Chương 87: A Teacher's Farewell

When people focused on something, time always slipped through their fingers without anyone noticing. While Aren devoted himself to training, it was already 1987. Somewhere in a canyon, two figures collided so quickly that ordinary people could not have followed them with the naked eye. Every collision caused a violent burst of air. The force of their direct impacts was obvious. Bang. After another heavy collision, one figure was blasted away and smashed into the rock wall. Rumble.

A huge gap opened in the cliff, and chunks of stone began falling.

"Cough, cough. Aren! How many times have I told you? Don't use more aura than agreed." A muscular woman walked out of the broken cliff covered in dust, shouting in fury.

"Sorry, sorry. I got a little excited and didn't notice." The silver-white-haired young man spoke with a wicked smile. Although he said sorry twice, there was not the slightest hint of apology in his attitude.

"Hmph. Aren, you did that on purpose. I'm done. No more. You got my clothes dirty." Biscuit walked out of the hole and brushed dust from her body.

"Woohoo! Master is the best. He beat Bisky again." On the other side of the canyon, Neon jumped off her chair while eating snacks and waved her hands in celebration. Whoosh. Biscuit instantly returned to her small form and appeared in front of Neon. Both hands pinched Neon's baby-fat cheeks.

"You little traitor. Next time I deduct your snack portion, don't complain to your master."

"Ah, hehe... Bisky, you heard wrong. I said Bisky should do her best..." With her cheeks pulled up, Neon spoke unclearly and changed sides without shame.

"Hmph. You and your master are always on the same side." Biscuit let go of her cheeks and sat down on the lounge chair beside her. Hum. White light flashed. A spatial ripple appeared, and Aren's figure suddenly landed on the third lounge chair. Biscuit complained, "Do you have to be that lazy?"

"It's only a few steps, and you still use Flying Thunder God Technique." Aren ignored her complaint. He created a cup of chilled watermelon juice and took a comfortable sip.

"What, jealous?" Biscuit clicked her tongue. To be honest, she was a little jealous. Aren's abilities were far too convenient. Still, if she had to exchange them for her own ability, she would refuse. Her own ability was the ultimate dream for women. Biscuit looked at Aren's Ten, now calm and steady like still water. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. After a moment of silence, she spoke.

"I've taught you almost everything I can teach. The rest will depend on your own experience. Our transaction should count as complete now." Aren's motion paused while he drank. Then he exhaled.

"Yeah. That's true. You are completely unable to beat me now." A vein appeared on Biscuit's forehead.

"That is because you cheat. We agreed to use the same aura amount, but once the fight starts, you secretly raise it. Do you think everyone is as abnormal as you? Your aura keeps increasing like it has no limit." By Aren's own rough estimate, his aura reserve had already reached an absurd six hundred thousand. That was perhaps twice what he believed Netero would have thirteen years later. Biscuit's own aura reserve was only a little over one hundred thousand. She could not possibly match him in raw power.

"Hahahaha. Biscuit, just admit you're weak. Don't make so many excuses."

"You..." Biscuit bit her clothes in frustration. But Aren was right. She could not beat him now. Even if Aren used no abilities and fought only with basic Nen, she was no longer his opponent. If this had been the old Aren, even with a higher aura reserve, Biscuit could have abused him through refined aura shifting, experience, and combat awareness. Now, Aren was different. Although his handling of subtle details still was not as perfect as hers, his Nen had already approached maturity.

That left Biscuit unable to refute his sharp tongue. How irritating. Then Aren put away his unpleasant smile and looked at her sincerely.

"Biscuit, thank you for teaching me with everything you had during this time. Making me call you Master is impossible, but calling you Teacher is acceptable." He lowered his head slightly.

"Thank you, Teacher Biscuit." Biscuit was caught completely off guard by his sincerity. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Aren, what are you doing? Getting sentimental so suddenly. Don't you know people get emotional more easily when they get older? You're embarrassing me." From what Aren remembered, Biscuit had indeed been easy to move to tears. Aren stared at her speechlessly.

"Hey, when did I get sentimental? I was saying something normal. Can you stop adding so much drama?" Biscuit smacked him lightly.

"What's wrong with being moved? You finally called me Teacher." Neon tilted her head and looked between Biscuit, who was crying and smiling at the same time, and Aren. With her little brain, she did not yet understand what the end of their transaction meant. Right now, she cared more about whether dinner would be frog or chicken. Thinking about it, she almost drooled.

"Neon, you haven't finished today's training yet. Get moving." Biscuit's voice pulled Neon back from her food fantasy.

"Ah! Bisky, why do you still remember that?" To be fair, after Biscuit's training, Neon's physical fitness had improved greatly. She was not comparable to Gon and Killua at the same age, but she was already far ahead of ordinary children. The next day, Aren's group drove toward the nearest airport. Only after reaching the airport did Neon realize that the end of the transaction meant they were parting from Biscuit.

Although Biscuit had mercilessly dragged her up for training every day, Neon genuinely liked this "Bisky." Neon had never had many friends growing up. When Biscuit stayed in her small form, her mood was often surprisingly childlike. After training ended, she and Neon could play together. The moment Neon learned they truly had to separate, she burst into tears. She grabbed Biscuit's skirt and refused to let go. Biscuit failed to hold herself together too. The two small girls hugged each other and cried loudly.

People in the airport gathered around, watching the two sobbing children as if a life-and-death farewell were taking place. Some even wiped their own eyes while glaring at Aren, the unmoved "older brother" standing nearby. Aren was speechless. Neon crying made sense. She was still young. Someone she had spent several months with was suddenly leaving. But Biscuit, you were a forty-four-year-old woman in a childlike form. There was no need for her to join the performance.

When one person cried, another crying beside them only magnified the emotion. In the end, Aren used his ultimate move. Snack threats. Only then did Neon finally stop. The consequence was that the surrounding crowd became even more dissatisfied with Aren. A muscular man even looked ready to confront him. Aren glanced at the crowd and noticed several attractive women watching. He roughly understood what the man was planning. It was nothing more than using Aren to make himself look good.

He could display his masculinity and share righteous anger with the women at the same time. A cheap trick. Aren looked at the man. Malicious aura wrapped around the target in an instant. With Aren's current control over Nen, he could focus that malice on one person in the crowd. Everyone else would only feel a cold breeze, at most a shiver. But the muscular man's eyes went wide the moment the malice touched him. Sweat poured down his face. It was as if he had seen the most terrifying thing in his life.

In the next blink, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed. He would not die. But lying in the hospital for a few months was unavoidable. After Neon finally stopped crying, she still looked dispirited. Aren glared at Biscuit.

"How old are you? Do you really think you're a little girl? You cried with Neon and made me look terrible."

"Hmph. Emotionless man." Biscuit wiped her eyes and looked at him.

"So, where are you going next? Back to Gambi Town?" Biscuit already knew about the Nostrade Family and Aren's Meteor City origin. She did not care. There was no absolute justice or evil in this world. Biscuit was the same. She acted based on her mood and what she liked.

"No," Aren said.

"There is a companion I haven't seen in a long time. I miss her a little, so I plan to go see her." As he spoke, a gentle smile appeared on his face. Seeing that unusual expression, Biscuit narrowed her eyes with a teasing grin.

"Oh? Something is going on. A girl?"

"Yeah." Aren looked at the electronic flight board. Flight G1356, departing at 12: 30 p. m. for the Republic of Padokea.