Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Aiko was resting in a nearby shade. The Shadow Fox with the boom-boom Fox was suspiciously close to her and would move bit by bit closer to Aiko.

Aiko didn't really mind that as her [Intention Perception] didn't pick anything about them and the Darkness was also quiet.

She was fine with them as long as they didn't disturb her sleep.

They were curious about this fragile little furball. Especially after they saw her fur changing. They also noticed that her eye colour would change depending on her mood.

They all were resting because they were waiting for the last Foxes, those that hid and waited for the Blood Fox to finish before they started.

The Fox-Demon didn't mind as his main goal was to attract this little one, especially now that he was ordered by his master.

All of them liked Aiko's red eyes as they fired strange emotions inside them. They wanted to see them more often, but at the same time, those calm, light-blue eyes. They were too mesmerizing to pass up. They had quite a different charm compared to the ruby ones.

The Cat Mask girl wanted to come close, but there were already quite a few Foxes that were near Aiko, so she was blocked. She had her own pride and image to maintain so she didn't want to kick them out, but oh boy was she tempted to do so.

...

Finally, the last stragglers arrived. Of course, the Blood Fox didn't cause trouble, while she had a smooth brain, she still had some sense of preservation.

Aiko woke up once he clapped his hands. She was annoyed at him multiple times since he tried to attract her attention. She was very upset about him throwing strange flowers around...

'Why isn't she reacting to those expensive herbs...?' He was confused.

Aiko yawned, the Cat Masked girl wanted to say something, but couldn't since she was interrupted by her colleague.

"Congratulations, you have reached the finish line first." He praised Aiko suspiciously well. "As such you will be rewarded with this [Spatial Ring]."

Spacial Ring was a higher Tier of Storage Ring. It had larger storage space and was harder to invade. The easiest way to steal this would have to be to kill that person and wait for his soul to enter the underworld or disperse his soul.

Otherwise, the Spacial Ring would be still locked and you would have to tamper with the inscription to unlock it, but you would risk breaking the Spacial expansion, destroying all the items inside the ring.

Aiko looked at him warily. They never said anything about prizes, so she was suspicious of him.

He was ordered by his master to give her this ring. It would tempt her enough to join his faction.

Aiko didn't want this. She didn't know anything about Spacial Ring and he was too suspicious for her to take anything.

Aiko walked away from him hiding behind the Cat Masked girl.

The girl was incredibly happy and upset at the same time. That ring was too precious to refuse, but at the same time, she was happy because this little furball sought her for protection.

"You should receive this ring." The Fox-Demon masked youth said.

Aiko shook her head. She didn't like him enough to receive anything.

His lips twitched, but because he had that mask everything was alright. He chanted his sutra to calm down and tried again, but noticed that the little Fox was already asleep near the Cat Masked girl.

He asked her for assistance, but the poor girl was currently screaming her heart out as she really really REALLY wanted to pet this little cutie.

Unfortunately for her, she couldn't she already knew that this little cutie would become wary of anyone who woke her up. She struggled in her mind constantly, fighting between two camps.

The first camp wanted to observe this cutie and protect her, while the other wanted to cuddle and pet Aiko to her heart's content.

The youth frowned, he would be punished by his master if she didn't receive this ring.

It would be enough if she contracted this ring...

He narrowed his eyes and approached Aiko.

Aiko immediately stood up and hissed at him, surprising everyone.

'He wants to hurt you, run, run.'
'Be careful he is not a good person.'

Aiko was on high alert.

'Just a drop of blood is enough.' The Fox-Demon masked youth thought. He couldn't use the blood on her tail since it was already too old, so he would have to take a fresh one.

He used his illusion to conjure a small blade and attacked Aiko.

Aiko felt goosebumps and used [Laceration] to parry it, but it was not enough.

She spammed [Laceration] till half of her stamina was already gone, but she successfully managed to block that strike and shatter it.

He was dangerous and she couldn't stay here, were her thoughts.

The youth was startled, as he never expected his strike to be blocked.

This time window was enough for Aiko to dive under the earth and run away at full speed while concealing herself.

Aiko ran away startling everyone present, but it was not as bad as it was in the stadium...

...

The entire place was silent, nobody was able to curse because of the oppressive nature that the Queen radiated. Even the Elder in charge of the projection was sweating. He was on the same stage as she was, but he already felt he was vastly outclassed.

"Please calm down Jade Fox." The elder tried to soothe her. "I think there is some misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" The Queen slowly repeated as the temperature dropped even lower. "If she doesn't want to receive something from you will you force her." She wanted to ask that question, but it changed into an answer in the instant and the Elder frowned.

'Stupid bastard, why do you have to cause trouble when I'm working.' He cursed that youth. That youth might be a prodigy, but he caused him the most trouble out of all the different prodigies.

He sighed, the Jade Fox was still looking at him and he felt really bad he hoped it would be over already.

"Ah!" One girl voiced something and the Queen looked at the projection, the oppressive nature lessened soon after.

...

Aiko ran away quite far, but he was able to catch up to her easily.

Aiko used all her Skill to get away only to crash into something soft when she was panicking.

"My, my, a visitor." An old voice surprised Aiko. She was currently entangled in fluff and had a hard time moving.

That person picked her up out of her tails. Aiko was restless, but neither her [Intention Perception] nor the Darkness warned her. They were quite welcoming.

Aiko calmed down but wanted to see this person.

As if that person knew what she was thinking she brought her close. Half of her face was scarred from burns. It wasn't a pretty sight, but Aiko didn't mind.

'11/10 tail sleeping material.' Aiko praised her in her mind and that person chuckled.

She looked old but was very pleasing.

"What honour do I owe this small visitor?" She asked gently.

Aiko paused for a moment. 'There is a bastard that wants to butcher me!' She vexingly slapped with her paws.

That person smiled and looked towards another visitor. It was a youth with a pellucid knife in his hand.

She observed that person for a bit.

"May I ask that you ret-ARGH"

He was almost instantly kicked by her.

*Crash**Crash**Boom**Crash**Boom**Crash*

He stopped only after he demolished every single tree in his path. Naturally, he was sent flying back to the finish line and crashed near the Cat Masked girl, shocking her.

She was the only person who knew how powerful he was and she was honestly scared of him, but that terrifying person just crashed like a broken doll that couldn't even resist a single hit.

She stared blankly at him and heard footsteps.

She turned around only for her heart to almost stop.

She immediately stood up cupped her hands and bowed deeply.

"This insignificant Fox greets Grandmaster." She was as polite as 'humanly' possible.

She was aware that this Sect had a Grandmaster, but she never heard anything good of her. She was exceptionally strict and would punish anyone who would slight her or use improper etiquette.

The Grandmaster nodded, petting the little cutie in her hands. She looked rough, her hands were rough and her face was stern, yet in her mind, she was greatly enjoying this little one's fur.

The youth vomited blood and Aiko felt happy. The Grandmaster was not immune to her little charm and almost laughed, but since half of her face was stiff, she was able to endure it, she would caress Aiko in such a way that would relax her.

The Grandmaster stared at the overly stiff girl, sighing.

The girl was terrified and wanted to run away, but couldn't if she did her life would forfeit, was what she thought.

"Explain." The Grandmaster simply asked and the girl immediately spilled everything.

"I see..." The Grandmaster shook her head, she wanted to ask this little one's opinion, but she was only Beast Rank and cub to boot and that meant only one thing.

'She is already asleep.' She smiled gently and the Elder taking care of the projection froze, like he saw the devil from the underworld.

She sat down. She was almost a 9-tailed Fox, but 3 of her tails were ripped or burned, so she lost a lot of strength, but that didn't mean she was weak. She could even handle the Sect Leader if it came down to it.

She would wait until Aiko rested. Cubs needed to rest. Especially when they already were in Beast Rank, as it would drain their mental capacity much more quickly.

If they wouldn't rest they wouldn't be able to progress smoothly. It would also hinder their intelligence, but...

'This little one is already too smart, she needs care.' The Grandmaster thought.

The girl's nerves were already overburdened. She wanted the Grandmaster to leave since she was too scared.

"Relax, sit down, we will be here quite a while." The Grandmaster said and the girl collapsed almost sobbing out loud.

'Grandmaster is too scary baaaaaa.' She cried in her mind but didn't let it see on her face.

The youth coughed blood again and woke up finally. He was already in his battle stance but found out his colleague was sitting in front of that person.

He wanted to send a telepathic transmission but realized it was blocked. His blood ran cold as he knew only someone exceptionally powerful would be able to block telepathy.

He stood up and wobbled. He suffered a serious blow and that blow blocked the flow of his Beast Core.

He stumbled back down and his colleague finally noticed him.

'Stupid bastard look at what you have done!' She cursed him in her mind wanting to kill him when he was weakened, but didn't dare to do anything in front of the Grandmaster.

'If you stopped fucking your harem every single fucking day and actually learned about the Sect you would know this person. Sob. I can't even cry.' The girl was distressed.

The youth could feel the resentment coming from his colleague and couldn't understand a thing.

He still had that ring and mission from his master, he had to complete it but didn't know how, as his opponent was too strong.