Tang Yao had not even dirtied the hem of her clothes as she arrived, fresh as a daisy, before Chu Song's protective barrier.
Chu Song opened his eyes, looking rather bedraggled. When he saw Tang Yao right in front of him, his jaw nearly dropped.
Chu Song: "?"
What shocked him even more was that there were no Demon Beasts within a one-meter radius of Tang Yao?!
Just as Tang Yao was about to hand Chu Song his identity token.
"Bang-"
A bolt of heavenly lightning struck.
Tang Yao hastily dodged, and the lightning landed beside her feet.
Seriously?! She wanted to curse at the heavens. Could you aim your lightning properly?! I'm only at Foundation Establishment!
She could dodge the Demon Beasts, but she could not dodge the lightning.
Looking a little embarrassed, Chu Song took out his last protective talisman and enveloped both himself and Tang Yao.
"Here's your identity token!" Tang Yao handed it to Chu Song.
His eyes lit up at the sight, admiration written all over his lightning-blackened face.
"How did you do it? This little brother bows in worship!"
Tang Yao cleared her throat. She would leave out the part about her sneak attack, so she changed the subject. "Crush it now. It'll be easier to undergo your lightning tribulation outside."
Chu Song had initially wanted to leave because there were too many Demon Beasts for him to handle...
But after undergoing the tribulation, he had decided to let the broken pot shatter.
He discovered that the lightning tribulation had struck dead every Demon Beast that came near him. Now that Brother Tang had brought him his identity token, he had even fewer worries.
"Hurry and get away from me. Don't worry about me! However many come, I'll zap them all!"
Tang Yao nodded. Apart from looking a little bedraggled and having a blackened face, Chu Song really did seem quite spirited.
Then she suddenly remembered that Chu Song had a Lightning Spirit Root. Someone with a Lightning Spirit Root ought to be able to withstand lightning strikes, right?!
"Brother Chu, don't you have a Lightning Spirit Root? You should be able to withstand lightning, right? Why not try tempering your body with heavenly lightning?"
This was the first Chu Song had heard of such a thing being possible. Still, he personally trusted his comrade-in-arms, so he really did intend to try. "Then hurry and leave. I'll take down the protective barrier!"
But a figure immediately sat down beside him!
Chu Song: "?"
"Count me in on something this good." Tang Yao grinned and greeted him from his side.
Chu Song: "..." Don't scare me.
Then Tang Yao closed her eyes and mobilized the glowing white Spirit Root within her. The purple Qi instantly transformed into violet-blue Spiritual Qi laced with lightning, and the presence of lightning enveloped her in an instant.
Chu Song: "?!!"
Now Chu Song was utterly dumbfounded. He knew just how rare Lightning Spirit Roots were.
Tang Yao gave a sly smile. "Keep it secret."
Chu Song nodded mechanically, as though he still had not recovered.
Tang Yao: "Take down the protective barrier."
Chu Song: "Ah, ah, okay!"
The sight had simply been too much of a shock...
Immediately afterward, a bolt of heavenly lightning slammed straight down onto Chu Song. Only that painfully exhilarating sensation brought him back to his senses. He looked at Tang Yao beside him, and after confirming she was fine, he began circulating his Spiritual Qi and meditating.
Tang Yao was caught in that lightning strike too. She also tried absorbing the heavenly lightning. The instant she touched it, a painful, tingling numbness shot from her feet straight to the crown of her head. The heavenly lightning merged with the Lightning Spiritual Qi around her, nearly scorching every inch of her skin.
The power of lightning clinging to the surface of her skin was rapidly absorbed. Within her body, it was cleansed by her Spirit Root and transformed into that wisp of pale-purple Spiritual Qi.
Then five or six bolts of heavenly lightning struck in succession, blasting the surrounding Demon Beasts into scattered disarray. Only when the final bolt landed did Tang Yao reluctantly open her eyes.
Mid-stage Foundation Establishment!
Tang Yao began regretting not coming over to mooch some lightning sooner!
Chu Song opened his eyes too. The Golden Core Realm. He tried expanding his mental domain; it was more than twice as large as before. The spirit beast within his Divine Sense had also reached the Golden Core level, and the physical enhancement provided by the spirit beast had increased by 10%.
That was the advantage of being a beast cultivator.
The two stared wide-eyed at each other. Their hair had long since been blasted into afros, and their faces were pitch-black, as though they had just returned from digging coal.
At that moment, the two had a damned good tacit understanding: neither laughed at the other's appearance.
Compared with improving their strength, what did any of that matter?! It was not worth mentioning!
But now was not the time to celebrate. Watching the Demon Beasts still pouring in from every direction, they feared killing so many without the heavenly lightning would take some effort.
At that thought, Tang Yao silently opened the rankings. Looking at the glaring words on it, sure enough...
First place: Chu Xiaohua, 2,586 points
Second place: Chi Wang, 868 points
Third place: Jiang He, 536 points
Fourth place: Tang Xiaocao, 360 points
Chu Song had left everyone in the dust, leading second place by over a thousand points.
But how had she gotten over three hundred points? Could it be that standing beside Chu Song meant those Demon Beasts counted as joint kills?
Standing beside Chu Song, Tang Yao watched him pull all sorts of low-grade stun talismans, explosive talismans, and diamond talismans from his Storage Bag and fling them out as though they cost nothing. "Chu Song, with that score, your place as the Profound Heaven Sect's second disciple is in the bag!"
Chu Song looked helpless at that. "These Demon Beasts are seriously sick in the head!"
They were all charging toward him. What could he do except fight? He looked utterly unable to voice his suffering.
Only then did Tang Yao finally understand why, in the novel, Chu Song was the Profound Heaven Sect's second disciple and Chi Wang was the third...
"Brother Tang, at this point, I'm not planning to leave either. I'm going to pull off a big one. I already have this many points anyway, so I might as well get some more and exchange them for things at the Exchange Pavilion later."
Tang Yao nodded, finding that perfectly reasonable.
Her place in the top three was assured too. Jiang He might currently be third, but Tang Yao's results in the first two rounds utterly trounced hers. Taking everything together, she and Chu Song were already as good as personal disciples. It was nailed down.
Then let the broken pot shatter. Profound Heaven Sect, rest assured! A teacher for a day is a father for life!
She certainly would not forget this kindness.
Half an hour later, Chu Song's Storage Bag was nearly emptied, and their points had shot up by over a thousand.
While hesitating over whether to crush her identity token, Tang Yao spotted a cave beside the lava in the mountain range. Despite being completely devoid of reason as the beast tide surged, the beasts actually avoided the cave entrance and took the long way around.
Finding that strange, Tang Yao told Chu Song and planned to take him over for a look. They could not get swindled or lose out.
If there was danger, they could just crush their identity tokens anyway.
Tang Yao quietly circulated her Spirit Root, releasing a little Demonic Qi to clear a path. Chu Song followed close behind. Though he did not know how Tang Yao was doing it, that did not stop him from being her lackey.
Boss is so cool! This little brother bows in worship!
Before long, the two reached the cave. Tang Yao dispersed the Demonic Qi, but the Demon Beasts still did not dare approach.
There was something to this place.
The two continued deeper into the cave. The farther they went, the hotter it grew, the temperature within the earth rising. Suddenly, a transparent barrier blocked their path.
Chu Song patted it and pondered for a moment. "We probably need some sort of trigger to open it. Or should we try forcing our way in? I still have a few talismans." But what if his explosive talismans brought the cave down without even opening the barrier?
Tang Yao said seriously, "Even if we're smashing it open, having your spirit pet ram it would probably work much better than those low-grade talismans."
Chu Song: "..." He seemed to have a point.
Outside earlier, he had not dared release his spirit pet for fear of attracting attention. Now, though, he could call it out.
"Little White!" As his voice fell, a small white tiger appeared before them.
Little White. What a slapdash name.
Then white light flashed, and he transformed into a little boy who looked seven or eight years old, with a forehead band beneath his silvery-white fringe and bright, piercing golden eyes.
"I'm telling you! Don't call me Little White! I've put up with it long enough!" came an enraged boyish voice.
Tang Yao swallowed and turned toward Chu Song, her expression seeming to say, Brother, are all you beast cultivators this badass? Your spirit beasts can take human form at the Golden Core Realm?
Chu Song was clearly frightened himself and nearly leaped five meters into the air.
How had his adorable little kitty-no, his adorable little tiger-become like this?!! This was the spirit beast his father had brought him when he was little!
Tang Yao, however, was not nearly as shaken as Chu Song. Faced with such an adorable child, she reached out her wicked hand and rubbed the little boy's head. It was fluffy and felt wonderful. "Then what should we call you?"
The little boy's face darkened. Looking at his current appearance, he could not speak for a long while. Finally, he said helplessly, "Then... Little White it is."
"Then, Little White, can you see whether you can open this barrier?" Tang Yao continued with a grin.
Chu Song clearly still had not processed that his spirit beast had taken human form when Little White shoved him aside with a paw. "Don't block me here. Let me look at this barrier!"
Chu Song: "?"
Wait, what?!
Chu Song silently squatted in a corner and drew circles.