Qi or Spiritual Energy exists everywhere, but only one out of a thousand people can sense them. Even fewer can use them, and such people are referred to as cultivators – the term came from the fact that cultivators use Qi to develop their bodies.

There are many ways to cultivate, but the stages are the same for everyone. The first is Origin or Blank stage. As the name implies, people at this stage have no Qi. They could gather some but never actually use them. It’s only after their bodies get used to Qi that they move on to the next stage: Soul Disciple.

Soul Disciple or Qi Refining stage is considered the true start of cultivation. In this stage, Qi freely passes through the body, but it’s only by integrating that energy into oneself that the cultivator gets stronger. It is divided into nine grades. And each time one reaches the next grade, he or she gains a large increase in strength – it’s the same for the following stages.

That boost influences the gap between cultivators. Even if they are only one grade a part, the one with a higher grade will win ten out of ten matches if both of them have the same skill level.

Currently, Rydia Crowe is… stuck at the Soul Disciple stage. She was able to breeze through each grade thanks to her special cultivation technique and it would’ve been easy for her to move to the next stage. Unfortunately, she drank a pill which blocked her own meridians. Now, no amount of mediation shows progress. And it might stay that way for quite a while.

‘I didn’t believe it was possible for people to shoot themselves in the feet. But now you have proven that it’s indeed possible. I have to admit, I’m quite impressed.’ A beastly voice said.

A vein popped out in the ten-year-old girl’s forehead. ‘Shut up’

‘Oh, was that perhaps not intended? Was the pill supposed to have a different effect?’

Using the materials she gathered in the past two years, Rydia made a pill that would’ve helped her reach the Soul Expert stage faster and boost her cultivation speed for at least two grades.

Unfortunately, she made a slight miscalculation and clogged her meridians in the process.

As to why a former Soul God could make such a mistake, it was because the ingredients weren’t the same as the ones on earth. She had to change the formula, but she only had her own sense of smell as reference. Furthermore, it has been a long time since she last created one.

Of course she knew it could fail, but not to this extent… “Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa”

Now she has to create a pill that could fix her body or use needles to manually cleanse her meridians. With how her first pill turned out, the latter would be the best course of action. But to do that, she has to find some good quality needles and she won’t find them in a mountain.

She could ask Byakko to find some; despite the cat’s attitude towards her, he would do what he’s told. But maybe it was time for her to visit a city. After all, a life of pure cultivation was too boring.

With a plan in mind, she stood up and stretched.

‘What’s your next move, little monkey?’ Byakko asked, still giggling slightly.

‘I give up on cultivation. I will spend the rest of my life as a normal human.’

‘Y- You wouldn’t dare.’

‘I can no longer cultivate, what else can I do?’ She faked a sad expression.

Byakko jumped out of her soul, morphed into a white haired kid around her age, and grabbed her by the collar of her robe. “This isn’t like you!”

“You’ve only been my familiar for five years. What would you know?”

“I may not know everything, but I know that you’re the strongest Susanoo, the strongest Shinto God, the strongest Lightning God, and the one I, the Great White Tiger, regards as a worthy master. If you are still the same person I know, you won’t give up like this!”

“I- I don’t know what to say…” She didn’t expect that kind of encouragement from him.

“You don’t have to say anything, just keep moving forward like you always do.” Byakko smiled. “And I, the Great White Tiger, will always stay by your side.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

At that point, Rydia was truly lost for words – how could she say everything was a joke!?

“Umm......... sorry”

“What are you apologizing for? It’s nothing.”

“No… it’s not that.” Should she admit her sin, or should she not? “You see…” After what Byakko did, she should. “It was a lie.”

“What was that? What did you say?”

“I- It was a joke, I don’t really plan on giving up…” She looked down in guilt. “But I didn’t expect you to do that… I’m sorry.”

“Wait, so you don’t plan on giving up?”

Rydia lowered her head. “I’m sorry!”

Byakko stared at her, his face slowly distorting into an expression of rage. Soon, he tried to push her down. “HOW DARE YOU TOY WITH ME!!!”

Overcome with guilt, Rydia took a step back instead of protecting herself by using her ability. But that messed up Byakko’s timing.

She was indeed pushed to the ground, but Byakko fell with her. Worse, her shoulders were pinned down and so were her lips… yes, her new body’s first kiss was taken.

Byakko immediately jumped away.

She, on the other hand, stared dumbly at him.

Once their eyes met, they went pale.

And after a while, their floodgates were released… ““BLEEGH!!!””

“No! It can’t be! IT CAN’T BE!!!”

“My lips! MY LIPS HAVE BEEN TAINTED BY A MALE APE!!!”

“Aren’t you the one who kissed me!?”

“You’re the one who made me do it!”

“I did not, you homophobic cat!”

“Shut your mouth, you hideous mongrel!”

And that was the beginning of a verbal war. But unlike usual, there was no clear winner. In a way, it may even be said that both lost.

***

Due to her guilt, she overreacted when her lips touched Byakko’s. But it was only after she has cooled down that she realized how childish her outburst was. The same goes for Byakko. Luckily, both agreed to forget about that horrible experience.

Now Rydia is looking at the base of the mountain from the cave opening. After taking a deep breath, she ran down at full speed.

Her meridians might be blocked, but that didn’t mean her body weakened. Her disability to use spiritual energy aside, she still had her strength as a ninth grade Soul Disciple.

As she moved, a large eagle approached her – the fact that it was pointing its talons at her proved that it didn’t come for a friendly chat.

Realizing its intention, she called a bolt of lightning from the sky and zapped it to death.

Authority of Lightning – that was the ability Rydia got from her bloodline, and it was as potent as the one who first wielded it: the original Susanoo. With it, she could create and control all forms of lightning. She also has resistance to the element. It scales with her soul rank, and at the ninth grade of Soul Disciple, a full-powered lightning from her could annihilate a fifth grade Soul Master.

Unfortunately, her meridians are blocked so her ability currently scales from the Origin stage. But that’s more than enough to deal with a monster way below the Soul Master stage.

There were more of the truck-sized eagles, but after seeing one of their kind die, they dropped the idea of making a food out of her.

Once she entered the grassland, the ground wobbled like the waves of a sea and black figures emerged – they were four feet tall monsters that looked like a mix of a dog and an armadillo.

She grabbed one by the neck and dodged the others. In a few steps, she threw the monster forward to intercept the same type of monster, but at the size of an adult elephant. The moment the two collided, she sent a kick to the larger monster’s chin.

When it fell over, she ran past it and kept going at a blinding speed. She encountered a few more types of monsters, but not a single one managed to stop her.

“Ok, now where should we go?”

‘You ran all the way here without a direction in mind?’

‘Bingo!’

‘You fool! Do you want us to get lost!?’

‘Do we even know where we are?’

‘We… I… that’s not that point! It’s common knowledge to plan first before acting!’

‘Says who?’

‘Grrrr...... forget it… just go where you want to go.’

‘You should’ve said so from the start.’

Byakko placed his paw across his face in spirit form. ‘Why did I choose you as my master…’

‘Don’t be like that. Didn’t you say I’m a worthy master?’

‘And didn’t you play with this poor beast’s heart, you black-hearted demon?’

‘I- I did say I was sorry.’ Rydia scratched her head meekly.

‘There wouldn’t be wars if a simple apology could solve everything.’

‘But sometimes it does.’

‘Fool! This is the time when you should ask me what I want!’

‘Nah, I already know you like catnips.’

‘How many times do I have to tell you; I’m a tiger, not a cat!’

‘Based from studies, tigers are a part of the cat family.’

‘Y- You! Stop using irrelevant topics to mess with me!’

‘It’s not irrelevant! It’s science!’

‘Science is the worst thing humanity ever created!’

‘No, it’s math.’

‘ROOOOAAAARRRR!!!’ Byakko began raging inside her soul.

After giggling for a bit, she said: ‘Thank you’

‘Huh? What are you up to now, you hateful ape?’

‘I know I was acting that time, but I truly appreciate your encouragement. That alone puts you at the third place of my best friend ranking.’

‘As if I’d want to be placed in that worthless ranking of yours.’

‘Don’t be shy, buddy.’

‘Don’t call me that… and why am I in third place? Not that I care, but if you’re going to add me, shouldn’t I be at first place? I’m the Great White Tiger you know.’

‘Simple – the first two are better.’

‘I wonder what kind of gods could be better than me.’

‘Nope, not gods, they’re ordinary people.’

‘And you dare place me beneath them!?’

‘Anyway, thank you.’

‘You think you can get away like that!?’

‘Umm… what do you want?’