C39 Trial #1: Pictures
In the other room, there were all sorts of wonders. There were 100 seats neatly placed in rows and columns. In front of each seat, there were desks that had 5 different pictures which were piled up.
As each student took a seat, there were blue films of walls that divided the students from one another. This way, it would ensure full accuracy on the comprehension of the students. The walls were blue, however, it could reflect light as though it was a mirror or still water.
As Jedidiah sat down, the 5 pictures started floating around him. Each picture could be vaguely seen. Amazed, he decided to peer into it to see what splendor it beheld.
To his extreme left, the first one was a picture of a burning forest. It was horrid, everything in this forest was burning. Just as he was enticed by the picture, his consciousness was sucked by an unknown force. The trees in the forest were scorched terribly. The wood of the trees were practically ashes; pitch black, even darker than charcoal itself. On the ground, streams of red, hot, burning lava flowing down. On another tree, there were carcasses of many dead animals. Bones and some skin residue could be seen all over. Flies and ticks were also seen as they encompassed the carcasses. In the background, some mountains were collapsing one after another. Even some mountains collapsed due to major landslides which affected them. The funny thing was that Jedidiah could feel the heat and intoxication from the forest. He felt himself sweating, and his heart beating. He felt choked and dizzy as though he couldn't breathe properly. Everything was happening fast, and before you know it, Jedidiah was literally about to faint. For the first time in his life, he felt his body fail him as though he was about to die. Within seconds, he lost consciousness.
Moments after that, Jedidiah felt his whole body jolt aggressively. He felt as though he was hit by a high-speed moving truck. Not wasting time, his eyes opened. He was breathing heavily as sweat fell down his head. From his hands to his legs, his whole body was drenched in sweat.
Breathing heavily, he checked himself to see if he was alright. He knew he couldn't fail this test. If he did, he would be even more ashamed of himself. After a brief moment, he was relieved to find out that he was alright.
"Quite a moment you had there buddy, are you alright?" Mr. Qin asked mentally.
"Yes, I'm fine. I don't know what happened, I just looked at the photo once and somehow entered it...It was weird" Jedidiah replied honestly.
"Oh, you're fine. Don't worry about it. It's pretty 'normal' for beginners. Go try the others, let's see what you can get out of them." Mr. Qin replied.
Nodding his head in agreement, Jedidiah re-adjusted himself on the seat as he continued to the next picture.
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The second picture was more like a video. A farmer planted a seed in his farm, watered it, and added fertilizer to it. After that, the farmer walked back into his house.
Not long after, within the speed visible to the human eye, the seed grew into a mustard tree. Its leaves looked rich; full of life and vitality. Its stem grew stronger into sturdy tree bark. Its branches bore fruits that also looked fresh and ripe. After everything was settled, the mustard tree looked as though it was covered entirely of green glory. As though the tree itself emitted a faint green glory.
Due to this, every other plant close to the tree started growing. Some withered plants slowly became rejuvenated. Dying leaves gradually became sturdy and vibrant. The weeds that once surrounded the tree slowly died off, as it was replaced with all kinds of beautiful flowers. It was beautiful. On its own, it looked like an extremely expensive garden that was meticulously designed to the finest detail. The veins of the trees could be seen, also the little hairs on the plants.
I know, this garden, this garden looks too good to be true.
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The third picture was in a barren lake. Inside it, there were all sorts of aquatic life forms swimming. Frogs, fishes, Phrihannas', Gators, Koi, and more. The ecosystem within seemed to be thriving. It was, in fact, very populous and vibrant. Seaweeds, corals, and more were also found here.
On the side of the lake, an old woman stood as she watched the beautiful Koi fishes swim all over the lake. This woman sat on a small picnic mat which she brought with her. Beside her was a small girl who wept bitterly as she hugged her grandmother.
In an attempt to comfort her, her grandmother made her look deeper into the lake. Obedient, the little girl agreed. At first, all she could see were the fishes within. Confused, she looked towards her grandmother who urged her to look deeper. This time, the little girl reluctantly agrees and does as she was asked. To her great surprise, as she looked into the water, she could see an image of her deceased(dead) parents. Both her parents embraced each other as streams of tears fell down their eyes.
Seeing this, the little girl couldn't control herself anymore. Tears fell from her eyes into the lake. Immediately after, she stood up and ran into her grandmother's embrace. Meanwhile, in the background. An odd phenomenon was occurring. The tears of the little girl hardened as it entered the water. Thanks to the laws of gravity, the deeper it went, the thicker and harder the droplets of tears became. As it hardened, the tears looked like ice. It was white like an ice sculpture, however, the tears also emitted heat waves as though it was blazing hot too!
Over time, the tears started forming thin lines like a spider's web or silk. With each second that passed by, the lines became stronger and thicker! That's not all, as the lines grew, it gradually covered more distance! Unfortunately for the aquatic creatures, they had nowhere to go. Everything these lines touched froze. They all became blue like ice sculptures void of life. Even the corals and seaweed were frozen.
Not long after, the whole lake became frozen. Rock-solid frozen. Noticing the change in the lake, the little girl's grandmother became startled and quickly left before any other person would notice. Just like that, they left.
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The fourth picture took place in the desert. A man was practicing martial arts. Streams of sweat trickled down his body, one after another. This man looked like a middle-aged man, probably around his late 20's. He has hazel eyes and brown locks which danced intimately with the wind.
Behind him, an enormous Komodo dragon rushed towards him. Saliva was dripping from one corner of its mouth to another as it ran frantically towards its prey. It was huge, with grey leather skin, sharp teeth like needles, and sharp claws. This bad boy couldn't wait to sink its teeth into its prey.
The man seemed to notice something approaching him, however, he wasn't startled at all. Rather, he turned around towards the direction of the incoming dragon as he got ready to fight it.
The Komodo dragon hacked its claws towards the man. In response to the attack, the man didn't try to avoid the attack, but rather, he punched out towards the fast-approaching claw. As he punched out, a huge pillar of rock came out of the ground and countered the attack.
In pain, the komodo dragon sobbed.
"I knew I would find you here," The Komodo dragon said angrily as it nursed its hurt hand.
"Old friend, why are you here?" The man asked tauntingly.
"I haven't found food for the last few days…." The Komodo dragon replied.
"And, what does that have to do with me? Do you want to share some of my rations with me? That's the least I can do." The man generously suggested.
"NO! I'm a dragon, DRAGON! I am hungry, and I MUST EAT!" The Komodo dragon replied angrily.
"Just come into my mouth, It would be quick. I promise to give you a quick one, you wouldn't even feel it" The Komodo dragon added as it opened its mouth widely.
"No thank you. Plus, you're not even a dragon. You could haven't even passed through the dragon's gate, what's worse, your speech." The young man replied as he taunted the komodo dragon again.
"AARRGGH!" The Komodo dragon roared angrily.
Full of wrath, its eyes become bloodshot red as it swipes its tail towards the young man.
"Insolent human, I WILL KILL YOU TODAY!" The Komodo dragon roared aloud.
"Ahh(sigh)..suit yourself then" The man whispers
Thanks to his quick reflexes, the young man jumps into the air with high speed and momentum. Mid-air, he preps his body so that he could deliver a downward kick. On the other hand, the komodo dragon had already readjusted itself from its failed attack. Seeing its prey jump up in the air, the komodo dragon opened up its mouth as it awaited its soon-to-be meal.
Or so, he thought. Not fearing the open jaws of the enormous Komodo dragon. As he fell, the komodo dragon quickly snapped its mouth closed as it thought it had secured a nice afternoon lunch. Unknowingly, the Komodo dragon was unaware of the fact that it had shut its mouth too fast. Due to this, the young man was able to successfully jump over the venomous mouth of the komodo dragon. Again, thanks to his years of training and hard work, the young man was able to readjust himself amidst the air as he landed an earth-splitting kick to the back of the komodo dragon.
PAH! The kick landed. The noise was so loud, it thundered through the air. On the other hand, the komodo dragon felt as though it was kicked by a falling pillar of metal. Thanks to the young man's smart thinking, he caused pillars of rocks to erupt from below the komodo dragon. This way, as he kicked it towards the ground, it would suffer the pain of both his kick and the rocks below it.
Absolutely tired and famished, the komodo dragon fainted due to the devastating 'beating' it had suffered. Luckily for it, it wasn't dead. Its chest was completely slammed into the rocks below, along with almost every other part of it.
"You will NOT eat me, and I will NOT kill you. This is my final warning. Next time, you will not make it out alive the following day." The young man said as he looked angrily at the komodo dragon.
After that, he turned and walked away.
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As for Jedidiah, his eyes were filled with awe. His eyes were burning with passion. He was so amazed at what he saw. The meekness, the self-control, the resilience, the power, and even the form which the man used, it was everything Jedidiah wanted. He also loved the ruthlessness, cunning, and ferocity in which the young man used to beat the komodo dragon.
Now, it was time for the last picture, the fifth picture. This was in the northern mountains. The winds were calm and snow was falling. It was a good day to be outside; the sky was clear and calm. Polar bears were swimming, and penguins were fishing.
On a certain mountain, there was a woman. She wore pink one-piece clothing with a black belt that ran across her waist. On both sides of her belt was a gun holster and a sword sheath. She was meditating in a cave below the mountain. Inside the cave, there was a stone petal that looked like a circle. Strangely, it was warm and soft, so it was easier for one to sit down and meditate for long sessions without any minor difficulties.
Anyways, as she meditated, she started levitating in the air. Her hair was spread out all over the place like antennas'. Not just that, the ends of her clothes and her eyes were glowing white. In addition, below her, there was a small tornado that spun in circles on the stone below.
On the other hand, Jedidiah was fixed on the stunning wonder being displayed before him. He was dazzled by the fact that a cultivator could not only levitate in the air but could also cause a tornado to form below her
Just as he was focused, BOOM! He was brought out of the picture. Not long after, Jedidiah found himself surrounded by students and some elders. Behind him, Mr. Qin Shi was looking at Jedidiah smiling. As for the others, they were pointing at him as though they had seen a ghost. Somewhere busy gossiping, while the others were envious of him.
"You're late. You failed to finish the test before you. Normally, we will ask you to leave but now, you are the exception...Do you know why we made you guys take these tests?" Mr. Qin asked.
Confused, Jedidiah said, "No."
"The purpose of this test is to test the affinity of each student to an element. Most of the time, every student should pass this test before time. However, congratulations Jedidiah, you are the exception. Some students are attuned to fire. Some water, some earth, some air or wind. But you, my friend, are the first student I have seen who is attuned to all the primary elements, including vitality!" Mr. Qin said happily.
As he said that, everyone who watched Jedidiah became envious of him. They kept questioning themselves as to why they did not get blessed like Jedidiah. Some even felt like killing themselves because they were only dual cultivators with dual affinity. However, today, they met their match, someone who is attuned to all the elements naturally.
