The Usual Routine of a Cultivator (2)

"The Heavens can sometimes be merciful. One talented practitioner passed this technique to her, and she, in her kindness, passed it to me," I smiled. The memories of that fleeting meeting still resonated with a pleasant warmth in my chest. "And something else. There's no more little outcast girl Lin. Now there's a kind and beloved by people Princess Lin."

"I'm happy for her," she smiled back. Wait, is that a tear in the corner of her eye? However, the next moment the illusion disappeared and the strong and confident Master So Yun was sitting in front of me again. "This technique is truly amazing. But I understand that it alone wouldn't give such a result. Don't be afraid, young Kai. Keep your little secrets. Some secrets sometimes shouldn't be revealed even between the closest people."

"Ah... Um..." I scratched the back of my head. "Thank you."

"You don't thank for such things. Better tell me, is your spiritual sense still as perfect as before?"

I got a bit stuck on the question. No, I understood before that I sense spiritual power a little better than others, but I didn't give it much importance. But to call my sense perfect?

"Sister So flatters the humble practitioner," I replied.

"Kai, you and modesty are absolutely opposite concepts," she snorted. "Or do you think someone else could find the sacred jade lotus by just one echo of its Qi, and hidden in the chambers of the elder who stole it? I'll never forget how you saved me. I think you yourself now understand that if it weren't for your Qi sense, I would be dead now," she smiled sadly. "I'm sorry that because of me, the Shen clan hated you even more."

I got stuck again. So, little Kai saved her from another setup by my dear relatives? Well, this explains her warm attitude towards me. Thank you, Kai, for another gift.

"Let's leave the past in the past," I averted my gaze. Accepting such sincere gratitude for something I didn't actually do was unpleasant.

"You're right. Oh, I just wanted to say that whatever you're doing, keep it up. At this rate, you'll be able to heal and continue developing your cultivation in about five years," I nodded. "And one more thing. About the spiritual sense. All the students already know, you're the only one left."

With a wave of her hand, a snow-white flower with blue leaves materialized in front of her. It somewhat resembled a snowdrop. The room was immediately filled with unusual spiritual power. I've encountered something like this somewhere... That's right! On the way to Maple, there was an echo of something similar. Right at the place where we met the rabbit-hedgehog.

"This is the Minxing flower. They are very rare in the grove and each of them is incredibly valuable. I want you to look for them. You'll get twenty-five points for each. Just don't go far from the grove, the silver forest is not the safest place."

"Have a good day, Sister So," I bowed at the end. I need to go for the flower while I haven't forgotten the way, and try to find more. I really need the points now. No, I could, of course, ask So Yun and was even sure that she wouldn't refuse me. But who would I be after that? Her help is already invaluable, demanding more and more is a path to the abyss, as locals would say.

As soon as I moved a little away from the flying ship, a group of three guys headed in my direction.

"Hey, Kai, stop right there!" one of them growled menacingly. "Do you understand that because of you we lost points?"

I stopped and looked at them. The guys were clearly going to teach me a lesson, but it only made me laugh. Apparently, these are the ones that So Yun fined for excessive appetite. Unable to contain myself, I laughed.

"Did I say something funny?" the guy bristled. A small crowd had already gathered around us in anticipation of a show, and the audience's sympathies were clearly not on my side. Apparently, So Yun gave them quite a dressing down.

"So look, you were eating the plum instead of collecting it, and I'm still to blame?" I chuckled. "And now you're going to start a fight. By the way, do you know that you also get fined for duels outside the special arena?"

Yes, there was a volume in the library with detailed rules of the sect, and I didn't hesitate to read it. However, my legal literacy turned out to be absolutely useless in the face of banal human stupidity. The big guy roared and tried to clumsily hit me. Slowly. Too slowly. Dodging the wide swing was no trouble for me at all. All three were at the initial stage, so physically I was much stronger than them. Thanks to the maximum level of Concentration. At least some consolation for the spiritual body trauma.

I felt the blow from behind in advance, so I quickly grabbed one of the attackers by the clothes and pushed him back. There was a sound of impact and cursing. The third guy immediately pounced on me and he, it seems, knew how to fight. His movements resembled some kind of insect and even, despite my speed, I took several sensitive blows to the ribs. And still, timing the moment, I made a sweep, and he ended up on the ground.

"I've had enough!" the first one who jumped into the fight roared and an ice armor began to form around him. Now this is serious—no one in our little fight used techniques, observing a kind of unspoken rule.

"Wo Yan, stop!" the one who knows how to fight shouted, but it was too late.

With an animal growl, this frozen practitioner rushed at me, while his armor began to be covered with numerous spikes. At the same moment, I took out my sword and activated the acceleration technique. A swing—and half of the spikes fall to the ground. Another swing—and the ice armor cracks with a crunch, the opponent's technique flies off and I catch his gaze full of horror. No wonder, my blade froze just millimeters from his throat. It took a lot of effort to calculate everything so accurately. Thanks also that he wielded his technique poorly, and it was literally cracking at the seams. Looks dangerous, but in essence—a waste of spiritual energy.

"Forgive me, honorable Kai!" he begged. "Demons took away my reason!"

"What a convenient excuse," I gritted out, thinking about how to get out of this situation without losses. In the crowd, I already noticed familiar faces. Aina, Tia, and Ark. The latter discreetly showed me a thumbs up. Ha, I didn't think such a gesture was common here.

"I'll ask only once," I sighed and carefully scanned the crowd. "Did anyone see a fight happen here?"

The crowd froze for a moment, and then some began to grasp the meaning of my words. People started whispering, and then Aina loudly declared.

"Nobody saw anything, Kai. Just a rare animal ran by here," and in response to her words, everyone nodded in unison. After waiting for a nod from these three, I immediately hid my sword. "So, why aren't you working, you lazybones? The plum won't collect itself!"

I was walking towards the grove and this time no one was giving me angry looks. Nice. And even nicer that I won't get hit on the head for participating in a fight. No matter how well So Yun treats me, she simply can't turn a blind eye to such a thing. But I'll keep an eye on these three now. Especially on that alternatively gifted one who used a technique during the fight. What was his name? Wo? I'll remember.

The forest greeted me with the rustle of leaves and tranquility. It was pleasant to simply walk under the canopy of trees and breathe the frosty clean air. I was already starting to get used to the cold, and my heightened spiritual perception allowed me to detect potential threats in advance. However, there weren't really any particular threats. Along the way, I encountered a couple of familiar rabbits and several strange birds, but we peacefully passed each other. It's even surprising, considering everything that's been happening to me lately.

I found the familiar shade of spiritual power quite quickly, and after just ten minutes, I came out into a small clearing. The silvery grass rustled quietly in the light breeze. The flower I needed grew at the very edge of the clearing. And from a tree, a bird shimmering with white fire was looking at me with huge eyes. And its gaze didn't bode well for me.