The moment the students knew about the farewell party, they were prepared for it. But Tatsumi did not expect that the event would be filled with people he had known in the eleven months that he had been in the academy.
The venue? The entire Hall of the Transcendent Academy became the venue. Even the headmaster agreed to it, which made the students spirited.
“Will this be good?” Tatsumi was preparing himself in his residence. The clothes were all high-quality items that he could only see on display back in the Hinon Federation, so thinking that he could wear them himself was a welcome surprise for him.
He looked at his reflection in the mirror and felt that it was suitable for the occasion. The clothes were sent by Yamaguchi and chosen by Ame herself.
She said that it needed to look good on him, so Tatsumi let her have her way for once in a while.
It consisted of a black suit with a white long-sleeve shirt, and black long pants to match. Even Tatsumi felt like he looked like the figure of Father God he saw in his dream.
‘This really looks like the clothes that the Father God used. I will not be punished for it, right?’ Tatsumi thought to himself but this time it was answered.
‘No need to worry. The Father God is not that petty. You will meet familiar faces who longed to get some of your teaching. Are you ready?’ Kudungga commented.
‘Good. Because I need that to boost my confidence.’ Tatsumi added.
Then, when he was fully ready, he stepped out from his residence into the outside world. There were movements from both the teachers and students around.
Tatsumi had to navigate through all that to reach the venue. He finally realized the scope of the party through the people who were invited. He could see the headmaster Kushina in one part of the venue, the students who had received his advice as well as the officers from the Thebes Independence Kingdom.
‘I didn’t expect that the farewell party would be this big. Look at the foods and beverages here!’ Tatsumi also did not forget to look at the consumables being presented.
“You are here.” Suddenly, Ame came to his side while he was starting to acclimate to the party.
“Oh, you already came.” Tatsumi shifted his gaze to Ame. He was surprised to see that Ame wore a one-piece that could be called elegant. It was white in color and suited her quite well so he stared at her for a bit longer than usual.
“Why are you staring so intently?” Ame smiled and teased Tatsumi.
“Well, you are suited to wear it. No one would deny a beauty when she appeared.” Tatsumi managed to get words out despite the slight embarrassment he felt.
“Fine.” Ame blinked before she grabbed Tatsumi by hand and led him to the center of the venue which was the Main Hall of the Transcendent Academy.
“Where are we going?” Tatsumi asked while Ame led him to a certain place.
“To those students who you teach along with me.” Ame replied while navigating through people with ease.
Then Tatsumi finally saw the students he used to teach during his stay. All of them had bright eyes the moment Tatsumi and Ame came to them.
Ame released the hand that previously gripped Tatsumi’s. While she steadied herself, Tatsumi looked around and found out that this place was where the students had gathered.
“Welcome, everyone.” Tatsumi said while the students nodded in a respectful gesture.
“I looked at you briefly and I see what you all wanted to say.” Tatsumi went into the topic since he could feel the gaze drilling into him.
He had taught them numerous things regarding transcendent-related. That caused them to highly regard his words and treat them as guidance.
“I want to know if we can even reach each other.”
“I want to get more pointers and guidance from you!”
“I want to learn more things from you.”
Most of them suddenly said and overwhelmed Tatsumi. But he raised his hand to gesture for them to stop. They obeyed and went silent.
“Yes, that. But I only pointed the way for you guys. All the hard work and stuff was all you so please don’t look for me as if I am a beacon of guidance.” Tatsumi’s expression softened as he took a sigh.
He truly wanted to say this from the start of his teaching. All the current knowledge he had was from the deceased, who gladly shared their knowledge with him, and that made him feel unworthy to be treated as a source of guidance.
Ame gave Tatsumi a knowing look while the students looked at him as if he were humbling himself. But they took his words seriously and did not deny it either.
“You all just need to form a solid foundation in both transcendent power and your technique. Don’t forget this basic thing.” Tatsumi added since he was concerned about their progress forward without him.
But he still believed that they could do well even without his direct intervention.
“Then what about the Body Refining Technique that is spread widely in the academy?” one of the students asked.
“About that, it is better to train in it since becoming stronger is the priority. You will find that your strength increases dramatically when training the Body Refining Technique. Even I am training in it and can battle against the normal seventh heavenstage Nothingness Realm transcendent. That is how strong the Body Refining Technique truly is.”
The students paid attention to that and realized that what Tatsumi had said was true. There was no reason for them to reject becoming stronger.
“Have you eaten some of the dishes here?” Tatsumi finally asked the most important thing.
“No!” all the students yelled at the same time.
“Then let’s go get them!” Tatsumi pointed to the place where the dishes were located. It was the place where the guests could enjoy the food and drinks.
Tatsumi finally got to taste the combination of processed plants and meats combined with oil, which was something his taste buds could not expect and he became addicted to the taste. He also did not forget to grab a cup of water for himself to drink.
The students did not want to lose so they got to grab something for themselves. Some got a soup filled with broth and marrow while the others got a mushroom mixed with the vegetables.
After eating to his fill, Tatsumi realized that the party reached an important moment as the guests that came were people that Tatsumi recognized as the officers of the Thebes Independence Kingdom.
“They are here. Do you want to go there?” Ame asked since she also saw the officers with their military outfits.
“Of course! I owe them after all, so receiving them is important.” Tatsumi then wiped his hand clean with the tissue before he and Ame went to the gathering of the officials.
It was adjacent to the food and beverage section so it was a short but crooked path. Tatsumi had to let the students fend for themselves since he had already addressed their problem.
At the center of the people who had gathered was Yamaguchi who was speaking with them, juggling between each of the officers. Fortunately, the officers did not radiate their aura otherwise, everyone would feel fear and be afraid of them.
Tatsumi took a breath in since he knew that this would be a serious talk. He felt calmer that Ame was beside him so he took a step forward to meet them.
“You are here. Enjoying the food and beverages, I see.” Yamaguchi said as he gestured for the two to get close.
“Yes. And it looks like you all are here. It is a pleasant surprise.” Tatsumi said neither servile nor overbearing.
“Thank you for being here.” Ame also said politely to the officers who attended the party.
“I heard that this is going to be a farewell party, so I decided to bring myself here.” One of the officers smiled politely and said this.
“Yes. I know that you are from Hinon Federation but to think that this little guy would affect the Star Battle so much. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it.” Another threw praises at Tatsumi.
Tatsumi let out his polite smile, as if trained in it and nodded at the praise. It was not bad to be praised and it felt good.
“Thank you for your cooperation. If not for that, the progress of the Star Battle would not be as smooth as what was shown.” Tatsumi said while also praising the officer’s deed.
“Well, you are trying so hard to convince us so you have a share in that. Don’t underestimate yourself.” Other officers, with a grin, said to Tatsumi.
Most of the officers present were of equal height to him, with a few higher than Tatsumi, so he could see them in the eye.
“Don’t just praise each other over something that has already happened. Tell us all about yourself. This is a time where we make the most out of it, anyway.” Yamaguchi said after all of them said what they wanted to say.
Then one by one, the officers said about their current situation both for the kingdom and for the Cerulean Defense Force.
The officers were interested in what Tatsumi had experienced so they listened to him quite well. Then Tatsumi threw some of the topic to Ame since he also knew that Ame wanted to become a transcendent for a certain reason.
“I wanted to become a transcendent because I realized that strength is the foundation of everything. I cannot let my family be destroyed by some powerful people, especially since they can use their strength to threaten the people close to me.” Ame said what was driving her this hard.
Tatsumi knew the gist of it but to hear that directly from Ame’s own mouth felt different. It was one of the things that Tatsumi confirmed about Ame.
‘Indeed. It makes sense to pursue strength to protect oneself at least. It is actually something that everyone should strive for. Perhaps this is one of the essences of Chi You’s mindset.’ Tatsumi thought about his interaction with Chi You and realized that this was the most important thing to remember.
“It is never wrong to increase your strength.”
“You should strive to do your best. Otherwise, you will regret it later when you need strength but are unable to.”
“I remember that your family is quite influential in the Cerulean Planet. I can relate to the will to protect those dear to you.”
The officers said what they thought immediately, since this was a moment for them to enjoy themselves.
“Thank you for giving me the encouragement.” Ame smiled radiantly, as this was the most important thing she had done and would continue to pursue.
Just as they wanted to continue the discussion, someone came to them.
“This is a good occasion to discuss things. Can I take some time?” Kushina walked to them and everyone who had seen her deferred to her, like a king meeting with his subject.
“Headmaster, you are already here.” Tatsumi was surprised by the timing, not that he had not expected her to come.
“Since she is here, we might as well ask her about that.”
“Agreed.”
“Definitely.”
Tatsumi felt like he had missed something important. He looked at Ame and Yamaguchi but found that they were also clueless about the topic.
“You all have too much time, I swear.” Kushina chuckled while moving to the center, becoming someone who everyone needed to pay attention to.
“We want to know whether you are in a relationship. Many of us are wondering about it.”
Hearing that made Tatsumi cocked his head in confusion. He had thought that the matter would be somewhat secretive, that only a few people knew, but this? This was another matter.
Ame widened her eyes while Yamaguchi closed his eyes, apparently, he did not like where the situation was going.
The officers even had prepared for a mouthful of excuses thrown their way but Kushina did not even speak. She chuckled before shaking her head.
“I think you caught on to something. But as for your curiosity, well, guess what? I think I want to be in a relationship.” Kushina said with a teasing tone.
The mouth of the official became slightly agape in surprise. They did not expect that this woman who had rejected so many advances from men, would say such a thing.
‘I did not see this coming.’ Tatsumi thought.
‘But I know who she has eyes on.’ Goto commented on his mind which Tatsumi caught.
‘Who!? I know that she is the beautiful headmaster, but who is it that caught her eye?’ Tatsumi asked for confirmation. At least, he wanted to know due to curiosity.
‘It is someone you know.’ Kudungga added.
‘Who? You realized how little that narrows it down.’
Tatsumi was like someone who wanted to get a quick answer, only to get his answer dragged on and on.
“Oh, thank you. You are one of the students who takes lessons from him, right?” at the student’s gathering place, four adults came in and one of them said that.
“Yes, mister. You are the strongest transcendent but also his teacher. I think I know how he gets all he knows.” The students let out a sentence almost at the same time.
Long Wu now knew where his disciple was. He brought with him Ame’s two shadow guards as well as someone with a brown coat and a bowl haircut. The expression on the bowl haircut man was excited to see all the merry the party had.
“Come on. My disciple is in that direction. Follow me!” Long Wu excitedly led the bowl haircut man and the two shadow guards to the place where the officers of the Thebes Independence Kingdom stood.
“Wait for me!” the brown coat of the bowl haircut man fluttered slightly but it did not hamper his movement.
Tatsumi felt a disturbance in a certain direction and saw his teacher, two of Ame’s shadow guard as well as an unfamiliar figure approaching.
He moved slightly to disengage the current conversation and went to Long Wu.
“Teacher! You finally arrived.” Tatsumi moved near them so that he could direct them to be near the center.
“This is your farewell party, so of course I am going to be here.” Long Wu said before he introduced the unfamiliar figure to Tatsumi.
“This is one of the transcendent scientists who reside in the academy. Please introduce yourself to him, disciple.”
Tatsumi looked carefully at the man with a brown coat and a bowl haircut. He felt that the appearance of the unfamiliar man matched someone he wanted to know.
“Are you perhaps the one who developed the Body Refining Technique X version 1.0, Mister Maito Dai?” Tatsumi asked for confirmation.
He had not met with the person personally but those who had met with the person said that he had a bowl haircut as well as thick eyebrows. After seeing the person and the characteristics, Tatsumi was almost sure about his guess.
“Hahaha, looks like my fame precedes me nowadays. That’s right, I am the one who developed the body refining technique to the latest version, Maito Dai!” With his thumbs-up, the man laughed and introduced himself. He smiled and his white teeth could be seen.
“Great! There are things I want to ask you regarding the technique. For example, the strengthening of the energy pathway, how exactly are we refining it to become bigger and stronger? The explanation said that we need to use the transcendent energy to temper it but the way I do it feels weaker and I thought I was wrong. Please, tell me the way to correctly do that!” Tatsumi let out a mouthful of things he wanted to know.
The students who approached the place filled with the officers could only hear faintly but it was enough for them.
“That is teacher Maito Dai. He comes here, too!” one student exclaimed after hearing bits of the conversation.
“I also want to know more about that body refining technique as well!” another said what was on their mind.
Whatever the case, they did not dare to intrude into the place where the higher-ups of their kingdom had gathered, along with their headmaster.
“Well, tempering there means that you need to use the transcendent energy to nurture the cells in your body. As for the energy pathway, you need to slowly nurture them by letting your energy flow through them fully, like a sweeper. Other than that, you can do destruction and recreation to improve your physical strength.” Maito Dai said in a tone that could make someone understand.
“Destruction…oh, you mean to destroy and rebuild it. But that should be painful.” Tatsumi said while holding fear. He knew that every part of the body was connected to the nerve system. Causing damage to them would cause one to feel pain despite the advantage that it could increase one’s strength.
‘To think that destroying and reconstructing one’s body is also a path to increase strength. I would not like it, though. Forcefully doing that may cause more damage than the intended result. Slow and steady is the way.’ Tatsumi thought while internally let out some relief.
Increasing your strength was important but by self-mutilating method, no, he would not do that, even if he could shorten the time it took for him to refine his energy pathway. Furthermore, he had already strengthened his muscles and bones to the equal of the fifth heavenstage Nothingness Realm.
He was satisfied with what he had and he desired no more than a steady growth. He had a lot of time to do that, so he was not worried about the enemies for now.