Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

The Heavenly Clouds were cut in half and dispersed.

Lin Fan would be unable to bless his Pills.

Some Elders took issue with this.

”I believe since Elder stepped in that we should award Lin Fan with the win.” One Elder said trying to sway others, but Ah Cy just rolled her eyes.

”Alchemy Peak Elder, do you believe you would be able to protect your Pills against multiple Heavenly Lightnings?” Ah Cy just used the Peak Elder as a shield.

The Peak Elder’s lips twitched. She couldn’t believe she was used like this. ”No, it would be difficult to protect it past the second strike.” The Heavenly Lightning was too thick. It would definitely reduce some of the efficacy of the Pill.

”Do you have anything else to say, Elder?” Ah Cy merely glanced at the Elder, trying to make Lin Fan win this mess.

That Elder was flustered and didn’t utter a word.

”Thought so, it’s better to keep your silence, Elder, lest you look like a fool.” Ah Cy sighed. She went back to her seat.

The Saintesses swarmed Aiko. They were quite doting on her and the Saints could only turn a blind eye to this.

As for Aiko? She was having the time of her life!

*Munch*

[Level up!]

*Munch*

[Level up!]

The Saintesses used some of their delicious food to feed the small Fox.

Mei was slightly upset, but she wouldn’t interfere this time, since the Heavenly Lightning was being a mess again.

She merely placed the Pills in front of the referees, not paying much attention to them.

The referees looked over, but almost frothed from their mouths. The Jade Fox once again made 11 Perfect Quality Pills.

They were left wondering if she was really a prodigy or if her Bloodline was enhancing the effects of the Pills.

”Petition to call her Fairy Jade Fox.” The Peak Elder of the Alchemy Peak suddenly said, startling the Beasts.

”Why would you say that?” One Fox Elder frowned.

”I believe you don’t cherish her enough, and while we can’t give her the position of Saintess, this is the least we can do.” The Peak Elder shrugged, Saints/Saintesses were reserved for Human Cultivators.

That is not to say that the Beast didn’t have their own Saints, but the Human side did not acknowledge them.

Mei shrugged. ”I don’t really care about that.” She then added. ”Our team won’t be taking any more challenges, since this whole place turned into a mess.” She sighed.

The referees nodded. After Lin Fan summoned another Heavenly Lightning, many were trying to recruit him, but that passion quickly died down when the Heavenly Lightning got out of hand.

While they had large Sects, no disciple should be allowed to own that land. If they tried to recruit Lin Fan, they would have to bestow upon him a large enough place that the Heavenly Lightning would only target him or his Pills.

That is to prevent injuring his fellow Disciples.

As such, no Elder was willing to openly invite him.

Lin Fan coughed up blood when he heard that. The Jade Fox was supposed to be his companion, but she gained fame and acknowledgement easily.

It made him angry and that anger was directed towards the tiny Fox.

Unfortunately for him, there were plenty of Saintesses that favoured cute and small things. They also wished to meet the ’big’ Aiko, who had briefly transformed, but they knew that it was impossible, guessing by what the tiny Fox said.

They could only give up for the time being, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t keep Lin Fan in check.

They noticed his glare towards the small Fox. Sure, she might have a sharp tongue and injured some disciples, but that was because they used Treasures that they were not supposed to have.

All Soul-based Treasures that were found or bestowed upon the disciples would be ’confiscated’ until they reached the Nascent Soul Stage.

After they reached that stage, they would then be sent to the Upper Realm of the Mortal World, where they would finish their Cultivation up to the Mahayana Stage.

The girls fed the small Fox while Fairy Jade Fox was counting all the Pills and Treasures.

’There are a lot of Pills we can’t use, so it’s better to stash it away.’ Mei went through them. ’There are also Treasures that we can only use in Human Form, since Human Forging Cultivators were not very skilled at their jobs...’ She clicked her tongue.

Because Beasts had different physiques, the armour or any kind of clothing Treasure had to be adjusted accordingly. Unfortunately, Human Forging Cultivators were not skilled enough to make that adjustment and would rather focus solely on Human Cultivators.

Mei stashed most of the Treasures into her Storage Rings and put them away.

Some Elders still approached Lin Fan, but she didn’t care.

”Very well, we will bestow the Jade Fox with a new nickname, calling her Fairy Jade Fox.” The Fox Elders conceded under the passionate gazes of the Human Elders.

Mei didn’t really care about her nickname, since she earned it a long time ago, so it didn’t make her happy or sad.

She sat down with her group and waited, there were still some finishing fights until the Tournament was finished, but that was not for her team to care about.

They already showed their might and earned resources, all thanks to the small instigator assisting Mei.

...

Aiko returned from the ’Saintesses visit’. She was quite a lot rounder than before.

”Did you have to eat all of that?” Mei rolled her eyes.

*Burp*

”Yeah, I will be able to Evolve soon thanks to that, I want a normal body and not this small one.” Moon Aiko was smart enough to weasel her big form into the picture, that way nobody would question her why she was suddenly so big.

”I can’t get used to the fact you won’t be small any more.” Mei sighed, indulging Aiko in her plan.

”It will be fiiiine.” Aiko shooed her team with her hand, it was obvious that she didn’t really mind, but this was good acting for the Elders around.

It also reduced suspicion on their team and neither the Human nor Beast Elders would be able to find fault with them.

Mei smiled softly. ”What are you up to?” She gently pinched Aiko’s cheek.

”Digesting my food.” Aiko sat down next to Mei. ”Then I will definitely leave this place, since the Tournament is not all that interesting.” She shrugged.

The Human Elders’ lips twitched, some even grew a few centipedes on their foreheads, but they couldn’t really fault her.

She made a mess out of a few Saints, ate a Soul-based Treasure, and her team was likewise demonic.

The Elders turned a blind eye towards that team, except for the Fox Elders.

”I believe that it is good learni-” One Elder tried to keep the team here, but...

”No, skip. We will be leaving once we rest a bit.” Moon Aiko ruthlessly cut him off, since she wanted to find a fluffy bed and sleep in it.

That would not happen in this place since there were too many eyes on her and she was bothered by that.

Mei giggled, followed by the Blood Fox and Twins. It was time to leave this place...

...

The short rest was enough for them to recover and one peculiar Fox Elder approached them.

”The flying ship is parked in the same place, this is the Jade that verifies your identity so you can enter your room. If there is nothing you need, you can just ask the gatekeepers to let you go out of the city.” The Fox Elder smiled from ear to ear. Thanks to this small group of Foxes, their prestige reached the heavens.

”And if you don’t like the furniture, just leave it outside and I will replace it.” Another Elder said.

Both Elders looked at each other and sudden light flashed between their eyes. They came to a tacit understanding to continue currying favour with this group.

It would not hurt them any more, since a lot of Elders not to mention Peak Elders favoured them.

Mei received the Jade and nodded gently. ”We will do as the Elder arranged.”

”Now, go go, it will get messier now since there will be a lot of cheering.” Both Elders smiled happily that their Fox Village had raised such prodigies!

Mei nodded gently before leaving with the group.

”It will become less messy now, right?” One Beast asked, but deep down he was unhappy. He wished to see that group fight more. Moreover, he also wished for the Fairy Jade Fox to fight too. He wanted to assess their combat power and teach his Disciples how to destroy them if they met by chance. ’I can’t let them hog all the spotlight!’

Unfortunately for everyone... There was a lot less cheering than they expected.

The group of Foxes brought something new and fresh to the Tournament, not to mention that they were highly skilled too!

As such, most of that enthusiasm washed over them when they saw those low-level fights.

...

Down the mountain where the group was walking along...

”The view is nice.” Aiko didn’t need to gather more research material, so she finally enjoyed the view properly.

”Would you like to have your abode high up the mountains, or down the plains like the current Fox Village?” Mei nudged Aiko. She wanted to nuzzle her, but she would wait for later.

”Hmmmmm...” Aiko paused. She didn’t know if she liked mountains or plains more, but mountains have definitely better views. ”I suppose I would go for the mountains.” She nodded gently.

”Why mountains?” Mei asked, giggling to herself.

”Better view, fresher air and you can pour water or lava down it and defeat all your enemies.” Moon Aiko stated her intentions clearly and Mei stiffened.

”Can you not make it all about battles?” Mei sighed. She was a bit frustrated by this side of Aiko.

”I mean...” Aiko sighed. ”If we are talking about mountains, there will always be a jerk that tries to cut them down.” She was referring to the story that she read days ago.

”Oh...” Mei nodded. ”But it’s unlikely that you will find this kind of mountain and have it not be occupied by a large Sect.” She shook her head trying to dissuade Aiko from those kinds of plans.

”Do you truly believe I can’t find anything like that?” Aiko narrowed her eyes and her ears twitched. She was a lot more used to her current Moon Form, so she was more expressive than before.

”In the Lower Realm of the Mortal World? I doubt it. In the Upper Realm of the Mortal World? It’s possible. In the Immortal World 3rd Layer? Definitely.” Mei nodded gently.

”Too many worlds, realms, and layers.” Aiko shook her head.

”True... It’s difficult to navigate between them.” Mei sighed softly. She disliked this too, but there was nothing she would be able to do about it.