The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

Rushing to the door, she opened it to let the aggrieved little fox inside.

"Ahhh, I'm sorry, Ruru."

The pink fox looked gloomy as she strode in, her ears drooped low and eyes misty. Ruru couldn't believe that her master had locked her out while leaving with that stupid little puppy. She couldn't believe she had to swallow such grievances!

Evelyn sighed. There was of course a reason she had done things the way she did.

The 'Thousand Eyed God' was perhaps the most powerful being she had seen so far in this world.

Of course, she had met that 'Lord Chronos', who was probably even stronger than the strongest beings in this world. Even if that wasn't the case, which was unlikely, Evelyn didn't think he could be any weaker than the so-called 'supreme beings' in this world.

Although her awe of the centipede had thus been greatly reduced, it didn't mean she was unaware of her own powerlessness in front of its strength. If something had gone even slightly wrong, losing her life would be almost guaranteed.

Suffice to say, she wasn't just risking Bree's life, but her own as well.

But the reason she had kept Ruru out of the room wasn't just because she wanted to keep the little fox away from harm.

The real reason she had kept her out was because of her ability, the 'Lotus Throne's Golden Wheel'.

According to the ability's description, she expected that even if something really went wrong with her then there might just be some hope for survival, however slim it was. But that was only if Ruru didn't suffer along with her at the same time.

However, listening to the little fox's aggrieved yip yip yap yap now, she could only regret her overly cautious decision.

The little fox didn't seem to realize that Bree was the same little puppy as before, and remained cautious about her as she complained to her master.

"I'm sorry, Ruru... come here... Master won't keep you away anymore, alright?"

Only after she had pampered the little fox for almost half an hour with petting and belly rubs did she let go of her grievances, and Evelyn introduced her to the 'new' friend.

"This is Bree. The same little puppy you're always playing with!"

Although Ruru had a tacit understanding of her intentions in most circumstances, she couldn't exactly read her mind.

Evelyn sighed. "Bree, turn back to a puppy for now, okay?"

And as the little girl happily did so, Evelyn thought it was actually better this way, since she didn't have any clothing her size, after all.

'I'll have to remember to borrow some of Vivian's clothes, then later I can ask Cecilia to go with me to one of those city markets, and get her new ones with a better fit.'

The little fox was still staring at Bree with its jaw agape and eyes wide, and Evelyn couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ruru is surprisingly stupid, huh. Wasn't the little puppy the only one who went into the room with me? Who else could she be?"

The pink fox snapped out of her daze and once against started yipping and yapping aggrievedly. At the same time, her caution for Bree disappeared. In any case, they had stayed together for many years now, and she knew the little puppy very well.

But in her mind, Ruru couldn't help but be envious. She was obviously so much stronger than that little puppy! Why did she not get a human form before her? The world was not fair at all.

Evelyn didn't know of her fox's inner thoughts, but even if she knew, she would only chuckle in amusement. After all, although some spirit beasts could indeed transform after reaching a certain level, most could not.

Even the 'Thousand Eyed God', who was one of the strongest spirit beasts in the continent, was not known to have a humanoid form.

'It's not surprising for Bree, though. She's probably only half spirit beast? I'm not sure at this point, honestly.'

'Anyway, Qilin are considered exceptions among spirit beasts in both their gentler nature and the ability to have a human form regardless of level. Most people don't think this information is reliable, but knowing Bree, it's probably true.'

That would make her future visit to the Serenity Lake much easier, as long as she could figure out a way to actually get there. Perhaps only that place could give her the means to really restore Bree to her former self.

Although it was true that the last few bowls of the dewdrops failed to produce any further effects, so she couldn't be completely sure if going there would be of actual help or not. But it's not like she had a better clue at the moment.

'Anyway, that's for the future. For now, I'm happy with what I have here. I just need to get that cultivation technique from the academy, and we can get started on increasing our strength! I have to hurry… before the flames of war reach my home…'

Evelyn's thoughts turned a little groggy, and she realized that both of her 'pets' had already cuddled to sleep.

Anyway, it all went much better than she expected, even though she had 'failed' to really restore Bree to her former self. At the very least, she didn't have to worry about her so much now, and could focus on getting stronger herself.

She felt awash with both a sense of relief and exhaustion, and drifted off to sleep with Bree still in her arms. Her little fox curled against her belly.

==========

Meanwhile, the Terran Prince was in dire straits as he clutched his bleeding belly. Forget about sleep, he didn't even plan to blink his eyes tonight, for the fear of death rang true in his heart.

"I can't believe I almost died!"

Although he had managed to escape alive from the clash of the 'Thousand Eyed God' and the two sentinels thanks to his father's gift, Craig was still injured and flung deep into the 'Wonderland of Doom'.

Even in his peak condition, getting out of this place alive alone depended on his luck. And his luck was clearly not doing him any favors right now.

Craig didn't even know why the centipede had turned alert just before he was about to make a move.

It was as if something had poked it at that very moment, making all his plans spiral out of control, but Craig couldn't dwell on it for too long at that time.

His kingdom had been observing this beast for a long time now, and he knew that if the 'Thousand Eyed God' detected a threat it couldn't easily crush, its first move would always be to flee.

So he made a split-second decision to make his move earlier, and it almost cost his life!

Thankfully, he still managed to barely escape not just from the clash, but also from the beast he had encountered earlier.

Although it was probably still searching for him, and bound to find him sooner or later.

"I hope the helpers come over sooner, or else I'll be in some deep trouble…"