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EN: F1amet0ngue: What are the ultimate flames? Why are their names so long?
丙午元阳圣火-Bing-Wu-Yuan-Yang(-Sheng-Huo) Sacred Fire ,
丁巳冥阴灵火-Ding-Ji-Ming-Yin(-Ling-Huo) Spirit Fire
Some of these things were touched upon in earlier chapters. You should already be familiar with Bing and Ding of the 10 Heavenly Stems. Bing is the yang-attribute Heavenly Stem associated with fire and Ding is the yin-attribute Heavenly Stem associated with fire. Wu and Ji are Earthly Branches associated with yang and yin respectively. Although the 12 Earthly Branches do not seem to be directly associated with elements, a Heavenly Stem-Earthly Branch pair will carry the elemental attribute of the Heavenly Stem (The year Ren-Wu of the 60-year cycle would be affiliated with yang water). Alternatively, when talking about the power of the Five Elements and their Movements, Fire is defined by Bing-Wu and Ding-Ji (yang and yin). From this you can see how a normal Bing-fire Wizard only taps into a fraction of the Fire Element’s power, whereas someone with the Bing-Wu and Ding-Ji Flames could be said to wield the true power of Fire. As far as Yuan and Ming, they seem to be words that complement Yang and Yin respectively. I like to think of them as the Bing-Wu Primal Yang Sacred Fire and the Ding-Ji Abyssal Yin Spirit Fire.
Volume 2 Chapter 3: End of Term Exams
Translated By: GX
Edited by: F1amet0ngue
Not knowing how much time had passed, Ji Dong awakened from his sleep. When he opened his eyes, he discovered that he was sitting in the cave at the wall. He was completely astonished.
The first thing that Ji Dong noticed was not the changes in his body, but the change in his perception. As far as he could see, the Magma Lake in front of him seemed to be clearer. Furthermore, he didn’t need to reach out with his mind; all he needed to do was look with his eyes and he could easily differentiate between the enormous amounts of Bing-fire and Ding-fire elements concentrated over the lake, where the blue and red rays of light were converging into various streams. What a magnificent sight!
Not only that, he could even clearly see the fluctuations of the magma bubbles. His eyesight was far superior to before!
His vision was only one of the abnormally sensitive six senses that he was born with. Ji Dong could feel that they had all improved greatly, especially his sixth sense which had improved by several-fold.
Recalling the guidance Lie Yan offered when he was in the meditative state, he brought forth the power of the Godly Yin-Yang Seal in his heart while simultaneously focusing on his dual-system magic power.
When he first started cultivating, his Bing-Ding double-fire magic power was two points of light the size of mung beans. After a year of cultivation, these two light points grew to the size of fava beans and could be condensed before his chest at any time; however, Ji Dong discovered that his magic power has now returned to its initial level: the strength of a level 1 Apprentice. The difference was that the originally red and blue points of light had turned gold and black.
“This is the Bing-Wu-Yuan-Yang Sacred Fire and the Ding-Ji-Ming-Yin Spirit Fire? The purest Yang-fire and the purest Yin-fire?” Ji dong wasn’t dispirited after the weakening of his magic power, but rather full of excitement. The moment he received the two-colored flame from Lie Yan, he could feel the extremely pure energy contained within. Magic power could be re-cultivated. He could use the following year to once again achieve the rank of a level 4 Apprentice, but the origin of his fire couldn’t be obtained from cultivating, only from the extreme bodily change offered by these two unique fire attributes. Ji Dong knew that Lie Yan had given him an amazing gift!
“Lie Yan, thank you!” Ji Dong shouted in the direction of the Magma Lake.
A bright ray of light shot out from the center of the Magma Lake, stopping right in front of Ji Dong. At that moment, Ji Dong realised that the red protection barrier that always protected him had disappeared. But even with it gone, he didn’t feel the oppressive heat permeating the Magma Lake’s world. It was as if he was in his own room, neither too warm nor too cold.
The light was precisely the empty glass. Lie Yan’s voice sounded, “Don’t be so surprised. The Bing-Wu-Yuan-Yang Sacred Fire and the Ding-Ji-Ming-Yin Spirit Fire are both kings over all fire. Even though you have just fused with them, you already have a certain resistance towards fire. Remember to practice the Godly Yin-Yang Seal; you will be able to do this even when you return. Before you become more powerful, don’t carelessly summon these ultimate fires. You have already used up your six hours today. Time for you to go back.”
The Red Lotus appeared again and surrounded Ji Dong’s body, thus sending him back quietly. When he returned to his room, he discovered that the sky was already starting to brighten up. It was almost time for his daily morning cultivation.
Placing the glass on the counter, a light smile appeared on Ji Dong’s face as he thought to himself, “It has been one year. Lie Yan, have you finally started to accept me? I will absolutely not let you down. I will work even harder in the coming days.
The Godly Yin-Yang Seal could be cultivated during the times he was not not absorbing yin-yang magic power. He will restart the cultivation of his dual magic power. He was returned from being a level 4 apprentice to his original state as a level 1 apprentice and naturally needed to make a greater effort to restore his previous cultivation.
Sitting on his bed cross-legged, Ji Dong just started cultivating, but he was greatly surprised.
At first he spread his mind out slightly, and his heart instantly calmed down. Right after that, he could sense Bing-fire and Ding-fire elements, a hundredfold more clear than before. His mind spread out to fill his entire room, and even 30 meters beyond. Of course, the moment his mind reached out, the two fire seeds in his chest moved slightly, and then the two fire elements flowed towards his body several times faster than before. They transformed into red and blue light points and entered his body.
But what surprised Ji Dong was that even though the range he could absorb the two fire elements increased a lot, these fire elements disappeared right after entering his body. He didn’t feel that they that flowed towards his chest or that they condensed there.
Lie Yan didn’t tell him that the the cultivation method of these two ultimate fires was completely different from his previous method that the teachers in the academy taught. “Perhaps Lie Yan wants me to understand it by myself.” Ji Dong put more effort into absorbing the double elements from the outer world, while thinking about the change of the flames.
As Ji Dong began to understand the secret to cultivating the two new flames, the fire elements which entered his body slowly started to condense in his chest.
He could now absorb the fire elements from the outer world five times faster, but the result was no different than before. However, Ji Dong discovered that once these great amounts of dual fire-element entered his chest, although the absorption rate was off, their color was the same gold and black as those two fire seeds in his chest. With this he slowly understood that his former double-fire Level 4 Apprentice magic power was transformed into the ultimate double-fire Level 1 Apprentice magic power. His magic power shrank to one-fourth, and the strength itself was that of a Level 1 Apprentice from before, while the only change was the attribute of the fire. Despite the increased absorption speed of the fire elements, his body’s magic power cultivation rate didn’t change. This shows that in the process of absorption, most of the magic power was being purified by his Bing-Wu-Yuan-Yang Sacred Fire and Ding-Ji-Ming-Yin Spirit Fire. Before it could be absorbed, it must be changed into the same attribute. That is why even though his absorption speed of the fire elements was four times faster, his magic power didn’t increase any faster than before.
This was not a bad thing, but something great! With flames that need to be refined so much in order to enhance their fundamental properties, one could see how completely dominant these flames’ attributes are. Also, when cultivating in the academy, the two fire elements are not unlimited. Wait until the time when he is cultivating at Lie Yan’s place, where there are unlimited Bing-fire and Ding-fire elements. How could he not increase his cultivating speed? If his old cultivation way was a small lane, then the two fire seeds which Lie Yan gifted him will, without question, let him enter the cultivation super highway!
After finishing his morning cultivation, Ji Dong simply washed his face and went to the canteen for breakfast. The moment he entered, he saw that Bi Su and Karl were already there. His two brothers were very excited today. When they saw Ji Dong, Bi Su immediately waved his hand at him, signaling him to come over, “Boss, we have already got your breakfast.”
Ji Dong sat down at the table, and asked the two of them while looking puzzled. “What’s with you two? Is there something to be happy about?”
Bi Su answered ,”Boss, today is the end-of-term exam. It is time to test the results of our year-long cultivation. I heard that the headmaster himself will come. Look at the others. They don’t look very good. It’s clear their cultivation achievements are not that great. Those who are like us may have some good achievements. No matter which year, the students are the same.”
As Ji Dong just now remembered that today was the end-of-term exam, he could only laugh bitterly in his heart. Since he couldn’t let anyone know that his fires are variations, the level 1 Apprentice magic power will not make the teachers and Headmaster Yang very happy.
Each year’s students will take the exam, one after another, from low to high. The students of the Bing-fire and Ding-fire departments came together to the academy’s assembly hall.
Just like Bi Su said, Headmaster Yang sat in the middle of the platform, and beside him was a female teacher of similar age. There were also the other teachers of both departments, ten people in total.
Xia Tian, standing on the side of the platform, announced with his loud voice, “First year students, the end-of-term exam starts now. When I call your name, walk onto the podium and release your magic power and crown stars to be judged for your grade. The norm for first years is Level 2 Apprentice, Level 3 is outstanding. Let’s begin! Bing-fire element, Zhu Gui.”
Once they heard that name Ji Dong, Karl and Bi Su payed close attention. During this past year, Zhu Gui didn’t normally come and bully Bi Su, but she was also not very sociable. She almost never associated with others, and after the lesson she would go directly back to her dorm room. It was said her family had paid a lot so that she could have her own room.
Zhu Gui’s figure could only leave one speechless. Even though she was only 11, she already looked like a grown woman, tall and thin. Her face was expressionless as she strode up to the podium. After greeting Headmaster Yang, she raised her hands with her palm upwards. Pu! Suddenly two flames shot from her hands towards the sky, almost one meter high.
Immediately, surprised voices could be heard everywhere in the assembly hall. After all, of the students, only Ji Dong’s group has seen the Zhu Gui’s strength. On her forehead appeared three and a half ruby red stars.
Compared to the noisy first-year students, the teachers on the podium were really calm, as if they already knew Zhu Gui’s true strength, which was stronger than her classmates. Yang Bing Tian nodded, pleased.
Xia Tian said, “Zhu Gui, Bing-fire element, Level 7 Apprentice. Grade: Excellent. Next is Bing-fire department, Karl.”
The list of names in his hand was ordered according to the advancement of the students. Ji Dong was an exception. Because his cultivation was different than the Bing-fire and Ding-fire element, teachers wouldn’t pay too much attention to this balanced Yin-Yang trash. As such, his name was last.
Karl really didn’t disappoint Xia Tian. The same red flame also rose from his hands. Although it was weaker than Zhu Gui’s, two full stars proved his strength as a Bing-fire element level 4 apprentice. To be able to become a Level 4 Apprentice as a first year, there is no question about his inborn talent and his efforts. Compared to Zhu Gui, Xia Tian liked Karl more, and a small smile appeared on his always fierce-looking face.
The examination went rather fast. After all, everyone from six years of academy students needed to finish the end-of-term exam this day. Also every student only needs to go onto the podium and release their magic power to finish the exam. Each and every one of them went on and off the podium like they were passing through a revolving door.
Most of the students were Level 2 Apprentices, and once in awhile there would be a Level 3
Apprentice, but all of them would get the approval of Xia Tian and get an excellent grade.
After arriving at the Ding-fire department, the first one to enter the podium was impressively Bi Su. Before he walked up, he especially threw a provoking glance at the Zhu Gui, but she didn’t even look at him, and was standing there silently at the leading spot of the Bing-fire department students.
A blue flame shot up, branching out from BiSu’s palm. Impressively, two blue crown stars appeared on his forehead, and like Karl he now had the strength of a Level 4 Apprentice. He was, without question, the representative of the Ding-fire Department.
One should know that even though Bi Su and Karl have 8 ½ body attributes, in order to rise to Level 4 Apprentices, they couldn’t have invested any less time than Ji Dong. Only those who cultivate everyday in addition to having inborn talent could have such a grade. Of course, Ji Dong once ate two crystal crowns given by Yang Bing Tian, and before getting the two ultimate fires, his Bing-Ding magic power was already nearing a Level 5 Apprentice. He had risen even higher than Karl and Bi Su.
The Ding-fire department exam was slowly coming to an end, and when Xia Tian called Ji Dong’s name out, he also closed the first-year roster.
Ji Dong sighed in his heart, ‘What comes will come.’ He never thought a day would come when he would lose face like this. Even though he was slowly accepting his identity in this world, he could never forget his identity in his former world, especially his pride as the God of Liquor.
When he walked onto the podium, the first thing he met was Yang Bing Tian’s smile and a slight appeasing expression. This past year Yang Bing Tian was like Lie Yan, able to drink one cup of the fine liquor mixed by Ji Dong each day. He would also offer Ji Dong a few suggestions about his cultivation, and give him some deeper knowledge about Yin-Yang wizardry. Perhaps because he was not very confident in Ji Dong’s balanced Yin-Yang body condition, he never asked about Ji Dong’s cultivation progress.
Standing there, Ji Dong didn’t raise his hands because a Level 1 Apprentice couldn’t release flames. With a slight thought, the red and blue crown star quickly appeared, revealing a Level 1 Apprentice’s single crown star, as if he has just used the crystal crowns.
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