Chapter 9 — From Ruins to the Dharma Lord's Throne

The following weeks became the harshest time in Dịch Phàm's life, harsher than the years of being despised at Te Ban Institute, because this time, the harshness came from himself and the strict teacher he chose to accompany him.

Every morning, when the sun had not yet appeared over the Tinh Quang plateau, Tuyết Nhi woke him up to start the first practice session of the day—meditation to feel and stabilize the five energy streams in his body. This was the first and most important lesson she taught him.

"You must understand," she explained during the first training session, when the two of them sat cross-legged facing each other in the dew-covered training ground, "your Mixed Origin Spiritual Root is not like any other single- or dual-type spiritual root. A person with a single-type spiritual root only needs to focus on developing a single energy stream. But you have five energy streams at the same time, and if you don't know how to balance them, you will remain chaotic, unable to exert even a fraction of your true power."

Dịch Phàm closed his eyes, trying to follow her instructions, feeling each separate flow of energy — the heat of Fire, the stability of Earth, the gentle breeze of Phong, the soft flow of Water, and the silent vitality of Wood. At first, they continuously collided and pushed each other in his body like rushing streams of water meeting at a narrow point, causing sudden sharp pain that made him grit his teeth to endure.

"Don't try to control them by pure will," Tuyết Nhi reminded, her voice patient but no less strict. "You're not commanding an army, you're trying to be friends with five people with completely different personalities. Let them find their own rhythm, you just need to act as a gentle guide."

In the early days, progress was frustratingly slow. There were training sessions where Dịch Phàm sat for hours without making any progress, his body was tired and mentally depressed to the point of wanting to give up. But each time, the image of his parents in the dream, his father's voice resounding from the recording in the jade pendant, urged him to stand up and keep trying.

In addition to meditation sessions, Tuyết Nhi also taught him basic fighting techniques — how to move flexibly to avoid attacks, how to coordinate spiritual energy with body movements to increase the effectiveness of moves, and how to judge opponents' weaknesses in combat. She herself, with her background of being well-trained from a young age in a famous family, has a huge store of knowledge and techniques that she is willing to share without holding anything back.

"You're progressing faster than I thought." One afternoon, after Dịch Phàm successfully summoned two elements at the same time—a small stream of fire wrapped in a thin layer of earth—without causing any incident, Tuyết Nhi could not hide the surprise in her voice.

"That's thanks to your teachings," Dịch Phàm replied, panting but the bright smile on his face clearly showed joy and pride. "I don't think I can do this in just a few weeks."

"Don't be complacent," Tuyết Nhi said, but the corners of her lips also curled up a bit. "This is just the beginning. To truly master the Chaos Origin Spiritual Root, you have a long way to go."

During the training sessions, Dịch Phàm also gradually understood more about Tuyết Nhi - not just an arrogant genius of a famous family, but a girl carrying heavy pressure on her shoulders to always be excellent, always the pride of the whole family. There were evenings, when the two of them sat resting after training under the stars on the plateau, she shared with him about the expectations that her family had placed on her since childhood, about the loneliness of always having to stand at the top without anyone really understanding the pressure behind that glamor.

"You know," Tuyết Nhi said one night, her eyes looking up at the starry sky, "since I was little, I've never had a real friend. Everyone around me looked at me through the lens of the Chiêu family's fame; they wanted to be friends with me for convenience or were jealous of me because of my talent. But you... you were the first person who made me feel truly connected to someone, not because of who I was, but because of who I really was."

Dịch Phàm listened silently, feeling the rare sincerity in her words. "Me too," he replied after a moment. "I've never had anyone who truly believed in me, other than Bạt Sơn. You were the first person to see that I wasn't a useless orphan, but someone who could become something greater."

The two were silent for a moment, only the sound of the wind blowing through the plateau and the twinkling stars in the night sky witnessed that moment of connection between two people who came from two completely different worlds.

"Hey," Dịch Phàm broke the silence, his voice a bit hesitant. "If I find my parents again in the future, would you like to meet them?"

Tuyết Nhi turned to look at him, a bit surprised by the question. "Of course. I want to know what the people who raised a stubborn but kind person like you look like." Dịch Phàm laughed, a feeling of relief spreading in his heart for the first time after many stressful days. "Are you calling me stubborn?"

"Stubborn, tenacious, and somewhat reckless." Tuyết Nhi listed, the corners of her lips curling up. "But that's also why you've been able to progress so quickly in such a short time."

In addition to training sessions with Tuyết Nhi, Dịch Phàm also spent more time in the evenings practicing alone, sometimes with Bạt Sơn stopping by to encourage him, bringing some hot cakes stolen from the kitchen of Te Ban Institute. Those simple moments helped him maintain his mental balance between the intense pressure of training and the constant worry about his parents' fate.

"You know," one night, when Bạt Sơn sat watching him practice, he suddenly spoke up, "the whole Te Ban Institute is very proud of you these days. Even Lôi Khinh Hàn doesn't dare to open his mouth to say bad things about you anymore, even though I know he's still jealous in his heart." Dịch Phàm laughed softly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I don't care what he thinks anymore. I just want to focus on becoming strong enough."

Three weeks passed, Dịch Phàm's strength increased so much that even he did not expect. He was able to summon and flexibly control all five streams of energy, although not yet reaching perfect proficiency, but enough to deal with basic combat situations. His ability to purify evil spirits also gradually became more stable, no longer consuming too much energy like the first time he used it in the Ruins of the Wild Tomb.

News of Dịch Phàm's rapid progress gradually spread throughout the Main District, causing many other students to become curious and even jealous of him. But there were also people who began to look at him with real respect, instead of contempt or skepticism like in the early days.

Even the professors who doubted his abilities in the first class now had to admit that Dịch Phàm's rate of progress far exceeded all conventional standards. A few people began to carefully record his training process, hoping to learn new teaching methods that could be applied to students with special spiritual roots in the future.

"The academy is about to hold its annual tournament." One afternoon, when the two were resting after practice, Tuyết Nhi announced in a serious voice. "This will be a good opportunity for you to test what you have learned in the past, and at the same time confirm your position in front of the entire academy. But I warn you in advance, this tournament will gather the best geniuses from all the famous families on the continent. It will not be easy, Qin Dịch Phàm."

Dịch Phàm clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with determination. "I have been waiting for this opportunity. It is time to prove that I am worthy of my awakening."

"But remember," Tuyết Nhi added, her stern voice returning, "the tournament is not just a place to prove yourself. It is also where all the eyes of the great men on the continent are focused, including those who may be connected, whether directly or indirectly, to the Dark Alliance. You need to be more careful than ever, not to reveal too much about your true goals."

"I understand." Dịch Phàm nodded, feeling the seriousness of that warning. "I will only focus on competing, not revealing anything about my parents or Black Flame."

The night before the opening day of the tournament, Dịch Phàm lay in bed, clutching a familiar piece of jade pendant, his heart filled with a mixture of emotions between excitement, anxiety, and determination. He knew that what happened in the next few days would shape his path forward, not only in the eyes of the academy, but possibly also in the eyes of the forces that were silently watching from the shadows.