“You wish to leave my class?”
A pained expression appeared on Hide’s face, and the air around them iced with tension.
‘Am I inadequate?’ she wondered.
For a student to request leave from a class, it was a rare occurence.
Sects were calm, peaceful places meant for meditation and learning, so emergencies and accidents that could cause an urgent need to leave were nearly non-existent. One might ask to depart from a lesson before it was over only when they believed that the class would no longer benefit them.
In other words, Kenja must feel that Hide could not teach him anything.
Hide bit her lip searching for what to say next.
Kenja had just shown up to class, and she had yet to teach him anything, but he already claimed that her knowledge and experience had nothing to offer him. If it were another student, she would refute him, but Kenja’s demonstration had left a lasting impression on her.
While she had years of experience utilising the Flowing River Technique, she didn’t dare claim that she could reflect an attack of equivalent strength back at the assailant. In fact, she hadn’t seen anyone who could manage such a feat.
Kenja certainly had the qualifications to ask to be excused from this class, but shouldn’t a junior consider his senior’s face and finish the lecture regardless of their competence?
Sensing the awkwardness growing between them, Kenja spoke out once more.
“The truth is, senior sister, that I did not come here for your class. It would be immoral of me to continue to receive your tutelage under false pretenses.”
While Kenja was not certain, he derived from the Treasury’s catalogue of items that lecture passes did exist which were most likely used as a sort of fee for lessons. Since he had not paid the fee for the lesson, it would be unethical of him to continue as such.
Hide creased her forehead for several moments, thinking back to Kenja’s appearance at the edge of the arena and her forcing him to join the class. Her eyes widened and a crimson blush stung her cheeks. The embarrassment she felt was displayed on her face.
Hide knew she was at fault here, and while giving free lessons to students was not a serious matter, she was substituting for the real mentor in the class. Because of her negligence, accusations of preferential treatment and unfairness might arise targeting her as well as the teacher in question. The truth of the matter was even more unsightly: she unintentionally coerced a random passerby disciple into her lesson and immediately bullied him into a practice duel.
She cleared her throat and tried to adopt the disposition of a magnanimous mentor. “I see. You were right to tell me this now, so we can avoid troublesome matters later,” she told Kenja in an imposing manner, redirecting the discussion onto the avoided consequences instead of the original cause.
Kenja returned her words with a nod which eased her shame. After a breath of silence, she asked him, “So, junior brother, what did you come here for?”
This place was under the jurisdiction of her master, the short and rough fourth elder. None would come here without a good reason. When she had first seen Kenja acting like a lost lamb, unsure of where to go, she naturally assumed he was here for the lesson.
Kenja twisted his head to look around the area for something before giving up and admitting, “Senior sister, truthfully, I came here looking for the challenge pit, but I cannot find it anywhere.”
Kenja had found out about the challenge pit from Puchi when he inquired where to find more challenge stones. The challenge stones were created in the past century through the cooperation of the elders, and their functionality was based on the sect’s challenge pit which had existed since the sect’s founding. The stones required only a payment of credits and could be challenged endlessly as long as one paid the price, but the challenge pit was different. All disciples were allowed entry only once; afterwards, one would need the approval of the elders to enter.
Under Kenja’s inquisition, Puchi had given him directions to the challenge pit and added that the training arena was in the same location, so Kenja assumed it would be easy to find.
After dropping the last batch of tribulation stones in one of the caves located outside the city, he headed to the northwestern region of the sect where he found a colossal crater with the aforementioned arena at the bottom. Its walls were made of steps that spectators could sit on and view the stage down below.
When he arrived at the bottom of the crater, he discovered nothing aside from Hide’s class being held on top of the arena. Before he could ask Snail for his input, he was dragged into the lesson and made to duel Shin.
Hide furrowed her thin brows at Kenja, her head filled with more questions. “Do you plan to undertake one of the challenges?”
By completing a challenge, the entire sect would be gifted with spare resources for cultivation, and the challenger would receive an even larger blessing as an acknowledgment for his achievement.
“Yes. Can you show me where it is?”
“Are you aware of the restriction for entering the pit?” she asked out of concern for Kenja.
Although many coveted the reward, the one-time entry discouraged them from trying; there were many benefits for postponing one’s attempt while only drawbacks for going in earlier.
For one, the disciples could strive to advance as far as they could in their cultivation so that they could use the blessing to push past a critical bottleneck. With age came wisdom and a solidified foundation in one’s cultivation that could boost one’s chances in defeating a challenge.
Additionally, the gifted disciples would often wait till they reached the Nascent Soul stage and then seal their cultivations in order to take up the various challenges at each stage, not only giving them more chances to achieve success but also offering the possibility of multiple blessings for the sect and for themselves.
“Yes, I am. I would still like to enter it.” His words carried no hesitation, and his eyes held no fear or regret.
Kenja had no desire to wait what might be decades for him to be ‘ready’. There was no guarantee he could make sufficient progress with his unique conditions in the sect, but assuming he did advance a realm or two, he could not stand the thought of being in disguise for that long. Every single day was difficult to stomach; attempting more than a year would drive him to suicide.
Plus, Kenja’s plan was already in motion, so he could not undo what he had already set in motion.
Hide was moved by Kenja’s determination, bringing a slight smile to her face. She tilted her head upwards several degrees and displayed a pose of superiority. “Very well, I shall help you enter it! Follow me.”
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“Thank you, senior sister. I am grateful for the assistance.” Kenja bowed gratefully, and he followed her as they walked towards the edge of the arena.
Hide’s smile widened once her face disappeared from Kenja’s eyesight.
‘What a great find!’
Kenja had left a deep impression on Hide. His confident countenance and slim build fit her tastes, and his tactical brilliance and mature temperament could rival the first elder’s disciple, Akiyoshi Hideaki’s. Although his cultivation was low compared to her own, it was noteworthy for one at his age. He would be a prime candidate to cultivate with in close quarters, but the primary trait that attracted her to him was not his looks, brains or talent, but how he treated her.
Without a sliver of cowardice or resentment, he acquiesced to her unreasonable demand to join the lesson and waited for an opportunity to take her away from the class before revealing the ‘misunderstanding’. Then, when she avoided the blame, he smiled and went along with it. He was the perfect gentleman, an impossible-to-find rarity in the selfish world of cultivation.
‘I must make him mine.’
Cultivators cultivate, and everything else was secondary. One’s partners and companions were chosen based on this rule, and right now, Kenja had achieved glowing marks in nearly all the categories that mattered. Perhaps feelings of love and adoration were still absent, but those might come with time as they get to know each other.
Hide’s pace hastened in excitement at her new prospect.
The arena was quite large, so they were still walking towards one of its edges when she broke the silence, “In memory of our first meeting, I will gain you entry without anyone knowing. It will be our little secret.” She turned her face to him and gave him a wink.
Kenja chuckled at this gesture. “Senior sister is truly senior sister. Perhaps I should call you senior aunt from now on.”
Without turning around, Hide came to a brisk stop that startled Kenja. She laughed in a forced and awkard manner. “Junior brother is too kind, but ‘senior sister’ is fine. With your capabilities, junior brother will only close the distance between us. Of this, I am sure!”
Kenja was surprised by her odd actions, but he shrugged it off and thanked her, “Junior will try his best to meet senior sister’s expecations.”
Hide gave a sigh of relief at the fatal blow she had side-stepped. The age gap was a high hurdle to overcome.
She was around a decade older than Kenja and several cultivation realms higher than him, so she wasn’t far-off from being Kenja’s ‘aunt’. Ten years between ancient, high-level cultivators was insignificant, but to those still in their early years, a decade was a large portion of their lives regardless of whether they were a mortal or cultivator. While time would eventually break down that ‘ten-year difference sentiment’, if Kenja addressed Hide as ‘aunt’, the difference would shift from ten years to a whole generation.
If she could tie the knot between them, her older age and higher cultivation would then work to her advantage. As the ‘senior sister,’ she would have more control over their relationship, and Kenja would follow her lead. Leading a young companion through the troubles and turmoils of cultivation had its own allure, and she would benefit from having a compatible partner.
As they neared the arena’s edge, Kenja took note of the sound of cracking rocks from below them. He looked down and noticed petite, feminine footsteps engraved in the arena tiles trailing Hide. He gave out another hearty chuckle causing Hide to stop and look at him with a questioning smile.
“Senior sister, do you plan on raising the value of this arena by leaving the beautiful shape of your feet on its tiles? Senior sister is truly senior sister to think up of such an idea,” he teased, giving her a wink of his own.
She frowned in confusion before looking down at her feet. Her body went stiff and her cheeks reddened a shade that would put the Pickle-Peppered Chile to shame. She felt a mix of embarrassment from forgetting to wear her shoes and elation from Kenja complimenting her feet, equating its frame to a work-of-art worth paying for.
“Disciple, you are quite the player. You have already secured twin sisters, a princess, a senior sister and a master, but you still won’t let this one go? I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree,” Snail commended the sharp-tongued Kenja, puffing his snail torso out with pride.
Kenja felt Sakura’s hilt vibrate against his back in a quiet, humming fashion.
“What are you laughing at?” Snail asked in annoyance.
An indiscernible humming sound seeped out of Sakura’s edge.
“What are you talking about? I have captured the hearts of many girls in my life! Just watch my technique!” He jumped onto Sakura’s hilt and began squiggling and squirming his body all over it.
Sakura didn’t move or make a sound, but a lethal and sharp aura emanated from the hilt causing Snail to jump off.
“What are you trying to do to me?! Your playing around will trouble my disciple and incur his wrath! Be more careful with your actions, you blunt pickaxe!”
Kenja ignored their back-and-forth and focused his gaze on Hide who had turned her back to him once more and resumed walking with an air of nonchalance.
“Junior Brother Kitamura certainly has a way with words. This…” she paused mid-sentence to think of an appropriate response, “...is because I am tempering the soles of my feet with a technique my master taught me. When I cultivate it, I cannot cover my feet or wear shoes.”
‘This is different from Hideaki…’ Her face was still red as she continued walking barefoot, intending to wash away the embarrassment with this lie. She sensed no enmity in Kenja’s teasing, but to her frustration, she had lost the initiative to Kenja once again. The moment she took hold of the superior position, Kenja would unintentionally say something to bring her back down.
A Core Crystallization’s body was strong and durable to the extent that there was no difference between wearing shoes or walking barefoot. Sharp rocks and broken glass would be casually flattened into powder under their gait, and for them, it would feel like walking on a tatami mat.
But they weren’t animals; they still wore shoes in public. She had only forgotten to place her shoes back on due to the surprising outcome of the duel and Kenja’s thought-provoking discourse.
Seeing through Hide’s fib easily, Snail halted his bickering with Sakura and chuckled, “This girl is a good match for you, disciple. Let’s add her to your roster.”
Failing to understand the hidden meaning behind Snail’s words, Kenja heaved a sigh of envy. “Senior sister is quite admirable. To be able to cultivate your body, even while performing other tasks…I am envious,” he said with a dejected look of jealousy on his face.
Kenja was an avid multi-tasker, but lately, he was having trouble completing even a single task at a time, let alone more. He could meditate for hours on end without achieving any significant progress in cultivation, yet Hide was able to cultivate as she walked around performing other duties.
Hide felt the tone of wistfulness in Kenja’s statement and saw an opportunity to take back the initiative once more. She reached the end of the arena and stepped onto the ground before turning to face Kenja.
“If junior brother is interested, I know a few techniques that would greatly benefit you. I can impart them to you at a later time.” She gave Kenja a trusting smile while striking a pose of gentle dominance. Her cheeks were back to their original color, and her white hairpins and robe contrasted well with her black hair in this moment.
Kenja stopped before the arena’s edge and bowed with a cupped fist. “Junior brother seeks guidance from senior sister.” He jumped off the stage and stood next to Hide. He struggled to decide whether to ask the question burning a hole in his mind.
Hide noticed his hesitation and with a smile, urged him to confide in her, “Junior Brother Kitamura, don’t hold yourself back. We are from the same sect, so we should share each other’s burdens. Did you have any questions or concerns?” After the question, she pointed her left hand at the arena and raised it above her head.
The class that was practicing on the arena lost their footing for a moment as the arena slowly pulled itself up into the air by several dozen chi revealing another crater hidden underneath it. At the bottom of this crater was a hole.
Kenja and Snail’s left eyes twitched together. “What is up with this sect and holes in the ground? Do they not know any other way of hiding things?” Snail asked. Kenja implicitly agreed with a silent sigh.
Kenja looked back at Hide who was still waiting eagerly for his question. She wanted to push her advantage in their budding relationship further, and solving two of his problems simultaneously would be a powerful power play.
Kenja cleared his throat. “Senior sister, I am deeply indebted to you, but I still do not know your name or how to find you in the future.”
…
Hirose Hide, one of the sect’s famed Five Tributaries and one of the two direct disciples to the powerful fourth elder, nearly staggered over, causing the arena to tilt haphazardly. She struggled to keep her right eye from twitching.
‘Well played, junior brother.’