Ben, who finally saw Felix and Krisha left the mists, were excited. Today was he decided to finally gather enough courage to talk with Felix.

All his information about Felix originated from the interviews—he failed to gather one that was his own understanding by communicating with him.

Now, he could finally have his own impression of Felix.

As soon as he arrived, he was frozen. He didn’t know what to say—he had forgotten what he rehearsed yesterday night.

He was silent for a while, causing Felix and Krisha to wonder what had happened to him.

Krisha turned towards Felix and asked, "Do you know him?"

Felix didn’t know whether to feel offended by his question or simply had to answer her while feeling quite sad.

Krisha didn’t need to hear his answer just to know if he knew the guy in front of them.

She turned towards Ben, examined him closely, and her eyes widened.

She moved closer to Felix and whispered on his ears, while keeping her gaze at Ben.

"He must be the newswriter I’m talking about. I was right. He’s your fan."

Felix was utterly surprised. He glanced at the man in front of him, who was still frozen.

His body was trembling while gazing at him with sparkling eyes.

Just based on Ben’s reaction after he got closer to him made Felix agreed with Krisha’s assumption.

He beamed a smile at Ben to ease his anxiety and said in a polite tone, "Hello. Is there something you want to know?"

Ben felt relish. He had never expected that Felix was an easy-going person, to begin with. All the impression of others he gathered mostly pointed out of how arrogant and vicious Felix was.

As expected, he’s not like what others described.

Ben failed to recognize that Felix was simply a person, who reciprocated how others treated him.

Ben finally gathered courage and exclaimed, "Interview!"

...

Felix led Ben to his usual place to train, where it was difficult for others to spot.

There were outer disciples who noticed Ben suddenly joining the famous pair in the Azure Cleave Dojo but they didn’t follow them.

Simply because their ego refused to do so.

Hence, Felix, Krisha, and Ben gathered without nuisance.

Ben was sitting in front of Felix and Krisha, who sat beside each other.

He took out his phone, to which he was allowed since he was part of the multimedia team, and immediately searched for his notes.

He had already prepared a set of questions to ask Felix.

However, he was having a hard time—he was entirely anxious, his hands were trembling that he kept failing pressing the right icon.

Felix and Krisha glanced at each other and giggled.

Krisha said to Ben, "You forgot to introduce yourself first, but—"

"I-I’m sorry," replied Ben in horror, after realizing his careless mistake.

Krisha sighed helplessly at Beng with a smile.

She continued, "But, you have to calm down first. How about let’s meditate first?"

Felix replied, "I don’t think we should do that. Won’t it amplify his anxiety if he closes his eyes and tries to meditate?"

Krisha glanced at Felix and narrowed her eyes.

"Let’s do it." She emphasized every word.

Felix hastily nodded.

He said, "To calm him down even more, I should take a walk just a bit far from here. You can still see and call me."

Krisha thought for a while before agreeing. "Okay. I’ll calm him down first."

Felix stood up and finally decided to walk around, simply sightseeing.

The forest wasn’t massive. Felix felt like the Azure Cleave Dojo could still expand themselves by placing more buildings, but held back to allow themselves to breath the highest quality air provided by the nature.

Felix barely enjoy the sightseeing, so he peeked at Krisha from time to time.

She’s really pretty. He admired. He couldn’t help it, Krisha’s current attitude was pleasing to the eye, amplifying the beauty she always held.

As he recalled the haggard Krisha after wearing herself out of training, he chuckled.

Thankfully, Krisha was deeply focused at meditating and chatting with Ben, as the latter appeared to finally find comfort in a conversation.

After a while, Krisha turned towards Felix, who was already staring at her, and shouted, "Come."

Felix nodded and hastily ran towards her.

He sat beside her.

Krisha said, "This is Ben and the owl on his shoulder is his beast pet. His name is Ken."

Felix smiled at Ben and nodded. "Hello, Ben."

Ben hastily nodded. He was still anxious, but, at the very least, it was manageable.

He stammered. "H-Hello, Felix. I’m sorry if I’m acting this way."

Felix nodded and replied in a polite tone. "It’s fine, really. Anyway, what do you want to know?"

Ben nodded and glanced at his phone. He coughed.

"I-I’ll begin first with this question. Why do you want to become a Top 1?"

Felix was quite surprised by the first question. He thought it might be about himself or his past.

He didn’t need time to ponder and instantly replied, "Well, it’s simply just to give myself a daring goal. Top 1 might be quite impossible to reach, but I’m already at Top 25 and it has just been a week. There’s still six weeks left."

Ben was quite surprised. He asked, "It wasn’t to provoke the outer disciples to fight you?"

Felix pinched his chin and pondered for a quite a while. "Partly, yeah. In any case, reaching Top 1 is just a selfish desire of mine.

If I’m successful, then, at least, I can be confident that I can grant Master Shen’s request."

Ben’s eyes widened. He hesitated for some time before finally deciding to ask him, "Is it okay to ask what was his request?"

Felix turned towards Krisha and the latter shrugged.

Felix said, "I think it’ll be okay, right?"

Krisha replied, "I think it’s best to say it only after you’ve reached Top 1."

"But, even if I won’t reach Top 1, I still have to complete Master Shen’s request."

"Yeah, but do it after you’ve reached Top 1."

Felix nodded. "Alright."

He turned towards Ben and the latter nodded without hesitation.

Ben turned towards his phone and asked, "Everybody knows that you are practicing a sword techniques far different than what Azure Cleave Dojo provided. Can I ask where that comes from?"

Felix pondered for a while. At this point, he realized he had to be extremely meticulous in answering the question.

"It’s not that difficult to assume that the sword art came from the sword I’ve summoned before."

Ben nodded. "That confirms most of the speculation about your sword techniques, Sir Felix."

Felix smiled. He felt awkward from how Ben addressed him, but he didn’t bother stopping him at all.

For some reason, it was satisfying to hear the honorifics.

Krisha, on the other hand, peeked at him and noticed his reaction, causing her to roll her eyes.

Ben asked, "Then, do you think that your sword techniques are far superior than the sword techniques of the Azure Cleave Dojo?"

It was a very controversial question.

However, Felix already had an answer to it.

He replied, "I think it’s simply because the sword techniques are like an elemental affinity you’ve gained from your beast pet. It’s not that you are lacking potential that your progress of your sword techniques are slow, it might just be perhaps that the sword techniques are holding you back.

Master Shen reached a state where others found it difficult to attain..."

Felix purposely left the part where he was aware of Sword Intent—a state where a sword cultivator could reach.

After all, it was quite obvious that the outer disciples weren’t aware of that yet—and perhaps, Master Shen himself hadn’t disclosed it.

He continued, "Which put us in a situation that your progress with the sword techniques of Azure Cleave Dojo all came down to compatibility. Who knows? You might not be suitable for practicing a sword, but more talented in archery, spear techniques, or others."

Ben’s eyes widened. That was an enlightening answer.

"Also." Felix continued. "Master Shen’s sword techniques doesn’t rely on elemental affinity. Which makes it practicable for everyone, but I believe that’s also where the sword techniques are lacking."

Ben was utterly surprised. "What do you mean?"

Felix pinched his chin tightly to force himself to contemplate.

He replied, "But, I think Master Shen had already fixed what was lacking. After all, he could not become a Master if he had not realized it yet."

Ben frowned. "But, If Master Shen already realized it, why would he still force us to practice the sword techniques that are lacking."

Felix gave Ben an enigmatic smile.

"Perhaps, he wants you to discover it by yourself." He pointed at his temple. "Comprehension."

Krisha, after Felix turned silent, chimed in. "Also, there’s instructors who would guide you. If you have any questions, you can ask them. Obviously, they have also fixed what was lacking with the sword techniques."

Felix nodded and turned towards Krisha. "I’ll also be fighting against disciples, who might have already fixed it."

Krisha smirked. "Goodluck with that."

Ben was quite lost by how the conversation went at the moment. Nevertheless, he turned towards his Owl, who could record how the conversation went.

His Owl nodded, conveying that it was still following the conversation.

Ben turned towards his phone and asked more set of questions.

Eventually, they reached the last question.

Ben asked, "When will you be participating in the Beast Sync Arena duel? Many have been looking forward to it."

Felix smiled and turned towards Krisha.

"Next week. My first opponent will be her."

Ben was shocked. His heart skipped a beat.

That’s big news!

=====

A/N: Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to show your supports by giving golden tickets, powerstones, and reviews! It means a lot since this is participating for WSA.