Xiao An Fei set the Fox Lord down and hurriedly kowtowed before him.

"P-please be understanding, My Lord! This servant had no other choice!"

Bai Qingyue glowered at Xiao An Fei's shivering form on the ground before him. As he approached her, she felt the surrounding air grow colder and colder.

Xiao An Fei's breath became visible before her as small puffs of opaque mist.

"I can do nothing but reflect upon my failure as a ruler when it comes to the disobedience of my own subjects," Bai Qingyue finally murmured at length.

Too frightened to argue, Xiao An Fei kneeled in utter silence.

Bai Qingyue's voice, although soft, turned laden with malice. "I must have been far too benevolent in recent times, for it seems it has taken only a few days for my servants to forget exactly whose orders they should be following."

Xiao An Fei's mouth fell open slightly as he spoke. She felt as if her life could not be any less fair if the King of Hell himself had written it! Was it not His Lordship's very own orders for her to serve Her Ladyship, Li Meirong?

Bai Qingyue stepped forward, placed his paw atop Xiao An Fei's head, and pressed down. The servant yelped in fright as she endured a tremendous pressure pressing on her skull.

That one little motion, almost a pat on the head, that the Sovereign Lord had bestowed upon Xiao An Fei was almost enough to crack her skull in two!

Was His Lordship planning to send her to the Netherworld in order to vent his rage?!

Xiao An Fei prayed silently for Her Ladyship to finish her battle swiftly, and to be quick to rescue her from the Fox Lord's vengeful wrath!

In her current state of despair, she could do nothing but let go of her pride and plead for dear life.

"This pitiable servant begs His Lordship to show mercy. This servant was merely following Her Ladyship's orders." Xiao An Fei found her voice, groveling at his feet.

With the Sovereign Lord in his current form, disguised as a fox spirit, the torturous scene could only be described as comical from an outsider's perspective: a grown girl cowering before a cute, tiny fox spirit.

Unfortunately, the tragic truth of the scene was anything but comical.

The Fox Lord stared down at her silently, his face a mask of cruel indifference. He drove his paw into her head a little harder.

As Xiao An Fei's face plummeted into the soil, the bitter taste and crunchy texture of dirt almost caused her to choke. Her eyes welled up with unshed tears.

"Ah, is that Snowball?" A high-pitched voice came suddenly, crying from far away. It was as a beacon of light in a sea of darkness to poor Xiao An Fei.

Xiao An Fei heard Bai Qingyue's groan of obvious displeasure, and the excruciating pressure pounding on her brain instantly faded away.

Contrary to any expectations Xiao An Fei had, salvation came swiftly and surely from the most unlikely source: Bao Li.

Slowly and cautiously, Xiao An Fei lifted her head to assess her surroundings. Li Meirong's mortal friend was bouncing over to greet them.

In haste, Xiao An Fei rose to her feet. She coughed out the remaining dirt and dusted off the hem of her dress to ensure she looked presentable.

Regaining her composure, she adjusted herself as if nothing had ever happened.

When Bao Li came a little closer, her small lips spread into a bright smile at seeing her suspicions had been confirmed.

"It is Snowball!" she announced, casual steps shifting into more of a stride.

A short distance beyond Bao Li, the shadow of Lang Ju perched on a tree branch did not go unnoticed from Xiao An Fei's keen vision.

Lang Ju's back straightened, appearing a little rattled at being discovered.

Surprised, Xiao An Fei's eyes locked with his briefly before Lang Ju shapeshifted back into a lean, grey fox, and swiftly vanished from sight.

She was not the only one to notice Lang Ju's unexpected presence, however. When she glanced sideways at Bai Qingyue, Xiao An Fei noticed his narrowed golden eyes observing the exact same location.

"Playing the hero, saving the beauty? Ridiculous," Bai Qingyue growled in contempt, tail swishing left and right in his irritation.

'Irritation at not being able to kill me, surely.' Xiao An Fei thought, rubbing tenderly at the sore and abused part of her head.

Almost unintentionally, she looked back at the tall tree one last time, but Lang Ju was no longer there. Her heart began to beat a little faster. 'Lang Ju must have lured Bao Li over here in order to protect me…'

In a matter of moments, "the great hero" Bao Li crossed the remaining distance to reach Snowball and unknowingly saved Xiao An Fei from certain death.

Having successfully captured her target, Bao Li secured Snowball within her tight hold. She was oblivious to the hostility surrounding the little fox spirit in her arm. His furious expression and threatening growl likewise went unnoticed.

Happily oblivious, Bao Li smiled warmly at Xiao An Fei. "You are Li Meirong's maid, are you not? Is she not currently in the midst of battle?"

Except for nodding her head, Xiao An Fei had no time to respond before Bao Li spoke once more.

"What are you waiting for? Let us go cheer her on!"

***

Back at the arena, the battle was only just beginning. Senior Wei dug his hand into one of his pockets, and when he drew it back out, he appeared to be hiding something in his fist.

He uncurled his fingers slowly, one at a time, until two pairs of powdery, bug-like wings unfurled atop his palm.

A shimmering, miniature girl, with glowing skin and a matching dress made of spider silk, emerged, sitting neatly in the palm of Senior Wei's hand. Her powdery yet iridescent wings, far larger than herself, folded around her delicate frame and cast a shade over her luminous blonde curls. She held a wooden flute against her lips, the instrument as small as a needle.

"Her name is Lucidity. She is a pixie spirit of the tenth rank," Senior Wei announced proudly, gently patting the pixie's head with the tip of his finger.

Lucidity turned and gazed at her master with clear adoration. She spread the hem of her dress with one hand and performed an elegant bow. "Master, I am honored to have been summoned."

The crowd breathed out amazed sighs as they watched the enchanting pixie address Senior Wei.

"I never thought I would get to see a pixie in this tournament," a spectator called out. "I have heard they come from a faraway continent to the west."

"How beautiful and rare…"

Although Senior Wei stayed silent, he was pleased by the crowd's reactions. The corners of his lips curved into a smug, subtle smile. 'This is one of the pixie's strengths, to bewitch the mind with their loveliness and make one forget how deadly they can be,' he thought.

Senior Wei had researched spirit beasts for many years, particularly about pixies, before he had actually formed a contract with one. While tiny in size, pixies were extremely powerful creatures.

Their abilities were, more often than not, beyond that of the average spirit, and their strengths lay in bewitching spells, particularly relating to the art of illusion.

A powerful pixie could bewitch their opponents with illusions so horrendous that they would often end up killing themselves to end their suffering.

Furthermore, very few cultivators knew of the deadliness of a pixie's skills, mostly due to their rarity. This made it even easier for Senior Wei to win against his opponents so far. His enemies did not know what to expect and often did not realize what was happening until it was far too late for them to recognize the error of their ways.

Senior Wei stared at Li Meirong with a triumphant expression. 'This battle will end very shortly.'

Lei Meirong's attention was meanwhile too occupied to notice Senior Wei's reaction. She sighed wistfully at the sight of the pixie's reaction to Senior Wei. She couldn't help but feel a slight pang of bitterness at how charming and obedient other spirit beasts seemed to be for their masters.

As for her, she would consider it a good day if her spirits beasts didn't bicker with her or throw temper tantrums.

Li Meirong closed her eyes in preparation to summon forth Chou from her dimension.

A chubby boy with perfectly smooth skin and a riotous nest of seaweed curls atop his head manifested himself at the center of the stage. A leaf, big enough to cover his privates, was tied around his waist like a loincloth.

However, what was more interesting than his unusual appearance was definitely his choice of weapon.

In his hand, he held a large, glittering lobster.