Seeing Kenja regain lucidity in a matter of seconds, the elders and Vice Elder Shirou were astounded.
The First Elder, like the other elders, had heard several miraculous stories concerning the new initiate Hirai Hikaru, and he had provoked the two girls for the purpose of testing her.
Since Kenja had taken the bait and indirectly challenged him, he was well within his rights to teach them a little lesson.
The other elders had not intervened because they were also curious about this mysterious Hirai Hikaru and whether she held any secrets.
Alas, just a small amount of killing intent from a Nascent Soul's psyche had knocked her into full-blown panic and caused a nose bleed.
This performance was comparatively average amongst Qi Flourishing cultivators. In this respect, the little princess was much better as she had not completely succumbed to panic nor had she been injured.
But then, Hirai Hikaru had snapped herself awake after a few seconds which was abnormal.
Extremely abnormal.
If she were an Odalisque or a powerful cultivator in disguise, then she would not have succumbed to the killing intent in the first place.
Some geniuses or well-equipped Qi Flourishing cultivators could also resist the killing intent, but breaking out of it by yourself after only a few seconds of entering a hysterical state…that was unheard of.
The only reasonable explanation was that someone or something had woken her out of that state, but none of them could sense a third party that could have done that.
Kenja felt an intense trembling coming from his palm which was locked in a painful grip with the princess's hand, but he was unable to determine whether it was her body or his own that was causing it.
Forcing his head to turn, he glanced at the princess whose normally fiery, feisty eyes had been doused with tears threatening to fall any second. Her gaze was cast downward, lost in an illusion caused by the First Elder's killing intent.
She had not given up, but the torment was still there.
Kenja was angry.
No.
He was angry before, but now, he was enraged. Infuriated. Incensed.
If there was one thing Kenja had trouble tolerating in this world, it was a bully!
Bullied as an orphan, bullied as a kid, bullied as a peasant, bullied as a weakling…
If it was just him, he could accept it.
But when his twin sisters had been bullied for wearing the same clothes repeatedly, he scrounged up new rags for Baba to sew together for them.
When they were mocked for not knowing how to read, he learned from Satoshi, so he could teach them.
After Kitamura Bolo put them down for not having a family and offered them a pittance to be his women, Kenja gave them a surname and took up extra odd jobs to afford them some spending money.
If it was him alone, Kenja could swallow the First Elder's actions.
But the villain had driven Little Hanabi to tears!
Although Kenja wished to distance himself from this clingy princess, she had always treated him amicably and earnestly, going far enough to bow her head and call him "big sister," gifting him valuable pills for a mere stomachache, and now, she had stepped forward to shield him from the aggression of a Nascent Soul elder.
Ignorant of the world, naive, innocent, kind, desperate to make friends—such a person did not deserve to be humiliated and insulted repeatedly, especially in front of her elders and senior disciples.
Everybody had a bottom line, including Kenja, and this bald bastard had crossed it!
This week alone, he had dealt with numerous bullies who threw their weights around: Kitamura Bolo, his bodyguard, Snail, Matsushita Hizumi, Sora Yu, Third Elder Kondo, and now, he faced the sect's First Elder who seemed to be the biggest asshole of them all!
Kenja had decided to tear his face off ruthlessly, relentlessly, remorselessly, even if it would put his own life in danger.
Hirai Hikaru released Hanabi's hand and grabbed both of her shoulders, jerking her out of the nightmare.
"Little sister! Look!"
The red glow returned to her eyes as she focused on Hikaru's face.
She pointed at her nose.
"The heavens could only give me a nose bleed. Isn't your big sister amazing?"
Hanabi furrowed her thin, red brows at her in confusion, still trying to comprehend the meaning behind her words.
Snail was concerned for Hikaru's behavior: "Disciple, what are you doing?"
"Oh! But look at you, little sister. Not a scratch! How admirable!" Hikaru continued to speak without responding to Snail.
"It's probably best to stop here, disciple. You shouldn't spit on the face of a Nascent Soul too much."
Hikaru shook her head, pretending to be disappointed with herself.
"Tsk, tsk. I guess I still have room for improvement. Please, guide me in the future so that I can stand above the heavens just like you."
Finally understanding Hikaru's intentions, Hanabi's eyes reignited full of mirth, releasing the tears they held back. Her body finally relaxed, and she could not help but giggle.
"We get it, disciple. Stop poking the bear!"
Hikaru did not heed Snail's warnings.
"No need to cry for me, little sister. It's just a nose bleed. You should cry for the heavens. They were only capable of leaving a nose bleed on me, a little girl at the Qi Flourishing stage. Imagine! Once I establish my foundation, the heavens would probably just bow their heads and call me 'Ancestor'."
Snail sighed into Hikaru's ear, "Fine. Since you insist on courting death, then I'll join you. We should go all out and hold nothing back!"
Snail began pushing his multi-layered bewitching enchantments into overdrive.
For the first time ever, Kenja could sense the air change around him, enveloping him in a feeling of invincibility and omnipotence.
Kenja marveled at Snail's ability to influence even Kenja's perception of himself. It was a wondrous and mystical transformation that invigorated him enough to tackle any goal he set his mind to.
Hirai Hikaru turned to face the elders' table, donning a seductively, dangerous smile with blood still dripping from her nose to her upper lip. Her defiant gaze locked onto Kaitou Daiki.
Thanks to Snail's strengthened enchantments, it was not just Kenja who was affected.
Neither men nor women could escape their influence.
For some, Hikaru was like an exotic flower that had just bloomed, unwilling to bend or break when facing the turbulent winds and changing seasons.
To others, she was an inviolable and valiant figure that carried the world on her shoulders to stand against every evil and injustice.
And a few saw a little girl wrongfully bullied to the extent of receiving an injury, but she laughed it off in the face of her attacker.
Regardless, thanks to Snail's interference, any casual onlooker felt immense sympathy and good will towards Hikaru. If possible, Snail hoped that this would deter the elders from taking drastic actions against his disciple.
Fearless and daring, Hikaru spoke out loud without a hint of reverence.
"First Elder."
Although she had previously named the heavens, Hikaru's words were indirectly targeting the First Elder, and they dripped with as much disdain as the insults he had hurled at Hanabi earlier.
But now, she had dropped all pretenses and called out to him specifically.
"Disciple will remember this valuable lesson. Disciple would like to show First Elder her gratitude."
Sarcasm bursting at the seams, this was a blatant challenge.
A Qi Flourishing going against a Nascent Soul, a disciple against an elder, a little girl against an old man—no matter who was asked, they would label such a person as a foolhardy idiot, if not imaginary or deceased.
But for some inexplicable reason, Aracha and the five Tributaries looked at Hirai Hikaru as a heroic fairy that had ensnared their admiration.
Even Matsushita Hizumi was charmed to the extent that he had temporarily forgotten his bitter feud with her. His mind had formed subconscious delusions of gifting his handmade swords to his Senior Sister Hirai in hopes that she would praise him.
That was…until Hikaru's next action shattered their fantasies.
GAAAAARRRRRRRR
PTOOEY