Passionate Flames

Day three didn't start off so well...

Nagini hissed at Misao when she dropped a plate on the floor. "Watch it, klutz! I paid huge money for those! These plates aren't cheap y'know!"

"S-Sorry, Nagini! I didn't mean to!" Misao squeaked.

"For the love of-" Qiao Zhi groaned and walked into the kitchen. "I can hear you all the way from my quarters. What is going on here?"

"This damn fox dropped a very well conditioned plate! It shattered!" Nagini hissed.

I groaned and walked into the kitchen. "Quiet down." I said then used my Glass Manipulation to fix the plate. I snapped my fingers and a weak burst of air caused the plate to float on the counter.

Misao was in awe from what she witnessed. "What was that?"

I looked at Misao then placed my hands behind my back. "Glass Manipulation. A combination of Earth and Fire. Next is Air Manipulation. There are two ways to learn it. Maximizing your skill in the Wood Element or honing the power of your Chi."

"Great here comes professor with the lessons." Nagini groaned and crossed her arms.

"I fixed your stupid plate. The least you can do is be thankful. Thankful for the plate and I'm training Misao." I said.

"Hmph! I highly doubt she would be ready. Her learning curve is slow remember?" Nagini said.

"Have more faith in people." I sighed.

"I don't need faith. I need results." Nagini said and took out a few bowls and a pan so she could make breakfast.

I crossed my arms and shook my head. I just walked off to get ready for the day. I went to the springs in the back and prepared myself to take a bath. I took off my clothes and walked into the water with a towel on my head and a few washing supplies. I sat down in the water and closed my eyes.

As I relaxed in the water and washed myself, I heard the door opening slowly. I opened my eyes and noticed it was Misao.

"Liao Ru." She started.

I watched Misao take off her clothes and she walked into the water and sat down with me. "Misao, what's the matter."

"I can't do anything right." She said, in a discouraged manner.

"It is only day three, Xeusheng Misao. You won't be perfect in anything as well. Perfection is something not ideal to strive for." I said.

"But...Nagini hates me." Misao said and her fox ears lowered.

"She hates everyone with the exception of me and Shi. She doesn't even like Qiao Zhi." I replied. "The only way to get her to respect you is to defeat her in battle."

Misao looked away and held her arms. "Are you sure I will be ready before then..?"

I nodded. "Look at Meng Xun. My number one student. She has been taught the ways of Qinggong and even developed her own combat style known as Drunkfu. She gathers energy through alcohol and when she's intoxicated, she's at her strongest."

"I want to be at my strongest too." Misao said.

"Your power comes from faith itself. We will have to get you connected with the Yellow Emperor or as he's known Huangdi. He is the Alpha Reality of all Chinese Legends. Once we get you connected to him, you will train with me to learn Chinese Divination that way you can use your abilities the way you would like and you might even be able to channel their powers and similar forms." I explained.

"So what is there for me to learn today?" Misao asked.

"Fire Element, Earth Element, Metal Element, and finally Water. In that order. Wood feeds Fire, the Fire produces Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal collects Water, and finally Water nourishes Wood. To master Wu Xing, you must master the Cycles of Wu Xing." I said.

"The Cycles?" Misao asked.

"The Cycle, yes. The Sheng Cycle, the Xie Cycle, the Ke Cycle, the Cheng Cycle, and last, the Wu Cycle." I explained.

"That's a lot, but I'm willing to learn." Misao said.

I smiled at her then finished cleaning myself. "We will start training in a bit."

"Yes." Misao nodded.

-----

"Alright, next you will learn the Fire Element. Going with the Sheng Cycle, Wood creates and feeds Fire. You will need to create a fire to manipulate it." I said then tapped my foot against the ground and two blocks of wood emerged from the ground. "Your task is to create a fire with these two blocks of wood."

Misao nodded and took a deep breath then exhaled. She held her hands out toward the two pieces of wood then moved them closer together, striking them against one another. She did this a number of times, but to no prevail.

"You're doing it wrong." I said and walked to the blocks of wood. I picked up one of the blocks. "You can't make fire by striking two pieces of wood together. You must use friction. You must think creatively. The easiest solution is always the last to be thought of."

Misao watched me place the block back down. She nodded and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes then raised her arm in the air. She generated roots to emerge from underground and split the blocks of wood in half. She then used gestures as I taught her to manipulate the wood and raise it in the air. She began to rub the wood together quickly and soon smoke began to form from the friction of the wood pieces. A fire formed from the wood and she gently placed the wood on the dirt.

"Good. Now first you must manipulate the properties of fire to be able to generate fire from nothing. You must understand the flame like you understood the wood." I said and held my hand on out at the flame. I moved my hand around and the flame followed my hand. I clapped my hands together and the flame burst into a bigger flame.

Misao grunted and covered her face from the heat waves the flame produced.

I exhaled and snapped my fingers and the flame went back to normal. "I am naturally adept to wielding fire, but I have high hopes that you will be able to at least move the fire."

Misao looked at me then looked back at the flame. She held her hands out and gulped.

"Halt!" I said and crossed my arms. I could tell she was extremely nervous and excitable. "Keep in mind, Control, Discipline, Restraint, and Forethought. Fire is a much more dangerous element than any of the five. You can hurt yourself and others if you are not able to stay calm."

Misao could tell that she was nervous. She took a few deep breaths and began to move her hands and arms in with fluidity and deep concentration. The flame subtly moved with her, but not enough. She could concentrate on the flame while moving and soon the flame fully moved with her as if it were resonating with her.

"I-I'm doing it..!" Misao said.

"Focus!" I said.

"O-Okay!" Misao nodded, she began to focus once more whilst controlling the flame with her movement.

"Always concentrate." I said then tapped the tip of my foot against the ground. Water began to emerge from the pond beside us then it splashed on the fire, extinguishing it. "Produce a new flame."

Misao looked at me then at the damp wood. She raised her hands and roots began to sprout from the ground. The roots chopped off branches from the trees then she used the branches to create a new fire.

I made water splash on the fire again. "Again!"

Misao did the same process and once again I splashed water on the flame.

"Wrong! Again!" I said as I paced back and forth behind Misao, watching her.

Misao generated two new roots to cut down more branches and made a new fire, just for it to be put out with water.

"Again!" I instructed.

"She's really working Misao to the bone huh." Shi asked as he stood in the distance.

"This is why she's the best teacher." Meng Xun said and smiled. She began to remember what it was like to start off as my student. "Master Liao Ru doesn't teach to make sure we get it perfect. She teaches to make sure we never get it wrong again."

"Is that what she told you?" Shi asked.

Meng Xun nodded. "This is why she's a master in so many skills and techniques. She trains herself to the core. She trains until she doesn't make another mistake again. Perfection isn't something that can be reached, but the ability to never fail again is reachable."

Misao panted and sunk down to her knees. "What am I doing wrong, Liao Ru? Why must I keep doing this? I can see the sunlight.."

I stopped and looked at Misao. "You are not producing a proper flame. You've seen the fire a numerous of times. Are you telling me you can't generate a flame by now?"

Misao looked surprised and looked up at me.

"The reason I keep putting out your flame after you use Wood to create it is because the more you see the flame over and over again, you will be able to generate it just from nothing. Now try it." I said and gave her some of my Chi to recover some of her stamina.

Misao stood up slowly and her eyes shined a bit. "I will."

She began to completely concentrate and held her hand out in front of her. She focused and had what a flame was like and all of its properties. She softly grunted and a weak ember formed in her hands.

"Come on. Show me more than a few sparks." I said.

Misao took a deep breath and exhaled then the tiny flame began to grow. The flame became harder for her to control as she generated more of it. The flame burst into a larger uncontrollable flame and Misao looked surprised and panicked.

"L-Liao Ru!" Misao cried out.

"Focus yourself! The more you panic the worse it will get." I said and watched the flame begin to set the tree in front of us ablaze.

Misao tried to concentrate, but became even more frightened over the thoughts of her hurting me with the out of control fire.

"Look at me." I said.

Misao turned her head to me with a scared expression on her face.

"It's alright." I said then gently pat her head. "I am right here. You will not hurt me."

Misao began to calm down and the flame in her hand began to grow calm with her. The more I spoke to Misao the calmer she became and soon the flame disappeared.

I smiled at Misao and placed my hands behind my back, stepping backwards. "See? You made it disappear. You can do it." I said and stomped my foot down and the burning tree became anew once again.

Misao smiled at me then fainted. I caught her and held her in my arms. I realized the true potential she had. Her ability to learn new skills quickly had me intrigued about her. I have never had interest in many people other than Qiao Zhi because of him being the reincarnation of Zhong Li and his history with Bai Xang, but Misao had me interested because of her potential.

"Look at that. Misao is pretty amazing." Shi said.

"Yeah. I knew Nagini was wrong for doubting Misao. She even impressed Liao Ru which is difficult to do." Meng Xun said and watched me carry Misao back to base.

As I walked toward the path to the base, I noticed Meng Xun and Shi. "You two were watching?"

"Sorry, Master! We just wanted to see how far Misao was coming along and so far I'm impressed! She learned the Fire Element within a couple hours! That's impressive." Meng Xun said and smiled.

"It is something not easily learned. Wu Xing I mean. It took me years to grasp the concept. It's only taken Misao two days to learn two elements when it would taken most one week to learn one element." Shi said.

"Her potential is enormous. I can sense it. She also has untapped power within her which adds onto her already large potential she has. I can see great things in her in the future." I said.

"Noxius isn't gonna know what hit her." Shi chuckled.

-----

Qiao Zhi meditated in his room and had his energy flowing around his body. "Bai Xang. Your reign of terror ends soon. I will change you back in one way or another. Back to the Bai Xang I grew up with. The Bai Xang I loved."

Qiao Zhi heard his door opening and opened his eyes. He looked at Shi who stood at his door.

"Care for a little sparring match?" Shi asked.

Qiao Zhi smirked and closed his eyes, standing up. "Sure. Let's head to the training grounds."

The two made their way to the training grounds and prepared themselves for a sparring match. The two decided to not take anything seriously, mainly because Shi wanted to talk to Qiao Zhi as he sparred.

"So, about Misao." Shi said and grunted as he dodged Qiao Zhi's spinning kick.

"What about her?" Qiao Zhi grunted, blocking Shi's palm strike.

Shi stepped back and smiled at Qiao Zhi. "She's growing pretty fast with Liao Ru's guidance and teachings. You think she'll grow strong enough to face Nagini?"

Qiao Zhi dodged Shi's strike then countered with a strike to his gut. "I am neutral on this entire Nagini and Misao situation. Whether she wins or not does not apply to my main focuses."

Shi chuckled and stumbled back after getting hit. "Same old Qiao Zhi. I might say you're just as callous as Noxius and I've known her for longer."

"Hmph. You can just say I'm very focused on the main task at hand." Qiao Zhi said and watched Shi. "After all we are the only ones who can stop Bai Xang and her allies."

"Another thing, you and Liao Ru seem rather close. You two have history?" Shi asked.

"Not necessarily. We are only connected through ancestry. She's the reincarnation of the legendary Long Zhihou and I am the reincarnation of Zhong Li. Those two were like brothers in arms. Zhong Li went corrupt after his ruling over the 12 National Kingdoms. Long Zhihou stopped him and became a legendary figure. We were connected by history." Qiao Zhi answered.

"Ahh I see. Reincarnations. That's rather interesting. I would like to know more about that." Shi said and went for a sweep kick.

Qiao Zhi jumped over the kick then landed on the ground and rushed over to Shi then countered his strike with a submission hold.

Shi groaned and tapped out. "I yield!"

Qiao Zhi smiled and let him go. "I will only share my past when I'm ready. Now I must get back to meditating." He said and helped Shi up.

Shi watched Qiao Zhi walk off and dusted himself off. "The most mysterious you are, Qiao Zhi, the more intrigued I become." He said and made his way back into the base.