Five months.
That's how long she'd been watching him — tail curled, ears perked, and heart increasingly troubled.
At first, she thought this would be entertaining. A little stress relief.
> A human with guts? Cute.
A human who learns fast? Impressive.
But now?
> A human who's about to surpass her strength?!
ABSURD.
---
It started quietly.
After their last "sparring session" — where she'd thrashed him into the ground with love and trauma — he didn't cry revenge.
He didn't sulk. Didn't even argue.
Instead…
> He got up.
Cleaned his bloodied knuckles.
Bowed slightly toward her…
…and began training again.
> What...?
But this time it wasn't just raw control.
Now, he was refining combat arts.
True techniques.
> "Sun-Destroying Palm."
"Molten Tyrant Fist."
"Infernal Mirage Step."
Each name echoed with weight.
Each movement blazed with practiced familiarity.
> These aren't newly learned...
He's adapting techniques he's already mastered to match his sealed cultivation?!
She watched from a high cliff, pupils contracting slightly.
> This is no longer just rare talent. This… is calculated madness.
And sure enough—
One and a half months.
Just that.
And he broke through to Dou Grandmaster.
> This fool did in a month and a half… what most people can't do in a year.
Her body tensed.
> He's going to challenge me. Soon.
---
The Challenge
It came as expected.
One quiet morning.
Fog drifted through the trees, the scent of dew heavy in the air.
Xiao Ranyu stood shirtless again — of course — flame dou qi dancing faintly along his fists. His expression calm, composed. Too calm.
He looked at her.
Eyes unblinking.
Power simmering beneath the surface like a volcano.
And she knew.
> It's time.
She leapt down from her perch.
Landed before him, soft paws pressing into the earth.
No words were exchanged.
None were needed.
They clashed.
---
Huolian was prepared for a tough battle.
Prepared to suppress him.
To give him another lesson in humility.
But...
> She couldn't even touch him.
His footwork was flawless.
His strikes, crushing and fast, layered with heat and deception.
He parried her claw with a palm, dodged her tail whip with a half-step, then sent her flying with a spin-kick she didn't even see coming.
> BOOM!
She landed in a pile of leaves, dazed.
Ears twitching.
> Did I… just lose?
---
She braced herself for payback.
For a smug speech.
For tail-plucking revenge.
But instead…
He approached her gently.
Knelt beside her.
And smiled.
> "Thank you."
She blinked.
> Huh?
Before she could leap away, his hand reached forward—
And touched her tail.
> "So soft…"
> WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
Her tails jolted. Entire body froze.
Ears twitched violently.
Heart pounded in her chest.
She wanted to scream. To slap him. To bite his neck and throw him into a volcano.
But her body didn't move.
Because in the Celestial Fox Clan—
> The tail is sacred.
> Only one's bonded partner—lover, mate, soul-bound other—could touch it freely.
And this human…
This clown…
Was gently stroking it like it was his.
> "You've been with me for months now," he said softly, voice sincere. "You helped me more than anyone ever has."
He ran his fingers down her third tail.
She squeaked.
Out loud.
> This damn human! Why is it actually… pleasant?!
Her face flushed crimson beneath the fur.
> Stop blushing! You are a top genius of the Celestial Fox Clan! You once scolded a Dragon Lord with your pinky claw!
He scratched behind her head and picked her by her nape.
Her leg kicked involuntarily.
> "...Good fox."
> I WILL KILL YOU—
---
That Night
Huolian curled up in a ball deep inside their shared cave.
Her tail still tingled.
> He touched it… like it belonged to him.
She buried her face in her paws.
> I didn't even bite him! I'm so doomed…
And worse—
She didn't hate it.
Her chest fluttered annoyingly.
She flicked her tail angrily.
> If you touch it again, I'll…
She paused.
Then covered her face with her paws.
> ...maybe I'll let you touch it again. But only the tip!
---
The fire crackled gently within their cave.
Moonlight filtered through cracks in the stone ceiling, casting silver beams on the rocky floor. Outside, the occasional howl echoed in the distance, but inside… it was quiet.
Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Huolian blinked slowly, her three snow-white tails curled like silken blankets around her. Her soft body rested on a warm pile of beast hides. Her ears twitched.
And then she felt it.
A weight.
A warm, shameless, human-shaped weight.
Snoring softly.
On her tail.
> ...He didn't.
She turned her head, painfully slowly.
There he was.
Xiao Ranyu.
Lying sideways, face relaxed, one arm tucked under his head...
And his cheek pressed directly into the middle of her fluffy tail.
Like it was the world's most luxurious pillow.
He shifted slightly in his sleep.
Snuggled deeper.
Mumbled something about "grilled boar tail wrap."
> Is he... drooling on my tail?!
Her face spasmed.
Her tails stiffened.
Her soul trembled.
> Do you have a death wish?!
---
In the Celestial Fox Clan—
This was unthinkable.
Unacceptable.
Unprecedented!
Tails were sacred extensions of the soul. To rest on one without permission…!
> If my clan sisters saw this, they'd faint. Or kill him. Maybe both.
She raised her paw, claws glowing faintly with icy Dou Qi.
> One swipe. That's all it takes. Just a light mauling…
Her paw hovered over his head.
But he let out a soft sigh and rubbed his face gently against her tail again, muttering—
> "Warm… like clouds…"
Her ears twitched.
She froze.
Her paw fell back down.
> Damn it… why do you look so peaceful?!
---
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then turned away, covering her burning face with both paws.
Her tails twitched.
> What am I doing? Why am I letting him?!
She peeked at him again.
He looked tired. Bruised. Worn from training. And yet… at peace. As if sleeping on her tail was the safest place in the world.
> This fool… he really trusts me, huh.
Her lips curled into a reluctant smile.
She let out a soft sigh.
Then shifted her tail slightly… so it fluffed up under his head.
> Just this once. Only tonight. Not because I like it. Obviously.
She curled around him protectively, like a ring of snow.
> If you snore too loud though, I'll bite your nose.
Her eyes slowly closed.
> Goodnight, idiot.
---
The next morning
Xiao Ranyu yawned, stretched, and muttered sleepily:
> "Best pillow ever…"
Huolian's ears twitched.
Her tail was twitching too.
> ...You're not using it again. Absolutely not.
> Okay maybe once more.
---
The next afternoon
The afternoon sun filtered lazily through the leaves of the Monster Mountain Range, casting dappled shadows across the secluded cliff.
Huolian lay coiled nearby, her sleek, snowy fur rustling gently in the breeze. Her three tails flicked idly as she eyed the crimson-haired youth who hadn't moved all day.
> "Strange," she thought, narrowing her golden eyes. "He hasn't practiced since morning…"
Her curiosity got the better of her.
She trotted closer and sat by his side, fluffy tail brushing his shoulder. Her ears twitched.
He was muttering something.
> "All the pills are gone...."
Her expression twitched.
> "Wait. Pills? He's going to leave the mountain and buy them?"
But then...
Xiao Ranyu suddenly reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a gleaming cauldron. Alongside it came a dozen high-grade medicinal ingredients—rare herbs, beast cores, and crystals that would make low grade alchemist's eyes shine.
Huolian's golden eyes widened.
> "He… he's not just a cultivator... he's an alchemist?!"
And not just any alchemist.
Before she could process that thought, it happened.
> FWOOM!
A wild, untamed yellow flame burst to life in his palm. The surrounding air trembled under its intense heat.
Huolian's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
> "That flame—! It's not a beast flame. Not an ordinary spiritual flame. No... could it be—?!"
She instinctively backed away a step, heart thudding.
She recognized the type of pressure that came from it. Something ancient, something born from the cruelty of nature itself.
She had only seen such flames once before. Back in the Great Thousand World. In the vault of a Holy Flame Sect.
> "A... Holy Flame…?!"
But that was impossible.
This was the Dou Qi Continent.
A sealed, origin-energy-starved backwater realm. A place where even reaching Dou Sheng was rare, and anything beyond was a fantasy.
There shouldn't be a Heavenly Flame here.
And yet… this youth held one similar and Controlled it.
Xiao Ranyu noticed her reaction and smiled smugly.
> "Curious, aren't you?"
He casually flicked the flame from his finger to the base of the cauldron.
> "This is one of the 23 legendary Strange Flames of this world— mysterious Yellow Flame. A beast to tame, I nearly burned refining it."
Huolian stood frozen.
He... refined a strange Flame? At his current level? That was suicide. Even Sovereigns from the Great Thousand World would tread carefully when attempting such a feat.
But this human...
This absurd, lazy, cocky, tail-hugging human...
He actually did it.
> "Each strange flame has a soul," he continued, as if lecturing a class pet. "They're born in the cruelest environments—volcanoes, thunder pits, ancient ruins. They're treasures all alchemists dream of."
He turned and gave her a grin full of pride and mischief.
> "I'm currently a Tier 4 peak alchemist. Could've broken into Tier 5 already if had the original realm , but my cultivation base currently isn't there yet."
Huolian's jaws would have dropped if she could open her mouth.
> "A peak Tier 4… at Dou Grandmaster level?!"
Even among her clan's genius alchemists, that level of thing was unheard of.
Now she was truly starting to believe…
This guy wasn't normal.
Not even close.
> "You... really might be a monster."
She stared at him, dumbfounded, as he began tossing herbs into the cauldron with elegant, precise movements. His control over the flame, the swirl of medicinal essence, the rhythm of his Dou Qi—it was all flawl
ess.
Like he'd done this a thousand times.
She swallowed, silent and stunned.
> "If I could speak, I'd curse you, you know."
But at the same time…
Her golden eyes sparkled with new light.
> "I want to see where you go, Xiao Ranyu. I want to see how high you climb in this sealed world."
And maybe… just maybe…
> "When the time comes, I'll be the one watching as you break through this world's limits."
She smiled faintly and curled around his side as he continued refining.
Even if he didn't realize it, her silent admiration was already growing.