Frostfire Legacy-Chapter 332: Is This Cheating?

The woman stood with her arms crossed, her sharp gaze locked onto him. Her voice carried a resemblance to Kurenai's, but it was deeper, more refined—more authoritative. Aster felt an instinctual sense of pressure just from her presence.

Thankfully, he didn't need to guess their connection; she made it clear a moment later. "I'm Byakko Nadeshiko, the current head of the noble White Tiger Clan and Kurenai's mother."

She stated it flatly, without any shift in posture or expression.

"Since you screwed her up too much, she's still unable to get out of bed. I'm here in her place to teach you about our Qi Techniques."

"Cough! Cough!"

Aster nearly choked. He recalled the previous night far too clearly and winced. 'Did she have to put it like that?!'

Still, before he could even think of forming a reply, Nadeshiko continued, her tone completely unbothered.

"What? Not satisfied with my wording?" She raised an eyebrow, as if reading his thoughts. "Fine, let me rephrase it—she still can't walk because you fucked her senseless. Her legs were shaking like jelly. Honestly, it was hilarious."

For the first time, a faint smirk appeared on her lips. Aster, on the other hand, was not amused. If anything, her bluntness made things even worse.

"I-I apologize for what I did..." He stammered, unsure what else to say.

But instead of pressing the matter further, Nadeshiko merely waved it off like it was nothing. "Don't mind it. She's over thirty—not an age where I need to pamper her. She should be able to handle her own shit."

Aster blinked.

"...Wait, what?" He did a double take. "Ms. Kurenai is thirty?!"

From her youthful appearance, he had assumed she was in the same age range as him, in her early twenties—twenty-five at most!

"Does that matter?" Nadeshiko scoffed. "Our Byakko bloodline is known for being baby-faced." A hint of pride laced her voice. "I bet you can't guess my age just by looking at me, can you?"

Aster wisely kept his mouth shut. He had a very strong feeling that answering either too high or too low would result in disaster.

After a brief silence, Nadeshiko sighed and placed a tray she had been carrying onto the nearby table.

"Here's your breakfast. Once you're done, meet me in the same courtyard as yesterday for training."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"With the ridiculous amount of Qi you have, leaving you without a proper technique would be like throwing pearls before swine."

With that parting remark, she turned and walked off. Aster watched her go, then sighed deeply. "I can't help but feel her last words were laced with sarcasm..."

Even with his heightened Qi senses, he couldn't fully gauge her power. However, what he could sense was the sheer weight of her Qi—suppressed as it was, it still far exceeded his own.

'Is she from a long-lived race? Maybe over a thousand years old?' He wondered.

That thought, however, was a problem for later. Right now, he needed to focus on harnessing the overwhelming power he had just unlocked.

---

About an hour later, Aster arrived at the same courtyard where he and Kurenai had trained the previous day. The area remained unchanged, its refreshing coolness enhanced by the dense bamboo trees surrounding it.

"You took your damn time, brat."

Nadeshiko's voice greeted him before he even fully stepped in. She scowled but didn't press the issue further, waving a hand dismissively.

"Come here. We're starting immediately."

Not wanting to push his luck, Aster hurried over and stood at attention. His readiness seemed to amuse her.

"Good, looks like you're prepared." She nodded. "Let's begin. First—since you already learned how to use Qi for body strengthening, we'll move to the next step."

"Y-Yes..." Aster responded hesitantly.

"Then, try focusing your Qi outside of your body—directly under your feet."

Aster frowned but followed her instructions. He attempted to channel Qi beneath his feet, gathering the energy there. But—

*BOOM!*

An explosion erupted beneath him, launching his body straight into the sky! The force was enough to nearly knock him unconscious, sending him rocketing nearly a hundred meters into the air within seconds.

For a brief moment, time seemed to slow. Then, gravity kicked in, pulling him back down to where he belong.

"C-Crysta...!" Aster instinctively called out, only to remember—Crysta and Pyra were still missing.

Unlike Crysta, he lacked the precision to control the ice element to form a slide and soften his landing. Panic surged through him. If he hit the ground at this speed, at best, he'd break several bones—at worst, he'd die!

"Use your Qi again! Same application!"

"...!"

Nadeshiko's voice cut through the air, reaching him just in time.

Aster reacted instinctively. He adjusted his posture mid-air, angling his feet downward. Then, he gathered Qi beneath his soles again—this time, carefully controlling the output.

"I... I'm floating...?"

His descent slowed dramatically. The Qi beneath his feet wasn't just cushioning him—it was holding him, acting like an invisible platform.

Experimenting further, he realized he could shift the angle of his Qi, moving forward, backward—even sideways.

But no—this wasn't just floating.

"I'm... actually flying!" Aster exclaimed, eyes wide with exhilaration.