"We're here. Train here for now. I'll watch from the side." After setting Xu An down, Yixuan clasped her hands behind her back and looked at him.
"Huh? Oh, okay."
Once Xu An was on the ground, he looked around at the scenery inside the Hollow.
Weren't we supposed to be going out into the wilderness?
How did we end up in a Hollow? Does Master think too highly of me? My strength is only a little over three thousand. That doesn't feel like nearly enough. It isn't even ten thousand.
When I get back, I'll set a small goal: raise everything above five thousand first. As for strength, I'll get it to ten thousand before anything else.
Otherwise, I'm afraid fighting will hurt.
What if an enemy's blade cuts my skin? What if they hit me and break a bone?
All one could say was that this guy had probably lost his mind. With ten thousand strength, he could probably blow apart a Notorious Ethereal with one punch.
"Master, should I test my strength first?" Xu An said, walking toward a nearby wall.
He threw a punch. The wall didn't budge.
Xu An froze at the sight. Fuck ⊙∀⊙!
Don't tell me these thousands of strength points are fake.
*?*
Then cracks spread out from the spot Xu An had struck, covering the entire wall like a spiderweb in an instant.
The entire wall slowly collapsed into rubble.
[Ding! Yixuan is shocked. Attribute points +30]
I thought Xiao Xu meant his strength had grown too quickly for him to control.
I didn't expect it to have multiplied exponentially??
Wait, what?
What happened to that huge wall I had just now? It was nearly a meter thick! It even had steel plating on the outside. Sure, that was only meant to guard against Ether corruption, but it was still steel. It was hard. And he broke it?
After taking a moment to recover, Yixuan said, "It seems your strength really has improved. But as I recall, none of Mount Yunkui's arts have any effect that increases physical strength. Xu An?"
"Before joining the sect, this disciple already had a cultivation technique unique to himself. After practicing it alongside the Yunkui arts, I felt the meridians inside my body clear up.
"The technique I practiced before also advanced, which is why my strength has gotten a little out of control."
Xu An hurried to answer.
"As long as it isn't some crooked, unorthodox practice." As Yixuan spoke, the worry that had just risen in her heart settled again.
"In that case, cultivate here properly. Once you can control it, I'll come take you back." With that, she left without looking back.
"Oh, okay, Master. But this disciple suddenly has a question." Xu An scratched his head.
"If I really were practicing some crooked, unorthodox technique, would you have killed me on the spot just now, Master?" Xu An asked sheepishly.
"Hmm, I'd probably beat you up first, then expel you from the sect, then beat you up again, then..." With a snort, Yixuan gave him a fierce look.
"All right, all right, Master, I get it, I get it. Even without you saying so, I wouldn't learn anything crooked or unorthodox."
Yixuan's stare made Xu An's skin crawl, and he abandoned the idea of earning more attribute points.
After all, even if he had attribute points, he still had to be alive to spend them.
If one careless move got him arrested and executed as some evil heretic, wouldn't he be screwed?
Gathering his thoughts, he had actually used less than half his strength in that punch.
He still hadn't tested his actual strength.
Xu An left the spot and started looking for Ethereals to spar with.
But along the way, most Ethereals couldn't withstand even a single exchange with him.
"I feel like I've gotten a fairly clear idea of my own strength now."
His confidence grew a little.
But Yixuan learned of everything happening here through the Qingming Bird.
This disciple of mine probably has some little secret he's keeping from me~ But his heart's in the right place, so I'll let it slide, Yixuan thought as she went about her own business.
"Wahaha! I'm practically Superman."
Xu An looked at yet another Ether core he had smashed, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help curling upward. I should spend more time around the characters and stockpile more attribute points. If something happens, I can quickly boost my strength and then unleash a burst of power (◍•ᴗ•◍). Catch them completely off guard.
With my current abilities, even a Notorious Ethereal would definitely be easy pickings, right? Though I haven't encountered one yet.
The Ethereals around here all seem pretty low-level. Looks like Master is still worried something might happen to me~ Hehe (.-`ω´-). She knew not to take me somewhere dangerous.
(Wasn't she actually worried he was too weak and would die before she could save him?)
Whatever, whatever. I've pretty much finished testing, and it's getting dark. I should hurry and ask Master to pick me up.
With that, he rubbed the Qingming Bird's head.
"Little guy, please pass a message to Master. I'm pretty much done and ready to go back."
As he spoke, he brushed off the dust left on his clothes from fighting, stood up, and found somewhere to sit while he quietly waited for Yixuan to arrive.
Soon, Yixuan arrived.
"How was it? Have you gained complete control?" Yixuan asked.
Though her gaze looked calm, her thoughts were another matter.
As expected of my disciple. I really do have a good eye. Hehe (.-`ω´-). What? You want to know how geniuses are made? Obviously, you go out and pick up disciples, then teach them to cultivate on their own.
The more you pick up, the more genius disciples you'll have. Weren't my sister and I picked up and brought back to Mount Yunkui back then, too?
So Yixuan thought.
"Aha! Master! I've improved a ton this time!" Yixuan came over and looked at Xu An, who was nearly a head taller than her. She wanted to ruffle his hair, but felt it wasn't quite appropriate, so she raised her hand, then lowered it.
Xu An seemed to notice something and suddenly took Yixuan's hand.
Yixuan froze, and her thoughts immediately surged!
!?! What is this disciple trying to do? Could he...? Oh, no, no, that's not allowed. Master and disciple and all that-it's so embarrassing.
On the surface, however, she remained perfectly composed.
Little did she know that Xu An had already learned of her inner turmoil through the system. Though he didn't know exactly what she was thinking, he could make a few guesses about the general subject.
Still, he lifted Yixuan's hand, placed it on his head, and moved it himself to give his hair a rub.
Yixuan couldn't help curling her fingers slightly, stroking his head by reflex.
Mmm~ Feels nice.
"Master~ Shouldn't you praise your disciple for improving?"
Xu An's seemingly aggrieved voice reached her ears, and only then did Yixuan come back to her senses.
Damn it, I actually fell for this brat's trick. He may be my disciple, but he's almost twenty. He's practically a grown-up. He's got plenty of mischievous ideas.
With that thought, Yixuan gradually moved her hand to his ear and gave it a twist, teaching Xu An a lesson.
Of course, that was only a little interlude. The two soon returned to Chenghui Terrace. After dropping Xu An off, Yixuan prepared to head into the city again for some meeting.
"Mm-hmm. Be careful, Master. I'll head back to Yunkui Summit."
Xu An waved goodbye to Yixuan, then went to Yin Tea House to buy some pastries to take back to his room.
After opening the entrance, however, he found A-Shuo standing at the doorway, wagging its tail at him.
Once it saw him close the entrance, it turned and headed farther inside.
"A-Shuo? What's wrong?" Xu An asked, glancing in the direction it was heading.
While closing the entrance, he seemed to have spotted a young woman outside, but he hadn't paid it any mind. Perhaps she was a kid who had come out for a late-night stroll?
"Ju Fufu? Why are you up on the roof?" Xu An asked in confusion as he looked at Ju Fufu.
Ju Fufu, who was struggling to climb upward, jumped at his voice, her clear yellow Bangboo eyes widening. Her short Bangboo hands also made a shushing gesture.
Xu An quickly shut his mouth and looked in the direction Ju Fufu was pointing.
An orange cat was steadily sliding down the eaves.
By the time Xu An saw it, it was already on the verge of falling.
Sure enough, the orange cat fell. Xu An caught it with lightning speed, then tried to catch Ju Fufu with his other hand, but another hand moved even faster and grabbed Ju Fufu's tail.
It caught hold of her with ease.
Xu An couldn't pull his hand back in time, either, so he could only do his best to restrain its strength to avoid hurting the girl.
Ju Fufu: So were you planning to crush me to death just now?
As expected, his hand closed around that fair, delicate hand. Feeling its owner tremble slightly, Xu An hurriedly withdrew his hand and apologized.
But seemingly because of Xu An's touch, Ju Fufu, who had originally been caught, also made it safely to the ground. Okay, a perfect face-first landing.
So I'm just part of your play, too? Ju Fufu looked at the man and woman before her, feeling as though she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.