southern Wastes, casting brilliant morning light upon Heavenly Emperor City. The ancient, majestic metropolis shimmered with a faint golden glow, as if a withered World Tree had suddenly been infused with new life.

At first light, the great city's countless avenues and lanes began to fill with people. Before long, the clamor of voices rose, and prosperous Heavenly Emperor City started another day of bustling activity.

The violent storm of the previous night had done nothing but wash the streets clean, leaving the leaves and flowers of every plant more vividly green. The residents, long accustomed to the yearly celestial anomalies, paid it no mind at all.

Xiao Chen, with Keke in tow, strolled leisurely into Beidou Academy for breakfast. This had become his daily habit. Life on Academy Road was pleasant, and the academic atmosphere suited his cultivation perfectly.

Of course, as Hai Yuntian and Fatty Zhuge would say, Xiao Chen was no saint either. His comings and goings to the academy's dining hall and library had little to do with the food or books, and everything to do with the beauties among the students.

Xiao Chen simply ignored their remarks. The peace of the academy was unmatched by any other place. Though still young, he often sighed to himself that youth was truly wonderful. Within the academy, there was no scheming or deceit. Everything was pure. Once you walked out those gates, everything grew complicated.

After breakfast, he brought two large pieces of roasted meat for the Little Defiant Dragon and the Azure Dragon King, then returned to his residence. Taking two Dragon Kings out in public every day would cause a commotion, so this was the only way.

He cultivated quietly until the sun had climbed high, then went out alone to Beast-Fighting Street.

The roars of savage beasts shook heaven and earth. At this stage, every Beast-Fighting Palace was packed to capacity. The elimination rounds had reached their final phase, contending for the last beasts that could advance to the King ranks.

Dragon Kings and Holy Beasts were automatic candidates for Beast King. They had no need to participate in the preliminary battles and would only enter the competition when the final King Battles began.

After paying the steep entrance fee, Xiao Chen entered the Primitive Beast-Fighting Palace. The elimination matches here were of the highest grade; a beast that won seven consecutive battles would be promoted to Beast King, with no need for a round-robin.

Of course, the elimination rounds held at the three Beast-Fighting Palaces were of a very high standard. Only quasi-Beast Kings could compete, and no more than ten matches were held each day.

It had to be said that when a Beast-Fighting Pit was elevated to a 'Palace,' it underwent a qualitative leap. The structure was as magnificent as a royal hall.

Six thousand seats were arranged without any crowding, rising in tiers around the combat platform, allowing every spectator a clear view of the quasi-Beast King battles.

But since it was called a 'Beast-Fighting Palace,' there was more to it. There were also three hundred private boxes, each one splendidly decorated, inlaid with crystal screens built by Spiritists using their supernatural powers. From these boxes, one could watch the beast battles from every angle.

The three hundred private boxes were further graded. The best Celestial-grade boxes offered many additional services. Here, beauties from the Drunken Beauty Palace poured your wine, and maidens from the Sunken-Fish-Sinking-Goose Palace massaged your back. The luxury was beyond imagination.

The Primitive Beast-Fighting Palace was the Hai family's largest enterprise. Xiao Chen had entered without alerting anyone, and among the six thousand ordinary seats, fewer than ten were empty. But no sooner had he sat down than he was recognized.

The middle-aged man, Hai Yuntian's steward, immediately arranged for Xiao Chen to use a private box. There were certainly no vacancies in the top Celestial-grade boxes, but this one was still richly carved and meticulously appointed.

Every wall was inlaid with crystal-clear screens that provided a full view of the arena battles. Gentle beauties attended to his every need. It was like a small palace, easily accommodating a dozen people for conversation and spectating.

One could imagine the luxury of the Primitive Beast-Fighting Palace. After all, there were three hundred such boxes in total!

"Roar…" A tiger's cry shook even the private box, transmitted through the crystal screens. A white tiger, no more than a meter and a half long, looked utterly ordinary, but its roar was astonishing, deep and powerful.

The tiger pounced, sidestepped, and lashed its tail—the standard three techniques of the tiger clan. They seemed unremarkable, but its opponent, a winged divine leopard covered in dazzling yellow light, was captured and torn apart with ease.

An ordinary white tiger displaying extraordinary combat power, effortlessly tearing apart a quasi-Beast King, immediately caught Xiao Chen's attention.

Without a doubt, this was a juvenile battle beast, surely entered in the young beast division. Its opponents would be Holy Beasts and Dragon Kings!

The white tiger's second opponent appeared. It was a golden divine eagle, over two meters long, circling above the combat platform like a burning divine flame. With a clear cry, it transformed into a streak of golden light, diving down. Its sharp golden claws shone brighter than blade-light and cut more fiercely than sword energy, aimed directly at the unremarkable white tiger's head.

The little white tiger leaped nimbly, dodging to the side, evading the blow with incredible agility.

A cracking sound rang out as the brilliant golden eagle's claws tore into the diamond-hard platform. The surface, said to be tougher than refined steel, crumbled like mud under its talons.

With a flash of gold, the eagle swept its iron wings toward the tiger. The little white tiger lightly sprang aside, dodging again. The eagle soared into the air and opened its iron beak, sending a bolt of golden light crashing down on the tiger. This was a true quasi-Beast King; the golden eagle's strength was undeniable. It could manipulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, surpassing even powerful Spiritists and Spellmasters in ferocity.

The little white tiger leaped again, evading with astonishing speed. The golden light split the platform directly. Violent waves of energy surged, comparable to a strike from a Mortal-Shedding sixth- or seventh-heaven expert. It could certainly contend with a true juvenile Sacred Beast!

Dust filled the air. The golden eagle dove, its iron beak aiming for the tiger's eyes, while its icy claws ripped toward the tiger's belly. The attack was savage.

This time, the little white tiger did not dodge. It waited calmly as the brilliant golden light came within a foot of its body, then suddenly jumped to the side with impossible speed and twisted back, lunging at the eagle.

Even Xiao Chen, with his level of cultivation, was taken aback. The little white tiger's speed was incredible—it left only two afterimages before pinning the eagle and biting through its neck in a single motion. Then it darted back like a white bolt of lightning.

The headless eagle thrashed violently on the ground, tearing the diamond-hard floor to shreds.

"Can you find out who owns this white tiger?" Xiao Chen asked the beauty attending him. He instinctively sensed that this meter-and-a-half-long white tiger, though ordinary in appearance, possessed true strength that could place it among the Sacred Beasts, perhaps even surpassing some.

"It was investigated before, but nothing was found," the woman said, casting a charming glance at Xiao Chen. Her voice was soft and sweet.

The white tiger's next opponent was a young wolf. It was also only about a meter long, but it was incredibly mystical. Its entire body flashed with purple light; at the slightest movement, it emitted a brilliant purple radiance that hurt the eyes. Most peculiar of all, it had no wings but could still float in the air, flying with ease.

This was definitely a rare breed of savage beast. Such battle beasts were usually terrifyingly powerful.

Sure enough, the purple wolf let out a long howl that made the entire Beast-Fighting Palace tremble faintly. It moved through the air like purple lightning, striking down bolts of purple lightning that all viciously bombarded the white tiger on the ground.

The purple young wolf was exceptionally strong. Though it had been classified as a quasi-Beast King, this was already the strength of a juvenile Sacred Beast, fully deserving a place in the Beast King group.

"Boom, boom, boom…"

Dust and smoke billowed. The combat platform collapsed, shattered by the divine light the purple wolf had rained down. But the white tiger remained unharmed, moving like a flash of white light across the ruins, tracing an erratic, unpredictable path.

It dodged every attack as if by miracle, then turned its head to provoke the airborne wolf. The tiger raised one paw and beckoned it down with startling human-like intelligence.

The wolf in the air was clearly a highly intelligent juvenile beast as well. Its eyes narrowed, shooting two beams of purple light. After a long deliberation, it dove, for its close-combat skills were even more fearsome than its command over spiritual energy.

A flash of purple light charged into the ruins, stirring up a dazzling burst of radiance. Dust shot into the sky, and from the debris came the roars of beasts clashing.

When everything quieted down and the dust settled, everyone showed expressions of disbelief. The overwhelmingly powerful purple wolf had been gutted, its purple blood pooling beneath it, the divine light in its eyes fading. Meanwhile, the white tiger was completely unharmed, not a single drop of blood on its body.

The white tiger was utterly ordinary, showing no remarkable features whatsoever. Yet it possessed such terrifying combat power, so formidable it bordered on the horrific. Even some juvenile Sacred Beasts lacked this level of strength—that was the thought on everyone's mind.

For some reason, watching the white tiger's series of movements, Xiao Chen was reminded of the Little Defiant Dragon's ancient dragon combat techniques. He felt that the white tiger, too, seemed to have received a similar inheritance. Its every motion appeared simple and unadorned, yet they were flawlessly executed. When he thought back carefully, each movement was exquisitely precise—undoubtedly a priceless ancient combat technique of the beast race!