Chapter 115: A Week Off
When they heard the name Mu Jianyao mentioned, the one who was about to attack, grew pale and then turned green.
As to whether or not Xu Min was the student of Mu Jianyao was not something he believed, but the fact that he knew the name meant he did have some connection with the academy. Attacking fellow students was frowned upon, and he felt rather unhappy about this fact. However, he also felt he could not be blamed for this attack since the person in front of him was apparently human. How could a human possibly be invited to the academy for elves and fairies? It was simply inconceivable and never heard of before.
Furthermore, this supposed human he had used spiritual energy! This was something none of them could deny. As to how a human could use this kind of power, he simply did not know.
The atmosphere was both tense and awkward at the same time. The elf who had attacked did not wish to back down. His face twisted with anger and disgust while he thought about how this human would be his junior apprentice brother.
Without saying anything else, the older elf turned to leave. His mood clearly soured. His followers were hesitating as to what they should do, but seeing that Xu Min did not bother with them, they started to make their way towards the Guardian Tree at the same time as Xu Min.
This group of elves had been out on a long mission deep in the Immortal Valley. They were all exhausted and had been away from home for a longer period than they expected, so they were unaware of what had happened in the academy while they were gone.
Seeing that Xu Min was going the same way, they felt rather awkward,; they were unsure of whether or not they should talk to him. In the end, they decided from refraining from doing so. Since the leader of their group ignored Xu Min, they followed suit and completely ignored him as well. Still, they felt rather awkward. Thus no one spoke at all. All of them were silent as they reached the Guardian tree; they bowed deeply towards it before they were transferred into the academy grounds.
As soon as they arrived, they paused. The leader of their group stopped. He was incredibly curious as to whether or not Xu Min would be able to enter through the Guardian Tree or if Xu Min had used some other kind of entrance. He highly doubted that a human could be approved of by the Guardian Tree.
Moments after he was proven wrong. Xu Min appeared just as they had done through the portal created by the Guardian Tree. Without even glancing at the group of elves that were waiting for him, he moved towards the mission tower.
This group of elves was also on their way to the mission tower to hand in their mission. All of them were curious as to what kind of mission he had undergone. Looking at Ye Ling, they assumed it had to do with capturing him.
Once again they were surprised when they reached the mission tower, and Xu Min pulled out all the beast cores from within his storage treasure. So many cores appeared from Xu Min’s storage that the woman behind the counter was flabbergasted, even the group of elves were stunned.
They were even more stunned when they heard the woman behind the counter open her mouth, "Young man, didn’t you just leave the academy two days ago?"
Her eyes shone in disbelief. She knew to kill these many beasts in such a short time was just impossible. Unless it was a siege of beasts against one person, and if that happened it was highly unlikely for the person who was besieged to survive.
Xu Min only survived because of his ability to absorb energy from the wolves, use it as his own, and go berserk mixed with his acute control over the wind element and his wind domain.
Without one or the other, he would have lost his life, but he managed to get through it. He had sustained severe injuries, but fortunately enough he possessed powerful medicinal pills which almost healed his body.
Handing in the beast cores, he gained an astonishing three thousand contribution points. A smile spread on his lips as he rushed back to the herb garden where he knew his master would be awaiting him.
Knocking on the door, he waited to hear the frosty voice sound out from within. "Enter," she said, and he quickly entered the room.
"You came back rather soon," she said with her dry and cold voice. There was no emotion in her voice making it hard for Xu Min to determine her thoughts.
"I encountered a pack of Sabertooth Blood Wolves," Xu Min explained. "At the start, it was not too challenging. I managed to complete my mission relying solely on my wind domain. Unfortunately more and more wolves appeared. In the end, I had to go all out and use all my abilities to survive. Even my beast companions had to assist me in my survival."
Xu Min hid nothing. He knew he had been told to only rely on his wind domain, but in the situation, he faced he had needed more than just a wind domain. He felt that he needed to inform his master about this matter truthfully.
Mu Jianyao's one eyebrow raised in surprise when she heard what Xu Min said, but she nodded her head in approval. "I know about the pack of Sabertooth Blood Wolves we have in the forest. They are ferocious and bloodthirsty. They have been the bane of many of our students. To hear that you managed to get rid of many of them is admirable."
Although Mu Jianyao's words were praising Xu Min, there was no emotion behind it. Thus the young man was quite uncertain about whether or not it was true praise or just empty words.
The young man and the Immortal woman stood there, face to face for some time. Neither of them spoke, and neither of them made any attempts to move away. It was in one way awkward but at the same time comfortable, as if they had found someone who understood each other.
The magical atmosphere was suddenly interrupted as someone knocked on the door to the medicinal garden. With a sigh, Mu Jianyao and Xu Min looked towards the doorway.
"Enter," she said with her frosty voice. Moments after the elf who had attacked Xu Min within the Immortal Valley entered. Seeing that Xu Min was together with Mu Jianyao his face turned sour. He quickly controlled his emotions and a smile spread on his lips.
"Miss Mu, I am here to purchase some medicinal plants. If you could be so kind and assist me, then I would be very grateful."
His words were incredibly polite. He even bowed slightly to the beautiful woman in front of him. Hearing the words, Mu Jianyao gave him a slight nod before she turned to Xu Min once more.
"You must have gained some significant benefits considering what you went through within the Immortal Valley this time. I will give you a week off to stabilize your cultivation and to ponder upon the benefits you have gained. After a week, find me at sunrise here in the Medicinal Garden. That is when your lessons will start."
Xu Min quickly approved of this idea. He had still not had the time to comprehend the fire energy that his body had absorbed during the sparring matches nor did he have full control over his berserk ability. He needed to gain better control over himself so that he could stand a chance in the Heavenly Ranking coming soon.
As Xu Min was about to leave, he cupped his hands to the older elf and gave him a nod, "Senior Apprentice Brother," he said politely with a tinge of slight mockery. Xu Min remembered a grudge, and this man had not given him any positive vibes. It was clear that he preferred Xu Min to be gone, and this made Xu Min know that he inevitably had to step upon this man. He would unmercifully show him that he was worthy of being Mu Jianyao's student.
Leaving the medicinal garden, Xu Min was happy that he had a full week to himself. During this week he had to comprehend some introduction of the fire element. He had absorbed so much, and he needed to learn how to consume the fire elements from the world around him. He also needed to merge this elemental affinity with him so that he could use it in combat.
Ideally, he would be able to comprehend this element as quickly as he had comprehended the wind element. He hoped to acquire a second domain, so he could merge these two domains into one, making it possible for him to reach a whole new level of strength.
It was not only Xu Min who was going to benefit from this one week of meditation. Cao Cao and Ye Ling had eaten so many beast cores that their bodies were filled with volatile energy which needed to be refined and merged with their own.
On their way through the academy, many students looked at him, but no one attacked or challenged him to a duel. He was no longer a mere student but a direct disciple to an Immortal, and not just any immortal but Miss Mu Jianyao.
Entering the cabin that now belonged to him, he instantly moved to the bed while Ye Ling and Cao Cao moved next to the fireplace. Noticing that both were shivering with cold and that a cold sweat was soaking their bodies, Xu Min instantly waited with his cultivation and started the fire as he worriedly looked at the two beast companions of his.
Xu Min had no more family. To him, these two were as much of a family as he ever could get. He would never allow anything to happen to them.
Both beasts had entered meditation, but black smoke was permeating from their bodies while energy ripples kept appearing just above their skin. It was clear that they had been very greedy while eating the beast cores and had overestimated their abilities to refine the energy. Even so, Xu Min stayed by their side and used towels to wipe down the sweat and ensure that the fireplace never died down.
While Xu Min was busy dealing with the flame, he noticed a few things that he had not noticed before. The flame was mesmerizing him. He noticed how the flames were dancing and luring him in. Their profound way of moving, flickering here and there, vanishing from one location to appear in another, always reaching for the sky above.
Without noticing what he was doing, Xu Min's hand reached into the flame. He felt how it wrapped his hand. A gentle heat could be felt, but the flame was not burning him as he had expected.
Grasping a flame within his hand, Xu Min withdrew it from the fireplace. The flame within his hand stayed there, dancing and flickering within his hand. Instead of feeding it more wood, Xu Min allowed for a stream of Qi to exit his hand and enter the flame. After injecting the flames with his Qi, they soared much higher than before.
"I think I get it," Xu Min mumbled to himself as he was staring hypnotized at the flame in his hand. Playing with the flame, it gently went past his fingers, and moved to his shoulder, cladding his entire body in flames but even, so his clothes did not catch on fire, neither did the ground. The flame was completely controlled by Xu Min.
"This must be the first step, gaining affinity with the flame." he mused to himself. He then released the flame which jumped back to the fireplace.