Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

*Huff Huff*

The duo was breathing heavily and Aiko was snorting in front of them.

"Serves you right for trying to run away from me!" Aiko scolded them as they were out of breath, while she was almost completely alright.

While Aiko didn't have that much better Stamina, her Skills and Abilities allowed her to move with higher efficiency, especially since the alleyways were covered in shadows.

Aiko became a monster that was a lot quicker, but since she didn't intend to catch them... her Stamina consumption was a lot lower than the duo's.

"Huff... I told you we should split." The Umbra Fox complained completely out of breath.

"If we got lost and captured, it would be a big trouble." The Blood Fox shook her head; while they would tease Aiko, they also wouldn't attract trouble and problems, unlike Aiko.

Aiko slapped the Blood Fox's jiggling breast from annoyance and the feeling that they were badmouthing her.

"Auch." The Blood Fox whined softly, but Aiko just snorted and looked away.

Aiko waited till they caught their breath.

"We will be moving to the General Cultivator Market, I'm interested in what they are selling." Aiko sai- commanded.

The duo nodded weakly, knowing that they couldn't tease Aiko any more...

...

They walked around the Capital. At first it was very impressive how everything blended together, but that soon became pretty old and bland.

Aiko couldn't quite grasp the reason why and she was greatly confused about this point.

No matter how much she looked around and no matter how much she thought about it, she could not come to a conclusion.

This bothered her since this inconsistency and strangeness might transfer to her own place. Bothersome as it was, she couldn't come to a conclusion...

They soon arrived at the General Cultivator Market. As much as the name was strange, the people inside were even weirder.

Some sold small stones, others sold some kind of strange papers. It was a strange sight...

Aiko expected some strangeness, but this was too much for today. She was confused about how others could haggle over those pebbles...

"It is as expected..." The Blood Fox murmured, she was used to this sight.

"Others selling complete ru-" Aiko was about to curse, which would attract a lot of attention, but fortunately the Blood Fox stopped her from doing that.

Aiko didn't protest or shake her away, she knew that they wouldn't try to hurt her in any way.

"Is this common?" Aiko asked, she really didn't like this place.

"Yes. Although, it is slightly better since there is a council present." The Blood Fox gently nodded.

"What the -" Aiko was once again ready to curse, but this time Umbra Fox silenced her.

Aiko frowned at them, but didn't say anything else.

'Oi, are there any shinies?' Aiko glanced at the shadows nearby, in the hopes of getting an answer from them.

'There is, there is.'
'Indeed, but it's deeper in this market.'

Surprisingly for Aiko, they answered her.

'Okay, lead the way.' Aiko hummed in her mind happily. She didn't like this place, but that didn't mean she was not looking for some kind of treasure.

The duo gazed at Aiko strangely, this sudden change of atmosphere always scared them. It meant that Aiko was plotting something and they would have to clean the mess afterwards...

They still willingly followed Aiko, since they enjoyed her company and she was a much better leader than 90% of normal Fox leaders...

Aiko didn't need to squeeze around; she was already small enough to easily pass.

The only problem that she had was that if she bumped into someone, it would be either their ass or crotch...

She lamented that she didn't bring any flags with her or learn how to put her new torture tool to use.

Nothing could be done at this point as she was almost at her destination.

An old lady sat down. She had two large, noticeable scars on her face. Her complexion was stern until Aiko stopped in front of her.

"How much does this cost?" Aiko pointed at a 'strange black stone'.

"100 Spirit Stones." While the old lady was a battle-hardened veteran, she also had a soft spot for small children.

"Dammit, hag! You told me it cost 1,000 Spirit Stones!" One bald Cultivator cursed her openly.

"Once you are cute and small, I will give you a discount, you ugly pig." She spat on the floor in front of the bald Cultivator and he recoiled.

"Damn savage!" The bald Cultivator rubbed his temples.

"Why are you still here?" Aiko tilted her head and he choked up.

"Pfft." The old lady with the scar chuckled. "You heard her, since you are not buying, get lost." She snorted at the bald Cultivator.

Aiko pulled out 1,000 Spirit Stones, since she liked this Grandma. In her eyes, Grandmas were always cute, save for one...

"It's just 100 Spirit Stones..." The old lady felt bad that she even said that number, since this god-damn stone was useless.

"It's fine, it's fine." Aiko chuckled. "I like you, so you will get preferential treatment." Aiko smiled like a small child, using her 'young' card well.

The old lady's heart melted. "Fine, fine, you win."

"I want to buy this stone." A female Cultivator said and pointed at the strange black stone that Aiko just bought.

"That's mine." Aiko said expressionlessly and placed the bag with Spirit Stones in front of Grandma.

"You have not finished the deal yet. I will offer double what she offers." The Arrogant Female Cultivator said.

"It's already been sold." The old lady with a scar said softly but was cursing inside.

The old lady knew these types of young bitches. Belonging to a Sect, being showered by affection left and right from male bastards that can't keep their emotions in check.

This made them arrogant and useless, only flaunting their wealth.

"See?" Aiko shrugged, but the Arrogant Female Cultivator slapped a bag of Spirit Stones and took the rock.

The old lady sighed, she couldn't go against Sects.

Another peanut gallery formed, some were from the Herb Garden and they were waiting for a good show.

"Stealing is bad." Aiko said with a straight face and half of the peanut gallery had a painful headache remembering what she did in the Herb Garden.

'Right... you weren't stealing, but robbing them blind!' They would be happy for that normal Lotus, much less for the blazing one! But this lass had such good luck that she would get both of them!

"Hmpf." The Arrogant Female Cultivator snorted. "I paid double what you did and you still call me a thief?!"

"That's not even 1/10 of what I paid." Aiko innocently said, but everyone choked up.

"How much did you pay?!" One nearby Cultivator couldn't help but leak his inner thoughts.

"I was supposed to pay 100 Spirit Stones, but I paid 1,000 because I like her." Aiko smiled innocently.

She said it like this on purpose, since she realised that others would rally behind her to scold the old lady if she didn't say that she paid it willingly.

That was one of the bad things about being young. They were either overprotective or underestimating...

And Aiko liked neither of them.

The peanut gallery paused, they did want to scold the old lady, but what if this little girl went to buy at their shop next? That would mean they could make a fortune on her ignorance and likeability!

They tightened their lips, leaving the discussion to the two youngsters. One from the Sect and one from a wealthy family.

Unfortunately, in this world, the one from a wealthy family almost always lost...

"With that being said." Aiko didn't wait for the speechless Arrogant Female Cultivator to retaliate and kicked her hand upwards.

The Black Stone was flung high into the air and the Arrogant Female Cultivator flinched while glaring at the small bitch.

Some Cultivators with intrusive thoughts jumped for it to steal it, but half a metre away from it, they were stocked.

The little girl already grasped the strange black stone and naturally stored it away, like she was not high up in the sky.

Then she turned towards them and chill went up their spines.

Aiko gently twisted her body, dodging the grabbing motion from one Cultivator and mounted his back.

She rolled slightly back and grabbed his scabbard, not to draw his weapon but...

*Stab*

"AGRH" The first victim foamed from his mouth and fell to the ground, but Aiko was no longer on his back.

She grabbed the sleeve of another Cultivator and repeated the motion.

Get close to a scabbard.

Cut the string holding the scabbard with her nails.

Get a good grip on it.

Slide down onto his lower body.

Stopped by anchoring around his leg.

Gently aim towards the general direction to where the sun doesn't shine.

Stab it while correcting the trajectory further.

And then...

"#%$@%" He fainted, foaming from his mouth.

Aiko jumped towards the last one and grabbed his sleeve.

Unfortunately, he was much smarter than the others, so when he saw how terrific this little child was, he immediately cut off his sleeve.

The small girl started to free-fall and the Cultivator was relieved for a moment, but even that didn't last long...

Aiko used her [Quick Double Jump] and grabbed his waist.

The Cultivator stiffened in horror.

"W-wait, I didn't try to- #$^$%#$!!" He ended up in the same fate as others.

The peanut gallery shivered and their cheeks were absolutely clenched. They couldn't believe how vicious something so small and cute could be.

They also vowed not to anger this lass, unless they had some kind of backdoor protection!

The Cultivators fell to the ground and the Arrogant Female Cultivator was confused.

2 of these Cultivators were her Seniors, who were always trying to please her.

Her mind blanked and she couldn't understand how her powerful Seniors were outdone by a small girl much younger than she was.

However, she wasn't allowed to think for too long as the little girl descended upon her.

Aiko used the speed from the gravitation to arrive directly above the Arrogant Female Cultivator.

Aiko knew that her defensive value was much, much higher than this bitch's.

So she didn't worry about anything and headbutted her with full strength.

*Crunch*

The Arrogant Female Cultivator's body blasted away, but unfortunately, she was still alive...