Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the smoking mass and twitched his fingers, but there was nothing he could do.

The heavenly lightning's locked-on attack could only be detected by the person being targeted. Others could only feel the pressure and were unable to sense the lightning's approach or target.

The speed of the heavenly lightning was extremely fast, yet Big Black was in front of Bai Xiaoyu the moment the lightning struck. Although the Big Black Egg still had a door stuck on him, with Big Black's abilities, she could have easily made the door fall off with minimal effort.

But Big Black didn’t. Even wasting a tiny bit of time might have made it impossible to block the lightning in time.

Bai Xiaoyu struggled to maintain his standing position. At that moment, the second lightning strike came down. The first strike had missed Bai Xiaoyu, so this was clearly a compensatory follow-up.

Of course, it was blocked once again by the smoking mass.

The next several strikes of heavenly lightning aimed at Bai Xiaoyu were all blocked by Big Black.

The heavenly lightning, having repeatedly failed, seemed to grow enraged. The black clouds above gathered more and more, completely shrouding this part of the sky and darkening the entire atmosphere.

The clouds had turned completely black, with bolts of lightning flashing through them, emitting rumbling thunderclaps.

It seemed to be menacing those below.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaoyu frowned and looked at Big Black. "Big Black, should I give it a shot?"

He was well aware of his own physical condition. If he were to rely solely on his B-grade body, a single strike of the heavenly lightning would finish him off. But thinking about his 2S beast ears and tail, he suddenly felt extremely confident that he could withstand a couple of strikes.

Admittedly, he didn’t plan to block all the heavenly lightning. There was no way he could do it alone.

If someone were to intervene during the tribulation, the power of the tribulation lightning would at least double. Observing the increasing pressure from the clouds, he realized that even if Big Black blocked the current strikes, the next ones would be even more powerful. But if Big Black stopped, the lightning would return to its original power, no longer as destructive as it was now. Although Big Black’s physique could currently handle it, the lightning would only grow stronger.

With anyone else, he wouldn’t have wanted them to help block the lightning. But with Big Black, he felt an inexplicable sense of calm, confident they could get through this together.

If his physique wasn’t up to the task, then Big Black would take over.

As soon as he said this, Bai Kan and several cubs who had just entered turned pale with shock.

The eight-year-old Little Prince, who had been watching with his arms crossed in a leisurely fashion, now spoke up, displeased by Bai Xiaoyu’s overconfidence. "Do you even know what kind of terrible physique you have? Don’t think just because that guy took two strikes and is still smoking without a single scratch that you can do the same. If you take one strike, we’ll have to carry you out."

Accustomed to the little prince's sharp tongue, Bai Xiaoyu replied, "I'm not that weak."

Rarely contradicting Bai Xiaoyu, Little Bai said, "White Papa, you can’t do it. You’ll shatter into these wooden splinters."

The little golden tiger chimed in, "Brother, I know I don’t like him, but he’s actually not wrong this time."

The White Tiger nodded beside him, saying, "Brother, should I take the hit instead?"

Bai Kan added, "Little Hundred, you should just pick someone to help share the burden."

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

After a pause, Bai Xiaoyu said, "Don’t get involved. The more people participate in the tribulation, the stronger the lightning becomes."

He turned to look at the still-smoking Big Black Egg, which was now beginning to show its outline. As if sensing Bai Xiaoyu's concerned gaze, a transparent tiger tail-shaped mental energy tentacle reached over and touched Bai Xiaoyu’s furrowed brow. A very relaxed thought from Big Black immediately came through: "Bai Bai, don’t worry about me. With the eggshell usually protecting me, no one can hurt me. This lightning is just an itch for me."

Upon receiving this message, Bai Xiaoyu couldn’t help but feel both amused and relieved, knowing that Big Black was fine.

But the heavenly lightning, as if provoked, seemed to thicken the clouds even more. The next second, it struck the smug Big Black Egg.

This time, the heavenly lightning’s target was no longer Bai Xiaoyu. All the hatred was now focused on Big Black Egg.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as the mushroom cloud growing *around* the crackling Big Black Egg became larger. Having just regained some strength, he struggled to use his tail to pull the pill furnace aside.

Now that Big Black was being struck by lightning, his mental energy was nearly exhausted, all for the sake of successfully refining the Xisui pill. He couldn't let the pill tribulation affect the furnace.

The commotion caused by Bai Xiaoyu attracted a lot of attention, and even the warriors patrolling near the herb base hurried over, thinking there had been an attack. When they arrived, through the cracks in the building and with each flash of lightning, they could clearly see a mushroom cloud being struck by bolts of lightning.

After receiving an explanation from the warrior who had been guarding the scene and witnessed the event, they understood that it was the Big Black Egg being struck by lightning.

The twelve warriors, who knew Big Black's identity and were usually inconspicuous, sealed off the area, prepared for battle, and reported the abnormal situation to the old marshal.

Thus, through a live broadcast, the old marshal and Su Ran also saw the Big Black Egg being struck by lightning.

As time passed, the lightning tribulation of the pill grew stronger.

Originally, the pill tribulation was expected to involve just nine strikes, and with Bai Xiaoyu involved, at most eighteen strikes.

Now, with Big Black involved, it was struck by lightning eighty-one times!

The ordeal of the pill tribulation lasted an entire afternoon.

Throughout the process, Bai Xiaoyu never saw the egg body of the Big Black Egg, as Big Black was almost constantly surrounded by lightning and smoke.

In the middle and later stages, Bai Xiaoyu couldn’t even consider helping; he couldn’t even get close to Big Black. The overwhelming pressure from the pill tribulation locked onto Big Black, completely ignoring Bai Xiaoyu and the pill involved.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as the Big Black Egg was struck by lightning for so long that even the smoke around it turned black, and he became increasingly worried about the condition of Big Black inside.

He tried to probe Big Black with his mental energy, but true to his expectations, he was blocked outside.

At this point, the cubs no longer had any smugness on their faces; each small face was extremely serious, and even the Little Prince’s eyes were filled with fear of the lightning.

The first few strikes of lightning, any one of them could have easily withstood it, except for Bai Xiaoyu. In the later stages, with that kind of power, any one of them would have perished if they had tried to block it.

It was truly one lethal strike of lightning per cub.

He stared at Big Black; facing such a strong opponent was not a good thing for him. Normally, this would have been the best time to launch a sneak attack.

But he glanced at Bai Xiaoyu, observing the expression on his face, and finally turned away with a dismissive snort.

After the eighty-first strike of lightning, Big Black remained standing motionless.

Bai Xiaoyu clearly knew the power of the ninety-nine lightning tribulations, and no matter how strong Big Black’s physique was, he was indeed pushed to his limit as he hadn’t fully recovered.

At that moment, another bolt of lightning fell from the sky, and Bai Xiaoyu’s expression changed in alarm. He found that he could move his body again and was about to step in to shield Big Black.

However, that bolt of lightning headed toward him, and the previously motionless figure shrouded in black smoke rushed over, attempting to block the lightning.

But the lightning passed directly through, striking the pills inside the pill furnace behind them.

In an instant, an extremely mysterious pill fragrance spread across a radius of ten miles.

People couldn’t help but take a deep breath, feeling refreshed, but after a few more breaths, they felt a slight pain in their bodies.

The closer they were to the location of the lightning, the more obvious the pain became.

Those who benefited the most were naturally Bai Xiaoyu and a few others; Bai Xiaoyu felt his newly upgraded body beginning to improve again, quickly reaching B+. The warriors and cubs beside him, like Bai Kan and the others, also advanced by a small rank.

People near the breeding facility, including the warriors, interns, and blood egg cubs, and even the eggs inside the facility, all benefited to varying degrees.

Bai Xiaoyu took a deep breath and suddenly smelled a faint burnt smell coming from the still-smoking Big Black Egg.

He hurriedly reached out to check on Big Black Egg, but Big Black Egg dodged away.

Bai Xiaoyu had no choice but to examine the pill instead.

At this moment, the Xisui pill with nine patterns was faintly glowing. The intersecting patterns on the pill gave off a mysterious sensation the longer he looked at them.

Bai Xiaoyu touched the pill lightly, and the faint glow on the pill instantly disappeared, along with the pill fragrance in the surroundings, which also dissipated simultaneously.

He put the pill into a prepared white jade bottle, then turned to look at Big Black Egg.

The black smoke around Big Black Egg gradually dissipated, though wisps of it still rose from the egg’s surface.

He walked over, and this time Big Black Egg didn’t dodge. He reached out to touch the eggshell and found it was still extremely hot.

He immediately had a robot next to him cool down Big Black Egg. He then quickly moved to a new location and brought out a giant pill furnace that was even more corrosion-resistant than the one used last time for the Xisui pill. After preparing the medicinal liquid, he placed Big Black Egg inside.

As soon as Big Black Egg entered, it immediately sank to the bottom.

Bai Xiaoyu thought about how Big Black had been holding up normally until now but finally reached his limit.

Fortunately, he had added a large amount of repair substance to the medicinal liquid.

After nearly three hours of restoration, Bai Xiaoyu looked at Big Black Egg and took out the Xisui pill. The vitality of this Xisui pill would decay over time, just like the limbs of a plant person, and its effectiveness would rapidly diminish once cut off after three hours.

The first three hours after was the best time to use it, so he used his mental energy to probe into the pill furnace, patted Big Black’s egg body, and asked, “Big Black, can I check your body? Otherwise, I won’t know if you can handle the effects of the Xisui pill.”

Big Black Egg wobbled slightly but didn’t allow Bai Xiaoyu’s mental energy to probe inside, because there was still lightning inside. However, it conveyed a thought, allowing Bai Xiaoyu to use the Xisui pill.

After repeatedly confirming that Big Black Egg could withstand it, he placed the Xisui pill with nine patterns into the medicinal liquid. The pill instantly dissolved into the liquid, and the next second, Big Black Egg trembled, with lightning flashing across its surface and a large amount of black gas emitted.

The medicinal liquid instantly turned completely black.

Due to the abnormal state of Big Black Egg, Bai Xiaoyu’s mental energy simply couldn’t probe inside. He could only keep waiting and continuously purifying the dark substances in the medicinal liquid.

The medicinal effects were extremely good, and after an hour, very little dark substance remained on Big Black Egg.

Bai Xiaoyu patted Big Black Egg with his mental energy, “Big Black, can I check your body now?”

Big Black Egg made an extremely slight jump—a sign of assent.

He carefully probed inside with his mental energy. Normally, no matter how tired Big Black was, he would immediately notice his mental energy, but now he was already asleep.

Bai Xiaoyu smiled as he looked at the sleeping bald tiger. Even in sleep, he instinctively responded to him.

Now, Big Black was still asleep, or rather, he had entered a state of restorative hibernation.

He soon discovered that the giant tiger inside the egg was almost the same as last time. This time, the main task was to cleanse Big Black’s stubborn dark substances. Probing into the giant tiger’s body with his mental energy, he found no trace of dark substances.

Since the dark substances had been removed, and Big Black had entered a state of rest under the effects of the pill, he would soon wake up and be ready to hatch.

Bai Xiaoyu used his mental energy to gently pinch Big Black’s paw, his eyes filled with anticipation as he watched the massive tiger paw move slightly in response.

After giving it a gentle pinch, he withdrew his mental energy, not disturbing Big Black’s hibernation.

Then he contacted the old marshal. After connecting, he looked at the still dignified elder with white hair. “Old Marshal Bai, hello.”

The old marshal was indeed sharp and could tell from Bai Xiaoyu’s expression, “Xiao Bai, are you looking for me because of Xiao Bai Chen’s matter?”

Su Ran next to him also looked at Bai Xiaoyu expectantly, and Bai Xiaoyu nodded with a smile, “Yes, he’s in hibernation now, and when he wakes up, it will be time for him to hatch.”

The usually calm Su Ran jumped up in excitement, "Great!"

Old Marshal Bai sighed, but it was clear from her eyes that she was also excited.

Seeing their reactions, Bai Xiaoyu thought for a moment and then spoke, "I don't know where you are right now, but if you're nearby, you can come and have a look. It's late at night, and I estimate that Big Black will hatch tomorrow morning."

Su Ran immediately turned to Old Marshal Bai, "Old Marshal, there aren't any major battles right now, and it'll only take us a few hours to get there. How about we go and check on the prince?"

Old Marshal Bai nodded.

By early 5 AM, Old Marshal Bai had arrived.

At this moment, the one who reacted strongest was the Little Prince. He appeared when Su Ran was pushing the Elderly Marshal in a wheelchair down from the top floor and blocked their way, letting out low growls.

How was there another powerful pure-blood White Tiger?

Almost immediately recognizing the Little Prince's identity, Old Marshal Bai narrowed her eyes and involuntarily tapped her hand on the armrest of the wheelchair.

Even though the other party didn't show any killing intent, the Little Prince felt a chill down his spine for a moment.

So strong! He and Little Bai were no match for her.

Currently, no one in the breeding facility was a match, except for the Big Black Egg that was knocked out by a lightning strike yesterday.

Why was such a strong White Tiger here?

Even so, the Little Prince still arched his back and stood in front, baring his teeth and growling, trying to scare away the other party.

He couldn't let this person go any further. Behind him were the little ones, and... that vulnerable Bai Xiaoyu. His weak body would be shattered with one swipe of this person's paw.

While standing in front, he also notified Little Bai to go wake up Big Black.

Little Bai patted the Big Black Egg and rushed over, only to be pulled behind the Little Prince.

"Didn't I tell you to go wake up Big Black? Why did you come here?"

Little Bai said, "I came to face the enemy alongside you."

Little Bai refused to leave and continued to confront Old Marshal Bai.

At this moment, Bai Xiaoyu arrived and hadn't even had time to say anything when the Little Prince pulled him behind him.

The Little Prince looked back at him, a little annoyed, "Why did you come out here? If a fight starts, we'll have to worry about protecting you."

Bai Xiaoyu couldn't help but chuckle, but his eyes softened as he looked at the two little guys standing in front of him.

Old Marshal Bai observed the interaction between the arched cub and the other cub, and she also witnessed the moment when the two cubs protected Bai Xiaoyu. Her hand stopped tapping the armrest.

These two Zerg Prince cubs had already developed some human emotions. Even though they might pose a future threat if not eliminated now, she wouldn't take action before they committed any evil deeds.

Besides...

She looked at Bai Xiaoyu behind the two cubs and the mistaken royal.

The two cubs instantly stepped back, warily watching her.

Not only that, but she even waved at them, "Come on, I like cubs. Let me give you a hug."

Bai Xiaoyu was also observing Old Marshal Bai's reaction and now breathed a sigh of relief.

Old Marshal Bai must have known about Little Prince and the others for a long time. The way she is acting now shows that she approves of them, so he can feel completely at ease.

He led the Old Marshal and Su Ran into the room. Little Prince remained vigilant and occasionally pulled Bai Xiaoyu's hand.

Seeing Little Prince's vigilant appearance, Bai Xiaoyu, the former student, patted Little Prince's head and said, "She is Big Black's grandmother, no need to worry."

Little Prince: "..."

So she's the grandmother of that odd big black egg. No wonder she's so powerful. He remembered that he had sent Little Bai to wake Big Black earlier. Now thinking about it, fortunately, Big Black wasn't awake then, or else calling him over would have resulted in them ganging up on us, right?

Bai Xiaoyu looked at Old Marshal Bai and said, "Big Black might need a few more hours. Would you like to take a break for a while?"

Old Marshal Bai shook her head, "No need. I can wait."

At that moment, the little golden tiger and the little white tiger walked in. Old Marshal Bai's eyes brightened when she saw the little white tiger. What a fine pure-blooded little white tiger.

The White Tiger lineage has always had few descendants. The youngest pure-blooded descendant in their lineage is still Xiao Bai Chen.

The next generation depends on Xiao Bai Chen's offspring, but given his personality over the years, she had assumed that Xiao Bai Chen would devote his entire life to the battlefield. Later, she discovered certain changes in his behavior over the past decade or so. Initially, she thought there was some hope, but then she couldn't find him.

She had already suspected more than once whether Xiao Bai Chen was harboring secret affections for someone.

Now seeing such a pure-blooded white tiger cub, even though she already knew, she still felt a deep sense of gratification seeing it in person.

After a while, Bai Kan also walked in. Taken aback by the sight of the elder, he stammered, "Marshal... Marshal Bai?"

Old Marshal Bai nodded. Bai Kan quickly looked around and, seeing that Little Prince and Little Bai were unharmed, turned to Bai Xiaoyu. Bai Xiaoyu nodded at him, conveying the old marshal's attitude toward the two cubs.

Bai Kan also relaxed. After all, the old marshal was someone he admired. If she had wanted to take action, no one here could have prevented her. He composed himself and asked, "Marshal Bai, what brings you here?"

Old Marshal Bai said, "I came to witness my grandson's hatching."

This grandson of hers, bearing the White Tiger bloodline, she already considered a great-grandson.

Bai Kan nodded. It wasn't anything major. Old Marshal Bai coming to see her grandson's hatching was understandable.

Wait, Old Marshal Bai's grandson was Marshal Bai, right?

What did this "hatching" mean? Did she have other grandchildren?

Reflecting on how he had gotten up early to wait for Big Black's hatching, and then thinking about Big Black's combat power, an incredible thought dawned on him, and he widened his eyes in surprise.

Old Marshal Bai gestured to Bai Xiaoyu and projected a photo. "Xiao Bai Chen is about to hatch. Let me show you a picture of Xiao Bai Chen's beast form when he just reached adulthood."

Everyone looked at the majestic giant tiger whose silver-white fur glistened in the sunlight. A mecha of the same color scheme stood beside it. Its ink-like beast pupils seemed to have discovered the person secretly taking pictures and glared sharply in this direction.

Bai Xiaoyu stared intently. The newly adult Big Black was still different from the Big Black in his dreams. The former was more sharp and imposing, while the latter was more steady and restrained.

At that moment, a Big Black Egg bounced out, and everyone's attention turned to him.

The Big Black Egg seemed to see the elder and immediately became more stable in its bouncing, soon arriving in front of the elder.

Old Marshal Bai touched Big Black's egg body, a hint of excitement hidden in her eyes, and then turned to Bai Xiaoyu. "Everyone enjoys seeing your old photos."

Big Black, fidgeting, made his way to Bai Xiaoyu's side. Bai Xiaoyu said, "Big Black used to be incredibly handsome. His silver hair even glowed. It's really beautiful."

The Big Black Egg bounced slightly, thinking that soon both grandmother and Bai Bai wouldn't need to look at photos!

The Big Black Egg then ran to the center position, and a knocking sound came from inside the huge black egg. Everyone held their breath.

Bai Xiaoyu's silver-white tiger ears and tail suddenly popped out. His ears twitched and his tail swayed unconsciously, showing that he was extremely expectant.

The Old Marshal couldn't help but take a glance at Bai Xiaoyu. Seeing how expectant he was, the next moment a sharp claw pierced through Big Black's shell, revealing a crescent-shaped, gleaming sharp tip that slid across the eggshell.

What was once an impenetrable shell had now been easily cut open like tofu.

After slicing through most of the egg, the claw suddenly retracted.

The next moment, Big Black, having positioned itself, forcefully opened the eggshell and appeared before everyone.

The moment Big Black appeared, it was as if the light in the room had been sucked away. Everyone's gaze fell on an inky black tiger, their expressions frozen for several seconds.

Believing that everyone was awestruck by its handsomeness, Big Black effortlessly jumped out of the eggshell. For a moment, the room felt crowded when the enormous black tiger moved, blocking most of the light from the balcony.

Its body was black, but its tail was a beautiful silver-white. Additionally, all four of its paws were too silver-white. Thus, an inky black tiger with four silver-white paws resembling clouds and a silver-white tail appeared before everyone.

After greeting the Old Marshal, Big Black turned and dashed towards the dazed Bai Xiaoyu. Just as it was about to roar, it suddenly caught sight of its reflection in Bai Xiaoyu's eyes.

A pitch-black shape.

Big Black froze, slowly turning its head to look...

The next second, with a roar, Big Black jumped back into its eggshell like a flash of lightning, clutching the shell's fragment.

Inside the egg, with the little light available, it saw nothing but darkness, not even an outline of its form. Big Black's ears drooped completely, and it fell into a state of self-isolation.

Where was the handsome, silver-white gleaming fur that had been spoken of by Bai Bai?