Chapter 555: Revealing the Strength of the White Tiger Cub
On the way, Jian Chen and the group continued to laugh and chat in peace as they made their way to Fengyang City. They were traveling rather slow. Jian Chen and Ming Dong decided to explain the situation of the Tian Yuan Continent to Tie Ta. You Yue would sometimes interject a word or two of her own, for the sake of helping Tie Ta adjust.
As the princess of a kingdom, You Yue rarely traveled the continent. However, her knowledge was rather vast, and she was more than aware of the rules surrounding the continent and what type of world she lived in.
At that moment, Jian Chen suddenly felt an abnormal sensation. The white tiger cub that had been asleep against to his chest finally woke up. Slowly opening its eyes, the tiger cub shook its head from side to side to observe the surrounding area with curiosity.
Seeing that the tiger cub was finally awake, Jian Chen couldn’t help but smile and rub at the cub’s scraggly and furry head, “You’ve finally woken up you hungry rascal.”
“Mrowrrrr...” Like it understood what Jian Chen was saying, the cub let out a growl of discontent as if protesting Jian Chen’s description of it. Leaping gracefully onto Jian Chen’s shoulder, the cub fondly licked at Jian Chen’s cheek.
“Jian Chen, where did you get this little cub? I never really noticed it when it was asleep. Now that it’s awake, I can see that it’s pretty cute.” Ming Dong laughed as he asked. He had indeed noticed the cub before, but he had never paid it any attention until now.
“Back in Mercenary City, I was able to come across this cub in a nearby mountain.” Jian Chen smiled without divulging the actual identity of the cub. The less they knew about the cub, the better.
Then, the cub leaped down from Jian Chen’s shoulders onto the saddle they were riding on. Sniffing incessantly at the hand that carried the Space Ring, the cub looked up at Jian Chen with a pleading stare.
Knowing just what the tiger cub wanted, Jian Chen couldn’t help but force out a laugh, “You hungry rascal. You have already ate everything; there’s nothing left.” After such a long period of time, the heavenly resources that the Spirit Ape King had given him had run out. As of right now, there was nothing left in Jian Chen’s Space Ring.
The intelligent tiger cub understood what Jian Chen said. The bright glint in the tiger cub’s eyes began to dim, and its energetic expression became depressed.
Seeing the tiger cub in such a state, Jian Chen grimaced. Holding the cub tightly to comfort it, he said, “Wait until we get to a nearby city. I’ll buy you some heavenly resources to eat.”
Regaining some spirit in its eyes, the cub gave two growling sounds in response as if ensuring that Jian Chen would deliver his promise.
What Jian Chen casually said caused everyone to do a doubletake.
“What? Did I hear you right, Jian Chen? You’re going to buy heavenly resources for this little thing? Heavens, that can’t be true!” Ming Dong looked incredulous at Jian Chen, completely unconvinced at what he had heard.
Smiling, Jian Chen replied, “This little one enjoys eating heavenly resources, and will eat plenty of it at a time.”
“That can’t be right Jian Chen! Y-you... you’re actually feeding extremely pricey heavenly resources to this little thing? Ow! Dear heavens, even if you have a lot of money, don’t go throwing it around!” Ming Dong clutched at his head in pain as if experiencing the pains of Jian Chen’s thrifty manner with his money for him.
Seeing the reaction on Ming Dong’s face, Jian Chen could only laugh, but he gave no explanation. The cub understood that Ming Dong was indirectly insulting him, so it leaped onto Jian Chen’s head. Lifting its cute head high into the air, it stared down at Ming Dong. It gave a discontent growl as if it was a king overlooking his subjects.
“Yo-you-you little thing, are you looking down on me?!” Ming Dong was practically on the verge of spitting out blood from his anger because of the fact that a little animal, that wasn’t even half a meter long, was treating him as a lower life form.
When the normally silent Dugu Feng saw how the tiger cub reacted, an astounded light appeared in his eyes. “What intelligence! This tiger isn’t a regular one.”
You Yue was amused by the antics of the cub and smiled warmly at it with undisguised love and affection. “What an adorable little cub. It looks like it can understand us. Jian Chen, may I hold it?” As she spoke, You Yue was reaching out to hug the cub.
Immediately leaping down from Jian Chen’s head and into his robes, the cub stared vigilantly at You Yue. Aside from Jian Chen, it would not allow any other person to touch it. As an ancient race of a tiger beast, it was naturally proud and unyielding.
“Jian Chen!” You Yue pleaded with Jian Chen. As a female, she loved seeing such a cute animal. Not only was it cute, but it was highly intelligent. Thus, You Yue was attracted by its adorable antics.
Forcing a smile, Jian Chen replied, “I don’t have any choice. I won’t try and force the cub to do something it doesn’t want to.”
“Ai, forget it. If I can’t hug it, then I’ll just watch it from here.” You Yue responded with a crestfallen face.
“Roar!” Suddenly, the tremendous growl of a beast could be heard as a giant black bear came flying toward Jian Chen and the group.
Now that everyone’s attention was on the black bear, Dugu Feng emotionlessly said, “It’s only a Class 4 Magical Beast. Let me take care of it.”
Before Dugu Feng could even finish speaking, the tiger cub had managed to let out an excited yelp, and flew from Jian Chen’s robes as a bolt of white lightning in the direction of the black bear.
Without stopping the cub, Jian Chen laughed, “Let the little cub take care of the Class 4 Magical Beast.” As of now, the tiger cub was also at the Class 4 Magical Beast level. Jian Chen himself wished to see just how strong the cub was; since cub was one of the ancient Winged Tiger Gods, Jian Chen was not concerned for its safety.
Staring wide-eyed at the distant tiger cub, Ming Dong cried out, “Dear heavens, how is it so fast!? It’s speed is almost on par with my own; Jian Chen, where did you find this cub?” Shocked, Ming Dong could only watch the tremendous speed of the cub in shock.
Dugu Feng and You Yue were equally shocked at the cub with utter disbelief on their faces.
“Don’t underestimate the cub. This tiger cub may be small, but it has the strength of a Class 4 Magical Beast as well. However, I can’t tell you where I got this cub.” Jian Chen chuckled as he stared at the speeding cub.
Speeding off toward the black bear with its tiny body, the cub was able to reach a curiously fast velocity. From afar, the cub looked like a straight white line with a speed that made its body hard to see.
When the opposing black bear saw the cub charge at it with no regards for itself, the bear looked as if its own dignity was being challenged. Growing even angrier, the bear opened its large jaw wide to let out an animalistic roar. Gathering its speed, it charged mercilessly toward the white tiger cub in an attempt to devour it whole.
Suddenly, a pair of wings unfolded from the back of the small cub. With a single shake of its wings, a bright-white blade of wind burst forth, and it shot toward the black bear.
The wind blade was exceedingly fast — far quicker than what the black bear could react against. Finally spearing through the head of the black bear, it bisected the entire body in half without resistance. Without losing any speed, the blade of wind continued off into the distance. It finally disappeared into the bushels of grass, out of sight.
The black bear had been cut in two without even having time to let out a roar before its death. Stopping by the mountainous body of the black bear, the tiger cub let out a content purr and strutted around its body with its short stubby paws as if congratulating itself on flawlessly killing such a large black bear.
By now, Jian Chen and the rest of the group had arrived on the backs of their Class 3 Magical Beast mounts. However, after they looked at the bisected corpse of the black bear, they now scanned the tiger cub with a new light. Not a single one of them would underestimate the cub now. If a Class 4 Magical Beast was killed with such ease, that meant the cub was at the very least equivalent to an Earth Saint Master in strength.
Leaping up into the air, the cub began to purr excitedly on Jian Chen’s shoulder as if extremely proud of its own achievement.
Letting out a sigh, Jian Chen recollected himself. Watching the tiger cub kill a Class 4 Magical Beast so easily had really astounded him. The tiger cub had never been in a battle before, so even though it had its strength boosted to the Class 4 Magical Beast level with heavenly resources, it was still in its adolescent phase. It was not quite yet fully grown.
If a child possessed such a tremendous amount of power like this, its battle strength would be ridiculously terrifying when it fully matured as an adult!