nChapter 79: Teacher’s Instructions

nTranslator: JL Editor: Pranav

nThe junkyard contained memories that Ai Hui did not wish to recollect.

nHowever, while walking in, he realized that there had been drastic changes to the junkyard, which led him to believe that he had arrived at a different place. Five luxuriant pine trees practically occupied the whole junkyard, yet he clearly remembered that previously there were no trees.

nAll the pine trees were taller than ten meters as if they had been growing there for a few decades.

nAi Hui knew that this was done by wood elementalists. Back in the Wilderness, whenever they had stopped to set up camp, they would plant various strange vegetations near their campsite. If they wanted to stay in a treehouse, then within half an hour, wood elementalists could grow a Zeikowa Acuminata tree with a height of more than twenty meters, They could also manage to grow poisonous grass that had neither fragrance nor color. Fields of thistles and thorns, along with wind-chime grass, could act as warning signals as well.

nIf earth elementalists were said to have eccentric dispositions and strange skills, then every wood elementalist was said to be a botanical expert. The dispositions of wood elementalists were usually on two opposite ends of the spectrum. There were those who were kind, extremely kind, and would not bear to kill even an ant. And then there were also those who were twisted, extremely twisted, and would even use otherworldly techniques to murder; they would not let anything, even a corpse, remain.

nThe five pine trees were coincidentally arranged in the shape of a ring. Between each tree, there were many colorful vines, forming something similar to a brightly-coloured rattan wall.

nAn ice-cold copper armor was placed in the middle of the five pine trees.

nUpon seeing the armor, Ai Hui’s expression changed.

nThe memories of the Thousand Prajna still gave him nightmares.

nMoreover, the volume of this armor was much larger than the Thousand Prajna. There were also many colorful vines that dropped from the pine tree and pierced through the armor.

nAi Hui swallowed hard. The scene before his eyes reminded him of the Blood-Sucking Rattan, one of the evilest plants used by wood elementalists. Many kind wood elementalists themselves loathed the blood-sucking rattan as well. It was very frightening. In the Wilderness, he had experienced first-hand how a wood elementalist made use of the blood-sucking rattan to reduce an elephant to just skin and bones within a minute.

nFor a long period, that scary scenario had kept repeating itself in Ai Hui’s nightmares.

n“How about this? Pretty good right?” The old man was quite proud. “I had to get a few wood elementalist masters to do this for me. The metal elemental energy in your body is simply too stable. It would not be an easy feat to move it. But you don’t have to worry; Master has years of experience in the interaction between the different types of elemental energy. Furthermore, it would definitely not be a problem with the participation of your Mistress.”

nAi Hui felt more assured after that. After all, Mistress’ nickname(Master) was quite intimidating.

n“Your situation is relatively serious. In fact, it’s more serious than I had previously thought.” The old man’s expression became stern. “There is simply too much regarding quantity. Perhaps you would be able to understand if I explain it in another way. If you had opened four palaces, then to completely absorb and digest the mass of elemental energy, you would need approximately eight years. And if you had opened five palaces, the time frame would be shortened to four years.”

nAi Hui jumped in alarm. “Not...Not such a long period of time, right? I did not stay inside the pagoda for so long.”

n“It is much longer than you imagined.” The old man looked at Ai Hui with a face of pity and continued mockingly, “Come to think of it, you were ignorant and had no fear. I am very impressed by the fact that you dared to go to the Suspending Golden Pagoda when you had just opened your natal residence. Do you know who would usually dare to go? Four palaces, only the students who opened four palaces would dare to. This is because the elemental energy of the metal wind is very pure and the base level requirement is very high. Without the support of four palaces, it would be very difficult to absorb and digest this energy.”

nAi Hui opened his mouth, but no words came out.

n“And this is only the first level. Someone had previously conducted research. With each increasing level, the purity of the elemental energy would increase by approximately three times. You, my disciple, took a walk around the seventh level.” The old man clicked his tongue and continued, “For many years, nobody has dared to do such a thing. If this spreads, you might even become famous.”

nAi Hui was dumbstruck.

nIt was evident that the old man was not going to let him off the hook easily. “If that were the only thing that happened, you would not have absorbed so much metal elemental energy. However, you, my disciple, are a genius. You thought of using the Twin Weaving Technique to circulate your elemental energy. What an exquisite and brilliant idea! Thereafter, you had lost control, and the elemental energy became uncontrollable. The elemental energy mass compressed itself continuously while the attractive force kept on increasing, absorbing the elemental energy steadily. I was bored while doing my business in the toilet yesterday and did some calculations for you. Approximately eighty percent of the elemental energy in your body was absorbed by itself.”

n“What’s worse is that you, my disciple, used such a brilliant inspiration on your own natal residence. This is not just difficult, this is creating extreme difficulty for yourself. If it were just in the palace and not the residence, the difficulty level would be much smaller,” the old man said, with a face full of ridicule. He suddenly realized something, and continued, “Oh, I forgot that you, my disciple, had only managed to open your natal residence.”

nIt was only after seeing Ai Hui’s pale face that the old man slowed down his speech. With a serious expression, he said, “The reason why Master is saying so much is to give you a shock.”

nAi Hui helplessly looked at his harsh Master.

n“You might be able to win unexpectedly, sometimes due to luck and taking risks, but it is not sustainable. You have more real-life experiences than Master, and you should know that success is mostly based on capability, and intelligence would be effective occasionally. Training is a long battle, and training to be strong to defeat the weak is the right way to go. If you are to rely on luck and you meet with any mishaps, you would be consigned to eternal damnation.”

nThere was a rare note of seriousness to the old man’s tone.

nAi Hui jolted and replied courteously, “Disciple will bear this in mind.”

nThe old man was satisfied with Ai Hui’s attitude and continued slowly, “Okay, we are done with the negatives. Let’s talk about the benefits now.”

nWhen Ai Hui initially heard the word “benefits,” he paused for a moment, before asking excitedly, “Don’t tell me there are benefits too?”

n“Of course.” The old man continued, “You have to think of it this way. There is so much elemental energy in your body. How could there not be any benefits? Do you usually have so much elemental energy? Furthermore, it is such pure elemental energy.”

n“But it is of no use,” Ai Hui said, his face filled with confusion.

nThe old man said impatiently, “Where did your intelligence go? You can always think of something!”

n“Has Teacher thought of a solution?” Ai Hui rushed forward and looked at his teacher with a fawning face.

n“How could I be your teacher otherwise?” The old man said with a smug face, “Your body’s internal elemental energy is simply too compressed. If we break it up completely, your natal residence would explode. Do you know about the spirit stone in the Cultivation Era?

n“Yes, I have heard of it,” Ai Hui said truthfully.

n“Inherently, the spirit stone is actually the spiritual force being compressed to the maximum point, before being solidified into a crystal. The elemental energy mass in your body now is slightly similar to the spirit stone. Many people have tried to create the elemental stone but to no avail. On the contrary, you managed to do it by a stroke of luck. Just imagine that mass of elemental energy as an elemental stone with a high base level. Do you feel a little more awesome about yourself if you think about it that way?“

nAi Hui replied honestly, “Nope.”

n“No?” The old man widened his eyes. “At your current level, that mass of elemental energy can never be used up and can self-replenish. Isn’t that awesome?”

n“But I am unable to use it,” Ai Hui said matter-of-factly.

n“Who said that you are unable to use it?” The old man almost went crazy with rage, and he countered, “Then what have I been doing?”

nAi Hui was surprised, and with a shocked face, he asked, “Didn’t Teacher say it was a treatment? I thought it would be a removal or something along the same lines.”

n“That is too easy,” the old man said loftily.

nAi Hui gulped.

nWhy did he suddenly feel guilty?

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