The atmosphere of the event was more cheerful than before thanks to Harith's miraculous save.
Harith now stood in the middle of the stage, sweating all over. He was right next to Young master Baxia who was wearing a big smile. Harith didn't know much but he certainly knew how to tell fake from real. And also, wasn't it this guy na this friends that ganged up on him?"Jinwu, today you have saved the lives of master Chen's kitchen. Thank you" The sect master nodded.Harith smiled a little in response."For this deed I shall grant you a reward. Ten thousand jins shall be awarded to you for your efforts" As the sect master spoke and signalled to one of his guards.The crowd clapped and cheered. Ten thousand was a huge sum of money to any teenager. As a result, jealousy began to arise and some wished they had reacted the same way Harith did."Thank you sir" Harith maintained the smile on his face. He didn't know how valuable Ten thousand jins was but from the crowd reaction it had to be something worthwhile."I see you have awakened your element" And elder sitting beside the sect master spoke.After a brief period of silence, discussions arose among those in the audience. They didn't focus much on how Harith had used the fire power earlier but now that the elder brought it up...it certainly was strange.How did the one that couldn't even awaken his element years ago become able to create a fire shield?!" Yes sir, I have" Harith responded. For some reason he wasn't getting a good vibe from the man that had asked."And how did that happen?" The elder asked. If someone couldn't awaken their element in the year they became thirteen, then it was almost impossible to awaken it any later on. Yet this young man had done it.'cmon think fast!' Harith thought. He had to find a suitable reason to avoid any form of suspicion. Well it's not like they would suspect that he was a reincarnated soul but just to be safe."I had a dream this morning sir, where a great fiery being appeared to me and touched my arm..." Harith started saying any possible thing he could think of."Hmm? A fiery being?" The elder turned his head and thought for a second before his eyes widened."Zhu rong?!" At that moment another elder interjected.Harith went silent but inside, his heart was blooming. It seemed like his lie was working."eh Zhu rong? He saying Zhu rong appeared to him in a dream?"" How could Zhu rong ever appear to someone like him""That's true, he only appears to those blessed by the heavens. If he's to appear to anyone it would be anyone but jinwu""But if it isn't true, how then did he awaken his element at this age?" The crowd was going haywire. It seemed Harith's casual lie actually had a relation to something they knew of."That is not important for now" The sect master dismissed the voices. "Another of the younger generation has awakened his element, even if it was much later. Elder Jang, he will be under your care" The sect master looked to the elder that had spoken the first time.The elder narrowed his eyes and nodded as he took a good look at Harith.He wasn't sure what to make of him yet, but his story was strange. And he claimed to have been visited by Zhu rong, if it was true..."hmm, for now you can rest. You should feel tired after spending that much power. Come to the Youth practitioners house before noon tomorrow. That will be all" Elder Jang finished talking.Harith took that as his sign to leave. He bowed and left the building entirely. As he left he could feel an intense glare directed at him."Phew" As soon as he left the building Harith heaved a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his brows. A burst of laughter escaped his lips. He didn't know what the hell just happened but he was damn feeling good.First he had saved some people with a fire shield he had no idea he could make and then he was awarded whatever was Ten thousand jins...and the place he was told to go to tomorrow, that sounded a lot like the official training grounds for the youths of the sect!An immense feeling of joy welled up in his heart. It seemed like things were finally going his way for the first time if his entire lifetime. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since he arrived here and he was already filled with eagerness for the future. If things continued like this, becoming the strongest magic user wouldn't be too hard to accomplish....It wasn't until late noon that the ceremony ended. The people left with full stomach and most were beyond tipsy. They had eaten and drank their fill, witnessed the blessing of the future sect master, watched an interesting battle, and also watched a previously disregarded youngster save some lives. They had seen enough today.Under the hot sun, a male sat under a tree waving his hands out and about."Activate!" Harith said and pushed his hand with force. He waited for a moment but nothing happened. "Activate fire shield!" He said again and waved his hand much more forcefully. Seeing that nothing still happened he smashed his hand on the floor."Fuck!" He immediately regretted his actions. He sighed and looked at his hand. "Aren't you the one that summoned that huge shield earlier?So do it again" Harith waved his hand once more but nothing happened. Then he gave up.He packed the books next to him and started heading home. He had come out here in hopes that he could willfully summon the shield once more and maybe figure out how the fire power worked a bit but he was only met with disappoinment."I'll just have to wait for tomorrow" He muttered as he walked.___As harith inched closer and closer to the room he stayed, he could perceive an aroma in the air. It got stronger the closer he got.*Rumble* It was like his stomach could smell it too and it growled in excitement."I'm back" Harith said as he opened the door. *Bam!* a large chunk of meat was on the table beside his bead. In the same tray was some rice and vegetables.Harith's eyes widened, although he had eaten in the ceremony earlier his hunger had resurfaced. That was in line with what he learnt, as one used their power they would be drained of energy. And the best way for the body to replenish lost energy was through food."I made it specially for you" Harith's mother spoke from behind."oh...thanks heh" Harith smiled and scratched his head."go on, eat" She smiled and left.Harith wasted no time in digging in. It was like she knew he favourite food was anything made of meat!Harith's mother had a bright smile on her face as she left. She had heard of the way her son saved workers of master Chen's kitchen and was even rewarded for it. And he had also awakened his element."Our boy is making us proud" She whispered as she held the necklace on her neck tightly.....The next dayHarith was out and about searching for the Youth practitioners house. He had no idea where it was and it would definitely sound weird if he asked for directions to a place anyone in the sect was supposed to know. So he was kinda in a dilemma. "Did you hear? one of the youth practitioners was found dead. They say he was killed by a strong fire user" "I heard, Chen yul right? The young master's right hand man" "why would anyone want to murder such a young man?" As harith walked he heard a conversation in the crowd. They had finally become aware of the murder...he had to be very careful from now on."Hmm?" As he pondered he caught sight of a person he vaguely recognized. It was the girl he had met with Brother Chen. Harith's heart began to race as he remembered the events of that night. What if the girl recognizes him and connects him to the the death of that man...everything would end for him! Cho cheong had worried look on her face. She was running late for the daily training. As she walked, the feeling of someone watching her kept surfacing but when she looked back all she could see were the people going about their daily activities. Harith hid among the crowd, covering his face with a scarf his mother had given him since it was quite cold these days. Following her was risky sure, but he figured that she was probably a youth practitioner too. Then the only place she could be going to now was the youth practitioner house. A soft cough interrupted Harley's thoughts. He looked back to see and old man carry a mat, it seemed like the man was getting ready to place some goods there and he was obstructing him. "Ah sorry" Harith apologized and immediately left the way. "fuck!" He almost screamed out. The girl he was following was nowhere to be found! Harith looked back at the old man with a look that portrayed a thousand messages. If looks could kill then Harith's own would probably bury the person too. If the old man hadn't interrupted him then he wouldn't have lost sight of the girl! "The weather is not good today" The old man muttered as he felt a chill up his spine. Harith left the place and searched frantically for the girl but she was nowhere to be found. "I guess I'll have to ask for directions..." He wanted to play safe but he had no other choice. "Why were you following me?" A soft voice spoke. Harith looked and it was none other than the girl he was following with a displeased look on her face. His heart immediately skipped a beat. "oh...aren't you the boy from yesterday?!" The girl raised one of her eyebrows and asked. Harith just stood still without answering. It was very likely the girl was talking about that night. "The boy who saved the workers in master Chen's kitchen, jinwu right?" She smile "I'm Cho cheong" She was present in the ceremony yesterday so she clearly witnessed the events herself and she easily recognized him. "Eh..." Harith was speechless. The girl hadn't truly recognized him! "Yes I am" He cleared his throat and answered. " Nice to meet you jinwu" she said as her smile faded "Now why were you following me?" "Me? I wasn't following you!" Harith immediately denied it. "I was just going over to the Youth practitioners house" "oh, I'm heading there too. Shall we go together?" Cho cheong asked. "Ah sure" Harith replied. "Let's go then, there's not much time" Inside, harith was praising himself. Look at just how smart he was! He had used his way with words and successfully achieved his goal of having a guide to the youth practitioners house. He never knew he had this ability! The two walked together for minutes and made small talks along the way. Finally they arrived at the building. The Youth practitioners house lived up to Harith's expectations. It was damn huge, it seemed like all the important building in this place we're ridiculously huge. This building was almost the size of the building used in holding the ceremony. The building had a gate which was currently open, and the statue of a man holding a golden pole was right next to the open gate. Cho cheong hurriedly walked inside and Harith followed after. He had no idea why she was in so a hurry. As he entered the building he could see a bunch of people roughly the same age as him. They were arranged in a rows of five and their hands were flaming. "Stop!" A very angry voice called just as they entered. At that moment Harith felt a huge pressure that brought him to his knees!The pressure was immense! Harith felt like the weight of the world was placed on his shoulder. He started sweating and found it a huge problem to move his eyes not to talk of moving any part of his body. Cho cheong sighed what she was trying to avoid had happened."Why are you late?" A familiar voice spoke. Elder Jang appeared with his hands behind his back and he wore blue robe."I...I l..los...lost my way" Harith struggled to answer. Under this pressure there was no way he could think of lying."And you?" Elder Jang turned to Cho cheong."I overslept master" She responded albeit much more calmly than Harith. This wasn't a first time thing so she was already used to it in a way."Since it is your first time you will be spared. Elder Jang said to Harith. "As for you, this will not go unpunished. For now, go join the rest" He finished talking to Cho cheong and left.As soon as Elder Jang left the pressure Harith felt disappeared entirely.With a sigh of relief he relaxed a bit and look
"what?!""Master Jang!"The students were frightened and disappointed. The martial arts section was their weakest part as they relied mostly on their elemental powers but now Master Jang was saying they couldn't make use of their powers? Those fiery things looked pretty string, how the hell did elder Jang expect them to win with only direct combat?!Harith nodded in approval, this development was for his benefit. He wasn't as strong as the others when it came to fire usage but he knew a thing or two about martial arts from his previous life, he could cope. And seeing as the others were uncomfortable with the idea he guessed they weren't that strong when it came to martial arts.Cho cheong sighed with a downcast face. She was already less than average in the elemental power department and she was even worse in martial arts, there was no way she was getting any of those eyes.Meanwhile inside the hole,Dang gu stopped his fire and immediately made a run for it. He panicked and headed fo
"That rock giant has appeared because you refused to follow the rules of the task and fight. As long as you run without fighting heading the you would be prevented from acquiring the emerald eyes. Let that rest deep in you" Elder Jang said in all seriousness."So there really is no hope...." "Only way to win is to fight" The students were distressed. Elder Jang had taken all possible measures just to make sure they fought. Was he always the relentless?"I will go next" Young master Baxia state suddenly. "Eh? Who said that?""Young master Baxia?""It's about time he stepped up" Elder Jang smiled. He had been waiting for Baxia to talk all this while. Young master Baxia was a very peculiar occurrence happened only once in the history of the four sects. As such he paid very special care to his training...he would lead the sect afterall."Elder Jang, I will be going in now" Young master Baxia bowed.Elder Jang nodded and then young master Baxia dived in.Baxia had made all the necessary
"How are you feeling?" Harith asked. He walked with Cho cheong who was looking a bit better now but the bruise on her face was still very evident."I'm okay. It'll heal in a short while" Cho cheong said and touch her eye."You did quite a great thing in there, I'm impressed" Harith spoke from the depths of his heart. Cho cheong had come the closest to taking the emerald eyes. If elder Jang had come clean earlier maybe it would have been a different story."It wasn't anything much, I just ran around and got knocked out" Cho cheong blushed from embarrassment but one could see the joy on her face if they looked closer."Well, Just to make sure you're really okay, let me escort you home" Harith smiled. He had no motives and was just being a gentleman..."Eh? My house is quite far from here I'm not sure you would want to walk that long" Cho cheong quickly denied him."I don't mind. I mean, I have nothing to do so..." Harith shrugged."okay...." Cho cheong finally agreed.The two went back
At that moment two guards arrived. They had hurried breaths so it was obvious they had been running for quite some time."S...stop" One of them spoke as he held his chest and scrunched his face."Ah Elder Jang" The other one noticed Elder Jang and bowed immediately. The second one too followed.Elder Jang raised one of his eyebrows in a look that questioned the guards."Elder Jang they forcefully came in through the sect's gate. We tried to stop them but before we could do anything they were long gone" One of them said with a worried look."So you broke into the sect, and also barged in here. You better have a good excuse for this?" Elder Jang looked at Rose with an angry face."I told you, u brought friendly competition" Rose smiled as she pointed at the two with her.Elder Jang took a low at the other two person with her. He couldn't see much of them as they had long black robes on them but from what he sensed, they would be of the younger generation."You two leave and report to th
Hao Feng had the brightest smile on his face. This woman had really stuck to her words and actually given him the emerald eyes. He just had to beat her candidate...which he did easily. Even he was surprised at how easy he had done that. Sure he had a few cuts here and there but that was all, she didn't really prove much trouble in taking down."Guys what are you waiting for?" Hao Feng excitedly said to the crowd and he waved his emerald eyes for all to see."She really did give him!""It wasn't even that hard for Hao Feng to beat him" The crowd was ecstatic. Hao Feng was a average at best in terms of power but he had still easily taken the girl down. If they went then it was basically free emerald eyes assured."I wanna go next!""No me me, elder Jang pick me!" The students struggled to come forward. Elder Jang on the other hand wasn't too happy. This girl Rose had brought felt so weak compared to what he expected from an average Great water serpent sect youth practitioner. The averag
"It's remaining two pairs, if you want to fight now's your chance" Rose said as she looked in a certain direction with intent."Let me go this time" As soon as young master Baxia saw her look. He felt suspicious that she kept looking at him but he didn't focus on that. His focus was on the emerald eyes. If he didn't step up before the others the emerald eyes may be gone just when he could."Come on out then" Rose answered In place of elder Jang with enthusiasm. Young master Baxia looked at Elder Jang for his approval and since elder Jang had nothing to be suspicious about he just let him go. It wouldn't even last up to a minute before Baxia would win and he'd resume his time with his students."Eh? Wasn't she knocked out before?" A student pointed at Amber who was now standing opposite young master Baxia. Of course they found it strange, it was unlike before when she was fed the pill and took some time to become conscious. Now immediately Young master Baxia stepped up she just surpri
The next dayHarith had woken up very early and started with the stance right away. It was about five in the morning so everywhere was dark and silent, but this was what Harith preferred. The undisturbed silence gave him the leisure to focus more on the state he attained."Now let's see your magic" Harith muttered as he brought out the three emerald eyes he had earned...well he stole one but still most of it was earned. He placed two in his palms and one in front of him and sat on his bed cross legged. He placed his hands on his thighs and joined his fingers together. He then closed his eyes and breathe rhythmically.Sure this wasn't the position Elder Jang had taught him to stay in. But he had found out that one didn't necessarily have to adopt a particular stance before they could gather energy. So he stayed in a way that he was more comfortable with.The book he bought earlier had shown him in detail how the emerald eyes could be used for training. Now to understand that one must f