What do you know? My experience with manipulating spiritual energy is paying off. I’m more proficient at using the escape technique than Lucia now. It’s an interesting concept to leave behind a shell of spiritual energy to momentarily escape someone’s perception, but it’s more like an evasive technique rather than an escaping technique. It doesn’t increase my speed, and it doesn’t allow me to escape from formation arrays either. I think it’d be more useful if applied offensively to perform a feint.

“This is really confusing,” Lucia said and let out a sigh. She was still trying to leave the shell of spiritual energy she created, but every time she moved, the golden layer would distort while being dragged along with her movements. Her gaze shifted onto me, and I couldn’t help but wave at her, leaving a spiritual-energy shell of my arm in the air with that movement. Upon seeing that, Lucia’s eyes lit up, and chills ran down my spine. Why in the world did I taunt her just now?

Lucia reached into her life pouch and retrieved a flat jade disc, its diameter wide enough to accommodate an above-average weight person. Then, a rod with blue light coming out of one end appeared in her free hand. She put the disc down and gestured towards me to come over. “Mrs. Mu’s lackey, stand on this thing for a sec.”

Lucia’s practical naming sense strikes again. Since I’m Senior Mu’s junior, she calls me her lackey. I don’t know why she refers to Senior Mu as a Mrs. though; it’s not like she’s married. Regardless, I’m going to go over and stand on that disc. I don’t know what’ll happen to me if I do, but it’s probably not worse than what’ll happen to me if I don’t. Nothing seemed to happen after I stepped on the disc. Lucia pointed the rod at me, illuminating my body with the blue light. I could see my meridians and veins through my skin wherever the light shone. However, the light couldn’t pass through my—

“Strip.”

—clothes. Evidently, Lucia had a solution to that problem. Even if I don’t want to, I’ll still take my clothes off. The weak have no right to disobey the strong. I didn’t really mind the way the world worked when I was still Bloodmoon, but it’s starting to bother me a little now that I’m on the other end of the bullying. “Do I take my underwear off too?”

Lucia blinked at me. “What kind of person do you think I am?” she asked and shook her head. “I’m not robbing you, so why would you take them off? I don’t want to see your penis.”

I don’t think her comments warrant a response, so I won’t reply. I’ll keep my mouth shut and stare at her until she tells me what to do next.

“Alright, now, do the escape technique,” Lucia said, making sure my whole body was within the blue light. “And make sure to do it slowly!”

As expected of a visual learner, as a result of her illiteracy while growing up, concepts and ideas are too vague and intangible for her to grasp. She needs an example to follow to understand how to do things. Obviously, I’ll do my best to demonstrate for her. In the future, when she uses this escape technique to defeat a strong foe, I can brag to the people around me and tell them I taught her how to do that. When I was still Bloodmoon, I would’ve never considered doing something like this, but I just had to possess the most narcissistic soul in existence. Well, let’s get this over with.

“Stop!” Lucia shouted the instant I moved my hand a little to the side. “Slower.”

I was already moving at a snail’s pace, but I supposed I can slow myself down even more. I’ll start with my pinky and gradually move the rest of my body out of the spiritual-energy shell one part at a time.

“Ooh,” Lucia said and nodded her head. Her eyes were squinted, focusing on the spiritual energy showing through my skin thanks to the light in her hand. “I think I get it now. It’s like straining noodles!”

Straining noodles? In both my lifetimes, I’ve never strained noodles before, so I’m not sure if the escape technique’s concept is actually similar or not. I suppose it doesn’t matter to me what method Lucia uses to comprehend the technique. I already mastered the concept. For all I care, she could compare it to using the bathroom.

Lucia put down the flashlight and raised her hand. A layer of spiritual energy appeared around it, creating a golden shell. She wiggled her fingers, her digits easily passing through the shell without moving it around. A bright expression appeared on her face as she made larger motions with her arm. The shell continued to remain in place, and Lucia increased the speed of her movements. At one point, the shell blurred, but it was fixed rather quickly when her arm passed through it once more. After experimenting with her arm, she spread the shell to her whole body before easily passing through without disturbing it. “I did it!”

…Lucia mastered that a lot faster than I thought she would. Wasn’t she supposed to be a slow learner? At least, Ilya Pentorn always made fun of Lucia’s intelligence. Perhaps the demon was comparing Lucia to her own mind’s comprehension speed. Anyone would seem slow when compared to that. I’ve never seen anyone master the Ten Thousand Thoughts technique as fast as Ilya did. Since Lucia’s comprehended the essence behind zigging and zagging…. “Can I put my clothes back on?” I’m not self-conscious or cold, but if Senior Mu walks in here while I’m dressed like this, I don’t know what kind of rumors will spread about me back in the sect. Perhaps I’ll be labeled as a traitor to the human race.

“Ye—”

“No,” Lucia’s bodyguard said, cutting Lucia off. “Leaping and digging also move your spiritual energy in complicated ways. For the sake of time, it’ll be better if you leave your clothes off.”

…Is it just me, or is Lucia’s bodyguard messing with me on purpose?