After confirming that Tianlan had more or less recovered, Cangsong let out a relaxed smile.
"Well, well… looks like you've improved quite a bit. I only came to check on you casually, but now… it seems you're ready for the next stage."
Tianlan blinked. "Huh? Oh—ohhh…"
Cangsong didn't answer immediately. Instead, he frowned and lowered his gaze, staring at his own right hand.
His fingers curled slightly, as though sensing something—or searching for some kind of sign.
"…Hmm… mmm… Ah! Found it."
In the next second, he pulled out a transparent sphere from his ring.
Tianlan froze. "Eh? W–Wait! Where did you take that out from?! Was that magic too??"
Cangsong tilted his head with a "Isn't that obvious?" expression.
"You don't know what a storage ring is?"
As he spoke, he continued pulling out bottles, small pouches, scrolls—one after another—from the ring.
"See? There's a bunch more."
Tianlan's jaw dropped. "Whoa…"
Cangsong chuckled and explained,
"A storage ring is a tool crafted with spatial magic applied to special materials. Rings are the most common form, but other items can work too.
But—well—they're expensive. Magicians who can use spatial magic are rare, and the materials are hard to obtain."
He swept all the items back into the ring and refocused on Tianlan.
"Alright, back on topic. Here, take this."
The transparent sphere landed in Tianlan's hands.
"This is an Affinity Test Orb. Pour your magic into it—use a lot."
"Oh, okay."
Tianlan obediently infused his magic.
Soon, the sphere lit up from within, and a spiraling glow swirled like a tiny vortex of air.
Zhenyue raised an eyebrow. "Oh? This is… wind affinity?"
Cangsong nodded. "Yup. Wind affinity. Pretty rare, not one of the four major elements—lightning, fire, ice, earth."
He frowned slightly. "That makes things a bit troublesome… Let me find something."
He started rummaging through his ring again.
"Aha! Found it—catch."
A worn-out book flew out. Tianlan hurriedly grabbed it.
"This book records the traits of most affinities. Start with the wind chapter.
Honestly, I thought you'd be fire or lightning. If it were one of the four major elements, I could give you more direct guidance."
As he spoke, he casually demonstrated lightning, fire, ice, and earth magic—four elemental forces swirling across his palm in shifting colors.
Tianlan stared with round eyes. "Then… does that mean I can only use wind-type techniques? I can't learn anything else?"
Cangsong shook his head immediately.
"Not necessarily. It depends on your affinity with other elements.
Generally, you can learn other attributes, but they'll be weaker than wind—maybe around seventy percent or less of your wind potential."
"But—it's not like every element will fit you. Compatibility matters."
Tianlan flipped pages while listening attentively.
"What I can teach you is how to control magic more efficiently," Cangsong continued. "As for techniques… you can get inspiration from the book. Feel free to imagine whatever you want.
Oh—and look through the other attributes too. You might need them in future battles."
Tianlan nodded.
"From today on, your daily training is split into three parts:
First, continue physical and close-combat training with Zhenyue.
Second, learn elemental magic from me.
Lastly, reserve time to craft your own spells. Aim toward wind affinity—the book will help."
After speaking, Cangsong flicked his right hand, summoning another book.
This one was clearly different from the old one—its cover was ornate, ancient, even radiating faint energy that reminded Tianlan of Xuan Ye's mysterious tome.
"I'm not an expert on wind affinity," Cangsong admitted. "But I can at least show you a few examples."
He flipped the pages while mumbling,
"Hmm… where was it… mmh… Ah! Here—found it."
In the blink of an eye, he raised his hand—
A massive wind blade shot toward Zhenyue without warning!
Both Tianlan and Qingluo jumped in shock.
Zhenyue hadn't expected the sudden attack either, but as the patriarch of the Fist Clan, failing to react to this would be embarrassing.
He grinned, stomped the ground, and steadied his stance—
Magic surged instantly into his right arm.
BOOM!!
A single punch shattered the enormous wind blade.
The exploding pressure ripped across the clearing, and broken streams of wind carved countless fine scars across the ground.
At that moment, Tianlan was completely stunned.
He finally realized how much Zhenyue had been holding back during his training.
That punch—
If it had landed on him—
He wouldn't even have time to raise his arms. He'd be crushed instantly. Perhaps outright killed.
Cangsong smirked proudly. "Well? Feeling inspired yet? Maybe you can base a technique on this?"
Tianlan was still dazed, and only regained his voice after Cangsong repeated the question.
"Uh… if I merge wind affinity into my Sky-Split Slash… would it get stronger?"
Cangsong grinned.
"Oh? Already thinking about applications? Of course it'll get stronger.
But—you must first convert your magic into wind affinity."
Tianlan blinked. "Aren't you here to teach me that?"
"Hehehe." Cangsong chuckled. "You're confident, huh? Then try it."
He began his demonstration.
"First, let your magic flow continuously through your body—feel for your affinity core.
I do have a wind core too, but it's very small, so I can't describe exactly how it feels. Probably like… well… wind."
"For example, I want to convert to fire. The fire core emits heat.
So I let the magic I'll use absorb that fiery element—then release it—"
Before he even finished speaking, his right hand burst into flames, heat warping the air.
Tianlan closed his eyes and tried it himself…
He searched his body for the sensation of "wind."
—One minute
—Ten minutes
—Thirty minutes
—One hour
And then—
Tianlan's eyes snapped open.
"I got it!!"
A faint swirl of wind gathered in his palm, like a gentle breeze rising from nowhere.
Weak, yes.
But undeniably real.
He shouted excitedly, "Look! I did it!"
Cangsong burst into laughter.
"What is that—are you helping me cool down? Hahahaha!"
Tianlan blushed and scratched his cheek.
Cangsong flicked his forehead.
"That's just the beginning.
Next, improve your conversion speed. Get your body used to elemental magic.
Enemies won't politely wait for you to prepare."
"And one more thing—your Sky-Split Slash: stop using full power every time.
Work on activating it instantly.
Raw power can come later."
Only then did Tianlan realize something.
"…Eh? Where's Uncle Zhenyue?"
(To be continued)