081 Need for Aquarium

081 Need for Aquarium

I activated Voice Chat and reached out to Ren Xun.

"Get an aquarium."

There was a beat of silence before he responded, "Pardon?"

I sighed and gave him a quick rundown. “Ren Jingyi had broken through. Her fishbowl had exploded. She was now flopping on the deck, gasping like a fish out of water—literally. Lu Gao and Hei Mao were currently playing a desperate game of 'catch the slippery fish,' and I was standing here making sure no one accidentally stepped on her. Also, I might be enjoying the sight of them desperately catching the fish too much.”

"She what?" Ren Xun sounded incredulous.

"She outgrew her bowl," I said simply. "Awesome, right?"

I could practically hear him rubbing his temples on the other side. "That’s not… Never mind. I just finished my meeting with the local lord, and I know the location of the Shadow Clan."

"Great," I said. "How long until you get back?"

"Give me a day at most. Several hours at the minimum. The city doesn’t have much in glasswork, so getting a proper aquarium is going to take time and effort," Ren Xun explained.

I frowned. "No way to speed that up?"

"Unless you want to settle for a wooden tub, which I assume is not what you want—then no."

I considered it. Wooden tubs weren’t exactly ideal for keeping a potentially evolving fish, but they’d do in an emergency. Still, I figured we could manage waiting for a day more.

"I’ve got enough mana to keep casting Cure at the flipping, flopping fish," I muttered.

On cue, Ren Jingyi slipped through Lu Gao’s grasp again, landing with a wet plop on the deck. Lu Gao swore under his breath and dove after her, but she wiggled away.

Hei Mao, who for some reason could talk fish, was practically pleading with her.

"This isn’t funny!" Hei Mao whined. "Stop making things harder for yourself!"

Ren Jingyi just flopped harder.

Lu Gao groaned. "Why is she so fast?!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Would you two just catch her already?"

Lu Gao and Hei Mao redoubled their efforts, but I had the sinking suspicion this was going to be a very long wait.

I had the distinct impression the fish was having too much fun.

While Lu Gao and Hei Mao flailed around, I casually walked to the side. Then, with a burst of superspeed, I snatched Ren Jingyi by the tail.

She froze.

I stared into her wide fish eyes, and I got the impression she wasn’t having fun anymore.

"Alright," I said, holding her firmly. "You need to stay still so I can cast Cure on you."

She gave a tiny, pitiful wiggle but otherwise complied.

I let out a steady stream of Cure, feeling the gentle warmth of mana flow from my fingertips into her scales. I sat on the corner of the deck, still holding her, watching as the healing spell did its work.

Ren Jingyi had really grown.

She wasn’t a tiny goldfish anymore. If anything, she resembled a carp now—sleek, elongated, but still with that delicate goldfish-like shape. She had stretched rather than bulked up.

Lu Gao, who had been kneeling on the deck, let out a long sigh. His expression was glum.

I raised an eyebrow. "What’s the problem?"

He shook his head. "I failed you."

I frowned. "Failed me? What are you talking about?"

Lu Gao lowered his gaze. "I know why you picked me. It wasn’t just because of my skills or my history. I was meant to be a reference for your cultivation."

I blinked.

Hmmm… I did say something like that when I took him under my wing.

Lu Gao clenched his fists. "I was supposed to be a useful benchmark, but I haven’t even been able to help you make any progress. I—"

I cut him off with a scoff. "You make it sound like it’s your fault I’m not making progress."

He looked up at me, surprised.

I exhaled and leaned back slightly. "Cultivation isn’t some checklist where I can just copy-paste someone else’s path. You’re useful, sure, but you’re not some measuring stick I’m gonna toss aside just because I haven’t broken through yet."

Lu Gao looked conflicted but didn’t argue.

I turned my attention back to Ren Jingyi, who was still limp in my grip, possibly contemplating her entire existence.

I sighed.

At this point, I had reached a level of mastery with the Hollow Breath Technique that allowed me to do it passively. It was second nature—like breathing, really.

And yet… still nothing in terms of cultivation.

I glanced at Lu Gao, his face a mess of conflicting emotions.

Then, out of nowhere, he said, “I don’t deserve to learn from you.”

I blinked. “Huh?”

He exhaled, his expression turning resolute. “I’d like to withdraw.”

Withdraw?

I scoffed. “Withdraw from what?”

Lu Gao met my gaze, serious. “From being your student.”

I laughed. Loudly.

“You think you have the option to withdraw?” I asked, shaking my head. “You’re acting like this is some sect where you can politely hand in your resignation letter. Wait, sects don’t even do that, right? They’d swear you to secrecy and would even cripple your cultivation… Wait, you are already crippled!”

He frowned. “But I—”

“No, no, no.” I waved a hand dismissively. “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m not teaching you as some kind of charity. Yeah, sure, in the beginning, maybe there was this tiny naive part of me that wanted to help people.” I gave a dry chuckle. “But that was before I realized how useful you actually are.”

Lu Gao flinched slightly.

I leaned forward, voice turning sharp. “You’re a demon-possessed guy in a xianxia world. Do you have any idea how rare that makes you?” That practically made him a Quest NPC of sorts by LLO standards.

Lu Gao didn’t respond, sweating nervously.

Well, more like he could not understand my insanity.

I continued. “You’re a living lab rat—a unique one at that. The fact that I took you under my wing isn’t just out of kindness. It’s because you’re valuable.”

Lu Gao clenched his fists.

I sighed. “Look, I get it. You feel like you’re not worthy or whatever. But let me remind you—you don’t get a say in whether you continue learning or not.” I gave him a pointed look. “Especially after experiencing my Divine Possession and promising you'd be walking this path with me.”

His breath hitched.

Yeah. That got through to him.

Good.

"You are so mean," Hei Mao muttered, pouting as he sat cross-legged on the deck of the Floating Dragon. His red scarf fluttered slightly from the river breeze, emphasizing the childish grievance on his face.

I ignored him and glanced at Lu Gao, who had gone quiet. His brows were furrowed in deep thought, his hands clenched into fists over his knees. Then, as if coming to a decision, he shifted and moved to crouch.

I immediately knew what was coming next.

The moment his knees started to lower, a surge of irritation flared within me.

Without thinking, I grabbed his shoulder, stopping him before he could fully kneel. "Don't," I said flatly.

Lu Gao stiffened. He hesitated, then slowly straightened, confusion flickering in his eyes. "I—"

I sighed. "Just chalk it up to my eccentricity, but I really hate it when people bow or kneel so easily to another."

His expression flickered, and I could see the internal struggle written plainly on his face. He was from a world where respect was often measured by gestures like these, where inferiors knelt before their superiors without hesitation. But I wasn’t a fan of that.

Sure, there were moments where bowing was appropriate—out of sincerity, out of genuine devotion—but groveling over something as small as misspeaking? That was just excessive.

I vaguely recalled an idiom that fits this situation—something about gold beneath one's knees and the idea that a person should only kneel for sacred reasons.

Gu Jie kowtowing and pleading with me in her mental scape was a different matter entirely. That had been… well, complicated. But this?

I let go of Lu Gao’s shoulder and exhaled, shaking my head. "Just don’t do that. It's unnecessary."

My original intention in revealing my Divine Possession had never been for charity or goodwill. It was an experiment—one meant to train, refine, and empower it. Theories I had about its potential were confirmed one by one, the most exciting being the ability to impart skills without needing Legacy Advancement Books, Skill Books, or Specialized NPCs. That realization alone had been a game-changer.

Thus, the birth of my Order of Paladins had come naturally.

Admittedly, the idea was only in its infancy.

Especially with the Legacy Advancement Book for the White Path still in my possession.

It could be argued inefficient for me to continue holding to it. Of course, it wasn’t fair. Not in the slightest. When I revealed my Divine Possession, I made the others believe they were competing to prove themselves worthy of the White Path, but the truth?

I had already decided how I wanted to raise my kids—er, followers.

Yeah, it was a jerk move.

A healthy competition in a classroom setting would provoke development, right? That was at least the idea...

At first, I had intended to use the Legacy Advancement Book on Gu Jie, thinking she would be the best fit. But her unlocking the Warlock Legacy beforehand had changed everything. There was no undoing that choice, and I wasn’t about to make her walk a path that conflicted with her nature.

As for Ren Jingyi? I had bigger plans for her. She was too special for something as simple as the White Path.

That left me with Lu Gao.

The perfect candidate.

"You’re really something else, aren’t you?" I said, clicking my tongue.

Lu Gao, who had just been looking guilty a moment ago, stiffened in confusion. "I—what?"

I shook my head, my expression shifting into one of exaggerated disappointment. "To think you would try to take advantage of my kindness like this. Shameful. Truly shameful."

Hei Mao, who had no idea what was going on, looked between us in visible confusion. "Wait… what did he do?"

Lu Gao’s face paled. "I—I didn’t mean—!"

I heaved a sigh and gave him a long, suffering look. "Unbelievable. I gave you everything, and now you want to leave me? Like a heartless scoundrel?"

Lu Gao opened his mouth, then closed it again, looking increasingly flustered.

Hei Mao looked even more confused. "Wait, wait, what’s happening?!"

"It’s betrayal, Hei Mao," I said, dramatically shaking my head. "Absolute, gut-wrenching betrayal. A wound so deep it can never heal."

Hei Mao gasped. "Lu Gao, how could you?!"

Lu Gao made a strangled noise. "I—That’s not—!!"

Seeing his panicked expression, I finally cracked a grin and laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "Relax, I’m just messing with you."

Lu Gao looked at me like he wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or furious. "You—"

"That said," I cut in before he could recover, "you really don’t get a say in whether you keep learning or not. I want to give more emphasis to that fact. You already learned the Bless spell from me, and you think you can just walk away? Nope. That’s not how this works."

Lu Gao deflated. "...Right."

Hei Mao, still clearly lost, hesitated before awkwardly patting Lu Gao’s shoulder. "Uh… there, there?"

I smirked. "That’s right, Hei Mao. Comfort the poor guy. He just realized he’s stuck with me forever."

"You are so mean," said Hei Mao a second time.

There was a thump against the Floating Dragon.

I blinked. Did someone just throw a rock at us?

A second later, my Divine Sense lazily swept outward, and I saw them. One, two, three… twenty-eight people.

Half of them were at Martial Tempering, a quarter at Mind Enlightenment, five at Will Reinforcement, one at Spirit Mystery, and one… at Soul Recognition AKA Fifth Realm.

My, my… they sure were ruining a moment.

I peered over the edge and found them staring back. I realized they were using some kind of formation, dampening my Divine Sense. The formation was probably not limited to my Divine Sense, but targeted at detection abilities in general like Qi Sense. The leader stood at the front—a tall man with sharp, chiseled features and a scar running across his lip. He would have been handsome if not for the scar giving him a permanent sneer.

"Greetings, the name is Deng Bai, and this fine boat is now mine," He took a step forward. "You have one chance."

I sighed dramatically, crossing my arms. "Really? You couldn’t have waited? We were having a heartfelt conversation."

Hei Mao, standing beside me, burst into tears.

"I don’t know how to fight!!" he wailed, clutching my sleeve like I was his last lifeline. "Like... I don't know any techniques! There's too many of them! And there's only three of us... and a fish."

"Have more trust in me, plus I am super strong," I sighed again. "Also, no one’s expecting you to fight, Hei Mao."

"But they’re gonna kill me!!"

I rubbed my temples. "Hei Mao, listen—"

"I’m just a kid!!"

"You’re a powerful ghost who used to haunt people!"

Hei Mao sniffled. "That was different!"

I groaned. "Oh, for crying out loud—"

The leader watched this exchange with a deeply unamused expression. "Are you finished?"

I ignored him, activating Voice Chat instead.

"Dave, we’ve got a situation."

My Holy Spirit responded immediately. "Want me to head back, My Lord?"

"Nah. Stay put. I’ll just use Castling."

Castling was normally limited by range, but if I used my Holy Spirit as the target… I could bypass that restriction entirely.

I turned back to Deng Bai and smiled mischievously.

"Say your last prayers, pal. Don’t worry, I’ll ask my friend to be gentle."

And then, I Castled.