Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

”So...” Dai Lu’s lips were twitching.

”So...” Mei’s lips were likewise twitching.

”6 Tails, but only 4 give me any effect.” Aiko repeated the same sentence for the 20th time.

The duo’s lips twitched. It was seriously messed up, since they wanted to cuddle this cute little creature, which also meant that they might pounce on the big Aiko.

”We need a Recognition Inhibition Amulet or something.” Dai Lu said before even Mei could utter it.

”En. Will you do the honour?” Mei glanced at Dai Lu.

”I will get to it right away.” Dai Lu immediately stood up and stormed away.

”How are you feeling?” Aiko asked. Mei was not moving all that much.

”I had been having headaches thanks to you.” Mei’s lips twitched at Aiko’s expression of innocence.

”That’s not my fault. I only abused the forced transformation that the Dew Form brings.” Aiko said. ”On that note, can I have more Souls, so I can abuse it one more time?” Aiko pleaded to Mei.

Mei immediately plopped back into a lying position. She didn’t want to hear what Aiko would say.

Aiko pouted, but she left Mei to rest.

She walked about and started to think about what she should do about this situation.

It was a calm afternoon. The sun was high in the sky. Aiko had plenty of time before she transformed into her Dew Form, but she was unsure if she could find 200 Souls to get 1,001 Souls for the new tail.

If she went outside, there could be something that she could find, but it’s unlikely that Aiko would get far thanks to her big form.

Sure, she is much, much more powerful now, but that doesn’t mean her Dew Form was also powerful. All it did was to make her more beautiful, which would definitely bring more troubles.

Aiko tilted her head, when a notification from the system startled her.

[#### inside your Divine Sense ate the ####!]

[Your Soul increased by 3,472!]

Aiko blinked a few times. Did she eat something? She didn’t remember eating anything that could obtain her more Souls.

She was completely unaware that the big wolf captured that Ghost way back when the Mirage Fox was still alive.

The wolf was playing with the Ghost until it was able to devour its Soul. It wanted to play with it a bit more, but since its master needed Souls, it reluctantly submitted its prize.

’Now I can get more tails.’ Aiko blinked with a happy smile on her lips.

’Thank you! Whoever you are~!’ Aiko hummed happily. Now she just needed to wait for the right time and she would gain another form.

It was better to go inside as outside had reduced Dew Essence regeneration rate. With this, she would be able to stay in her Dew Form for much longer, thus allowing her to gain more tails!

Aiko nodded like she was some sort of genius and smiled happily.

...

The next morning, Mei was still lying in bed. Meanwhile, the Grandmaster was still away, so this was the perfect opportunity for Aiko to gain more tails!

[Would you like to use your Soul to obtain one more tail?]

[Cost: 1,000 Souls]

[Yes/No]

[Yes]

Aiko clicked without hesitation, and that same kind of feeling spread throughout her body.

From 4,273 to 3,273 free Souls, Aiko still had room for improvement, but the thing was. She would need 10,000 for the next one and it was unlikely that Mei would allow her to have an additional 7,000 Souls just for herself.

It was also important to strengthen the others, but Aiko didn’t know if she could share her Soul Essence with others.

[You need a Karmic Bound in order to share the best things from the system.]

Aiko nodded gently. It seems like she could share her Soul Essence with only Mei. That was fine, but Aiko was still worried about using the system’s items.

The Twins were the prime example of going overboard. She didn’t want to be left behind, so she would take her time exploring the system before giving others gifts. It was bad enough that the Twins were faster than Aiko. Well, not any more, but the point stands.

’I think I can contend with the top places in this Village...’ Aiko narrowed her eyes.

Her strength reached 506,040 without the Shadow or Lunar Boosts. So she could easily break 1 million if the conditions were right.

’Maybe I should also buy some passive Skills that would allow me to increase my Strength...’ Aiko narrowed her eyes. She currently had boosts for Agility, Dexterity and so on, but it would have been safer if she got all of them.

’Maybe later, let’s first wait for those tails to finish.’ Aiko nodded gently.

Meanwhile, the Grandmaster returned, only for her to almost faint.

”You are creating another tail?!” Dai Lu cried out.

”Tails*, since I’m abusing this form.” Aiko snorted unhappily.

Dai Lu almost frothed from her mouth, but it was not as shocking as it was the first time, so she was able to endure that feeling this time.

”I have a special Recognition Inhibition Necklace.” Dai Lu said. ”Normally it’s here for when the Elder from the main Village arrives, but the Sect Leader made an exception this time.

Aiko nodded gently. ”How much does it obscure?” She was curious since her Beauty went through the roof because of her new Blessing and tails...

”Apparently it should obscure... 1/100 of what others see? But I’m a bit doubtful since the Sect Leader was looking questioningly.” Dai Lu shrugged.

”Okay.” Aiko nodded. ”I will be finished in 4 hours.”

”...” Dai Lu touched her face. ”It’s supposed to take a few days to gain the first day, not to mention the next ones...” She didn’t believe Aiko, but no matter how much she read Aiko’s mind, the fact that she would be finished in 4 hours didn’t change.

Dai Lu spoke before Aiko could. ”I think... I think I’m going to lie down. I don’t feel very good...” She placed the necklace in front of Aiko and left.

”I hope they are alright...” Aiko touched her face. She could move, but there was this strange feeling that she didn’t want to underestimate.

...

She didn’t move for 6 hours and stared at her system.

[Species: [Shadow Spirit Fennec Fox (Female, Adult, Single-True Tail(Pseudo Four-Tails) -> Female, Adult, Three-True-Tails(Pseudo Three-Tails))]]

[Species: [Blessed Moon Fennec Fox (Female, Adult, Single-True Tail(Pseudo Four-Tails) -> Female, Adult, Three-true-Tails(Pseudo Three-Tails))]]

Aiko nodded happily and stood up. Everything worked well and she was filled with energy.

Aiko returned to where Mei was lying down. Mei was staring at the ceiling with a blank expression. She didn’t move much and Aiko felt a bit tired, so she used this opportunity to cuddle with Mei.

Although she would not smother Mei any more since she didn’t want to get bitten by her.

Mei stiffened when Aiko used her as a body pillow, but before she could say anything; Aiko was already sleeping.

”...” Mei blinked a few times, but eventually gave up. She would not do anything to Aiko this time, since it felt like she was exhausted.

...

The next day, Aiko happily ran around. She was full of energy and her speed also improved. While it was not that quick. It was still quick enough that Aiko would be able to outrun most low-level Cultivators.

This was enough since the limit in this space is supposed to be around the Peak of Golden Core. Or in other words, stats around 36,000.

Aiko had double of that without any boosts, so she would be safe against Humans!

Aiko rubbed her face against Mei. Mei put no resistance against Aiko and spoke with a soft voice. ”You should wear that necklace.”

”Okay.” Aiko didn’t reject Mei’s words, since they were soft and soothing.

Aiko put on the necklace and Mei breathed a sigh of relief.

Mei had to struggle with her impulses when she saw Aiko who was Comparable to an Early Immortal, so much so that her palms bled from her sharp fingernails.

Aiko smelled the blood and helped Mei bandage her wounds. Those wounds would disappear in a few moments, but Mei indulged Aiko since she was much more caring now than before for some reason.

She didn’t mind that. Everyone liked it when their partner was nicer to them.

Mei also gave up on the fact that she wanted Aiko as a servant, but she was not yet ready to open up. She believed that there was a time and place for everything, and since the Secret Realm was opening soon...

”You should be careful inside against Humans.” Mei petted Aiko.

”Why? I’m around twice as strong by the system’s standards.” Aiko tilted her head.

”That is on this continent, but you will be restricted if you fight against Humans.” Mei soothed Aiko.

”... Huh?” Aiko blankly blinked at Mei.

”As long as you are not fighting against Humans you will be able to use your full strength, but once a Human attacks you, your strength will drop to the Peak of Golden Core.” Mei smoothed Aiko’s frowning forehead.

”What...?” Aiko didn’t believe her ears. She just gained so much strength, yet she was nerfed immediately?!

”You can use your full strength against the creatures inside, just not Humans. As such, you will be able to explore more than Humans.” Mei gently soothed Aiko. ”So you can avoid the Humans or group up with your team.”

”I don’t like it.” Aiko suddenly said.

”I know, but you will have to bear with it...” Mei then spoke. ”Your Divine Sense won’t be suppressed, so you can just whip them with that black wolf.” Mei caressed Aiko’s hair.

”Oh?!” Aiko’s eyes shined. Now that was good news for her. She trained her Divine Sense for a long time, so it would absolutely piss her off if she couldn’t use it.

”Should we group up soon or?” Aiko asked Mei.

”What do you think?” Mei smiled.

”I won’t be able to sleep without a proper bed.” Aiko confessed.

Mei’s lips twitched. ”And whose fault is that?” She narrowed her eyes.

”My...” Aiko sighed.

”You can group up.” Mei blurted out. She didn’t expect that it was really Aiko’s fault.

”Okay...” Aiko didn’t recover much. She regretted using the Spirit Crystals and Spirit Stones as bedding...

’I will definitely get rid of that title sooner or later!’ Aiko vowed in her mind.