Chapter 623: Innocent swan

"Master, I’m no goddess," Gumiho whimpered, her eyes trembling. She was sitting on the ground at the bottom of the Spirit Mountain, her knees clasped to her chest and her chin resting upon them. "I’m just trash."

The path to the zenith of the mountain was littered with broken trees, potholes, and scorched earth, the result of the intense duel the duo had just fought.

"You don’t need to feel so down," Maximilian tried to coax her, sitting beside her.

She immediately created a distance of two feet, giving him a sharp glare as if all of this were his fault. "I’m as powerful as an Eternal Sage Cultivator, yet I still cannot defeat you. Forget about defeating you, I couldn’t even land a single meaningful strike."

Maximilian had fought her while completely suppressing his Soulforce to that of a True Sage Realm cultivator. But that still didn’t change the fact that he possessed a Divine Artifact and vast battle experience.

Gumiho’s attacks were indeed lethal, but they were meaningless if they couldn’t land. His lightning attribute allowed him to dodge them even while using Soulforce of a lower tier.

Moreover, the skill she excelled at the most, her illusions, was completely useless against him. Even though he was suppressing his Soulforce, his mind was still that of a Celestial Being. Gumiho’s spells in her five-tailed form were still too weak to affect him.

Still, with the pace she was progressing at, Maximilian wasn’t sure that he would be able to win their next spar with such ease.

Maximilian released a sigh. "That’s why I told you to focus on honing your skills as well. You possess the raw power of an Eternal Sage, but your experience couldn’t even match that of a True Sage."

That wasn’t true at all. While cultivating the World Seed, she had witnessed numerous battles in different parts of Vyoman and accumulated experience through them. It was just that the person she had tried to defeat was an anomaly.

If she were to fight any Eternal Sage at her current strength, she would be able to win with relative ease.

But again, Maximilian was never going to tell her that, so she would keep cultivating diligently.

His words caused a sharp reaction from Gumiho. He could feel her cheeks puffing out behind her veil.

"Hmph!" She turned her head to the other side.

"Hey, you can’t just throw a tantrum after being defeated when you are the one who challenged me," Maximilian argued, feeling as though he were being wronged.

There was no response from Gumiho.

"I’m just trash. I’m just trash." She kept muttering to herself.

Maximilian released another long and weary sigh. He had thought that the defeat would motivate her to train harder. Perhaps he had really been a little too hard on her. After being defeated by someone clearly one major realm lower than herself, her self-esteem had reached an all-time low.

Gumiho could only hear the rustle of clothes on her other side as Maximilian moved closer. She was about to move away from him again when a warm hand patted her head.

"You are my disciple, Gumiho," Maximilian said, his voice unusually warm, immediately causing Gumiho to hitch her breath. "It’s natural that I’m a bit strict with you. Because you are also my pride."

His hand continued stroking her head, making her fluffy ears twitch at the gentleness of his touch and the warmth of his words.

"So stop calling yourself trash because you are indirectly insulting me," he declared in a firm tone. "My disciples are the most talented under the heavens, after all."

Her eyes widened. She raised her head and looked up at Maximilian’s face. This was the first time her master had properly praised her. It completely melted her heart, her ears twitching and clearly giving away the happiness surging within her.

"I won’t call myself trash anymore, Master," she declared, grabbing his wrist and rubbing her head against his palm like a cute cat.

Her voice came with light giggles, her eyes narrowing in delight.

"Are you that happy just because you received some praise?" Maximilian asked, unable to help but chuckle.

"Unh." Gumiho nodded cutely. She grabbed his arm with both hands, holding it between her breasts as she rubbed her cheeks behind the veil against his arm. "I will make you proud, Master."

There was no intent to seduce in her actions. She didn’t even know anything about such things, since she had spent most of her life alone in a dark room.

Maximilian’s cheeks turned slightly red as her warm softness pressed against his arm. ’I should teach her the meaning of personal space. She is far too innocent for this dog-eat-dog world.’

He let her caress his arm in whatever way she knew to show her affection, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.

Initially, he only wanted to groom her to become his loyal subordinate for his future plans. Someone who would throw away her life for him without a second thought. He had approached both Vyaghra and Gumiho with this intent. However, after just a couple of years of spending time with them, he realised he wasn’t really cut out to be a manipulator.

He had already accepted both of them as his disciples wholeheartedly and intended to provide them with the best of the world on their path to cultivation.

"Gumiho, you shouldn’t touch men so casually," Maximilian explained to her, slipping his arm from her chest in a way that wouldn’t make it awkward. "They might get the wrong idea."

"I don’t touch anyone except you," Gumiho replied innocently. She tilted her head as she asked, "Am I not allowed to show my affection to you? And what do you mean by a wrong idea?"

Maximilian found himself at a loss for words. Yes, she was his disciple, but he had never thought he would be teaching her things like this as well.

"Well, you see..." he mumbled awkwardly.

Gumiho’s ears twitched, ready for a teaching lesson.

"Of course you are allowed to show your affection to me," Maximilian blurted out, gently pinching her small nose through the veil.

He really couldn’t teach her those things. He decided to find her a female friend in the future who would give her the proper education regarding that matter. Until then, he would make sure that no crow dared to flap its wings and court this innocent swan.