Chapter 72 72 – Forbidden Fruit



Ken knew he couldn't dodge such a slap from a friend as Jane just did.

Unless he actively sensed the air and Qi around him as he did while traveling outside, he would be unable to sense a sneak attack from someone he trusted not to attack him.

He might be able to react on time if the attacker revealed a hint of killing intent, but Diana didn't exude any of that; she only meant to slap her friend for teasing her.

"Haha, see? This is why she has this nickname!"

Jane giggled as she took a step away from Diana's violent tendencies. Ken laughed with the tanned girl, agitating Diana further.

"Hey, your nickname isn't much better, Swordsman!"

Ken looked at Jane with curiosity, but she just shrugged it off with an unbothered expression on her face.

"It's because they say I'm a bit of a tomboy."

Ken's eyes scan her body and he nodded in agreement. Her skin was coarse from her training, and her body was much more robust than the typical female cultivator's. Even her tanned skin attested to her long stays in the sun during her training. 

Most female disciples used creams and pills made by alchemists to fix their skin and make it look fair, creating the illusion they were all delicate flowers who have never seen blood.

Thanks to Ken's special constitution, enhanced by the God Qi and strengthened since he was a baby, his skin always regenerated to its healthy form after his training sessions, so he looked like he was consuming those products himself.

"What? I'm from a common family, and I treasure the resources I'm given by the sect. I won't waste them on my outer look; strength is all that matters in our world. If I'm strong enough, even the best man in the sect will prefer me over any belle."

It was true to a certain degree, but she'd need to be very strong for that. After all, even in the cultivation world men gave more weight to beauty than women when choosing their partners.

"You're right. Your nickname only shows your resolve. Unlike Fiery Fairy…"

Ken smiled at the angry tall girl in front of him. Diana was flustered as she realized her attempt in shifting the focus from her nickname to Jane's ended in failure. It didn't work simply because Jane wasn't offended by her nickname.

"Hey, Ken, why are you all smug? Your nickname is far worse than any of ours!"

She lashed out at him, unable to suppress her temper. Jane looked at her with scolding eyes; they agreed not to bring this up before Ken felt more comfortable with them. Mocking him wouldn't be a good way to make friends with him.

"Nickname? I'm only an inner disciple, ranked poorly at the 500th spot. How can someone as inconspicuous as me have a nickname?"

Ken said with an innocent face.

"Inconspicuous my ass! You aren't 8 yet and already ranked in the age group for ages 17-24. How can you think that's being low profile?"

"Diana, chill, your language turned foul again."

Jane laughed when she noticed her friend was getting agitated as she couldn't get the upper hand in this conversation. Diana didn't even notice that what started as a harmless tease became something huge, all because of herself.

"Ah, sorry."

Diana tried to calm herself down when she noticed she was acting inappropriately. It wasn't a good way to approach strangers.

"It's all right. So, what's my nickname?"

Ken was curious. He hoped it'd be something flattering like "Unseen Sword" or anything to do with his speed and sword skills.

Diana wore a triumphant smile when she saw his expectant eyes, and even Jane was struggling to hide her giggling. Since it was too late not to speak about it, they two were anticipating his reaction.

"Forbidden Fruit"

Ken's smile froze when he heard this weird nickname. He had a vague idea as to what it could mean, but he refused to think about it.

"What… why… What does it mean?"

It was probably the first time Ken stuttered in this life without having to fake it. He almost prayed to the God that sent him here that he misunderstood the meaning behind it.

"Hahahaha! The child who is more beautiful than a seductress, pleasing the eye, yet must not be touched. hahaha, you're the Forbidden Fruit!"

The girls were holding their stomachs as they couldn't stop their laughter. Ken's reaction was worth gold when he heard the dubious nickname he has gotten. For the first time since he was reborn, he didn't see a way out of his situation.

"You are making it up, right?"

He said with a slight hope that it was all a sick joke of theirs.

"Nope! You're so beautiful but too young. But hey, at least it means you're popular with the girls. When you turn a tad older and are not forbidden anymore, you will be able to pick any girl you like."

Jane tried to comfort him, but Diana enjoyed having the upper hand too much to let it go now.

"Or boys. I heard quite a few of them calling you that too."

Ken's eyebrows twitched a little when he seriously considered attacking those two girls, but he took a deep breath and changed the subject instead.

"So, why are you two girls here? I doubt it was only to teach me about the glorifying custom of nicknames in our sect."

The two girls quickly got ahold of themselves and stopped their giggling. They didn't approach Ken only to antagonize him, so they didn't want to appear too rude. Their first impressions might not be too well now anyway.

"You're right. We heard you had a very high potential and thought you must not know anyone around here given the age gap. How about hanging out with us during this expedition?"

"But I'm the weakest disciple in the square. I don't believe two core disciples will approach me without hidden motives."

He wasn't the weakest, but officially he was. Since his age group was the youngest to be able to take on this mission, and he was ranked the lowest in this age group, he was considered the weakest person in the group. Only ranked disciples could take this chance, so there weren't any unranked disciples.

"Maybe right now, but you must not neglect your great potential. I don't believe the Sue Family let their descendant form his core with a shaky foundation, so I'm sure you're slightly behind only because you aren't used to your strength."

·ƈθm "Hmm, is that so?"

"Yes. If you could improve so fast until now, you will improve just as fast in the future. It'd be a shame not to pay attention to a talent like you only because you're still young."

Jane gave him an encouraging pat on his shoulder while Diana nodded in agreement. 

'Did anyone see through my acting in my last duel against Paul?'

Ken wasn't exactly the trusting type, so he still believed they didn't tell him everything. In his paranoia, he guessed right.

---------

A few days ago:

Two girls were standing in front of their two masters. One of the girls was tall with curly hair, while the other was shorter with unique platinum hair. The pair were none other than Diana and Jane whom Ken would meet a few days in the future.

"You two have been doing a great job standing tall among all those elite disciples. I feel confident to say we both are proud of you for where you've reached through hard work and persistence."

"Thank you, Master."

"Thank you, Elder Fang."

The two girls bowed to the old man and thanked him for his praise. The second elder hurriedly spoke when they saw them bow only to Elder Fang.

"It's not only him, I'm also very proud of you two. I've put my trust in you and nurtured you to the best of my ability, and you have met all my expectations.'

He spoke with a wise voice as he nodded his head and stroke his beard.

"Thank you, Master."

"Thank you, Elder Leylin."

The two held back their urge to roll their eyes at the elder's antics. They were already used to it, so they pretended that nothing happened and responded normally, to Leylin's delight.

"Master, why have you called us?"

Diana asked her master, Elder Fang. The old man waved his hand and created a domain around them, silencing the noises around them and making sure nobody was listening. Diana and Jane always got excited when they saw their masters form a domain; it was a unique trait of the seventh stage.

"Have you heard of the new boy of the Sue Family? He is still a child."

"Oh, the one said to be the most beautiful in the sect? Of course, we know Forbidden Fruit."

Jane said with a happy tone while the two elders just raised an eyebrow when they heard the weird nickname.

"Ah, I guess he is a beautiful child. Anyway, we want you girls to approach him during the expedition to the Divine Sword Sect."

"But you hate elite families."

Jane asked the two elders with a surprised tone. She didn't expect them to want a relationship with an elite disciple.

"Indeed, but we made our research on him. He comes from a branch family that eloped from the sect many years ago. His relationship with his family isn't good, and if we play our cards right, we might be able to bring him to our faction."