In the end, Shun still couldn't ask who set up those cyberpunk-style lights, though he already had a suspect in mind.
That would be Otto. Come on if it wasn't him, it'd be a ghost. Though Fu Hua wasn't truly ancient, she still had that old-fashioned, conservative vibe. It was hard to imagine her getting stimulated enough to turn the courtyard lights into that.
After dinner, the three walked around the summit of Taixu Mountain for an hour as a post-meal stroll. During it, Shun told Seele a creepy made-up version of Taixu Mountain that scared her badly.
Even Fu Hua got chills not from fear, but from thinking that if the world really were like Shun described, it might be even more hopeless than Honkai. That creepy version of the Red Kite Immortal was terrifying.
Fu Hua couldn't help shaking her head what were young people's minds filled with these days? The not-so-pleasant walk ended. Since he'd just woken up, Shun wasn't sleepy, so he practiced in the courtyard the spear techniques Misteln had taught him. Fu Hua naturally had all eighteen weapons available.
Seele, still haunted by the ghost story, directly asked Fu Hua to use a Fenghuang Down on her for hypnosis. After hearing the story, she felt nowhere was safe in it, even one wing room had five anomalies, and the courtyard was full of countless ones captured by the Red Kite Immortal over five thousand years. Might as well just sleep.
With nothing to do, Fu Hua paced to the courtyard and quietly observed Shun practicing spear techniques. She thought this would let her understand her disciple in advance and prepare for future teaching.
However, after careful observation, she was surprised to find many issues in Shun's spear technique. From his moves, Fu Hua judged he came from a wild background and had survived countless life-and-death battles. His spear carried too much killing intent every strike aimed at vital points without regard for his own safety.
This style was brave but lacked skill and strategy, easily seen through and exploited by enemies. Moreover, it overemphasized offense while neglecting defense and evasion, making him prone to injury in combat.
The problems really were significant. Fu Hua didn't know much about this disciple's past, but it seemed her disciple knew her quite well. Though it wasn't her first time teaching, Fu Hua wasn't sure she could teach him properly.
"Shun, stop for a moment. Let me point out a few issues on you." After observing again and confirming her earlier judgments, Fu Hua spoke.
Hearing Fu Hua, Shun immediately stopped swinging the spear. "What's up, Master? How many problems?"
When it came to Fu Hua, Shun trusted her more than she trusted herself. In terms of understanding, Shun could be considered the one who knew her best.
You could always trust the Immortal. For five thousand years, the Immortal guarded Shenzhou with boundless martial prowess and her fists. Calling Fu Hua the ancestor of Shenzhou martial arts wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Fu Hua recounted everything she'd observed to Shun one by one. After listening, Shun responded:
My god, that's literally me!
No wonder it was Fu Hua she could deduce Shun's martial history just from his spear movements.
"Then, Master. Since I have so many issues, help correct them, yeah?"
Fu Hua shook her head, knocked Shun with three chestnuts, and said: "Tomorrow. Tomorrow." Then she turned and left.
Three chestnuts? Shun suddenly remembered something wasn't this Sun Wukong's apprenticeship process?
Before Shun could recall what came next, Fu Hua's leisurely voice drifted over.
"Don't drag Journey to the West into this. Go sleep, disciple."
Fu Hua's words shattered Shun's Great Sage dream. He obediently went to sleep. After swinging the spear so long, he finally felt sleepy again.
Back in the room, he hugged the soundly sleeping Seele as a body pillow, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
The next morning, Shun was groggily woken by Fu Hua. "Awake? Time for morning practice!"
"Master, are you a demon?" Shun clung to the soft, fragrant Seele, unwilling to let go. He hadn't woken early even at Misteln's place.
"The plan for the day lies in the morning. If you want to inherit my mantle, Shun, how can you slack off?" Fu Hua's kindly smile looked demonic to Shun.
Helplessly, Shun followed Fu Hua's running pace. "Master, how long are we running?"
"Up and down Taixu Mountain, two round trips. Finish within one hour." With that, Fu Hua sped up toward the mountain base.
"One round trip on Taixu Mountain is nearly 30 km two round trips? Master, do you think your disciple's a car? Even oxen don't run like this." Shun loudly vented his dissatisfaction.
But Fu Hua had already run far ahead and didn't reply. With no choice, Shun gritted his teeth, accelerated, and chased after her.
One hour later, Shun still completed the full run with Fu Hua. His earlier complaints were just that with his physique, finishing 60 km of trail running in an hour was tough but doable if he pushed through. Like a high schooler running 5,000 meters.
"Next, I'll teach you Taixu Sword Qi. Since you seem to understand me so well, you should be quite familiar with my Taixu Sword Qi too, right?"
Fu Hua thought this kid might know far more than what she'd reconstructed from her own notes.
Shun chuckled: "Greek milk."
This dashed Fu Hua's hopes of any surprises from him. She couldn't tell if Shun truly didn't know or was pretending, but as his master, she couldn't pry open his head to check.
Shun was sharp he saw right away that Fu Hua was probing him. Revealing intel to Fu Hua now might not be good. In his view, Fu Hua's long-sealed heart still needed unlocking in the girl-filled environment of St. Freya.
That would be good for Fu Hua, but Shun also needed to give her an explanation like shifting the blame.
"Master, don't disbelieve me yet. If not for a netizen telling me you were here, I really wouldn't have known that the famous Red Kite Immortal of Shenzhou was still alive in this world."
"Master, this isn't me cursing you, but history books record the Red Kite Immortal ascending, right? If not for my netizen showing proof I couldn't ignore, I might not have believed it."
Shun kept bullshitting. He knew that naming one person would definitely shift Fu Hua's focus.
"Your netizen? Who?" Fu Hua wondered who could be so omniscient? But deep down, she already had an answer.
"Clown Alpha." Shun answered decisively. No choice at times like this, the blame had to go to Otto.
"As expected, it's him!"