Xiu Shihong and this tiny fox creature's eyes rested on each other for a while. While Shihong was not really exhausted, she was a little winded after the fight. Usually, many things like what she could've done better, or that she should've just ended the fight immediately would've crossed her mind. But right now her brain seems to have stopped working as she was looking at this fluffy adorable little thing ín front of her.

It reminded her so much of Kou. That calm gaze that seemed to say "Leave me alone", the large fluffy ears and the white fur.

For a moment she felt the rage bubble back up in her but she let out a sigh. "Well...aren't you a cute one... If your eyes were golden you would be the spitting image of a dear friend." She went down to one knee and gently caressed the fluffy fur. It was soft and cold, quite comfortable, and it felt very familiar. Shihong's mood just continued to drop and after a while of patting the tiny creature that just looked at her with crystal-like eyes, she stood back up. Vanishing inside the Arena...

As she stepped out the bits of the arena that were still standing crumbled into dust as if finally releasing all that tension.

...

Kou looked after Shihong and her nose twitched slightly. Obviously she wanted to turn back, tell Shihong she was alright, tell her she was here... tell all of her friends. But right now she could not, it would just make everything complicated, and she did not want to endanger anybody nor give her identity away.

Also, they would soon enough know she was still alive, Hei Tian would find out after all. Kou was not really secretive in the sect, so Hei Tian would find out sooner or later anyway. She just hoped that he would keep his mouth shut, realizing that she did not want to be noticed for now.

Not until she got the treasure and rescued Shi Shi. After that everything could be laid bare for all she cared. "Now let's just help that bird manages to do his job.." She jumped back into Ning Jiao's room and curled up, ready for a nap.

Well, as it turns out the Arena had to be fixed up after the last fight so the tournament was to be postponed for a few days. The news was that the first Prince had sunken a level in cultivation and was currently in critical condition. While the Emperor was said the be furious, there was little he could do. The rules were set by his own family after all. And if he lashed out at Xiu Shihong, he would lose all face.

It was quite the fun situation... well at least for her it was. Xiu Shihong. She leaned against a pillar while watching Hei Tian spar with Wu Xiao, those two had quickly become friends, and seemingly easily so. They both seemed very similar, and often she could see them talk to each other.. something about unrequited love?

She wondered who the girls actually were here, however, that Lady Xue he spoke of was quite mysterious. Who was Hei Tian in love with anyway? She never quite got to catch who it was, and she´found herself slightly unsure about her own interest in that...

For about a minute and then she just continued to be quite smug about the Ning family! Li Zhi slowly approached and handed her a cup of tea. "Shihong... You are really a devil.." weirdly enough Li Zhi did not seem worried at all, the girl had shed off her meek persona. It was quite refreshing... still she did not understand why she let that Fu court her ´like that... well.. in the end, she wouldn't judge.

She took a sip of tea and smiled slightly. Teaching Li Zhi just as she had taught Kou how to make tea was a good idea, it tasted quite good. But she would not remain here for long.. she wanted to take a walk. "Li Zhi, make sure these two don't blow each other up, alright?" She waved towards Hei Tian and Wu Xiao before departing quickly.

She wanted to clear her head, and being near her friends would not really help to do that. ´

She put on a cloak and vanished into the city. It was quite full and lively, and she quickly found herself eating a grilled piece of meat. She did not need to eat anymore, but she still did. Just because it was tasty. She quietly moved óut of the ´market area into one of the many gardens that filled the Capital City.

Sitting down in the grass she glanced at the sky, she had assumed she would be alone here, some time to think. But someone else was here. Someone she really did not wish to see. Níng...Ning Jiao, was her name? The girl was adorable, like a tiny angel, and she was here with that tiny fox creature. Her eyes were actually focused on her... she had noticed Xiu Shihong, and her expression was unclear.

Xiu Shihong felt a smirk creep up on her face, she disliked the Ning... That included this girl, even if she had ´nothing to do with anything. She didn't try to hide her disdain and open ridicule for the girl, her gaze was clear, and the girl's eyes became harder.

...

Oh, this was a situation... ´Kou just hid behind one of her paws while she peeked over it with one eye, these two would probably attack each other on the spot right now, and she couldn't really stop both of them!

However... Ning Jiao supprised her... and Xiu Shihong in moving forward completely non-threatingly before looking up to Xiu Shihong with large eyes. "You are really strong! I really want to fight you! You beat big brother that's amazing! Can you show me how you do that armor? Can I do it too? Do you always do your hair up when you fight? Maybe I should do that too... Do you want to spar?!"

Kou.. blinked and the tension in her body released in a big sigh... that god damn muscle brain...

Xiu Shihong was just as confused, she could not sense any falsehood in this girl, she was so pure it almost hurt her brain to look at her, the girl's word repeating inside her head over and over again for a moment before she just broke.

Kou was looking at Xiu Shihong while her expression was slowly changing from the smug mug into something that seemed to very confused that Kou actually found it funny. The expression very much said "I do not compute"

It took about 10 seconds for Xiu Shihong to restart.

She couldn't help but not dislike this one as much, that was the conclusion she came to after standing there and staring at the little girl for an uncomfortable amount of silent time. "I won't spar with you, if you manage to make it to the final we get to exchange blows, otherwise I have nothing to do with you." She turned around and walked away.

"That big-sister is a little slow.. hu?" Ning Jiao glanced at Kou with a somewhat confused glance... and Kou also just broke, starting to laugh, very very hard. In fact, it was so much that she felt her belly hurt, she barely got air in! Quickly she got herself back under control, her voice still shaking a bit. "Don't worry about it... you should rest until your next fight."

...

One day later. With the combined effort of multiple core-formation elders, the arena was rebuild and reinforced, in a manner that it would not shatter again. At least that was what they hoped. To be honest, the fight between Xiu Shihong and the first Prince was the final, everyone knew that Xiu Shihong would win. So right now the attention was on those lucky few that would not have to face Xiu Shihong until the final.

Second place become the new center of attention for most of them. And no one believed that any fight would escalate as bad as the fight that had shattered the arena.

Compared to that any other fight was kinda boring, while the young masters and ladies fought with everything they had, it paled in comparison to the action that was seen before! They all felt like they already had seen everything, and the rest of the tournament was just being held to keep up with appearances.

Well, that was they thought. But then they saw Ning Jiao cut through her competition like a flaming hot knife. Everyone that was not at the very peak of the fourth realm was smashed under her wings, and those fights were she was at a disadvantage that Ice-spirit of hers just stomped the fighters to the ground.

Actually that little spirit had gained a little fan-club. Mostly female, they would swoon over how fluffy and cute it was. Many of them really wanted to touch the smooth white fur, or just pet it once! But Ning Jiao never left the arena anymore! She went to her room straight after each fight. And it was said she was simply sleeping between fights! She was not cultivating at all or meditating, she was just sleeping... AND playing with that cute little fox spirit!

...

Ning Baozhai's nails were beyond saving by now, her expression was ugly and she fiercely smacked the ground, nobody was watching her! She was beating her opponents too! She was here too! ... Obviously she did not think of lifting her mask at all! This was very much an affront to the rules! She was already a few years over the age limit for this tournament, but she had still snuck in! When she heard Ning Jiao was attending she just had to.

This was a perfect situation! She could cripple the girl without any negative problems! So were the rules! She had staged a few others to try and do the same but these useless idiots did not even manage that getting smacked left and right! And now it was her turn soon.

Ning Baozhai had reached early core-formation! And she felt like she was about to reach the next level! She was a good bit slower than her brother but she was still strong! What was 33 to a core-formation person! Exactly nothing! She was still very young! Once she reached higher levels she would be able to live for a thousand years! As an eternal empress!

Shivers came down her spine and she grinned... finally stopping the gnawing of her nails. Time to crush this girl. And regain her position as the ONLY princess...

She carefully put on the robe. A magical item that was able to conceal her appearance and make her appear like one of the little girls that were supposed to attend..she had, well.. made sure she would not show up here any time soon.

`

Still even while she wore the face of someone else, she moved in her very own arrogant fashion, moving past the elders and core-formation judges without even giving them a bow or acknowledgment what so ever as she stepped up into the Arena, she felt the eyes of everyone on her. It has been a while since she got so much attention.

Quickly she forgot the reason she was here, she simply enjoyed the looks she got. The Robe was a magic item, and it did not... conceal much, júst her face and size changed, everything else was still the same, and many would look at her white and slender legs, or rising bosom, she made an effort to look as attractive as possible... and even with the borrowed face she very much appeared like a vixen.

However all attention was quickly caught by Ning Jiao, the girl was like a radiant light if compared to Ning Baozhai. There was no comparison between the two! However, unlike Ning Jiao who showed almost everything. Ning Jiao wore an almost boyish outfit, a simple short robe with short arms, and knee-long pants. It was clearly not made to show off, but to fight! Her hair was done up in two cute buns so it would not get in the way of fighting.

Everyone was silent for a moment as these two looked at each other, while Ning Jiao had a smile on her face, showing no hostility what so ever, the other contestant seemed very agitated with the girl. "Ah, Ha. Aren't you a bit to young to be here? Let be send you back to bed, mh?" Ning Baozhai had a cooky smile on her lips as she expanded the full energy of her core, wrapping the arena in it. While it was not as powerful as the oldest prince, it was still quite formidable. Ning Baozhai had decent talent, that was for sure.

Her Domain was a sickening green. She specialist in poison! While she had the phoenix blood-line and could call forth its powers it did very little for her, only allowing her to fly. So she had quickly abandoned it for something else, her cultivation technique was the 200 Poison mantra. That utilized 200 very powerful variations of poison, that she could inject into her enemies. Even in the great sects, this was very rare, and she had Mastered it quite well!

Her Domain would slowly poison anyone that was inside of it. The longer the fight took the more painful it would become. Ning Baozhai looked at Ning Jiao and smiled.. whispering. "Let me cripple you... little showoff." She shot toward her little Sister, her left fist covered in green energy!

Ning Jiao blinked and backed off quickly, Phoenix flames erupted around her blocking the strike. However, Ning Baozhai was not holding back at all! And Ning Jiao has far bellowed her in cultivation base so the girl still got hit even if most of the poisonous aura was neutralized, the force was still there!

Ning Jiao was catapulted through the arena and crashed against the barrier surrounding it, slowly sliding down. Many people cursed, may people screamed in rage, and some were trying to change their bets! This Lady was a black sheep! She was far more powerful than anyone expected!

Ning Jiao was realing! She felt so very hurt, this was different from Hei Tian! This was the full force of a core formation expert! She felt as if her internal organs were being shredded after this punch! But she still got up, a grin on her face, this was she liked! She wanted to have a challenge... Still, this might be just a bit out of her reacjh... she felt how little Xue was slowly expanding her own Ki, the icy cold aura was mending her pain slightly.

"Let's do this together, little Xue... until I'm powerful enough!"

Ning Baozhai was feeling really good about herself! One more hit and this little pest would be down, she just had to put all her energy in and she would be gone... but then she suddenly felt a cold shiver on her back. "That fox..." She growled, seeing the tiny white creature standing next to Ning Baozhai. "It should've been mine! MINE!" She screamed before charging forward to

But this time she was blocked by a wall of Ice, the Ice did not even attack her, it simply blocked her from reaching Ning Jiao! In her rage, she bashed her fist against one of the ice walls, but a sickening crunch and a scream showed everyone that this ice was very tough. She had dislocated her fist!

"This beast!" She employed her full cultivation as she shot forward avoiding the icey walls... But these walls.. they were not made to block her as she had thought but only to delay her! Ning Jiao was gathering all of her force in one fist. And the icy walls conveniently ended directly to her left, whoever shoot out would be surprised by a massive punch! Ning Jiao was trembling, focusing all of her power into one attack was something that would be quite difficult even for people with higher cultivation.

And that was exactly what happened Ning Bhaozai was very confident, she had seen the fight with Hei Tian! She took very good care to avoid any ice for now! she would not give the beast the chance to smash her as it did Hei Tian! She completely disregarded Ning Jiao as a threat! She was in the third realm, barely a fly!

However after she shot out she was greeted with this fly, having gathered all of her flames and Qi in one fist, before releasing it, punching her right into the face. Crack. Her Nose broke, her body was catapulted and smashed against the barrier, much to the horror of all the elders that had created it, cracks appeared... but luckily it did not shatter as Ning Baozhai slid down like a squashed fly.

However! She got up again.. her cloak has been blown off her face was bloody, her nose broken... but she got up again. Spitting a mouthful of blood she released the full power of her domain..."Die..." The poison that had been in the air became even stronger! Breathing became hard. Ning Jiao coughed out some blood. She had almost no energy left after that punch, going down to a Knee. "I...thought.. that would be enough...Core-Formation... is amazing.." She mumbles clearly about to pass out.

Kou looked down at Ning Jiao and let out a sigh before she released her own domain...

In a split second all the poison was dispersed and a chilling cold took its place, Ning Baozhai's domain was simply smashed to pieces, not one bit of it remained, as Kou carefully jumped down from Ning Jiao's shoulder. Slowly making her way towards Ning Baozhai.

The woman was standing there, her mouth agape, her brain could not comprehend this...She had not even realized that the punch had blown off her disguise and that people in the ranks were currently whispering. Or how the Emperor was currently completely enraged. She knew that she was powerful! How could this little girl damage her to this extend? How could this tiny creature suppress her like this?

She watched this tiny creature come closer, cold invaded her body and bones, her eyes seemed locked into the eyes of this tiny creature... her body became numb, and her breath was condensing... and then she did not feel anything anymore. Was this how death was like? This tiny fox... she... felt like it was similar... to him, maybe this was the revenge of someone long gone...

Kou felt very angry with this woman. She looked similar to Ning Jiao, that they were of one family was clear to her... why would someone want to kill their own Sister? Ning Jiao was an airhead, she could not even be evil if she tried. So what was the reason for this? She stretched one paw out, Words formed in the air, made out of ice. "Surrender."

The old Master looked down at the arena with bright eyes. "I will need her too...a Frozen Core... how did she do that... " Obviously he was able to see through Kou, but did he say anything about that? No. It was not his job to make this fair. And the girl did not even use her true powers yet.

Indeed! Kou, used her Ice domain! Which she had gained from the Frozen-Core. She did not use her spiritual pressure at all, just spreading out her domain, and not even using the shadows. She did not even need too, even if she was far smaller then Ning Baozhai right now, she was clearly looking down on the woman.

"Surrender.. you dare... to... tell ME to surrender? Do you know who I ..bBWBBB..." She was about to go on a rant but Kou, flicked one of her tails, and a large chunk of ice appeared in her mouth, she let a bit of her pressure leak out, and focused it on the woman who immediately went quiet, before she just lost consciousness, she passed out from anger and fear!