Du Bai eagerly said, "Hey Little Tang, when are we returning to the Great Beast Fighting Arena? I can’t wait to cast misfortune on our opponents. Give them misfortune and keep the luck for us. How wonderful is that? Let them see how powerful I am."
Tang San replied, "You’re overthinking it. Don't you think people will notice if you control fortune on the battlefield? You think there aren’t any god-level experts among the spectators? Can you hide your control over misfortune?"
Tang San said solemnly, " As we defeat more opponents, we’ll attract even more attention. Senior brother Gu Li's Chrono Croc Transformation and senior sister Cheng Zicheng’s Golden Roc Transformation are eye-catching enough, but your Celestial Fox Transformation is different. Among first-tier bloodlines, others might just draw interest, but if your Celestial Fox Transformation is discovered, you might be captured and sent straight to the Ancestral Court. So you can never use it in the Great Beast Fighting Arena. Understand?"
Seeing Tang San’s serious expression, Du Bai deflated like a punctured balloon, his earlier excitement dwindling sharply. With a bitter smile, he said, "But I want to help everyone! You don’t know how hard it is for me to watch you guys in trouble and not be able to help. I hate not being able to do anything for you."
Tang San shook his head and said, "No, you’ve been helping us all along. The luck you bestow on us works every moment, helping all of us. Without it, our injuries might be more severe, or someone might even die. Don’t underestimate yourself. You’re part of the team, and a very important part."
"Really?" Du Bai instantly brightened up again.
"What bullshit," Gu Li said grumpily from the side. "You’re only at the sixth order, and you’re already showing off."
Du Bai raised an eyebrow, a strange smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Light and shadow flickered behind him, the phantom of the Celestial Fox appeared, and the third tail suddenly turned black.
The black fox tail swayed lightly, and it was clear that Time Freeze could not supersede it. Only after the tail swayed did Du Bai finally freeze.
Gu Li immediately felt that something was off.
He instinctively sat down cross-legged.
Misfortune, huh? I’ll just sit still, won’t that be fine? If I don’t do anything, how bad can it be? At worst, I won’t cultivate. It’s not like I'll get injured just sitting here, right?
Just as he was thinking this, something seemed to fall from the sky. Startled, Gu Li instantly activated his Chrono Croc Transformation, sweeping upward with his tail.
With a quiet plop, a strong odor instantly spread.
The collision didn’t result in a shockwave, but it did result in a wave of nondescript goo covering Gu Li. It was some kind of giant bird's droppings.
"Oh, come on!" Gu Li shouted and ran toward the lake.
"Hey, hey, we still need to drink that lake water," Cheng Zicheng couldn’t help but shout.
Wu Bingji raised his hand, drawing a stream of lake water to wash over Gu Li. But he had the Ice Nymph Transformation, not the Water Nymph Transformation, so the lake water he drew quickly dropped in temperature.
Gu Li shivered under the icy water.
"Du Bai, I'll get you for this," he growled, charging angrily at Du Bai.
But just then, a vine somehow appeared under his feet. With a thud, the furious Gu Li tripped and fell face-first into the dirt.
Du Bai blinked, quickly cast a luck spell on himself, and hid behind Tang San.
Gu Li struggled to get up and was about to charge at Du Bai again when he suddenly felt his bloodline power stagnate. He staggered; clearly, the misfortune was still clinging to him. Hesitating for a moment, he decided against advancing any further.
"You little brat, get rid of this now." Shivering from the icy water and with bird droppings still clinging to him, he was as embarrassed as he could be.
Du Bai poked his head from behind Tang San’s shoulder, grinning smugly. "Now you know the price of crossing the Son of Fortune."
Gu Li ground his teeth in frustration but didn’t dare move, genuinely fearing that something worse might happen to him.
Watching the scene unfold, Wu Bingji was shocked. Du Bai’s control over fortune was stronger than he had imagined. Gu Li, after all, had a second-tier bloodline and a cultivation level higher than Du Bai’s, yet under Du Bai’s control of misfortune, he seemed almost defenseless. What would this mean on the battlefield?
The powerful effect of the Celestial Fox Transformation gradually became evident as Du Bai’s cultivation improved. As Tang San had said, Du Bai was becoming an increasingly important part of the team.
With a flash of white light, Gu Li felt as if something unpleasant had left his body, and he heaved a sigh of relief.
"Huh, that’s strange," Du Bai said thoughtfully, stepping out from behind Tang San.
"How did you know, Little Tang? What you said earlier, I think I felt something," Du Bai muttered.
"What did you feel?" Tang San asked.
Du Bai said, "I feel like I can control a special power. After I gave Gu Li some misfortune, this special power seemed to increase. It seems like fortune. There’s something like a cloud in my sea of consciousness, and it’s growing. A cloud of fortune?"
Tang San’s eyebrows raised slightly. "A materialization of fortune?"
Du Bai nodded. "Seems like it. So the sixth order is not just about controlling misfortune. There have been some changes in the overall fortune itself. It seems there really is a balance between fortune and misfortune, like you said. The more misfortune I release, the more of these clouds of fortune there are. I wonder if I can use these clouds to bestow stronger luck than before. I need to test this more."
Gu Li’s mouth twitched as he said, "Get away from us, and don’t test it on us."
Du Bai chuckled and said, "Well, that depends on how you treat me."
Tang San pondered for a moment and said, "Senior brother Du Bai, when you’re experimenting, you can start from a few aspects. First, see if the luck bestowed through this cloud of fortune is different from before. Second, check if this luck can be targeted at specific events. Also, observe if there’s any traceable sign during the process or if it’s completely intangible. Lastly, see if you can stop the light effects when you use your ability. If you can do it without any visible manifestation, that’ll be great."
"Got it. I’ll work on it. It’s different from last time, though. There’s been a qualitative change this time, and it’s pretty major."
Tang San nodded slightly and said, "The Celestial Fox Transformation seems to be different from other Demonic God Transformations. It seems that rather than the fourth, seventh, and tenth order, you get a qualitative change at three, six, and nine tails. But you still need to be cautious. The stronger your ability to change fortune, the higher the risk of backlash, and if you do get backlash, it could be very severe. You shouldn’t let your cloud of fortune deplete completely. Otherwise, you might run into big trouble."
"Understood." Du Bai nodded thoughtfully.
After listening to Du Bai’s explanation, Tang San felt a bit eager. Du Bai’s breakthrough meant that he could acquire his own third tail soon enough and personally experience the mysteries within.
Bananachocopie's Thoughts
penguin’s thoughts: effective immediately, we’re spelling Gu Li’s name as Goo Lee
banana: I think he is joking (or not).