Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Level 5 Apprentice
"Boss, where did you go last night? You didn't even eat dinner. Without you, we were too afraid to go to the top floor to find you, because we heard that the headmaster is living there.", while running Bi Su asked Ji Dong.
Ji Dong answered, "I had a little work to do last night."
Bi Su didn't question further about that matter. Seeing Zhu Gui who was running in the front of their group, he said in a bad mood, "That tomboy is dragging! Boss, how about we give her some trouble?"
Before Ji Dong could speak, Karl spoke up, "You better leave her be. Even though she is a girl, she is one of the best in the Bing-fire department during the entrance exam, she was even above me. I heard that her innate attribute was 9:1."
"It can't be!" Bi Su was shocked, "A girl has unexpectedly a Bing-fire attribute of 9:1? Was she born with the wrong gender?"
Ji Dong said, "The world is big and there are countless wonders. Less speaking, save your strength. One round around the city are dozens of kilometres we need to last until the end, then we can talk about it."
Running out of Li Huo City, Ji Dong could already feel that his body started to heat up, and the blood inside of his body was starting to circulate faster. This was an unsayable comfort for him. Now he was realizing the great advantage of absorbing the two crystal crowns: after possessing the strength of a level 1 double-department apprentice, his physical strength increased greatly, because he discharged a bulk of impurity, his body was also moistened by the magical powers of Bing-fire and Ding-fire, his heart and lungs' capability and muscles were strengthened a lot or else he would be panting after only part of the way from the academy to the city gate. But right now he didn't feel the least bit tired, he could only feel that he has warmed up.
Subconsciously touching the red lotus on his left chest, Ji Dong couldn't help but feel a gust of warm feelings rising up. He was itching to go there and see the perfect Lie Yan in the core of the earth, this warm feeling also seemed to have awakened his energy, he was following the group without falling back.
Karl and Bi Su were both every puzzled, after not seeing each other one day, Ji Dong became a lot fitter. Both of them were excellent among the first year students, so they naturally wanted to help Ji Dong, but it looked like he wouldn't be needing it for at least a long time.
Half an hour later, the students with weak fitness started to stand out. The one who was still at the very front was the only girl. She was still following teacher Xia Tian tightly. The other students have already started to fall behind and showed signs of fatigue. They actually just turned around the corner of the south wall and the west wall, they were still a far way off from the north wall.
"Faster, everyone must follow up. Don't blame me for what I will do to those who are too slow.", he waved the whip in his hand while saying that.
Xia Tian's threat was like a heart-strengthening shot, making the students speed up noticeably.
While continuing running, Xia Tian shouted, "In order to become a Yin-Yang magician, you not only need magic power, you also need abundant physical strength and tenacious willpower. That is right, the task I arranged for you is nearly impossible to finish, there will be some courses like this in the future. Those who can't persevere are unworthy for the money your parents paid, so they can just quit school anytime now. Want to know why 30% of the students in our Li Huo academy condensed their Yin-Yang crown before their graduation? That is because our students have more willpower, making the impossible possible. Everyone straighten up! Run faster!"
Without question, Teacher Xia Tian's speech boosted those young students' moral, but this was only capable of making them keep up for another hour. Gradually those who started to fall behind were left in the distance. How much stamina could a 10-year-old child have? Even though these kids were very fit, one round of the city was an incredibly long distance, which was almost an impossible task.
The extent of Xia Tian's strictness was shown for the first time demonstrating that his whip was not just for show. He went from the front to the back and waved his whip making miserable shrieks occurred again and again.
Without question, the miserable shrieks were even more effective than Xia Tian's speech before, while painfully struggling they started to rush madly.
But if one looked closely one could see that even though teacher Xia Tian looked strict, he did not use full strength to hit the students, and there also was a faint red light surrounding the whip. Those who were whipped would dash forward with fear without noticing the warmth that was delivered from the whip, which could restore some strength that had reached its limit.
The three-person team of Ji Dong was always in the first group, although unlike Zhu Gui, who was so far in front, but they absolutely were not falling behind. Karl and Bi Su started to wonder more and more: Why was it that even though Ji Dong's breath started ragging, his pace was not disturbed in the least, which made it obvious that he still had a lot of stamina left. Today's round around the city would be a lot longer than yesterday's twenty round punishment, Ji Dong's physical strength was as different as sky and earth, which made them really surprised. However at this moment the two of them also deeply realized that Ji Dong's decision of saving up strength was really wise. Because even though they were one of the best among the academy, but after running for so long they were still attacked by the feeling of tiredness.
"Wow, that tomboy slowed down. As I said, how could a girl compare to us guys." Said, Bi Su, while puffing, his expression was full of schadenfreude.
Right now Ji Dong's consumption of physical strength was not small. When he raised his head, Zhu Gui who was running at the front clearly slowed down, yet behind Zhu Gui was unexpectedly only the three of them, the other students had fallen even more behind.
Seeing Zhu Gui's speed drop, Bi Su's spirit immediately raised. He sped up, until after a while he caught up, "How is it? You can't hold out any more right, tomboy?"
Zhu Gui turned her head, looking at Bi Su who had caught up to her. Suddenly she smiled, before Bi Su could even react, he could feel that he stumbled over something, suddenly losing his balance, he staggered forward. And just when he was about to catch his balance, he was slapped on the back of his head, "Just fall down, Sissy."
With a-pah, Bi Su fell over, Zhu Gui stopped, with a foot on his back. She looked at him with cold eyes, "I'm telling you, don't bother me from now on. If you ever let me hear you calling me a tomboy, I will burn all your hair."
While saying that, Zhu Gui reached out her right hand, puff! A gust of red flame appeared on her palm, it rose up to 16 centimetres high.
Ji Dong and Karl also caught up by this time. They could see two and a half crystal-red star crowns appearing on Zhu Gui's forehead.
"Level five Bing-fire Apprentice!?" said both of them in surprise.
Zhu Gui shot them a cold glance as if saying that was all they needed to know. She once again turned around, continuing to run. Her speed increased so dramatically that it was clear that she slowed down on purpose.
"Stop!" Ji Dong said in a loud voice.
Zhu Gui looked backwards with a disdainful expression, but she did not intend to stop and continued running. Ji Dong was about to chase after her but was stopped by Bi Su, who had crawled onto and hugged his leg.
"Boss, it is okay." Bi Su's face was very pale, but he still hugged Ji Dong tightly while his other hand held Karl back.
"Sissy, are you afraid?" Karl angrily shouted.
Bi Su glared at Karl with a cold expression. Karl didn't know why, but his mighty expression faltered in front of Bi Su's gaze. It was almost as if a cold, gloomy and poisonous snake was staring at him.
"She's a level, five apprentice… We wouldn't be a match for her even if all three of us fought. I will have to bear with it for now." Bi Su was unusually calm, so calm that it made Ji Dong wonder if Bi Su had also reincarnated from another world. His expression was not something that a normal 10 years old would make.
"You're just going to let this go?" asked Karl in a low voice.
Bi Su looked at the fading Zhu Gui's back. "A nobleman's revenge isn't late even if it is after ten years. Let me improve my Yin-Yang magic, I will have my revenge one day. Boss, Karl, you don't need to care about this matter, I will take care of it myself. I will use my own strength to beat her."
Ji Dong frowned. "Wasn't it said that one could begin training Yin-Yang magic only after reaching the age of ten? She doesn't look much older than us, how is she already a level 5 apprentice?"
Karl said, "That only applies to the kids of commoners. Those families with great Yin-Yang wizards can nurture their kids early with different drugs. They could let them start training ahead of us at 7 or 8 without affecting their future growth. However, this Zhu Gui is certainly a genius. The strongest first year I've heard of was only a level three apprentice when entering the academy. This is the first I've heard of a level five first year. You should know that most third-year students don't have this kind of ability. Only among the fourth years would level five apprentices be common."
Bi Su continued, "Also, the fact that she could release her Bing-fire magic and control it freely shows she had a well-known master teach her. There is no way that we wouldn't be able to win against her even during our time in the Li Huo Academy. But we will have a chance, this humiliation will never be forgotten. I will pay her back tenfold."
"Who said that you could stop? Continue running!" The angry roar from Xia Tian sounded, and the three of them continued running.
This outdoor lesson lasted until high noon. When the Bing-fire department students returned to Li Huo academy, only "three and a half" people remained standing beside teacher Xia Tian. The level five apprentice Zhu Gui was without question one of them. The second one was Karl, and even though he did not have magical power as strong as her to support him, his sheer strength was superb. What surprised Zhu Gui was that Bi Su could also keep standing, even when he gasped for air and sweated like a pig; regardless, he ground his teeth and kept standing.
The half one was, of course, Ji Dong. Even though his body went through a major upgrade, the catastrophic state his body was in could not be healed so quickly. Being able to last until the end was not easy in the slightest. Only Karl's support kept him standing, and the reason why he only counted as half.
"You are not allowed to lay down, sit up." Xia Tian pulled one student after another up, making them sit cross-legged on the sports field.
"Only when one has used up one's strength could one enter their most sensitive state. For us Bing-fire Yin-Yang wizards, noon is the best time to cultivate. That is when we are nearest to sunlight. And it is also when the Bing-fire-attribute magic is at its strongest. Close your eyes, I will help you sense the Bing-fire elements. Absorb them carefully, and strive to become a level one Bing-fire apprentice quickly."
Ji Dong suddenly realized that this lesson was well planned: Using up all of one's strength in order to sense the Bing-fire attributed elements; the education system of Li Huo academy was really quite good.
While thinking that, he did like every other student and sat down cross-legged. With the experience from yesterday, Ji Dong himself could already focus easily. After closing his eyes, he instantly felt the existence of Bing-fire element in the air.
The Sun in the sky was like a Bing-fire attributed element crystal. Ji Dong could feel the Bing-fire magic much more strongly than yesterday in the room, as the sun shone upon him under the sky. On the other hand, the Ding-fire attribute in the air was very thin, so thin that it could be neglected. Of course, the magical power from the sunlight was much weaker than from the earth core lake; the difference was like comparing heaven to earth.
Ji Dong used his mind to feel the stimulation of the red light in his chest, which represented the Bing-fire magic reacting to the Bing-fire attributed element outside of his body. The process went smoothly, and Ji Dong felt his body become very warm instantly, but he also sensed that something was wrong. After the light red Bing-fire element entered his body and was about to fuse with the Bing-fire magic in his body, the Ding-fire magic beside the Bing-fire magic suddenly emitted a dull blue light, building a protective layer around the Bing-fire magic. Even though the Bing-fire element was absorbed into his body, it couldn't fuse with the Bing-fire magic in his body, and he could only helplessly watch the element disperse again.
"Don't waste your strength. Noon is not suited for you and Bi Su to cultivate. Ding-fire magic is best cultivated during the night, but you are Bing-Ding double fire. There are two times most suited for you to cultivate: one is during the evening when the sun sets in the west, the other is during the morning when the sun rises."
The sudden voice woke Ji Dong up from his cultivation. When he opened his eyes, he could see Xia Tian in front of him. Only God knew when Xia Tian came to him, poking him and Bi Su with the rod in his hand. "Ji Dong, you can go and eat lunch. Bi Su, you can go back to teacher Qiu Tian, she will start teaching you how to cultivate Ding-fire magic."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
FadingBlossom
FadingBlossom Translated by: GX, Demenious
Edited By: Vangandr, LosThantos, (and a little M2t5)
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