PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

When the desserts were over, it was time for the conversation to enter its last stages. Showing a rare disposition in her, Revna was the one who started the conversation. “Regarding the expedition, I know this is a lot to ask, but I would like us to be allowed to participate.”

Unlike when Sasha offered her help, Fei Long did not answer Revna’s request in the affirmative. Instead, she took her time to consider the proposal. Revna did not feel insulted or impatient by this; she was well aware of her group’s strength and Fei Long’s concerns.

Fei Long was considering what she heard about the combat prowess of the four girls, that it was, for lack of better words, decent. Although Revna and the rest were weak by Fei Long standards, she knew what kind of monster she was.

Objectively speaking, Revna and the rest were a decent force that would have every right to participate in the expedition. The problem was that Fei Long didn’t feel comfortable taking the four girls to such a dangerous place where she wasn’t certain she would be able to protect them.

Fortunately, Sasha came out to ease Fei Long’s worries. “It does help ease your worries; I’ll accompany the girls. We don’t expect you to protect us all the time and from all dangers.”

Fei Long thought of Sasha’s strength and believed the four of them should be fine. Sasha was, after all, quite powerful within the younger generation, that is, if one left monsters like her and Xiauyue out of the equation.

Ultimately, Fei Long thought about why the four girls visited her world, and she believed that the expedition to that island would greatly benefit them. Furthermore, strictly speaking, the Roaming Cloud Sect had a quota for such an expedition. It would be fine to take them instead of some disciples from other factions who did not get along with them.

“Ultimately, this could be a way to pay Desmond back.” Fei Long thought as she made up her mind.

.....

“Ok, I agree. We will make the necessary arrangements for the trip, and you will go with us when we accompany the disciples of the Eternal War Maiden Sect.” Fei Long explained.

Before the girls had time to cheer, Fei Long added. “First of all, I need to know what kind of abilities each of you possesses.”

Understanding Fei Long’s reasoning, the girls accepted her proposal. They followed her to a training ground at the back of the residence. Being the one who made the suggestion, Revna was the first to show her abilities.

Under the shocked gaze of Xiauyue and Fei Long, Revna sank into her own shadow as if it were a liquid substance, and she disappeared from their sight but not from their senses. Although it was subtle, Fei Long and Xiauyue could still feel Revna’s presence, but that didn’t surprise them any less. Given the difference in level, it was surprising enough that it took so much trouble for them to pick up on Revna’s presence.

After displaying her stealth, Revna displayed all her shadow-bending and combat skills. Aside from the versatility and low mana consumption, Revna’s combat style didn’t surprise the pair of martial masters all that much. When all was said and done, Revna was far from meeting the standards of both girls regarding combat prowess. However, Xiauyue and Fei Long saw a lot of potential in Revna’s fighting style and her mastery of shadows.

Claire’s performance was much less impressive for Fei Long and Xiauyue. For both of them, it was clear that Claire still lacked a lot of combat experience and relied too much on brute force, consuming too much Arcana in the process. However, the stability of the Arcana constructed impressed Xiauyue and gave her some ideas that could help Claire. After all, she was a master of Aura projection techniques. So, her style was similar to Claire’s.

In the case of Sasha, Xiauyue appreciated her fineness and delicacy. Her fluidity in moving and brandishing fire as if it were another extension of Sasha’s body. Fei Long, on the other hand, saw that Sasha’s style was very well built and refined, but she lacked ultimate skills to boast of in her arsenal. Sasha’s only ult was Burying a Thousand Burning Roses, a technique meant to deal with large numbers of weak enemies instead of a single strong enemy.

Of the four, Cecilia was the most peculiar case. Cecilia’s powers were completely unbalanced. Despite possessing the most powerful defensive capabilities of the group, as well as some unusual healing and support abilities, she was almost completely lacking in offensive power. To put it bluntly, to attack, she simply squirted out her mana, forming the beams of light that she used.

When asked about it, Cecilia explained that almost all of her abilities were independently learned, something that just came to her mind. She believed it was due to the powers of her race. Apparently, Cecilia’s race was a rather peculiar race that did not favor brute force and violence much, and her innate abilities reflected this perfectly.

Although strange, Fei Long did not judge since she understood a little about how the innate powers of a lineage used to be. Wanting to test the extent of Cecilia’s powers, Xiauyue regulated her strength and struck one of her star barriers. Xiauyue increased her strength with each strike by a margin and saw the result.

Seeing the barrier crumble into light particles, Xiauyue looked shocked as she muttered. “Two-star class, the barrier withstands attacks greater than its actual strength by at least one level.”

Unable to contain herself, Xiauyue asked. “This is the most powerful barrier you can use?”

Seeing Cecilia shake her head, Xiauyue insisted. “Can you show me your most powerful barrier?”

Cecilia nodded and tried to concentrate. The first time Cecilia showed the full scope of her abilities was during Nana’s last moments when her emotions were running high. Since then, Cecilia had been testing ways to access her innate powers and discovered these were tied to her emotions. She would naturally transform as long as the desire to protect or heal within her heart was strong enough.

Soon, Cecilia’s long blonde hair was filled with a strong stellar glow, and her golden eyes seemed to become a pair of radiant suns with four-pointed stars for pupils. Sensing something inside her, strengthening and changing the properties of her mana, Cecilia once again summoned one of her barriers.

The four-pointed star-shaped light barrier was much denser and brighter than the previous one and had a faint golden glow on top of the original white. In addition to the appearance changes, the barrier’s power also changed, and Xiauyue soon noticed the difference.

After regulating her breathing and the flow of her Aura, Xiauyue restrained her strength until it reached the two-star class mid-level standard and struck Cecilia’s barrier. Despite shaking off it forcefully, the barrier did not collapse, and Xiauyue understood that it would take a full blow and a large amount of Aura for her to break the barrier. Although the barrier easily collapsed when Xiauyue raised her strength to the high level of a two-star class, she did not show any disappointment.

This time, when Xiauyue looked at Cecilia again, there was a hint of respect and intrigue. Although inexperienced in combat and almost devoid of offensive power, Cecilia was a full-fledged powerhouse just because of her absurd defensive capabilities. Added to her displayed healing abilities, Cecilia was perhaps even more valuable to a team than a real two-star class powerhouse.

In fact, Cecilia had shown great combat sense during Desmond’s battle with the holy knights back in her world. Back then, she coordinated her wards with Desmond to defend the hunter while giving him a tactical advantage in combat.

And with Cecilia’s demonstration as a closure, Xiauyue and Fei Long had a general understanding of the four girls’ capabilities. In all honesty, Xiauyue and Fei Long had the same opinion about Claire, Revna, and Cecilia: weak but with absurd potential.

As for Sasha? Thinking of the mild and gentle girl who gracefully drank tea even after displaying terrifying power, Xiauyue and Fei Long also shared an opinion: Sasha was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

At the end of the day, Fei Long and Xiauyue still concluded that the four girls were more than capable of protecting themselves during the expedition and even benefited a lot from it. However, they still had some plans to help the girls strengthen themselves with the week at their disposal.

Besides her plans for the girls and her own plans to deal with her problems, Fei Long actually had something else on his mind. Looking at the four girls who were as beautiful as goddesses and as exotic as dragons and phoenixes and considering how unique their talents and abilities were, Fei Long couldn’t help but have a somewhat strange thought. “Desmond’s real talent isn’t going to be getting ultra-unique women, is it? I thought even I would want to beat him up if that were the case.”