“Pfft~”
At last, a Sword Qi Wave cut through the black mist. Unable to withstand it, the mist dispersed on the spot.
“Damn, what a coward. That was no fun at all.”
Xiaobai muttered under their breath, then raised their head and looked ahead.
“Where are we now?”
“Meow?”
A huge gate stood before them.
Two large golden characters spelling “GATE” were written across it. Their dazzling light nearly blinded Xiaobai.
“Who designed this gate? What’s wrong with them? As if anyone wouldn’t know it’s a gate.”
Xiaobai covered their eyes with their left hand, raised their sword with their right, and immediately sent two Sword Qi Waves toward the gate.
“Boom~”
The gate couldn’t withstand the power of the Sword Qi Waves and collapsed.
“Clack~”
The character for “Big” shattered and fell in front of Xiaobai and the White Tiger, still glowing with a dazzling golden light.
Xiaobai was curious. It was just a rock, so how could it glow?
So Xiaobai picked it up for a closer look, but even after inspecting it for a long time, couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Th-this can’t be...”
The White Tiger stared at the remains of the character for “Big” in front of them, eyes wide and full of excitement.
“What is it, Kitty? You recognize this thing?”
“Th-this... Master... this is... Liu Li Gold!!”
“Liu Li Gold?”
“Liu Li Gold is a rare substance in this world, one with immense magical power. If magical beasts absorb it, it can make us stronger...”
“So this stuff has nothing to do with me, then?”
“Uh... yes, Master...”
“Then toss it. It’s taking up a hand.”
“Whoosh~”
Xiaobai tossed it over their head. They put a little too much force into it.
“Huh?!! Don’t—”
By the time the White Tiger said this, it was already too late.
The golden remains shot straight toward the horizon and vanished in the blink of an eye.
“Don’t fly away, meow...”
The White Tiger gazed at the sky with tears in its eyes...
Master, if you don’t need it, give it to Kitty...
My chance to advance...
“Hey, Kitty, let’s go. Stop staring.”
“It’s just a lousy rock. I’ll find you another one later... First, we need to find a way out.”
“...”
The White Tiger’s eyes were vacant and lifeless. It even seemed ready to chase after it.
“Thump~”
Xiaobai’s habitual blow came down.
“...”
There was no reaction at all.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Helpless, Xiaobai grabbed the White Tiger by the tail with their left hand and tried to drag it forward.
“Huh?”
It wouldn’t budge.
“What a pain.”
Xiaobai pulled harder. The White Tiger wasn’t as strong as Xiaobai, and its body was forced forward inch by inch, leaving several claw marks on the ground.
“Meow... My Liu Li Gold... My Liu Li Gold...”
The White Tiger whimpered.
......
As they walked, another huge gate appeared ahead.
It had two characters on it again: “GATE.”
Unlike the previous one, the characters shone with silver light instead of gold.
Once again, their light nearly blinded Xiaobai.
“What a bunch of lunatics.”
With practiced ease, Xiaobai sent out two more Sword Qi Waves.
“Boom~”
The gate collapsed, sending fragments flying everywhere.
“Whoosh~”
A black blur shot past and clung tightly to the remains of the two characters spelling “GATE,” looking like it would rather die than let go.
“Huh? Kitty, what are you doing?”
Xiaobai suddenly felt their hand go empty and stared in confusion.
The White Tiger, who’d just looked like the world was ending and taken so much effort to drag, had now dashed off on its own.
“Meow!!!”
The tears beside the White Tiger’s eyes were long gone. A blissful smile spread across its face.
“Star God Iron, meow!!!”
“I’m going to reach nine stars too, meow~”
“Star God Iron? What’s that...”
Curious, Xiaobai walked over to the White Tiger, planning to take a look.
But as soon as the White Tiger saw Xiaobai coming, its smile vanished. It scooped up the Star God Iron and ran.
It didn’t stop until it was far away from Xiaobai—and Xiaobai had stopped moving.
“...”
“Um... Kitty... could I just take a look?”
“No...”
“Just once, really. I’ll give it back as soon as I’ve looked.”
“No...”
“Well, look at you, getting brave. Are you asking for a beating?”
“Meow...”
“Hurry up and hand it over!”
“I won’t, meow!”
“Are you handing it over or not?”
“I won’t, meow!”
◇
A long while later.
“I really don’t want it anymore, Kitty. Come over here, okay?”
Xiaobai watched Kitty, who was so far away that no amount of coaxing could bring it over, and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“What’s so great about this lousy piece of iron? Why are you clutching it so tight...”
“Master, if you don’t understand, don’t go saying stuff like that, meow~”
“It... It’s like Liu Li Gold, meow... But it contains a thousand, even ten thousand times as much magic power as Liu Li Gold, meow... If I absorb it, I can advance to nine stars, meow!”
“So this thing still has absolutely nothing to do with me, then?”
As soon as Xiaobai said that, the White Tiger shuddered and moved twice as far away.
“...”
“That’s right, meow~”
After confirming Xiaobai really had no intention of coming over, the White Tiger answered with certainty.
“You really don’t have to stay that far away. Fine, I won’t come over. Go ahead and absorb it. I’ll keep walking...”
With that, Xiaobai didn’t even glance at the White Tiger. They took their black sword and left.
The White Tiger calmed its mind and placed a paw on the Star God Iron, ready to absorb its magical power.
At the slightest movement of thought, it felt a vast amount of pure magical power flow in through its paw. The barrier blocking its path to nine stars was about to break.
Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred.
“Stop!!!!”
An old voice rang out, trembling with agitation.
A figure shot toward Xiaobai like lightning.
“Clang~”
The black sword appeared.
The black blur flew right back the way it had come.
“Stop!!! Put down that piece of Star God Iron!!!”
The black blur, which had only just flown back, charged in again.
“Clang!”
The black sword appeared once more.
The black blur was sent flying backward the way it had come.
“Stop...”
But the black blur still wouldn’t give up. It charged forward again, determined to press on.
“Stop! You can’t absorb it! That’s this old man’s power!”
