“Who said you could sit down? Everyone stand up at once!” Xia Tian roared angrily. All of the students stood up hurriedly. The students had taken their seats randomly without caring about their uniform color. As a result, the mix of red and blue among the students looked chaotic from the podium.
All of you from the Bing-fire department go to the right, and the rest of you from Ding-fire move to the left. All of you are so young but are already trying to woo the girls, hmm? Now, I will count to five. If any of you are not sitting in order, then get the h.e.l.l out of this room!”
Under Xia Tian’s roar, no one dared to disobey him, and the sixty-one students shuffled in a disorderly fashion, quickly exchanging seats with one another. Ji Dong left his gaze upon the expression of the Ding-fire department teacher. Even though Xia Tian’s teaching methods were very strict, there was no change in her expression during the chaotic shuffle. She had clearly experienced Xia Tian’s teaching methods before and already become accustomed to it.
“Now, I will call out your names. Those who are called, stand up and answer in a loud voice with ‘HERE’. Bing-fire department, Karl.”
“HERE—” Karl had abruptly stood up, popping up from the back of the seats, and he had shouted in a loud voice, making the students turn and stare at him.
Xia Tian was very pleased and nodded. “Just like this. Make sure you guys continue just like this.”
Xia Tian quickly named all 30 of the Bing-fire department students. “Last one, Ji Dong.”
“Here.” Ji Dong was in the front and he stood up. Even though his voice was not as loud as Karl’s, there was something in his voice which made him seem equally determined.
When Ji Dong stood up, Xia Tian and the female teacher focused on him intensely. Xia Tian was somewhat surprised. “You are Ji Dong?”
“Yes.” Ji Dong’s answer was simple but powerful.
Xia Tian nodded. “Sit down.” Xia Tian’s expression was strange after knowing his name, but he didn’t even have to guess that it had something to do with his Yin and Yang being in balance.
I am Xia Tian. From now on, I will be the one leading the first year Bing-fire department. If you don’t train hard, then don’t blame me for being rude and kicking you out at any time. I will not let any of you waste the money your parents worked hard for. This here is the Ding-fire department teacher, Qiu Tian. She will now call attendance for the Ding-fire department students.”
Ji Dong almost started laughing. He thought: “What kind of names are these? One is called Xia Tian (Summer) and the other, Qiu Tian (Autumn). They match up quite well! He just didn’t know if there was also a Chuen Tian (Spring) and Dong Tian (Winter) in this academy.”
“Ji Dong.” The first name Qiu Tian called was his.
“Here.” Ji Dong had just sat down but needed to stand up again. Except for Karl and Bi Su, everyone else thought they misheard the name and just stared at him stupidly with odd expressions on their faces.
Qiu Tian smiled in response, and her smile was beautiful, just like her voice. “Don’t worry, everyone. Ji Dong is a special case. His cultivation method is different from all of yours. This is just an new attempt by the academy. Ok, you can sit down. Next, Bi Su.”
“Here.” Bi Su said, in his feminine tone, and he stood up at lightning speed while looking at Qiu Tian with shining eyes. “Nice to meet you, Sister Qiu Tian.”
Qiu Tian chuckled. “You need to call me teacher.”
Bi Su was about to say something, but then he saw Xia Tian’s eyes filled with killing intent. He hurriedly sat down, and Karl said to him in a low voice, “Now I envy your Ding-fire department.”
Taking attendance was done with quickly. Ji Dong turned a blind eye toward the students who kept staring at him. Even though teacher Qiu Tian didn’t say it out loud, anyone who knew even a little about Yin-Yang wizards knew that one could only cultivate both types if they had Yin-Yang balance, without question that is a top notch trash. Of course, many of them were still curious, as having Yin-Yang balance was even rarer than someone with the 9:1 ratio, which is the one worthy of being called an absolute genius.
After attendance was taken, the cla.s.s officially started. Xia Tian turned around to write five phrases on the board. What he wrote was:
East – Jia, Yi, Wood.
South – Bing, Ding. Fire.
Mid – Wu, Ji. Earth.
West – Geng, Xin. Metal.
North – Ren, Gui. Water.
After he finished writing, he turned around, while teacher Qiu Tian naturally walked to his side. Xia Tian swept his gaze through the students. “Today is your first lesson in the Li Huo academy. This is even one of the few special cla.s.ses where both departments take it together. Now, who can tell me the meaning of the five phrases I have written?”
Perhaps it was due to the rough and fierce voice of Xia Tian frightening all of the 10 year old kids or other reasons, but most of the students ended up blankly staring at him.
Ji Dong, who was sitting in the front, raised his hand without hesitation. Since he was wholeheartedly devoted to his path of cultivation, he would definitely need to absorb as much knowledge as possible, as his necessary 32 times of effort was no joke. Also, he needed a foundation with which to put his efforts towards.
Xia Tian nodded towards Ji Dong. “Ok, you may answer.”
Ji Dong stood up and said, “The five phrases teacher wrote represent several things. First, the five directions: East, South, West, North, and Middle. Second, the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. And lastly would be the ten heavenly stems: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui. For example, combining these phrases, I could say some things about our fire element. The fire attribute is of the south, and in the ten heavenly stems, Bing and Ding are both fire elements; however, from Yin and Yang, Ding-fire and Bing-fire are different. This is why the south Ding-Bing-fire could also be called south Yin-Yang fire, as Ding and Bing are just different names. From this, we could also say that it would be the same for the other elements. From the ten heavenly stems, the odd numbers would represent the Yang attribute, and the even numbers signify the Yin attribute. Another example would be Jia-Yi-wood. Jia-wood is probably Yang-wood and Yi-wood would be Yin-wood.”
Xia Tian nodded in praise. “Very good, you may sit down now.”
Everything Ji Dong said was what he had known about the five Yin-Yang elements from his past life, what he had heard previously from Yang Bing Tian’s mentions about the Yin-Yang Wizard, and then combined with what Xia Tian had written on the board.
Xia Tian said, “What Ji Dong have said is correct. Our continent is known as the Five Elements Continent, but what exactly are the five elements? Those would be wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each of them are divided in Yin and Yang, thus they become the 10 attributes. These 10 attributes are known as Yin-wood, Yang-wood, Yin-fire, Yang-fire, Yin-earth, Yang-earth, Yin-metal, Yang-metal, Yin-water, and Yang-water. These are also the 10 departments that we Yin-Yang wizards are divided into.
After that, he stopped for a moment, but then he continued and wrote twenty other words on the board.
“The whole ten attributes of the Yin-Yang wizard consist of only this many. The ten heavenly stems could be compared with the five elements and Yin-Yang. Ji Dong explained this concept clearly. Jia and Yi belong to wood, also known as Yin-Yang wood. Bing and Ding belong to fire, and they are also Yin-Yang fire. When the ten heavenly stems are subst.i.tuted into our Yin-Yang wizard cla.s.sification, their actual names come out. These names are: The Jia-wood element, Ji-wood element, Bing-fire element, Ding-fire element, Wu-earth element, Ji-earth wood element, Geng-metal element, Xin-metal element, Ren-water element, and Gui-water element.
“Almost all the people in our Southern Fire Empire are of the fire element. That is why our Li Huo academy only contains the Bing-fire and Ding-fire department, which you all belong to. The other eight departments are in the other empires.”
Xia Tian drew a big rectangle on the board and divided it into five parts. He modeled his parts after the five directions: top, bottom, left, right, and middle, at the very bottom of the rectangle he wrote: Southern Fire Empire.
“Suppose that our continent is this rectangle. Our Southern Fire Empire is, of course, on the south. South is of the fire element, making it the best habitat for us people with the fire element. With this, I believe that you guys will be able to guess how the other empires arose. Towards the north would be the Northern Water Empire. In the west would be the Western Metal Empire. Residing in the east is the Eastern Wood Empire. And lastly, the middle contains the Middle Earth Empire which has occupied the largest area of land. Our continent name also comes from this alignment of the five empires.
While saying that, he wrote the other names on the other four parts. At the same time, he marked a location on the west side of the Southern Fire Empire. He pointed at it and said, “This is our Li Huo City.”
“Is anyone having trouble understanding what I just explained just now? If there is something you don’t understand, speak up now. Such fundamental things will not be explained again in the future.”
Ji Dong couldn’t help but to admit that teacher Xia Tian, who had a rude style and a violent temper, was so rational while teaching. What was supposed to be deep and profound was unexpectedly explained easily through the combination of his words and drawings. The students who was able to pa.s.s the entrance test are absolutely not dumb, thus no one raised a question.
“Good! Since there are no questions, then we will continue. Listen carefully boys from the Bing-fire department, as what I will explain next is our own Bing-fire attribute.”
While mentioning his own Bing-fire attribute, Xia Tian was in high spirits and his voice was somehow even louder than before. “Bing-fire represents the Yang-fire. Yang is akin to strong. And this may turn to strength and then to fire, which is like having the intense rays of the sun, which contain an immense heat, radiate. Bing means sun in the ten heavenly stems. We of the Bing-fire attribute all shine like the sun, while also being a wild and violent fire. In the ten departments of the Yin-Yang wizard, we are only second to the Geng-metal department in attack power; however, when it comes to a full burst attack, we overtake them. According to the rule of mutual destruction, our Bing-fire would mutually destroy the Geng-metal. Because of these three things, we could claim to be the strongest attackers among the Yin-Yang wizards. Every one of you must remember the word ‘manly’, which is to become Yang-strong. This does not only include your ability, but also your att.i.tude. Only after you fully integrate your inner manliness could you possibly display the strongest and the most ferocious of the Bing-fire attribute.”
Teacher Qiu Tian then walked to the side of Xia Tian, and with a smile, she said, “Teacher Xia Tian just explained the Bing-fire attribute to the Bing-fire department students. Now, I will explain the Ding-fire attribute to the rest of you. As fire, but because of Yin-Yang, they are differentiated. If one were to say that Bing-fire was the day, then our Ding-fire would be the fire of the night. Ding-fire is the candle flame, the dark flame, the fire of a stove, lamp fire of houses, the beauty of fire, we are the fireworks that blossom in the sky, and the single spark that can start a prairie fire. Bing-fire illuminates all living things, while Ding-fire illuminates one region. Ding-fire is soft and mellow, while its inner nature is bright and harmonious. Even though we are not as violent as Bing-fire, we have the strongest adhesive and corrosive nature among the ten elements. Even though we cannot be compared to the Bing-fire in terms of explosive attack power, once an enemy were to be hit by our Ding-fire, they would burn eternally. Bing-fire and Ding-fire both have their own specialties, just as the other eight elements do. All five elements counter each other, there is no absolute strongest element; however, I will tell you that when you cultivate to the extent that you could violate the rule of mutual destruction of the five elements, no matter what element you have, then you would become the strongest.
Teacher Xia Tian went back and handed the cla.s.s over to Qiu Tian. Teacher Qiu Tian continued on. “What I will be teaching now is the most important content of this lesson. Everyone listen carefully. If you don’t understand anything, please ask immediately as this lesson will concern whether or not you can graduate from Li Huo academy and become a Yin-Yang Wizard.”
After that, the smile on Qiu Tian’s beautiful face vanished, and she said seriously, “I think most of you have already heard about the Yin-Yang crown and that you also know that it represents the Yin-Yang wizard. I will now teach you what the Yin-Yang crown stands for, their specific rank cla.s.sifications, and their functions.
While saying this, Qiu Tian came from behind the desk and suddenly stopped beside Xia Tian and nodded at him. There was a 5 meter distance between their shoulders, and the two of them slowly raised their hands at the same moment, with the palms of their hands facing upwards.
“Whoa!” The students gasped and expressed their surprise. On the palms of Xia Tian, scarlet red flames were being emitted. But the flames from Qiu Tian’s palms were blue. The dazzling and beautiful lights that shined from the flames were attracting the eyes of every student.
An intense red light and a dense misty blue light were being released individually from the two teachers. Ji Dong, who was sitting in the front row, thought the red light emitting from Xia Tian’s body was very similar to that of Yang Bing Tian’s, as if it were a kind of invasive blaze. That blazing red flame rose the temperature of the air around it rapidly. On the other side, the blue light from Qiu Tian’s body and the flames surrounding her hands were without any temperature. Based on appearances, the blue flames were far from the red flames released by Teacher Xia Tian, which were filled with the sense of a vast and overwhelming blaze. But these blue flames gave one a deep impression of fear, a fear so deep that one would feel chills upon seeing the flames. This demonstration obviously represented the Yang-fire’s Bing-fire and Yin-fire’s Ding-fire. No matter which flame was releasing their magic power, both the red and blue light were covered with a slight golden edge.
A transparent figure appeared behind both Xia Tian and Qiu Tian. The colors of the two figures matched the magic power emitted from their bodies. At this moment, Ji Dong discovered the difference between them and Yang Bing Tian. Also of the same Bing-fire element, the vermilion bird that appeared behind Xia Tian was much fainter than that of Ying Bing Tian’s; Yang Bing Tian’s release of the vermilion bird gave off a slight feeling as if it were real and not transparent, but the one residing behind Xia Tian was merely a faint current of air.
The shadow behind teacher Qiu Tian was not a fire bird… It was actually a gigantic coiling blue snake that was equally illusory to Xia Tian’s bird and could not be seen very clearly.
– end –