Early the next day, Tiberius woke up at his two hours before dawn to prepare ing to carry out his morning routine. As he left his room, a servant was already waiting for his arrival, approached him, saying, "Young Master, Master Vulcar has asked that you go meet him immediately in the gardens."
Nodding his head, Tiberius responded, "Very well, thank you for informing me."
Following the servant to meet with his new master, Tiberius made his way through the manor. Upon arriving in the gardens, Tiberius noticed that at the side, a simple forge had been constructed. While int the center of the area stood his master bare-chested, wearing on trousers, boots, and a headband to keep his hair out of his face. Having fulfilled his purpose, the servant bowed then left.
Tiberius moved forward, slowly approaching his master, offering a cupped salute, saying, "Disciple greets master."
Taking a glance at him, Vulcar nodded, "It's good that you are already an early riser. The first thing I'' teach you is how to start the flames of the forge. Don't underestimate this part of the process, for it is incredibly important. If you get them too hot, too fast, then you could destroy your furnace. If you don't get the flames warm enough, then you won't be able to get anything done. It has to be a slow and steady process as you increase the temperature of the flames at a steady pace so that you allow the furnace time to warm to match the fire."
"I understand."
"Now, watch me closely," Vulcar said, making his way to the furnace. For the next several hours, Vulcar slowly and patiently explained each step of the process. Because of this, it wasn't until almost noon, that the fire was ready.
Looking at the beautiful glow of the fire as the flame danced about in the furnace, Vulcar gave a satisfied smile before looking to Tiberius. Upon seeing that Tiberius only had slight sweat, he was surprised. Most would be struggling to deal with the level of heat radiating from the furnace, if not trying to get as far away from it as possible. Given the fact that he made it as hot as he could with his skill, Tiberius shouldn't be able to endure the heat while standing so close. The only reason he made it so scorching was so that Tiberius could see and feel what the flames would be like when he got to his level of ability. Vulcar wanted to give Tiberius something to measure himself. Though some may say that this constitutes him bullying Tiberius or trying to show off in front of him, this isn't entirely the case. He was given a set of parameters and guidelines important for growth so that Tiberius found it easier to move in the correct direction.
"How are you holding up? If it's too hot for you, you don't have to put on a strong front to impress me." Vulcar said to Tiberius. He felt it strange that a ten-year-old boy could stand this level of heat while standing so close to the source. So, Vulcar decided to give his disciple a way out if he was acting out of pride.
Giving a wry smile, Tiberius responded, "While it is a bit of a strain on my Qi reserves, I should be able to hold on for a short time longer."
Tiberius shook his head, thinking, "It is much different here than back on Earth. I would've never been able to survive these temperatures in my past life. Besides, we never paid that much attention to the process of heating the furnace, comparatively speaking anyway."
Vulcar almost choked at Tiberius' statement and exclaimed, "Boy, you're using your Qi to protect yourself?!" Upon seeing Tiberius nod in affirmation, Vulcar continued, "If you are not able to take the heat with your body alone, how are you going to finish any project in the future? YOu'll run out of Qi long before you complete whatever you're working on, and it'll be ruined. Also, how are you going to infuse Qi into your projects if your' already using it to protect yourself?!"
Releasing a tired sigh, Vulcar softened his tone slightly before saying, "Don't blame yourself too much though it was a fault on my part for not properly instructing you beforehand. But, from now on, you are not to use you're Qi during lessons." Towards the end of his statement, Vulcars' tone got more stern.
Tiberius slowly began retracting his Qi that had been shielding him until this point after being scolded. As the protection slowly faded, Tiberius felt the overbearing heat overwhelm him and begin to consume him. This action caused Tiberius to take several steps back in an unceasing effort to put distance between himself and the source of the blazing inferno. Even after moving over ten meters away, he still felt the heat seeping into his very bones, threatening to turn him into ash.
Seeing his disciple retreating backward, instead of attempting to endure as if trying to prove something stubbornly, Vulcar smiled. "It's good that he isn't as foolhardy as most others his age. He seems to understand that there are times to fight and time to retreat," Vulcar mused to himself.
Vulcar was just about to step forward and assist Tiberius in resolving the residual yang energy when he saw Tiberius do the most peculiar thing.
Tiberius furrowed his brow as he thought, This doesn't appear to be from a normal fire. So there must be something special about the flames when a cultivator is the one who makes them. But I'll consider that later, first I need to absolve this flame energy before it completely consumes me."
Thinking up to this point, Tiberius began wracking his brain, trying to think of a way to fix this situation. It took several moments, and longer than he would've liked to admit before he realized he could use his body-refining technique, 'Vitality of a Reborn Sage,' to further refine his body. Doing this would not only fix his current predicament with the intense yang energy but also help progress his technique at the same time. Once he came to this conclusion, Tiberius immediately sat down and closed his eyes to begin practicing the method, ignoring the shocked expression of his master.
Vulcar, taking a step forward, was about to not only assist Tiberius in moving further away but also scold him on the proper times to cultivate. Just as quickly as he began walking, he heard loud banging and cracking sounds coming from Tiberius' body. Vulcar came to a sudden stop to carefully observe Tiberius, and only after several moments had passed, did Vulcar let out a slight chuckle muttering to himself, "No wonder this brat has such a keen interest in learning to smith. It seems he has a technique that uses his body as material and energy as a hammer to forge himself. Slowly removing the impurities and strengthening the body." Vulcar took several steps back and removed numerous items from his interspacial ring and began working. Having seen his disciple start to meditate, Vulcar decided to watch over him and ensure nothing untoward happened to him.
It wasn't until mid-afternoon until Tiberius finished meditating. Tiberius opened his eyes, filled with jubilation, to find his master sitting not far away. The first thing Tiberius did was check his current condition and found that he was halfway through the third stage of the first domain.
Vulcar, seeing that Tiberius had awoken from his trance, finished putting the final details on the item he was making. The pieces turned out to be a pair of bracers that had a ruby embedded on each once with dragons coiled around them, their mouths open in an attempt to swallow the rubies. Once Vulcar completed the finishing touches, he looked up at Tiberius, bellowing, "Well boy, don't keep me in suspense, out with it, how much did you improve?" in an annoyed voice.
Tiberius' eyes widened, suddenly remembering that his master was there quickly said, "I made it into the third level out of nine." Slightly worried that Vulcar would try to press him for detail or, even worse, make him hand over the technique.
Vulcars' annoyance increased at seeing the look on his apprentices' face bellowing even louder, "What?! You think I crave the technique of some snot-nosed brat! To think I even made you these bracers that would assist you in absorbing and manipulating yang energy to make the technique easier to use. Now see if I let have them. Hmph." Finishing his words, Vulcar crossed his arms and turned his back to Tiberius.
Feeling deeply ashamed for ever doubting his master, even though they just met the day before, Tiberius kowtowed to Vulcar pleading, "I beg masters' forgiveness for doubting your magnanimity. I don't need the bracers as long as you continue your lessons."
With a goofy grin, Vulcar turned around and waved his hand. Tiberius was lifted to his feet by this gesture, while Vulcar said, "Fine since you seem so sincere, I'll forgive you this once. As for the bracers, ah, since they already been crafted, you might as well have them." Vulcar then threw the bracers to Tiberius, who caught Them, at the end of his words.
Tiberius put the bracers on immediately and felt a comfortable and warm current of yang energy begin to flow into him, causing him to sigh, "Aaah, so comfortable."
With a chuckle, Vulcar looked to Tiberius, "While I'm glad you like them, I must warn you about something." Vulcar looked deeply into Tiberius's eyes, continues in a stern and severe tone of voice, "You must never let anyone discover this technique of yours. I have a feeling that it is of a quality that I can't even begin to imagine, but you just aren't able to bring its full glory out yet. If word of this technique gets out, it will bring untold horrors and hardships to you and your family. In fact, if it weren't for you being my disciple and the son of my old brother, I probably would pry it out of you. Even if it meant wringing it out of your soul."
Tiberius gulped nervously, nodding, "Of course, master. I wouldn't have even revealed it to you if I wasn't sure of your honorable and gracious ways."
A goofy smile returning to his face Vulcar said, "Bah! Off with you, your lessons for today are over. Be back here at the same time tomorrow."
Tiberius gave a small smile as he bowed and left. Since he hadn't eaten anything all day, he was famished. He made his way to the kitchen to procure some food before returning to the garden he practices in to cultivate for the remainder of the time until dinner.