"Little Fox! Over here, over here~"

The moment Qiu Li'er stepped out, she spotted Nan Shi waving eagerly while tugging Yuenina along.

"Was your opponent tough? Why’d it take you so long?" Yuenina asked.

"Um… not really," Qiu Li'er murmured, slightly embarrassed. "I won, but I feel kinda… underhanded."

"Underhanded?"

Nan Shi and Yuenina exchanged a surprised glance. "Little Fox being underhanded? But you’re always so sweet!"

"That’s not underhanded," Yuenina corrected calmly. "It’s cunning. Foxes are supposed to be like that."

Cunning as a fox—victory in battle demands any means necessary.

To them, Qiu Li'er was simply embracing her nature a little more… as long as she didn’t resort to using her body to seduce the enemy.

But Qiu Li'er didn’t see it that way. Unsure she could reliably beat the kind-hearted Fischer, she’d weighed it internally: *You took off your armor… even blew the sand away for me… but to avoid Teacher Xi’s punishment, I had no choice but to ambush you.*

So yes—her conscience was clear.

After all, Iai Strike was *meant* to be an ambush technique.

"How’d you three do? All wins?"

A gentle voice made Qiu Li'er shiver. Xi Kefeng stood behind her, smiling warmly.

An inexplicable chill crept up her spine.

"We won easily. Opponent couldn’t even cast a decent beginner spell," Yuenina shrugged.

Nan Shi added, "Pathetically weak. Took him down with just my staff—no spell needed."

"Mm, great job. And… how about you, Qiu Li'er?" Xi Kefeng asked with a smile.

Qiu Li'er’s ears twitched. Just as she opened her mouth—

"What?! Miss Fischer was ELIMINATED?!" boomed a loud voice behind them.

A massive holographic screen hovered overhead, listing all 500 eliminated students. Crowds pointed and murmured; the loudmouth was among them.

The words sent ripples through the crowd. Fischer’s name stood out starkly.

"Fischer! My Fischer!"

"Miss Fischer fell in the FIRST round?!"

"Who beat her? HOW?!"

Amid the uproar, Xi Kefeng gave Qiu Li'er a deep look and gently rubbed her fox ears. "You worked hard, Qiu Li'er."

Qiu Li'er froze. *I haven’t even said anything… why’s she rubbing my ears?!*

"Keep shining in the next rounds. Teacher prepared a wonderful reward for you," Xi Kefeng said sincerely, smoothing her orange hair before walking away.

Watching her deep-red back disappear, Qiu Li'er narrowed her eyes, suspicion flickering in them.

"Little Fox… did you curse Teacher Xi?" Nan Shi poked her waist.

"A curse? I don’t even know how!" Qiu Li'er blinked, confused.

"But why do I feel Teacher Xi’s into you?" Nan Shi cupped her cheeks, staring hard. "Let me see your magic!"

"W-whaaat?!" Qiu Li'er’s face flushed. "She’s our TEACHER! How could she—?!"

"Possible," Yuenina analyzed coolly. "Twenty+ classmates… why greet *us* specifically?"

"Because she was clearly here for Little Fox!" Nan Shi kneaded her cheeks. "Why are you so popular—Teacher Xi, that little loli, even us roomies?! Good grief, that’s a four-person harem if things go smoothly!"

Squished and bewildered, Qiu Li'er’s eyes stayed wide with innocence. "Mmmph~ Wait, that’s way off! Student-teacher romance is academy misconduct!"

"Right," Yuenina snapped back. "Someone as rule-abiding as Xi Kefeng? Impossible."

"But love transcends boundaries!" Nan Shi insisted.

"Don’t say weird stuff!" Qiu Li'er squirmed free, smoothing the ruffled fur beside her face.

*Student-teacher romance?* Such a taboo phrase… yet impossibly distant from her life.

...

The afternoon round narrowed 500 to 250. This opponent felt weak—no pressure like Fischer’s. One slash, and it was over.

Honestly, Iai Strike was lazy: just stance, wait, strike. Mentally draining, but zero physical strain.

Still, Qiu Li'er grumbled at the system’s reward.

"Again, ‘Iai Strike’?" She frowned near the portal. "Upgraded to intermediate… but I wanna cast fireballs like everyone else!"

[Iai Strike is a profound martial art. Don’t like it? Don’t learn it.]

"What if someone hurls fireballs like last time? One misstep and my tail’s toast!"

[Simple. Slice through it.]

"Oh~ One slash breaks ten thousand spells."

She pictured flicking her wrist—fireballs vanishing midair.

…Hmm. Kinda cool.

"Ugh, stop daydreaming." She patted her cheeks and slipped into the crowd.

*Gotta leave before Nan Shi and Yuenina exit. I’ve got a date today.*

...

Later, Yuenina emerged from the portal.

Squinting, she deliberately scanned downward—focusing on chests.

Then she saw *her*: a girl with notably ample curves.

"Good job, little Nina~"

Nan Shi grinned as Yuenina approached. "Early still. Go out, or head straight to the dorm?"

"Wait for Little Fox first." Yuenina glanced around. "Where is she? Lost round two?"

"Not impossible." Nan Shi crossed her arms, eyes sparkling. "Defeated Little Fox, sobbing 'eep eep eep,' diving into my arms for comfort… How’s *that* scenario?"

"In your dreams."

Yuenina pulled out her phone—

Clatter!

The phone hit the ground, a faint sound swallowed by the crowd.

She didn’t pick it up. Staring blankly at Nan Shi, voice hollow:

"Nan Shi… Little Fox… she’s gone."