Mo Cheng shouted Shu Qianqian's name just as he was about to race to her side, but a sudden stinging pain stopped him in his tracks. He groaned and peered down only to stare at Li Meirong's Fox Spirit stepping on his previously damaged foot.

The Fox cub's small paw pads pressing on his foot somehow exerted tremendous strength, cracking the bones underneath!

Yet Mo Cheng was unable to focus on his own pain, as his attention was drawn to the unexpected assault happening before him. His mouth hung agape, and he could barely process what was happening.

How could the meek and gentle Li Meirong become so… so vicious? Furthermore, the fact that Shu Qianqian far outranked her in terms of skills, experience and spiritual powers made the scene before him so much more baffling!

Just what exactly happened to cause such changes to Li Meirong in the past several months?!

A sudden mental image of the white-haired man that he had previously encountered popped into his mind.

'It must have been that villain, Zhu Qingyue!' Mo Cheng silently recalled.

A cold sweat broke out on his forehead once he saw Li Meirong advance on Shu Qianqian again. He realized that he had no time to think!

He cursed under his breath and tried kicking the fox away, but for some odd reason, he was unable to make the little fox budge! Those small paws felt like boulders crushing him down, rooting him to the spot!

The fox spirit looked up at him with a pair of piercing golden eyes and growled out a command, "Stay put."

"..." Mo Cheng wordlessly gaped at the fox.

Simultaneously, Li Meirong reached for Shu Qianqian again and grabbed a fistful of her hair, lifting her up until they stared at each other eye to eye.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Shu Qianqian yelled in panic. The feeling of her strands tearing from the scalp made her cry out. Noticing that Mo Cheng didn't manage come to her aid, she changed her attitude, flailing her arms and aiming to scratch Li Meirong's eyes out.

However, Li Meirong avoided her attacks with ease, her movements were simply that much faster. She gazed at Shu Qianqian with a distant kind of look.

"I'm teaching my dear friend a lesson," said Li Meirong.

"You damn furnace! Who the hell is your friend?! How dare you touch me?!" Shu Qianqian snarled, her usual lovely appearance turning unsightly with malice.

A gust of wind swept into the room and swirled around the two, mimicking the cold fire burning within Li Meirong's eyes. She raised one fist to punch Shu Qianqian straight in the middle of the face. Still feeling unsatisfied, she punched her again.

A hollow crunch could be heard in the hall as Li Meirong shattered Shu Qianqian's nose. A terrible scream echoed the sound, rising in pitch to an awful screech.

With eyes widened and mouth gaping, Shu Qianqian helplessly trembled under Li Meirong's grip, a long trail of red dripped from the nostrils of her crooked nose and onto her quivering lips, joining the initial trail of red, forming a grisly line on her pale face.

Shu Qianqian was too stunned to speak. She was too shocked to do anything but stare at this she-demon, absolutely petrified!

Spasms of pain brought Shu Qianqian to her knees again as Li Meirong relinquished her hold over her long locks.

Shu Qianqian held a shaking hand over her broken nose, her natural rosy face paling further. She just couldn't believe it! How did Li Meirong suddenly become so strong?!

"I'm done. You hear me?" Li Meirong spat.

"W-what?" Shu Qianqian gazed up at Li Meirong towering above her and sucked in a sharp breath.

She did not see anger nor rage. It was a cold look she saw now, like a tiger staring down at an ant. The tiger didn't care about the ant that could easily be squished. It was as if her life was of no consequence to Li Meirong!

She realized right then that Li Meirong didn't come seeking revenge. She acted like it was beneath her. In fact, she always acted like she didn't care about any worldly affairs.

Shu Qianqian had always felt that her greatest concerns were perceived as nothing but trivial matters to Li Meirong, such as her feelings for Mo Cheng.

It was one of the things that infuriated her about Li Meirong the most, that sort of dismissive attitude!

"I'm sparing you on account of our past friendship, but I'm done being a punching bag. Come at me again and you will regret that the very thought crossed your mind." Every word Li Meirong uttered was slow and carefully enunciated, a cold fierceness flashing in her onyx eyes.

Li Meirong's behaviour caused her outward appearance to suddenly appear substantially different. She no longer seemed heroic or charming, but rather, unscrupulous and frightening!