Guidance and a phone call

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

The campfire crackled softly, and everyone gasped as they stared at the fleeting spatial rifts.

"To be able to tear through space so easily... this... this can't be explained by Nen Abilities!"

Uvogin's eyes widened, and he gasped softly.

Having devoted himself to cultivation, he was well aware of just how difficult it would be to achieve this.

Nobunaga, his eyes filled with reverence, exclaimed, "As expected of the Cat Teacher..."

Both Tsubone and Illumi were silently watching Cat Teacher at this moment; this level of understanding was simply beyond their comprehension.

Even Zeno and Maha cannot do this.

Aimina, Eluna, and the others also looked astonished.

They had seen Nen user could use spatial abilities before, but... to tear through space so easily with just their physical bodies, and even maintain perfect control so as not to affect the surroundings.

They had never heard of such a realm before.

On the field, only Ian stared intently, his gaze slightly narrowed, but he already understood.

This guy isn't breaking through a realm...

It seems that, just as he predicted, the opponent's Martial Arts had reached their peak and touched upon the very rules of the world.

In martial arts terms, it's called the Shattered Void Realm.

In the words of the immortals, it was called "Half-Step Ascension," just as he had imagined, reaching the legendary level of Earthly Immortal.

He coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention.

The Cat Teacher squinted its eyes, gently hooked its tail, and a plate of grilled fish in the distance suddenly slid to its side. It then slowly spoke.

"Ian, kid, do you know something?"

Upon hearing this, Ian, under the watchful eyes of everyone, took the opportunity to explain.

"If I'm not mistaken, Cat Teacher has already transcended the realm of ordinary Martial Arts. This state of being in harmony with heaven and earth may have already touched upon the legendary 'Tao'."

"Road?"

Everyone was puzzled, but Cat Teacher picked up a grilled fish and chewed it with relish, mumbling indistinctly.

"The Dao? I don't know what the Dao is. I only feel that the Qi in this world is my Qi. Thanks to you, Ian, I feel much more comfortable in this world now. You see..."

It spoke with a pleased expression, then casually raised its paw and waved it, seemingly to show Ian its level of power.

There were no violent energy fluctuations on the field.

Not far away, a large, leafy tree outside the manor was silently cut in half, without even a sound before it fell.

This scene astonished everyone.

Nobunaga, in particular, upon witnessing this scene, instantly grasped a certain insight by combining it with his own swordsmanship.

"Looks like this brat has figured something out."

The Cat Teacher looked at Nobunaga with satisfaction.

Although it was of a higher level and stronger than Nobunaga in the past, it always managed to unleash its full potential, and Nobunaga often couldn't understand it or appreciate its good intentions in teaching.

Unfortunately, Martial Arts are difficult to teach verbally; they can only be taught through personal example.

However, its current level of expertise allows it to provide insightful Nobunaga to Nobunaga and easily help him break through his limitations.

Everyone watched Nobunaga in silence.

After a long pause, he sighed.

"It's a pity, I almost, I almost figured it out..."

The Cat Teacher showed no regret, floated to his side, flicked its tail, looked at him, tapped the scabbard in Nobunaga's hand with its paw, and said in a slightly nonchalant tone.

"You brat, stop staring blankly. What you just saw wasn't my power, it was 'following the flow'."

Nobunaga was startled, but Cat Teacher continued.

"You've practiced swordsmanship for years, but all you know is how to chop, hack, slash, and stab. You blindly pursue power and ferocity, yet you always go against the grain."

"True swordsmanship is not about brute force against heaven and earth, but about following the flow of heaven and earth, letting your sword, like myself, merge into everything that flows in this world."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cat Teacher flicked his claws, and a wisp of energy swept across the hilt of the knife.

Nobunaga felt his long sword become lighter, as if it had gained a spirit and was gently resonating with the evening breeze around him.

His mind went blank for a moment, and the veil of mystery that had always been obscured was finally pierced, and he instantly understood.

The shackles that had previously baffled him shattered instantly, and swordsmanship, aura, the workings of heaven and earth... everything became clear and transparent at that moment.

His grip on the knife loosened, and his entire body relaxed, no longer tense like a bowstring.

Uvogin and the others looked at him in surprise; they had all noticed Nobunaga's change.

"Finally, I get it."

The Cat Teacher flicked its tail, stroked its whiskers with its paw, and a smile lingered in its eyes.

I spent a sleepless night.

The next day.

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

In a corner of the courtyard of the Sharku Manor, a new, exquisitely decorated cat bed has been set up especially for Cat Teacher. The soft cushions are perfectly bathed in sunlight.

"Meow~!"

In the morning, it stretched and slowly woke up, its bones loosening.

Its fluffy fur was tinged golden by the sunlight. It slowly opened its sleepy eyes, narrowing them into slits, and looked down at the busy figures in the courtyard.

Not far away, Uvogin, Nobunaga, and the others had already begun their new day of training.

In the morning light, Nobunaga slowly swung his long sword, but his moves no longer pursued the extreme speed and ferocity of before.

Instead, it pursues slowness and a smooth, natural flow.

The blade's wind was gentle, yet it concealed a powerful force that could be controlled at will. When it swept across the grass, the blades remained motionless, but the ground showed traces of the blade's energy.

"At least it's not like before, where all we did was hack and slash."

Cat Teacher yawned, squinted one eye, and spoke in a lazy tone, yet with a hint of barely perceptible approval.

"With a knife, being incredibly fast is a skill, but being slow and steady is true mastery."

The Cat Teacher's words, spoken in a single sentence, reached Nobunaga's ears, making his breathing more steady and his movements more slow.

Yet it is constantly improving.

At the same time.

Ian, still looking sleepy, also arrived at the Training Ground.

"Hmph, lazy fellow."

Cat Teacher glanced at him and muttered something.

Yesterday, I fought Ian. Although I wasn't taking it seriously, Ian kept using all sorts of gadgets to distract me.

This kid's strength and cultivation level are clearly not high.

But... those strange and unusual props are simply... a natural counter to it.

Even though it was much stronger than before, it was eventually subdued and simply gave up, letting the other party do whatever it wanted.

"Hey, you have no right to talk to me like that."

Ian glanced at the other person and said irritably.

This lazy cat is lazy itself, yet it dares to talk about itself.

It's already quite an achievement that he was able to come here to cultivate...

However, Ian didn't say much.

After all, he also planned to use the [Ability Copy Gloves] to try and copy Cat Teacher's current level of skill.

Even just experiencing that level firsthand would greatly benefit his strength.

But.

Just as he was about to start cultivating for a while...

His phone kept ringing.

"Um?"

Ian sighed and looked into his pocket. It seemed that whenever he had a moment of peace, someone would always contact him.

I'll throw this crappy phone away another day...

Ian answered the phone, knowing that anyone who could get through to him must have something urgent.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Lord Ian... it's wonderful! Netero is in trouble! Please come and treat him!"

Hearing the sobbing on the other end of the phone, Ian frowned.

It sounded like the voice of the Beans.

"Is that the Beans? What happened to Netero?"

"The guild leader went to fight the monster Sashado, but was injured and looks... he's about to die."

Inside a high-class medical room, Doctors came and went, and Hunters with healing abilities from the Hunter Association were also present.

The Beans had tears in his eyes and spoke softly, covering the phone.

On the other end of the phone, Ian looked serious.

"Where are you? Tell me your location and I'll be there right away."

After hanging up the phone, Ian, still in his pajamas, didn't care about anything else and prepared to open the [Anywhere Door] to go to the hospital where the other person was.

"Ian, are you alright?"

At this moment, Machi came over, looking somewhat worried.

Ian shook his head.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. That old man Netero just went out and risked his life again..."

"Honestly, at your age, you should be aware of your physical condition. You're not a child anymore."

However, just as he stepped through the [Anywhere Door], his eyes lit up when he caught sight of the Cat Teacher, who was engrossed in munching on dried fish.

"Whoosh!"

Then, he grabbed the Cat Teacher by the scruff of the neck and lifted his round body up.

The Cat Teacher, who was enjoying his meal, froze instantly. The dried fish in his mouth fell to the ground with a "plop," his cat eyes widened, and his fur stood on end.