:O Food! The infidelity! Thank you very much for reading! Idk if I'll be able to get many (or any) more chapters out while I'm on vacation though... vacation is tiring...
I've been reading this story, and am at chapter 25. Some thing that's confusing me is that he's been using his ring quite often but no one is reacting to it. Like i swear it wa supposed to be really rare?
@A Person: I'm being dragged around by my over-ambitious sister who wants to see everything the city has to offer X_X
@EliteHaz: For the most part, by Chapter 25 Jia Yuan has only been using the ring rather discreetly. Now, there are obviously a few cases where he's a little more obvious about it, but scene is dominated by something else. For example, when Jia Yuan uses his ring to take all of the pots from the store, The store owner probably noticed that his pots just seemed to randomly disappear, but he was more interested in all of the currency that he just acquired.
Overall, treasures such as Jia Yuan's ring or Guo Huo's Necklace are rather rare, but aren't exactly legendary items, especially for nobles. When encountering someone with such a large amount of money, it's likely that the person is a noble. Now, Jia Yuan's ring is rather special because of the large amount of space within, but people from the outside don't know that. Even if they notice the powers of the ring, they probably wouldn't immediately think that the inside space is so massive.
@A Person: I'm being dragged around by my over-ambitious sister who wants to see everything the city has to offer X_X
@EliteHaz: For the most part, by Chapter 25 Jia Yuan has only been using the ring rather discreetly. Now, there are obviously a few cases where he's a little more obvious about it, but scene is dominated by something else. For example, when Jia Yuan uses his ring to take all of the pots from the store, The store owner probably noticed that his pots just seemed to randomly disappear, but he was more interested in all of the currency that he just acquired.
Overall, treasures such as Jia Yuan's ring or Guo Huo's Necklace are rather rare, but aren't exactly legendary items, especially for nobles. When encountering someone with such a large amount of money, it's likely that the person is a noble. Now, Jia Yuan's ring is rather special because of the large amount of space within, but people from the outside don't know that. Even if they notice the powers of the ring, they probably wouldn't immediately think that the inside space is so massive.
Hope that helps explain it
Yes I know that lol. but he pulled out a pot in front of his mas ex-master and possible teacher (still at 25) and it was obvious. His master should have shown some reaction. heck even the teacher should've reacted cos the kid is poor af.
Ooookaaaay good point I'll edit that in at some point I didn't really explain it well.
Basically the teacher is like whatever the hell cause the kid presumably has a high/heavenly level song so a secret or 2 more isn't really dazzling him, while the master is like oh probably this rich looking dude gave it to him.
Thanks for pointing that out I'll fix it when Im back from vacation
Since I've been asking for you guys to answer the strawpoll for a while but didn't have a long chapter to show, I've made a new strawpoll in the topic that you guys can vote on. Here's a long chapter for those of you who want to see what it'd look like! Btw, strawpoll in topic post.
The days passed, and eventually Jia Yuan had woken up from his unconscious state. He mingled with the villagers, doing simple tasks such as chopping wood and washing vegetables.
In all honesty, he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. The villagers had taken his prized black sword, but they were very nice to him, so he didn’t want to have to kill them all to get back his sword. But if he asked, were they going to be willing to just hand it back to him?
He didn’t really mind this simple lifestyle. There was no killing, no danger, nothing. It was just simple and relaxing. However, there was just that little voice in the back of his head… that he needed to get moving. He needed to get back to that life. If not only because it was the life he knew, but because he had a duty as a Burning Legion Commander, a duty as a brother to keep his family safe.
But what could he do right now? He was stranded in the middle of the Water Kingdom for whatever reason only the Gods may know.
Jia Yuan decided that it wouldn’t be too bad to rest for a bit. Being a Burning Legion Commander, even if he had Fan Meng to handle most of the affairs, was still stressful. Here, all he had to do was help out with some simple tasks once in a while.
Meditation was easier for him as well. While he had been a Commander, he had continually been in a stressed state, which made it difficult for him to achieve the level of clarity needed for meditation. Although he had made progress, it wasn’t nearly as fast as he would’ve liked.
One day, Jia Yuan decided to drop by the village elder’s house.
After knocking on the door, Jia Yuan walked in.
“Hello Elder, may I speak with you?”
The Elder looked up and nodded.
“You have my deepest gratitude for bringing me to the village when I was hurt. However, I have goals that I need to accomplish. Will you grant me permission to leave the village with my weapon?”
The Elder look at Jia Yuan and nodded. “If you leave the village, of course you can have your weapon. I have just one question for you. Where do you plan to go?”
Jia Yuan pondered the question. “Wherever I have to go to increase my strength.”
The Village Elder tapped his finger on his armrest, then stood up.
“You should head toward the mountains. You’ll find what you want there. As for your weapon, it’s in the village warehouse.”
Jia Yuan eyed the Elder. “You’re not afraid I’ll steal anything on my way out?”
The Elder chuckled. “Are you the type to steal from those who help you?”
Jia Yuan laughed and nodded in return. “I guess not. My thanks, Elder.”
After leaving the Elder’s house, Jia Yuan made his way back to the family that had provided for the last week or so and thanked them for their hospitality.
After doing so, Jia Yuan made his way to the village warehouse, in which he found his black sword on a shelf.
Upon touching the black sword, it shuddered and Jia Yuan felt a surge of energy enter his body. Jia Yuan hugged the sword. “Seems you weren’t in the Royal Armory for nothing, huh. Guess you saved my life.”
Jia Yuan was deeply thankful for the sword. Apart from his ring and his sword, he didn’t really have any other treasures. Clearly, the ring was only made for storage, so it was clearly his sword that had saved him.
And now, the black sword seemed to have established some sort of connection with Jia Yuan. Jia Yuan found himself wondering. What other secrets did this black sword hold? And who had made such a unique treasure?
Jia Yuan returned the sword into his ring, left the warehouse, and set off toward the mountains. He trusted the village Elder had a reason to recommend him to enter the mountains.
On the way up the mountain, Jia Yuan took inventory of what he still had in his ring. He had his Golden Currency Card, HiRyu, the black sword, a bunch of pots, some random large fire shards lying around, and about 2 weeks of provisions, and some fire embers.
So I have food, and I have pots and some fire embers to cook the food with. The food won’t last forever though, so I should forage some greens during the trek.
After taking inventory, Jia Yuan readied himself and sped towards the mountains. This was good training for his Song of Water.
(Author’s Note: For those of you are confused, Jia Yuan does not actually cultivate multiple Songs. He only cultivates the Song of Swords, which is capable of supporting multiple variations of its own Song so it is able to use all four elements. For simplicities sake, since each Song is a variation, we’re just going to call each variation a separate Song of its own.)
Since Jia Yuan was in the Water Kingdom’s territory, he naturally couldn’t advertise that he had cultivated a Song of Fire. As such, he used his Song of Water to propel himself forward. Jia Yuan ran forward with his arms behind him, spouting water in two streams behind him, which in turn wet the ground behind him, marking his path.
Jia Yuan hadn’t been able to use his Song of Water for the most part, since he had always been surrounded by those of the Fire Kingdom.
But now, he was free to use his Song of Water however he wished.
Soon enough, Jia Yuan had arrived at the foot of the first mountain in his path. He looked up, up, and up, until he finally saw the peak of the mountain. He would have to scale a very steep incline to make it up the mountainside.
Jia Yuan popped a Water Pill into his mouth and then sat on the ground and meditated. Although he had been only traveling for about an hour, he was clearly unused to using his Song of Water, and naturally his control over the element was far inferior to that of his control over fire.
As such, he had unfortunately used a rather large amount of strength to make it all this way.
After meditating for about 20 minutes, Jia Yuan stood up and began to play his Song of Water. A soothing melody entered his mind, and Jia Yuan used his Song of Water to propel himself up the mountainside.
In this manner, Jia Yuan would fly until he reached a location on the mountainside where he could rest. Upon reaching such a place, he was meditate for a while to recover his strength, and then he would continue his way up. After a while, he had scaled the mountainside. Now, he was more than a thousand feet above ground level, and could see everything even miles away.
It was a breathtaking view! However, the view was a little marred by the large amount of dust that flew up in certain locations. Clearly, these were the troops being mobilized to fight at the front lines. Jia Yuan frowned. He hadn’t thought too much about the war recently, and had only been a bit worried for his brother.
But now, he saw this ugly reminder of the war besmirch what otherwise would have been a perfect view.
Jia Yuan shook his head, then continued on his way. He vaguely sensed a source of energy near the middle of the mountain range.
It seems like the village Elder really did have some helpful information.
Jia Yuan started his trek over to the source of energy.
Traversing through the mountains was truly taxing. Even Jia Yuan was soon exhausted and his entire body became coated in sweat. However, he was nearing his location.
Soon after, Jia Yuan made one last hop toward a mountain peak. Then, he blinked several times. Apparently, someone had built an entire estate in this desolate mountain range. The source of energy was coming from within the estate.
Jia Yuan cautiously walked toward the doors of the estate. Jia Yuan pondered for a bit, and then knocked on the door.
No response.
Jia Yuan thought for a bit again, and then tried to open the door. Although it took a bit of strength for him to do so, he was able to open the door a bit and made his way in.
Inside the estate were some roaming chickens, as well as some obvious signs of recent human activity. For example, there was a scroll on a table. Given the condition of the scroll, it was likely left on the table rather recently.
Jia Yuan continued to make his way toward the source of energy. At this distance, he could pinpoint the location.
He walked through a few more doors in the estate, and found himself standing in front of a pool of water.
This pool of water was the source of energy!
Jia Yuan was about to rush towards it, when he noticed that this pool was actually very odd. One half of the pool was steaming, while the other half of the pool seemed to be covered in a thick but clear layer of ice.
Such a strange pool!
Jia Yuan slowly walked towards the pool, paying close attention to it. He knew that although the pool of water may be a blessing, places with such high levels usually had some tricks, such as the pool of fire inside the crater he had previously trained in.
Just as Jia Yuan reached the edge of the pool. A dignified sounding voice called out to him.
“What are you doing, stranger?”
Jia Yuan turned around. This person was tall, dressed in a blue robe. He had handsome, although slightly aged, features.
Attached to this man’s hip was a long and elegant sword. The most important part was that this man was exhibiting the aura of the 3rd level of Manipulation.
Jia Yuan responded by clasping his hands toward this man. “How do you do, stranger. My apologies for intruding on your estate. I was simply drawn toward this pool. Would you like me to leave?”
The stranger stared at Jia Yuan. “You could sense the energy from this pool?”
Jia Yuan nodded. “Of course.”
“From below the mountain range?”
Jia Yuan shook his head. “Of course not. I was simply told by a village Elder that if I wanted to be strong, I should look toward the mountains. As such, I made my way to the mountain range. When I made my way to the top of the first mountain, I was able to somewhat sense the energy from this pool.”
The stranger chuckled. “So it’s that bastard huh. Still won’t forgive the old man for rejecting him. Alright. You want to be strong? I’ll give you a chance.”
He turned and shouted. “Xue Jing, come here.”
At this call, a young woman walked through the doors and approached the strange man.
“Teacher.”
“Xue Jing, have a duel with this young man. It’s his entrance exam. That old fellow recommended him to us.”
“Understood.”
The woman was actually more of a girl who looked to be around 17 years old. She also had nice features, and sported a blue dress that faded into white in a beautiful manner.
At her side, like her teacher, was a long and elegant sword.
She drew this sword and approached Jia Yuan.
Jia Yuan was rather intrigued by this duel. Not only did these two live next to this special pool of water, but their cultivations were both at the tip of the 3rd level of Manipulation. Clearly, they were suppressing their cultivations.
So how high were their actual cultivations? How strong were they.
Jia Yuan was looking forward to finding out. He drew his black sword out of his ring.
Upon seeing the sword appear out of thin air, the man’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything.
Jia Yuan and Xue Jing stared at each other with their weapons by their side.
All of a sudden, as if an invisible signal had been given, the two rushed toward each other, their swords arcing through the air.
A wave of water followed each sword, and each sword was coated in the aura of each person’s Song.
Instead of the usual clanging of metal that came with swords hitting each other, Jia Yuan didn’t hear anything at all!
In fact, he hardly felt anything at all. It was to his surprise that at the last second Xue Jing had altered the angle of her sword so that it slid past Jia Yuan’s blade.
Her sword was currently bypassing his and was aimed for his neck!
Jia Yuan quickly snapped his wrist and sent his sword flying upwards, which knocked Xue Jing’s sword out of its intended trajectory.
The man standing on the side spoke up. “Good, good. You are adaptable. Not bad. But, how much can you adapt?”
As the fight continued, Jia Yuan began to have a headache.
This Xue Jing’s sword flows and cuts through the air every which way. If I sent my sword towards her sword to block and attack, she adjusts the trajectory of her sword to compensate. If I directly attack her, she simply uses her sword to slide my sword out of its original trajectory instead of knocking it away. This makes it harder for me to settle back into a proper stance and also means that she is able to attack immediately.
What a pain!
However, even though Jia Yuan himself grew frustrated, he didn’t fight as if he was frustrated. Slowly, he adapted his fighting style to match that of Xue Jing’s.
If she used her sword to push his sword out of the way, he would use that momentum in his next swing. If she tried to attack him, He used the trajectory of her sword to adjust his stance to be able to better cope with her attack.
Instead of fighting a battle of strength, they were fighting a battle of the adaptation!
After a while, Jia Yuan frustration faded away, and he began to laugh.
With each exchange, his reaction time, his strength, his quickness, his creativity, his mind, were all pushed to their limits.
After fighting like this for so long, Jia Yuan actually felt himself approaching the 9th level of Absorption!
The man standing on the side smiled as he watched the fight. It seemed that the old geezer had finally found him someone valuable!
“Xue Jing, you can stop now.”
The girl backed off, and Jia Yuan stopped his attacks as well.
“Alright kid, you can be my disciple if you want.”
Jia Yuan shook his head. “I already have a teacher. While I would appreciate it if you were to teach me, I wouldn’t feel comfortable calling you my teacher.”
The man raised an eyebrow. “Fine, fine. You can just call me old brother then. Hmph, if you didn’t last so long against Xue Jing with your cultivation still being in the Absorption realm, I definitely wouldn’t let you have the honor of calling me your older brother.”
“But alas, strength speaks. You can pick out a house for yourself in the estate. Xue Jing, come with me.”
Xue Jing and the teacher sat in one of the buildings in the estate.
Xue Jing pouted. “Teacher, why did you let him stay here? It’s true that he was able to keep up with my flow, but that was only because I was going easy on him. When the fight started, he fought like a brute!”
The teacher smiled. “Because the way he fought reminded me of an old friend… an old friend with whom I once shared a dream.”
Xue Jing’s eyes brightened. “You mean, that True Disciple from the Fire Kingdom?”
The teacher smiled as his eyes glazed over. “Mm. We ventured out of the Continent together… and were lucky to be able to return together. Although I haven’t seen him since… I remember how he fought.”
Xue Jing had heard many stories from her teacher before. One of the one’s she remembered the most vividly, was her teacher’s story of how he and some friends were able to escape from a neighboring continent by fighting their way through hundreds of cultivators.
The Continent of the Five Elements was a truly weak continent! Just to be able to leave the continent was a feat in itself. To be able to visit another continent and be able to make it back alive?
Alas, few in the history of the Continent of the Five Elements have done so.
Xue Jing was confused at this point. “Even if somehow this boy and that man were to meet somehow, why would that True Disciple teach him anything? This boy cultivates a Song of Water, not a Song of Fire.”
The teacher rubbed his nose. “Do you remember the scrolls we have on the differences between the true history and the false history of the Continent?”
“Of course.” Xue Jing paused momentarily, a look a shock on her face. “Are you telling me that…???”
The teacher eyed Xue Jing. “Your aura’s flow is being disturbed. Calm yourself. And yes, that’s what I’m saying. I believe that this child is cultivating a Song of Sword. Now, as for what level his Song is…I believe it to be a heavenly Song at the very least. The aura, despite the user’s unrefined nature, was rather distinguished.”
Xue Jing’s eyes were filled with luster, but she did her best to stay calm. “So you’re saying that your dream may finally come true.”
The teacher picked up a cup of tea from the table they were sitting at and slowly took a sip. “Yes… it seems that it may come true. You’ll help me nurture the boy, yes?”
Xue Jing snapped to attention. “Of course!”
The teacher smiled at Xue Jing. “Thank you, my disciple.”
In the meantime, Jia Yuan had explored the estate. It was quite a luxurious place. He walked into one of the houses and saw some basic necessities. Although the entire estate was decorated quite well, there really wasn’t much in the estate itself. There were only a few houses which had basic necessities in them, a few gardens, and the pool of water.
Jia Yuan was actually rather delighted. He knew that if Huang Ying had made his presence known at the Battle of the Shining Plains, it wouldn’t be long before other True Disciples were pushed into participating in the war as well. If Jia Yuan were to run into one again, he couldn’t rely on the black sword to save him again.
While Jia Yuan wanted to gain experience on the battlefield and even wanted practice commanding troops, he didn’t want to put himself as such risk. Fighting against those of similar strength of even slightly higher strength them him, he would accept the risk. Even if he were to die to people at that strength, Jia Yuan could still accept his death as an honorable one.
But against a True Disciple?
A completely unfair fight! Jia Yuan wouldn’t even be able to fight back. Even if he was able to get within striking range of a True Disciple, given a True Disciple’s aura control, Jia Yuan wouldn’t be able to harm one in the slightest.
What’s the point of an unfair battle?
Jia Yuan’s biggest strength was his ability to use multiple elements. This, along with the profoundness of his Song, allowed him to fight those stronger than him. However, he had been struggling a bit with the element of water.
After all, Fire and Water are distinct opposites.
But now he had found someone who could provide guidance in this time of need!
The only worry Jia Yuan still had, was for his brother. But if Jia Yuan couldn’t even protect himself in a battle, how could he help Dou Di?
Jia Yuan finally found a small house surrounded by a wonderful garden. It gave him a sense of peace.
I guess this’ll be my new house.
Jia Yuan opened the door to the house and walked in. To his surprise, this small house seemed to be in use! Flowers and scrolls were spread throughout the house, there were several elegant swords in a corner of the room, and on the bed was a silk quilt colored blue and gold.
At this time, Jia Yuan heard steps outside.
It was Xue Jing! She had seen Jia Yuan step into the house. She spoke in a loud voice. “You. What are you doing in my house?”
Jia Yuan quickly and awkwardly ran back out of the house. “Sorry, I liked the feel of the area, so I wanted to see if I could take this house for myself.”
Xue Jing walked past him, into the house. “Well, you can’t. However, you can choose a house you like and create a garden around it yourself.”
She then shut the door, which closed without a sound.
Jia Yuan thought for a bit.
If I’m going to just take a random house and then change it to how I like, I might as well situate myself as close to the pool as I can.
Jia Yuan walked off toward the pool, after about half a minute of walking. He abruptly paused.
huh? what's huh? huh? what's there? Is something happening? I must know! Now we know the reason for helping! Wait, what history is that talking about? real and false history????? what does this mean?!?! Thanks for the chapter!
2nd and last regular chapter of the week. The amount of chapters per week pared down to 2 as I suffer from this event that happens every year called "Make students cry and regret life choices Month" Also known as Finals month."
In front of Jia Yuan, where the pool was supposed to be, a building had appeared. The teacher was currently putting some finishing touches on this building.
Jia Yuan walked up to the teacher.
“Teacher, what are you building this for? Also, I just realized. I don’t know your name.”
The teacher glanced at Jia Yuan. “You’ll know my name in time. As for why I am building this, I am providing you with a training location. Back when Xue Jing was still in the Absorption realm, I did this for her too.”
“Oh? What does it do?”
“The center of this building has a contraption that will control and thicken the energy of the pool. Training in that sort of environment will be greatly more beneficial for you than just trying to soak up whatever energies are floating around the pool.”
“Of course, you’ll still be able to practice your skills with the pool. I’ve put formations of holes in the bottom of the building so that you’ll still be able to interact with the pool itself. All the contraption does is concentrate the aura of the pool. It doesn’t do anything to the pool itself.”
“Hm, I understand. Thank you teacher.”
“No problem, no problem. Now leave me be I need to finish working on this. You should get some rest.”
Jia Yuan nodded. “Understood.”
The teacher paused. “Ah…Jia Yuan. Your previous teacher… it wouldn’t have been a fellow by the name of Guo Huo?”
Jia Yuan tried to maintain his composure, but simply couldn’t. He blinked a few times and he began to think about retrieving the black sword from his ring.
The teacher chuckled. “Ahh, from your reaction it appears that he was your previous teacher. No need to worry, the two of us were ah… comrades.”
Jia Yuan relaxed. Guo Huo had mentioned to him previously that in his excursion outside of the Continent, he had made some friends. Apparently, this teacher was one of those friends.
The teacher continued. “Your Song… is not a Song of Water or a Song of Fire, am I correct?”
Jia Yuan gave up on keeping this secret. “Yes, it is a Song of Sword.”
The teacher gave Jia Yuan a wistful smile. “Perhaps, if the Sword Kingdom were to be reformed, our Continent would be able to once again at least have meaning on the world stage.”
Jia Yuan laughed. “First, I need to be able to contend with the powers of this continent, never mind the world. Teacher, since you know my identity, you’ll help your friend’s disciple, eh?”
The teacher laughed and smacked Jia Yuan’s shoulder. “Of course, of course.”
With that, Jia Yuan walked away, and soon found a house that was to his liking.
He walked in, unpacked, and then collapsed onto the bed.
Jia Yuan was so tired that he didn’t even have the energy to think anymore, so he started mumbling out loud.
“Aishhhhhhhh. Using my Song of Water was freaking tiring. And those two…urghhh why do they have to act so… refined and distinguished and ahhhhhhh I want some roast pork…”
“Aish…”
With these tired ramblings, Jia Yuan fell asleep.
The next day, he awoke to the beautiful tune of a zither. The sound of the zither echoed throughout the estate, even throughout the mountain range.
Such a beautiful sound…
Jia Yuan lay there on the bed, subconsciously falling into a state of complete calmness.
However, in this state of calmness, the scene from the battlefield, when everyone around him had violently burst into pools of blood, popped into his mind.
Jia Yuan woke with a start, covered in a layer of cold sweat.
Jia Yuan could be said to be a fairly brave individual. He’d fought in hundreds of duels before, and had even fought bandits and soldiers before. Heck, he’d even fought at the front lines in a city siege and the Battle of the Shining Plains.
But he just couldn’t get past the scene he had seen that day. His 31st Burning Legion had lost tens, if not hundreds, of fighters in mere seconds. Strong cultivators, unable to fight back at all! A river's worth of blood exploding in the air...
Urghh…
Screw it. It’s not like there’s anything I can do about it until I have the strength to do something about it.
Jia Yuan stretched and climbed out of bed, then dressed and prepared himself for training.
After doing so, he walked out towards the pool of water. As he approached, he found that the teacher and Xue Jing were already there, and Xue Jing was currently twirling around with her sword, surrounded by a circular wall of water.
Inside the wall of water, leaves floated around. Although Xue Jing’s sword pierced through the wall of water many times, all of the leaves remained intact.
The teacher noticed Jia Yuan’s presence.
“Ah, hello. Come, come. You’ll be doing training like this before long.”
The story is going really good and the pace is right.
like i said a long time ago when you started that i thought it was a rip off of kingdom...guess i was wrong :P but Jia Yuan is definitely Shin(from a xianxia world)!
“What sort of training will I be doing today, then?”
The teacher smiled. “No physical training today. Sit in the middle of the building while meditating. Pay attention to the life around you. In four hours, I want you do tell me what you have noticed. After this, I will have you read some scrolls on the history of cultivation on the Continent of the Five Elements.”
“Awww… but I don’t like reading.”
“As a cultivator, it is important to understand how the world you live in came to be.”
Jia Yuan groaned. Reading was boring! Training was interesting! He could feel the world’s energies! He felt strong, he felt capable!
What did reading do? It put him to sleep…
Seeing Jia Yuan’s reaction to being told he would have to read, the teacher sighed. All of these kids these days… all brawn and no brain.
“Alright you. Less complaining, or I’ll kick you out of the estate. Now go into the building.”
Jia Yuan walked into the building that the teacher had created over the pool of water, and the teacher followed him in.
The teacher paced around Jia Yuan.
“When you first received your Song, you should have learn some initial stances to practice with, right?”
Jia Yuan nodded.
“In that case, practice those first.”
Jia Yuan nodded again, and then drew the black sword. After taking a deep breath, he settled into the first stance associated with his Song of Water. Shifting his body, he swung his sword in an arc, settling into the second stance.
The teacher groaned. “Ugh, I thought this would happen. You’re treating these stances as if they’re from your Song of Fire. Your moves are too aggressive! Far too aggressive! Water is a fluid element. Practice your stances while focusing solely on fluidity of movement!”
Jia Yuan blinked a few times, then nodded. It’s true that he was switching his stances a little too aggressively. Instead of paying attention to his body as he transitioned from one stance to the next, he was more focused on just simply getting to the second stance.
This was fine when he was practicing his Song of Fire. After all, the Fire is an unbridled, aggressive and ever-changing element.
But water? Water is an element that flows, adapting to the environment around it. It can also be an unstoppable wave, crashing down on everything in its path. However, even then, water adapts to its environment.
Adaptability! Fluidity!
The teacher shrugged. The best way for someone to properly introduce someone to fighting with an element was to have them watch someone who could properly fight with the element.
“Xue Jing, come in.”
The girl walked in, wearing not the blue dress Jia Yuan had seen her in previously, but instead in a blue-colored armor.
The teacher walk over to Xue Jing.
“Jia Yuan, look. This is an armor specially made for high-level Water Kingdom cultivators. It’s not very cumbersome, and allows for a full range of movements. However, since it is made from high quality water ores, it still provides a high level of protection. Now, watch Xue Jing as she practices her movements.”
Jia Yuan retreated to the outer perimeter of the building as Xue Jing walked toward the center of the building.
After a few moments of pause, Xue Jing lightly lifted her sword and began to move about. Every stroke of the sword was in complete coordination with the rest of her body. After a while, Xue Jing began to pick up speed. Even though she was now moving extraordinarily fast, her movements were still incredibly fluid without any hint of over-aggression. In fact, she looked more like a performer, the sword simply there as an aesthetic.
Of course, Jia Yuan knew that this was only an illusion. Having fought against Xue Jing previously, he knew that the blade was filled with merciless energy.
The teacher paced around the building. Seeing that Jia Yuan’s eyes were full of wonder, he grinned.
“Of course, Jia Yuan, the Song of Water does have an aggressive side. Xue Jing.”
Hearing this, Xue Jing abruptly changed her movements. Her movements were more direct and held an air of aggression, although this aggression was not directly translated to her attacks. However, sharp shards of ice flew out from each wave of her sword.
Jia Yuan understood now. While training his Song of Fire, each blow was invariably full of aggression, full of force. The movement wasn’t all that important, as long as it was able to bring force a large amount of power.
However, when it came to the Song of Water, it was the opposite. The force and aggression associated with each movement wasn’t really important. Instead, it was the cleanliness and fluidity of each movement that really mattered.
The teacher stopped Xue Jing and motioned Jia Yuan back toward the center of the building.
Jia Yuan began to practice his stances yet again, trying to replicate the same sort of aura Xue Jing had when she had been displaying her skills at the center of the building.
Although some of his movements were still rather blunt, he was clearly improving. Seeing so, the teacher gave a nod of approval.
“Alright. Practice here for three more hours, then come out. I’ll bring you to those wonderful scrolls and books.”
Jia Yuan pretended to ignore the teacher. He didn’t want to read…
So, Jia Yuan continued to practice his stances in the building. After a short while, he decided to try practicing his stances in junction with the pool of water.
With a bit of exertion, Jia Yuan was able to draw up a ring of water from the pool of water so that it floated around him. He then lightly struck out with his own sword, and some water flew out of the tip of his blade.
He then continued to practice his stances, now with a ribbon of water flowing around him.
As such, he was training himself both physically and mentally! He was practicing control of not only his body, but also his control over the element. That was the main benefit of these elemental pools! The benefit they gave to training a certain element.
After almost 3 hours of training in this manner, Jia Yuan felt himself break through the barrier to the 9th level of Absorption! He had experienced enough bloodshed at the Shining Plains that he was qualified to break through to another level in that regard, but his physical and mental abilities weren’t quite up to par. However, given the calm meditation Jia Yuan had been able to achieve recently, he had been able to quickly progress to the tip of the 8th level of Absorption. Now, upon reaching the 9th level of Absorption, he was only a level off of entering the Manipulation Realm!
Before Jia Yuan was able to practice further to see how this progression had benefited him, the teacher called out from outside the building.
“Jia Yuan! Come out, it’s time for you to train your brain for once in your life.”
Jia Yuan groaned.
If he wants me to read he better be willing to feed me something good… reading hurts my damn brain…
What a nice feast! Just stumbled on to this yesterday and am greatly enjoying. On a more important note, I see you're not slouching or just paying lip service to the people providing you feedback. Your writing style is improving visibly.
Yeah, I'm definitely treating writing this novel as a learning experience. It's my first novel, it's clearly not going to be the best piece of work. What I can do is try to make it as good as I can as I write, so I really cherish it when people give suggestions and say things I've been lacking on.
It's also paid off, as I'm gonna announce something tomorrow
The novel has officially been picked up by another site. As such, I won't be posting chapters on here anymore. However, before I leave, I do have some things to say.
I'd like to thank Ren for opening up the possibility of having Original Novels on the site, as this was what inspired me to begin writing the novel in the first place.
I'd like to thank the readers, especially those who commented on and critiqued the novel. While writing the novel is fun and all, my main goal is to improve my level of writing. You guys have helped me so much! There were times when I wanted to give up on the novel, give up on writing. However, each view, each comment, each critique, gave me the drive to continue. Thank you very much for your help.
With the support of the readers, The Song of Swords was able to rack up more then 100k views (across multiple platforms) in a three month period, a number far beyond my wildest imaginations.
I'd like to thank the WuxiaWorld Forums for giving me a place the start the novel. However, it's time for me to move on as I follow my dream of being a legitimate web novelist.
I am sad that yet another author leaves this section of the forum, but at the same time happy for your success ^.^ Well, I will keep writing here with the hope of getting onto the main page of wuxiaworld one day, hehe. Wish me luck ~~
If you'd like more chapters of ISSI or Tales send me a note on patreon!
Comments
Basically the teacher is like whatever the hell cause the kid presumably has a high/heavenly level song so a secret or 2 more isn't really dazzling him, while the master is like oh probably this rich looking dude gave it to him.
Thanks for pointing that out
Since I've been asking for you guys to answer the strawpoll for a while but didn't have a long chapter to show, I've made a new strawpoll in the topic that you guys can vote on. Here's a long chapter for those of you who want to see what it'd look like! Btw, strawpoll in topic post.
Site: http://insanemooncakewrites.com/2015/11/29/the-song-of-swords-chapter-79/
Chapter 79: The Pool of Water
The days passed, and eventually Jia Yuan had woken up from
his unconscious state. He mingled with the villagers, doing simple tasks such
as chopping wood and washing vegetables.
In all honesty, he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. The
villagers had taken his prized black sword, but they were very nice to him, so
he didn’t want to have to kill them all to get back his sword. But if he asked,
were they going to be willing to just hand it back to him?
He didn’t really mind this simple lifestyle. There was no
killing, no danger, nothing. It was just simple and relaxing. However, there
was just that little voice in the back of his head… that he needed to get
moving. He needed to get back to that life. If not only because it was the life
he knew, but because he had a duty as a Burning Legion Commander, a duty as a
brother to keep his family safe.
But what could he do right now? He was stranded in the
middle of the Water Kingdom for whatever reason only the Gods may know.
Jia Yuan decided that it wouldn’t be too bad to rest for a
bit. Being a Burning Legion Commander, even if he had Fan Meng to handle most
of the affairs, was still stressful. Here, all he had to do was help out with
some simple tasks once in a while.
Meditation was easier for him as well. While he had been a
Commander, he had continually been in a stressed state, which made it difficult
for him to achieve the level of clarity needed for meditation. Although he had
made progress, it wasn’t nearly as fast as he would’ve liked.
One day, Jia Yuan decided to drop by the village elder’s
house.
After knocking on the door, Jia Yuan walked in.
“Hello Elder, may I speak with you?”
The Elder looked up and nodded.
“You have my deepest gratitude for bringing me to the
village when I was hurt. However, I have goals that I need to accomplish. Will
you grant me permission to leave the village with my weapon?”
The Elder look at Jia Yuan and nodded. “If you leave the
village, of course you can have your weapon. I have just one question for you.
Where do you plan to go?”
Jia Yuan pondered the question. “Wherever I have to go to
increase my strength.”
The Village Elder tapped his finger on his armrest, then
stood up.
“You should head toward the mountains. You’ll find what you
want there. As for your weapon, it’s in the village warehouse.”
Jia Yuan eyed the Elder. “You’re not afraid I’ll steal
anything on my way out?”
The Elder chuckled. “Are you the type to steal from those
who help you?”
Jia Yuan laughed and nodded in return. “I guess not. My
thanks, Elder.”
After leaving the Elder’s house, Jia Yuan made his way back
to the family that had provided for the last week or so and thanked them for
their hospitality.
After doing so, Jia Yuan made his way to the village
warehouse, in which he found his black sword on a shelf.
Upon touching the black sword, it shuddered and Jia Yuan
felt a surge of energy enter his body. Jia Yuan hugged the sword. “Seems you
weren’t in the Royal Armory for nothing, huh. Guess you saved my life.”
Jia Yuan was deeply thankful for the sword. Apart from his
ring and his sword, he didn’t really have any other treasures. Clearly, the
ring was only made for storage, so it was clearly his sword that had saved him.
And now, the black sword seemed to have established some
sort of connection with Jia Yuan. Jia Yuan found himself wondering. What other
secrets did this black sword hold? And who had made such a unique treasure?
Jia Yuan returned the sword into his ring, left the
warehouse, and set off toward the mountains. He trusted the village Elder had a
reason to recommend him to enter the mountains.
On the way up the mountain, Jia Yuan took inventory of what
he still had in his ring. He had his Golden Currency Card, HiRyu, the black
sword, a bunch of pots, some random large fire shards lying around, and about 2
weeks of provisions, and some fire embers.
So I have food, and I
have pots and some fire embers to cook the food with. The food won’t last
forever though, so I should forage some greens during the trek.
After taking inventory, Jia Yuan readied himself and sped
towards the mountains. This was good training for his Song of Water.
(Author’s Note: For those of you are confused, Jia Yuan does
not actually cultivate multiple Songs. He only cultivates the Song of Swords,
which is capable of supporting multiple variations of its own Song so it is
able to use all four elements. For simplicities sake, since each Song is a
variation, we’re just going to call each variation a separate Song of its own.)
Since Jia Yuan was in the Water Kingdom’s territory, he
naturally couldn’t advertise that he had cultivated a Song of Fire. As such, he
used his Song of Water to propel himself forward. Jia Yuan ran forward with his
arms behind him, spouting water in two streams behind him, which in turn wet
the ground behind him, marking his path.
Jia Yuan hadn’t been able to use his Song of Water for the
most part, since he had always been surrounded by those of the Fire Kingdom.
But now, he was free to use his Song of Water however he
wished.
Soon enough, Jia Yuan had arrived at the foot of the first
mountain in his path. He looked up, up, and up, until he finally saw the peak
of the mountain. He would have to scale a very steep incline to make it up the
mountainside.
Jia Yuan popped a Water Pill into his mouth and then sat on
the ground and meditated. Although he had been only traveling for about an
hour, he was clearly unused to using his Song of Water, and naturally his
control over the element was far inferior to that of his control over fire.
As such, he had unfortunately used a rather large amount of
strength to make it all this way.
After meditating for about 20 minutes, Jia Yuan stood up and
began to play his Song of Water. A soothing melody entered his mind, and Jia
Yuan used his Song of Water to propel himself up the mountainside.
In this manner, Jia Yuan would fly until he reached a
location on the mountainside where he could rest. Upon reaching such a place,
he was meditate for a while to recover his strength, and then he would continue
his way up. After a while, he had scaled the mountainside. Now, he was more
than a thousand feet above ground level, and could see everything even miles
away.
It was a breathtaking view! However, the view was a little
marred by the large amount of dust that flew up in certain locations. Clearly,
these were the troops being mobilized to fight at the front lines. Jia Yuan
frowned. He hadn’t thought too much about the war recently, and had only been a
bit worried for his brother.
But now, he saw this ugly reminder of the war besmirch what
otherwise would have been a perfect view.
Jia Yuan shook his head, then continued on his way. He
vaguely sensed a source of energy near the middle of the mountain range.
It seems like the
village Elder really did have some helpful information.
Jia Yuan started his trek over to the source of energy.
Traversing through the mountains was truly taxing. Even Jia
Yuan was soon exhausted and his entire body became coated in sweat. However, he
was nearing his location.
Soon after, Jia Yuan made one last hop toward a mountain
peak. Then, he blinked several times. Apparently, someone had built an entire
estate in this desolate mountain range. The source of energy was coming from
within the estate.
Jia Yuan cautiously walked toward the doors of the estate.
Jia Yuan pondered for a bit, and then knocked on the door.
No response.
Jia Yuan thought for a bit again, and then tried to open the
door. Although it took a bit of strength for him to do so, he was able to open
the door a bit and made his way in.
Inside the estate were some roaming chickens, as well as
some obvious signs of recent human activity. For example, there was a scroll on
a table. Given the condition of the scroll, it was likely left on the table
rather recently.
Jia Yuan continued to make his way toward the source of
energy. At this distance, he could pinpoint the location.
He walked through a few more doors in the estate, and found
himself standing in front of a pool of water.
This pool of water was the source of energy!
Jia Yuan was about to rush towards it, when he noticed that
this pool was actually very odd. One half of the pool was steaming, while the
other half of the pool seemed to be covered in a thick but clear layer of ice.
Such a strange pool!
Jia Yuan slowly walked towards the pool, paying close
attention to it. He knew that although the pool of water may be a blessing,
places with such high levels usually had some tricks, such as the pool of fire
inside the crater he had previously trained in.
Just as Jia Yuan reached the edge of the pool. A dignified
sounding voice called out to him.
“What are you doing, stranger?”
Jia Yuan turned around. This person was tall, dressed in a
blue robe. He had handsome, although slightly aged, features.
Attached to this man’s hip was a long and elegant sword. The
most important part was that this man was exhibiting the aura of the 3rd
level of Manipulation.
Jia Yuan responded by clasping his hands toward this man.
“How do you do, stranger. My apologies for intruding on your estate. I was
simply drawn toward this pool. Would you like me to leave?”
The stranger stared at Jia Yuan. “You could sense the energy
from this pool?”
Jia Yuan nodded. “Of course.”
“From below the mountain range?”
Jia Yuan shook his head. “Of course not. I was simply told
by a village Elder that if I wanted to be strong, I should look toward the
mountains. As such, I made my way to the mountain range. When I made my way to
the top of the first mountain, I was able to somewhat sense the energy from
this pool.”
The stranger chuckled. “So it’s that bastard huh. Still
won’t forgive the old man for rejecting him. Alright. You want to be strong?
I’ll give you a chance.”
He turned and shouted. “Xue Jing, come here.”
At this call, a young woman walked through the doors and
approached the strange man.
“Teacher.”
“Xue Jing, have a duel with this young man. It’s his
entrance exam. That old fellow recommended him to us.”
“Understood.”
The woman was actually more of a girl who looked to be
around 17 years old. She also had nice features, and sported a blue dress that
faded into white in a beautiful manner.
At her side, like her teacher, was a long and elegant sword.
She drew this sword and approached Jia Yuan.
Jia Yuan was rather intrigued by this duel. Not only did
these two live next to this special pool of water, but their cultivations were
both at the tip of the 3rd level of Manipulation. Clearly, they were
suppressing their cultivations.
So how high were their actual cultivations? How strong were
they.
Jia Yuan was looking forward to finding out. He drew his
black sword out of his ring.
Upon seeing the sword appear out of thin air, the man’s eyes
narrowed, but he didn’t say anything.
Jia Yuan and Xue Jing stared at each other with their
weapons by their side.
All of a sudden, as if an invisible signal had been given,
the two rushed toward each other, their swords arcing through the air.
A wave of water followed each sword, and each sword was
coated in the aura of each person’s Song.
Instead of the usual clanging of metal that came with swords
hitting each other, Jia Yuan didn’t hear anything at all!
In fact, he hardly felt anything at all. It was to his
surprise that at the last second Xue Jing had altered the angle of her sword so
that it slid past Jia Yuan’s blade.
Her sword was currently bypassing his and was aimed for his
neck!
Jia Yuan quickly snapped his wrist and sent his sword flying
upwards, which knocked Xue Jing’s sword out of its intended trajectory.
The man standing on the side spoke up. “Good, good. You are
adaptable. Not bad. But, how much can you adapt?”
As the fight continued, Jia Yuan began to have a headache.
This Xue Jing’s sword
flows and cuts through the air every which way. If I sent my sword towards her
sword to block and attack, she adjusts the trajectory of her sword to
compensate. If I directly attack her, she simply uses her sword to slide my
sword out of its original trajectory instead of knocking it away. This makes it
harder for me to settle back into a proper stance and also means that she is
able to attack immediately.
What a pain!
However, even though Jia Yuan himself grew frustrated, he
didn’t fight as if he was frustrated. Slowly, he adapted his fighting style to
match that of Xue Jing’s.
If she used her sword to push his sword out of the way, he
would use that momentum in his next swing. If she tried to attack him, He used
the trajectory of her sword to adjust his stance to be able to better cope with
her attack.
Instead of fighting a battle of strength, they were fighting
a battle of the adaptation!
After a while, Jia Yuan frustration faded away, and he began
to laugh.
With each exchange, his reaction time, his strength, his
quickness, his creativity, his mind, were all pushed to their limits.
After fighting like this for so long, Jia Yuan actually felt
himself approaching the 9th level of Absorption!
The man standing on the side smiled as he watched the fight.
It seemed that the old geezer had finally found him someone valuable!
“Xue Jing, you can stop now.”
The girl backed off, and Jia Yuan stopped his attacks as
well.
“Alright kid, you can be my disciple if you want.”
Jia Yuan shook his head. “I already have a teacher. While I
would appreciate it if you were to teach me, I wouldn’t feel comfortable
calling you my teacher.”
The man raised an eyebrow. “Fine, fine. You can just call me
old brother then. Hmph, if you didn’t last so long against Xue Jing with your
cultivation still being in the Absorption realm, I definitely wouldn’t let you
have the honor of calling me your older brother.”
“But alas, strength speaks. You can pick out a house for
yourself in the estate. Xue Jing, come with me.”
Xue Jing and the teacher sat in one of the buildings in the estate.
Xue Jing pouted. “Teacher, why did you let him stay here? It’s
true that he was able to keep up with my flow, but that was only because I was
going easy on him. When the fight started, he fought like a brute!”
The teacher smiled. “Because the way he fought reminded me
of an old friend… an old friend with whom I once shared a dream.”
Xue Jing’s eyes brightened. “You mean, that True Disciple
from the Fire Kingdom?”
The teacher smiled as his eyes glazed over. “Mm. We ventured
out of the Continent together… and were lucky to be able to return together.
Although I haven’t seen him since… I remember how he fought.”
Xue Jing had heard many stories from her teacher before. One
of the one’s she remembered the most vividly, was her teacher’s story of how he
and some friends were able to escape from a neighboring continent by fighting
their way through hundreds of cultivators.
The Continent of the Five Elements was a truly weak
continent! Just to be able to leave the continent was a feat in itself. To be
able to visit another continent and be able to make it back alive?
Alas, few in the history of the Continent of the Five
Elements have done so.
Xue Jing was confused at this point. “Even if somehow this
boy and that man were to meet somehow, why would that True Disciple teach him
anything? This boy cultivates a Song of Water, not a Song of Fire.”
The teacher rubbed his nose. “Do you remember the scrolls we
have on the differences between the true history and the false history of the
Continent?”
“Of course.” Xue Jing paused momentarily, a look a shock on
her face. “Are you telling me that…???”
The teacher eyed Xue Jing. “Your aura’s flow is being
disturbed. Calm yourself. And yes, that’s what I’m saying. I believe that this
child is cultivating a Song of Sword. Now, as for what level his Song is…I
believe it to be a heavenly Song at the very least. The aura, despite the user’s
unrefined nature, was rather distinguished.”
Xue Jing’s eyes were filled with luster, but she did her
best to stay calm. “So you’re saying that your dream may finally come true.”
The teacher picked up a cup of tea from the table they were
sitting at and slowly took a sip. “Yes… it seems that it may come true. You’ll
help me nurture the boy, yes?”
Xue Jing snapped to attention. “Of course!”
The teacher smiled at Xue Jing. “Thank you, my disciple.”
In the meantime, Jia Yuan had explored the estate. It was
quite a luxurious place. He walked into one of the houses and saw some basic
necessities. Although the entire estate was decorated quite well, there really
wasn’t much in the estate itself. There were only a few houses which had basic
necessities in them, a few gardens, and the pool of water.
Jia Yuan was actually rather delighted. He knew that if
Huang Ying had made his presence known at the Battle of the Shining Plains, it
wouldn’t be long before other True Disciples were pushed into participating in
the war as well. If Jia Yuan were to run into one again, he couldn’t rely on
the black sword to save him again.
While Jia Yuan wanted to gain experience on the battlefield
and even wanted practice commanding troops, he didn’t want to put himself as
such risk. Fighting against those of similar strength of even slightly higher
strength them him, he would accept the risk. Even if he were to die to people
at that strength, Jia Yuan could still accept his death as an honorable one.
But against a True Disciple?
A completely unfair fight! Jia Yuan wouldn’t even be able to
fight back. Even if he was able to get within striking range of a True Disciple,
given a True Disciple’s aura control, Jia Yuan wouldn’t be able to harm one in
the slightest.
What’s the point of an unfair battle?
Jia Yuan’s biggest strength was his ability to use multiple
elements. This, along with the profoundness of his Song, allowed him to fight
those stronger than him. However, he had been struggling a bit with the element
of water.
After all, Fire and Water are distinct opposites.
But now he had found someone who could provide guidance in
this time of need!
The only worry Jia Yuan still had, was for his brother. But
if Jia Yuan couldn’t even protect himself in a battle, how could he help Dou
Di?
Jia Yuan finally found a small house surrounded by a
wonderful garden. It gave him a sense of peace.
I guess this’ll be my
new house.
Jia Yuan opened the door to the house and walked in. To his
surprise, this small house seemed to be in use! Flowers and scrolls were spread
throughout the house, there were several elegant swords in a corner of the
room, and on the bed was a silk quilt colored blue and gold.
At this time, Jia Yuan heard steps outside.
It was Xue Jing! She had seen Jia Yuan step into the house.
She spoke in a loud voice. “You. What are you doing in my house?”
Jia Yuan quickly and awkwardly ran back out of the house. “Sorry,
I liked the feel of the area, so I wanted to see if I could take this house for
myself.”
Xue Jing walked past him, into the house. “Well, you can’t.
However, you can choose a house you like and create a garden around it
yourself.”
She then shut the door, which closed without a sound.
Jia Yuan thought for a bit.
If I’m going to just
take a random house and then change it to how I like, I might as well situate
myself as close to the pool as I can.
Jia Yuan walked off toward the pool, after about half a
minute of walking. He abruptly paused.
Huh?
Thanks for the chapter!
In front of Jia Yuan, where the pool was supposed to be, a
building had appeared. The teacher was currently putting some finishing touches
on this building.
Jia Yuan walked up to the teacher.
“Teacher, what are you building this for? Also, I just
realized. I don’t know your name.”
The teacher glanced at Jia Yuan. “You’ll know my name in
time. As for why I am building this, I am providing you with a training
location. Back when Xue Jing was still in the Absorption realm, I did this for
her too.”
“Oh? What does it do?”
“The center of this building has a contraption that will
control and thicken the energy of the pool. Training in that sort of
environment will be greatly more beneficial for you than just trying to soak up
whatever energies are floating around the pool.”
“Of course, you’ll still be able to practice your skills
with the pool. I’ve put formations of holes in the bottom of the building so
that you’ll still be able to interact with the pool itself. All the contraption
does is concentrate the aura of the pool. It doesn’t do anything to the pool
itself.”
“Hm, I understand. Thank you teacher.”
“No problem, no problem. Now leave me be I need to finish
working on this. You should get some rest.”
Jia Yuan nodded. “Understood.”
The teacher paused. “Ah…Jia Yuan. Your previous teacher… it
wouldn’t have been a fellow by the name of Guo Huo?”
Jia Yuan tried to maintain his composure, but simply
couldn’t. He blinked a few times and he began to think about retrieving the
black sword from his ring.
The teacher chuckled. “Ahh, from your reaction it appears
that he was your previous teacher. No need to worry, the two of us were ah…
comrades.”
Jia Yuan relaxed. Guo Huo had mentioned to him previously
that in his excursion outside of the Continent, he had made some friends.
Apparently, this teacher was one of those friends.
The teacher continued. “Your Song… is not a Song of Water or
a Song of Fire, am I correct?”
Jia Yuan gave up on keeping this secret. “Yes, it is a Song
of Sword.”
The teacher gave Jia Yuan a wistful smile. “Perhaps, if the
Sword Kingdom were to be reformed, our Continent would be able to once again at
least have meaning on the world stage.”
Jia Yuan laughed. “First, I need to be able to contend with
the powers of this continent, never mind the world. Teacher, since you know my
identity, you’ll help your friend’s disciple, eh?”
The teacher laughed and smacked Jia Yuan’s shoulder. “Of
course, of course.”
With that, Jia Yuan walked away, and soon found a house that
was to his liking.
He walked in, unpacked, and then collapsed onto the bed.
Jia Yuan was so tired that he didn’t even have the energy to
think anymore, so he started mumbling out loud.
“Aishhhhhhhh. Using my Song of Water was freaking tiring.
And those two…urghhh why do they have to act so… refined and distinguished and
ahhhhhhh I want some roast pork…”
“Aish…”
With these tired ramblings, Jia Yuan fell asleep.
The next day, he awoke to the beautiful tune of a zither.
The sound of the zither echoed throughout the estate, even throughout the
mountain range.
Such a beautiful
sound…
Jia Yuan lay there on the bed, subconsciously falling into a
state of complete calmness.
However, in this state of calmness, the scene from the
battlefield, when everyone around him had violently burst into pools of blood,
popped into his mind.
Jia Yuan woke with a start, covered in a layer of cold
sweat.
Jia Yuan could be said to be a fairly brave individual. He’d
fought in hundreds of duels before, and had even fought bandits and soldiers
before. Heck, he’d even fought at the front lines in a city siege and the Battle of
the Shining Plains.
But he just couldn’t get past the scene he had seen that day. His 31st
Burning Legion had lost tens, if not hundreds, of fighters in mere seconds. Strong cultivators, unable to fight back
at all! A river's worth of blood exploding in the air...
Urghh…
Screw it. It’s
not like there’s anything I can do about it until I have the strength to do
something about it.
Jia Yuan stretched and climbed out of bed, then dressed and prepared
himself for training.
After doing so, he walked out towards the pool of water. As he
approached, he found that the teacher and Xue Jing were already there, and Xue
Jing was currently twirling around with her sword, surrounded by a circular
wall of water.
Inside the wall of water, leaves floated around. Although Xue Jing’s
sword pierced through the wall of water many times, all of the leaves remained
intact.
The teacher noticed Jia Yuan’s presence.
“Ah, hello. Come, come. You’ll be doing training like this before
long.”
Good luck dude! And thanks for the chapter!
Jia Yuan walked up and saluted the teacher.
“What sort of training will I be doing today, then?”
The teacher smiled. “No physical training today. Sit in the
middle of the building while meditating. Pay attention to the life around you.
In four hours, I want you do tell me what you have noticed. After this, I will
have you read some scrolls on the history of cultivation on the Continent of
the Five Elements.”
“Awww… but I don’t like reading.”
“As a cultivator, it is important to understand how the
world you live in came to be.”
Jia Yuan groaned. Reading was boring! Training was
interesting! He could feel the world’s energies! He felt strong, he felt
capable!
What did reading do? It put him to sleep…
Seeing Jia Yuan’s reaction to being told he would have to
read, the teacher sighed. All of these kids these days… all brawn and no brain.
“Alright you. Less complaining, or I’ll kick you out of the
estate. Now go into the building.”
Jia Yuan walked into the building that the teacher had created
over the pool of water, and the teacher followed him in.
The teacher paced around Jia Yuan.
“When you first received your Song, you should have learn
some initial stances to practice with, right?”
Jia Yuan nodded.
“In that case, practice those first.”
Jia Yuan nodded again, and then drew the black sword. After
taking a deep breath, he settled into the first stance associated with his Song
of Water. Shifting his body, he swung his sword in an arc, settling into the
second stance.
The teacher groaned. “Ugh, I thought this would happen. You’re
treating these stances as if they’re from your Song of Fire. Your moves are too
aggressive! Far too aggressive! Water is a fluid element. Practice your stances
while focusing solely on fluidity of movement!”
Jia Yuan blinked a few times, then nodded. It’s true that he
was switching his stances a little too aggressively. Instead of paying
attention to his body as he transitioned from one stance to the next, he was
more focused on just simply getting to the second stance.
This was fine when he was practicing his Song of Fire. After
all, the Fire is an unbridled, aggressive and ever-changing element.
But water? Water is an element that flows, adapting to the
environment around it. It can also be an unstoppable wave, crashing down on
everything in its path. However, even then, water adapts to its environment.
Adaptability! Fluidity!
The teacher shrugged. The best way for someone to properly
introduce someone to fighting with an element was to have them watch someone
who could properly fight with the element.
“Xue Jing, come in.”
The girl walked in, wearing not the blue dress Jia Yuan had
seen her in previously, but instead in a blue-colored armor.
The teacher walk over to Xue Jing.
“Jia Yuan, look. This is an armor specially made for
high-level Water Kingdom cultivators. It’s not very cumbersome, and allows for
a full range of movements. However, since it is made from high quality water
ores, it still provides a high level of protection. Now, watch Xue Jing as she
practices her movements.”
Jia Yuan retreated to the outer perimeter of the building as
Xue Jing walked toward the center of the building.
After a few moments of pause, Xue Jing lightly lifted her
sword and began to move about. Every stroke of the sword was in complete
coordination with the rest of her body. After a while, Xue Jing began to pick
up speed. Even though she was now moving extraordinarily fast, her movements
were still incredibly fluid without any hint of over-aggression. In fact, she
looked more like a performer, the sword simply there as an aesthetic.
Of course, Jia Yuan knew that this was only an illusion.
Having fought against Xue Jing previously, he knew that the blade was filled
with merciless energy.
The teacher paced around the building. Seeing that Jia Yuan’s
eyes were full of wonder, he grinned.
“Of course, Jia Yuan, the Song of Water does have an
aggressive side. Xue Jing.”
Hearing this, Xue Jing abruptly changed her movements. Her
movements were more direct and held an air of aggression, although this
aggression was not directly translated to her attacks. However, sharp shards of
ice flew out from each wave of her sword.
Jia Yuan understood now. While training his Song of Fire,
each blow was invariably full of aggression, full of force. The movement wasn’t
all that important, as long as it was able to bring force a large amount of
power.
However, when it came to the Song of Water, it was the
opposite. The force and aggression associated with each movement wasn’t really
important. Instead, it was the cleanliness and fluidity of each movement that
really mattered.
The teacher stopped Xue Jing and motioned Jia Yuan back
toward the center of the building.
Jia Yuan began to practice his stances yet again, trying to
replicate the same sort of aura Xue Jing had when she had been displaying her
skills at the center of the building.
Although some of his movements were still rather blunt, he
was clearly improving. Seeing so, the teacher gave a nod of approval.
“Alright. Practice here for three more hours, then come out.
I’ll bring you to those wonderful scrolls and books.”
Jia Yuan pretended to ignore the teacher. He didn’t want to
read…
So, Jia Yuan continued to practice his stances in the
building. After a short while, he decided to try practicing his stances in
junction with the pool of water.
With a bit of exertion, Jia Yuan was able to draw up a ring
of water from the pool of water so that it floated around him. He then lightly
struck out with his own sword, and some water flew out of the tip of his blade.
He then continued to practice his stances, now with a ribbon
of water flowing around him.
As such, he was training himself both physically and
mentally! He was practicing control of not only his body, but also his control
over the element. That was the main benefit of these elemental pools! The
benefit they gave to training a certain element.
After almost 3 hours of training in this manner, Jia Yuan
felt himself break through the barrier to the 9th level of Absorption!
He had experienced enough bloodshed at the Shining Plains that he was qualified
to break through to another level in that regard, but his physical and mental
abilities weren’t quite up to par. However, given the calm meditation Jia Yuan
had been able to achieve recently, he had been able to quickly progress to the
tip of the 8th level of Absorption. Now, upon reaching the 9th
level of Absorption, he was only a level off of entering the Manipulation
Realm!
Before Jia Yuan was able to practice further to see how this
progression had benefited him, the teacher called out from outside the
building.
“Jia Yuan! Come out, it’s time for you to train your brain
for once in your life.”
Jia Yuan groaned.
If he wants me to read
he better be willing to feed me something good… reading hurts my damn brain…