Return to the Manor (4)

The first thing Reinhart did the following day was seek his master to report on what happened on his most recent trip. The attacks targeted at Kate were expected, so the main feature of his report was Shui. The fight between Shui and Kate, as well as the subsequent battle against those who wished to harm Kate, was more than enough proof of Shui's strength. However, while Reinhart trusted his master, he didn't believe it would be right to go into full details on Shui's abilities and apologetically said so to Core Elder Ren.

"You need not blame yourself. That virtue of yours is one of the reasons why I made you my disciple. However, would it be possible for you to give me a loose estimate of his power?"

"Yes. I would say that he can stand on the same level as the manor lord."

"To that extent? Then Kate's abilities..."

"Based on their fight, I believe that her most powerful move is far above what any of the core disciples can block. Still, it doesn't look like it would be easy for her to land it."

"Nonetheless, this is good news. And I hear that she's declared her intention to defeat Mater?"

"That's right."

"Hmm, so what do you think, Reinhart? I care for both of you, but if you also intend to compete for the seat of manor lord, then you'll have my support."

"No. I still think she has some immature aspects, but I believe that Kate is better suited for that role than I am."

"Very well. We will have our work cut out for us then."

"Indeed."

Some time later, in the inner section, Shui left his empty residence to visit Serina and Fatty. When he returned the previous night, he found a letter from his housemates explaining that they had moved out, so he would be living by himself going forward. He felt that it was a bit of a shame, but they had learnt their lesson for messing with him, so he didn't have any intention of bringing them back. Although he lost decent servants, being alone had its benefits.

Shui used presence masking to leave most of his aura inside his residence so that it would look like he was at home. There were more than a few eyes watching the place, but Shui moved faster than they could notice him leave the building. He could have obtained the same result with a perception barrier created using his soul, but he didn't want to rely on that ability since it would be dangerous for him if a powerful figure suddenly attacked. 

After leaving his home, Shui moved while silencing his footsteps and staying out of sight. Even with a fog of aura, if Shui stayed in the same place for a long time, it would become easier to notice him, so Shui continued to seek new ways of concealing his presence. A few with sharp senses managed to detect him, but he reacted fast enough to leave before they could see him. 

Upon arriving at Serina's residence, Shui found her and Fatty sparring nearby. Interested in their progress, he continued to conceal himself while watching them. Serina was using Double Lightning, while Fatty had his usual hammer equipped. Fatty still seemed unstable whenever Serina manipulated magnetism with her daggers, but he was doing a much better job than last time. Serina had also improved her dagger skills since they had parted ways, but Fatty was still superior in close-range.

Shui wanted to take his time analyzing their battle so that he could give them advice, but he had to give up on that idea once he realized that he was being sought after by some rather persistent folk.

"If you're so eager to meet me, wouldn't it have been better to wait at my house?"

He heard a gasp from one of the disciples, who had been trying to approach him from behind. Although his focus on maintaining presence masking had wavered while watching Fatty and Serina, their level of concealment was the same as being out in the open before his perception. Once they found out that he had detected them, the group boldly revealed themselves, which also alerted Serina and Fatty. 

"Shui!"

"Boss! Should I help you handle these guys?"

"Don't bother. I haven't forgotten about training your balance, so it's better that you conserve your stamina."

"Ugh, yes..."

Fatty frowned at the mention of training, but he only stepped back because he didn't believe that a couple inner section disciples could pose a threat to Shui.

"Now then, I don't believe I heard your reason for coming after me."

"You've made plenty of enemies in the manor. Surely you didn't think no one would come after you just because you were lucky last time."

"Well, no, but I was hoping those enemies of mine would at least know how to pick their battles."

"Hmph! We'll make sure you pay for your arrogance."

Based on their formation and the fact that they were all at either the seventh or eighth level of the Soul Realm, Shui didn't think they had a leader. This meant it was likely a convergence of personal grudges was the result of this.

"Maybe if it were another time, I would humour you all, but I have friends to catch up with. All of you, sleep."

Without turning to face them, Shui attached a spiritual attack to his voice and limited its range so it didn't affect Fatty and Serina. The effect was instantaneous. All seven members of the group collapsed without a chance to resist. Next time they might come with countermeasures, but then he only needed to beat them up. After blowing them out of sight with a wind spell, Shui approached Serina and Fatty.

"Wow! Are you sure you're not some old monster, Boss?"

"It sounds like you want me to be harsher with your training."

"Uh, never mind."

"Was that a sleep spell?" Serina asked.

"Not in the strict sense. It was actually a simple spiritual attack. My soul's far more powerful than theirs, so I can easily force them to obey short and harmless commands."

"That's just unfair! I could tell that you cultivated the soul, but I didn't think it would be to that extent." Fatty exclaimed.

"It's really amazing. Should I try cultivating the soul too?" Serina asked.

"There's certainly nothing wrong with enhancing your soul; I can even give you some techniques to help. However, soul cultivation is very dangerous and expensive, so I wouldn't recommend it."

"That's right, Serina. For normal people like us, having a soul that's just a bit stronger than the norm is already exceptional. We can't hope to match geniuses like the Boss with our meagre talent."

"Oh."

Shui didn't know whether he should be upset about Fatty's comment or that Serina seemed to accept it with understanding. Regardless, he couldn't bring up the will to say something about it, so he moved on.

"Anyways, it's been a while, so tell me what's happened since I've been gone. And I only need Serina, so get ready for balance training, Fatty."

"Yes Boss..."

Fatty was forced to remain still on one leg as he spread his arms apart, and Shui's wind spell disturbed him. In the meantime, Serina told Shui everything that had happened since they parted ways. When they first returned, they faced questions from those curious about Shui and why they returned with Reinhart, but they hadn't gotten into any trouble. However, there was a change after Shui returned.

"So Kate's fans are after me now?"

"Not just them; fans of Senior Sister Cassandra are also getting riled up again."

"Didn't they just get back from mining?"

"I'm not sure about that group, but Fatty says that they were just a small group of her admirers."

"I'd prefer if they just hated me for no reason."

Though he didn't see defeat in his future, bothersome events seemed to be inevitable.