A few days passed, and at last, the long-awaited Dragon and Phoenix Tournant had arrived.
Liu i trudged behind Ace, her head hanging low, disappointnt etched across her face. She had failed to ascend to Gold Rank, and the weight of that failure pressed down on her like a heavy stone.
Ace, on the other hand, had his own grievances. He had envisioned himself arriving at the tournant atop a majestic mount—sothing grand and befitting his status when he first received the five tail fox as a mount.
Instead, he was the mount.
Perched on his head, his newly acquired five-tailed snow fox lounged like royalty, completely unbothered by the struggle beneath her.
anwhile, Shan Yifeng had left a day earlier to et with the Hua family, accompanied by Zhao Yun, whom Ace had, by this point, ntally demoted to "personal servant"—his beck-and-call girl.
As for Xie Ninger… well, she was sowhere. Not his problem.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, Liu i looked up at him with genuine concern.
"Master, do you want to rest?" she asked, her tone uncharacteristically polite, her worried gaze locked onto him.
Ace gritted his teeth. No way. He was the elder. The master. How could he let his disciple worry for him? Where was his prestige?!
But then, the voice in his head sneered.
"Fool! What good is your pride when you're about to pass out? You think collapsing face-first into the dirt gives you prestige?"
Still, he pressed on.
Liu i, however, was persistent. She deliberately matched his every step, never letting him out of her sight.
After another grueling hour, Ace finally gave in. He exhaled deeply, defeated.
"i'er... let's take a break."
"Yatta! Okay, Master!" she cheered, instantly leaping onto the branch of a nearby tree like an overexcited squirrel.
Ace rolled his eyes but let her be. He reached into his inventory, pulled out a Spirit Apple, and tossed it to her.
Liu i caught it effortlessly, flashing a grin as she took a big bite.
Ace sighed, glancing at the freeloading fox still sprawled on his head.
"Well, I'm also a Silver Rank, so it's all good. Foxy, here, have so apple," he muttered, putting a fruit next to the white fox.
The fox eyed him.
There was distinct displeasure in her gaze, as if she were personally offended by the na choice. But in the end, she took a large bite, munching away in begrudging acceptance.
Yes.
Ace had nad his legendary spirit beast—a five-tailed snow fox—simply "Foxy."
Because, well…
It was a fox.
"Master, can I pet White Fur?" Liu i asked, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"No."
"Why not?"
"She's my spirit beast," Ace replied, crossing his arms like a dignified master.
Or so he thought.
Because the very next second, White Fur—his supposed loyal companion—hopped off his head, scampered up the tree, and promptly nestled herself right into Liu i's lap.
Ace's eye twitched.
"Hey! That's—She's my spirit beast!"
Liu i giggled, smugness radiating off her like a second aura.
"Hehe, Master~ why not just give her to as a gift?"
"No."
"Co on, I'm your favorite disciple!"
"No, I prefer Shan Yifeng."
"Oh, please, I was your FIRST disciple! That ans seniority! You'll give White Fur, right?"
"Liu i, don't ss with ."
She grinned wider, running her fingers through White Fur's incredibly soft coat.
"Master, look~ she's clearly more interested in than you. Don't you feel bad for her? She must be so unhappy with you."
Ace wanted to cry.
Not because he was heartbroken or anything. The situation was just TOO ABSURD.
His own spirit beast, his legendary five-tailed snow fox, had betrayed him in broad daylight—without hesitation, without guilt, without even a backward glance.
"Tch. Fine," Ace grumbled. "But I'm renaming you Master Pet Stealer."
"Yeah! Did you hear that, White Fur? You're mine now!" Liu i bead, hugging the fox tighter. "And I'll co up with the most beautiful na for you once I learn more words!"
White Fur barely reacted, curling deeper into Liu i's lap, looking completely content.
Ace could only stare.
"What the hell..."
The duo continued their journey, with White Fur attempting to perch atop Liu i's head like she had done with Ace. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough space—Liu i was too small, and White Fur was too fluffy.
After a few failed attempts (and one near tumble), White Fur huffed, clearly offended by the laws of physics, and finally settled for being carried in Liu i's arms like a pampered princess.
Ace, anwhile, trudged ahead with the exhaustion of a man who deeply regretted his life choices.
It didn't take long before they arrived at Tigerwood River.
Ace stopped at the riverbank, looking at the boats bobbing in the water.
"So this is where we take our boat, huh…" he muttered, hands on his hips.
A deep sigh built in his chest.
Honestly.
Why didn't he just agree to go with the Hua family entourage?!
Oh, right. Because he didn't even know there was an entourage!
Ace felt a twitch in his brow as he thought about a certain traitorous disciple.
"Shan Yifeng, you little—!"
"He left before I could even ask for a free ride!"
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to scream and beat Shan Yifeng just this once. Just once! A single, well-placed bonk on the head!
"Master, are you okay?" Liu i tilted her head.
Ace took a deep breath. "I'm fine."
White Fur, cozy in Liu i's arms, yawned.
Ace felt even more betrayed.
"Alright, System, do your magic," Ace joked in his head. "Give an unexpected reward for an unexpected action. How about a magnificent boat?"
He didn't expect a response. He was just ssing around. But then—
[SURE.]
Ace blinked.
[survive the sea.]
…Wait, what?
[Reward: Oxygen.]
…What.
[No description needed. Host, you know better than I do. And don't forget—]
And then… it stopped.
It stopped.
Ace stared at the screen, dumbfounded.
Forget what?! WHAT AM I NOT SUPPOSED TO FORGET?!
A cold chill crawled up his spine.
The voice in his head sighed. It was the sigh of a long-suffering parent whose child had just announced they were going to juggle knives for fun.
"Did you really have to do that? Do you know what can be in the sea? Sharks. And maybe not just normal sharks—cultivator-eating sharks. And that's if you're lucky. What if there are krakens? Huh? Ever thought about that? GIANT, CULTIVATOR-DEVOURING, MULTI-TENTACLED KRAKENS—"
Ace's eye twitched.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up—!"
But the voice wouldn't shut up. It just kept feeding his anxiety.
His feet, however, did not stop. Step by step, he approached the sea.
And then—
⚠ SYSTEM WARNING ⚠
Ace's jaw dropped.
Even coming close to the sea is dangerous?
"Master… are you okay?" Liu i asked, tilting her head with snow fox in hand.
Ace clenched his fists.
No. No, he was NOT okay.
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