"Can you sense the White Tiger in the Academy's sacred ground?" Bai Ran asked.
"The four divine beasts can sense each other's presence, but it fades with distance,"
Bai Ran nodded and put away the Vermillion Bird.
Before heading to the Academy's sacred ground, Bai Ran decided to teach Xuan Yuan and Elder Hong a lesson.
In the dead of night, she quietly sneaked into their chambers and fed each of them a mild hallucinogen.
Bai Ran had modified the hallucinogen, causing it to manifest scenes she had depicted.
She then set up an advanced formation in both their rooms, which would take at least ten days to half a month to break.
With that done, Bai Ran's mood instantly lifted, and she strode away.
The next morning.
"Ahhh!" Elder Hong scrambled frantically around his room.
He hadn't been sleeping?
How was he floating in mid-air as soon as he woke up?
Was he dreaming?
His steps unsteady, he rushed to his door, intending to seek help from the Dean.
"Thump!"
Elder Hong was sent tumbling to the ground.
What was that? A formation?
Why was there a formation at his door?
He felt the transparent barrier at his doorway, utterly bewildered.
Meanwhile, Xuan Yuan was experiencing the same thing.
He was overwhelmed by the illusions and the formation that appeared upon waking.
He sat on the floor, eyes closed, refusing to look at his surroundings.
This little girl!
She was infuriating!
This illusion, this formation, who else could have created it but her?
This was clearly a retaliation for him having thrown her from a great height!
Both men found themselves calling out to no avail, unable to reach heaven or earth, and could only wait miserably in their rooms.
Five days later.
"Little Mo, have you seen the Dean and Old Hong recently?" Elder Liu asked, confused.
"No, I haven't. Elder Yan, have you?"
Elder Yan looked at their perplexed faces and shook his head.
Where had these two gone drinking again? Leaving the academy's mess to them.
Ever since the Vermillion Bird Nation achieved first place in the Four Nations Grand Competition, the disciples in the academy had been like invigorated roosters, training day and night.
There were countless disciples asking questions daily, and the elders were almost overwhelmed.
And these two, at this crucial moment, were nowhere to be found.
They would definitely reprimand them when they returned!
Another ten days passed.
Elder Hong and Xuan Yuan emerged with dark circles under their eyes, their bodies utterly exhausted.
That wretched girl!
They had been dreaming of being in the sky for over a fortnight!
It had kept them from sleeping for more than ten days.
"My goodness, what have you two been drinking?" Their state suggested they were about to ascend to heaven at any moment.
The three elders looked at them with a touch of disdain.
Elder Mo cautiously checked their breathing.
Elder Hong swatted his hand away.
"It's all that girl's fault!"
"That girl? Little Bai Ran?" Elder Liu asked.
"Indeed!"
The five of them sat down together, and the two began to recount their miserable experiences of the past ten days.
"And that's how it happened. That girl has almost killed us," Elder Hong declared after downing a large cup of tea.
The three elders covered their mouths, stifling laughter, their bodies trembling violently.
This girl was truly formidable!
Exceptional, truly exceptional!
"I say, who else could you have provoked but that girl? It's obvious you were asking for revenge," Elder Liu said with a smile.
"Yes, you truly are like someone who ate Huang Lian and has to bear it in silence," Elder Yan jested.
"Thanks to little Ran, the strength of the entire academy has doubled. She's the academy's treasure now, you can't touch her," Elder Mo said, taking a sip of his tea.
After hearing the three elders describe the current state of the academy, the two realized their grievances had to be suppressed.
They felt a complex mix of love and hate!
Meanwhile, fifteen days earlier, in the Academy's sacred ground.
"Master, it's just ahead!" Little Zhu shouted excitedly.
The Academy's sacred ground was located underground, heavily guarded by excavated tunnels and obstacles.
Anyone who trespassed without cause would have the tunnel collapsed, burying them alive, and a new tunnel would be dug later.
It had to be said, this was an excellent strategy, Bai Ran mused.
She had inquired from Elder Mo not long ago about her desire to visit the Academy's sacred ground, and he had pointed her in the right direction.
Passing through layers of guards, mechanisms, and formations, Bai Ran drew closer to the center of the sacred ground.
The closer she got to the center, the more her spiritual energy surged. At this moment, Bai Ran could break through at any time.
However, she forcefully suppressed the restlessness within her body and proceeded toward the deepest part.
As her vision widened, a giant, glowing stone appeared before Bai Ran.
There were no more paths, indicating this was the very center of the sacred ground.
Bai Ran circled the stone, examining the massive rock.
"Master,"
A young man's voice echoed.
"Who?" Bai Ran scanned her surroundings, highly alert.
The sacred ground should be empty at this hour.
"Master, I am the White Tiger. I am the egg before you." The giant stone flickered, as if to confirm its identity.
Bai Ran's gaze focused on the massive stone.
It was telling her this was an egg?
"Little Zhu, is this the White Tiger?" Bai Ran communicated telepathically.
"Yes!"
"Then why is its egg so enormous?"
"I'm not entirely sure about that either," Little Zhu scratched his head, feeling as if he had forgotten something.
The only thing he remembered was that Bai Ran was their master, and would be their master for all eternity.
"Why are you here?" Bai Ran sat down beside the egg.
The White Tiger slowly recounted his experiences over the years.
The White Tiger originally resided in the White Tiger Nation, living a carefree life.
But one day, the White Tiger was discovered. They coveted the White Tiger and deliberately approached him, placing a seal within his body.
The White Tiger sensed something was wrong with his body and understood the ill intentions of those people, so in a moment of desperation, he fled towards the Vermillion Bird Nation.
However, halfway there, the seal suddenly intensified, transforming him into a giant egg.
Coincidentally, the previous Dean of the Star-Picking Academy passed by and picked him up.
The people of the Star-Picking Academy did not realize he was the White Tiger. Instead, they treated him as a stone imbued with spiritual energy.
They buried him deep underground, and to avoid detection, the White Tiger could only pretend to be a stone, constantly releasing spiritual energy to supply the academy's spiritual energy day and night.
Although the spiritual energy within the White Tiger could regenerate, over time, he was inevitably damaged.
After an unknown number of years, his consciousness began to blur. Just then, he sensed the approach of the Vermillion Bird, which rekindled his hope.
The unexpected joy in the story was the arrival of his master, who was now standing before him in reality.
So that's how it was.
After hearing the White Tiger's account, Bai Ran's heart finally settled.
Before, when Little Zhu mentioned the White Tiger was here, she had suspected that people from the Vermillion Bird Nation had deliberately imprisoned the White Tiger to annex the White Tiger Nation's forces.
If that were the case, rescuing the White Tiger would have been extremely difficult.
Now, it seemed the Star-Picking Academy had merely treated him as a spiritual stone, relying on him to maintain the academy's spiritual energy.
In comparison, rescuing him now would be much easier.
However, even if it were easier, it would still require considerable effort, as it involved the survival of the entire academy.