"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 for the place through which he entered the hole from. He jumped and after grabbing on to something, he successfully climbed out of there. As soon as he stepped out the fiery bodies disappeared and the cracks on the marble floor were gone.Dang gu looked like he was just fresh from the battle front. His whole body was covered in sweat and his clothes were soaking wet."Haha, anyone else?" Elder Jang asked with a bright face. He had knowingly prepared this task knowing his students weakness was their martial arts. As from today though that would change. To let's the camel run one had to feed it and he would do exactly that.Harith watched as the rest of the students went to checkup on Dang gu's condition. But as he stood and watched a barged into him from behind and knocked him out of the way.Harith looked at the person thatbumped into him confused. It was a boy, maybe fifteen years old, maybe older. Harith wasn't sure. But he was wearing a black coat with golden embroidery on it and he had long silver hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Harith recognized the face instantly. He was the boy with the young master and brother Chen!Park Jin looked at Harith with disdain and walked his way to the front. "I would like to go next Master Jang" Park Jin said and bowed."Ouuu Park Jin is going!"" He is one of the best in martial arts he'll surely get the eyes" Park Jin seemed to be quite famous among the students.Harith sneered, if he could remember clearly wasn't this dude kissing the young master's ass?"Good, very good. You may go" Elder Jang patter Park Jin.Park Jin nodded and smiled. He had noticed young master baxia earlier, he seemed to be very interested in the emerald eyes. That's why he stepped up, he would win the emerald eyes for Young master Baxia and get on his good sides. Making bonds with the future sect master would surely benefit him greatly later on.Park Jin descended into the space and as expected a cracking sound came from beneath him. But unlike Dang gu, Park Jin was ready and he had a clear plan.'Dang gu is a fool, he should have just kept going for the emerald eyes' Park Jin thought. According to him no one made it mandatory that they had to fight the flaming bodies before they took the eyes, so why would he waste time doing that when if he just ran for a bit he would reach the pedestal?!Park Jin was quick to his feet and he boosted with surprising speed. Before the hand from beneath the floor even had the chance to grab him Park Jin was already long gone."What's he doing? Won't he fight?""So he's just going to run? What a coward!""He is smart, not a coward" Young master Baxia shared his opinion."Eh? in what way? How is running away sma....oh" The person complaining suddenly realized. Park Jin truly was smart!Park Jin smiled as he kept running, the emerald eyes seemed very reachable now.Elder Jang smiled from above. These children thought they were smart, but he was smarter! He had thought of every possible way they would try to beat this without fighting and he had countered them all...including running!As Park Jin crossed halfway through the space a loud sound suddenly rung in everyone's ears. Specific parts of the wall crumbled and out of them came gusts of wind that travelled with great speed. Park Jin was taken by surprised as on of them hit him on the side.Park Jin's eyes widened, it felt like a fist of steel had punched his ribs.Elder Jang laughed. He was a master of both the fire element and the wind element, why would he restrain himself to using only his fire powers when preparing this place when he could just use the both of them!Park Jin stayed on the floor for sometime still in pain but as he saw the fiery bodies chasing him from behind he had no other choice than to continue running as fast as possible and avoid being caught.But between the barrage of the mysterious force from the wall and the chasing bodies from behind he had no choice but to succumb to one of them eventually as one of the fiery bodies managed to catch hold of him. The fiery creature was stronger than it looked. It easily yanked Park Jin back and sent him flying to the ground.As soon as Park Jin landed he got back up again with his eyes full of determination. The emerald eyes were so close, if he could just continue on for a bit longer then he would reach it.But the Heavens weren't in favour of Park Jin today, and neither was elder Jang. Another obstacle arose from the earth to stop Park Jin. "They just keep on coming" Park Jin muttered, his eyes full of fear. It seemed like Elder Jang had prepared a never ending barrage of enemies whose main goal was to frustrate the living fuck out of him. From the holes in the walls came water, pouring out like it had been waiting to be freed for a thousand years. The waters gathered in midair and formed a took the shape of a serpent with a dragon's head. "Oh shi-" As Park Jin exclaimed, the water serpent dove at him. His body was consumed by the force of he water and sent flying several metres back. *Thud* Park Jin's body landed with force. His eyes were swollen and he was very clearly unconscious. "Is he dead?!" "That can't be, it seems like he's just unconscious" "It must be, the attack was pretty powerful after all" Even though they were outside the hole they could still feel how powerful the water serpent when they stared at it from afar. Young master Baxia narrowed his eyes, he had sensed something peculiar. So far three elements had appeared in a form. First was the fiery bodies that represented the fire element. Then the powerful winds that represented the air element. And now the water serpent had appeared which clearly represented the water element. 'There are four elements but only three have appeared. Is the earth element the last on would have to face before getting the emerald eyes?' Young master Baxia thought as he stroked his chin. It seemed like Park Jin's fate hadn't discouraged the rest as some of them were still eager to go. Eventually another stepped out to test their mettle. Cho cheong shyly walked to the front and with a quick bow to elder Jang she descended into the hole. The temptation of the emerald eyes was to great for her to resist. She belonged to the Cho family that resided outside the sect, she was one of the very few that had no direct relations with the Raging flames sect but had chosen to come here to train and study. She was the only one in her family that was able to awaken her element so her family had spent all they could on her to made sure she became a successful practitioner and she wasn't planning on letting them down. If she could win these emerald eyes then her training would improve greatly and she would be able to uplift her family. As cho cheong descended into the hole her heart rate got increasingly faster. *Crack* Just as expected. Cho cheong wasted no time, her feet lit on fire and a great propulsion was generated. If the powers didn't work on the enemies no one said she couldn't use them on herself! Cho cheong had left the area before the bodies even came out of the ground. If she maintained this speed then she would reach the pedestals in no time. But ofcourse life wouldn't be so smooth sailing. The violent burst of winds kept emerging from the holes all with a course set for Cho cheong. Cho cheong smiled at this. She wasn't the most powerful of the youth practitioners neither was she the strongest, but she had something that she could boast of. She was definitely the most nimble of all of them. Although she still moved at great speed, Cho cheong changed the position of her body effortlessly. She adeptly avoided the air bursts and sometimes even predicted their directions. The crowd became wild. It looked like this girl would complete everything with ease. The floodgates opened and the water serpent was summoned in all it's rage and fury. Another had just disturbed it so soon! Cho cheong stopped running for second. She couldn't face this attack head on, she had only one way to escape. Seeing as the water serpent disappeared as soon as it hit park Jin then it must be a one shit attack. "Eh, what's she doing? isn't she going to run?" "Is she actually thinking of taking that attack headon? Even after seeing how park Jin became when he did that?" Cho cheong stood still and closed her eyes just as the huge water serpent formed. She was betting it all on one move. The water dragon descended with with a large roar hungry for each and everything in it's path. "H...hey she may seriously die from this, someone should stop this" One of the students who seemed familiar with Cho cheong was worried. The water dragon seemed more angry than it did the last time and Cho cheong was just going to stand there and not even defend herself?! Was she trying to commit suicide in front of everyone?! As soon as the water dragon came inches close to her face and she could already feel the water splashing on her skin, Cho cheong's eyes opened and she disappeared instantly. The water dragon had no time to change direction and it came headfirst with the hard ground. As it came in contact with the ground, water splashed everywhere, even as far as reaching outside the hole. "oh oh look!" Someone pointed at a bright red glow that was travelling at an insane speed towards the pedestals. "She made it! She really made it!" They weren't expecting her to go far but it seemed like she would be the one taking the emerald eyes! Elder Jang frowned. This wasn't what he planned when he created this whole space. He planned for them to fight and improve in their overall combat ability but it seemed they would go to any length to avoid fighting and instead preferred running! "No matter what you do, you will have to fight" Elder Jang muttered. Cho cheong's eyes brightened. She had finally reached the emerald eyes. The green glow was right in front of her for the taking! Immediately she stretched her hand and tried to grab the orbs from the rock. *Bang* A huge fist came out of nowhere and slammed into the unsuspecting Cho cheong and knocked her straight into unconsciousness! A well over ten metres rock giant appeared next to the pedestal with it's giant fist stretched forward. It was the one that had punched Cho cheong just a second ago!"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
A week after.The Trials for Elder jang's emerald eyes had become fiercer. The students were improving at a solid rate. Now the vast of them were able to take out the Fiery bodies without any sweat. A good chunk of them were able to evade the air bursts. But they all stopped when it came time to enduring the water dragon's attack.Baxia had become the only one to successfully take an emerald eye. After leaving the medicine house, he didn't waste time in challenging the hole and after many trials he took just one of the emerald eyes. Overall, Elder Jang was very satisfied with what his students showed. They hadn't become strong enough to move mountains and stuff but they were much better than they were before. Now they didn't just rely on their elemental powers but they could also rely on their martial prowess. Something that would be very useful In an unforeseen battle.On the other hand, Harith was making progress too. Every day he would wake up very early in the morning and try to