Chapter 338: White Tiger and Rabbits
A pink hair woman stared at Miaomiao in disbelief. She had met him at Poseidon Spa House and fought with Ma Ping several months ago.
Zhu Qiao and her three servants came here under the instruction of Zhu Huifang to either infiltrate Sun Wentai's sect or seduce Sun Bofu.
At first, her mother wanted Zhu Qiao to marry Sun Wentai's son. Of course, Zhu Qiao disagreed as she disliked brutish men. Still, Zhu Huifang's order was absolute, and this otherworlder couldn't defy her mother.
Without a choice, she came here to fulfill the alternate objective, infiltrating the Jiangdong White Tiger Sect.
Then, she saw someone that she had never expected to meet here.
'Xu Miao? No, isn't his real name Mao Miaomiao? Why is he using another alias?'
Zhu Qiao covered her face with a dark veil and a hood. Fortunately, she had been wearing a black cloak, covering her body. All her subordinates also had the same clothes to hide their pretty faces.
"Young Lady Zhu, isn't that Xu Miao? I thought he was already dead," One of Zhu Qiao's entourages also recognized him.
"Shush! Keep quiet. He hasn't recognized us yet. Don't say anything."
"… Yes, my lady."
The gang of four women continued to observe Miaomiao from the sideline.
…
"Cao Mao, isn't it? Show me your exam ID and the hotel token."
Huang Gongfu pretended that he had never met Miaomiao before. He asked for the ID and hotel token, which would reveal Miaomiao's wealthy status.
As soon as the elder asked for Miaomiao's hotel token, a teenager among the 6-man group scoffed.
"I bet he's just a filthy Shrimp. He's just lucky to know that all exceptional people can gather here to take the exams first!"
The other guy also laughed at Miaomiao, "Look at that country bumpkin. He has no backbone, and he's stupid. He must have wasted a lot of resources to reach the 4th-stage."
"Ha! You're right. He's older than us, but he is just another 4th-stage trash with no elder accompanying him. We're younger than him by several years, and we're all 4th-stage cultivators. Our natural talent is different!"
These people were young masters from the local families. Their age was between 16 and 18, but they were all considered geniuses among their peers. Because of their mindset and upbringings, they didn't consider Miaomiao as their rival.
Little did they know that Miaomiao's wealth surpassed their parents, he flashed the Mega-Shark token and his ID.
"Here are my ID and token, senior."
Although Miaomiao didn't understand why those na?ve men looked down on him, who wasn't even a protagonist, he ignored the cliché no-name NPC goons and revealed his status.
Huang Gongfu spread his Qi and pulled the ID and the token toward him. As if he wanted to help Miaomiao face-slap the group of arrogant youngsters, he intentionally exclaimed in a loud voice.
"A Megalodon Token from the Tiger's Den Hotel? Only the wealthiest and the most prestigious men from the top echelons on this continent can have it! Wow! Junior, not only you have the prerequisite strength, you have such a status that no one among your peers can match!"
The corny praise made Miaomiao want to puke. The elder was terrible at acting to the point that it hurt to watch.
Still, the declaration was effective. While Miaomiao had been facepalming, the arrogant group shut their mouths and stared at Miaomiao's token in disbelief. Even Gan Ning, who initially thought of Miaomiao as a rich boss, was astonished.
Zhu Qiao also squinted her eyes and looked at Miaomiao. She inspected his look from head to toes, checking if he had the quality to be her sugar daddy since he was so rich.
Not only the voice of Huang Gongfu astonished the people around him, but the nearby crowd, who didn't have the hotel token, was shocked as well. All eyes focused on Miaomiao, the dark horse that came out of nowhere.
Words spread like wildfire. A commotion occurred as they murmured. Various elders, who accompanied their children to the exam, started making phone calls, ordering their men to check Miaomiao's background. Several parents with their teenage daughters rushed over, planning to introduce themselves to Miaomiao.
Unfortunately for them, Huang Gongfu took out a talisman and tore it. A dome barrier emerged and prevented everyone from getting closer to him and the people around the boulder.
Miaomiao was relieved that the elder stopped the gold-digging gangs from introducing their daughters to him. He wasn't interested in taking in more wives unless they were heroines or a protagonist's plot armor, such as Xiong Zhenzhen.
As the uproar went on, a flying mountain suddenly appeared in the sky and slowly descended.
Seeing the large entity that covered the sky, everyone stopped making noise and looked at the flying mountain in awe.
"Jiangdong White Tiger Sect! The ancient flying island is as amazing as always!"
"The Jiangdong Mountain is here! I wonder if one of us can inherit the Divine White Tiger's bloodline during the assessment trials!"
"It's here! The exam will start soon! Last year, only three people among over ten thousand people become their inner disciples after they passed the special test. How many people among us can be that lucky this year!?"
"Do you know if the exams will be the same as last year? I'm excited!"
"Pay attention to the host's welcome speech. They always hinted at something crucial. Every time someone figured it out, they got promoted into inner disciples instantly!"
"Right! The exam starts now!"
Some of the crowd bragged about their knowledge while honest test takers were looking forward to the event in excitement.
The floating mountain island stopped descending, hovering 3,000 feet above the ground. Then, a massive hologram face of a white tiger appeared in front of the mountain, facing the crowd below. It began speaking in an archaic voice.
[Welcome to the annual event of Jiangdong White Tiger Sect! I am the Guardian Beast of the Sun Clan, and I'm the host of the first special selection trials this year. Today, we shall begin with the special test first, and the outer disciple trials shall begin afterward.]
The crowd stopped talking and listened to the tiger in solemn. In the past, elders from the sect or the Sun Clan always showed up to host the event. However, this year, they brought out their guardian beast.
Everyone paid attention to the tiger's words in detail. After all, many elders always inserted cryptic words and hints for the special trial during the welcome ceremony speech.
[In the past, beasts, demi-human beasts, and demons were living peacefully on this continent. Everything followed the rules of the jungle, but every race respected each other. We avoided conflicts and war since it caused unnecessary bloodbath and chaos… Until human cultivators appeared.]
The tiger paused and observed the facial expression from the crowd below. It smirked as if it mocked every human cultivator here.
[Even I, the descendant of the Divine White Tiger Tribe, is imprisoned and kept as a pet. In my early days, I always looked for a chance to break free from the human's little cage, but they always overpowered me with their trickery. I kept failing and being tortured every day.]
The speech was not a speech anymore. It turned into the tragic biography of this guardian beast, and the humans below were intimidated by the tiger.
The beast's tone was unfriendly. He openly revealed his resentment toward human cultivators.
[One day, I made the biggest mistake of my entire life. I gave up. I submit to the ancestor of the Sun Clan and swore with my dao oath that I would protect their descendants until I die…]
"…"
Miaomiao gazed at the illusion of the white tiger's face. He rubbed his chin and wondered if Mao Xueyan's current bloodline was the same as this beast. He was also curious what they would do if they were to meet.
The beast suddenly revealed a relieved smile. For a moment, it glanced toward the northwest.
[Fortunately, my descendants continue to fight in my name. They stood firm and fought against every human cultivator that attempted to take advantage of our people and other poor beasts. Many died, but they passed on their wills to the next generations. Even now, they are still fighting to uphold our honor!]
The tiger's voice got louder. From the sad and angry tone, he sounded dignified and proud.
The crowd became confused as the story had nothing to do with the assessment trial or exam. None of them managed to figure out the hidden agenda of the tiger.
[And now, Jiangdong White Tiger Sect, the blasphemous sect that took advantage of me, has just declared war against a city that has been protecting my people!]
The tiger roared and glared at the crowd. His killing intent and the domineering will caused an earthquake, and a dark cloud gathered. The thunderous sound followed, and lightning branches covered the sky.
[Even at this moment, I refuse to follow Sun Wentai to war! Even if I have to die by breaking my dao oath, I don't give a fuck!]
BOOM
A branch of lightning landed on the empty plain, leaving a charred area of dark soil. However, a white rabbit suddenly dug out of the ground and hopped away from this area in panic.
Many cultivators paid attention to the rabbit. Some of them even rushed to capture it, planning to take it for dinner.
Unfortunately, several lightning bolts came down and struck the rabbit chaser.
The lightning victims stopped moving and collapsed to the ground. Luckily, none of the lightning bolts contained lightning element Qi. Otherwise, they would have died.
The tiger sneered at the lightning victims as it continued to mock the examinees.
[This year, I decided to choose disciple candidates for Sun Wentai! Ha! He must have thought that I would be lenient. But screw him! I'll do what I want! Hahahahaha!]
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
More lightning bolts struck the plain. Everywhere that the lightning branch hit, a white rabbit emerged and ran away.
It became a trend, and everyone kept staring at the rabbits. Yet, nobody dared to catch them.
Suddenly, a long golden stairway descended from the flying mountain island and connected with the ground. Each stair step was a foot tall, and a total of 3,000 blocks of stairs connected the ground and the flying mountain entrance gate, forming a spiral stairway.
Each stair block was five meters wide, which was enough for three or four people to climb at the same time. However, there were no bar, fence, or guardrails that protected the climbers.
The windstorm and the random lightning bolts also made it intimidating. Furthermore, a colorful aurora hovered over the stairway, displaying the infamous arrays that the local cultivator knew.
No Fly Zone Array!
Super Gravity Array!
Unbalance Weight Array!
The crowd imagined themselves trying to reach the top without falling, but their legs started shaking. Climbing the stairway under such weather conditions and restrictions would be a challenge.
[Only those who can HONESTLY climb the stairs and possess HONEST mind shall be selected as the sect's inner disciple. As for the failure candidates, you will have to take the next tests, but your chance to become an inner disciple is gone! You have one day to complete this special selection trial! Good luck, you human mongrels!]
After saying all the nonsense, the tiger initiated the first stage of the trial.
However, no one approached the stairway first. Everyone looked at Huang Gongfu's group, waiting for them to act.
There was an unspoken tradition here at Jiangdong White Tiger Sect. The candidates with the Tiger Den's tokens got the call of who would take the special selection trial first. As it would be their opportunity to make a name for themselves, the Tiger Den's customers always bragged about their status and wealth, hoping to get noticed by the sect's elders on the mountain.
However, everyone near the boulder looked at Miaomiao. None of them made a move.
Miaomiao's eyes met with Huang Gongfu and everyone's eyes. They had been looking at him as if they were waiting for him to take the honor first.
"Huh? Me?" Miaomiao pointed at his face.
Huang Gongfu nodded, "Yes, you. You're the wealthiest guy among us, so you can go first."
"…"
Miaomiao was still curious about the rabbits and the tiger's speech. Although the tiger hinted that only the HONEST person could complete the trial, Miaomiao sensed that something was missing.
Something wasn't right about the speech and the rabbits as there was no connection between them whatsoever. Miaomiao didn't want to start climbing the stairs without solving the cryptic speech first.
"Nah, I'll go last. You guys can go first."
The group of 6 men scoffed and sneered at Miaomiao while Zhu Qiao's gang shook their heads in disappointment. Even the crowd outside the protective array was disappointed in Miaomiao's decision.
"Coward."
"A wastrel."
Although the curses were soft, Miaomiao could hear them clearly. Someone among the large crowd mocked him for not taking the test first.
Miaomiao shrugged and ignored their insults. He approached the charred ground, where all rabbits had emerged. He slowly knelt and touched the soil, inspecting them.
…
Five hundred meters away from Huang Gongfu, a young man with a beautiful face and a scarred body, Zhou Gongjin, had been using a binocular artifact to observe Miaomiao and Gan Ning, inspecting their cultivation base, their essence volume, and their physique from afar.
Zhou Gongjin, aka the counterpart of Zhou Yu, got every information he needed, but he was still curious about Miaomiao's origin.
'He didn't exist in my previous life when this year's tiger trial started. Is he another irregular or is he the byproduct of the butterfly effect I made?'
He lowered his binocular and stored it in his spatial ring. Zhou Gongjin turned around brought out a bag of vegetables and carrots with yang Qi properties. Then, he walked toward one of the charred ground and placed the vegetables there.
A few seconds later, a small rabbit dug itself from the soil and started nipping the vegetables. Zhou Gongjin patted the cute rabbit and allowed it to finish its food.
A nearby cultivator saw Zhou Gongjin's action. He tried to approach the weak youth so that he could snatch the rabbit.
BOOM
A lightning bolt struck the poacher wannabe. He fainted.
Zhou Gongjin smirked and shook his head. He had taken this test in the previous life, and he knew what the tiger had aimed to achieve.
'The events have already changed a lot, but I won't lose this bloodline to anyone! I've been preparing all these years for today! This will be the turning point for Sun Bofu and me!'
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel