42 Killing someone with their own blade. (1/2)
After Jing Yimu told Li Yang the story, he seemed to have set his own mind at ease, returning to a mostly normal state. The two spent another two days in their small camp, resting until they were both in peak condition again, before setting out and heading towards Soaring Sword, the location of the third of the four trials.
After attempting the trial in Soaring Sword, they would cut across the Cursed Realm, attempting the trial in Soul's Rest once again and then attempting the trial in Spear's Advance. Of course, Jing Yimu had no idea that Li Yang had already completed the trial in Soul's Rest and here in Time's March.
Jing Yimu had mostly returned to normal, but he seemed to be extremely worried about Li Yang, even refusing to capture Demonic beasts and letting Li Yang battle against them as training. Seeing Jing Yimu like this, Li Yang once again found himself wondering exactly what kind of illusion Mengxiang had shown him.
After a few days of traveling, the two found a small valley surrounded by an array, protecting it from the poison rain and golden lightning. Jing Yimu brought Li Yang down into the valley, which was filled with vibrant yellow flowers and a fresh scent. Once the two reached the bottom of the valley and Jing Yimu made sure that there were no Demonic beasts in the valley, he stepped in front of Li Yang and spoke up in a regal voice.
”Little Yang. Your cultivation speed is rather slow, not yet having broken through to the late stage of the Mortal Rune realm, but I am still fully confident that you can one day reach the same height as me. But for the moment, you are still far too weak. And because of that, I have decided to teach you my special technique. This technique was created by mixing my own specialty as well as taking inspiration from a technique once used by the Thunder Monarch. In this whole world, you will be the second person besides me to ever learn it. You must swear an oath that you will never spread this technique without my permission. If I were to perish because of the passing of time, I allow you to teach it to people you find worthy of inheriting it.”
To swear an oath was to make a promise to the heavens. As long as one had not transcended the heavens, if one were to break the oath, they would have to face the wrath of the heavens and be destroyed. Upon hearing that the special technique he was about to teach him was based on the one Li Yang had created in the past, Li Yang's interest was piqued. In his previous life, he had never seen Jing Yimu use a special technique, so Li Yang was wondering if it had been created after his death. Since he had no intention of teaching anyone the technique, Li Yang quickly swore the oath with a solemn expression.
”I swear on my own soul that unless I am given permission or find someone worthy after your passing, I will never spread your special technique.”
A small smile appeared on Jing Yimu's face when he saw that Li Yang did not even hesitate to swear an oath. He started talking about the technique he was going to teach Li Yang, patting him lightly on the head as he did so.
”Good. The Thunder Monarch once had a technique where he let lightning dwell in his own body, drastically increasing his speed. My special technique is very similar, it let's flame dwell in your body, drastically increasing your strength for a short moment. But letting fire dwell in your body is very painful, and if you keep the technique going for too long, you might burn yourself to ash, so be careful.”
After he explained what the technique would do and what the drawbacks were, Jing Yimu took a few steps backward and then sat down on the grass with crossed legs. After he sat down, he pointed at the grass in front of him and spoke up.
”Sit down in front of me, I will help you train in the technique.”
To learn a special technique would often be difficult, as it required very specific movements of a person's Qi, having someone show you how you should move your Qi was a great help. Li Yang stepped forward and sat down on the grass in front of Jing Yimu, facing him with an earnest and excited gaze. Jing Yimu stretched out his arms and placed his hands on Li Yang's chest. His face grew serious as he looked into Li Yang's eyes and spoke out.
”I have given this technique the name Burning Hope, remember this feeling well.”
Jing Yimu activated his Qi, inserting a tiny sliver of it into Li Yang's body. The moment Jing Yimu's Qi entered his body, Li Yang entered a fully alert state, only calming down when he noticed that Jing Yimu did not do anything dangerous with his Qi.
Jing Yimu's Qi turned into a tiny blue flame that quickly started spreading through Li Yang's body, scorching his veins and flesh as it settled in the various pressure points in his body. The pain was worse than when he took the trial in Soul's Rest, but Li Yang still pretended like he was in great pain, gritting his teeth until his face turned pale and he was covered in sweat. Upon seeing him like this, Jing Yimu spoke out in a slightly pained but determined voice.
”Endure it! You must endure the pain and memorize where and how the flame is moving! If you have this technique, you can use it to quickly turn the tide of battle, so you must endure the pain for now!”
Li Yang continued to grit his teeth, counting the minutes and hours that passed as he memorized the location and movement of the flame. Even though he had a special technique of his own from his past life, he had never specialized in the flame element. Now that Jing Yimu was willing to give him a powerful flame based special technique, he was not going to simply reject it. Depending on how much it increased his strength, he might even be able to use it against Jing Yimu when he moved to kill him.
Only after a little over half a day had passed did Jing Yimu remove his hands from Li Yang's chest, pulling the blue flame out of his body. Once the flame left his body, Li Yang allowed all strength to leave his body, causing him to collapse forward and into Jing Yimu's arms. Jing Yimu caught Li Yang's sweaty body and spoke comforting words with a bright smile.
”You did good, Little Yang. You did well. I am sorry that you had to suffer such pain.”
Li Yang put a weak smile on his face, slowly raising his head to look at Jing Yimu as he let out an almost inaudible laugh and spoke with a quivering voice.
”Hehe, there is no need to worry about that, Master Yimu. I am no stranger to pain.”
After he spoke out, Li Yang pretended to lose consciousness. He continued to pretend that he was unconscious for a few hours, with Jing Yimu gently holding him and not moving for the entire duration. Once Li Yang pretended like he woke up, Jing Yimu helped him sit down with crossed legs. He then placed his palms on Li Yang's chest again, speaking in a gentle voice.