Like a spiderweb

"...who are you?"

He just wanted to go back and have dinner with a delicious paella cooked by Priscilla, then enjoy a night with Irene. He also wanted to check his reward while thinking about why Claudia had fallen for him, yet why did people keep trying to stop him?

"Xinglou Fan, Banyuu Tenra, the number one and the student council of the Jie Long Seventh Institute."

All of a sudden, Claudia stood by his side.

"Why are you here again?" Irene glared at Claudia.

"Ohoho..." Xinglou laughed. "Claudia, aren't you being rejected before? You haven't given up yet?"

"....."

Claudia could feel that everyone was looking at her, but she was rather calm and just laughed politely, even if she felt slightly awkward. Still, for her wish, she could do anything. "Princess, aren't you a little too mean? Also, he didn't reject me. Instead, he told me that he didn't want to make his decision before he won this tournament, so you should also give up on inviting him."

"It seems that you like this young man so much." Xinglou seemed quite curious.

"Yes, I like him." Claudia nodded with a gentle smile.

"..."

"It's normal that I am being liked. I have been known as a gentle and kind child in my neighborhood."

"...." Everyone.

Gentle?

Kind?

Was there such a trait in him?

"By the way, you want to invite me to the Jie Long, Princess?" Tamazuki asked, but inside, he was shocked by how powerful Xinglou was. While he didn't want to say this if they fought directly, he wouldn't be able to win, but if he ran away, she wouldn't be able to win.

Yet... yet... it made his desire to fight her even stronger.

"Yes." Xinglou smiled, yet her smile was rather unsettling. "If you come to Jie Long, I will personally teach you. Teaching you everything that I know and makes you stronger than you can imagine."

Ah, this little girl was a fighting maniac.

Still, as he knew the story, he knew the background of this little girl, and having been taught by a martial artist who had lived for 1,000 years was definitely a good thing.

He knew that he could become stronger if he came to Jie Long, but he didn't want to make his decision hastily.

Still, Priscilla and Irene didn't voice their opinion since they felt that it was better for him to join Jie Long instead of Seidoukan. It was a bit sad that they couldn't be together, but he had something that he wanted to do, and they wouldn't become his burden for it.

However, Claudia lost her calm at that moment. Her charming smile, which no one thought could break, was almost broken as her heart was beating so fast, waiting for his decision.

"Thank you. I am happy."

"Then..."

"But is that okay? Your disciple has been glaring at me now."

Hufeng was staring at Tamazuki. No, he was glaring.

Xinglou merely laughed. "It's okay. Jie Long is mine. My words are the order. Who dares to say anything about my decision?"

Yes, her words were the rules.

No one dared to say anything to her.

"However, to be honest, instead of becoming your pupil, I want to fight you more."

"Oh-ho?"

Suddenly, the air around Xinglou changed, and it was suffocating to just stand before her.

Irene, Priscilla, and Claudia, who were standing by his side, felt this pressure, and they almost fell to their knees.

Hufeng was also dumbfounded by Tamazuki's words. Fortunately, he was standing by Xinglou's side, but even so, he was still affected.

Someone said that Banyuu Tenra or Xinglou had weakened since her physical ability was just half of her peak state, but with how rich Mana was in this world currently, she had become even stronger. It wouldn't be weird to say that she was the strongest human in this world.

"You want to fight me, Brat?"

Compared to her real age, he had to admit he was just a brat. "Of course. Who didn't want to fight the Banyuu Tenra." Still, he stood in front of the three girls, blocking the pressure from Xinglou.

"How about we do it now? I have been itching to fight you." Her smile was like a bloodthirsty beast.

"Inugami-san..."

"Tamazuki..."

Priscilla, Irene, and Claudia panicked while thinking that this guy really loved to cause trouble!

"Not right now. Let's have a duel when I win the Phoenix. It's just a few months. For you, it is only a short time, right?"

Xinglou didn't say anything and just stared at him.

"If you wait, I will give you a surprise and defeat you."

There was no shred of doubt since he believed so.

"...then, I will wait. Don't you dare to run away! I will chase you even at the end of the earth."

Xinglou then left since she was afraid that if she continued to stay there, she wouldn't be able to hold herself.

"Wa-Wait, Master!"

Hufeng looked at Tamazuki, who was as calm as ever, and thought that this guy was amazing.

"Irene. Priscilla. Let's go back." He woke Priscilla and Irene before he looked at Claudia. "Then, Enfield-san, we'll leave first. See you." Still, Priscilla and Irene were stunned by the pressure, which came from Xinglou, so he helped them to walk by carrying them in his arms.

"Ah, um..." Claudia felt conflicted, but she didn't feel conflicted by Xinglou. Instead, she was stunned, watching how Priscilla and Irene were so close to him.

'Then, my dream...'

As she muttered those words, she felt her heart was almost crushed.

---

"YOU CRAZY BASTARD!"

Irene grabbed his collars again and shook him hard.

"Calm down."

"How can I calm down, you bastard! You have just provoked the strongest person in the Asterisk, if not the world!"

Irene was on a rampage and lost her calm.

Priscilla wasn't much better since she was looking at him helplessly.

Tamazuki might seem like an elegant and powerful knight, which appeared in the storybook, yet his action was so crazy that the two might have had a heart attack.

"It's just a duel. It's not like I will die, right? Even if I am beaten, I will just enter a hospital, and I can have you take care of me as a nurse. What's so bad about it?"

"..." 2x

Even in this situation, he was so relaxed and even thinking something so pervy, which made them even more speechless.

Wait!

Was this his real intention?

To watch them wearing a nurse uniform?

They had to say he had fooled them, but they knew that he was right. It was just a duel, and it wasn't a death combat where they would kill each other. Even if he was hurt, he would just enter a hospital. With how advanced the medical system is in this world, they knew that he would be alright even if all the bones in his body were crushed. Moreover, Priscilla was a regenerator, so she could help to heal him. Knowing all that, it made them feel relieved and better.

Now, many might be curious why he dared to provoke such a monster.

For one thing, he could learn Xinglou's technique and many other things faster in the fight. If he became her pupil, she might teach him many things, but he was afraid that she might not teach him everything. More importantly, if he became her pupil, it would limit his growth since there were many things to make him stronger in this world.

If he became Xinglou's pupil, he would just limit himself to martial arts. Xinglou might be powerful, but it was only within Jie Long. It was a different matter than the other organizations or schools.

When he thought about it clearly, he knew that it was better not to join Jie Long.

Now, the last reason was that Xinglou was also someone that triggered his system.

If he became her pupil, it would be hard for her to see him as a man. Instead, she would only look at him as a child since he was she had trained him, but if he was her opponent, it would be a different matter since she would see him as a man.

This was his real purpose!

Yet he had to say the appearance of Claudia surprised him, and it made him wonder why she appeared.

---

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