"I bet Shen Ruo won't go to sleep.", Shen Hua and Lu Yin lay down but left the lights on.
Lu Yin chuckled a little, "Yes. Do you tease him a lot?" Lu Yin continued the conversation.
"Of course it is! It's the work of an older brother."
"That's right. Sorry for what I said before, asking you to give something you risked your life for isn't fair. Neither with you nor with Yami."
"No need to apologize. You care a lot about your country, so it's normal to put it first, sometimes. If it makes you feel better I'll join the Battle."
"You would have to participate anyway, but thanks for the enthusiasm. The Battle is very important, now the Diamond Kingdom has suffered a loss and will have a hard time reestablishing, but that doesn't leave our country out of danger."
"I know. I want to get stronger, strong enough to do anything I want, strong enough to be free."
"Strong enough to do what you want. Um, it's a big dream, but isn't it a little frivolous?"
"It sure is. Is that a problem?"
"Not necessarily, if you're happy like that then there's no problem."
"Yes, I could not be happy for a long time. One day I hit bottom, I almost died beaten up, I was suffering for a long time. When I got better I promised I would live to the full."
"Almost dying is horrible. During my first Battle I was surrounded by enemies, was alone and tired, it was the third day. I was hit but managed to escape and entered a cave. It collapsed on top of me and I was trapped buried, in pain and with no means to ask for help, I only survived by luck. I stayed there until the end of the battle, before that I was serious and played the role of perfect prince and rarely had fun. After this I started to play and have fun, in short, enjoy life without caring with nothing else."
"This story seems to have a 'but'."
"Has. After my parents died I had to take on my responsibilities, so I realized that can't live all your life just having fun."
"I understand that. I have to take care of Shen Ruo, I have to earn money to keep myself and him, all I have are responsibilities, although I just seem to have fun I take everything seriously. When I say I want to be strong to be free is that I want to be strong so I don't have to worry about anything, no one trying to kill me or my family. Not to worry about anything, just live my life."
"A boy like you shouldn't talk like that. Did you know I saw you kill that Sand-Tailed Scorpion? When I saw you I thought about turning you into my disciple."
"Why did you talk about it now? Want me to turn your disciple?"
"Of course I want to! But what about you?"
"I accept if you train Shen Ruo too."
"I would be more than happy to accept it."
"So I want my first lesson."
"And which one is it?"
"I want to know how I become a medium level cultivator."
"Leveling up? It's not easy, first you need the crystals then you need to assimilate them. When you do that you will unleash the new means of controlling your power, all that remains is learning to make the moves, if you can't make it in a week fails and cannot try again for a year."
"New moves?"
"Yes, when you pass the level you gain a new characteristic or a new way to control your element. An example would be your lightning power. If you used a crossbow crystal that can condense lightning on a sword, you would gain the ability to condense them into armor. If you use one of a crossbow that can cover your body with lightning to defend yourself you will be able to cover your whole body with lightning and speeding up. Didn't you know that? "
"Of course I did. Only not in so much detail. And when I pass rank?"
"When you pass rank each element reacts differently. Lightning allows you to do something new, if you use the crystal of the sword beast you gain the ability to make a sword without the characteristics your armor has. Fire allows you to make some kind of attack, such as spit fire for example, or make a different flame. If you use the crystal of an animal with a different flame you will be able to use it and if you use the crystal of a fire-breathing animal you will be able to do the same with the flame you have. If you use a crystal that gives you a new fire, the crystals to level up in this rank only give a characteristic to the flame and if you use one that gives you a new way to use fire, the crystals to level up in this rank will give you new attacks. The wind is the same, when you choose a crystal that gives the wind an atack, the crystals to level up in this rank will give a characteristic, if the crystal allows you to use a different type of wind such as gas or smoke, the crystals at this level will give a new attack. The water mixes the liquid you have chosen with the new, if your first crystal allows you to use a poison, if you use a crystal that allows you to control another poison, the two mix and maintain the characteristics of the two, sometimes even giving a new power, and rank crystals only give ways to use the liquid. The earth gives the characteristics of the new element to what it had before, if you control stone and the new crystal is of a beast that turns the body into diamond your stone will acquire the characteristics of a diamond, and the next crystals of rank te let you use the element in a new way."
"Thanks for the lesson! Now I understand how you became the director of the academy."
"It was also because I'm great with kids!"
"Really !? Better sleep, tomorrow we'll have to run a lot."
"You're right, by this time they must have discovered the theft."
"Ahh, damn it!"
"What's it?"
"I think I made a person who helped me take the blame for the theft."
"As well?
"As we ran away a girl was fighting the guards, they must have thought it was she who stole the treasure."
"Has she seen you?"
"Yes, she saw, but it won't deliver us. She gave us something to keep so it won't deliver us."
"Good. But what are you going to do with what she gave you two?"
"Nothing for now. I have a lot to do and that's not a priority. Go to sleep, we have to rest. Good night."
Shen Hua turned to sleep, seeing that Lu Yin did the same.