Hi everyone! I'm trying to find a cultivation novel I read a long time ago, but I can't remember the title.
It begins with a poor countryside boy who's about to slaughter a green bull and at the last second he lets it go, and the bull later repays him by teaching him a cultivation technique. I remember the bull was some kind of clone/fragment of a super high-level beast cultivator.
After that, the MC keeps getting stronger and more savage, and at some point he can transform into a half-beast cultivator (or switch between a human identity and a beast identity). I only got about halfway through, so my memory is fuzzy on later arcs.
Does this ring a bell for anyone? Even partial guesses are welcome, thank you!
***
March 18. Unlike winter, dawn was coming earlier and earlier; the morning light felt like a basin of water, gently splashed across the world.
The window in the room was shut, the air exchanged only by the AC. The curtains hung still—no breeze, no air from the vent—quietly standing there.
They were thin though, unable to block the faint glow that still lit the staff dorm.
Whether it was the call of daybreak or his own body clock, Yukio's bleary eyes eased open. He took in the dim little room; it was so quiet he could hear the low hum of the outdoor AC unit—and the soft breathing of the lovely Hoshinomiya in his arms.
As she slept in his embrace, her drowsy face held a different kind of allure, like an iris sprinkled in summertime.
Seeing that sleeping face, Yukio smiled, barely and silently, and leaned in to kiss the tip of Hoshinomiya's nose. First, the student Ichinose had wanted to "talk"; then the homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya, had also wanted to "talk."
What is it with the B-Class crowd—steel on the outside, afraid of loneliness on the inside? That was why he'd come last night—and why he was waking up in Hoshinomiya's staff dorm this morning.
"Mm—?" Her slightly curled lashes fluttered; something tickled her nose. She slowly opened her eyes. After a brief haze, her gaze focused and she saw Yukio. "Quit it. Let me doze a little longer."
Like a newborn piglet, she burrowed right back into his chest. Only when her ears could catch the strong thump of his heart did the corners of her lips curl in contentment, ready to slip back to sleep.
How had she never noticed? Sleeping in her boyfriend's arms was this comfortable, this soothing—like you could sleep like this a whole lifetime and never get tired of it.
"I've got to go do my morning training." Yukio's will was iron; he wasn't going to be held hostage by Hoshinomiya's clinginess. He stated his routine plainly.
"I said quit it." A little put out, she pulled away from that heartbeat pillow and tipped up her little face, pitiful enough for anyone to see. Like a little girl whose lollipop had been snatched by a bully—eyes glossy, on the verge of tears. "Can't you let me lay my head here a bit longer? I've got no strength at all right now."
On that note she felt aggrieved—maybe it was the spring air, but waking up now, her waist and back felt that sweet, curling ache.
And how did this jerk train, anyway? Was that why he insisted on morning workouts? Day after day—so he could "perform" like that?
Well then… maybe she should let him go work out?
After all, just the briefest recollection had her spacing out, savoring the lingering sweetness—and with that, her acting lost half its power. The pitiful look on her face melted away by half.
Yukio couldn't help but chuckle. "If you're tired, then rest. I'm the one training, not you."
Since playing the poor wounded kitten wasn't working, Hoshinomiya swapped tactics—back to cutesy. Like a little girl, she rubbed her head and chestnut hair against Yukio's chin. "Stay with me a little longer~"
"No." On this point he didn't budge. "Daily training means every day. Not a single day off.
"It's like rowing upstream—if you don't advance, you're going backward. Skip one day, you'll know it yourself; skip three, and you'll know it."
"Pff—" Her performance collapsed again; his line about "skip three days and she'll know it" made her burst into laughter. She lightly thumped his chest, feigning innocence. "Oh? Then can Yukio-kun tell his teacher—
"Why would your teacher 'know' if you skipped three days of morning practice? How would she know?"
"Because scores drop. If my performance drops, you, the teacher, won't notice?" Yukio's eyes gleamed with mischief, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.
But Hoshinomiya kept up the act. "Scores? What scores? I'm the one in charge of the infirmary, remember? I don't teach your high school courses. How could I know your subject grades right away?"
"Heh." Under the covers, Yukio gave a pat. "Since you run the infirmary, you should be the first to know. Isn't there a class called 'Health and P.E.'?"
"Mm." She muttered, scooting back to cover the rear lines so he couldn't keep patting. She didn't refute it—there is such a course in Sakurajima, after all.
Once she retreated, Yukio wriggled free, climbed out of bed, and gathered his clothes from the floor to put them back on.
Realizing she'd been outmaneuvered, Hoshinomiya refused to concede. "Not even a little longer? You agreed so readily when I called you over yesterday."
"No." He shook his head. "When I commit to something, no one changes it."
"Tsk." That line almost made her laugh; her face turned teasing. "Ohh, so once you've got your pants on, you talk tough, huh."
"Gotta." Yukio took the jab without blinking, then went to wash up, threw together a simple breakfast, and set it in the microwave.
All she'd have to do when she woke from her second sleep was warm it up.
"I left breakfast in the microwave. Don't oversleep." Back at her bedside, Yukio left that one line and really was about to go.
"Hehe~" Since he'd made breakfast for her, she felt sweet inside and didn't feel like clinging to him anymore. "Then—"
She pursed her lips, clearly asking for a goodbye kiss before he left.
As Yukio leaned closer, Hoshinomiya closed her eyes in understanding—and got her nose booped with a kiss for the second time. She blinked in surprise. "W-what's that supposed to mean?"
"Why do you think, when I woke up, I kissed your nose instead of your lips?" Tossing that over his shoulder, Yukio slipped away to the entryway to change his shoes.
It took Hoshinomiya a moment to process, then color rose in her cheeks as she remembered last night's… activities. She bristled. "You're actually turning up your nose? Weren't you the one who wanted it?"
"The hell! If I ever help you with that again, my surname won't be Hoshinomiya!"
Hearing that as he left, Yukio couldn't help offering a new surname. "Then don't be Hoshinomiya. In Japan, wives take their husband's family name anyway."
"…" She blinked. That's… true! But… Mrs. Hayashi? That… actually sounds kind of nice. With that thought, her anger dissipated.
Murmuring titles like "Lady Hayashi" and "Mrs. Hayashi" to herself, Hoshinomiya happily drifted back into a delicious second sleep.
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