Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Noel, You've Stirred Trouble
Humans, by and large, tend to seek a middle ground.
Although Lisa meant well, she didn't want to impose on Deluk. So, she suggested waiting a couple of days to see what happens.
"Alright, goodbye then."
Deuk nodded and started walking towards the staircase.
He hadn't had lunch yet.
"Hey, wait a minute."
Lisa called out to him. Catching up, she said, "What's your phone number? Let me have a way to contact you."
Deluk spread his hands.
"I don't have a phone."
But Lisa seemed to have anticipated this and was not surprised. With a sly smile, she said, "I guessed as much."
Then, she pulled out a phone from her pocket and handed it to him.
"Here, use this one. The SIM card is already set up. If anything happens, just call me."
Without waiting for Deluk to refuse, she turned and walked away.
After a few steps, she stopped, turned back to look at Deluk with a serious expression: "The things I just mentioned, I hope you take them seriously. It won't be long before the resurgence of spiritual energy becomes public knowledge. Our college entrance exams won't just be ordinary tests anymore."
She gazed up at the blue sky, a hint of longing on her face.
"It's a world full of mysteries. The exams might just be your only ticket to that world."
Deluk watched her and suddenly blurted out, "With all this talk about how amazing it is, how come you almost got stabbed?"
Lisa froze for a moment, a flash of embarrassment in her eyes. She frowned and said defensively, "That's because I haven't learned the magic arts yet!"
"Do you even understand the value of having the potential for foundation building? Everyone is just beginning to figure out the ways of cultivation. A genius like me, who is just a step away from reaching the first level of Qi cultivation, there probably aren't more than twenty of us in the whole country."
"And that includes those who have been cultivating since childhood, living in Taoist temples."
"And who would have thought the officials would be so unreliable, claiming that there would be no problems in Ronaki City."
As she spoke, Lisa seemed a bit annoyed, "But admittedly, I was a bit too careless…"
She didn't notice the strange look on Deluk's face as she mentioned the potential for foundation building and the first level of Qi cultivation.
Foundation... building potential?
Deluk thought about it. The path of cultivation - Qi cultivation, foundation building, forming the golden core, nascent soul, crossing tribulations, becoming a deity, and reaching the Mahayana stage.
This foundation building potential, he found it hard to evaluate at the moment.
'Even when boasting, it's always about starting at least at the Nascent Soul stage...'
'This is the first time I've heard someone so proud of just having the potential for foundation building...'
Lisa Demergus looked at him suspiciously, seemingly guessing his thoughts, and then said knowingly, "Do you think foundation building is simple?"
As she spoke, her lips curled up again, and a strand of her hair stood on end.
"You might not know this, but even though spiritual energy has only been resurging for a year, the concentration of it in the world has nearly stabilized."
"To build a foundation is to possess the power to move mountains and seas!"
"In our country, the only known foundation builders are the two elders from Greenfield Mountain and Dragonlake Mountain."
Having said this, Lisa looked at Deluk with a hint of pride, hands on her hips, "Now you see how amazing I am."
Deluk was internally amused, thinking that she was, after all, just a teenager, probably holding in this bit of bragging for a long time.
Finally finding someone to show off to, she blabbered all this, hoping for his praise.
So, Deluk played along, gasping in awe, "I had no idea you were... so powerful!"
Lisa sensing his insincerity, huffed and turned to leave.
'Deluk you are so naive!'
This time she really left, not lingering, leaving Deluk standing there.
The boy chuckled to himself and then followed her down from the rooftop.
'Lisa, hands on hips, asking for compliments – the sight was somewhat familiar…'
...
...
-Shenzhou.
On the official road to Luoyang, two figures, one large, one small, walked side by side.
The adult, tall and stately, dressed in a simple but elegant Taoist robe, had a handsome face with a transcendent aura from afar.
And the little girl holding his hand was also cute and delicate, with bright eyes and a sweet smile.
Her previously muddy clothes were replaced with a Taoist robe just like her master's, only several sizes smaller, making her look adorable.
The little girl had a playful expression, shaking her master's arm, looking around curiously, occasionally biting her fingertips.
"Master, where are we going?"
Noel looked up and asked, her childlike emotions fleeting and quick to change, especially after Deluk's Qi had calmed her, the bloody and brutal scenes she had witnessed were now sealed away in her mind.
If nothing unusual happened, she likely wouldn't remember it again.
In her memory, she was just an abandoned baby girl, then picked up by a kind-hearted immortal who took her in as a disciple.
Deluk looked down at her and gently pinched her hand.
"We're going to a place where no one will bother us."
"But Master, aren't you an immortal? Can't you just whisk Noel away with a whoosh? Why do we have to walk?"
Her disciple's naive words made Deluk a bit awkward.
He had only stepped into the path of cultivation less than three months ago and had barely broken through to the Golden Core realm.
Although one could fly with a sword upon reaching the Foundation stage, he had used a powerful technique to wipe out the demons in Su's village two days ago. Now, the golden core in his spiritual platform had dimmed, temporarily unable to function normally.
Of course, these were not things he could tell Noel.
Deluk thought for a moment and said, "Noel, as the saying goes, 'It's better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.' Walking like this is also a form of cultivation."
"Really?"
"Really"
"Oh!"
Noel responded disinterestedly and then turned her head to see a small stone by the road. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly wriggled free from her master's hand, rushing over to kick it.
The stone whizzed through the air and landed on a carriage ahead, making a 'thud'.
The ornately decorated carriage slowly came to a stop.
The coachman poked his head out.
'Uh-oh!'
Noel's heart skipped a beat. She quickly returned to her master's side, wrapping her arms around his, her innocent eyes wide.
She looked up into her master's eyes, deep and beautiful, eliciting a sigh from her heart.
She's in trouble now, having just been taken in by her master and already causing trouble...
Whimpering...
Luckily, the scolding she anticipated didn't come.
Noel mustered her courage and saw that her master's face bore no anger, only a smile towards her.
"Noel, you've stirred trouble."
Hearing this, Noel's head drooped, her expression downcast, "I'm sorry, Master, I'll be more careful next time..."
A large hand stroked her head, a warm touch.
"It's okay, let's go apologize together. When you make a mistake, it's good to rectify it immediately."
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