Shichen naturally refused Serie's challenge.
Breakfast was more important, Frieren's stomach was more important, and refusing Serie... how happy.
Shichen led Serie into the forest, the two walking one after another, without communication.
Serie followed behind Shichen, looking at his back, getting more and more annoyed. She had lived for so many years,
And this was the first time she had been continuously rejected by someone, and by her grand-disciple at that.
Although she guessed he would refuse, his decisiveness still made her very angry. He really didn't take her seriously.
Very good!
Since he was from another world, she wanted to see how powerful he was.
Shichen had no idea of Serie's intentions, nor did he take them seriously. No matter how long she lived, she was still like a child, arrogant and stubborn.
It was only because she was almost invincible, otherwise she would have been taught a lesson long ago.
This matter still had to be done by him, after all, he was not from this world, and age and seniority did not matter to him.
This forest was indeed as Serie said; there were no animals nearby. He wondered if she had eaten them. Having lived for so long, it was quite possible.
Shichen led Serie deep into the forest for a long time before they saw a few small animals.
"Grandmaster, please watch my hands next," Shichen picked up a stone from the ground and turned to Serie.
"What are you doing with a stone?"
"Of course it's... like this!" Shichen said, throwing the stone forcefully at a small deer not far ahead.
Whoosh!
The stone whistled through the air, piercing the deer's body before it could react.
Thud!
The deer fell with a thud, blood began to flow, spreading across the ground, and its companions, who were with it, finally reacted, immediately scattering in fright and quickly disappearing.
Serie looked at the little deer lying motionless on the ground, and only then understood Shichen's meaning.
"This power, are you a warrior? No, you can use magic... Is this a special trait of people from another world? It's really good!" Serie's golden eyes seemed to gleam with light, becoming more and more interested in Shichen.
"Hehe~" Shichen chuckled, walking towards the deer as he replied, "Grandmaster, do you still have the leisure to consider this question now?"
"Is there a problem?" Serie retorted.
"Grandmaster, you should still be impressed by my magic just now, right? Plus my physical strength, do you think you can win against me?"
"Heh~" Serie laughed aloud, retorting with a sneer, "Do you think I have no way to deal with it? Are you underestimating me a little?"
"Not at all." Shichen picked up the deer, turned to Serie, and shook his head: "Grandmaster knows all kinds of magic, so naturally you have a way to deal with it."
"Then what do you mean?"
"Since Grandmaster is so confident, how about we make a bet?"
"A bet?"
"It's very simple. In today's contest between Grandmaster and me, the winner can do whatever they want with the loser."
"Whatever I want?" Serie frowned, staring at him seriously.
Shichen showed no fear, instead provoking her, "Grandmaster is afraid?"
"Hmph, not at all, I just understood one thing."
"What?"
"You, you like elves, don't you?"
"Huh?" Shichen was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Grandmaster, how did you come to that conclusion?"
"Otherwise? You're so considerate towards Frieren, it's obvious you like her, isn't it?"
"I don't deny that."
"So, you also like me, who is an elf just like Frieren?"
Seeing Shichen fall silent, Serie thought she had hit the mark and continued confidently, "No wonder you treat me this way, so you don't see me as your Grandmaster. You like elves? That's a good interest, but we elves have long lifespans, while you humans only live for a few decades. What's the point of liking someone?"
"Heh, hehe, Grandmaster is really confident," Shichen said awkwardly.
He was clearly just setting a condition to make it easier to educate her later, how did it turn out like this?
Was his kindness towards Frieren too obvious and direct?
"Isn't it? Then why did you propose that bet?"
"Well... Grandmaster will know when the time comes."
"Oh, you're not comfortable saying it directly, are you? I understand. I'll agree then. If you can defeat me, you can indeed be my partner."
Shichen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, a little speechless: "Grandmaster, your misunderstanding is a bit big."
"Heh, don't be shy. The strong naturally get to have beautiful women. If you can defeat me, having me is no problem, even if it's only for a few short decades... Of course, the premise is that you can defeat me."
By the end of her sentence, Serie's fighting spirit surged again, her posture indicating she couldn't wait to spar with Shichen immediately.
"Forget it..." Shichen shook his head helplessly, "Grandmaster can think whatever you want, you'll understand when the time comes. Let's go back."
Serie was so arrogant that when she misunderstood, she would certainly continue to misunderstand confidently. Besides making her understand his true intentions later, he couldn't explain it clearly now.
Back in the stone cave, Shichen saw Frieren still sleeping comfortably, though her sleeping posture was a bit ungraceful. But since she was so cute, an ungraceful sleeping posture somehow made her even cuter.
"What are you going to do? How can we eat just one deer?" Serie asked.
"High-end food often only requires the most simple cooking. Grandmaster, just watch."
Shichen walked to an open space, controlled the small deer to float in the air, and was about to directly roast it with the Sacred Fire of the Phoenix King when he suddenly remembered the deer hadn't been processed yet.
"Grandmaster, do you have magic that can process ingredients?"
"Yes."
"You even have this kind of magic? Then I'll take this magic."
"Are you sure?" Serie looked at him with a strange expression.
She knew all kinds of magic, yet he wanted such a useless one?
"Is there a problem? All magic is useful, you shouldn't look down on any magic," Shichen lectured.
"Is it your turn to say that?"
Serie walked up to Shichen and said unhappily, "I'll just transfer it to you."
"Transferring magic?"
"Heh, you know quite a lot."
Transferring magic: by using this magic, one can directly bestow a learned magic to the recipient, allowing them to learn it instantly. However, the original caster will lose the bestowed magic and need to re-cultivate it.
However, the magic for processing ingredients wasn't an important one, so Shichen gladly accepted it.
Instantly learning the magic for processing ingredients, Shichen quickly prepared the small deer, then directly roasted it with the sacred fire.
Given the circumstances, roasting meat was the easiest food to make. Anyway, the animal meat in this world was more tender and delicious.
"This flame is...?"
And seeing Shichen's golden flames for the first time, Serie's eyes also widened.
"Is this also your magic?" Serie stared at the flames enveloping the deer, asking seriously.
"This isn't magic, just a type of ability."
"Ability?"
"Mm, just think of it as innate."
"Is that so? Hehe, that's really good," Serie laughed, her laughter unrestrained.
The effect of the flames, the wonder of the flames, she understood immediately, which made her look forward to her confrontation with Shichen even more.
Shichen ignored her and focused on roasting the venison. He hadn't tasted this stuff either and was a bit interested.
Halfway through roasting, Frieren woke up because of the meat's aroma. After cleaning herself with magic, she moved closer to Shichen, staring eagerly at the golden roasted deer suspended in mid-air, looking as if she was about to drool, her eyes still half-closed.
Shichen found it amusing.
Serie, seeing him like this, nodded, even more convinced of her guess.
The venison was quickly cooked. Flamme hadn't returned, so the three of them ate by themselves.
Eating roasted meat so early in the morning felt a bit off, but fortunately, they weren't ordinary people.
Although it was a small deer, the three of them only ate two legs, preserving the rest with magic to eat for lunch.
The venison was indeed delicious, even though no seasoning had been added.
After breakfast, Serie, eager to spar with Shichen, urged Frieren to quickly choose a magic to bestow upon her.
Naturally, she refused, preferring the process of exploring magic herself.
Rejected again, if she wasn't in such a hurry to spar with Shichen, she might have directly mocked Frieren.
Frieren wasn't even interested in their spar and didn't want to watch, but Shichen still forcefully carried her like a child, holding her by the waist, and brought her along.
Leaving the stone cave, they followed Serie to an open space. With a barrier set up by her, their sparring began.
Frieren, meanwhile, stood by the barrier, listlessly watching the two of them facing each other from a distance.
"Shichen, are you ready?" Serie couldn't hide her excitement.
"Of course." Shichen also smiled broadly.
"Then... take this!"
Without warning, a thick stream of flames shot towards Shichen, a scorching aura assailing him.
Before the flames even reached him, their light illuminated Shichen's face, yet his smile remained unchanged.
Just as the flames were about to touch him, he suddenly disappeared.
Serie was not surprised at all. The corners of her mouth turned up, and then she turned around.
"Grandmaster, take my punch."
Shichen appeared just as suddenly, and he didn't hold back, swinging a punch at her.
Just then, a blue light suddenly appeared between the two, as if to block Shichen's punch, but miraculously, when his fist touched it, it passed through as if it were nothing.
"What?"