Hearing the words of disbelief echoing from the crowd, Li Meirong repeated herself, stressing her words in an attempt to show her sincerity.

"I'm telling the truth! We were about to die! It was a stroke of luck we survived. The Fire Drake tried to blast a fireball at us, but my plant spirit flung Wu Wei and Wu Ying Yue into his mouth just at the right moment, and the drake exploded."

Zhu Zhang's eyes narrowed, his interest piqued. He was already aware of the plant spirit's existence, as he had noticed it years ago, hiding in her sleeves, but it had been of no importance to him.

However, that said spirit should not be capable of winning such a match. It was a youth, almost a child in terms of a spirit's age and growth. How would such a young being know how to act in times of danger, particularly against a greater and more formidable force than itself?

As for the girl, he had avoided meeting her over the years, but he had made certain to monitor her carefully. She had no hidden talents he was unaware of, and the powers inside her were far too grand for a simple mortal such as herself to master.

Quite simply, the story made no sense to him.

"Disciple Li Meirong, even a child could create a better lie," he reprimanded her sternly. "Even if the plant spirit had attempted to protect you, I doubt it would have been capable of blocking an attack from a Fire Drake. I do not believe you or it could have thought of shoving something or someone in the Fire Drake's mouth. Do you think me a fool?" Zhu Zhang huffed mockingly. "You shivered like beaten slave when I simply entered the room. You could not possibly have done what you suggest." 

Li Meirong had tried to find the right words to describe events without sounding like she was a complete and utter liar, but the truth was far stranger than any fiction she could come up with. If they didn't believe even that much, what were the odds of them believing that a little fox cub was the one who had come up with the idea? That he was the one who had commanded Chou to swing the traitorous Seniors in the drake's direction?

However, the longer she could keep the conversation going, the more time she would have to work on freeing her wrists so she could protect herself.

"It was a fox cub I found in the woods. He was the one guiding my plant spirit," she explained, voice breaking a little as she spoke.

"Oh? A random fox cub in the woods, which just happened to know how to create battle strategies, Is that right?" Zhu Zhang taunted her, but her answer caused a thread of doubt and suspicion to creep into his heart. 'It couldn't be possible, surely, I'm overthinking the matter…' he thought.

Several cultivators were snickering. This girl even failed as a liar!

"Correct," Li Meirong said, ignoring the snickers.

"I do not suppose this fox might just materialize on your command, would he? Before speaking nonsense, have evidence for your claims!" Zhu Zhang scolded harshly. He sat back in his chair, sipping his tea as his finger tapped lightly on the porcelain cup.

"This is the biggest joke I've heard in years!" The Grandmaster of the Sword Bearers' division, a man known for his incredible skill in martial arts, burst into hearty laughter.

Captain Liang strode into the middle of the hall. Her eyes were serene, like the calm clear ocean, a complete opposite to her previous glare. 

"Outer sect disciple, Li Meirong, you cannot invent stories as you please," said Captain Liang "If you have anymore fairy tales for us, save them for after you have been sent to the dungeons for a thorough interrogation."

Li Meirong almost rolled her eyes. No-eyebrows-lady's dislike was evident, there was no longer a need for her to feign politeness. Forget any possibility of explanation; Captain Liang wanted to head straight to torture.

"I will not be going anywhere with you," Li Meirong said, holding herself back from screaming.

While she knew she wouldn't be able to take Zhu Zhang in a fight, if No-eyebrows-lady attacked her, she'd happily go down in flames with her. In fact, she would rather that than be tortured to death in the sect's dungeon.

The Grandmaster Zhu Zhang waved a hand dismissively, and continued sipping his tea peacefully. He must have overestimated Li Meirong's capabilities. Especially after hearing that nonsense about a fox in the woods. It was surely a lie, even if she did meet that so called fox, it was likely nothing more than a common demon.

He had allowed the accusation to progress solely for the opportunity to witness what tricks this girl might manage to concoct. He wished to discover the precise method Li Meirong had used to gain the godly aura she possessed. 

Yet there was a point at which he found himself becoming disappointed, as she had not shown even an ounce of competence. Surely, he must have been mistaken…

Decision made, he allowed the younger generation to handle the matter, his hand-wave turning responsibility over to Liang Rou Yan, his succeeding disciple.

Seeing that the Grandmaster, her master, had handed the reins to her, Captain Liang grabbed the leather, Beast-Tamer whip attached to her hip, and imbued the weapon with spiritual power.

The whip glowed in bright shades of magenta, filling the space with the colourful shade of Liang Rou Yan's spirit powers.

Captain Liang advanced slowly towards Li Meirong, who still knelt on the ground. She had almost managed to rid herself of this pest years ago, but her master had decided to take her in, instead. Finally, she was graced with the opportunity to rectify this mistake!

With her tall stature, long legs, and lean build, Captain Liang struck an imposing image in the eyes of the beholders. Her robes shimmered with pink-hued light from unleashing her internal power, as she stretched out her glowing whip.

She lashed the weapon, full force, directly at Li Meirong's face. She wanted to mar her features, make her look like she had when she'd first been admitted. The onlookers held their breath, eagerly anticipating the strike, edging closer to Captain Liang and Li Meirong.

A collective gasp was the only sound heard after the strike, but contrary to all expectations, the whip did not reach Li Meirong's tender skin.

Somehow, Li Meirong had managed to squeeze her wrists out of the restraints, and, against all odds, had surrounded herself with incredibly powerful, vivid blue flames.

The whip was held between her flaming palms, azure fire blocking the terrifying attack.

Captain Liang was absolutely flabbergasted; she couldn't believe her eyes. The intensity of Li Meirong's qi indicated that she was no novice, but a cultivator of the Second Realm. 

In some unusual way, Li Meirong had managed to reach the peak of Foundation's Establishment!

What did it mean? What did it mean that, over the course of a few days, Li Meirong had turned from useless to genius?

The only known way to advance so quickly was through the use of forbidden cultivation techniques, otherwise known as demonic cultivation, and even then, such a leap was considered practically impossible!

Even Captain Liang, a cultivator of the Forgotten Waters Sect for over a hundred years, couldn't yet break out of the Qi Condensation stage!

As shocked as she was, Captain Liang did not allow her astonishment to prevent her from jumping into action. She did not waste a single moment before shouting orders.

"Capture her! She must have been secretly practising the heathen ways of demonic cultivation. Don't let her escape!"

All the assembled cultivators rose to the command at once. Demonic cultivators were a scourge upon the land, the main enemy of a righteous sect such as Forgotten Waters. Only Zhu Zhang remained seated, frozen strangely stiff.

With so many cultivators aiming to bring her down, Li Meirong focused her qi on herself, engulfing her whole body in the ocean-coloured flames. On top of that, she surrounded herself with the same sort of barrier Feng Huang had taught her to protect herself from the lava. Her shields became almost impenetrable as a result.

'Oh, no. What a dreadful mistake…' Zhu Zhang silently mourned. Seeing the all-too-familiar Foxfire encircling the girl. 

The ever imposing Grandmaster, for the first time, realized there was no cure for regret!

Sadly, he had no time to fix his error. A deafening 'crash' sounded, as the roof caved in and tiles landed on a number of disciples, knocking them out cold.

On top of the fallen tiles, stood a menacing, white furred fox cub. The fox cub's golden eyes were filled with murderous intent, which radiated out from its small body with enough force and power to send all the low-level cultivators straight into the afterlife.

Zhu Zhang spat out his tea, staring gobsmacked at the fox cub. He swayed in his seat from the shock.

That familiar energy, those piercing golden eyes, the family Foxfire…

That was his son!