3rd of Season of Fire, 57th year of the 32nd cycle

“That’s an interesting defensive skill for your realm. Most can’t separate their protections from their body until the fourth realm. How far can you push it?”

Newt projected Granite Crust away from himself, and the dark cloud started dissolving at around a foot away.

“Wonderful.” Elder Alabaster suppressed a clap. “We will have to test its exact defensive capability later and compare it with the best ones I can teach you. Can you split it into multiple layers?”

“No.” Newt dropped Granite Crust, his head swimming from the effort of projecting a three-dimensional shield so far from his body. “If I summon another one, the first one dissolves.”

“Mhm.” Elder Alabaster rubbed her chin. “That’s not what I asked, though. Can you split it into four layers, each with a quarter of the power of the full technique?”

“Um, I don’t know? Why would I do that?”

“Layered defenses with slightly different layers can absorb more force than a single, monolithic shield. You have a fire affinity, you could mix in an explosive retaliation to strike your opponent whenever a layer of your defenses shatters. The possibilities are endless, if you know a bunch of minor tricks and how to mix them up properly.”

Newt scratched his head.

“Didn’t you just say I should rely on existing techniques, Master?”

“Yes, you should start with those, and customize to suit you. I just said that.” Elder Alabaster clapped her hands twice. “Now, enough talking, more demonstrating.”

Newt started somersaulting and jumping around while his master continued with tips. “Other than your team, the next most important thing for you is resources. The most valuable resource is spiritual energy, and you need to optimize its usage. I can give you a small allowance, but I won’t until you earn it somehow. Enough with the hopping, next.”

Newt landed, then considered the rest of his unimpressive arsenal. Cauterize Wounds and Fiery Purge he could not demonstrate, Flaming Fist III was shameful compared to the other fire cultivator, but it was a technique he knew.

“The best use of spirit gems for cultivation is to ignite energy-gathering spell formations. You get four or five times the energy from the crystal, but you pay for the benefit with the time wasted on meditation to actively absorb the energy. That’s enough firebolts, I’ll find you something better. What else do you know? Any continuous jets of flame? Those are popular.”

Newt shook his head absentmindedly, thinking about what his master had just said. I could read books in those formations while getting a four-fold return of the spiritual gems I use for cultivation.

“Hello, Newstar, are you listening to me?” Elder Alabaster waved her hand in front of his eyes. “Do you want me to start testing the hardness of your defensive skill now?”

“Sorry, Master, you said something that got me thinking. Is there a book in the Chamber of Tomes with disciple tips written by elders and other disciples? I’m feeling guilty wasting your time like this.” Newt gave his master an honest, I-don’t-wanna-be-a-bother smile, and the woman smiled back.

“You’re so sweet. I’m certain there are, but ask Senior Thunderwing to make sure. I rose from the outer sect, like most, so I already knew all the knowhow. But that’s good thinking, there’s no telling how many pieces of advice I might miss because I expect you to know about such common matters already.” Her warm voice changed, growing cooler. “Now, about those jets of flame?”

Newt did not know how to spew jets of flame from his hands or mouth or anything else, but Flashfire did impress Elder Alabaster.

“I don’t remember seeing anything like that. Disabling the eyes and ears of an opponent at my realm isn’t even an inconvenience, but at your realm, it could be a lifesaver. Especially the noiseless variant, because that explosion might attract more trouble than it deafens, and the burst of sound would impact your team as much as it does your enemy.”

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She spun around and gave a nod to someone to Newt’s right.

“And here is your first sparring partner. They have seen all your skills and now it’s time for them to pummel you.”

Newt looked towards the newcomers, who stepped into their sound-absorbing bubble. The elder was chubby and tall, taller than Dandelion. His expression was cheerful, with a light smile framed by an ocean-blue beard. His disciple, less so. The heroic-looking young man was a finger’s width shorter than his master, and he held his chin high, gazing down at Newt with a light smirk.

“Elder Alabaster,” the cheery elder said.

“Elder Bluestar. This is my newest disciple, Newstar.”

“Oh, an auspicious name, greetings, young man.”

Newt offered a polite bow, and Bluestar motioned at his heroic disciple. “This is Flamesand, my third realm disciple, I think exchanging pointers with Newstar would prove beneficial for the both of them.”

“Junior Apprentice Brother,” Flamesand inclined his head, and Newt did not know how to address him.

They were in the same realm, the other was clearly trying to assert dominance by calling him a junior despite them being equals. What would happen if Newt took a submissive approach? What about a dominant one?

“Newstar, greet your apprentice brother,” Elder Alabaster said when the silence stretched too long, giving Newt the answer.

“Apprentice Brother Flamesand,” Newt returned the subtle nod, but did not know what came next.

Fortunately, the elders withdrew at the same time, opening up the space for them. Flamesand was twenty paces away and drew his curved long-sword.

“Flamesand has been working on his sword technique,” Elder Bluestar said and his disciple shot forward with a burst of flames beneath his legs, his speed superior to Newt’s when he used Fire Burst.

The black-haired young man slashed, and Newt just stared at him.

He’s full of openings. Newt reaped great benefits from his week-long weapons training with Dandelion. For starters, he could see Flamesand was a novice, inferior even to him, let alone to the disciples of Everfrost Palace, let alone to Dandelion.

Newt pivoted, the fiery sword slashed half a foot away. Magmin Scales covered his skin, Granite Crust forming a layer above it as he swiped the butt end of his spear at Flamesand’s legs. The heroic young man lost his footing and he did exactly what Newt would have done, he sent a burst of flames before him, pushing himself up on his legs, pushing his skull straight in the way of the cleaving glaive-head.

Right before the reinforced, rocky glaive connected with the squishy brain matter, Newt realized Flamesand was too slow and too inexperienced to dodge. There was no stopping his arms, nor the blade about to brain his arrogant fellow disciple.

Newt’s eyes went wide. He ordered his arms to stop, knowing they would not until his practice glaive had sunk deep into his sparring partner’s skull. Then, his arms froze, the glaive had fused with an impossibly hard wall of stone, and another part of the wall smashed into the back of Flamesand’s head, sending him back to the ground, out cold.

“I apologize for my disciple’s heavy hand,” Elder Alabaster said, her lips trembling as she tried and failed to fully suppress a laugh. “He treated the duel like a real battle and nearly killed your disciple.”

She pointed at the prone Flamesand, his unconscious face buried in the dirt. “I blunted the blow and spread the force, but it was still way too much for a mere spar.”

As she spoke, a mother of all lumps grew from Flamesand’s scalp, looking like a black anthill.

Opposite to Elder Alabaster’s endless amusement, the formerly cheery Elder Bluestar looked ready to explode into screams and curses.

Elder Alabaster placed her hands on her hips and glared at Newt, but her glare seemed to say, ‘Way to go, kid!’

“Newstar, what you did was unfair, bullying inexperienced fellow disciples to such an extent. I expect you won’t take advantage of others that way anymore.” Her tone was sharp, her arms moved and ended up folded, her eyes said, ‘Keep it up.’

Elder Bluestar was furious. He waved a hand and a gust of air levitated his unconscious disciple and they left Newt’s practice area.

Elder Alabaster covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe he embarrassed himself like that. Your next opponent won’t be as conceited. They will go in for the kill, using superior techniques. Don’t be afraid, nothing will happen to you.”

“Alabaster,” a woman entered the zone, and Elder Alabaster removed the hand from her mouth. “Such a shameful display from that Bluestar’s kid. He’s been training him for two years, and a newcomer beats him senseless. Hello, young man.”

“Greetings, Elder,” Newt reproduced the exact same half-bow he gave Elder Bluestar.

“You have mastered that weapon of yours.”

“I had an excellent teacher, resolved to impart as much knowledge as he could in the short time I trained under him.”

The elder who failed to give her name nodded and motioned a young woman to approach. “Crystal, how about you exchange a couple pointers with Alabaster’s newest disciple. We block the blows against our disciples, should they turn lethal. What do you say, Alabaster?”