Thinking about it, Ye Lian recalled some details from Journey to the West.
Back when Sun Wukong was born from the immortal stone, he first drank spring water and then spent all his time eating.
“Looks like I was mistaken,” Ye Lian said, pressing her forehead as she began to think.
Huaguo Mountain was indeed a rare treasure on earth.
Plants and animals constantly absorbed the Essence of Sun and Moon and the Qi of Heaven and Earth as they grew.
Eating them might be the fastest way to increase strength.
A game where you level up by eating—sounds pretty great!
“What just happened?”
Xiao Bai bounced over, her eyes sparkling as if she’d discovered something interesting.
“Just some nonsense not fit for the stage,” Ye Lian replied.
She wasn’t being modest or self-deprecating; compared to the immortal arts in the game, these flashy but hollow moves really were unworthy of notice.
“Can you teach me?” Bai Xue still looked excited.
Ye Lian retracted her fists and smiled at her: “Once you can take shape, I’ll teach you.”
“Uwaa, but won’t that take thousands of years?” Bai Xue shouted in disappointment.
It took a hundred years for an animal spirit to mature and a thousand to take shape and cultivate the Demon Form. It was far harder for animals to practice the Dao than for humans.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to help you take shape early.”
Ye Lian crouched down and gently patted Xiao Bai’s little head, comforting her softly.
Xiao Bai was the first animal to treat her kindly.
If she successfully cultivated immortal arts, Ye Lian wouldn’t mind passing them on.
“Really? You’re not lying?” Xiao Bai blinked her dark golden eyes.
Ye Lian nodded.
“Really. I’m not lying.”
“Yay! Ye Lian, you’re the best!” Xiao Bai jumped onto Ye Lian’s shoulder, affectionately rubbing against her face.
The air around them filled with a warm, cozy atmosphere.
“Roar!”
Suddenly, a beast’s roar rang out.
The monkey and the fox turned toward the sound and saw a fierce tiger leaping forward, landing right in front of them.
“I heard a Stone Monkey was born here. I wondered what it looked like—turns out it’s just a scrawny monkey. Ridiculous, laughable!”
The tiger’s large green eyes fixed on Ye Lian, its mouth curling into a mocking smile.
This tiger had white markings around its eyes and forehead, with a character marked on its brow.
Its huge body and thick limbs radiated a ferocious aura, clearly a hostile presence.
(You, Ayou… strange, I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before. Is it just my imagination?)
Ye Lian shook her head lightly, brushing away the odd feeling from her mind.
Now that the fierce tiger had come looking for trouble, she’d have to deal with it first.
Huaguo Mountain was ruled by monkeys; many fierce beasts had to lower their proud heads and live quietly, which must be very frustrating.
The tiger was naturally one of them.
Ye Lian remained silent.
She had finally gained some strength and didn’t want to waste it on pointless fights.
“What’s the matter, scrawny monkey? Got a problem? If you do, fight me, the king!”
Seeing Ye Lian’s lack of reaction, the tiger grew even more arrogant, baring its teeth and claws, roaring fiercely.
Faced with such provocation, Ye Lian felt a mix of amusement and annoyance.
She sensed the tiger’s strength was about equal to hers and wondered what gave it the right to be so arrogant.
Fight and waste her energy; don’t fight and feel humiliated.
“Scrawny monkey, do you have guts or not? Hahaha, you must not!”
The tiger laughed loudly, then glanced at the little fox on Ye Lian’s shoulder.
“Hey, no balls but you’ve got a vixen with you—interesting!”
As the saying goes, even Buddha has three fires.
After being provoked repeatedly, Ye Lian really couldn’t hold back anymore.
Just as she was about to reply and make a move, she heard Xiao Bai curse loudly: “You’re the one without guts, you stinky tiger! Go eat bananas!”
“Roar!” The tiger exploded in fury. As king of the beasts, how could it tolerate a little fox insulting it? It immediately roared at Xiao Bai.
“Wuwu!” The roar was deafening, laced with a deadly aura that made Xiao Bai instinctively cling to Ye Lian, trembling.
“Hmph.” Seemingly pleased with Xiao Bai’s reaction, the tiger snorted coldly. “Foolish and clueless!”
“You’re the clueless one.”
Ye Lian reached out to stroke Xiao Bai’s head while glaring coldly at the tiger.
Before she finished speaking, a terrifying killing intent erupted from her body.
“…” The tiger’s eyes narrowed sharply, heart racing.
Years of hunting experience told it this scrawny monkey was no pushover!
Ye Lian wasn’t overly angry about being insulted.
But seeing Xiao Bai intimidated sparked a blazing fury within her.
Taking a deep breath, her golden eyes gleamed, her aura surging as if a heavenly deity had descended, radiating overwhelming dominance.
***
The next moment, she opened her mouth and spat out one word: “Go!”
Thunder roared instantly, shaking leaves loose and vibrating the air like a fierce lightning strike—terrifying to behold!
The tiger shuddered all over, like a scared kitten, fur standing on end and utterly terrified.
At this moment, it finally realized it had provoked someone it absolutely could not mess with!
It was going to get killed!
Escape—must escape!
Its body reacted faster than its thoughts, turning sharply and fleeing in a panic, losing all its earlier menace.
With the tiger gone, the forest returned to peace.
“Ye Lian, you’re amazing!” Xiao Bai recovered from trembling and excitedly patted Ye Lian’s head.
“What happened? You were so weak yesterday, but today you’re so strong!”
Ye Lian didn’t reply.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, and a wave of exhaustion suddenly crashed over her.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay!?” Xiao Bai asked anxiously.
With a thud, Ye Lian knelt on the ground and barely managed to say: “…I’m so hungry.”
That roar had completely drained her strength.
“Pfft, hahaha! Ye Lian, you’re so funny!” Xiao Bai couldn’t help but laugh.
“Stop laughing. I want to eat…”
Ye Lian rolled her eyes in exasperation, speaking weakly.
It was clear how bad her condition was.
“Hahaha, I’ll go pick some peaches for you right now!”
Xiao Bai happily jumped away and quickly climbed a peach tree, skillfully plucking ripe fruit.
Ye Lian closed her eyes, thoughts racing.
After what just happened, she was now one hundred percent sure that studying medicine—or rather, martial arts—was not the way to quickly increase her power!
Only eating was the fastest shortcut!
Recalling the powerful surge she just unleashed, Ye Lian knew exactly where it came from—the peaches.
The Monkey King was born from the immortal stone and had a unique gift, able to absorb the Essence of Sun and Moon and the Qi of Heaven and Earth to strengthen himself.
This was Ye Lian’s greatest innate ability to rely on!
“Ye Lian~” Xiao Bai pushed the basket of peaches back happily.
Ye Lian picked one up, brushed off the dust, and took a bite.
“So sweet! It’s decided, Xiao Bai, today we’re going to eat our fill!”
“Though I don’t know what’s going on, I’m all for it! I love eating the most!”
The monkey and the fox smiled at each other, laughter echoing through the forest.
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