As much as Wuxing wanted to help his loved ones, it took so much of his time that he wasn't able to help himself. He was still far away from evolving and his love life made it difficult to focus on training.
'Leave the girls to handle their matters while you focus on your own practice,' Devil Face suggested. 'Trust me, Scarlet is in better hands right now. You are too soft with her so she needs someone like Katherine to help her. She is stern and gets things done without her feelings interfering with her teachings. Honestly, this girl is my favorite. Why didn't you claim her yet?'
Wuxing almost thought that Devil Face would make a good point but he ruined it with his comment. 'Didn't you say I should focus on practice? This is not the time to add more fuel to the flames.'
Devil Face grew excited on the spot. 'Are you saying it's going to happen eventually? Trust me, I'm not saying it because I want you to have more fun. You need more discipline in your little harem and Katherine is perfect for that. She would also set your priorities straight and force you to work harder. That would be fun to watch, not going to lie.'
Wuxing threw the meat on the grill without any comment. He wasn't in the mood for more romance. Not only was he exhausted with Miss Elizabeth and Scarlet but he was also close to meeting Dongmei's grandparents. Ash already researched about them and warned him how dangerous they were. Fooling around with Katherine was the last on his mind.
'I will let things develop naturally. For now, I will just focus on evolving and observing,' Wuxing decided as he took a deep breath and extended his arm. He forgot to bring tools to flip the meat but it was a good opportunity to practice.
Wuxing used the grill cover to block himself from the girls and gripped his arm while a hard bone began piercing through his skin. The process was slow but he was able to create a sharp bone fork in under one minute. It was still slower than his expectations but he could only lower it with practice. He would eventually reach his goal of making a knife in less than ten seconds.
The girls seemed to be talking with Ash about her discoveries which gave Wuxing time to train. He repeated the same exercise of creating and absorbing his bone tools until the food was done.
Of course, Devil Face had to ruin his proud smile with the facts. 'I think we need to think of a different training plan if you want to evolve faster. This practice only involves your bones instead of the whole body. You actually gain the most when you are hurt and have to restore your body in desperate conditions.'
'Yeah, how about I cut off my arm then?' Wuxing joked as he collected the meat to bring it inside but Devil Face took it seriously.
'Perfect. Not only will it speed up your future recovery but you can also experiment. You can pick up your cut limb and attach it quickly to continue your fight,' Devil Face replied proudly. 'Probably won't matter when you fight mutated beasts but it could save your life in the future.'
"..."
Wuxing paused at the proposal but he didn't correct himself. If a little bit of pain could actually help him improve faster, he was ready to sacrifice himself. The only problem was choosing a training partner but he already had someone in mind.
***
"You want me to help with your recovery training by cutting your body with my katana?" Katherine repeated Wuxing's request and didn't hesitate to agree. "I would gladly do that. I will be busy training with Scarlet during the day tomorrow but I'm free at night. I will come to pick you up when I'm done with my duties."
Wuxing suddenly regretted picking the most sadist person in their group. "Why do you want to hurt me so badly? You got so excited."
"Well, do you blame me? Everyone gets to enjoy you every day while I'm just watching and waiting for my turn. I have been wanting to punish you for a while already. You couldn't have come with a better offer," Katherine replied with a shrug and patted Wuxing's shoulder. "Let's keep this meeting a secret for now. We don't want more drama at the moment."
"What do you mean…? We are just going to train," Wuxing pointed out suspiciously but Katherine didn't reply as she returned back inside the house. He could only follow inside as everyone was already done eating.
"It's time for us to take our leave," Katherine announced with a mysterious smile. "Ash, Anna, we have morning duty tomorrow so let's rest early."
Both girls looked at her unhappily and Anna stood up to grab Wuxing's hand. "I didn't have my alone time with Wuxing yet. You guys can go ahead, I will return to my room before midnight."
Only Ash was weirded out by Anna's touchiness which made her gaze at Wuxing with complicated feelings. "I will take my leave then."
Wuxing naturally felt guilty for not being fully honest with Ash. He knew about his powers but he couldn't tell her all the secrets unless everyone in the group agreed with him. It seemed like they still didn't approve of her as Ash turned to everyone before leaving and expressed her thoughts.
"I don't know what's going on in your group but just know that I'm here for you. As I said before, I will do anything for Wuxing but that also includes all of you. If you need my help, just tell me."
Ash took one last glance at Wuxing before leaving with Katherine by her side. Wuxing wanted to stop Ash and explain all the whys but Anna held him tight as if the girls already figured out their stance.
"You guys can go ahead, I will clean the kitchen with Ash," Dongmei suggested as she walked up to Wuxing for a kiss. "Enjoy yourself, okay? We will join you when we are done."