(Author: Hello everyone! Liao has entered closed door training. What are the results of his training? How far did the others progress? Enjoy the chapter.)

Chapter 18: Entering the Realm

When Liao started meditating, he let his mind clear. To enter deep meditation, one must ignore the outside world and reside deep in one's own meditation. The qi in the practitioner's body would continue to nourish the body. This was how people who entered closed door training could do so for weeks, months, years, decades, and even centuries.

As Liao meditated, he entered his realm of qi. He had always seen it, but never ventured inside of it. To understand the essence of his qi, he had to study the qi where it concentrates most in his body. Finding a suitable glacier in his realm of qi, Liao began to meditate there as well, allowing the qi to flow around him. He was constantly exposed to his own qi and times passed outside. His hair grew longer. If one observed closely, his body was surrounded by a small layer of qi, protecting his body from dust and dirt.

As he originally had the capability to use lightning and ice qi, he was able to understand it more than destruction and fire qi. Lightning was raw energy. It was fast, yet strong. It looked beautiful, but crackled violently. It destroyed life, but also allowed for more rain to sustain life. Ice. It was cold, yet soothes pain. It was hard, yet could be crafted into any shape. It could trap life and prevent the body's decay for millennia, yet it provides an environment where life could prosper just as long.

Liao learned that there was a balance for each of his elements and a new way to apply them. Liao reached the second stage of his Lightning Shadow Steps. He could now turn his whole body into lightning and appear in another place in a flash. His Snow Armor and Frost Claw techniques were harder, yet it could be made into the shape of his body. It no longer felt heavy or bulky. No matter how cold he made it, he would not feel it.

Fire element qi was harder to learn. It was the polar opposite and the bane of ice. It could not be shaped, but it could be manipulated. It was not solid and could be passed through. Liao would stop meditating in his realm of qi to observe the two headed dragon breathe fire. He saw the fire eat the wind to expand its range.

He saw the glaciers melt from the heat, yet the dragon's mouths did not burn. It was similar to how his mouth did not burn when he used his fire qi technique known as Serpent's Roar. He remembered how fire could feel warm, but not burn. He could remember running his finger past a lit candle really fast. He admired how his finger did not burn and how the fire moved apart and then drew back together.

Liao smiled as he gained a new insight and he made progress in understanding fire. He created a new technique using Violet Bone Claw. Using a fast swing of his blade, he could send a warm wave of fire that would burn as it made impact on the target. He called the new technique Wick Wave, as his childhood experience gave him his insight. Sometimes, it was the small activities that created a large impact. Liao realized that now and was glad he made progress.

Destruction element qi had always held him back before. However, it made the biggest impact on his life. He me Hunluan and killed Guan Xu because of destruction qi and thought back to Hunluan's mother. It was a strong mythical beast that reached Spirit Emperor and killed thousands of Spirit Knights and Spirit Sage beasts.There was no doubt to its power.

As he stared at the two headed dragon, it was also covered in destruction qi aura, yet was not damaged as it flew. His sword was also not destroyed as he used baleful blade aura under the Sundered Heaven Force technique. It vexed him for a long time until he thought of the night sky. He remembered hearing about dying stars and how they formed a black hole. Its destruction created something and then destruction continued. It was a cycle.

Liao laughed as he thought of volcanoes. Didn't some plants grow only after the ground has been burned by lava? Destruction element qi also had a balance. It was a part of every element as all elements destroyed, but with different methods. Destruction qi wasn't just destruction, it was all the elements and none of them. It was like a star which contained all the elements. It was like space and a black hole was the destruction that was neither of the elements but created through the destruction of all the elements.

Liao finally understood the third stage of the Sundered Heaven Force. It had said that to destroy the heavens, it must destroy with something not made by the heavens. The heavens was theorized to be made by the combination of all the elements in perfect harmony. Didn't black holes destroy everything. Liao learned the third stage known as Thousand Void Repentance.

The technique allowed Liao to create flying blades of destruction qi that could not be blocked. It did not cut or stab like blades did. It simply destroyed all it touched. It was slow like a black hole, but was just as unstoppable. Presently, he could only make two blades and control them within fifty feet.

After two months passed after he turned fifteen, Liao's closed door training finally ended. He had a horrible smell as he looked at his body and saw impurities. He was excited as it meant he had reached the realm of Spirit Lord. However, progress from Spirit Lord onward was slow. After washing himself, he learned he was the last to finish training.

He was at the second stage of Spirit Lord while the rest of the Knight Destroyers and their mythical beasts were stuck at the third stage. Hunluan was a first stage Spirit King. The absurdity of Hunluan's growth astounded him until he remembered the might of its mother. Yueying and her mythical beast was stuck at the fifth stage of Spirit Lord, unable to break the bottleneck to Spirit King. Human growth and mythical beast growth were vastly different and no way comparable.

"Finally done training and only at the second stage," Yueying teased as Liao held her in his arms. They were finally teenagers and it felt more natural. He was finally taller than her, nearing six feet. Yueying had become more beautiful and well endowed in certain places. Liao was a lucky guy, but didn't notice his family and friends were watching them.

"Closed door training was a different kind of meditation," Liao said, closing his eyes. "Entering my realm of qi and seeing it up close. It took my breath away and I gained more insights there. What did you learn from my mother?"

"Some formations and barrier techniques," Yueying said as she kissed him. "Its one of my clans specialties."

"The Weiss clan or the Bao clan," Liao grinned, remembering Yueying say her last name was Weiss when they first met.

"The Bao clan," Yueying laughed after he kissed her. "The Weiss clan, my father's clan, owns a large enterprise. I was able to venture the outside world because my father gave the Bao clan materials they needed. Its good to be back from training and by the exotic fish pond with you. It's beautiful isn't it?"

"Yeah," Liao said. "Having you in my arms is a beautiful moment and feeling. I didn't like the loneliness. Missing you, my family, and Hunluan...."

"Oh?" Yueying said as she stood up. "Maybe you should spend more time with them."

"Ah," Liao sighed, knowing he screwed up. "Maybe I will."

"What?" Yueying gasped as Liao held her in his arms and laughed. She shook her head as she realized he was teasing her. Lady Fei, General Hui, and Liao's brothers laughed seeing Liao like that. Being a teenager made him more open, but they were pleased he was a Spirit Lord. Once he became a Spirit King, he would be able to rejoin the military and help his father on future military campaigns.

The Knight Destroyers laughed as they saw Liao acting silly. He was usually the calm, calculating leader and strategist. Sakura felt envious as she wasn't able to open her feelings to Cao as Liao did to Yueying. She looked at Ling, but was unable to predict what ling was feeling. Was she jealous? Did she move on?

"Ugh, the cheesiness is making my head spin," Cao snickered. "I can't wait to talk to Liao and describe what I saw. Hahahaha."

"Least he got a girlfriend," Richard said and walked toward the main house to eat.

"Hey! I can get one too! Hey! Richard? You listening man? I can get one too if I wanted!" Cao shouted as he ran after Richard.

Chapter 17: Closed Door Training MAIN PAGE