Chapter 51
The familiar crimson smoke began to condense around Ray, swiftly enveloping him. As the smoke condensed further, the mystical phenomena it brought grew stronger.
After a while, the expanding dimensions of the red smoke ceased, firmly amplifying Ray's momentum. It felt as if the king of the forest stood behind Ray, bolstering his confidence.
"Ahahahah, this passive is strikingly similar to Xiao Bai's!" Ray exclaimed with delight, reveling in momentary joy.
Once the initial excitement subsided, Ray finally found peace to contemplate. He activated another talent to observe any special reactions that occurred when two talents were activated simultaneously.
As Ray waited for his talent to recover, he found a trace of satisfaction on his face, which eventually led him to sleep.
...
On Monday, Ray went to school as usual. He generously shared tea leaves and bags of meat with his friends. Though Ray had given them various items numerous times before, the group of four had grown accustomed to it and didn't react much, despite their inner reluctance.
Ray never considered how his friends felt about his actions or the potential indebtedness he may have caused them. He simply wanted to treat his friends as friends based on his understanding of friendship. In his opinion, those random meats and items were completely worthless. Above all, Ray wanted to enjoy the company of his friends, though he was oblivious to his desire to impress them.
After classes ended, Ray frequently visited the campus to acquire the things he deemed necessary. Now, he had a way to improve the construction process of the soul library.
...
"Hey, beautiful sister!" Ray called out upon entering the practice room.
His exclamation caught the attention of those in the vicinity, who briefly glanced at him before resuming their activities. It was evident that they were accustomed to Ray's presence.
Hou Yunfei, who was preparing to enter the training ground, glanced at him. His previously stoic expression softened slightly upon seeing Ray.
Confidently and with a smile, Ray approached the girl.
"What's with that expression? Did you win the lottery?" Hou Yunfei asked curiously.
"Hehehe, I'm just thrilled at the idea of training with such a beautiful senior sister like you!" Ray shamelessly replied.
Hou Yunfei's softened expression quickly turned dark and hardened.
"You brat, who would believe you?"
"That's right, I'm not lying," Ray spoke in a coaxing tone.
"Well, hurry up! I can't believe you!" Hou Yunfei urged.
"Seriously, I--"
"It's getting late, I want to practice right away. Stop babbling!" Hou Yunfei insisted, growing increasingly impatient.
"Hmm, alright, alright... I've managed to create my martial art. Thanks to you for lending me the book earlier. Now I'm confident I can easily defeat you!" Ray shamelessly boasted, his talk becoming more and more grandiose.
Upon hearing this, Hou Yunfei nodded slightly, although still skeptical of Ray's claims. At least the first half of Ray's words seemed believable.
"Okay! Show me the martial art you've created and be proud of it. I hope you don't faint this time!" Hou Yunfei spoke excitedly, raising and clenching his fist.
Witnessing this stance, Ray shuddered in horror and instinctively guarded the back of his head, as if the image of being beaten unconscious had been ingrained in his muscle memory.
Hou Yunfei, slightly amused by Ray's reaction, realized that his apprentice had an excessive fear of his fist in the future. A wicked smile crept across Hou Yunfei's face, sending even more chills down Ray's spine.
"Hey, hey, wait a minute. I want to spar, not be a punching bag for you!" Ray shouted, wanting everyone to hear.
His loud shout caught the attention of those who had been absorbed in their activities, and Ray felt a sense of satisfaction seeing their reactions.
Meanwhile, Hou Yunfei could only snort. "Hmp! Come on, step into the ring!"
Hou Yunfei had already moved, ready to enter the training area.
However, Ray stopped him. "Hey, wait!"
"What?" Hou Yunfei asked, narrowing his eyes, curious about what trick Ray had up his sleeve.
"I just returned from a few days of camping, and during that time, I managed to get my hands on some wild tea, although it's not entirely wild, and also some meat," Ray explained as he took out two bamboo tubes and a bag of meat.
Like Ray's friends, Hou Yunfei had grown accustomed to Ray always providing such services, but he was slightly confused by Ray's mention of wild but not-so-wild tea.
"What kind of strange tea is 'wild but not-so-wild?" Hou Yunfei asked, intrigued as he examined the items Ray had brought.
"This tea is from an abandoned tea garden that I stumbled upon..." Ray replied.
Hou Yunfei then proceeded to open the two delicate bamboo tubes that Ray had given him.
Each bamboo tube was almost filled with roasted tea and fresh green tea.
Ray had found that bamboo worked well as a container, as it could retain the tea's aura. He thought it was a good idea to use bamboo as a vessel for items that easily lost their aura.
The tea Ray had roasted wasn't bad for a beginner either. His past life memories now served as a database with search engine features, so Ray didn't pay much attention to this phenomenon, attributing it to the Tesseract.
As the delicate bamboo container was opened, a pleasant fragrant smell filled the air. Hou Yunfei was slightly pleased by the aroma and enjoyed the tranquility brought by the tea leaves.
"Did you encounter this in the wild? Or did you buy it at a high price, remove the packaging, and give it to me to show off in front of your beautiful senior sister?" Hou Yunfei asked, sounding suspicious.
"Peh! It's not about showing off. I got this for free. If you don't believe me, I'll take you to see the pots grafted from those trees at my house!" Ray retorted.
"Is that so? Aren't you just trying to find an excuse to go on a date with this beautiful senior sister?" Hou Yunfei teased, still skeptical.
"How about next week we go outside the city walls? I'll accompany you to see the abandoned garden!" Ray suggested.
Upon hearing this, Hou Yunfei found it hard to doubt Ray's words. He couldn't help but believe it.
He glanced at Ray for a moment and then back at the tea leaves, his expression becoming complex. As someone well-versed in tea, Hou Yunfei immediately noticed that these tea leaves were extraordinary, despite their surface appearance being green and similar to other leaves.
With proper treatment, they could be worth a lot of money. Hou Yunfei realized that his grandfather would likely appreciate these teas.
Upon seeing the outcome of Ray's cooking, Hou Yunfei initially felt a sense of disappointment. It was evident that the frying results were rough and of poor quality. While Ray's frying skills might have been well-regarded on Earth and acceptable to amateur tea enthusiasts, in a world filled with magic, many things could be controlled and processed using specific magical techniques.
Ray's preparation was subpar, to say the least. If the tea were to be presented to the public, even amateur enthusiasts in this world would mock and criticize the person responsible for frying the tea. Fortunately, there were still fresh green leaves that remained well-preserved. Otherwise, Hou Yunfei would have scolded Ray for being too extravagant.
Hou Yunfei subconsciously gazed at the tea with shining eyes, his smile making Ray feel slightly embarrassed.
"Cough..."
"Ahh..."
Hou Yunfei snapped out of it, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Alright, thanks for the tea leaves. Let's head to the training area right away! I can't wait to punch you!" Hou Yunfei exclaimed, eager to start.