Hiratsuka was a deeply responsible teacher; she truly poured heart and soul into guiding her students.
She broke down every point for you, and you could ask questions the moment something didn’t make sense.
Once Lucian had heard her out on using aura to treat injuries, he put it into practice right away.
The principle was actually simple: keep flushing the injured area with aura to promote circulation and clear the stasis.
The method worked not only on yourself but on others too.
Lucian mastered it after a single hearing and tried it on the spot, running his aura over his injuries again and again.
The bruise on his arm mended at a visible pace, and feeling gradually returned to it.
The ache in his muscles slowly melted away under the cleansing flow of aura, and his whole body eased back to normal.
Hiratsuka had watched the entire time, and she couldn’t help remarking, “As expected, impressive.
But I’ll warn you: don’t lean on this too much for recovery.”
“It’s fine for simple bruises, but if you injure nerves or organs, you’re better off seeing a proper physician.
This method only works on minor wounds.” She was worried the students might get the wrong idea.
They might come to think aura was omnipotent, good to use any time they got hurt, but that view was mistaken.
It only suited bruises and the like.
Using it on other kinds of injuries wouldn’t do much.
In the end, all it did was give the flow of blood a simple nudge, nowhere near a true heal.
“Understood, Teacher!” The class was quick to answer, quietly committing it to memory.
The method could only play a supporting role, at most for treating the bruises picked up in daily sparring.
It would be useful, for instance, when they sparred one another; at least no one would go home battered.
“Very good.
Now take a break, everyone.
Next period, we’ll go straight into practical combat training.” Hiratsuka was thoroughly satisfied to see they’d taken her words to heart.
These students were quite obedient.
What she dreaded was the kind who treated her words as idle chatter.
Not long after she finished, the dismissal bell rang.
At that, Hiratsuka didn’t hold the class over.
The moment the bell sounded, she headed off to smoke out back.
The students who stayed behind fell to chatting, and some sat right down on the floor to try condensing aura.
Lucian, too, was about to find a corner and consolidate the aura in his body, when, unexpectedly, Yukinoshita came up to him.
“Lucian-kun, could you spar with me next period?” Yukinoshita looked at him with burning eyes.
She’d known the people in this class were extraordinary, but she genuinely hadn’t expected Lucian’s Talent to be such an absurdly strong learning ability.
Caught off guard by the sudden invitation, Lucian paused, then gave her a strange look.
“Are you sure?”
Yukinoshita was at Rank 2, while Lucian was already Rank 3.
She had to be well aware of that.
The gap between Ranks was enormous.
Challenging someone above your level was extremely difficult; a single Rank could easily crush the one below.
“I’m sure.
I already have a grasp on condensing aura, and with my Talent, condensing it will be easy for me.
That’s why I want to spar with you.” Yukinoshita looked at him in complete seriousness.
She wasn’t being reckless; she truly had the ability.
Because her Talent was excellent too, she had full command of her own body’s power.
That Talent gave her a natural edge on the Martial Way, which was exactly why she wanted to fight Lucian, the strongest person in the class right now.
By fighting him, she could push her abilities further and break through to Rank 3.
In the whole class, Lucian was the most fitting opponent for her at the moment.
Listening to her and seeing how serious she was, Lucian thought it over and agreed.
“All right, I’ll fight you later.”
Is Yukinoshita’s Talent really that good?
he wondered.
If so, he had to see it; maybe it would be his the very next moment.
Seeing that he’d agreed, Yukinoshita nodded.
“Good.
I’ll go change first.”
With that, she turned and left the room to change into clothes fit for combat.
Plenty of classmates were the same; everyone had brought training clothes and school clothes both, except Lucian, who’d fought Hiratsuka earlier in his school uniform.
“How troublesome.
I doubt anyone will pair up with me next period.” Kato’s voice suddenly came from behind Lucian.
At her words, Lucian shook his head, then turned to face her.
“You have to trust that teacher.
She won’t forget about you.”
The rest of the class might forget Kato, but Hiratsuka wouldn’t.
Kato’s current strength wasn’t enough to impress her, but that only meant she’d make proper arrangements when the time came.
After all, Hiratsuka was a very responsible teacher, as her lecture just now had made plain.
At that, Kato nodded thoughtfully.
“Maybe.
I’ll go change too.
Good luck with the fight next period.”
Having said that, she turned and walked out.
Watching them all go to change, Lucian couldn’t help sighing to himself; he really should bring his own combat clothes tomorrow.
He’d learned this the hard way, but…
the uniform he had on didn’t really affect much, since he wasn’t a girl in a skirt.
He glanced down at his outfit, then let the matter go and found a corner to study the aura within.
The break flew by.
As the bell rang, the students who’d gone out to change filed back in one after another.
Lucian spotted Yukinoshita in the crowd.
She’d changed into a fitted outfit, her long hair pulled up into a high ponytail.
Quite a few were dressed like her; only a handful who hadn’t brought clothes today were still in uniform.
Unluckily, Lucian was one of them.
But with company in the same boat, he didn’t stand out too much; at least a third of the class was probably still in uniform.
Not long after everyone was back, Hiratsuka returned.
After a glance around the room, she said, “All right, everyone’s here.
Now pair up.
Any student left without a partner, come find me.”
The class had an odd number of students at the moment, so inevitably one would be left without a partner, and that student would have to team up with her.
Unsurprisingly, the one left over was the inconspicuous Kato.
After all, everyone in the class except Lucian and Yukinoshita subconsciously ignored her.
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