Bai Qingyue's golden eyes had a frosted glaze as he torridly glared at Li Meirong. With his powers now restored, the temperature around him immediately plummeted to that of a blizzard storm alongside his frustrated mood.

Her Peach Blossom eyes shined with determination as she stood her ground. The only giveaway of her nervousness was that of her feet unconsciously stepping back, instinctually backing away from danger.

Somehow, he was even more angered with himself for finding her to be breathtaking even when she rebelled against his decisions!

He was her lord and husband and she dared go against him!

An urge frothed inside him to give her butt a spanking, finding himself enjoying the idea in more than one way.

Raising a hand to his forehead, Bai Zheng silently sighed in exasperation. If he wouldn't help the younger generation, the Bai Clan may never receive the blessing of children!

He patted his angered son's shoulder, hoping the boy would grab hold of his senses before his wife would surely run away.

He formulated a ploy that would ensure her captivity. His daughter-in-law's arrogance grew due to the control of her "newly" acquired powers and thinking that she could survive outside on her own, so all he had to do was to threaten her into obedience.

"Miss Meirong, if you choose to leave the sect, the decision will be up to you but do take note, should you decide to go through with that plan, you must first strip yourself of all the cultivation you've acquired during your days as a disciple and return to being a common mortal," said Grandmaster Zhu Zhang, informing the rules of the sect.

His words caused Li Meirong's resolve to waver. Were it before the struggle she had inside the dimension and her breakthrough with the blue flames, she wouldn't hesitate to leave, but after all the hardships she's been through and the knowledge that Sheng Jing Wu still lurked in the shadows, Li Meirong couldn't bring herself to irrationally escape.

She had to think carefully about the matter. After all, she only had herself to depend on in this world, not to mention Chou, Snowball and Feng Huang who relied on her. Li Meirong couldn't afford to be weak now.

The edges of Bai Zhang's lips curved up in a knowing smile.

"If you choose to stay, then you must assist with the sect's traditions and practice martial arts for the sake of the tournament. I shall take you as a personal disciple and assist you with the teachings." Said Zhu Zhang.

Unbeknownst to Li Meirong, Bai Qingyue's inner hurricane was reduced to a tropical breeze. He nodded in approval at his father, appreciating his quick thinking.

Li Meirong blinked in surprise, unable to understand why she was suddenly given all these opportunities to progress in the sect. Were flaming arrows and blue flame shields that impressive to Grandmaster cultivators?

Focusing back on the question at hand, she sulkily admitted defeat, "I'll abide by the sect's rules. If you'll excuse me, I have to go retrieve my fox."

"Fine, fine. You may leave," said Grandmaster Zhu Zhang.

As if the devil was chasing her, Li Meirong's feet took off as soon as she received the approval to depart, without sparing even a single glance at her superiors.

For a second there, she felt as though she was back in modern times in a romantic novel setting like some sort of insignificant employee in a successful company, finally meeting up with the second generation CEO and his old-fashioned, arrogant father after having an accidental one night stand with the CEO boss.

Those type of plots always end up with the girl suffering abuse throughout the whole story.

Nope.

She had to avoid the Zhus' like the plague!

As soon as Li Meirong rushed outside, the sight of Snowball perched near the outer pavilion caught her eyes.

Why did her silly fox take so long to do the deed?!

"Snowball! I was mad with worry! Next time, you must wait for my return before you leave!" Li Meirong scolded the fox cub.

Snowball looked pitifully sad, his pupils wide and his ears drooped, staying unusually quiet.

Li Meirong wondered if she was too harsh on the little baby, he was only an innocent baby. It was her responsibility to teach him right from wrong.

She sighed in exhaustion while lifting up the kit into her embrace.

"Just don't do that again, alright? I was really worried about you."

Snowball slowly nodded in reply. At the same time, the disguised Sovereign Lord couldn't help but feel both warmth for her genuine concern for him and bitterness for her special treatment for "Snowball" while she couldn't wait to get away from "Zhu Qingyue"!

I'm your husband, not a pet, you stupid woman!

Bai Qingyue resolutely determined that he had to tell her the truth tonight!

While Bai Qingyue's thoughts brought him to despair, Li Meirong curiously pondered why her little Snowball suddenly looked so much "fatter".

She poked his adorable round belly and giggled, amused.

"Did you run off to catch some chickens while I wasn't around? How did you get so fat?"

Ridding himself of the aggrieved pretense, mortified Bai Qingyue silently glared at the laughing woman while she poked his belly, feeling his "fat" tummy.

It's all your fault anyway! I had to chase after you and didn't have any time to digest the food!

"I'm not fat!" Snowball squealed, shooing her unruly finger away with his paws.

How undignified!