The cracks around Qing Shan began to grow larger and larger, until the world around him collapsed, leaving him in a black void. A light glowed in front of Qing Shan and he saw a tall man with the appearance of a middle-aged man. He was dressed humbly, in a long white robe and sandals, but Qing Shan felt as though this man was stronger than he could have imagined. Qing Shan could not even feel a sense of danger from the man, much less a. powerful aura. This meant that the man was either a saint, or a being so powerful that his strength was indiscernible.
As Qing Shan watched the man appear, he felt him memories from the fantasy world fading into the back of his mind and losing color, like a dream. Like this, Qing Shan became focused, as all of his real memories flooded to the surface.
'Could this be the creator of the trial? He seems to be a bit…'
Qing Shan let his thoughts trailed off as the man's mouth opened.
"Where am I, who are you? I could swear there was no one near me… I am not in a cave… Ah! This should mean that someone had waded their way through one of my trash dumps!"
Only after he spoke did the man take note of Qing Shan.
"Oho! I have never seen this before. I boy that has the ability to harness the power of lightning… Oh, the possibilities…"
The man stumbled into deep thought as he looked at Qing Shan. Unwilling to wait for this man to finish, Qing Shan spoke.
"So? Why am I here? Did I complete your trial? If so, don't I get a… reward?"
"Ah yes. You will have to excuse my absentmindedness. It is just that I have never seen a case like you before. Where you perhaps a bane child? Oh never mind. You are here because you have completed the Mud Star Trash Trial! And yes, you do get a reward. What you like: riches, weapons, or techniques. Or maybe even a cultivation method…?"
Qing Shan forgot about everything else once he heard the man ask him what type of reward he wanted.
"Riches!"
"Oh, are you sure? As a special offer for you I could attempt to create a unique cultivation method for you that matches your abnormal Qi. This is a one-time offer, so are you still sure that you want riches?"
Qing Shan fell into deep thought. He cared far more about money than most other things besides his revenge. However, his master had told him just how hard it would be to find a Lightning cultivation manual. He would most likely need to create his own methods…
Knowing there was only one real choice in front of him, Qing Shan spoke.
"If you really have the ability to make a unique cultivation method, or even a Martial Technique, then I will take that."
"Ah, getting greedy are we? But you do have a good point. Because the method will not be anything amazing due your case being unlike anything ever seen, I will also create a Martial Origin Scroll for your lightning Qi. Please notice how generous I am being. Usually, I would just give something I have in abundance, such as treasure, to people who complete my trash trials. You have caught my eye, and I have decided to give you a chance of a lifetime."
Qing Shan was astonished that this man actually agreed to make him a Martial Technique, and knew that this was something that was definitely beyond what he could have imagined. Full of gratitude, Qing Shan bowed, a sign of respect that he had only ever shown his master.
The man reached out and lifted Qing Shan's head.
"You can show our thanks if I actually manage to create these techniques."
Qing Shan nodded, and then the world began to shift.
A room appeared around the two men, and Qing Shan found himself sitting at a table.
The man sighed.
"Now, in order for me to make these methods for you, I need you to share your understanding of your attribute with me."
Qing Shan explained his situation to the man, and told him how he had met the spirit of a God that had used the energies already present in his body to combine the Qi attributes in his body.
"Ah, indeed, only a God would be in possession of the Primal Elements, and would have the wisdom to fix a bane child. I had hoped this process would be repeatable, but apparently you were a special case. Sigh, Okay, let me begin."
Qing Shan watched as the man opened his palms, and Qi started spinning quickly. It was so dense that Qing Shan could see it without having to activate his Third Eye. The Qi began to weave in to different shapes, and they began to weave together as the man continued to ask Qing Shan questions. Whenever the man had some understanding about Qing Shan's Lightning Qi, different forms would appear.
Soon, there was a large, diamond-shaped formation of Qi, filled with different runes that Qing Shan found unintelligible. Qing Shan could faintly feel the attribute of fire running across the formation of Qi.
The man spent hours looking at the formation closely and altering it minutely. Once he seemed to be satisfied, he took out a glass container covered in intricate runes and opened it, letting out a powerful burst of wind Qi. The Qi mixed into the formation of Qi, and then something happened. The fire Qi that had been spread evenly through the formation moved to one end, moving as far away from the wind Qi that it could.
"%&#%&#"
The man swore under his breath, before turning to Qing Shan.
"Based on what you have told me, this should have worked. This formation was supposed to be able to create a replica of your Qi. Unfortunately, that has been proven to be impossible. Now, what do you know about Cultivation Methods?"
Qing Shan did not really understand most of what the man was talking about, but he knew what Cultivations Methods were.
"A Cultivation Method is a method of Qi circulation that causes the body to change in some way. For instance, the Hammer Arm Cultivation Method is a type of Qi training that thickens the Qi in the dominant arm, causing the user to be able to multiply their power with that arm over time through Qi circulation."
"Right. Then do you know the two types of Cultivation Method?"
"I believe you are referring to Elemental Cultivation and Martial Cultivation."
"Excellent! Well, If I am going to create a Cultivation Method for you, it would be Elemental Cultivation. At an early stage it would allow you to reduce your Lightning Qi into wind Qi and Fire Qi in both sides of your body. This would not get rid of Lightning Qi, which would still be present in the center line of your body and would act as the transition between your Wind Qi and Fire Qi. At later stages, you would be able to gain full control over Wind and Fire Qi, along with your Lightning Qi. At the latest stage, I would guess that you may even be able to transform into lightning."
Just as Qing Shan started to nod feverishly in agreement, the man continued to speak.
"While this may sound great, there are certain risks. As I do not know how your Lightning Qi works, this would be purely guesswork on my part. I would be creating a Circulation Method, and things may or may not progress in the manner that I have outlined. However this is the most powerful possibility that I can think of, and if you accept this and it fails, you will not get a replacement from me. Of course, you would still get a Martial Technique to go along with it."
Qing Shan fell deep into thought.
After seriously going over every possibility, Qing Shan answered, before falling into a deep unconsciousness.
When he came to, he found himself lying in a cave, with a large hole right next to him. Once he had regained his bearings, Qing Shan realized that he was lying next to the entrance to the trial.
Qing Shan suddenly felt a large smile spread across his lips. The reason for this was that he felt two objects within his arms. To be exact, they were scrolls. It appeared that the man had finished making the scrolls and sent Qing Shan back to the surface. Qing Shan put them inside of his primal pocket dimension, and left the cave.
It was about time he returned to Rising Sun City.
Qing Shan looked into the sky, and headed south. Keeping an eye out for the 2nd Layer Wall, Qing Shan walked. Every night he slept inside of his pocket dimension. Qing Shan killed any beasts he came across, and started to become bored with killing them. It really was about time he moved down to the third layer, or at least found more powerful opponents.
After over a week of only walking, Qing Shan found the 2nd Layer Wall. He followed it southward for about a day until his he finally saw Rising Sun City on the horizon. A small smile grew on Qing Shan's face, and he looked nostalgically at the city that had started his journey. This was the place that gave him a path to follow, this place was his cultivation origin. Qing Shan then turned his gaze up to the looming wall and imagined his Master's transparent wall looking down at the large city.
Qing Shan felt excitement filling his body, and started to uncontrollably sprint toward the City. Qing Shan hurriedly told his identity to the guards, and one of them did faintly remember Qing Shan leaving. The guards let Qing Shan in, and. Qing Shan then went into his primal pocket dimension, searched his belongings, and pulled out his Gold Card.
After flashing the card to the guards at the gates of the Market District, Qing Shan hurriedly moved towards his Teacher's store. Qing Shan entered the store and bolted to the back room.
"I'm back!"
Senior Teng whirled around at the sound of Qing Shan's voice, and his aged face quickly turned into a smile that stretched his whole face.
"Qing Shan! Lad, It had been a long year, and I had feared the worst… I am so glad that you are alive."
Senior Teng began to babble emotionally, and Qing Shan began to think the man was drunk.
Suddenly, Senior Teng opened his eyes in astonishment, and stared at Qing Shan.
"A-are you actually at the Peak of Formation Soul? No… That is impossible! No one can make five breakthroughs in merely a year… Yes. It is you Qing Shan. Tell me… How did your cultivation increase so drastically in so little time?"
Qing Shan smirked at his Teacher.
"I don't know… I guess you have to keep guessing."
"Oh you little brat. You have definitely gained some confidence… I guess it is fine if you don't want to tell me about your training, but you owe me a drink!"
Seeing as night was beginning to fall, Qing Shan brought Senior Teng to the Dusty Heights, and wondered if he would see some old friends there.
Sure enough, Qing Shan walked into the tavern with his teacher in tow, and immediately spotted the pair in a heated argument.
Qing Shan walked over, before patting them both on the shoulders.
"Yuan Long, Su Yuesha, you are both bigger than this. If you want to fight, why don't you take it to the Arena…"
"That's actually… Wait. Qing Shan!"
The pair both started talking at once, and Qing Shan found it hilarious that their exclamations of surprise came at the exact same time.
The three started to catch up, and Qing Shan made sure to keep the drinks coming, only realizing now that he was low, really low on money. Right now, he would most likely only be able to stay at the Dusty Heights inn for a bit over a week. However, that did not matter to Qing Shan right now. He was just partying, and had let all of his worries go. After a year of hard training, that was definitely something he could get behind.