Chapter 11: Chapter 0011 - Bottomless
Washing up his face and hands, Zao Wu Hai made his way to the dinner table. There was not much to eat, a large wicked candle dimly lit the room and there was a whole stuffed rabbit on the table with potatoes. It looked fantastic and tasted quite lame.
'Who would have thought that Old Man Jiang couldn't cook to save his life?' Wu Hai swallowed it down quickly. Although it wasn't dubious food, it still filled their bellies and soon they made it to bed.
Not much was spoken during the dinner.
Only after they had finished did Old Man Jiang speak, "Wu Hai, tomorrow you will show me your abilities, tonight I want you to go to bed immediately and not attempt anymore training. We have much to do and much to train on, so the time will come. I want to see what you can do after a full nights rest and on a full stomach. The goal for tomorrow will be to expend as much energy as you have so we can measure how much you actually have."
Wu Hai cleared his plate, washed his hands again and found his room. Laying his pack to the wall as a pillow, he fell fast asleep.
The morning had come to pass and breakfast was over, it was his first official day of training. Wu Hai was excited. Standing in the middle of a field listening to instructions from his new master, he paid close attention each time Old Man Jiang gave new directions.
"Make a 'Darkflame' and set it into your left hand"
"Make a 'Darkflame in your right hand"
"Make your left 'Darkflame' Into the 'Infernal Flame'"
"Make your Right 'Darkflame' Into the 'Infernal Flame'"
This process repeated again and again.
Old Man Jiang did not want to confuse the boy and wanted to start with a solid foundation. He already knew that the boy could do these actions but If he had only been doing it for a week then his progress is Heaven Shattering.
"I want you to continue to do these until the suns start to set. When they sets, I have another task for you. We will absolutely run you out of energy today!!" Old Man Jiang said matter of fact like.
The Old Man took a finger and pointed to the ground and began drawing a chair in his mind. Without speaking a word a root the thickness of an arm started moving and intertwining around into the shape of a chair.
Afterward a Small Tea Table and flower appeared on the Table. The Old Man scoffed a bit, took the flower and chucked it.
Sighing heavily Master Jiang chided at the effect, "Can't this magic be a little more manly."
Despite seeing what his Master had just done, Zao Wu Hai did not falter in his training. His speed progressed and soon he could effortlessly swap the two flames between his hands. He had performed the alternation of the flames a few thousand times by the end of the afternoon. His hands were tired of flexing and the Old Man could see that it was draining him, "Okay, Come have some tea. Grab a pitcher of water and boil it." The exercises were meant to gauge Wu Hai's potential and his physical body was only so robust.
Old Man Jiang pointed at the Table and small Tea Leaves started to sprout. He plucked some very small and fresh leaves each time they would arrive. Slowly he had about two Taels. Setting some aside for his next cup, he looked at Wu Hai and took the tea in hand.
"Sit" Old Man Jiang pointed and drew out a small stool for Wu Hai to sit down.
"Master, Is your element Wood?" Wu Hai asked but didn't insist on an answer.
"Good, I was sure you were going to say Tea and Chairs, a foolish disciple of mine in the past made that joke. I had her cleaning my toilet for an entire year. Yes, My school of magic was Wood, My second was Water. Now I have the ability to control Wood, Water, and the Body. My healing arts aren't great, but I've rarely even heard of a dedicated healer. My wood magic allows me to create anything from wood by imagining its shape, They can't move.. but I can easily make a Bridge or house or little wooden swords. These chairs are but child's play in comparison to raising a city from nothing. My water ability has always brought my crops great fortune, I'm never short on clean water even in the driest of places. And my ability to Use the Magic of the Body allows me to Live 5x the lifespan of other mortals with my power. I will live, if not killed, for the next several hundred years. " Old Man Jiang ranted with a sense of pride. He had been working on his skills for nearly 280 years, far surpassing his childhood friends and rivals. From the sound of his speech, he had high hopes for his new disciple.
"Master, the Suns are setting. You said you had another exercise for me to try?" Wu Hai let out a deep breath before taking another sip of his tea, it was bitter and he wanted to spit it out but anything his Master gave him was surely good for him and he swallowed it down.
"I want you to do things on the spot, it helps you not over think things. Sometimes, your greatest opponent is yourself." The Old man finished his tea and sat up straight, waiting for an answer.
"Yes. Master," Wu Hai said.
Another half an hour passed.
"Okay, its about time.. The second Sun is nearly down. I want you to create a ring of darkflame and then I want you to create two Infernal Flame Fireballs. Lets start by getting the Ring." Old Man Jiang slowly explained what he meant by creating a Ring of Darkness.
"Make a Ring?" Wu Hai was confused about what to do at first but he kept listening while Master Jiang explained in greater detail.
"imagine a tiny circle, push out from the center and spread the flames through your fingers. When it gets started, expand it like a hoop." Master Jiang gave a brief and easy explanation but Wu Hai did not quite grasp what he was trying to say.
As he started training, Wu Hai gradually understood how to make a ring of fire. He only had to project the flames to a length around him and spin in a circle at first. Afterward, he used his control to lift the fire off the ground and had it encircle him.
"Next, I want you to make those 2 Infernal Flame Fireballs. When you're able to keep them in your hands with the ring, I want you to rotate them between the ring and then outside the ring without letting any of them touch. That way I can learn to gauge how much control you really have. Without understanding your limits you'll never surpass the man you were yesterday." He watched while Wu Hai demonstrated each motion.
"Now, Rotate them faster making sure not to lose your focus" With the Infernal fireballs encircling the Darkflame ring, Wu Hai could feel his power being rapidly consumed. He had finally found something that could be measured in more than a small drop of his ability and it invigorated his senses. Like a water faucet being opened, he channeled his ability and maintained his composure.
With a few rotations, the heat of the flames kept increasing. The fireballs were rotating at such a speed that they left slow afterimages.
"This is enough, continue with this pace. If I had to say something, it would be that you're going about this a little too fast. I'd rather your fundamentals be more astute than your prowess. Still, I want to see how long you can last at this pace. We will remain here until you cannot go any further." Old Man Jiang spawned another chair and leaned back to watch.
Breaking his limits was the point and if couldn't achieve it he would be considered a failure in his own eyes. Following his Master's advice was his best course of action. 'There is still a long time before he's to return to his family to show his achievement. With his power, he stood still and maintained himself for almost 9 hours.' Old Man Jiang was getting impatient but knew there had to a bottom to the child. He told Wu Hai that he would be here till he burned out all of his power, how could he, his new master, make him stop before hitting the bottom?
It took almost the entire night, the first Sun had started to rise and the Old Man could clearly see that Wu Hai had not faltered once. Old Man Jiang was glad to see that Wu Hai was starting to sweat and sway with the breeze.
It had only been a short period since his new disciple had even begun learning, there was no sense in pushing the boy. He decided to do the math himself after letting Zao Wu Hai go to rest. "Boy, Enough. I say, you really surprised me. After I've done some calculations I will have another exercise for you, Tomorrow." He emphasized the word 'tomorrow,' "Until then, go back to your bedroll and I will retrieve you in the morning." Old Man Jiang gave a sharp look at Wu Hai. His disciple kept smiling and then shook his head, 'What have I gotten himself into?'
It was already morning again but there were a bunch of questions on Old Man Jiang's mind. Going back to his bookstore Old Man Jiang looked through a few old manuals, to find an explanation to Wu Hai's ability.
"Black fire, to be born with the ability is already a test to ones destiny.." Old Man Jiang kept flipping pages, there was a feeling he couldn't escape. A feeling of Deja vu swept over him for an instant, he knew that he had read stories about being born with fire but most of them were entirely inferior. Thumbing through pages he felt like time was going by quickly, Wu Hai was already asleep but Master Jiang firmly believed that the best time for training fire abilities was at night.
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone