Chapter 50 - Of Course If It's A School Arc There's...
(Manami POV)
"Alright class, we'll be having new students today," the Elder announced to the small group of ten Practitioners standing in front of us.
The ten students were Inner Core Practitioners like us, most of them being in their thirties.
Eight of them were Male who had not stopped staring at Lian Li and I ever since we walked into the Grand Courtyard alongside this Elder.
"Elder Gong, aren't they Master Lin's disciples?" One of the two females asked.
Elder Gong stroked his beard, "That is correct. These three are Master Lin's disciples and his adopted daughter. They're here temporarily because he was tasked by the Sect Master to take care of a… Special case student. They will be your fellow students for some time so treat them as you would each other."
The group began whispering amongst themselves.
"Master Lin…"
"The strongest Master…"
"They must be geniuses…"
"They probably just got lucky…"
"Really envious…"
Elder Gong clapped his hands together to silence their discussion, "Alright, let's just start with a self introduction shall we? Starting with you, miss."
Lian Li nodded to his gesture and took a step forward, doing a curtsey in front of them, "I am Lian Li, Master's first disciple. It is thanks to Master's grace that I can stand before you today, I owe Master my life. Thus, I will not tolerate anyone speaking ill about him behind his back. My speciality is Lightning quarks. I will be in your care."
Fufufu~ Lian Li just can't resist praising Master even in her self introduction.
"U… Umu… Ermm… Next then," the Elder stuttered.
I did a slight bow, "Good day, my name is Manami, a former resident of the fox youkai village in the nearby mountains. Yes, my tails and ears are real. No, I do not like to have my tails or ears touched. No, I will not tell you what the fox says. My specialty is fire. Please take care of me."
The Elder cast a side glance at me, "Hmm… Yes, and the last one?"
Cai Hong raised a hand, "Cai Hong is Cai Hong! Cai Hong likes Papa! Papa is the greatest!"
One of the males raised his hand, "Elder Gong, why is she here? This class is for Inner Core disciples."
The Elder scratched his neck, "The Elder that was supposed to teach the class she was supposed to be assigned to got called away to fulfill a Sect Request. I volunteered to take care of her in the meantime and introduce her to the rest of the Sect."
"So long as she doesn't get in the way…"
The guy beside him smacked his head, "Don't be a prick, Lan Niao"
The same man walked up to Cai Hong, crouching down to reach her height before sticking his hand out, "Hello Cai hong, I am Lian Tong, you can call me Big Brother Lian Tong."
Cai Hong hid behind me, "Big sis Manami… Bad man…"
I patted her head, "Sorry fellow brother Lian Tong, Cai Hong is not comfortable around strangers without Master around."
"Aww… I understand, how about a candy?" He presented a candy from within his pocket casually.
This person is dangerous.
Cai hong stuck her tongue out at him, "You're not Papa! Cai Hong only likes Papa's candies!"
Such a good girl.
"So cute," the Lian Tong fellow said as he stepped back. "Cai Hong can come find big brother to play anytime, ok?"
Cai Hong puffed her cheeks and looked away.
"Ok, ok. You can stop now you damn lolicon," another man stepped up, pulling him away.
Elder Gong finally decided to make his presence known again after enjoying the little show, "Since we have new students today, why don't we have a sparring session to get a better grasp of each person's skills?"
One of the males immediately stepped in front, his height towering over everyone else. He had an extremely muscular body with biceps thicker than a normal man's thighs and chest muscles comparative to Lian Li's bust size.
In short, he looked more like a Tank than a Practitioner.
"The name's Butch."
Of course.
"I had witnessed both of senior sisters' fights during the Festival. Please give this junior guidance," he bowed with cupped hands.
Ara? How polite of him. I had almost expected him to start trying to show us up with his big size.
"Hey, Butch, you can't be serious right?" that Lan Niao fellow asked from behind.
"Lan Niao, you were away for a Request during the Festival. You did not see either of them fight so keep your mouth shut."
I noticed a bead of sweat rolling down his face.
Hmm… It feels like he might have been coerced into challenging us. Or was it a matter of pride?
"Very well, who do you want to challenge?" I asked.
He made another bow, this time directed towards me, "If you would allow it, could I trouble senior sister Manami to exchange pointers?"
I let a small smile grace my face.
"Ara ara. No trouble at all, shall we?"
"Many thanks!"
I walked a distance away from him, stopping at one corner of the Grand Courtyard while he took the opposite end. The other students had already vacated the space under Elder Gong's direction.
"The safety Technique inscribed is active, you may begin when ready!" The Elder called out.
The muscle man immediately punched his fists together, casting a technique on himself.
"Giant's Growth!"
Ara ara… Another noob that shouts out techniques, how disappointing.
"Oh! That's Butch's strengthening technique! It doubles his physical stats!" That Lan Niao fellow shouted.
His already huge body began expanding, growing up to twice his original size.
I could have stopped his transformation anytime I wanted, but I was curious as to why he was so adamant in challenging me.
He gave a loud roar before slamming his palms together in front of his chest.
"Behemoth's Protection!"
Ara, ara… Could you stop your shouting? It's hurting my ears. I could already tell what you were going to cast the moment you moved your hands anyway.
The technique made his body glow red, his skin gaining a metallic shine.
"Oho! Butch's strongest physical buff! It increases his defense to the utmost limit!" The stupid fellow shouted again.
Butch slammed a foot on the ground, his fists brought down to his sides.
"Dragon's Aura!"
A red, translucent aura covered his entire body, the air around him seemed to be getting heavier by the second.
"Damn! That's Butch's--"
"Will you shut up?" Lian Li interrupted. "No one asked for a bloody commentary here. You're being really noisy right now."
It looked like that stupid fellow was going to argue with Lian Li but Butch's sudden acceleration towards me shut him up.
I stretched out my right arm to the side, a small orange glow encompassing my body before one of my tails shot forward at lightning speed.
That huge fellow was unable to stop his momentum and ran straight into my tail, skewering himself on it.
A split second passed before he was dumped outside the area of the technique, the man breathing hard and clutching his previously pierced chest.
I walked back to the class with small steps, ignoring the looks of disbelief the others had on their faces.
"That was a little overkill," Lian Li commented.
I gave her a sideways glance, "Ara, ara? I had given him time to cast all his techniques. I think I was already quite generous with that?"
The muscle man recovered surprisingly quickly, bowing in front of me again.
"A splendid battle senior sister! Thank you for the instruction!"
I hid my smile behind my sleeve, "Fufufu… Think nothing of it."
He then stretched out a hand as though asking for a handshake, "Senior sister! This battle has confirmed my feelings! Ever since seeing you at the Sect Showcase Festival, I had fallen in love with you! Please go out with me!"
Ara ara?