Chapter 22: Fighting for the Fish Head

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Once Little Mist flew over and settled beside her, they naturally saw the scene below: everything was ablaze.

The snakes that had been coiled beneath the tree, trying to climb up, were being consumed by the flames. Those still clinging to the trunk had been knocked down by her spiritual power. Frowning as she looked at the tree, which was on the verge of collapsing, she said, “We need to leave here quickly.”

She swept her gaze around and saw that there were no other trees nearby. They would still have to climb down.

Fortunately, the flames were fierce enough to burn a portion of the snakes to death, while the rest were frightened away.

Seeing Little Mist perched on her shoulder, gazing proudly at the results of its handiwork, she asked, “Can you put out the fire?”

Little Mist nodded, flew downward, opened its mouth, and began to inhale.

Before long, all the flames had been drawn back into its body. The surrounding area had been burned black, leaving the ground completely barren.

With a helpless smile, she stroked Little Mist. She had not expected it to be fire-aligned, but thinking about it carefully, she had only managed to draw spiritual energy into her body that day thanks to its help. She had also sensed a fire affinity from it, so perhaps it was not surprising that it possessed fire-based abilities after all.

Little Mist flew back to Su Yunqing’s shoulder and looked at her with an arrogant, expectant expression, clearly waiting to be praised. She could not help smiling.

“Little Mist, you’re amazing!”

She continued forward with it, while Elder Zhang, who had released his spiritual sense, also noticed what had happened. He could not help expressing his astonishment.

“Oh?”

“What is it?” The disturbance immediately drew Red Robe’s attention.

“Those two spirit pets of hers seem rather extraordinary!”

Elder Zhang had first been startled by the sickly little white cat’s actions, then shocked again by the fire-breathing crow.

“Hmm? Explain.”

Red Robe naturally knew he was referring to Su Yunqing. Aside from Xiao Jinghuai’s group, which had only just set out, everyone else was still dragging their feet.

“I can’t quite put my finger on it, but that bald crow can breathe fire.” He could only rely on instinct regarding the little white cat in front, while he did not know why, but simply felt that the crow behind it was unusual as well.

Red Robe fell silent.

There were spirit birds with fire affinities. It was hardly anything extraordinary. Perhaps the contrast seemed so striking only because its appearance made it look frail and weak.

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“Set this matter aside for now. Focus on observing them and recording their points.”

She did not wish to comment further. Spirit pets were not her responsibility; all she needed to do was record the disciples’ scores.

Elder Zhang could tell that she had not taken his words seriously. After thinking it over, he decided that perhaps he had simply been too sensitive and stopped dwelling on it.

By then, quite a few people had entered one after another, finally easing the frown between Red Robe’s brows. After watching the other disciples go in, she noticed a group approaching from the corner of her eye.

“Elder Red, what a coincidence! I never expected to find you here as well!”

A woman dressed in green looked at her with a smiling face, though her eyes held a provocative glint.

Red Robe replied impatiently, “I don’t have time to waste words with you. If you want to take your students out for training, I have no objection, but stay away from my side!”

“Elder Red, surely you’re joking. Star-Moon Forest belongs to no one. You have no right to interfere with our training here, do you?”

The woman took several steps toward her and spoke with complete self-righteousness.

“Why don’t we go somewhere else?”

The elder standing beside her clearly did not wish to start a dispute, so he shook his head as he spoke.

“No! I insist on staying here!”

The woman in green refused to yield an inch and even glared furiously at him.

While they argued, Su Yunqing had already reached a small stream. She was just about to bend down and wash her hands when she suddenly noticed the enormous head of a fish moving toward her through the water.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly. She immediately straightened and leaped backward. The next moment, the fish burst from the water, revealing a hideous head. Its body was a bluish violet as it traced a graceful arc through the air before plunging back into the stream.

Su Yunqing’s brows drew together at the sight, while Little Mist perched on her shoulder instantly perked up. It flapped its wings from side to side, looking eager to try its hand.

Su Yunqing reached out and held it down.

“Little Mist, don’t intervene this time. I want to try on my own.”

She could not rely on them forever. Moreover, after their previous battle, Little Mist might have appeared energetic, but she could tell that it was somewhat tired.

It was still in its juvenile stage. The fact that it had breathed fire only when driven into a rage suggested that it normally could not use flames at will; otherwise, it would have done so from the beginning. If her guess was correct, it had forced itself to expend its strength ahead of time, which was why it was fatigued.

If that was truly the case, she could not allow it to use its power recklessly again.

Of course, she also wanted to become stronger herself. That way, she could protect them instead of always relying on them for protection.

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Seeing how serious she was, Little Mist nodded and obediently remained on her shoulder.

The corners of Su Yunqing’s lips lifted slightly. She stepped forward, only to see the fish swimming from side to side in the stream leap up again. It opened its mouth and charged at her.

She immediately moved aside while circulating her spiritual power.

Unexpectedly, the fish was quite clever. The moment she changed direction, it whipped its tail with tremendous force, turning in midair and biting toward her left arm.

Before it could sink its teeth into her, a streak of flame struck it and sent it flying. It landed on the opposite bank, where it crashed hard enough to see stars.

After struggling for quite some time, it finally recovered its senses. It twisted its body, attempting to rise and return to the water, but there was not a drop of water on the ground. No matter how desperately it writhed, its efforts were futile.

After knocking it onto the bank, Su Yunqing quickly crossed the stream and moved to kill it. She had not expected a figure to flash past and snatch the fish’s life before she could strike.

“Pathetically weak!”

Even after killing it, the person did not forget to sneer.

Su Yunqing’s expression turned cold as she stared at the man who had stolen her fish. It was Xiao Jinghuai.

Her anger immediately flared. She had disliked Xiao Jinghuai from the beginning, and now he had stolen her points as well. Naturally, she was furious.

“Stealing someone else’s points in broad daylight—is this the conduct and refinement of a royal prince?”

Xiao Jinghuai turned and glared at her before replying disdainfully, “Su Yunqing, don’t be so ungrateful. I saved you, and you’re standing here arguing with me over points? You should be grateful that I’m not demanding points from you!”

His shameless words made her laugh in anger.

“May I ask which of your eyes saw me in danger? How exactly did you save me? By stealing my points? If that’s what you call saving someone, then I suppose I’ll have to save you several times in return!”

Xiao Jinghuai’s face turned livid. He had never expected this woman to be so ungrateful. Not only had she failed to thank him for saving her, but she was even demanding points from him, speaking in such a sarcastic tone. She had not even bothered to call him “Your Highness.” What complete disrespect.

“Su Yunqing! How dare you speak to His Highness like that? His Highness kindly saved you, yet you repay him by accusing him instead. How shameless can you be? Or are you trying to attract His Highness’s attention this way?”

Su Yunyue had endured in silence because she did not want to provoke Xiao Jinghuai again. Now, seeing what had happened, she felt that an opportunity had finally presented itself.

Xiao Jinghuai had still been annoyed, but upon hearing her words, he immediately understood. He looked at Su Yunqing with undisguised contempt.

“Don’t think you can attract my attention by acting like this. Hah. The women I despise most are those who are so full of themselves!”