Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Aiko was tired from her first spartan training, especially since Moon Aiko was unwilling to come out.

This greatly bothered Nightmare Aiko, but it was not like she could force it out.

’I’m not good with nerdy stuff...’ Aiko whined inside her mind.

”I can’t believe you are this bad at learning things...” Mei was quite speechless about the current predicament.

”I don’t like nerdy stuff.” Aiko sniffled, trying to appease Mei so that she would let her go.

”You can’t escape this.” Mei was serious about this training since she didn’t want Aiko to get hurt.

However, at the same time, if Aiko went into the Sacred Realm, the plans would be greatly pushed forward. To add insult to the Elders’ injury, the Grandmaster was already finishing the training of the Demonic Foxes.

In other words, Aiko would completely dominate the Sacred Realm and have it for herself!

’But I still worry about her, so this is a necessary step.’ Mei nodded to herself seriously, but she was quite weak against Aiko’s current expression.

’This is not fair.’ Mei looked away with the lightest blush. ’How could Nightmare Aiko have the same expression as Moon Aiko?!’ It made her want to bully Nightmare Aiko like she did with Moon Aiko.

”Since you don’t like the theory part, how about a bit of practice?” Mei would yield a bit since she liked Aiko’s obedience. It was definitely not because she felt like she would have a difficult time controlling her emotions.

Aiko’s flat ears immediately perked up, and she was reinvigorated.

”You are not lying, right?!” Nerdy stuff was a no-go for Nightmare Aiko, but that was not the case for fighting!

Mei pinched Aiko’s cheek. ”So you just acted, huh?” She was quite upset.

”I waw wot.” (I was not.)

Aiko cried as her cheeks were mercilessly pinched.

”Hmpf.” If it was not for their connection, Mei would not believe Aiko, but since she was sincere... ’I will go ’easy’ on you.’ She licked her lips slowly.

A shiver went down Aiko’s back.

”We will play catch. For each time I catch you, I will get an hour with Moon Aiko.” Mei proclaimed the stakes before smirking.

”This is not fair!” Aiko cried out. ”I also want something in return!”

”We can make it so that if you can escape or catch me off-guard, you get to play with me as Nightmare Aiko.” Mei was confident in her speed, so there was no way that Aiko would be able to catch her.

Aiko suddenly turned serious.

”No takebacks!” Aiko immediately dashed with all her movement Skills and Abilities in tandem.

Mei sighed softly. While her stats were lower on paper, she had a lot more Beast Core energy. What that meant was that Techniques that increased speed were... simple for her to sustain.

Mei turned into a gust of wind and immediately caught up to Aiko.

Aiko flinched, not expecting this.

”Wind Steps. It is a very basic Beast Technique for Foxes. Depending on the terrain, we can easily surpass the speed of the same Beast Rank Beasts.” Mei explained as she touched Aiko’s back.

”Noooooo!” That was one hour that she would have to spend as Moon Aiko with Mei.

Mei licked her lips. ”That’s one~. I wonder how much I will get~” She hummed happily as she saw the ’heartbroken’ Nightmare Aiko.

”I will definitely get you!” Aiko yelped as she used [Wind Jump].

’It’s not quite like Walking in Void, but it’s not that far either.’ Mei narrowed her eyes. Aiko had quite the arsenal, but the more she had, the safer she would be.

[Wind has been sealed. You are unable to use [Wind Jump].]

”Huh...?” Aiko read the notification from the system and was startled.

This Ability allowed her to stay in the air but without it...

”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.” Aiko was falling to the ground.

Mei caught her midway. ”That’s another one~.” She hummed happily. ”You rely too much on things that can be easily interrupted. You need more than just one movement Technique.”

”Bully!” Aiko cried out, and shadows wrapped around her.

Aiko disappeared from that princess’ carry and appeared in the forest before suppressing her existence.

She was now hidden within the shadows, waiting for this game to pass.

Mei pursed her lips. Playing like this was a lot more fun than theory, but theory was important, so there were no mishaps.

’She is so cute like this...’ Mei couldn’t get enough of Aiko’s sudden expressions, especially when she was startled.

Mei gracefully landed on the ground and spread her Divine Sense. She immediately located Aiko since her Divine Sense was quite prickly.

”Got you~.” Mei smiled as she popped near Aiko.

Aiko was not the only one who had an instant movement Technique and while Mei’s couldn’t compare to Aiko’s, that didn’t mean it was useless.

For short distances like this, it was more than enough!

”Hiiiii-!” Aiko jumped back but soon broke down crying.

”This is unfaaair! You knew I wouldn’t be able to win, so you just wanted to bully me!” Aiko’s crying face startled Mei.

’Did... did I go too hard on her?’ Mei’s demeanour changed greatly, and she approached Aiko with worry.

Aiko grasped Mei’s dress...

”Caught you.” Aiko sniffled through her nose.

Mei’s face twitched, but she was not mad. ”Let’s call it even, alright?” She would comfort Aiko.

”Hmpf, bully.” Aiko jumped, trying to use [Wind Jump], but since the Wind Element was blocked, her body only sped up slightly.

”...?” Aiko was confused since this feeling was different.

Mei gently hugged Aiko. ”This is wrong. You should circulate it like this.”

Mei helped Aiko with her energy circulation since she was better in practice than in theory.

...

[You have learned [Wind Steps]!]

[[Wind Jump] merged into [Wind Steps], upgrading it into [Gale Steps]!]

”Hmpf.” Aiko sped through the forests with her new Beast Technique.

[Gale Steps]

[Quickens the body and allows for temporary flight. Not user-friendly during storms.]

Aiko felt much lighter now than even with her [Lightness Technique].

She also had no issue traversing dense forests since the winds would naturally ’bend’ her surroundings, allowing her to passively dodge any incoming trees or branches.

This subtle change boosted Aiko’s speed greatly, but...

”You are doing well. The more revolutions you can do, the faster you can go, but you will also burn through more Beast Core energy, so I advise you against it.” For some reason, Mei was able to easily keep up with Aiko and even give her tips.

Aiko didn’t know if she should cry or be infuriated by Mei, but since she was no longer bullying her, she would let it slip.

Aiko advanced her Technique greatly with Mei’s help.

*Whoosh*

”Hm...?” The delegation was stunned as two lively Foxes passed by them.

”Was that...?” One delegation Fox asked.

”Gale Steps, an advanced version of Wind Steps. It’s also harder to intercept with Wind-restricting Techniques.” The nerdy delegation Fox adjusted his glasses.

”Say... you didn’t feel that ’Technique’ from them before, right?” Some Foxes could naturally feel if other Foxes had certain Techniques, especially if the said Fox already knew that Technique.

”She didn’t have that kind of air around her before.” The nerdy delegation Fox said.

Gale Steps were not used just for its speed, but it would also wrap your body with wind, in other words... free cooling! Forging Foxes loved Gale Steps for this fact specifically, as it allowed them to Forge for longer periods of time!

”Monsters...” One delegation Fox sniffled, since it took him 2 years to learn Gale Steps...

”Have we recruited them yet?” The nerdy delegation Fox asked.

”Nope. The old fogeys intercepted that she is still too young.” A female Fox delegation snorted disdainfully.

”How old is she then?” One curious delegation Fox asked.

”She should be in her 50s or 60s, but we are not completely sure due to the Secret Realm and how long she achieved her intelligent Form. In other words, this is just an estimate...” A Fox with many papers suddenly said.

’Monster...’

’Monster.’

’Cutie!’

The delegation had different opinions on this, but...

”Should we pursue them?” The curious Fox asked. She was also the one who was in the Cult.

”Do you have to ask?” The nerdy delegation Fox readjusted his glasses as winds wrapped around his body.

Gale Steps.

Everyone in the delegation knew about them. They sped through the forests. Tracing the energies of the two unique Foxes.

...

”Why am I not faster than you are?!” Aiko cried out. She was getting more and more upset as time went on.

”While you are powerful, you have very little Beast Core energy. No matter how powerful your body is, if it can’t bend the basic laws, you can’t escape me.” Mei giggled. ’Well, I did say that, but I definitely don’t want to fight Aiko head-on...’ She was in quite a precarious position.

She wanted to teach Aiko about Fighting Techniques, but even if she excluded Aiko’s monstrous Divine Sense... ’How am I supposed to teach her without losing face as the number one...?’ Mei groaned unhappily. Aiko’s monstrous growth and system made everything so much more difficult...

”Someone is catching up to us.” Aiko didn’t like the idea of others catching up.

”You can hide, right?” Mei licked her lips. If they dared to pursue them, then they dared to antagonise them.

”Yeah, but it might be unpleasant for you...” Aiko caught up on Mei’s strange expression and knew that she was plotting something.

[Nightmare Domain]

Aiko wrapped both her and Mei in her domain, completely concealing their presence.

”Ugh.” Mei almost immediately collapsed since she didn’t expect to get hit by such thick energy. ’I’m not the fighting type.’ She almost vomited from the nauseating effect.

”It’s alright, they are nice.” Aiko gently rubbed Mei’s back. She didn’t expect this kind of violent reaction from her.

”Ugh...” Mei groaned even more, but it was obvious they were hidden in this black world. ’I think something is trying to chew on my mind.

*Kick*

”Oi! Bad! She is mine!” Aiko kicked something, and Mei immediately felt better.

’Why am I not even surprised that Aiko has something like this...?’ Mei groaned as Aiko took good care of her.