Night Talk and Morning Search

--- Chapter 43 ---

Hayate rested his head on the pillow and stared at his room's ceiling with a calm gaze.

He could gauge how much damage he received from fighting Dullahan now. "It's worse than I thought." He whispered to himself.

"Nevertheless, I could still utilize everything besides Kaiju cores."

It's not the end of the world because Hayate could still recover from his injuries, growing even more powerful than his former self.

Hayate closed his eyes and added, "It's about time-."

"HAYATE!!!" Jasmine roared from the Sky Poison Realm.

"You emotionless jerk, how dare you to shut this princess!"

Jasmine noticed Hayate's abnormal condition and scanned his body with her divine sense.

"Y-You, What happened to your body?" Her voice quivered a little.

"How could you be in such a state..."

"Normal humans should have died at this point."

"No, they would die in agony enduring these torture-like injuries."

Hayate chuckled and answered, "These injuries are nothing but a scratch."

"I experienced something like this a lot in the past."

Jasmine frowned and commented, "Don't try to act tough, Hayate."

"I know you're no more than 16 years old."

She has scanned Hayate's body in the past and marveled at his achievement at such a young age. There are barely talented teens in Divine Realm who could contend with him in terms of physical quality.

Jasmine doesn't want to admit it, but Hayate is better than her older brother in his teens.

"And you're 13." Hayate returned her statement. "You're just a kid with a poisoned body and soul."

"Do you think I would let you fight and prolong your recovery time?" He added indifferently.

"D-Did you just call me kid?" Jasmine's eyes widened in shock.

After receiving Heavenly Slaughter God's power, no one has ever mocked Jasmine. Her terrifying power is enough to shut their mouths tight.

The only exception was her older brother, the Heavenly Wolf Star God, Xisu.

Even though Xisu teased her a lot, she was the only male Jasmine cherished as family.

However, Xisu's death makes Jasmine realize everything is futile without enough strength and will. Her older brother discreetly was used by a wreckful woman, leading to his last breath.

There is a reason why "Love." is a terrifying feeling one shouldn't have in a Profound Way. Xisu is a powerful man, but his feelings for the wreckful hoe sever his life from this world.

"Jasmine," Hayate called while activating his [Mystic Art of Body Cultivation]. "I'm just a selfish guy."

"You don't have to mind my fight because it's my decision."

"If one day I decided to sacrifice myself for my loved one, I wouldn't hesitate even for a second."

'Idiot, that's how my brother died...' Jasmine thought while clenching her fist.

Hayate laughed and suddenly continued, "It's funny, you know."

"In the past, I wouldn't do something like this."

"I'll just walk around and sleep."

"Yet, here I am."

"My teacher told me "love." is something amazing, and everyone could perceive it."

"It's close, yet so far away."

"T-Then, do you love me?" Jasmine questioned while burying her head onto the pillow. She was nervous for some reason.

Hayate smirked and answered, "Nope."

"..." Jasmine.

"Not even a bit." He added more damage to his statement.

.

.

.

Jasmine's face swelled with anger, burning with an urge to punch this piece of shit to death with her fist.

She recalled when Hayate injected himself with Absolute God Slaying Poison and felt a grave sensation inside her chest.

It's not painful but makes her feel guilty for some reason.

"Why...?" She asked with a defeated tone.

Jasmine couldn't understand Hayate's bizarre action in the slightest. He's the only person she cannot read.

Hayate opened his eyes and whispered, "The answer is simple, little Jasmine."

"It's because you're still a kid."

"Think about it calmly."

"Anyway, I'll sleep, so don't disturb me," He closed his eyes again.

"I'm so tired..."

Jasmine looked at the sky and quickly sensed Hayate's condition again, finding he had fallen asleep like a brick.

She sighed desperately and muttered, "Me, A kid?"

"Does he only look at me as a child and nothing else?"

"This jerk, how dare you."

"Hmph." Jasmine saw Hayate's handsome face fluttered by a gentle breeze.

"Good night."

"Have a nice sleep, you fool." She whispered.

Hayate's body shone with faint light-blue rays and recovered itself with [Mystic Art of Body Cultivation], repairing every damage he received.

In the room beside Hayate's, Cang Yue opened her eyes and muttered, "Hayate finally went to sleep."

"He was forcing his injured body."

Cang Yue had realized Hayate's body was worse than his usual condition, not to mention some minor bleeding in his back.

"Despite all those injuries, he still attends the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament to fulfill his promise with me." She commented while shaking her head.

"How selfish of you, Hayate."

"Right?" Cang Yue looked down at the skinny girl's face on her lap.

This girl was the one who mocked Hayate in the first round and the most vocal out of the other audience, which caught Cang Yue's attention.

Well, it's more like bloodlust than attention.

"C-Can you spare me?" The skinny girl trembled in fear.

"I admitted my wrongdoing."

"Please-."

"There, there." Cang Yue caressed the skinny girl's face.

"Calm down."

The skinny girl stared at Cang Yue's gentle eyes and felt her body relaxing for some reason. It's the effect of [Blue Wind Sword Mantra], which sharpens one's heart.

However, it's not just sharpening one's heart because the user could affect others' hearts as well by shaping raw will into genuine feeling.

Cang Yue learned this fact one year ago when her sword heart was somehow able to reach over her profound flying beast's will.

Not only are they connected and able to understand each other's intentions, but Cang Yue could also affect that feeling with her sword heart.

Imagine Cang Yue's extreme obsession with Hayate transferred to others' hearts.

Even though Cang Yue is known to be a gentle royal princess from Blue Wind Empire, she was secretly creating a cult under everyone's eyes.

There is a reason why the Blue Wind Empire could stabilize in just one year after the emperor healed from his illness.

Without a single help from other factions, the Blue Wind Empire quickly becomes stronger again yet appears weaker outside.

The skinny girl's eyes clouded for a moment and gained a fresh clarity in her mind. A revelation that makes her cry.

"Hic... I'm sorry." She cried while hugging Cang Yue's leg.

"How could I say such horrible things to our savior?"

"I should have died from shame."

Cang Yue patted her head and replied, "It's okay."

"As long as we understand each other, everything will be okay."

"Right?" She added with a cheerful smile.

"Mmhm, thank you for opening my eyes, princess." The skinny girl nodded a little.

Cang Yue handed a blanket and said, "Since there will be a heavy snowstorm tonight, you should have a rest here."

"Okay, princess!" The skinny girl smiled cheerfully.

Cang Yue watched the skinny girl like she was an adorable puppy.

'It's quite unfortunate because there weren't many people like you who I could easily convert to my belief.' She thought to herself.

"Oh well, good night."

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.

.

The second day of the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament arrived quickly, but everyone weirdly was greeted with extreme cold in the morning instead of warm sunlight.

It was a bizarre experience for everyone on the profound sky continent because the Spring started a week ago. Experts couldn't tell what caused this sudden change of weather.

A few speculated a disaster was about to fall on the profound sky continent, while some thought a Profound God finally descended into this world.

(An: Profound God is a title for Divine Origin Realm's cultivator in the mortal realm)

Hayate opened his eyes and started to meditate to clear excess profound energy from passive cultivation. He noticed his first Profound Veins become more energized than before.

As for Hayate's second myriad genesis profound, there is no apparent transformation besides the quantity of Primordial Energy increasing a little.

A burning vapor escaped Hayate's pores and warmed his entire room, melting some snow outside.

Hayate waited until everyone inside his body settled and checked his injuries.

"6% of my injuries healed, not bad." He commented while releasing a sigh.

Hayate opened his door and saw Cang Yue with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Good morning." She greeted while twirling a scarf around his neck.

Hayate grasped the scarf and asked, "Hmm, did you prepare this beforehand?"

Cang Yue nodded and replied, "Yup."

"I made it a few months ago."

"But since you were busy, I couldn't give it to you."

Hayate was at the Dragon God's trial, which means Cang Yue held onto her gift for roughly 2-3 months.

He shook his head and said, "Thank you, Cang Yue."

"I appreciated it."

"Of course, I made that scarf with all my feelings." Cang Yue puffed her chest proudly, causing Hayate to chuckle a little.

Hayate patted her head and commented, "Cang Yue, let's have breakfast first."

They went to the dining room and saw Little Ghost preparing some dishes on the table.

She noticed their presence and said, "The breakfast is ready."

A commotion suddenly appeared at the front gate when they were about to start their breakfast. "I'll go and check." Little Ghost said with a frown.

Hayate shrugged and began his breakfast with Cang Yue, but some clashing metal noises echoed a moment later.

Clank!

He placed the chopstick on the table and lazily walked out of the dining room, seeing Little Ghost with her dagger against a young man in Heavenly Sword Villa's disciple uniform.

"Tch, I said we only want to check this place." The young man clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"A few people disappeared last night, so Heavenly Sword Villa has to check every residence, including the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament's contestant."

He pointed his sword at Little Ghost and commented, "Why can you understand that?"

"Young master is having breakfast right now." Little Ghost answered indifferently.

"Your check-up will disturb his peace."

"Then, don't blame me for using violence." The young man's mouth twitched.

However, before the young man could even use his profound energy, someone suddenly grasped his shoulders.

"Using what?" Hayate stared at him dead in the eyes.

The scene became silent because the young man felt Hayate's golden eyes go through his soul, like a beast ready to kill him at any time.

"Hmm, you want to check our residence, right?" Hayate asked while lifting his hand off the young man's shoulder.

"Go ahead."

He moved his head to Little Ghost and continued, "Xun'er, go back to the dining room."

"The breakfast would become cold."

"I will deal with these people and follow you shortly after."

Little Ghost stored her dagger and nodded naturally, walking into the dining room.

"What are you waiting for?" Hayate frowned at them.

The Heavenly Sword Villa's disciples scattered inside the Blue Wind Empire Team's residence and couldn't find anything weird inside.

After 15 minutes of thorough searching, they returned to the front gate with a sour expression.

"Did you find something?" Hayate crossed his arms.

"We don't find anything weird." The young man answered with a defeated tone. He searched all corners of this residence, but not even a trace of anything suspicious entered his sight.

Hayate patted the young man's shoulder and commented, "Then we are good now?"

"I'm not asking, but confirming..."

"Y-Yes." The young man hurriedly nodded.

"Good." Hayate walked back to the dining room.

"One piece of advice from me, don't touch anyone related to me."

"Or you'll end miserably."

They stared at Hayate's back in fear and shivered a little.

"Let's go to the next residence."

"Y-Yes, let's go."

"I don't want to stay here any longer."

Hayate snapped his finger casually, and a Ghost fell from the ceiling, bowing in front of him.

"I want you to take some pills in the medicine hall." He instructed.

"Do it as fast as possible."

The Ghost nodded and disappeared from Hayate's sight.

Hayate watched the snowy morning sky and commented, "I guess Hong Guan would demonstrate her flame later."

"Well, it's gonna be interesting."