147 Water Training Room (1/2)
Sect Leader Fang led Ed out of the tea room towards the upper reaches. Once there, they traveled to a plaza encircled by seven buildings. Each building was painted with a different colored symbol reflecting each of the seven elements.
”Here we are.” Chonglin said as he pointed to the buildings. ”Each of these buildings is optimal for training in a single element. They use a mix of manullium walls to contain mana released from activated mana-cores gathered from beasts. As an honorary elder, you're allowed unlimited access at no cost.”
”Thanks.” Ed nodded, a slight smile appearing on his face. 'If nothing else, the Purple Origin Sect really knows how to treat its allies well.'
”I'll be going now.” Sect Leader Fang stroked his beard. ”You'll probably like it here so much that you'll disappear for months.” He laughed. ”It happens all the time.” He turned around to leave.
”Ah, wait.” Ed hurriedly replied, reaching his arm out to stop him from leaving. ”I have a small favor to ask.”
”Hmm?” He turned back around.
”In the courtyard I'm staying at, there are three people. One of them will probably have zero interest in cultivation, but could you induct the other two into the sect?”
”That...” Chonglin hesitated. ”We don't have a position for other honorary members. If they join, then they would be full-fledged members, first and foremost loyal to the Purple Origin Sect. Is that alright with you?”
”It is.” He agreed. ”Also, I think one of them may have the starlight unique body constitution. Could you check him out for me?”
”Oh?” Chonglin's face lit up with interest. ”Haha, just leave it to me.” He heartily laughed as he hurried away, perhaps fearing Ed might change his mind.
Now alone, Ed looked at the seven buildings. 'Already mastered the fire storage meridian. Guess I'll start with water.' The building with the symbol for water was identical to the others, except for a few blue lines indicating the element. Upon entering however, his eyes widened in shock. The building had been relatively small and unassuming, so he had expected an equally small interior. He even thought there might be an underground section that expanded the building to a larger size. But instead, all of his expectations had been crushed.
'How is this even possible?' He wondered as he looked around. Before him was a vast snowy tundra with no end in sight. He took a step inside, and not even the walls next to the door were visible to him. The entrance appeared as just a floating rectangular hole. The door slowly closed on its own, appearing as a rectangular blue glow once it finished.
'Fuck it's cold!' Ed shivered as he hugged his arms and his teeth chattered. 'For the weather to affect my body...' Even the extreme weathers within the deeper portions of the cage he had visited didn't feel as cold as this. He hurriedly covered his body with a layer of purple mana and felt the cold vanish, much to his relief.
He began walking forward, the snow crunching under his feet. More snow continually fell from the sky as the wind bellowed past, making it so that the snow pelted the right side of his body. 'Did the Purple Origin Sect really create this with just manullium and mana-cores?' He skeptically wondered. 'No, there must be something else involved. Maybe espers are working to make this?' He focused on his surroundings but detected no foreign presences. 'Maybe not... Then they must have a better way of controlling mana-core energy output and functionality. Probably something similar to my mana-batteries but more sophisticated. I'll have to ask Sect Leader Fang for as many details as he'll give me later.'
Ed looked up towards the sky. There was neither a sun or ceiling in sight, nor were there any clouds. Only an endless white expanse seemed to exist. He thought back on his time spent fighting President Walker, as well as his time with World Walker. 'This has to be some type of stabilized space manipulation. Space... That should be one of the laws then, right? So even President Walker is only on the path of laws.' A greedy look appeared in his eyes. 'I have all seven elements. Doesn't that mean I can master laws related to space as well?' He thought back on past espers he met, including Ms. Willow from the academy. 'The law of time too? Space is probably related mostly to the dark element and time to the light element. What would happen if I mastered both and fused them together?'
He continued walking through the blizzard-like conditions, though it no longer bothered him much due to his protective mana. Soon, he found a smooth rock clear of snow and sat down atop it to meditate. He closed his eyes as he focused on separating his water mana so that he could search for his water storage meridian. Hours passed as he attempted separation. Each tug and pull of his water mana took a great deal of mental effort, but he was having little success. The other elements, with the exception of fire, stuck to it like glue. The suppression from the weather didn't seem to be helping at all.
'Maybe my purple mana is blocking it.' He released the layer of protective mana, allowing the cold to directly attack his body. A shiver travelled down his spine, causing his body to tremble. The rock underneath him felt like an ancient glacier radiating cold into his surroundings.
Focusing on his mana again, he tried separating the water mana. Much to his joy, he succeeded after only a few tries. 'Good.' He grinned. 'Now I just need to find the water storage meridian.' His mana searched throughout his body, and after several passes, he located the meridian. Like the previous time he had chased the fire storage meridian, he divided his mana into various divisions to encircle and capture the water storage meridian. Each time the meridian escaped his trap, he managed to store just a bit of mana in it.
A couple days passed, and he finished filling the storage meridian with water mana. Once again, his total mana capacity had increased. More importantly, he had made significant improvements in his control over water mana.
”Already done.” He smiled as he stood up and stretched, his body completely numb and frozen. 'At this rate, it'll only take me a couple weeks to master all of the storage meridians. But Sect Leader Fang said I'd probably spend a few months here? Why?' He looked around the wasteland, not spotting anything particularly interesting. He could tell it felt a bit colder as you went deeper into the wasteland, but that was hardly of any interest to him.
'Oh well.' He shrugged as he turned to leave. He trudged through the snow, returning towards the entrance. 'Where is it?' He frowned as he looked around. 'I'm positive it was right here.' He doubled back towards the rock he had chosen, confirming he wasn't lost. He then returned to where the entrance should be, as well as several other places nearby.