“Son, see if you’re able to freeze water to ice.”
“No, mommy, I cannot do it.”
“Son, the impact of your water arrow is too weak, you’ve got to better integrate your Spirit Power in it. Since your Spirit Skill is controlled by the water element, you should work harder on your control. You should also try improving your focus and it would help you control better.”
“Mommy, I will practice harder.”
This was Lan Xuanyu and Nan Cheng’s daily conversation.
He had been practicing hard to control his first Spirit Skill which was a water element for an entire school term but he kept reaching a bottleneck for some reason. It was as if the water element was incompatible with his body in every way. He only had basic control over it but its power wasn’t strong at all and was incomparable to a normal 10-year Spirit Skill.
But because of a Spirit Skill like that, he actually won Ye Lingtong today and Lan Xuanyu was still baffled when he reached home.
He took the school bus home today. Other than the times when his father fetched him when he had just enrolled, the school has a school bus to bring the students to and fro the school.
School was over once the exams were done. He defeated Ye Lingtong and unexpectedly received the highest points for the combat test. However, Lan Xuanyu was not pleased with himself and most especially, he hated the fear that he felt when he saw Ye Lingtong charging toward him.
The moment he got home, Lan Xuanyu went straight to their very own cultivation room. The cultivation room in their house was ten square meters big with an interior protective shield. In this room, he’s able to carry out Spirit Skill training and simulate the corresponding support environment required by the Spirit Master for meditation.
He sat on the floor, raised his left hand, and released the silver-patterned Blue Silver Grass. The fragrance of fresh grass with beads of dewdrops soothing him immediately.
He observed the Blue Silver Grass on his hand and muttered, “How do you control water? How did you manage to render Ye Lingtong’s Spirit Skill useless?”
He twirled a water droplet around his fingers and brought it close to him. The water droplet was colorless by itself but against the silver pattern on the Blue Silver Grass, it revealed a faint silver color. Other than that, he was seeing and feeling absolutely nothing. His mother told him that in time he’d feel an intimate closeness with water elements, but it was not happening in his case.
“I’m already trying very hard! Why isn’t this working?” Lan Xuanyu complained, his brows knitted in frustration. “How do I connect with the water elements?
He pulled a leaf off and placed it in his mouth, surprised to find the leaf cold and the dewdrops clinging on to it sweet and quite delicious.
Lan Xuanyu paused, hoping something would happen.
No. Nothing.
Didi, didi, didi!
Suddenly, the Soul Guidance communication device they had at home started ringing. Lan Xuanyu quickly ran out of the cultivation room to answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Lan Xuanyu, I am right outside your house, open the door,” a familiar voice said from the other line.
“Ye Lingtong?” Lan Xuanyu asked, a little unsure.
“Open the door quick!” she demanded, the impatience and frustration obvious in her voice.
“What are you doing?” Lan Xuanyu asked, “How did you know my number? How did you find out where I live?”
Ye Lingtong answered, “I asked Daddy to get it from the teacher and he brought me here.”
“Uncle is here too? Alright, give me a moment.”
Lan Xuanyu promptly hung up and went to open the door, finding Ye Lingtong standing on their doorstep with her father behind her.
“Hello, Uncle,” Lan Xuanyu greeted Ye Feng politely.
Ye Feng replied, “Hello, Xuanyu. It’s a little presumptuous for me to come here unexpectedly, but Lingtong told me about the combat test today. If it’s okay with you, I would like to take a look at your spirit. Are your parents here?”
“Daddy and Mommy aren’t at home. Please come in, Uncle. Ye Lingtong, you may come in as well.” The last phrase felt very forced when he said it.
Ye Lingtong rolled her eyes and walked into Lan Xuanyu’s home. She looked around and commented, “It’s not as big as our house.”
“Oh,” said Lan Xuanyu.
Ye Feng told him, “Xuanyu, Lingtong told me that when she was sparring with you her Spirit Skill lost its effectiveness. Can you tell me what Spirit Skill you used at that time? Or was there anything out of the ordinary?”
The sudden failure of his daughter’s Spirit Skill made Ye Feng quite anxious. Ye Lingtong’s Celestial Dragon spirit came about through mutation and mutated spirits are often quite unstable. He was worried that his daughter’s spirit had some instability issues, but after performing a check on her at home, everything was normal. He wanted to get to the bottom of the incident so he went down to the school and asked for Lan Xuanyu’s address and contact details.
“I merely controlled my water element to block her! When she charged towards me, she was whirled off, that’s all,” Lan Xiao replied.
“Do you have a cultivation room at home? Can both of you reenact what happened for me?”
“Sure.”
When Lan Xuanyu brought the father and daughter into the cultivation room, Ye Lingtong complained, “Your cultivation room is tiny.”
Lan Xuanyu simply nodded in agreement.
Ye Feng looked at him in surprise. It was common for children his age to defend themselves, but Lan Xuanyu seemed indifferent to his daughter’s jibes. It was rare to see a child like that.
“Very well, let’s begin. Both of you do the same as what you did today,” Ye Feng ordered.
Lan Xuanyu stepped into the cultivation room and lifted his left hand, releasing his Blue Silver Grass.
Ye Lingtong scoffed and released her Celestial Dragon Spirit, refusing to admit that she was defeated by that weak spirit. This rematch was exactly what she wanted, refusing to believe that her 100-year Spirit Skill would lose to Lan Xuanyu.
Lan Xuanyu concentrated and released the whirlpool in front of him.
Ye Lingtong then released her first Spirit Skill, a white glow enveloping her as a low cry of a dragon echoed around the room. She swiftly charged towards Lan Xuanyu, appearing in front of him instantly.
Ye Feng stood at the side and watched intently. In his eyes, there were faint purple ripples, the speed of the two children slowed down, allowing him to see every action clearly.
They got closer and started to make physical contact.
And as soon as it came into contact with the surface of the vortex, Ye Feng saw Ye Lingtong’s Celestial Body began to melt. The white halo started disappearing silently like ice melting.
Ye Lingtong, once again, was sucked into the whirlpool, spun, and flung towards the wall. With a dexterous turn of his arm, Ye Feng pulled his daughter into his embrace and poured Spirit Power into her to dispell all the steam.
His eyes were filled with shock, trying to make sense of what happened. He was sure that it was not the result of their Spirit Skills colliding because both their Spirit Skills didn’t crash. Ye Lingtong charged into the whirlpool after her Spirit Skill melted and was sent flying out.
The teachers in the school didn’t understand what really happened, but Ye Feng had a hunch about it.
“Daddy, why? Why? Why did my Spirit Skill disappear again?” Ye Lingtong yelled indignantly, her eyes red.
She worked hard on her cultivation and trained like crazy until she was rank 10. She didn’t stop until she got her Spirit Ring, but even her 100-year Spirit Ring was no match for Lan Xuanyu.
“Lingtong, wait here.” Ye Feng pulled his daughter to the side and walked towards Lan Xuanyu. He asked the young boy, “Xuanyu, can you let me take a look at your spirit?”
“Sure.”
Lan Xuanyu brought the Blue Silver Grass on his left hand towards Ye Feng.
Ye Feng inspected it thoroughly before gently touching it. When his fingers touched the silver pattern on the leaf, the mutation appeared all of a sudden.