Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Chapter 56 – Aiko crying and soothing Queen

The audience eventually recovered from their shock and admiration, only to get hit by another thing.

*Sniff* *Sniff*

The Queen was startled and noticed that her little furball was crying. She stared at her hand which now inflated like a balloon.

'Oh no, I completely forgot about this after her little...' She shook her head and picked up Aiko.

Aiko had tears running down her cheeks. Any slight movement of her hand hurt like a bitch.

"Here." The Queen gave her the Perfect 3rd Grade Healing Pill.

'Candy?' Aiko thought and took the candy with her mouth.

Soon it melted inside her mouth and a very nice and gentle feeling spread through her body, alleviating her pain.

The Queen touched her little hand and used her Qi on it to rearrange her broken bones so that they heal properly and don't affect her future.

Aiko stared at the light blue wisp of energy that was 'invading' her body and thought it was funny since it spread an itchy sensation in her hand.

She giggled lightly startling the Queen, but she continued her work until it was completely rearranged and ready to finish healing.

That Pill was powerful for her current Rank so it healed her quite quickly. Her droopy ears regained their vigor and twitched.

'Gimme more.' Aiko made puppy eyes.

"I don't have more." The Queen said, but in her hand was already another precious Pill.

Aiko immediately stole it with her lips and happily munched as the last tears washed away from her face.

The Queen's lips twitched. 'Gah! I did it again! I can't do this, I don't have enough Pills to feed her willy-nilly.' She did have enough Pills, but those were with impurities which was counterproductive to what she was trying to accomplish.

She sighed and Aiko's ears twitched happily, but soon she felt drowsy.

*Poof*

She turned back into a little Fox and fell asleep on her arm, her Stamina was depleted and it was mentally exhausting, getting so much attention.

The Queen sighed. "I believe that solves this 'event' for us."

Before the Elder could say anything as he was still recovering from the horror he had just seen, the Grandmaster spoke. "If others want to find the Mate you are free to do so, otherwise you can return to your Dens, tomorrow we will be meeting here again and you will be guided to your public teachers, afterwards you can choose which path you want to pursue."

The Grandmaster spoke plainly her brow twitching whenever she saw those Harem Kings. She turned around leaving and right behind her was the Queen.

...

"What do we do now?" One girl asked.

"I don't know, those assholes ruined everything..." Another girl spoke in despair.

"We can still woo her over during classes." A youth spoke.

"Will she even listen to those things?" The first girl asked.

"..." They were silent, rumours already spread that, that little one was only Beast Rank. She couldn't speak so the probability of being interested in classes was...

They sighed and shook their heads. Their second target was Blood Fox, but...

They stared in a certain direction where the youthful prodigy was smiling, but that smile was like vipers, ready to strike if anyone made a move.

They shook their heads again leaving. They saw through the Purple Fox's Illusions and they weren't really interested, while the Ice and Yellow Foxes were too stoic to approach.

...

The Foxes that were supposed to be introduced to Mates looked at each other.

"This went better than expected." The Yellow one spoke first.

"It was still bone-chilling." The Blood Fox spoke in a gentle yet mesmerizing voice.

They stared at her and pitied her.

"Do you think she hates you?" The Ice Fox suddenly spoke.

The Blood Fox couldn't answer as she had no idea.

"I hope not..." She murmured.

They left for their Dens, this event was less painful than they expected.

"At least they didn't force us." The Purple one spoke.

"I think that's because of that 'Grandmaster' person." The Fiery small one spoke haughtily but was immediately scolded by her Mate.

...

Aiko woke up sometime later in a Den. It was pretty simple Den, but under her were her favourite pillows, Sheepy and Dreamy.

She cuddled with those 2 tails slowly melting back to sleep.

The Grandmaster almost spilled her tea, when she read Aiko's thoughts.

The Queen shook her head as she was preparing Medicine Baths for her. She could only use this once per month, but she still had 4 months left till that Purity Test.

It was barely enough time, but with the Pill from Grandmaster, she would be able to achieve it sooner.

Aiko finally woke up and yawned. She stared at the mean Fox who still hadn't changed into her Fox form and tilted her head.

"I have much greater Stamina than you, so you should grow up." She bobbed Aiko's nose. 'And I already have experience in being in Human form so it's much easier for me than it is for you.' She smiled.

Aiko looked over at the various herbs that were neatly arranged and prepared and sniffed them.

A pain assaulted her nose as if something was burning inside. Aiko clutched her nose and whined.

The Queen laughed. "That's what you get for being curious and sniffing around." But placed another herb in front of Aiko.

At first, she didn't want to sniff another one, but the pain was getting worse so she took an unintentional whiff.

The pain lessened and Aiko was startled. She sniffed it again and the pain completely disappeared, but she felt... a bit cold.

"The burning rose and the frozen bell." The Queen said gently. "They are great Pill herbs that represent different extremes. One can burn a person given enough time and the other one freezes. They naturally repulse each other so it's hard to use them in beginner Pills, but once you get enough experience it's all about mixing different Extremes and watching their reactions."

She picked another herb. This one looked like intestines and it smelled horribly.

Aiko covered her nose.

"This is corpse flower, it will drive away any insects that might surround you." She explained slowly.

She continued explaining until Aiko fell asleep again.

"She really doesn't have much energy." The Queen spoke gently.

"She is still just a cub. Give her time." The Grandmaster drank tea slowly observing the duo.

"Is it fun reading my mind?" The Queen spoke gently, but there were daggers on her tongue.

"Oh, it is." The Grandmaster smiled.

The Queen scoffed but returned to her work. She didn't care if her mind was read. When it came to battles she would always do them by instinct so there was no danger, but the more important thing was that she could talk to her little furball and understand her.

She could teach her over time and listen to her thoughts so she could give her fluff-ball some guidance.

...

Aiko woke up again and yawned.

"Let's go for a walk." The Grandmaster said gently.

She guided Aiko around the meadow letting her explore. It was similar to her starting Forest, but at the same time it wasn't.

She felt much lighter in here which meant that the ambient Qi was much higher. This could also mean she would be able to Evolve easier, but there was a catch.

[Level: 162]
[You can Evolve into [Epic] Beast]
[Levelling further will allow you to Evolve into [Unique] Beast.]

She reached only Epic rarity.

[Shadow Beast Fox]
[Night Fiend Fox]
[Shadowy Fox]

Her eyes were dull staring at those Evolutions. They were not enough for her after experiencing the drastic change from Unique rarity, but there was another problem.

'I need a second bloodline that can help me with my alignment.' She could perceive that she was slightly more cold, it wasn't that bad since she was able to punish those annoying bastards, but she didn't want to stay that way.

'What if I lose my mind like that Blood Fox? Attacking anyone in my sight isn't really the best strategy to live long...' Aiko thought.

"You are right, but you shouldn't hurry up your Evolution." The Grandmaster gently said behind her.

'So you can read my mind?' Aiko tilted her head, for some reason she didn't feel threatened by this person.

"Yes." The Grandmaster chuckled.

'But I need it for my alignment.' Aiko protested.

"It is a natural thing that your path was already chosen, you are Neutral Beast, which is a rarity, but your Bloodline is Demonic in nature, you can't avoid that and that is your path." The Grandmaster spoke slowly.

'Bullshit! I just need a bit more time and I will obtain balance!' Aiko protested. To hell with all that "That is your path" bullshit! She would persevere and not be affected by some alignment system!

The Grandmaster shook her head. 'She is still young and doesn't understand how the world works.

Aiko and Grandmaster walked back to the Den, Aiko was too angry to continue with her walk.

...

The Queen already prepared tasty meat for Aiko and Aiko was delighted as her negative thoughts were washed away with good meat.

And good meat it was!

[EXP gained.][EXP gained.][EXP gained.][Level gained.][EXP gained.]

[Level: 162 -> 165]

Aiko was very happy she really loved this kind of meat, she could eat it all day.

The Queen was pleased by the appetite of the little one.

Aiko finished eating and burped, she lay next to the Queen and breathed gently.

The Queen petted her and Aiko relaxed, it was really nice to be petted so gently.

Soon she drifted to sleep.

...

Aiko woke up again the Queen was still sorting her herbs. Aiko blinked a few times. She was hungry.

She came to the Fox wagging her tail.

The Queen already knew what she wanted. "I can't give you more meat." The Queen said gently. "You have eaten almost everything we had stored so you will have to wait for later." The Queen kissed Aiko's frowning forehead.

Aiko sighed, she was bored and hungry, so she looked at her system.

Items: [Introduction to the Mortal Realm], [Meat x250], [Skill Coupon x4], [Skill Combination Coupon x4], [Cultivation Gift], [Storage Ring(50m3): Spirit Crystal 25,000]x4, [Storage Ring(50m3): Spirit Stone 100,000]x2, [Sub-Profession Coupon], [Divine Ability Gift],

Items: [Meat x250]

[Meat x250]

Aiko's eyes shined like a lighthouse. She completely forgot this thing. She would be able to eat some meat, but she should move elsewhere, just in case this stinky Fox took her meat.

Aiko walked away the Grandmaster was somewhere else and the Queen was too busy to follow her so Aiko was able to hide well.

[Meat x250] -> [Meat x249]

Aiko stared at the absolutely mouth-watering meat.

Her stomach growled and she took a bite.

[Level gained.]
[Level: 165 -> 166]

Aiko was startled as she ate the meat. 'Surely not...'

[Meat x249] -> [Meat x248]

[Level gained.]
[Level: 166 -> 167]

Aiko's eyes widened.

'I will be able to get quite the high level for this.' Aiko licked her mouth.

She spent the next hour consuming all that meat, all of it melted inside her mouth and granted her level.

[Level: 200]
[You can Evolve into [Unique] Beast]
[Levelling further will allow you to Evolve into [####] Beast.]

Aiko stared at her Evolution Tree but was disappointed.

[Nightmare Beast Fox]
[Demonic Affinity]

She didn't read more than that as she didn't need those things. Something else attracted her attention...

[Levelling further will allow you to Evolve into [####] Beast.]

Should she do it or should she not...