Gu Rong's Training
Gu Rong rose up slowly: " Good! I'll show you where you will be staying. Then I'll bring you to my personal training ground. "
Sora nodded quietly, following the Titled Douluo. Leaving the library, they took their time walking inside the castle. The servants minded their own business, avoiding their path even. However, every other person in the castle was a cultivator and each of them would greet Senior Gu Rong respectfully. Although he nodded and smiled to each of them warmly, he only answered back rarely. When he did however, Sora presumed correctly that it was someone with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile spirit. Most of them seemed surprised to see Sora but they didn't comment about it.
They climbed in a remote area in the center of the castle. There was guards on each pavilions. Although Sora couldn't sense their cultivation, from their age only, he could guess that the guards were getting stronger and stronger as they climbed. All of them however would only smile without speaking a word, sidestepping to let Gu Rong and his guest bypass them.
Gu Rong reminded him as they finally arrived at the top floor of the castle: " Once we finish training, I'll give you a plate to be able to come to your room. The access it will give you are limited however, you'll be escorted to your room as soon as you reach the seven floor if you're not with me. Since the headmaster is not here yet, this is as much freedom I can give you on those floors. "
He finally stopped in front of a door, turning to Sora " For now, do not summon your spirit unless you are in your own room or when I told you so. I would also remind you to not offend anyone in this castle. Even though you'll be considered my personal guest with the plate I'll give you, the coming days will be crucial for your future here. I might be a Titled Douluo but we both serve the Ning family. Do you understand? "
Sora nodded. He was very clear on what Gu Rong meant. Even him as a Titled Douluo couldn't go against the Ning family. Such cautiousness was understandable in Sora's eyes.
After Sora nodded, Gu Rong opened the room's door in front of them. Sora was astonished. This guest room was five hundred meters for each side. It included living room and a bedroom with a large bed with curtains all around it. This bed was big enough for four person to sleep in! There was almost no separation between each room except for a door in the corner of the bathroom further ahead. Sora could guess this was where he would relief himself.
This bathroom was unusual. Instead of being made of wood like the rest, it was carved in stone. While the walls seemed to have being carved in a single block, the floor was made of different stone pattern. However, in their pattern, some of them were glowing in the dark. The window itself had a strange frosty look to it, only allowing the light to come inside but nothing else. It was the first time Sora saw this much luxury in a bathroom.
Gu Rong waited a moment for Sora to take it all in. Then he cough to attract his attention: " I'm glad it's to your liking. Remember where the room is, you can enjoy it later. "
Sora tried to bottle down his excitement before following back Gu Rong out of the room. They went back to the second floor, where Gu Rong stopped to give a few orders and to get a badge for Sora to wear. It was shaped like a skull with the number of his room on it. He figured this badge was to represent Senior Bone guests. After that, he explained to Sora:
" This badge will allow you to go in your room but also enjoy some commodities here, like the hot springs or the library. There is a list of schedules and rules to follow for each locations, don't hesitate to ask around for them. I'll only train you for the next hours before I have to return to my duties so you can check them out later today."
With that, Gu Rong leaded Sora's next to a remote part of the castle. There was a guard post there and next to it, a door that could almost not be noticed if one wouldn't look carefully. There was a staircase there. After a moment, they reached a large underground room with the same glowing rocks he saw earlier on the walls that gave an eerie feeling to the room. To Sora's surprise, there was a large fossil of animal who was incrusted as part of the floor. Because the lighting was poor and also because it was on the other side of the room, Sora couldn't guess what kind of fossil it was.
Gu Rong stopped soon after they entered: " This is where I cultivate. My spirit have a strong connection to the earth element so, of course, being underground is the best spirit mimicry environment for me. This is also the perfect place to train you without anyone spying on us. Now, sit down. Your first exercise will be to withstand my pressure. Don't summon your spirit unless you can't handle it anymore. I want to test your limits. "
Sora smiled hearing that. This exercise was familiar to him. Once he sat down, the training began immediately. Sora's circulated his spirit power in his body to the maximum, ignoring the increasing pain brought by the spirit power pressure.
Because of his high expectations, Gu Rong wasn't very surprise that Sora could endure a pressure of thirty rank of spirit power. What surprised him however was that Sora didn't seem to show any discomfort. Gu Rong continued to make the pressure of his spirit power raise one rank at the time. When it reached rank forty, he couldn't help but be astonished that Sora didn't summon his spirit!
Gu Rong was incredibly excited. Although this might be partially the result in the change that happened to Sora first spirit ring, the fact that Sora's didn't summon his spirit yet was extraordinary. Being able to endure such pain to this point meant his resilience and willpower was extremely rare for his age.
It's only when Gu Rong increased his spirit rank to forty five that a pained expression showed on Sora's face, the latter summoning his spirit. Sora expression immediatly relaxed. Gu Rong decided to test Sora a bit more. After all, Sora would be getting another spirit ring soon and such test would allow him to guess how much spirit power Sora's body would be able to absorb for his next spirit ring.
To his surprise, he went passed fifty-five rank of spirit power in term of pressure and Sora was looking as determined as ever. There was a slight white aura around Sora's body as the pressure was making him unable to move in the slightest. Even breathing became difficult for Sora.
As Gu Rong was about to stop the test, something unexpected happened. His experimented eyes went wide and, for the first time in a long while, something was able to surprise him.
A strange light shined on Sora's lower abdomen before a thick shadow suddenly shrouded Sora. This training ground was already dim-lilted but now, Sora was completely hidden in this darkness. Gu Rong felt the pressure he was giving to Sora had diminish once again when the darkness appeared.
Gu Rong stopped almost immediately the pressure around Sora when this happened. He didn't say a word, watching Sora with both astonishment and excitement.
The youngster eyes were still closed so he didn't realize how excited Gu Rong was. He only felt an immense sensation of relief when the test was over and, eyes closed, Sora was focused on his breathing. He didn't know why but his whole body felt freshened. At first, he thought it was Gu Rong doing but as his breathing went back to normal, he sensed something was amiss. He opened his eyes and looked down...
Sora realized in horror that his manhood was actually pointing to the sky... and even more embarrassing was that he thought Gu Rong was staring right at it! He quickly turned around as fast as he could, cheeks getting redder then a tomato. Even years later, this memory would still haunt him as one of the time he felt the most embarrassed.
Sora was wrong however about Gu Rong. The old man didn't see Sora's body reaction. It was partly due because of the darkness surrounding Sora of course. But he was also due to his own nature. As a man, he avoided looking at this part of Sora's anatomy and Gu Rong was now using spiritual power instead of his eyes to monitor Sora. Although he wasn't very skilled with it, as a Titled Douluo, he could naturally sense the spirit power sent by Sora in his abdomen. He came to the conclusion it was a torso spirit bone. However, a strong torso spirit bone would make him sense Sora's spirit power coming from the whole chest, not only a part of it. He came to the conclusion it wasn't a very strong spirit bone. Even more, the old man didn't feel the darkness surrounding Sora had increased Sora's stats, like his speed or strength. The only thing he could sense was a slightly colder aura around Sora's body. Although this cold energy could probably harm a low level spirit master, Gu Rong evaluated its damage potency as the equivalent of a hundred year old ability at best.
But even so, Gu Rong was still excited. Spirit Bone were extremely rare and a torso spirit bone was the most valuable among them. If the quality of a spirit bone was low, its spirit ability and the stats added to one body would be limited. However, one of the huge help of spirit bone would be to increase the age a spirit ring when you need to get one. By allowing the energy of the spirit ring to flow inside the spirit bone and fill it temporary with this energy, any spirit ring would be absorbed much smoother then without it. So, as much as Gu Rong was concerned, this torso spirit bone meant Sora value for the school increased even more!
Gu Rong was wrong however, it wasn't a torso spirit bone. If he had knew this was an external spirit bone, he would probably have made Sora his disciple on the spot!
Sora felt clearer what was happening to his own body. Sora's couldn't see the darkness surrounding him, he only felt a cool and refreshing sensation. What he did realized however was that only his manhood felt heated up instead of being cooled down. Sora was at a loss about what to do but he tried sending spirit power in the lower half of his body. It felt it was working, as a tingling sensation was spreading below his navel. After spending no less than a third of his spirit power, his manhood finally cooled off and regained his original size. The darkness dissipated around Sora at the same time and Gu Rong noticed a thin layer of ice on the ground below Sora.
Although Sora was relief this phenomenon was finally over, he was too embarrassed to turn around and face Gu Rong. The old Title Douluo misinterpreted his embarrassment and he chuckled: " It's your first time using your spirit bone isn't it? "
A spirit bone? Sora ignored his embarrassment and slowly turned around to Gu Rong, who was watching him with interest. The old man continued:
" What's the effect of your spirit bone? All I could see was a dark shroud around you. It had some cold energy seeping from it but it didn't seem very powerful... "
The young man frowned hearing that: " A dark shroud... "
Sora thought of the dying Jackalope spirit ability that he used when he died. Somehow, he was beginning to make a link between the two, especially when he noticed the thin layer of frost on the ground. Before he could think it further, Gu Rong insisted: " So? "
Sora smiled embarrassedly: " I'm sorry Senior Gu Rong, I was distracted. I'm not entirely sure to be honest. I didn't see this dark shroud myself, I only felt there was a cooling and refreshing blanket around me. If I had to guess, I think it have to be linked with the ability of the Jackalope I absorbed. I think it's absorbing the light and heat around me. "
Gu Rong reply: " Then we will have to test the limit of it eventually. Your luck isn't bad young man! "
Sora didn't know what to reply to that. Gu Rong continued: " From the test I just gave you, getting a ring close to ten thousand year should be no problem for you. I think even getting the equivalent of an optimal fifth spirit ring, an early ten thousand spirit ring, would be possible. "
Sora eyes grew wide, he was both shocked and excited. A part of him wanted to refute it but he started to think about it. With his first ring improvement, he suddenly realized it would be possible his limit for his next spirit ring to increase.
Gu Rong waited for Sora to look at him again. When Sora did, the youngster asked: " Do you have an idea of what kind of spirit beast we should hunt next? Should it be a Jackalope? "
Gu Rong snickered: " I would need to learn more about the spirit abilities you currently have first. How about we start with that? "
Sora nodded in approval: " Very well. "
Sora used his first ring ability, making his hair grow longer. Sora suddenly realized that even here, underground, he could still sense the air around him. However, since the air was stagnant here, this new sense of him had become more blurry. Sora made a mental note to research about it later as he explained his first spirit ability: " This Jackalope spirit ability make my hair grow and give it some strength, like a third arm or a leg. It have a good attack penetration and its attack range is a bit longer then my own height. Its most useful feature though is its sensing abilities. It increase my hearing range and its precision by a lot, as well as making me sense the flow of air around me. "
Sora then activated his second ring ability, making the ring shine briefly. As Gu Rong noticed the smell spreading, Sora explained: " It's a support ability acquired from a Death Scent Rat. The smell doesn't procure me any boost but unless a person hold its breath, it will make someone drowsy, lowering its reaction time and mental strength. It's a mental poison and one that is quite sneaky. Those with low mental fortitude would fall asleep when I use it. I can hold the ability and pour more and more spirit power to release it constantly. It's major weakness would be that it affect both friends and foes alike."
As he said so, Sora activated his third ring ability. A layer of amber and sap covered him entirely. Sora finished: " This amber coating is quite unique. It double my attack penetration by twofold, as well as giving my spirit some earth attribute. The defense and weight it give me might seem somewhat unappropriated for an agility spirit master but this special sap around me actually make up for it. It absorb the air around into my body so I don't need to breathe when using this ability. It also reduce any pressure around me by twofold as well as negating the weight gained from using the ability. I also realized that if I use it with my second ring ability long enough, the tree sap and the amber around me will become green and the pine scent will become stronger. I would dare to say it become as strong as a thousand years ability even. I also realized that I climb surfaces easier with this tree sap as well. "
Gu Rong listened carefully and his experimented eyes hid their interest. The old man simply pondered a moment before answering: " You have only your first spirit ring as an attack. I would suggest getting a second attack spirit ability from your next spirit ring, one that increase your speed as well. It would counterbalance your third spirit ability lack of a speed increase. Before deciding, I'll look records about spirit masters who had a Jackalope as a spirit in the past. It could provide some good insight."
The old man decided to continue the training after that. The years passed in the Battle Arena proven worthwhile as Sora's combat experience was higher than average because of it. Even though Gu Rong only used a small portion of his power, he could see that Sora was indeed worth to groom into a top notch spirit master.
They decided to stop the training for the evening meal only. They both went back to Gu Rong room where a meal was served to them. The room was strangely plain compared to the one Sora had but he didn't ponder about it. Instead, his attention had being completely focused on the meal served to them...
They had skip the midday meal so Sora was already hungry when entering the room. The smell alone of this meal had being enough to make him drool and his stomach was growling like a raging tiger. It was so loud that Sora was embarrassed once again. Gu Rong chuckled at Sora's embarrassment: " This meal was prepared for me by the best cooks on the continent. Only those who stay in the main building of our sect get to enjoy it. "
They ate in silence. They both ate slowly, Sora especially enjoying every bites. Gu Rong seemed lost in thought the whole time however. Once they finished, Gu Rong decided to put a few rules and a schedule for the next days. In short, morning would be dedicated to training and the afternoon will be up to Sora's to enjoy. However, he must carry the emblem Gu Rong gave him at all time.
The next days went in an enjoyable routine for Sora. Gu Rong had a lot of battle experience, helping Sora's to polish his battling skills. They also trained him physically and in knowledge about spirit beasts. In the afternoon, Sora cautious nature made him simply stay in his room with a few book borrowed at the library. He knew full well he couldn't afford offending someone in the castle right now so he avoided people as much as possible.
On the third day, they finally settled for what spirit beast they should hunt for Sora's next spirit ring: a ten thousand year Arrowhead Lizard. This spirit beast was called Silver Arrowhead Lizard. It had a flat triangular head and silver scales. Its speed and power was impressive and the spirit beast specialized in hit and run tactics. Each part of its body could be used as a weapon and detach itself from his body, penetrating the skins of those he touch. A lot of spirit masters would avoid this spirit beast in particular as it's one who is very hard to deal with. For starters, the body parts stabbed inside another creature would cause one the poor victim's skin to start swelling, as well as feeling a painful itching sensation near the wound. If one was unlucky, the pain would make him unable to move. Finally, this spirit beast could regenerate its injuries in an instant. Because of all this, most spirit masters wouldn't try to get it's spirit ring unless they had a strong control type spirit master among their rank. No knowledgeable spirit masters would allow this spirit beast to get close to them.
Sora was eager to finally get his fourth spirit ring. Gu Rong assured him that a ten thousand year spirit ring quality is good enough to compensate for the fact it's not a rodent spirit beast. The next day, during Gu Rong training session, a guard came to deliver a message to the Titled Douluo. After reading the content, the old man smiled and asked Sora to wash up and wait in his room. The young man wondered what was going on but simply did what was asked of him. Once in his room, Sora recalled something. He hesitated but still decided to summon his spirit bone...
Since they discovered Sora's had a spirit bone, they didn't bring it up in the training schedule. And since Gu Rong training was intense, it left Sora with little spirit power by the time he was alone in his room. He had put the spirit bone matter in a corner of his mind, not wanting to think about it. But now, Sora was out of books to read and quite bored quite frankly to hide in his room. He finally decided to go past his embarrassment and try to do his personal training routine with his spirit bone.
To his surprise, he discovered that this time, the world around him had turned in different shades of black and white. His vision was completely devoid of colors. Sora was confused but excited. He pondered what was different this time around... He looked around and his eyes lingered to the windows. Feeling inspired, he covered the windows, allowing only a bit of sunlight to enter his room. As expected, the colors were back, even if it was darker than they should be.
Sora realized at this point that although the shadows around him absorbed light, there was something different when absorbing sunlight. He wondered what that could mean. He begin to ponder about how to use this new information but the only thing that came into mind was to use this spirit bone in stealth situation only... for more than one reason.
One of them was being that running in such "condition" would be difficult. Sora came with the idea of wearing tight underwear to help with that. Although it would work, he did realize an attack in that region would risk loosen up his clothing. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't think off a better solution.
After a while, he decided to change his focus on something else. He wanted to try having this strange spirit bone activated while using his spirit abilities. To his disappointment, he didn't notice any special interactions with them. He shrugged and started training more seriously after this.
In the past years, Sora had experimented breathing techniques while using his third ability, Breathing Amber Coating. This technique allowed him to absorb the oxygen around directly in his body. It was doing its work very subtly and Sora would almost never notice it working. If Sora would be wearing skin tight clothes however, he would feel his lunges automatically asking for air and taking the relay. He could also breathe normally while using the technique but Sora felt it was pointless.
Because of it, he would always fight with his chest exposed when he was in spirit battle arenas. He wanted his lunges to be only used like a backup plan. During the breathing techniques exercises, he discovered something. By filling his lungs with air and spirit power, he was able to make them more resistant and stronger, increasing his defense by a lot on his torso area. Of course, even though there was some earth element in his spirit now, such use for an agility spirit master was a bit wasted but he didn't give up. Months later, he realized that if he sent spirit power in his lungs full of air, the expelled air would feel cleaner. The more he trained, the more he realized it also brought a refreshing sensation in his throat and inside his mouth. By pure chance, a few months before he left the Shrek Academy, he also made an amazing discovery: he had burnt his tongue by eating spicy food but by using this technique, his tongue stopped being in pain.
A week later, after a rough battle in the Spirit Battle Arena, he discovered he could repair his armor and close small wounds on his body if he applied his mouth on them and by releasing the air stored inside his lunges. Sora was excited when he realized with this alone, he had created his own spirit skill. However, he felt there was lot of room for improvement. This needed a lot of spirit power to work so he was trying to increase the amount of spirit power in his lungs while trying to use less spirit power to heal an injury.
Normally, he would need to summon his spirit and use his third spirit ability before starting the training. Today however, he added yet another step by using his first ring ability as well. Since this spirit ability improved, he could feel the oxygen entering his body when using his third ring ability.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm sorry for the delay, I kept rewriting this chapter. I had to betaread it 4-5 times until I was satisfied with the result.
To be honest, Sora spirit bone was supposed to be a "tail" external spirit bone originally but then the author gave one to Hu Liena!
So yes, I had to improvise a tiny bit after that translated chapter came out. For safety, I changed my fanfic rating because of it but don't worry, I won't be more graphic or mature then the original light novel.
In many rodent species, the penis contains a bone, the baculum ; it can be located either abdominally or at the groin.