A Teacher's Duty

'This is starting to bother me... Where is my disciple? Why is she not coming out?' she thought with an irritated tone.

This awkward atmosphere has been going on for ten minutes and her disciple still hasn't come out. The vines started to become tighter as time goes and Su Lan was starting to get quite embarrassed.

'Hold on... perhaps she left already?!' Su Lan jolted as a thought came to her mind.

She quickly used her divine sense as a powerful wave of energy came out of her. The wave of energy scattered and scanned all areas within a radius of a hundred kilometers as she tried to find her disciple's location.

!

After a couple of seconds, Su Lan felt a tingling in her mind as her divine sense finally found Xu Meihua. She was about... ten kilometers away.

She was way beyond the forest. She has already left long ago.

"..."

Su Lan was pissed. Veins started to bulge on her face as a scary aura enveloped the whole forest. After unleashing her full power, every thick vine that bound her immediately burst like a balloon due to the pressure Su Lan emits. Without anything binding her up, she immediately fell to the ground and landed on her feet.

"I can't believe this, was I waiting around in these uncomfortable vines for nothing?" she muttered as she clutched her hand.

Eventually, the powerful aura slowly dissipated as Su Lan regained her composure. She heaved a deep sigh and facepalmed to herself. That was very embarrassing. Who knows what has gone through her head for her to stay bound to those vines for that long?

"I guess it's my fault for expecting Meihua to come despite being chased by me. I should go congratulate her for winning..." she muttered quietly.

Su Lan then flew high in the sky and instantly disappeared in the blink of an eye.

...

...

...

Xu Meihua was lying on a hill at the edge of the island, looking away at the boundless sky. On her hand were dozens of fruits that she took in the forest while running away from her master. She ate them slowly while quietly humming to herself. She has been waiting for her master for quite a while.

'I wonder what Master is doing right now, where the hell did she go? Did I perhaps outran her? Is my movement technique really that good?' she thought as she grabbed a fruit and ate it.

She was chilling around as a sense of peace engulfed her heart.

Ding!

[ The Last Day quest has been completed! ]

[ Footwork Basics (Passive) has been learned! ]

[ Due to meeting the requirements, Footwork Basics, Sword Basics, Palm Basics, Fist Basics, Spear Basics, ... has been fused into Martial Basics! ]

[ Level Up! ]

The sudden appearance of the system panel in front of her face gave her a little jumpscare as she immediately sat up.

'Huh? I won? Did I actually manage to outrun Master after all?'

She really didn't expect to win against her master. Her master dodged all of her attacks and completely beat her one-sidedly during that spar, thus she thought her master must have been faster than her.

'But it seems that isn't the case... Oh well! I'm now quite curious about this Martial Basics skill!' Xu Meihua thought as she read its description.

[ Martial Basics (Passive)

Every attack and understanding of martial techniques receive 1.5x amplification. As this skill progresses and levels up, the amplification increases even further, enhancing the effectiveness of both offensives and understanding of martial techniques. ]

The more she read the details of her newfound skill, the more her excitement grew. This was the first time she had acquired a formidable passive ability. Moreover, she likes passive skills way more than regular skills because they are always active, making them more reliable. And unlike the other basic skills that only give 1.1x amplification to her attacks, this one provided a staggering 1.5x boost.

If she could compare it, having this skill is the same as having a few hundred more points in the strength stat. That's simply how strong this skill is!

'Nice!'

Other than that, she also discovered that after receiving the Appraisal skill, she could now see what each of her skills does.

'I guess the Appraisal skill is very useful after all! I should focus on honing this skill from now on. Who knows if it will come in handy in the future?' she thought as she gets all jumpy in excitement.

WHOOSH!

All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew as a figure suddenly appeared beside her, it was Su Lan. Her loose robe was now dry again after flying at high speed, but it was still quite dirty and her face was still flushed red out of her previous embarrassment. Seeing Xu Meihua, Su Lan smiled gently.

Xu Meihua let out a piercing scream, startled by her master's sudden appearance. She was so invested in reading her new skill that this caught her off-guard.

She immediately turned to face Su Lan when she noticed her face flushing red.

'What the hell, she's so red! Don't tell me... is she mad at me?!' Xu Meihua thought as her heart jolted.

She didn't know that Su Lan was not mad at her at all. Even though her master was smiling, it still doesn't make any difference to Xu Meihua. Her master was always unpredictable after all. No matter if she's angry or happy, she always has that smile on her face, thus she couldn't really figure out her master's feelings very much.

'Did I do something to her...? L-Let's just try to be as friendly as possible and hear her out...' Xu Meihua quickly planned in her head.

Buckets of sweat were pouring out of her head like a waterfall as she tried to muster a smile,

"M-Master, I've been waiting for you, here's a fruit!"

Xu Meihua rummage through her pile of fruits trying to find the best one and her eyes lit up as she spotted one that looks fresh and delicious. Eagerly, she snatched it, but her grip faltered, causing it to slip from her hand and fall to the ground with a soft thud.

Seeing her disciple struggling to offer her some fruit, Su Lan chuckled in amusement. She casually sat down next to her disciple and simply took the fallen fruit and grabbed a bite...

Crunch...

"Hmm... this is delicious, Meihua. Did you eat these on your own without inviting me?" she asks as she turned to face Meihua.

"Uh, no. Sorry..." Xu Meihua stammered, her voice trembling with nervousness. She sat huddled, clutching her knees tightly, her gaze fixed downward, trying to avoid eye contact with her master.

Su Lan tilted her head at Xu Meihua, who was looking down towards the ground as if she was guilty of something. Now, it's her turn to be confused,

'Why is she apologizing? Did she do something wrong? Or... did I happen to hurt her feelings...?' Su Lan thought as she started to become worried.

"Why are you sorry?" she quietly asked, gently looking at Xu Meihua.

"Because you're suddenly mad at me?"

"What makes you think that? Of course not. Although you couldn't beat me in a spar, you used your speed and wit to your advantage before successfully trapping me and escaping in the end. You deserve this victory and I'm very proud of you. I don't know how you came to the conclusion that I am mad at you, but remember, I am here to guide and support you," Su Lan smiled as she reached out her hand to pat her disciple.

Feeling a sudden touch, Xu Meihua jolted as she turned to look at her master with cautiousness. Seeing her disciple act all jittery, Su Lan grinned as she can't help but be reminded of a cat when she looks at her.

She gently caressed Xu Meihua's fluffy white hair, creating a comforting and soothing sensation for her disciple. As she continued to hum a quiet tune, a sense of tranquility filled the air, creating a serene moment between the two of them.

"Have you calmed down, now?" Su Lan gently asked.

Xu Meihua nodded in response.

It took some time for her racing heart to calm down and for the weight of her worries to lift from her shoulders. She finally realized that her master's words may have been genuine and that she had misinterpreted the situation.

Relief washed over her, and she let out a long sigh, feeling a sense of lightness in her chest. The tension that had been building within her slowly dissipated, replaced by a renewed sense of trust and comfort in her master.

"I... managed to trap you?" Xu Meihua asked after a brief silence.

"You did set up that trap in the forest, didn't you? I fell for it and it made me stuck for a whole ten minutes. Listen Meihua, although you may not realize it right now, you are one of the best disciples I have ever seen in my 180 years of life..."

Su Lan continued to look up to stare at the beautiful blue sky. The hill she and her disciple was sitting on was at the edge of the island, thus allowing them to look down and have a glimpse of the beauty of the sky under them.

She saw an endless sea of clouds that extended all the way to the horizon. She saw a group of giant birds that flew around following the wind. Far behind the group lies a single small bird that was struggling to catch up to the group, desperate and exhausted. One of the giant birds saw this and immediately stopped, before rushing toward the struggling small bird.

It gently let the small bird clutch its long tail, before going back with the rest of the group. It gently guides the youngling along with it, letting it rest on its back whenever it was too tired.

A warm light appeared in Su Lan's eyes when she saw this scene. It reminded her of a teacher's purpose and duty. To guide, protect, and give comfort to their disciple until they are big enough to go on their own.

She was suddenly reminded of her time on this island with Xu Meihua. How her disciple always gets through all hardships she gave her no matter how difficult it was, without much time to have some fun with her life...

'I should also complete my duty as Xu Meihua's master. I have guided and protected her throughout the past two months. Now, all that's left is to give her the comfort she deserves.' Su Lan thought with a nod.

"Meihua, you have a willpower that is as strong as your physique. Despite your obvious dislike towards your training, you still dedicated yourself to them regardless. What I like about you is that you are still the same even after all of that hardship. While everyone else's personality would have dulled after a long while, that goofy smile from the very first day was still present on your face..." Su Lan said, while still caressing her disciple's hair.

After some time, she turned her head back toward Xu Meihua,

"That's why you should not be upset because I'm always proud of you." Su Lan exclaimed as she gave the warmest smile toward her disciple.

This one smile was way more genuine than every other smile that she has given in the past. It truly encapsulates her feelings toward her precious disciple.

When Xu Meihua heard this, she slightly turned her head away from her as if she was embarrassed. Su Lan saw this and got slightly amused. She then slowly leaned over to get a glimpse of her face.

"Meihua?"

However, when Su Lan saw her disciple's face, her warm smile completely froze.

"Hehe..."

Xu Meihua had the most annoying grin displayed on her face along with a big trace of smugness. One of her hands was covering her mouth as if holding herself from proudly laughing out loud. Everything about her current pose just screams the word 'narcissist'.

"Wow, master. I know I'm amazing but not to the point that you would admit it! What else... what else is great about me? Maybe I'm just way smarter than my peers, stronger than anyone else within my cultivation realm, or maybe I'm so beautiful that you were too embarrassed to admit it!?" Xu Meihua said obnoxiously as she turned toward Su Lan.

Her eyes were glittering with excitement while her smile stretched from ear to ear.

Veins started to bulge on Su Lan's face out of anger. She wasn't very happy about this. As a person who lives her life in humility, she hates flaunter and cockiness more than ever.

"You little...!" Su Lan muttered under her breath.

A dense aura grew around her as the atmosphere turned tense and scary. The pile of fruits that was beside Xu Meihua suddenly turned blue and shrank as if sensing Su Lan's anger. Xu Meihua jolted when she noticed this and quickly tried to stop herself, but to no avail.

"I'm sorry, I-uhh... M-Maybe I also have a few negatives a-and uhh..." she apologized quickly as buckets of sweat poured out of her head once again.

Her remarks and apologies seem to have no effect as Su Lan's anger grew more and more. Every trace of smile and gentleness has disappeared from Su Lan's face, replaced with one of demonic fury.

"Wait! I'm really joking, I-"

WHACK!

...

...

...