Teacher and Mercenary

--- Chapter 21 ---

A few weeks passed after Hayate and Jasmine made a soul pact.

They had been in such an awkward mood until Hayate introduced new cakes and desserts from Silver Lake's Gourmet to Jasmine. Even though her fierceness was still the same, she was a lot tamer now.

Hayate asked so many things about the Divine Realm and was shocked when knowing the Sovereign Profound Realm is like wild grass there.

Bear in mind that Sovereign Profound Realm was the highest known cultivation realm to Hayate before he met Jasmine.

Yet, instead of yielding himself in frustration, Hayate became excited for some reason. He was excited to reach the higher stage and created more powerful Kaiju Cores. S-Grade isn't the limit anymore.

He can go way beyond his past life's limitations.

Jasmine also asked everything about Hayate, to which he answered half-honestly. Since she was curious about Kaiju Creation, he couldn't evade the red-haired girl's question.

However, Hayate obviously won't tell everything to Jasmine, especially Kaiju Creation's function and the reincarnation he had gone through.

--- Villa's Garden ---

Jasmine watched Hayate's movement in the training ground. "As expected..." She muttered solemnly to herself.

She observed him for a few weeks now and grasped he possessed a solid foundation in every aspect. As if he inherently was built to be able to train optimally.

Not only that, but his mastery over weapons, energy manipulation, and martial arts are also superb.

Jasmine hates to admit it, but even youngsters in the divine realm pale in comparison.

They have better cultivation and strength up there, but mastery and skills? Hayate would sweep a bunch of medium-star realm youngsters effortlessly.

Of course, the higher realm than that is out of the question because they have better resources, profound arts, and inheritance.

Hayate used [Storm Zinogre] and increased his movement speed by several folds, leaving a bunch of faint afterimages in the training field.

"If only he has a good teacher..." Jasmine commented while eating her cheesecake.

"Ah, wait... Teacher!"

Hayate changed to [Three-Eyed Tigrex] core, and his movement became heavier than before, but every step contained hefty momentum.

BAM!

"Right Flamingo," He raised his right leg and executed a roundhouse kick on solid rock, which caused it to explode into pieces.

A cloud of dust raised on the training field, and Hayate deactivated his Kaiju core. He closed his eyes and used his ears to detect sand particles around him.

It was like heavy rain, but Hayate gradually opened his eyes again and saw Jasmine standing in front of him.

"Oh, God!" He was shocked and instinctively raised his guard, which caused the red-haired girl to giggle.

"You also have this kind of side, huh," Jasmine commented while smirking at him.

Hayate sighed in relief and replied, "Aih, who wouldn't be afraid?"

"A girl in a white robe, who looks like a ghost, suddenly appeared in front of me."

Twitch!

"Did you just call this princess A GHOST!" Jasmine tried to slap Hayate with her little hand, but he dodged skillfully.

They stared at each other and swiftly disappeared from their former positions, leaving a dozen afterimages on the field.

Nonetheless, a skillful expert can differentiate their afterimages' quality with a simple glance.

Hayate's afterimages are faint and seen through because they merely were created of pure swiftness. Meanwhile, Jasmine's afterimages are solid, making them like copies of her.

It's hard to tell which one is the actual Jasmine because each afterimage looks real.

"Slow." Jasmine placed her leg in front of Hayate's leg and tripped him onto solid concrete.

PA!

Hayate's face smacked on the training ground, and he quietly released an annoyed groan. "Uugh, That wasn't fair..." He complained to her with an irritated tone.

"There is no such thing as fair in a real fight." Jasmine sneered at him.

"This isn't even a real fight..." Hayate replied silently.

The red-haired princess laughed and flatly answered, "Not my problem."

Hayate smirked and commanded Koro with his mind to tackle Jasmine down, which caught her off guard because a white dog appeared out of nowhere and struck her stomach.

Guh!

"Y-You jerk!" Jasmine lowered her semi-transparent body and noticed Hayate's smirk.

"There is no such thing as fair, princess Jasmine." Hayate copied her words.

"Also, not my problem."

.

.

Hayate and Jasmine were having lunch in the pavilion, testing some dishes Silver Lake's Gourmet invented.

The red-haired princess gazed at Hayate and asked, "Hey, do you have a teacher?"

"My name is not hey, but whatever," Hayate responded while chewing his food. "As for the teacher, do I even need one?"

"That's true... A genius like you usually doesn't need one," Jasmine nodded her head in agreement.

"However!"

"Having a teacher is like having a guide in an unknown forest, which was better than nothing."

"A genius like me?" Hayate couldn't help but chuckle heartily.

"You seem to be confused about something."

"I'm not a genius."

"What makes me different from other people is that I possess a special ability, that's it."

"I'm not the strongest, nor am I the smartest."

"I'm average at best." He continued while thinking about his boring past life.

Hayate isn't the best student in his school, which he admitted because he's not a bright-minded person or athletic enough to be noticed in the past.

After the Kaiju Creation awakened, Hayate gained the ability to become extraordinary, but he decided not to reveal his power to anyone.

He always chose a secluded place to test his power and immediately ran away if there was a human presence approaching him.

"Average, your head..." Jasmine frowned at him. "Still, you need a good teacher."

She slowly twirled her red hair and hummed playfully to make Hayate notice.

"Ehem, This princess wondered what kind of teacher you should have."

Jasmine raised her bosom and proudly said, "That person must have vast knowledge and be more powerful than you."

"Like you?" Hayete put on a wry smile.

"Yes, like this princess exactly," Jasmine replied instantly.

"You only have to give me a new dessert every day as payment."

Hayate shook his head and answered, "I'll think about it."

"..." Jasmine didn't expect Hayate to decline her offer.

--- A month later ---

Cang Yue arrived in Silver Lake City with her trusted profound flying beast. She has an excited smile plastered on her face because it's been a year since she met Hayate.

It's understandable as they were busy with each other's matters. Hayate has to manage Silver Lake City and continue his training. Meanwhile, Cang Yue has to help her father regain his health.

They still exchanged letters, but Cang Yue's feelings for Hayate kept building up every day. She wanted to meet her adorable yet handsome younger brother.

A black-haired young man entered Cang Yue's sight, and she excitedly waved her hand at him. "Hayate!" She called while running toward him.

"Why don't you just Agree to become this princess's disciple!" Jasmine yelled furiously.

Hayate crossed his arms and answered, "No."

"Hmph, I hate you," She pouted and disappeared into Hayate's Sky Poison Realm.

"What happened here?" Cang Yue tilted her head in confusion.

"Nothing," Hayate smiled wryly at her.

He escorted Cang Yue inside the villa, where several maids prepared the third floor. They walked onto the balcony and saw Silver Lake City's scenery.

"It's become bigger." Cang Yue looked at the scenery with amazement.

Even though Blue Wind Imperial City is technically bigger than Silver Lake City, it's not as stunning.

Not to mention that Silver Lake City is flourishing in every aspect, which made Cang Yue more impressed because she knew Hayate was the one who improved this place.

"Anyway," Cang Yue giggled gently. "I'm here to pick you up for the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament's preparation."

"Are you ready?"

"Can I just attend when the time comes?" Hayate countered lazily.

"Of course not, silly." Cang Yue hugged him. "You need to attend the preparation with this big sister."

Hayate could feel Cang Yue's bountiful chest pressed against his face and wondered how powerful she had become in one year. She was below Spirit Profound Realm the last time he met her.

"Earth Profound Realm?" He muttered, to which Cang Yue responded with a proud smirk.

"Since you've opened all of my profound entrances. I have to try my best to become stronger." Cang Yue answered while showing him the 1st stage of Earth Profound she had achieved a few days ago.

'Don't enjoy her breasts, you pervert!' Jasmine roared from his inner world.

Hayate ignored Jasmine and said, "Is that so..."

"Emperor Cang must be proud because his daughter can be one of the three candidates for the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament."

"Honestly, you don't need me, big sister." He playfully continued.

Cang Yue stared at him in disbelief and began to punch him in the chest lightly.

She puffed her mouth and declared, "You, Must, Go!"

Hayate was about to reject her again because being the center of attention was annoying, but Cang Yue gazed at him like an adorable cat.

"Haa..." He sighed to himself. "Fine, I'll come with you."

Jasmine's eyes widened because how could this heartless guy agree that smoothly with this girl's persuasion. She tried to argue with him for a whole month, and he hadn't decided to become her disciple.

'D-Do I have to act cutely like that too?' Jasmine thought silently.

'This jerk is playing favor...'

As Hayate agreed with Cang Yue's request, she beamed cheerfully and brought him to a profound flying beast.

"What about Senior Guan?" Cang Yue asked naturally.

"Well, we don't have to tell Hong Guan about our journey since she was at Heavenly Sword Villa already," Hayate answered casually.

Hong Guan is one of the most influential people in the Blue Wind Empire because she was the City Lord of Silver Lake City. She got invited to the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament as a guest.

They also don't have to worry about Silver Lake City's safety because several Kaijus were hidden in the darkness to protect it. Not to mention the protection formation they created and used around the city.

"Oh, I see." Cang Yue nodded her head in understanding.

As they flew away from Silver Lake City with the flying beast, they moved in a different direction instead of Blue Wind Imperial City.

"Big sister, Why are we going to the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range?" Hayate questioned with a frown.

Cang Yue whistled nervously and glanced at the sky. "The weather is nice today, huh." She said, which left Hayate speechless.

"..." Hayate stared with a deadpan expression.

"I just want to make our journey a little longer, okay." Cang Yue whispered sadly.

Hayate massaged his temple and released a defeated sigh because he couldn't really blame her either. They exchanged letters in one year, which means she was lonely.

"Well, I should have visited you more often." Hayate patted Cang Yue's head.

They skimmed through Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range's border and saw a group of people moving toward a place with a towering gate.

"Is there a clan living in the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range?" Hayate asked suddenly.

Cang Yue shook her head and weirdly replied, "No, I don't think there is a clan that's crazy enough to live in this place."

Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range frankly was located in the Blue Wind Empire's territory. It is the profound beasts' paradise. There are violent Nascent and Earth Profound beasts all over the mountains.

There is even a rumor that three Sky Profound beasts dwell in the mountain range.

"Let's ask them then." Hayate abruptly jumped off the profound flying beast.

"Don't Jump-!" Cang Yue yelled but then realized Hayate floated naturally down. "Ah, yeah. I forgot that he reached the Sky Profound Realm."

Hayate landed in front of them and asked, "Hey, where do you guys want to go?"

"Who are you, huh?!" An unruly man with a confused face pointed his weapon at Hayate.

Cang Yue landed near Hayate and said, "You almost made my heart explode for a moment there."

The unruly man was captivated by Cang Yue's beauty and immediately shouted, "Beautiful! Truly beautiful! Damn, there actually exists such a beautiful woman in this world! The women this daddy had played with before are ugly compared to her!"

"I'm the captain of Black Demon Mercenary Group. Come to me, baby girl." He proudly added.

The Black Demon Mercenary Group's members also stared at Cang Yue like a hungry predator. They surrounded them and brought their weapons out.

"This daddy wanted to find women in the Phoenix Clan at first, but such eye candy appeared suddenly." The unruly man, Black Demon, grinned widely. "What a blessing from heaven."

"Just leave that wimpy boy, hahaha!"

Cang Yue's expression is calm and natural, concealing her coldness inside because she hasn't felt these disgusting stares for a while.

'Wimpy boy, Hayate?' Cang Yue's eyes shone with a greenish luster.

"Big sister, you don't have to fight them." Hayate was about to summon Koro, but Cang Yue only smiled at him.

"No need," Cang Yue brought out a flexible thin sword.

She waved her hand gently and stared at Black Demon, who mocked Hayate a few seconds ago.

"You're not going to escape from me..." She indifferently said.