"Had enough sleep, Snail?" Kenja replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes, his hand continually stroking Yoshie's hair.
"Why would I wake up from such a small nap?"
Kenja was about to curse at Snail for lying until he heard another wave of snoring come from Snail's shell.
"Wha—how?!"
"I just have to leave a thread of consciousness awake to make sure I don't miss anything fun—ahem—I mean I need to guard your well-being! It's quite a normal thing to do once you become as amazing as I am. Even Little Second Brother can do the same to a certain extent, else, how could he be left to guard the sect while we go goof off?"
Upon catching his slip, Kenja grew angry at the reckless snail for leaving him to worry for no reason. "If that's the case, then why didn't you answer me when I called for you?"
"I was playing with you—ahem—I mean I was testing you! It should have been pretty obvious, disciple. After all, if I really had left you alone, then wouldn't your disguise fall apart?"
Kenja thought about it some more and realized Snail had a point. He should have realized Snail was not completely absent as his appearance and voice still resembled a woman.
"I guess I gave you too much credit, disciple. Even now, don't you see what you're doing wrong?"
Kenja examined himself and the others flying on their weapons.
The speed at which they flew was much slower than Sakura's usual speed.
The elders were most likely accommodating Kenja and Hanabi since Qi Flourishing cultivators were more limited in speed and endurance.
Kenja had intentionally flown alongside Hanabi to match her speed and movements so that he would not accidentally do something flashy with Sakura.
When he noticed that Hanabi's speed dampened slightly, he had slowed down with her. Eventually, she had to descend soon and renew her flight.
Although the [Ethereal Blade] technique could control weapons so that one could fly through the sky while standing atop one, this was not true unrestrained and unfettered flight.
Like swimming underwater, regardless of whether one was a mighty Nascent Soul elder who could hold their breath for a dozen hours or a Qi Flourishing youth who could manage fifteen minutes, one eventually had to surface and inhale a second breath.
Even the more advanced water-based breath technique had a limit to how long it would permit one to stay submerged.
For this reason, one eventually had to descend to the ground and 'take a second breath.' If one refused to renew their flight, their qi consumption would increase dramatically, and their balance would be compromised.
Thus, Kenja planned to descend at the same time as Hanabi so that neither he nor his sword would draw attention even though Sakura could fly them for a substantially longer time.
Kenja could not discern what Snail was referring to, but when he glanced at the three elders flying in front as well as the other Tributaries and Aoi Rin, he noticed that they would occasionally glance back at him.
Because there were so many of them that were sneaking glances at him, thanks to Snail's warning, he could tell something was wrong.
Kenja glanced at Hanabi whose face and hair were still covered with a thin veil. From the opening, he could see her cute brows furrowed and her skin glisten with sweat as she seemed incredibly determined to continue flying.
Yoshie's voice tore him out of his rumination.
"S-senior sister, is everything okay? Your h-heart started beating very fast."
Kenja looked down at his youngest sister, her innocent brown eyes looking up at him full of concern. His hand had paused its strokes with Yoshie's several clumps of strands caught in between his fingers.
!
"Miss Sakura, we have to descend now. Fast!"
Sakura quickly dropped like a cannonball to the ground, surprising everyone who was still flying through the air. Nearing the ground, her descent became erratic, suddenly decelerating one moment and accelerating the next.
"Shizuka, jump down."
Shizuka jumped off the sword and landed on the ground. Kenja followed her while carrying Yoshie in his arms. Her arms were wrapped around his neck in fright.
Sakura pierced the ground next to their landing spot.
In the air, the three elders, five Tributaries, Aoi Rin and Hanabi had come to a halt.
Sora Yu's snort broke the silence.
"She shouldn't have pretended for so long if she wasn't capable. Now, she's made a fool of herself."
The elders and their disciples had noticed that Kenja was flying continuously while carrying his two junior sisters for a suspiciously long duration. On top of that, he showed no sign of fatigue or strain.
Compared to what they considered normal, Kenja's performance was somewhat unbelievable. This disparity was magnified further when compared to Hanabi and her exhausted appearance.
As a princess of the Ryuga imperial family, she had been blessed with talent and guidance since a young age, so she was far beyond the average Qi Flourishing cultivator.
Yet, she was struggling to continue her flight alongside Kenja without the encumbrance of two additional passengers.
"Master always said one should properly measure themselves. To put on airs during such a crisis is a worrisome trait to see in junior sister," he continued mocking Kenja's character.
Even though Kenja's appearance was that of a true beauty with talent, Sora Yu had had enough of her and the enigma Kitamura Bolo.
Seeing Kenja embarrass himself, he would not let go of the opportunity to mock him. If convenient, he wanted to convince his master to withdraw his plans to apprentice him.
"Mm. Now, she's wasting our time because she overestimated herself. Right, Brother Aki?"
Shimizu Mizutani had sensed that Hideaki Akiyoshi was unusually interested in this junior sister. Already having suffered at Kenja's hands earlier and after witnessing his talent in captivation, she was inclined to take this chance to widen the rift between him and Hideaki Akiyoshi.
Hanabi flashed them a fiery glare, her eyes turning a mad red. The air around her sword heated up a dozen degrees.
Glib, Sora Yu sneered at her. "Is something wrong, junior sister?"
Shimizu Mizutani did not speak, but she replied with her own condescending stare.
They were both Core Crystallization experts.
Even if they were deemed equivalent in status within the sect, the power difference was too massive for Ryu Hanabi to ignore.
The strong must be respected, and the weak must retreat.
Hanabi held her tongue and descended towards Kenja at her top speed.
"The princess is a bit too timid, don't you think? She could've spoken a few words. It's not like we bite," Sora Yu snickered at Hanabi as she fell to the ground.
When he glanced around at his comrades to garner some laughs, he sensed an oncoming threat in front of him.
He took out a different sword while Shimizu Mizutani formed a seal that sent out a slash of water.
Two man-sized balls of ice were split down the middle. As each half passed their target, the ice shattered into an explosion of water that drenched Sora Yu and Shimizu Mizutani.
"Sister Rin, what's the meaning of this?"
"Where have we offended you?"
With soaked robes and long hair disheveled, the two Tributaries shot daggers at Aoi Rin who attacked them by surprise.
She matched them with her own ice cold stare.
"Smell bad. You're welcome." Her words carried an icy breeze that blew past them.
The water immediately refroze causing their clothes to stiffen and their bodies to shiver.
Sora Yu broke the ice encasing his arms, and he pointed the tip of his sword at Aoi Rin, enraged.
Shimizu Mizutani melted the water and regathered it into a ball of water she held in the air menacingly. Being accused of bad odor in front of her crush and master caused her resentment to seethe uncontrollably, rippling across the surface of her water.
Aoi Rin did not move, but her eyelids closed several degrees, emanating a murderous vibe.
The two Tributaries could not help but recoil backwards an inch from the pressure, but as soon as they realized it, they grit their teeth and moved forward to show their determination.
They did not attack her though. They were in a deadlock with neither of them making a move.