Dark Moon's Resolve

After leaving Guihu Luixing's room, Dark Moon went to her parents place, in order to ask for guidance.

Dark Moon was a Yin Ghost Fox, a mutant species of the Ghost Fox. Ghost Foxes were the beasts the Ghost Fox Valley Sect raised to serve as companions and sect staff.

As a mutant species, she had unique traits that differentiates her from common Ghost Foxes.

For starters, she had black and lustrous black fur that shined like the purest obsidian, while normal Ghost Foxes had silvery grey fur.

Ghost Foxes usually were born at the Qi Interaction Realm and usually had Great Compatibility or higher with Dark and Fire or Water. Dark Moon however, was born at the Qi Gathering Realm, the last stage of the Mortal Great Realm, and she had Excellent Compatibility with Fire and Water and Perfect Compatibility with Yin and Dark elements.

Being born with that much talent, Dark Moon was pampered by all the other foxes. This led to her spoilt behaviour of running away from tasks and training in order to play.

When Dark Moon was six months old, she was partned up with Guihu Luixing, who was only three and a half that time.

Initially, Dark Moon disliked Guihu Luixing, as she did any other child. They were rough, indelicate and perverts. They liked to pull her tail!

But Guihu Luixing was different.

Hebwas very gentle, careful and knew just the right spots, where to pet and where to scratch. He always cradled her just to the way she liked and he was the one who spoiled her the most.

It's no wonder that Dark Moon became very attached to Guihu Luixing. After over a year and a half living, playing, training and everything else together, they were inseparable.

The previous crisis made her think. She knew the results of Guihu Luixing's Aptitude Test. He was gifted and would grow stronger very fast. Undoubtedly, his enemies would also be very powerful. The challenges he would face in the future would also be much more difficult and dangerous.

She didn't want to feel like that again. Weak. Powerless. Unable to move out of fear and panic.

So, she decided. She would grow stronger. So strong, any trouble Guihu Luixing wiuld have, she could quickly deal with it. He would then praise her a lot and let her sleep on his lap, all while he petted her.

Only after some time did she realised that she was lost in het daydream.

Shaking her head in order to gather her focus, she restarted walking towards her parents. When she arrived at her parents quarters, he mother was not in. She was probably busy helping Guihu Luixing's mother, her partner.

The only one present was her father. Who was reading a document in his human form. His name was Steel Tail, but his friends and family are used to calling him Old Tail, a nickname he is well known for, and fitting because of his attitude. Cranky like an old man.

Old Tail's human form was a man in his thirties. He had short, gray hair and a thick moustache. His eyes and eyebrows madr he look like he was always angry or frowning, and he had an militaristic air to him.

As the leader of the Fox Guards, the division of Ghost Foxes that were responsible for the Sect's regular patrol duties, Old Tail naturally was a busy man, full of responsibilities and matters to attend.

Seeing his daughter coming to him with a serious and remembering that Guihu Luixing said he was going to rest, Old Tail assumed she was going to complain that Guihu Luixing didn't want to play with her. He asked with a bit of annoyance.

"What is it now Dark Moon? Young Master won't play with you? He's tired because of the test today. Just let him off for today, will you?"

Dark Moon didn't even care about ehat he said.and directly cut to the chase.

"Wuwuuuu. Wu, wuwuwuwuuuuu" Obviously, Dark Moon's cultivation was too shallow to even be able to speak like a human. Even less to assume a human form.

"What?!" Old Tail was surprised "Do you want to become stronger?!"

How many times did he dream about hearing these words. How long did he wait. Everyone spoiled his daughter, but he knew what she needed was not pampering, but power!

In the world of cultivation, as long as you have power, you can have anything, do anything, without caring about the consequences!

As a father, Old Tail obviously wanted the best for his daughter, so he always insisted she should study and train more. Too bad his efforts were wasted on his daughter, who just wanted to eat, sleep and play.

But finally, finally the day he saw in his dreams areived. She wanted to be strong, and she asked for it on her own initiative. Old Tail couldn't be happier.

Old Tail instantly reassessed Dark Moon's situation.

Dark Moon was a rare mutant, a Yin Ghost Fox. So rare, she was ,in fact, the first of her kind in the Ghost Fox clan that lived in the whole valley.

There weren't any specific cultivation manuals for hes species, even though there were many for Ghost Foxes. He needed to find out more about her variant.

He knew some Demon and Beast sects that may have such information. He could deal with that later.

Dark Moon was also partnered with the Young Master, a disciple with a talent so great, it caught the attention of some old bags of the sect. As long as both of them kept proving they had great potential, they would recieve back from those old things, they would never lack resources, as those old things were crazy rich.

However this was also something that would not affect her immediate situation, oy her future plans.

The only aspect left was intelligence.

"Dark Moon, you need to study."

Dark Moon was instantly annoyed by her father's answer. She thought he was just brushing her off, like he usually did when she was acting spoiled.

How could Old Tail not know what the small fox was thinking.

"See? That attitude of yours show how little you've studied. Dark Moon, we are foxes. And foxes are the most intelligent, cunning and shrewd beasts there is. Our minds are our best weapon, our knowledge is our most reliable ammunition and our wits are our greatest treasure."

Seein Dark Moon was unimpressed, he continued "Legends say the first fox cultivator was a mortal fox that tricked a youth into teaching it how to read. It then started to amass knowledge about cultivation, until it developed it's own cultivation method, one meant to foxes. It is said that same fox is one of the founders of the Beast God Shrine, a organization so big and powerful even our Ghost Fox Valley Sect can only look up to."

He finally managed to astonish to pup. She had no idea a fox could become so powerful by simply amassing knowledge.

"Of course, you shouldn't just focus on study, cultivation is also very important." He continued. "However, you must understand that intelligence always have been a fox greatest trump card. We don't have a rhino's thick hide, nor do we have a bison's strength, but no other beast in existence can match our intellect. Even humans, considered the most successful race, is only our equal in that aspect."

"Wu!" Dark Moon understood what her father meant.

Seeing her reaction, Old Tail was pleased. "You never showed desire to cultivate and forcing others to cultivate can only bring disaster, so I never looked for a cultivation method for you. Now, you want to cultivate and I can't find a fitting method for you. It's just a matter of time and resources however, it can be done. You should study while I look for a cultivation method fit for you."

Understanding what she had to do, Dark Moon went straight to the library. As a Ghost Fox, she was taught, when she was very young, how to read and write.

Guihu Luixing had no idea that, by witnessing his pain, Dark Moon would undergo a heavy change, that would have serious implications in the future. But that is a strory for another time.