Chapter 72 – Unyielding Fortune

Unaware of the undercurrents between the spirit beasts, and not realizing he had just narrowly escaped death at the hands of the Golden-Winged Little Peng’s sense of righteousness, Yun Xiguang and Li Zheng continued to discuss matters of importance.

“There’s also the matter of domains,” Yun Xiguang said. “Zhuzhao Academy has Bai Ze’s rule domain. I don’t know much about Youying Academy, but there must be some sort of domain present there too. No matter how well we disguise ourselves, once we enter their domain, we’ll be detected.”

Li Zheng said, “We’ve considered this point, but both the Azure Dragon and Bai Ze said it wouldn’t be an issue. They gave us a bunch of explanations that were too complex for us to understand — neither me nor my superiors understood them — but for some reason, everyone was strangely convinced. I’m not sure why.”

Yun Xiguang: “…”

When it came to “complex explanations,” who else could it be besides Chi Qiong?

He looked over at the divine beasts. The Azure Dragon had his eyes half-closed, looking like an elderly taking a nap. The Golden-Winged Little Peng was staring at the Snow Wolf, jealous of its position as the primary mount. Only the hardworking Bai Ze, unaware of the treacherous nature of the beasts, stepped forward to explain things to Yun Xiguang.

“It does indeed have something to do with the Supreme Deity,” Bai Ze said. “Do you remember what happened on the day of the spirit arts tournament?”

Yun Xiguang said, “The strange phenomena from the heavens that attacked eighteen students?”

Bai Ze nodded. “That very incident. Zhuzhao Academy is also within my domain, but it wasn’t until the eighteen students fell that I realized a force had intruded upon my domain. Yet, even until the end, I didn’t feel a thing.”

“Can Chi Qiong break through any domain?” Yun Xiguang asked.

Bai Ze explained, “Strictly speaking, the Supreme Deity’s domain is so vast that it covers ours. It’s like your house. Bedroom A is the Azure Dragon’s, bedroom B is the Snow Wolf’s, bedroom C is the Crimson Chi’s, and bedroom D is mine. You’re polite and won’t easily enter our rooms. But the entire house is yours, and if you want to, you can enter any bedroom.”

Yun Xiguang began to understand.

Bai Ze continued, “As long as the Supreme Deity is willing to lend a single feather to each fighter jet, we won’t be restricted by any domain.”

Yun Xiguang gently stroked Chi Qiong perched atop his head and asked seriously, “Are you willing to do this?”

Chi Qiong sat regally on Yun Xiguang’s head, his tone solemn as he chirped, “Chirp chirp chirp.”

Yun Xiguang asked, “What is he saying?”

Bai Ze: “…”

Yun Xiguang, without a spirit root, couldn’t understand the Supreme Deity’s language and needed an outsider like him to translate!

Bai Ze glared at the Azure Dragon. The Azure Dragon could speak human language as well, and in recent times, he probably hadn’t shied away from acting as the Supreme Deity’s interpreter. Now, however, he was washing his hands of the responsibility, not even giving a reminder!

How despicable.

Bai Ze explained, “The Supreme Deity said that we’re serving him in helping him retrieve the phoenix feathers, and he’s willing to assist us. But we have to pay back the favor.”

Subconsciously, Yun Xiguang touched the pendant around his neck, which contained a small feather. He wondered if he would have to return it.

Chi Qiong noticed Yun Xiguang’s movement and called out gently, “Chirp.”

Bai Ze immediately interpreted, “The Supreme Deity says that the others are borrowing the feathers, and if they don’t return them, he’ll hunt down three generations of their families. But the one he gave you is a gift from the Supreme Deity, and it will forever belong to you.”

Yun Xiguang smiled.

He wasn’t a man to hold grudges, but he deeply desired a soulmate who was unique to him, and he wished to be equally irreplaceable to his partner.

They all said he was lucky, but meeting Chi Qiong was truly his greatest stroke of fortune.

With all problems seemingly resolved, Li Zheng reported to Chi Qiong the number of fighter jets for this mission — eighteen in total. Chi Qiong plucked eighteen small feathers from his body and gave them to the Snow Wolf.

A deity spirit beast like Chi Qiong naturally wouldn’t personally hand out feathers to each pilot. That task would be left to the chief mount.

The Snow Wolf received the feathers with great reverence and flew above the jets ready for takeoff. Shaking its body, silver-white hairs, including the eighteen small feathers, evenly dispersed onto each aircraft.

The silver-white hairs covered the fighter jets like snow, gradually blending them into the environment. Even parked on the tarmac, they became invisible to the naked eye.

Yun Xiguang walked over in surprise, touching where a fighter jet should have been, feeling the metal exterior beneath his fingers.

Visually, however, it seemed as though he was stroking thin air.

Wu Ailang, who had recovered under the help of the healers, ran over and exclaimed, “Brother Yun, look how awesome I am! I can finally be of help to you! I’m going to save the world!”

Yun Xiguang glanced at Wu Ailang’s bald head, patted it affectionately, and said, “You’ve worked hard.”

Many of the Snow Wolf’s abilities lay in its hair, and it would often lose strands during battles. Ever since Wu Ailang bonded with the Snow Wolf, he rarely grew hair and often ended up bald, which further diminished his already unimpressive appearance.

Wu Ailang rubbed his head and smiled simply. “It’s alright. It’s cooler in summer!”

Qin Shu viewed Wu Ailang with the perspective of an elder, nodding and saying, “He possesses fortune, effort, and character. If the Snow Wolf can evolve further, Wu Ailang has the potential to become a Heaven-grade Spiritbond Master.”

Bai Ze attempted to look into Wu Ailang’s fortune, discovering that he couldn’t see Wu Ailang’s future — nor could he clearly see the future of anything related to Chi Qiong.

However, he could see that Wu Ailang was originally destined for an early demise.

Born with poor health, and having encountered this deadly batch, he wasn’t supposed to live past fifteen years of age. But then he met Yun Xiguang, and now, with good fortune shining upon him, his prospects were limitless.

But what was Yun Xiguang? Just an ordinary person, yet how did he possess such formidable fortune?

Bai Ze searched left and right, but couldn’t find an answer. Such a powerful fortune, capable of opposing the will of heaven, was beyond his comprehension.

But he knew one thing for certain: Unyielding fortune was not uncommon; it all depended on whether someone possessed the heart and determination to receive it.

It comprehended the principles of heaven and knew that fortune was merely a matter of probability. Any low-probability event was considered unyielding fortune.

Just like buying lottery tickets. Assuming there were one hundred million tickets, with only one winning ticket offering a prize of one hundred million, then one person buying one ticket and winning the jackpot, and another person buying ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine tickets, only to miss the winning one, were both low-probability events. Both could be considered “unyielding fortune.”

Fortune doesn’t discriminate between good and evil; it fairly descends upon someone.

Yun Xiguang was a person with “unyielding fortune.” He could encounter both types of “unyielding fortune,” thus meeting Sun Zhuzhao while also facing the pursuit of the Zhulong.

These were events that ordinary people would never encounter — the low-probability events — but Yun Xiguang could meet them.

Therefore, the good was for him, and the bad was for him.

And Yun Xiguang neither became arrogant because of the good nor disheartened because of the bad. Regardless of the circumstances, he remained steadfast in pursuing his goals, avoiding arrogance and discouragement, unmoved by praise or blame, and persevering.

Only with such a mindset could one bear the weight of such unyielding fortune. Otherwise, one would have been consumed by their fortune long ago, leaving nothing but dregs behind.

Bai Ze knew that it couldn’t help Yun Xiguang much. All it could do was exert its utmost effort to assist Yun Xiguang in utilizing his “unyielding fortune” more effectively.

The group boarded the fighter jets and flew southward at incredible speeds.

During the journey, Bai Ze closed its eyes to rest, seemingly trying to secretly investigate the situation at Youying Spiritbond Academy and locate the whereabouts of the three phoenix feathers.

While Bai Ze was making efforts, Qin Shu took a drop of Bai Ze’s fresh blood and smeared it on his forehead before falling asleep.

This was a method that Qin Shu and Bai Ze had developed together, allowing them to maximize Bai Ze’s strength.

By using a blood pact to reverse control Qin Shu’s soul, utilizing the power of Qin Shu’s soul, Bai Ze could temporarily unleash its most powerful capabilities.

Of course, this method couldn’t be used frequently. If overused, Qin Shu’s soul energy would be exhausted, leading to his soul dissipating.

Now, at this critical juncture, Qin Shu voluntarily proposed this method, urging Bai Ze to make a bold move.

Bai Ze closed its eyes for over an hour, but eventually opened them with disappointment, shaking its head at the group.

It explained, “Youying Spiritbond Academy is shrouded by a domain. I can’t discern the situation inside.”

“I remember that the principal of Youying Academy is only an Earth-grade Spiritbond Master. Even now, you can display Heaven-grade strength, yet you can’t spy on their domain?” Li Zheng asked.

Bai Ze said, “The opponent is far more than just Earth-grade. The domain of Youying Academy surpasses the Heaven-grade by a wide margin!”

The Spiritbond World had never heard of something “far exceeding the Heaven-grade.” Li Zheng could only say, “Could it be that those three strands of spirit energy have nurtured a spirit beast surpassing even divine beasts? This battle won’t be easy.”

Li Zheng was worried, and so were Yun Xiguang and the group of divine beasts who knew everything.

They were well aware that it wasn’t three strands of spirit energy that had nurtured some monstrous creature. What Bai Ze referred to as a domain “far exceeding the Heaven-grade” was Youying itself!

If Youying’s main body had awakened, the battle they faced would be far from simple.

Yin Youying differed from Yang Zhuzhao. It lacked a physical form and personality. It was just a white light sphere sleeping in the deadlands, acting according to certain rules.

Described in terms modern humans could understand, Youying was a program with immense power.

It would only execute actions within the scope of the program.

When Yun Xiguang fought the Weaver Ant, he was battling within Youying’s domain. Yet, throughout the fight, Youying never intervened, even when Chi Qiong later utilized Youying’s power to transform into human form. Youying didn’t aid Hai Ruobo, the Carnivorous Tree, or the Weaver Ant.

Because Youying’s programmed function there was singular — to give birth to the Carnivorous Tree and assist the Weaver Ant in absorbing the phoenix feather’s spirit energy.

Due to Youying’s nature, the divine beasts both understood and didn’t understand Moon Youying.

They understood its situation, but they didn’t understand its specific programming.

No one knew what program was cast over Youying Spiritbond Academy. Without understanding the rules, they couldn’t make a move.

Bai Ze explained the situation regarding Youying to Yun Xiguang, but Li Zheng didn’t hear a word, only hearing a series of “beeps” in his ears.

Yun Xiguang deciphered the hidden meaning in Bai Ze’s words. Knowing that Bai Ze dared not voice it, he took the initiative to clarify, “Youying’s strength is on par with Zhuzhao. Chi Qiong’s current power falls short of Youying’s, so his feathers might not help us evade the domain, correct?”

Hearing Yun Xiguang say that he fell short of Youying’s level, Chi Qiong angrily pecked at Yun Xiguang’s crown.

Worried about being pecked bald by Chi Qiong, Yun Xiguang reached out to remove the little spirit bird, allowing it to peck at his palm. However, doing so made it seem as though Chi Qiong was repeatedly kissing his palm.

There were so many cats, dogs, sheep, and snakes watching. Chi Qiong was embarrassed to show affection to Yun Xiguang in front of so many people, so he stopped pecking.

Bai Ze watched in astonishment as Yun Xiguang effortlessly calmed the Supreme Deity’s fury, mentally giving Yun Xiguang a thumbs-up.

It said, “The strength of Zhuzhao and Youying cannot be compared solely by quantity. Moreover, Youying won’t actively attack anyone. It’s merely executing its program. As long as we don’t anger the core rules, we won’t provoke a full-scale assault from Youying. If the Supreme Deity Zhuzhao retrieves his three strands of spirit energy, overthrowing the rules of the Supreme Deity Youying won’t be a difficult task.”

Slightly relieved, Yun Xiguang said, “In other words, we need to predict the rules within Youying Academy first, avoid violating the rules as much as possible, and secure victory at the lowest cost.”

Bai Ze shook its head, the soft hairs on its neck fluttering. With a bitter smile, it said, “The mind of a Supreme Deity is unpredictable. How can I deduce the rules of the Supreme Deity Youying?”

If it tried to forcefully probe, it might die again.

Yet, Yun Xiguang, filled with fighting spirit, said, “If we can’t figure it out through ability, we can use logical deduction. As long as we can deduce Youying’s purpose, we might be able to infer the rules. We can give it a try.”