"You," Glottis pointed at one of the thugs, "Capture her!" The thug dashed at the teen girl, and she screamed in fear. However, he ignored her plight, hugged her tightly, and placed a gun against her temple-
"Ah!" He shouted and stepped back, ice covering his arms. "She is freezing cold, I can't touch her," he said while barely holding his arms up to aim the gun.
"The full moon," Mike said as he raised his eyes up. He used the distraction to get up and disengage from the group. Although he was stronger, he was wounded badly. He knew that he would only win if he used his forbidden technique again, but his body still hadn't recovered from the last time. It would be too dangerous if he used it again.
Titania's eyes rolled up and she collapsed on the ground, her body shaking uncontrollably as she curled up into a ball.
"I'm right here, Titania, I will protect you," Mike stood by her side and looked at his enemies in determination. Even if he had to sacrifice his life, he would still protect her until his last breath.
"Everyone, shoot, aim at the girl!"
"No!" Mike stood in front of her and took on the bullets. They could not penetrate his strengthened skin, but each bullet left a bruise behind. The white turned red, and the red turned blue. Mike stood as firmly as a mountain, not letting a single bullet harm his little sister.
"Hahaha, you should leave dead weight behind and save yourself, you idiot!" Glottis laughed happily. "Go down now!"
Just as Glottis' words were about to come true, the space was charged with intense pressure, causing everyone to freeze in place.
"Enough, my disciple might be gullible, but I won't let him die in such a nonsensical way."
A woman materialized as though from nothing. Her presence was powerful and demanding attention. Her posture was straight, her curves were covered by white robes that could not entirely hide the blessing nature had graced her with.
Glottis squinted his eyes, trying to determine whether she was hot or not. Unfortunately, her face was masked and she did not walk. One thing he could tell for sure, her sleek red hair was gorgeous, he only knew two women who could compete with it.
"Who are you? Do you know who my parents are?" Glottis stepped forward in confidence. He knew the details of the deal; he had not used his family's resources for the fight, and she had no right to interrupt him.
"I know all too well, trust me. There's nothing they can do if I decide to stop you," the woman answered indifferently. "If you were to kill my disciple fairly, I would say nothing. However, seeing him die from naivety is unacceptable."
"It's not my fault he is an idiot who jumps to conclusions," Glottis retorted.
"It isn't, but I still cannot accept it."
"Boys, it's time to use our boots, soar to the sky and shoot that woman!"
"Anyone who tries will be killed," she threatened. However, it was too late.
Seven men channeled Qi into their boots and jumped into the air, aiming their guns at the newcomer. She raised her hand and aimed her finger at one of them, ready to sentence him to death-
"Argh!"
"Ah!"
*BOOM*
*CRUSH*
*THUD*
They all crashed into different trees and fell back to the ground, dizzy. One tried to jump back after hitting a wide bark, only to find out his friend had the same thought.
"Aiya, never mind. I will be going now," the woman sighed and disappeared along with Mike and Titania. She didn't feel like killing them anymore after that pathetic demonstration.
"Fuck, it's the second time twigs enter my hair," Donny cursed as he pulled them out of his afro. He got up and looked at his underlings in anger. "You bunch of idiots, why can't you do anything right?"
"We are sorry, Young Master," they said, not daring to point out that Donny's performance was no better than theirs. "We practiced in open space and doing it in the forest for the first time proved more difficult than we thought."
"Fine, I will let you off the hook this once. Bunch of morons. We can still count today as our win, let's go."
---
A woman appeared in a vast room in her mansion in the mountains with two unconscious youths levitating by her side. She took down her mask, revealing an enchanting face framed by glossy red hair that seemed to stretch itself in an attempt to touch her perky butt yet being one centimeter short.
"Ah, you are such a stupid boy," she sighed as she looked at her disciple. Seeing him protect the girl with his body plucked a string in her heart. She recalled her good times with her husband during their youth, but now those times were gone.
"I thought you had a crush on me, why were you protecting her with your life?" she mumbled to herself as she caressed Mike's face with her finger, letting him down and resting his head on her lap. He never said it, but she wasn't blind either. She could see his longing gazes every time they met, and the slight quiver in his body every time she touched him.
Mike woke up already, and he heard her words. He pretended to be unconscious only because he liked being spoiled by his master, and her words sent a cold shiver down his spine. 'She knows about my feelings,' he thought to himself.
'Why does she not reciprocate them if she knows?' He pondered. 'Is it one-sided?' melancholy wrapped his heart as he felt pain in his chest at the possibility. 'Is it because I'm weak?'
He had worked hard to break through to the next stage, but he still hadn't succeeded. Strong desire lit up in his mind, the desire to be strong, the desire to stop being a burden on the woman who gave him so much already.
He stopped paying attention to his master's caresses and inspected his inner body. The Qi in his dantian started converging, being sucked into a swirl of energy that absorbed the power from his strengthened body and from the Qi in his meridians and dantian.
'He is advancing,' The red-haired woman thought to herself in surprise. 'How is it possible? He is still 18 years old, and he barely finished strengthening his body two months ago.' Her surprise was easy to understand when considering that she, one of the strongest cultivators alive, only formed her golden core when she turned twenty-two.
The energy kept swirling around itself, creating a beautiful golden vortex. The vortex slowly condensed itself into a golden ball, a beautiful mass of Qi.
The process took two hours, during which neither the student nor the master moved from their spots. The older woman only channeled a bit of Qi to the younger woman to stabilize the latter's condition.
Mike slowly opened his eyes, finding his master looking at him from above. He did not move, savoring the softness of her lap underneath his head. The two looked at each other without speaking for a moment before she opened her mouth.
"Are you still not moving? I know you have been awake since two hours ago," she said softly without pushing him away. Nobody could advance unconsciously.
"Not yet, let me stay for a while," he said as he reached to her hand and held it. "Thank you, Master, for always being by my side."
"And you repay the favor by losing repeatedly?" she teased him.
"I will never lose again. Master, I waited to break through to the Golden Core Stage before saying it to you. I'm now at the Golden Core Stage and I'm almost worthy of you. I love you, Master, I want to stay by your side forever."
"Silly boy, your potential is much greater than mine, and I'm decades older than you even if I look at my twenties," she said and squeezed his hand. She watched him struggle without giving up, she watched him advance faster than she thought was possible even for the greatest genius.
"My potential would be worth nothing without your nurturing. I owe to you every ounce of power I have or will ever have. Please accept my feelings, Master."
He got up from her lap and pushed her down to the ground. He leaned down from above her, his lips aiming at hers.
---
Glottis returned annoyed to his home, throwing a tantrum at the violation of the deal between that woman and his family.
"THAT BITCH! SHE CAN'T EVEN KEEP HER WORD!" He yelled as soon as he entered his house, kicking a chair that stood in his way. He continued to climb up the stairs to his father's chambers.
"DAD!" He banged on the door, ignoring the masculine groans he heard, "I'm opening the door." He gave his old man three seconds to cover his private parts before barging in.
"You and your brother are so rude… Why can't I ever finish private sessions in time with you two around?"
"I think you finish them even with us around," Glottis forgot his anger for a moment when he noticed the young woman between his father's legs. Luckily, she hid the sight from his poor eyes with her thick brunette hair.