Chapter 40- Shyggers
'About time, huh.' Diona thought to herself.
"What do you think about that boy, Long Ren." She asked. Gazing at her now blushing student.
"...as what?" Yun Ning slowly answered, averting her master's gaze.
"You know as what, I've told you where my specialty lies didn't I? That's the condition I've put forward when you accepted my mentorship." Diona said, raising her eyebrows.
"Ugh…I know, teacher, but you said I have 5 more years to decide." Yun Ning groaned.
"Ufufu, I know you do, but you and Long Ren strike me as a compatible pair. Or do you perhaps not fancy him?" Diona laughed and asked.
Yun Ning's face blushed red, "Teacher! Can we…not? I like him, just as a friend…" She exclaimed, only to hung her head down and continue with a slight whisper,
"...for now."
"Ufufu…" Diona giggled at her student's shy antics.
"I'm sure anyone would be delighted to hear you say that about them; how fortunate must Long Ren feel right now~?" She closed their distance and grabbed Yun Ning's red hand.
Yun Ning only blushed and stayed quiet, letting herself be dragged as they shot off to their home together.
...
Meanwhile,
Inside Long Ren's bathroom, he sat upon a bath stool bareback, inspecting the aftermath of his spar with Yun Ning when all of a sudden,
"A-A-choo…" *Sniff*
"Who's talking about me, must be Yun Ning's teacher, she's so sketchy it's unbelievable…I hope she's treating Yun Ning well…But considering her growth, she probably is." Long Ren said.
He shrugged, thinking it must've been the wind, and continued scrubbing his sweaty and bruised body.
"Yun Ning is so merciless, look at all these cuts…It's amazing how none of them even scratched Nid's tattoo tho,"
Long Ren touched one of the cuts, starting from his right elbow and reaching the bump right before his palm, he winced as they made contact.
"Oof...Even after all that pain tolerance I built up with Nid and Master, her lingering chilling aftermath still really sucked."
Long Ren quickly cleaned his body and rested in the bathtub. Today had been a long day. He barely did anything except get beaten up.
Though, He learned a valuable lesson. He's weak. He's useless.
Sure, he may have made it harder for himself by fighting someone who seemed to have trained quite rigorously every day, with more hours put into it than him, and on top of that being a battle junkie, but.
His first loss just doesn't bode well with him. No, the loss didn't matter. But something else did.
The fact that he felt useless against her depressed him. Memories of the past started coming back but he quickly shook it off, at least he tried to.
He hoped their relationship won't change after this. He really hoped so.
Long Ren opened his palms and made the same qi gauntlet he made. It bulked his hand size almost twice, its color clear and hollow but sturdy.
Every time he blocked one of Yun Ning's slashes, his gauntlet would dematerialize, almost by half. He needs a weapon, a real weapon.
Yun Ning's weapon seemed and felt high-quality enough. Though he did not know how expensive it would cost, he should ask Xing Lao for one. Or the system could gift one to him…not.
Long Ren took out a small milk pie from his inventory and ate it. The saving grace from his system. At least he gets to enjoy some good earth food.
He should honestly just rename his gacha system into "Portable Vending Machine", at this point.
~ ~ ~ ~
The next day, after relaying his thoughts about weaponry to Xing Lao, both master and student pair decided to visit a nearby city called Star city.
It's located right beside and a direct subsidiary of the Star Clan, meaning, that much of the hustle and bustle of this city involves cultivators. A high-level one at that.
Anything a cultivator may need such as pills, books, and ingredients. Everything is readily available to be explored.
Long Ren and Xing Lao walked through the bustling city full of activities.
Long Ren gazed around as he saw the scenes around him, it is the first big city he had a chance to explore. People clamor to each other as they try to gain an advantage in their trade. Some are exploring just like them, looking for things to do or buy.
He enjoyed the surroundings, they serve as a nice change of pace to his rather lonely daily activities. The smell of foods displayed by the side as he tasted some of them only helped even more. Sometimes, it just felt nice to go outside and see what others are up to.
"So, a gauntlet?" Xing Lao asked as they weave through the crowd.
"Yes, they seemed easier to use and I've been enjoying my time playing around with them." Long Ren answered, nomming on a grilled squid, it tasted fine. 'Would love to have some sauce with it, but the meat is really delicious.'
Xing Lao nodded. "I assume you're interested in it due to yesterday's clash with Yun Ning's weapon?"
Long Ren nodded. "Her weapon complimented her abilities too much, I could still feel the cold it gives off…"
"Um, that weapon is really something else. I do not know where she or Diona got it, but its quality may even be higher than mine…" Xing Lao said, much to Long Ren's surprise. "But, that's another powerful cultivator added to the clan!." He said, clapping his hands.
"..right." Long Ren mumbled, ignoring his master's weird antics, he pondered the extent of the Katana's capabilities when fully unleashed
He and Yun Ning had not discussed that much of each other, but her accomplishment in ice control must be quite high if her teacher dared to give her that.
He also wondered to what extent the weapon contributed to his defeat. Would his bullets freeze like that had she not wielded the weapon, or would it conclude all the same?
Questions he desperately needs the answer to but, that could wait for another day.
He really hoped to close their gap with a suitable weapon, or else he won't be able to face her anymore…
~ ~ ~
"We're here, Ping's Blacksmith!" Xing Lao said as he opened the door. The pair went in and multiple dozens of displayed weaponry greeted their sights.
"Go look around, I'll talk to the manager."
Long Ren nodded and went off his own ways.
(A/N: short chapter, having a writer's block rn Smoge.)