Ji Dong looked at teacher Qiu Tian with great surprise. In his memories, there was another name for the north Bing-Ding-fire, which was the North Vermilion Bird Bing-Ding-fire; this was similar to the south Azure Dragon Jia-Yi-wood. In other words, from his memories, Bing-fire and Ding-fire should have had the Vermilion bird as their symbol. But if this was the case, why did a blue snake appear behind Qiu Tian when she was a Ding-fire department teacher? Also, this snake was odd, as it seemed to have a pair of wings, of which their color was very faint.
A red light and a blue light separately condensed on top of both teachers’ heads, and a crown appeared above both of them. When their crowns materialized, they instantly became the center for the release of magic.
The crown that appeared above Xia Tian was similar to Yang Bing Tian’s. It was thoroughly white and enshrouded with a gold tint. Nine spikes were set on it, with a red-colored bead embedded in each spike. The only differences were the flame patterns and the quant.i.ty of pentagrams in front of the crown. Xia Tian had red flames branded on only three spikes on the front of his crown, and the pentagrams on the circle below amounted to four, an entire half more of a pentagram compared to Yang Bing Tian.
On the other side, the crown which appeared above Qiu Tian was something Ji Dong saw for the first time. That crown was thoroughly black and enshrouded with a gold hue. It had nine spikes on top of it, only that on each spike, there was a blue-colored bead instead. It also contained only three spikes with flame brandings, though they were blue as well. The circle below displayed two and a half pentagrams.
His entire body was shrouded in a red glow, and with the blazing flame on his palm, Xia Tian seemed like a descended fire deity; his former extremely valiant look had become even more tyrannical, and even his eyes smeared with red. “Can you see? These are the complete fighting modes of the Ding-fire attribute Yin-Yang Wizard and the Bing-fire attribute Yin-Yang Wizard.”
As he spoke, Xia Tian raised his hand and waved. The crown from his head flew down and landed on his hand. “10 elements of Yin-Yang wizards: 5 elements belong to Yang and 5 elements belong to Yin. What I’m releasing right now is the Bing-fire element Yang crown, and what teacher Qiu Tian is releasing is the Ding-fire element Yin crown. Whether it’s the Yang crown or the Yin crown, it remains the source of the Yin-Yang wizard’s power. Whether one could condense a Yin-Yang crown is also the most fundamental requirement of a Yin-Yang wizard.
While holding his own Yang crown in one hand, one finger pointed toward the 5 diameter ring under the crown. “Whether it is the Yang crown or the Yin crown, it divides into four parts as a whole. First, the ring you see now is called the Crown Ring, it’s the base of the Yin Yang crown. Each Crown Ring has nine spikes, we call them Crown Peaks, which are also the nine points of the triangulars on top. When they combine, they will form the most basic Yin-Yang crown. I’m sure you all saw the 4 stars on my Crown Ring. It’s called the Crown Star, and as for the flame brandings on the peak of the the crown, we call them Coronas. These four parts represent the level of a Yin-Yang wizard.”
“Crown Star – it represents the fundamental level of the Yin-Yang wizard. It has 10 levels, from the first to the tenth. Remember this, one Crown does not represent 1 level, but 2. For example, this Yang crown of mine has 4 Crown Stars, which means I’m namely the 8th level. I have the Bing-fire element red flame brandings on 3 Crown Peaks, this is called Three Coronas. How many of such brandings on the Crown Peaks will equal the amount of Coronas. Each time one cultivates the Crown Star to the fifth one, which means the 10th level, that means one will own one Corona through their own unique cultivation method, and equally, our t.i.tle as a Yin-Yang wizard will be changed.”
Teacher Qiu Tian attracted the Yin crown from her head to her hand, and she took over Xia Tian’s speech. “Regardless of any element a Yin-Yang wizard may have, we receive the same level cla.s.sification. According to one’s accomplishments, one will have different t.i.tles.”
“Such as you students who have recently started to cultivate or the students who have not yet condensed their Yin-Yang crown are collectively called an Apprentice. If one is from the Bing-fire department, then one will be a Bing-fire Apprentice. If it’s the Ding-fire, then they would be a Ding-fire Apprentice. When all of you obtain your own Crown Star, you can add your levels onto your t.i.tle. For example, a student with half a Crown Star will be called a level 1 Bing-fire Apprentice or level 1 Ding-fire Apprentice. When you cultivate to reach the fifth star, a level 10 Apprentice, you will condense your own Yin-Yang crown, and your t.i.tle will change with it. By that time, you will possess one Corona. The 5 Crown Stars will disappear following that. When you once again cultivate to reach 5 Crown Stars, level 10, you will be promoted again and reach 2 Coronas. We Yin-Yang wizards’ t.i.tles change according to the number of the Coronas. From the lowest rank: Apprentice, Scholar, Master, Great Master, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, Heaven Scholar, Heaven Master, Heaven Lord, and Exclusive t.i.tle.”
Xia Tian continued, “As a result, my t.i.tle of the entire kingdom of Yin-Yang wizards is: 3 Coronas of Yang Crown – level 8 Bing-fire element – Great master. And teacher Qiu Tian’s t.i.tle is: 3 Coronas of Yang Crown – level 5 Ding-fire element – Great master. Today, this will be your first lesson, theoretical knowledge will be explained until here. Now you may ask if there are any questions. Teacher Qiu Tian and I will answer your questions.” Qiu Tian and he kept their magical powers, and following that, the Yang crown and Yin crown disappeared.
The first student who had a question was Ji Dong, an ordinary 10 year old kid. Furthermore, this is actually his first time within this environment, and he would have been somewhat shy; however, this would never occur with the new Ji Dong, whose mentality was older than 30 years old. Right after Xia Tian finished his explanation, Ji Dong raised his hand so he could ask questions. “Teacher Xia Tian, I have three questions. My first question relates to the ten t.i.tles of the Yin-Yang wizard you mentioned before. What is the exclusive t.i.tle at the last rank? That should be the one you would get when you achieve the ninth crown, right?”
Xia Tian stared blankly at him, then he couldn’t help but laugh. “You think very far, young chap. The ninth crown is something that only exists in legends, and is the final goal of us Yin-Yang wizards. But to be frank, you don’t need to know about that. Since you asked, I will tell you that the ten elements of Yin-Yang wizards have exclusive t.i.tles for those who could ever manage to reach the ninth crown. Our Bing-fire element’s exclusive t.i.tle is: Sheng Guang. For the Ding-fire department, it is: Tai Yi. As for the other elements, even I don’t know about it.”
Ji Dong showed a somewhat thoughtful expression. “My second question is about the two spirits that appeared behind both the backs of you and teacher Qiu Tian. There was an illusion and yours was a gigantic red Bird, but teacher Qiu Tian’s seemed like a very long winged snake. Why is that so?”
This time, teacher Qiu Tian answered his question. “Ji Dong, your observation is very detailed, but you are biting off more than you can chew at this point because we are still only on the first lesson. Your question will be answered next lesson though. We will explain about this department’s totem and the uses of the Yin-Yang Crown. When the time comes, you will understand everything.”
Ji Dong nodded. “I have one last question. Even though you and teacher Xia Tian are divided by the Bing-fire department and Ding-fire department, I just discovered that no matter if it is the Yin crown or the Yang crown that is released, there is something similar. Regardless of whether it is your Yin-Yang crown or your magic, the edge will always glow a golden hue. Why is that so?”
Upon hearing Ji Dong’s question, both Xia Tian’s and Qiu Tian’s expressions changed. They looked at each other with in surprise, and then Xia Tian said in a deep voice, “You do not need to know these things for now. If you can truly become a Yin-Yang wizard, and furthermore, pa.s.s the entrance exam for an advanced academy and cultivate there, one of the teachers there would inform you.”
Ji Dong always observed things carefully by relying on his observation skills, which exceeded that of an ordinary person. When he mentioned the golden edge that emanated from their Yin-Yang crown or magic, both Xia Tian’s and Qiu Tian’s expressions changed unnaturally; there seemed to be some excitement in their gazes and some insipid fear. But since they did not want to explain it, he could only wait and ask princ.i.p.al Yang Bing Tian about it later tonight.
Xia Tian said, “Ok, this lesson has been going on for a good amount of time. You all may now have free time to talk amongst yourselves, and no matter what question you have, you can always ask us. Ji Dong, come with me.” He was already walking out of the cla.s.sroom by the time he finished talking. Qiu Tian stayed inside to look after the students and to answer any questions they may have had.
Ji Dong followed Xia Tian and left the cla.s.sroom. Xia Tian walked straight to the next floor without saying a word or looking back at Ji Dong. Ji Dong’s heart slightly moved, it seemed that the impression Xia Tian had of him during the punishment run was not bad, but now Xia Tian seemed to be containing some resentment. Could it perhaps have something to do with him alone?
Xia Tian led Ji Dong toward the 2nd floor of the Bing-fire department teaching block and they entered a medium sized cla.s.sroom. There were no chairs or desks inside this room, and it was about 31 square meters large. However, there were 10 praying mats on the ground, as well as a Bing-fire phoenix pattern marked on the door.
Xia Tian pointed at the praying mat in the middle and said, “Sit down cross-legged.”
Ji Dong did as he was told, and Xia Tian sat down face to face in front of him with his bell-like, flickering, and big eyes staring at Ji Dong. If it was another 10 year old kid, they would surely be panicking; however, Ji Dong was not willing to back down one bit even when he was facing Yang Bing Tian. Even though Xia Tian had a bold and powerful appearance, he was still unable to seize Ji Dong’s resolution.
Xia Tian snorted coldly. “No wonder your fitness was that bad when I punished you this morning. So you entered using backdooring… I really don’t understand the princ.i.p.al though, finding such an odd kid out of nowhere and still wanting to foster you with all his power.”
Backdooring? Ji Dong felt very awkward having had this word used towards himself, but he did actually enter the Li Huo academy through backdooring… Since he had no way to retort Xia Tian’s opinion, he could only keep quiet, but there wasn’t any dissatisfaction in his gaze either.
“Because of the princ.i.p.al, I will have to give you the chance to learn, but despite that, I’m warning you in advance; if you don’t show any results after a year, I will kick you from the Bing-fire department. Even the princ.i.p.al cannot stop me.”
Ji Dong still didn’t say anything whatsoever. Guarantees and explanations had no real meaning because only strength and results are the most important.
Upon realizing that Ji Dong had still not uttered a single word and his gaze was still the plain, apathetic one from the beginning, he couldn’t help but felt somewhat baffled. Xia Tian reached out to his chest and took out two things. These two things were presented in front of Ji Dong’s eyes. As Ji Dong stared at them, he discovered that these two objects in front of him were actually two special gems in the shape of two crowns. One of them was white and the other black. They looked similar to the Yin-Yang crowns that Xia Tian and Qiu Tian had released earlier, except that they were a hundred times smaller, the size of a gold coin. The white gem glowed slightly red, while the black gem released a dull blue light. The only big difference between them was that the two gems had a grey light edge, rather than gold. Just this one tiny difference made the gems release a clearly different presence compared to the ones the two teachers had released earlier.
“Teacher Xia Tian, what are these?” Ji Dong asked curiously.
Xia Tian looked at the two gems with a serious expression, and his eyes revealed a slight desire for them. “You don’t need to know what they are. You only need to know that they will greatly a.s.sist you on your path to becoming a Yin-Yang wizard. These two gems are from the private collection of the princ.i.p.al and have no relation to the academy. I really don’t know why the princ.i.p.al favors you so much… How much did your family bribe the princ.i.p.al, to make him bring out this pair of crystal crowns? Both of these gems are of the lowest quality, but they are still worth several thousand gold coins and aren’t even for sale in the market. To have made him take these out and then donate them to you, who is a piece of Yin-Yang balanced trash, is truly a waste.
Hearing Xia Tian’s words, Ji Dong couldn’t help but to praise Yang Bing Tian in his mind. This guy is truly someone who abides by his promises; he unexpectedly took out such precious items because he promised to do his best to a.s.sist him into becoming a Yin-Yang wizard. Looks like I will need to take out some of my true skills and mix him some high quality c.o.c.ktails to show my appreciation.
Due to Xia Tian’s constant disrespect towards him, Ji Dong’s haughtiness was incited. He said coldly, “Teacher Xia Tian, since the princ.i.p.al gifted these gems to me, whether it is a waste or not has nothing to do with you. Also, I don’t have a rich family that could possibly bribe the princ.i.p.al, as I am merely an orphan. If you were truly curious about why the princ.i.p.al would give me such a treasure, you would have to ask him yourself. I respect you because you are a teacher, but is it truly acceptable for you, a teacher, to constantly hara.s.s the frail heart of a student like this?”
“You…” Xia Tian gave Ji Dong, who had puffed out his chest in defiance, a monstrous look. But suddenly, he found this whole talk laughable. He, the student-proclaimed demon G.o.d, had already punished an entire third of the students. Even those who had already condensed their Yin-Yang crown would tremble in fear when they saw him. However, this ten year old, whom he had already punished in the morning, was speaking confidently and was even criticizing him. He actually found this quite interesting.
– end –