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 looked around him again."Are you ok?" Cho cheong walked up to him and asked."Yeah" Harith wiped the sweat from his face with his cloth."You'll experience it quite often so get ready. Let's join up" She said.Harith had no response. He really wasn't look forward to experiencing something like this again but this girl just told him he would do exactly that. Way to bust his bubble.The two joined in the line and Harith could see some familiar faces. Specifically the young master. "So he's here too" he muttered. He thought the young master would be receiving training directly from. his father or something but he was wrong.Young master Baxia saw the two but he kept aloof and didn't regard them."Get into stance!" Elder jang's voice echoed and tens of feet stomped the ground hard. Dust arose as the practitioners all got into stance.Harith saw this and immediately copied their movements. He bent his legs slightly with his right arm pushed outward and his left hand holding the forearm of his right hand."Tsk" Elder Jang walked through the lot as he inspected their stances. Reaching Harith he carried his cane and smacked the back of Harith's knee."ouch" Harith lost his balance and fell to the ground. "Exert more power on ur leg" Elder Jang said and walked to the front of the crowd."As you all know this is the chi stance. A stance that enables you to feel the energy in the world...feel it" Elder Jang spoke as he performed the same stance as the younger practitioners.As soon as his left hand came into contact with his right forearm the winds started to blow. It was like a massive force was gathering with Elder jang's body as the center.Some of the practitioners struggled to maintain their balance as the violent wind raged.All of a sudden the wind stopped and an intense heat emerged. Elder jang's body bursted in flames and the ground below him started to turn black. He raised his head and looked directly at Harith.Harith's eyes skipped a beat, he had a feeling that if this man wanted to turn him to ashes he would do just that and there was nothing anyone could do to prevent it.Those thoughts become more intrusive as elder Jang started walking towards him with his whole being still on fire.Elder Jang reached him and pulled out his cane and put it against his neck.The pressure on Harith increased. The air became hotter and it was difficult to breathe."This is the gathering of chi" Elder hand said. The fire on his body instantly died down."oooohhh elder Jang is so strong" Somebody in the crowd spoke with admiration.Harith was almost dying. What the fuck was this man's problem with him?! Why did he have to scare the living hell out of him?!"Now do the same, try to feel the chi in the air" Elder Jang said as he looked at Harith. "All of you"The other responded, as some were already in stance it didn't take time until fire gathered around one's body. A raging fire gathered around young master Baxia's body. One, two three....the number of burning bodies increased.Seeing this Harith nodded immediately and tried to mimick the man's earlier movement. He got into stance and slowly held his forearm. His body was shaking a little with how hot it felt.He breathed heavily and focused fully on the task. Sweat poured down his face as he stayed in that position for minutes trying to feel any form of energy but it was to no avail.Frustration filled Harith face. The others could do it easily why then couldn't he do it?'Strange, he is able to summon a fire shield when threatened but can't even gather energy' Elder Jang thought."Do not force it" It was like elder Jang could hear harith's thoughts. " They have practiced for years and you are far behind. Do not compare yourselves to them" He said and patted Harith."c'mon give me something" Harith scrunched his brows and tried as much as he could. He could see Cho cheong on fire next to him, practically everyone was on fire."That was just a warmup, now we would be getting to the main lesson for today. Combat practice" Elder Jang walked to the front and said. "Martial arts is as essential as your element when it comes to attack and defense"Grunts and sighs came from the practitioners. Martial arts training was the most exhausting of the training they underwent in the youth practitioners house. No one liked the session."I know you all don't like like this training so I have prepared a little incentive for you" Master Jang said and raised up a necklace with a small green ball attached to it.As young master baxia saw that object his interest peaked. That thing was a very essential thing to any practitioner!"Woah the emerald eye!""Seriously? oouuu" Naturally the crowd reaction was wild. The emerald orb Elder Jang held was a blessing for any young practitioner. The emerald eye's main function was to increase the rate at which one would progress. For example, if one could only summon fire that span just a few metres, after training with the orb for just a week or more, then the person would be able to cover tens of metres with his fire. That was how beneficial it was to training! Harith gave up on what he was doing and focused with the rest. He was a bit confused as to why they were so excited when they saw that green ball, some were even salivating! "Hey, what's that?" Harith asked Cho cheong next to him "ah" She took her eyes off of the ball "you don't know?" Harith scratched his head with a sheepish smile on his face."Hmm, it is called the Emerald Eye" Cho cheong answered" "What's that?" "The emerald eye. A very beneficial object for practitioners. They say it is capable of increasing one's progress by two times" Che cheong explained. She too wanted the emerald eye like any other sane practitioner. "Woah" Harith's mind clicked. If this thing could increase one's training speed then he would need much of it. Like elder Jang said, he was behind the rest of his generation in ability and power, if he had any intentions of catching up or becoming the strongest ever known then he would have to get this. "Since you all know what this is I'll cut the explanation. Today, I am feeling generous and I have decided to give out five of these" Elder Jang said with a rare smile. "Five?!" Young master Baxia blurted. Even his dad wasn't that generous! "Yes....but there's just one thing you have to do to earn it" Elder Jang answered As the practitioners heard that their hopes dropped. Classic Elder Jang. They were sure the one thing would be an impossible task to complete. "You see I have prepared a course for you, complete it and your prize would be at the end. Pretty simple" As Elder Jang was speaking the ground behind him collapsed and a very huge space was opened in the ground, albeit perfectly measured. "Take a look for yourselves" Elder Jang pointed his hand at the wide space that had opened. The students all went and looked into it. It truly was huge! They were like ants Infront of the hole. It was no ordinary hole though, no. It looked more like a house that was under construction, that is...without a roof. The floor was made of a substance that looked very much like marble. The vast space was empty apart from a pedestal that stood at the end. And on that pedestal was none other than five emerald eyes. "all you have to do is walk from the beginning to the pedestal and take the orb, very easy" Elder Jang smiled. His smile hiding a very cunning look. A look the practitioners knew well and understood completely.They all stared at each other pmdering until one that was determined enough stepped forward. "Oh we have our first candidate, very nice" Elder Jang nodded. Dang gu stepped forward. This thing looked so easy, he had no idea why the others even stopped to think of it before they volunteered. Atleast he had come out before anybody else, he would take it all for himself! As Dang gu thought of the emerald eyes his smile peaked and he jumped into the hole. *Bang* He landed with force and the marble floor under his surprisingly cracked. Dang gu smirked, even the floor had no choice but to succumb to his strength! He took a step forward and dashed towards the pedestals. "Eh?" He looked at his feet, something was holding him back! A flaming hand emerged from the crack beneath Dang gu and grabbed his feet. Dang gu immediately panicked, what the fuck was that shit! He forcefully broke free and dived. More cracks started to appear and Dang gu could only watch in horror as flaming bodies emerged from the ground. They looked exactly like him in all features but the only difference was they were naked and burning. Their skins were like the walls of an active volcano. "That sly bastard" Dang gu cursed under his breath as he caught Elder jang's cunning smile from the corner of his eyes. The fiery bodies all launched at Dang gu with very clearly dangerous intentions. Dang gu reacted as fast as he could, his fist flamed as he punched the closest body next to him. Surprising, his fist's went right through the body. As soon as that happened Dang gu knew he was fucked. *Bam* He received a heavy punch straight to his chest that sent him flying several feet in the air. Dang gu twisted his body in mid air and managed to land on his two feet. Rage filled his face as he opened his mouth and out of it came a stream of fire just like the one Harith had done earlier. The fire travelled in a wide area, consuming each and every body that stood. As Dang gu did that Elder Jang smiled, the rest of the events would be interesting. Dang gu's eyes widened as the fire from this mouth gradually got weaker. His heart started pounding intensely. Why? Well...The stupid fiery bodies weren't even affected by the fire! They just walked through it like they were taking a normal walk in the park. "Oh and I forgot to add, your elemental powers won't work in this course. This is a combat training, you only have your limbs and your instinct to keep you going. Any attempt to use ur elemental powers on your enemies will fail!""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
"Come here, sit down." Cho cheong guided Harith to her chair as he held his nose. She brought out a handkerchief from her pocket and offered it to him."Thanks" Harith took the handkerchief and pressed it on his nose. There was still much blood on it so the handkerchief was soaked in a few seconds.Cho cheong offered him another and finally the blood rush was stable."You shouldn't be getting into fights now, you know you're still not strong enough. How would you have defended yourself if Dang ju really wanted to attack you?" Cho cheong nagged him with a worried look."A fight? He was the one who attacked me when I did nothing to him!" Harith was perplexed at her words. The fuck did she mean he got into a fight, getting into a fight involved two or more parties mutually attacking each other. That was not the case earlier."Did you by any chance insult his looks or say anything about his body?" Cho cheong asked."...." Harith was speechless. He had a guilty look. He had clearly called