"It is not my wish to make such a decision!" The judge said hastily. "It is merely part of our predetermined protocols. But, of course, since the destruction of the array is partly due to our negligence, we may be permitted to make an exception."

He eyed Senior Wei. "We may be permitted to offer you a place in the finals, provided Disciple Wei forfeits his position in your favor."

The three judges nodded in agreement once the speaker had finished. When it came to choosing which disciple would advance, the end result did not truly matter. Both disciples showed great promise. However, as Li Meirong was the direct disciple of a grandmaster, in addition to being the owner of such a rare, and powerful spirit beast, they would naturally favor her.

As only one competitor could come out of this battle as the victor, it was only natural that she should advance to the finals.

The fox spirit's growling came to a sudden halt at the judge's words, showing his clear satisfaction at the proffered resolution.

Meanwhile, Senior Wei kept his head bowed; his shoulders slumped forward in resignation.

"Then I shall forfeit," he said grimly. He looked worn out, as though he no longer cared about losing his position in the tournament. To him, it felt like he had been cast aside by the judges due to bullying from his opponent, whom the judges seemed to favor.

'In the end,' Senior Wei thought bitterly, 'my initial assumption of Li Meirong appears to be entirely correct. She is the same as all those other disciples, those who ruthlessly step on everyone else with their superior rank and position in the sect. They ignore the rules and regulations they are supposed to adhere to, while everyone else is forced to cater to their will. Even the lofty grandmasters who are supposed to judge this tournament with the utmost righteousness will bend and turn crooked.'

"I don't want it," Li Meirong said suddenly.

Her words broke through Senior Wei's line of thought before it could spiral further into bitterness. The judges gasped.

"Junior Disciple, do you realise what you are saying?" one of the judges asked, clearly flabbergasted by her words.

Senior Wei could not believe his own ears. Out of everyone present, he was shocked the most by Li Meirong's sudden declaration. 'Did she… just refuse the judge's offer?' he thought in bewilderment. He adjusted his posture, his shoulders uncurling from his slouch, and lifted his gaze to stare at her.

She paid him no heed, however, the full measure of her gaze still directed at the judges.

At that moment, Li Meirong suddenly seemed quite brave and noble in Senior Wei's eyes. He swallowed the sudden excess saliva in his mouth and continued to stare at her in silence.

Li Meirong unhurriedly lifted her chin, her tone haughty as she said, "This offer for a position in the finals. I don't want it."

Snowball's ears perked up. He glanced at Li Meirong wordlessly, evidently curious as he blinked his golden eyes at her. It was as if he was trying to understand what was going through her mind.

"T-then, that is to say, Junior Disciple… do you not wish to take part in the tournament?" The judge who spoke felt he could not fully trust his sense of hearing, because the girl's words made absolutely no sense to him! He had to ask again, to clarify. Just to be certain.

The elder judge had just offered this girl, Li Meirong, a free ticket to the finals, hoping to wiggle his way out of the somewhat dangerous predicament he had found himself in, and she had flatly refused the offer!

Li Meirong was, on the other hand, quietly enjoying everyone's hilarious reactions. She had never seen the sect's pompous elders look so very shocked!

"That is exactly what I wish," she said firmly. "If you have nothing further to say, then pardon me for not keeping you company."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what seemed like forever, Li Meirong finally strode across the stage and descend from it once more. It felt like it had been years since she stepped on it in the first place. Before she had a chance to do more than take a single step, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her neck in a strangling hug.

"Oh, I thought you would never come out of there!" Bao Li exclaimed. "We all saw you get knocked out cold, and then Snowball just leapt out of my arms and transformed into an enormous fox and hid you from view. I could not see what happened at all! Tell me, what was the strange red animal your plant spirit had with it?"

"C-can't breathe…" Li Meirong wheezed.

"My Lady!" Xiao An Fei and Xiao An Hua, who had both returned to wait at the bottom of the stage, called out in fright at the same time. They simultaneously unsheathed their weapons in preparation to attack Bao Li for assaulting their Mistress.

"Oh, sorry! Dear me, I did not know I was that strong!" Bao Li exclaimed, hurriedly loosening her hold on Li Meirong's neck and laughing nervously. She was completely, obliviously unaware of the fact that her life could have been ended only moments ago…

"I'm fine, don't worry," Li Meirong said. She narrowed her eyes slightly at Bao Li, rubbing at her sore neck. It seemed as though her near-death experiences for the day had not yet ended.

Xiao An Fei and Xiao An Hua sighed in relief and relaxed their alert postures, sheathed their weapons again, and resumed their previous positions of pretending to be normal, harmless maids in waiting.

"So what happened in the end?" Bao Li asked excitedly, quickly jumping to change the topic. "Did you win the match?"

Li Meirong's attitude shifted, and she finally allowed herself to show her emotions again now that she was in familiar company. Her long lashes left shadows over her eyes as she stared down towards the ground.

"I lost the match," she admitted quietly.

Bao Li also fell silent and gently patted Li Meirong's shoulder.

"Never mind this stupid tournament!" she declared brashly, hoping to raise Li Meirong's mood. "What matters is how brilliantly you shone up there. It was very impressive, you know," she added in a conspiratorial fashion. "Well, at least while you were awake…" She trailed off and laughed again. "I am sure everyone will see you in a new light from now on."

Li Meirong placed her hand over Bao Li's and shook her head, her lips curving into a tiny, almost hidden smile.

"You are a good friend, Bao Li," she murmured.

A few moments later, Snowball jumped from the stage with precision and elegance, capturing everyone's attention with ease. When he was in the form of a small cub, he appeared harmless and utterly adorable. But as an adult fox, he was downright dazzling. His silvery coat was thick and artfully shaggy, and his tail was long and cloud-like in its fluffiness.

Xiao An Hua and Xiao An Fei covertly bowed to their Sovereign Lord, who responded with a small shake of his snout. It would not do for his wife to question why the twins were bowing to 'Snowball'.

Bao Li, meanwhile, simply stared at Snowball with undisguised awe. She curled her fingers together to prevent herself from reaching out and touching the almost sparkling fur in front of her.

"Li Meirong! Ah, Li Meirong, you are one very lucky lady!" she exclaimed. Unable to hold back her desire for long, she eventually reached out to touch the luxurious fur that tempted her, hoping to discover if it was truly as soft as it looked.

Before she could make contact, however, the fox spirit's fur bristled and he growled at Bao Li in a clear, wordless warning: 'hands off!'