--- Chapter 6 ---
Hayate woke up with a yawn and felt a decent amount of profound energy stored in his body. He frowned because there was no overflowing sensation like usual after waking up from [Hibernation] ability.
He decided to ignore it for now and refined the profound energy he gained when sleeping. Yet, he discovered that his Profound Veins transformed into unfamiliar veins.
Hayate's Profound Veins is flexible compared to other cultivators because he could learn any profound arts without getting restricted, which happened because of Kaiju Creation's influence.
Kaiju Creation improved Hayate's body optimally so that he could withstand an endless amount of Kaiju's Transformation. That's why he could leisurely control the opposite natural element together.
"I need more information," Hayate muttered while thinking about [Titleless Medical Book] in his spatial ring.
"I'll just take a peek..." He added and brought out the book.
A few hours later, Hayate pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in defeat because there was no explanation for his problem. As if [Titleless Medical Book] is not complete for some reason.
Hayate used a [Silver-Horned Frog]'s core and cleansed his body with profound energy. This Chimera core actually was created based on Profound Beast, which lived near Silver Lake City.
With a frog-like body, because frogs mainly live there and a silver horn from [Horned Fish] caught in the sea, Hayate created a C-Grade Chimera core with [Minor Water Manipulation] and [Toxic Blood] abilities.
He changed to [Three-Eyed Tigrex]'s core and dried himself, covering his body with a faint white flame. He controlled the temperature skillfully, or the bed would have been getting burned right now.
Unlike [Silver-Horned Frog], B-Grade [Three-Eyed Tigrex]'s core was created with three Kaiju cores mainly from a Lizard Profound Beast that can breathe fire, sustained with Tiger and D-Grade Chimera [Steel Bird] from his last world.
This combination somehow created a three-eyed, quadrupedal winged lizard characterized by its massive head and jaws, powerful limbs, and striking yellow/blue striped coloration.
Hayate obtained [Fire Manipulation], [Steel-like Body], and [Predator's Gaze]. However, he barely could fly with [Three-Eyed Tigrex] core, which is hilariously ironic from a winged lizard.
"Okay, done." Hayate took a mirror out and attempted to tidy his unkempt hair but successfully made it messier.
"???" Koro observed Hayate from behind and barked a few times in confusion.
"What do you think?" Hayate asked wryly.
Koro shook its round head, which caused Hayate to chuckle in defeat.
"I thought so." He responded while wearing his clothes.
Hayate stepped out of the inn with Koro and walked to the Xia manor with a smile.
He had so much fun last night, but Hong Guan has planned something for him. That's why there are some business documents in his spatial ring.
As Hayate was about to arrive at Xia Clan, a few guards noticed his arrival and were ready to greet him.
"Good morning, young master!" They spoke in unison, which caused Hayate to stare at them with a weird expression.
He ignored them and walked into Xia Manor, approaching the front door with a calm expression.
After a few moments, Xia Hongyi opened the front door with Xia Qingyue behind him.
"Ah, Good morning." Hayate greeted them with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Senior Xia."
"Nice to meet you again, Young lady Xia."
Xia Hongyi stared at Hayate silently and sensed overflowing confidence in him.
'He at least showed me respect, unlike those young masters from the higher clan.' Xia Hongyi nodded his head.
He offered his hand and said, "Welcome to our humble home, Junior Hayate."
Hayate shook Xia Honyi's hand firmly and answered, "Thank you."
"Welcome." Xia Qingyue greeted him and restrained her mind from thinking about a particular image.
They walked down the corridor and entered the dining room, where Xia Yuanba waited calmly for them.
"Junior Hayate," Xia Hongyi smiled. "This is my son and Qingyue's younger brother, Xia Yuanba."
"I see... Nice to meet you." Hayate responded naturally with a curious gaze.
He was shocked by Xia Yuanba's physique because he seemed like an adult who had trained his body for years.
'As expected of Qingyue's brother, he's interesting.' Hayate thought while thinking about something.
Xia Yuanba nervously nodded his head and gradually glanced at his older sister, who was awkwardly quiet.
Xia Hongyi instructed a maid to bring one more chair and prepare another breakfast.
"Junior Hayate, have you had breakfast yet?" He asked Hayate.
"No." Hayate shook his head.
"Then, why don't we eat breakfast together." Xia Hongyi offered with a polite tone. Hong Guan's letter did say he had to give Hayate generous assistance.
Hayate agreed, and they sat silently, waiting for his portion of breakfast brought by a maid. As a few dishes arrived on the dining table, they started to eat and sometimes chat with each other.
"So, Junior Hayate. May I ask what's your connection with City Lord's Hong Guan?" Xia Hongyi asked while separating the fish meat from its bone.
"She's my foster mother," Hayate replied as he placed an empty water cup on the table. "I got adopted when I was 12 years old."
"This is quite sad to say, but I'm a beggar before that." He wryly added.
Xia Qingyue frowned because it didn't make sense if Hayate was a beggar, but he quietly stared at her and confirmed, "It's the truth, young lady Xia."
"I don't even remember my real parents."
Hayate stated the truth because even in the original world, he doesn't have a memory of his parents. He was placed and grown in the orphanage.
"You can ask City Lord's Hong Guan herself if you think I am a liar." He moved his gaze to Xia Honyi.
"No, it's okay." Xia Hongyi sipped his tea because this explained Hayate's demeanor. He hasn't shown them any noble-like character so far.
The breakfast ended well, and Hayate told them about Silver Lake City's current condition.
Xia Yuanba, who always timidly observed Hayate, couldn't help but hear his words in amazement from start to finish.
"Feel free to visit Silver Lake City anytime you want," Hayate said while looking at Xia Yuanba.
After that, Xia Hongyi brought Hayate to his office, a room with a minimalistic design. There is a portrait of a beautiful woman on the wall behind Xia Hongyi's desk.
'Well, this explains where Qingyue gets her beauty.' Hayate observed the woman in the portrait.
Hayate brought out a small box and said, "Here are the documents you have to stamp."
"Oh, thank you." Xia Hongyi received the small box and placed it on his desk.
As he opened the box, a few documents welcomed him and made him a little excited because this was a chance to improve Xia's family business.
"May I read the document first?" Xia Hongyi wore his glasses.
"Sure," Hayate replied.
He noticed Xia Qingyue's presence near the office and returned, "Senior, can I walk around the manor?"
"Well, of course." Xia Hongyi laughed. "Then, I will take my time with the document."
Hayate walked out soundlessly and saw Xia Qingyue standing near the wall, eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Oh, look, what we have here." Hayate grinned at her. "Eavesdropping is not a good thing, you know."
Xia Qingyue ignored his remark and said, "Follow me."
She walked away, and Hayate shrugged his shoulders as he followed her silently from behind. They arrived in the backyard, a wide area with enough space to practice martial arts.
Xia Qingyue stood on the field and slowly flowed profound energy into her palm. "Hayate, you're above True Profound Realm, right?" She asked calmly.
Hayate nodded and answered, "I'm at the sixth level of Spirit Profound Realm."
"So you reached that level in only two years..." Xia Qingyue's eyes shone with curiosity. "Since you was a beggar before, I assumed you hadn't begun your profound way at that time, is that correct?"
"You're intuitive in this kind of thing, huh," Hayate commented, not denying Xia Qingyue's suspicion.
He chuckled because Xia Qingyue's profound energy had reached its optimal state. She was ready for something.
"I guess you want to have a short spar with me?"
Xia Qingyue slightly nodded her head because Hayate's progress blew her mind. They started their cultivation around the same time, but Hayate exceeded her tremendously.
He had reached a level beyond the realm of genius her teacher talked about in the past. She was said to be an extreme genius by her teacher's statement. However, a true genius appears in front of her now.
Xia Qingyue knew the secret of Hayate's body, which hosted an endless amount of monsters inside it. 'I wanted to know more of his secret.' She thought while generating cold air around them.
"I'll lower my cultivation to your level, but I'm not going to hold myself down in battle technique. Is that okay?" Hayate said with a relaxed expression.
This spar is a suitable method to test his martial arts proficiency.
Hayate wore off his coat and walked onto the training field. He entered a weird stance in Xia Qingyue's vision.
He stood with a spread stance full of openings, with his leg firmly pressed on the ground and his arms literally hanging freely.
"Okay, you can come at me anytime," Hayate said confidently.
They are in the same realm now, but Xia Qingyue won't let her guard down.
She kicked the ground and launched a palm strike at Hayate's open chest. He jumped forward to Xia Qingyu's surprise, but his first kick was a false attack because his leg rotated and hit her arm.
Bam!
Xia Qingyue blocked him with her arm and felt a stinging sensation, which she expressed with a slight groan. Hayate jumped again and launched a spinning kick at her.
Since Xia Qingyue anticipated a false attack from Hayate, she created a barrier to block this incoming kick.
Hayate grinned widely and dropped his body down swiftly, tackling her leg instead. Xia Qingyue lost her balance and felt a stinging pain in her stomach.
Bam!
'All of his attacks are simple...' She landed a few meters away from Hayate.
"It's simple but fast, isn't it?" Hayate commented as he pressed his leg against the ground.
Xia Qingyue breathed and lunged forward, attacking Hayate with her Frozen Cloud Arts.
SWOOSH! BOOM!
Hayate's body abruptly was launched with a cold force. He scanned the training field and noticed Xia Qingyue had disappeared.
Xia Qinyue appeared with faint frozen air around her and tried to blast him again. Hayate crossed his arms and received her attack for research purposes.
"I wonder where you learned this ice profound art," Hayate whispered while clenching his fist.
"My teacher taught me." Xia Qingyue's palm shone in ice blue color.
"I see." Hayate launched a punch at her.
BAM!
Their attacks met each other and created a loud burst noise, shocking everyone around Xia Clan's Manor.
Xia Qingyue stared at her palm, which had become red. She could feel the heat left on it.
"Broken Spear." Hayate suddenly appeared out of a dust cloud and aimed a spear at her neck.
CLANK!
Xia Qingyue pushed an ice barrier between them and secured a few meters distance from Hayate. 'That was dangerous.' She thought while observing Hayate's spear.
Hayate lifted the spear and kicked it toward Xia Qingyue, whose eyes widened because she didn't expect that. She dodged the incoming spear and felt a weird sensation on her back.
Xia Qingyue trusted her instinct and kicked the ground to dodge.
SWOOSH! BAM!
The spear rotated violently and swung back to her former position, but fortunately, she dodged that place.
Xia Qingyue noticed a thin string was attached to the spear.
"Keep your eyes on your opponent," Hayate commented.
Xia Qingyue threw a punch at Hayate but missed the target because Hayate had grabbed her robe. He lifted her to his shoulder and slammed her down to the ground.
BAM!
Xia Qingyue could feel her mouth filled with some soil and groaned in frustration because she couldn't move her body as Hayate pinned her down skillfully.
They hadn't realized their current position was quite sensual as Hayate pinned her face upward and locked her lower body with his legs.
"Haa..." Xia Qingyue sighed in defeat. "I gave up."
"That was a good spar." Hayate released her casually.
"What are you doing to my disciple?" A woman's cold voice arrived on the training field.
A black-haired woman in a snowy white robe landed on the training field.
She has an exceptional snow-white complexion, vermilion lips, and black hair tied in a ponytail.
This woman has peerless elegance and pure holiness like a fairy who had descended from the palace on the moon. It was hard for anyone to ascertain her age.
"Teacher, we are just-..." Xia Qingyue was about to explain, but her teacher separated her from Hayate.
Chu Yueli looked at Hayate with an indifferent gaze and sealed him inside a block of solid ice. Hayate's eyes widened because he couldn't react in time.
'This woman, she's a Sky Profound Realm cultivator.' Hayate thought solemnly.
After examining Xia Qingyue's body briefly, Chu Yueli noticed a few red bruises, and she became furious.
She gazed at Hayate again and slammed her palm on the ice, sending Hayate violently to the nearest wall.
Hayate, who sensed danger, had used several Kaiju cores to lessen the damage, but an angered Sky Profound Realm cultivator's strength exceeded his earlier calculation.
BAM! CRACK!
COUGH!
Hayate coughed a mouth of blood and felt his consciousness begin to blackout.
He actually wanted to use more Kaiju cores but decided not to because he would go berserk in this kind of scenario.
"Ah, What a shitty moment..." He groaned and then fainted.
"HAYATE!!"