Master, I Was Only Joking!

An awkward atmosphere spread through the hallway.

Qin Yang and the Little Fox stared each other down, with an unconscious middle-aged woman lying between them, leaving the situation deadlocked.

By now, having cast too many illusions, the White Fox's pale little face had long been tinged with blushes of red.

As for Qin Yang on the other side—

His face was calm and his heart steady, as if he did not care about the sights brought by the illusion at all.

That immediately shook the White Fox's confidence.

This was ridiculous!

One had to know—

She had just unleashed every illusion technique she had learned in her life.

By all rights, Qin Yang should have been scared stupid on the spot, fainting more than a dozen times.

But what was the result?

Forget moving—he had not even shifted a single step! "How is that possible?!"

The White Fox was utterly shocked. She narrowed her long, slender eyes and scrutinized Qin Yang before her.

She recalled an old saying she had once heard.

Humans feared ghosts by three parts; ghosts feared humans by seven.

Could it be... that Qin Yang was like that right now?!

"Why did you stop?"

Feeling the illusions around him vanish, Qin Yang gave a soft laugh. "Already out of strength?"

"You!"

Hearing this, the White Fox gritted her teeth and glared at Qin Yang, a low, warning growl rumbling from her throat.

"This Immortal Maiden has lived for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen someone as arrogant as you."

She lowered herself as green smoke rose around her, transforming back into her original fox form.

Three fluffy snow-white tails stood upright, bristling as though her fur had exploded.

Boom! Terrifying star power erupted in an instant. The air in the hallway roared violently, forming a powerful wind pressure that swept toward Qin Yang, accompanied by several faint, shrill fox cries.

"Hm? This realm is..."

Qin Yang stood in the hallway against the wind and sensed it slightly.

Innate Realm Initial Stage! No wonder this Little Fox had dared to commit evil in the residential complex.

The highest level in Jianghai City was only someone like Old Li, at the Innate Realm Peak.

With the Little Fox's strength alone, there truly were not many people in Jianghai City who could do anything to her.

As long as she wanted to flee, she could easily evade everyone's watchful eyes, return to the deep mountains and old forests to hide, then come back out to absorb essence once things quieted down.

No matter how one calculated it, absorbing essence should have been foolproof.

It was just a pity... "You ran into me."

Qin Yang smiled and shook his head. Once he had figured out the whole story, he immediately felt relieved.

And as the Little Fox had just erupted with star power—

The system finished its scan and displayed her relevant panel before Qin Yang.

Race: Snow Fox (contains a trace of ancient Nine-Tailed Fox bloodline)
Cultivation: Innate Realm Initial Stage

Divine Abilities: Qingqiu Illusion Technique, Bewitching Alluring Sound

Traits: Greedily feeds on the essence of living beings

A system notification sounded alongside it.

"Ding! Nine-Tailed Fox aura detected and locked onto the host! Extreme danger! Host, flee immediately!"

Listening to the warning, Qin Yang rolled his eyes, utterly unconcerned.

It was only a Little Fox at the Innate Realm.

He could kill her with one hand. There was nothing to fear.

"Die, human!"

At the same time, the White Fox across from him finally lost her patience. Her front paw slammed fiercely onto the floor, shattering the tiles as she launched the first attack at Qin Yang!

A sinister wind howled through the corridor.

The Little Fox moved like a shadow, arriving before Qin Yang in an instant.

She swung her right front paw. Razor-like claws sliced through the air, about to cut into Qin Yang's neck.

"Too slow."

Yet Qin Yang merely shook his head, slowly raised a hand, and slapped back.

Smack! A thunderous impact rang out! Before the charging White Fox could even reach Qin Yang, she suddenly felt her face swell with pain. Her trajectory shifted, and she was sent flying backward, smashing a cracked crater into the wall.

"???"

The White Fox slowly slid down the wall, touching her swollen right cheek with a front paw, completely dumbfounded.

What just happened? He attacked?

Why did I not see anything at all?!

For a moment, countless question marks popped up in the White Fox's mind.

What had just happened was simply too unbelievable... she was a fox who had entered the Innate Realm!

Yet she had been slapped without even seeing him make a move?

They were not even on the same level! This man is terrifying. Terrifying beyond belief.

The White Fox's sense of danger instantly exploded. She subconsciously lifted her hind legs, wanting to make a run for it.

However—

Qin Yang's voice sounded again:

"If you dare take one step, it won't just be a slap..."

At those words, the White Fox's body trembled violently. Her ears drooped as she hugged her three large fluffy tails and curled up in place.

Before overwhelming strength, the pressure Qin Yang gave her was unparalleled.

At that moment, the only thing she could do was beg for mercy...

The next moment, the fox looked fearfully at Qin Yang and said in a trembling, tearful voice:

"My lord, I... I know I was wrong. You are magnanimous..."

As she spoke, she pointed at the unconscious middle-aged woman on the ground. "I only absorbed essence. I've never harmed them too badly. In half a month, these civilians will recover..."

Her words were filled with all manner of fear and unease.

"Giving in already?"

Qin Yang narrowed his eyes, walked over to the Little Fox, grabbed the soft scruff of her neck with one hand, and easily lifted her up. "I still prefer the way you looked just now—wild and unyielding. Please go back to that."

"..."

Hearing this, the White Fox glared at Qin Yang indignantly. But the moment her eyes met his, she immediately lowered her gaze and cowered again.

At that moment, she was like fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others, with no say whatsoever.

"If you want to live, I can give you two choices."

Qin Yang looked at the White Fox and smiled calmly. "The first is to submit to me, obey me properly, and don't play any little tricks.

"As for the second, you can stay behind and become a fox-fur coat to keep me warm in winter..."

Both choices had their pros and cons. No matter what the Nine-Tailed Fox chose, Qin Yang would not lose out.

As Qin Yang knew, there were special star power cultivators in this world who took star beasts as pets, living alongside them and benefiting each other.

There were even star power martial artists who cultivated strange techniques of reciprocal empowerment.

They directly raised star beasts and had their abilities fed back into their own bodies, thereby increasing their strength.

Such people were collectively known to the outside world as "Beast Tamers."

Now that he had this fox demon in hand, he could try going down that path as well.

"Choose for yourself." Qin Yang tossed out those words and waited for the White Fox's decision.

"You want me to serve you?"

At those words, the White Fox's little face flushed red. She snapped angrily, "Who do you think you are? This Immortal Maiden possesses noble Nine-Tailed Fox blood! How could I possibly submit to a mere human like you?!"

How humiliating!

"Good. You've got backbone—I admire that!"

Qin Yang chuckled, lifting the Little Fox before him as he half-threatened and half-bluffed, "Don't be afraid. After all, I'm no demon. I've never forced anyone to do anything against their will... It's just that the weather is too cold, and I happen to be short one fox-fur coat..."

"???"

Hearing that, the White Fox's expression changed drastically. She hurriedly changed her tune and said with a fawning laugh, "Master, don't be angry. I was only joking with you."