Chapter 98: Master and Disciple (II) 

 

Yela went through that process about eleven more times until she was finally able to roughly control the overwhelming energy, successfully staying conscious in the process. 

 

This in and of itself was actually quite miraculous, owing to her great talent. 

 

The “healing pill” Balon talked about, was nothing more than hundreds of thousands of calories violently pulverized into a singular concentrated pill. 

 

Apart from their incredible metabolism, even those with bloodlines had to rely heavily on their skillful energy manipulation to make use of it, while those mundane humans had to have genius, and forcefully impressive control over the released energy turned gaseous within the stomach. 

 

At this point, Balon had just told his disciple to stop practicing the dance, and to climb off from the sea of wooden poles. 

 

Yela did as she was instructed, and with her teacher’s help she healed her injuries from the failed attempts at the dragon god’s dance. 

 

“Do you know why I stopped you?” 

 

Behind her back the girl nervously fidgeted with her hands. 

 

“Umm…” 

 

“Because I wasn’t making progress…” 

 

‘That too, however…’ Balon thought silently. 

 

“It is because there is more to combat than the condition of the body.” 

 

“Sit.” 

 

“Listen thoroughly and carefully, child. Burn this into your mind.” 

 

Balon correspondingly sat on the floor. His legs were crossed loosely, and his hands placed themselves just as freely on his knees. Although his demeanor and attitude could come across as easygoing and relaxed, his aura gave off the impression of an idle beast, like a lion lazily laying on the flat grasslands of a savannah. 

 

Yela on the other hand sat up taut, tight and rigid, like a tense rabbit at its full attention of its surroundings.

 

In the next moment, that same lion’s deep, booming voice echoed through the dancing flames of the dim cavern. 

 

“Combat, especially lethal combat to which I will have you constantly engaged in, has many aspects.” 

 

“Martial ways and techniques, energy circulation approaches, energy manipulation proficiency, standard of weapons and armor, auxiliary tools such as bombs, traps or artifacts, bloodline abilities and their own strengths and weaknesses, and so and so.” 

 

“There is also the environment and its conditions. One example would be how the iron trees of the Greatforests did well to not succumb to our fire. They limited the movement of our greatswords and warbeasts, while containing the explosions and magics of our spells and war weapons.”

 

“Then, there is that which is unseen.” 

 

“Haha!” He laughed heartily. 

 

“This is but my own opinion, little girl. But that which is unseen and impossible to touch, is what truly makes an individual.” 

 

“Uhh…Ye— Yeah!”

 

Yela’s mind spun in circles trying to understand Balon’s teachings from the point of view of a humble, mundane slave girl. One was raised in royal but merciless upbringing, with tremendous amounts of both education and indoctrination from the expansionist empire. While the other knew but a limited amount of language, writing and basic math. Even this was through the efforts of Yela’s doting mother and father, and not through any formal or institutional education. 

 

Interestingly, even Zan had been inside a village classroom, albeit he skipped most classes in favor of building muscles. 

 

Balon passionately went on and on, and as this was his first time ever teaching a student, it was only natural that he forgot to assess whether his student was truly learning or not. That was, until the very end. 

 

“Decision-making, skill, talent, and experience are one set of such things.”

 

“These four things are linked but for simplicity’s sake, we will discuss them individually.” 

 

“Decision-making. The sharpness of the mind. There are many aspects to this, but we will discuss the two main facets of decision making.” 

 

“In choosing the most optimal actions to take, one is the degree to which an individual rapidly connects bits and pieces of information not unlike a puzzle.”

 

“Except the puzzle has no predetermined shape, and sometimes you must create your own pieces to build a coherent and overall image.”

 

“The other main facet, is creativity. If two sharp minds, collide, it is the more creative one that will attain victory.”

 

“Ingenuity in duel, battle and war can overcome even raw power and terrible circumstance.”

 

“On a flat open field, two bloodlineless generals once collided with the same armies, weaponry and armor, and the one who had just barely triumphed was the general who decided to approach from the direction of the wind, where their arrows flew straighter, and to which their enemies arrows’ fell short.” 

 

“Skill. The ability to flawlessly and flowingly conduct deft actions. The best example of this, is the comparison between a beginner swordsman, and a Sword Sage.”

 

“Or a martial artist compared to a street fighter.” 

 

“Talent. Both the naturally endowed gifts and abilities one is born with, and the rate at which an individual learns. One person can have talent in many things, and another with nothing. An individual may seem to be born with no gifts, but is extremely rapid in learning something else. Talent is hard to measure, for there are many talents, and even more strange and extraordinary happenings. Take this teaching generally.” 

 

“Experience. This is simple. The more experience you have in something, the better you are. There were many talented individuals who suffered an early death, not because of inexperience in swordplay or martial technique, but inexperience in killing and necessary cruelty.”

 

“Necessary cruelty?...” The girl muttered to herself. A trace of rejection appeared in her heart, along with a tiny voice that told her she needed it to live. Which one was truly correct? 

 

“Yet there is more.”

 

“Disposition. Your character and traits as you are.” 

 

“There are people who decide to break before they bend, dying for ideals such as honor, glory and freedom, while there are others who seek to protect their life even at the cost of all these things.” 

 

“There are natural battle maniacs whose blood rages the more they spill, especially so, if it was their own. And then there are also calm and observing individuals who are methodical in approach, etc.” 

 

“In all great persons however, there is the dogged determination and resolve, the spirit to endure, persist and overcome. These kinds of things are hard to teach, but any great person will have these traits and capabilities.”  

 

“Do you understand?”

 

“Uhh— Uhh…” 

 

“...You do not.” 

 

“I’m sorry!” 

 

“Why do you apologize?” 

 

“What things did you understand?” 

 

“Umm…” 

 

There was no way Yela was able to properly retain and understand most of those concepts. Their two worlds were far apart, and Balon did the equivalent of laying out advanced and abstract mathematics to his student who could at best multiply and divide. 

 

There was also the issue of background. One came from a background that held power as the most significant pursuit of life, while the other was a blank slate, who did not have any set beliefs in her life. The little girl after all was only twelve. 

 

“Ummmm…” Hoping to compare his teachings with her own life experience, Yela thought back to all the types of violence she had seen in her life, but she could not find anything to speak about. 

 

An awkward silence pervaded the air, that settled anxiously in Yela’s overthinking mind and nervous heart. 

 

“UmmmMMmmM! UhhhHhH!” 

 

Her eyes darted around rapidly and restlessly as she began to review every fight and battle within her mind. 

 

Apart from the battle where her father lost his head…there was also the duel between her teacher and Cole’s friend named Zan. 

 

Balon stared emotionlessly towards his disciple. It was nonchalant and did not have any deeper intent behind it, but that single action simply made her even more nervous. 

 

“UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!” 

 

Yela started to tremble, then twitch and even minutely convulse. Balon looked at her, hoping she would not collapse and froth at the mouth again. 

 

‘Is it the lingering energy of the pill?’ 

 

It was not. 

 

Amazingly enough, Yela's nervous energy was so extreme that it brought her into a forced state where her learning capabilities of both conscious and subconscious, were boosted to a higher degree. 

 

It bore a resemblance to the enlightenment and epiphany that individuals had, in moments of near-death in an epically fatal battle. Except of course, Yela’s nervously charged, concentrative episode was diluted and stepped down a few degrees. Even so, it was amazing that she could do this by simply being extremely anxious. 

 

Balon continued to stare and Yela continued her nervous episode. 

 

At the moment, every single second that her eyes had gazed at Balon and Zan’s battle was recorded in her head, and her mind replayed and zoomed in on every iota of their grand battle, while searing their movements and attacks into her conscious and subconscious. 

 

Unknown to Balon and herself, the way that she was learning from that battle could only be called genius. 

 

“Nevermind child.” Balon finally said to his disciple after a long moment of his student twitching and trembling.  

 

Yela progressively started to calm, her anxiousness and trembling going away, before she looked down at the ground timidly at the thought of disappointing her teacher. 

 

“Either way, we will be training you now in martial arts and techniques, then, experience.” 

 

“I’ve formulated a regime for you, disciple.” 

 

“Regime?” She asked. 

 

“Like a schedule.” 

 

“You will train not just in conditioning of the body, but in martial arts and techniques, and finally in sparring.” 

 

“Sparring…?” Yela had never heard of this word. 

 

“Non-fatal battle.” 

 

This thought reverberated in Yela’s head, and because she had previously reviewed the contents of Balon and Zan’s battle, her thoughts overwhelmed her once again with all sorts of ridiculous possibilities. 

 

‘Wha– Wha— WHAAT!?’ 

 

“Disciple?” 

 

The little girl fainted once again. 

 

“Disciple!”