Walls lined with books and seemingly endless corridors in the library of Van Shi Tong plunged my thoughts into an equally endless stream of reflection.
A week had passed since I acquired an entire collection of spirits. To study them thoroughly, I had to cut back on physical training. At first, I wanted everything at once, but then I asked myself the most important question: "Will this help me survive a battle with a nearly divine spirit?" That narrowed my choices significantly.
After much deliberation, I decided to focus on what I could develop in the near future to the level of an ancient spirit—airbending. The four primary elements would give me enough confidence in my abilities: earthbending for defense, firebending for offense, airbending for mobility, and waterbending for healing. I also couldn't forget their sub-elements, each unlocking new facets of the main element.
If there's room for one more after airbending, the next will definitely be the Spirit of Mind. Even though there are very few dark spirits of Mind, and I'm unlikely to achieve great results, I desperately need it. Every percentage point of survival against Vaatu increases the chances of successfully sealing it.
Things turned out quite unpleasant with the spirits of Light, Darkness, Chaos, and Order. Of course, I'd love something from that list—those elements would definitely help in battle. Alas, they simply don't exist. There's only Vaatu and Raava, and that's it. I even bothered to go out at night to search for an owl, just to confirm the information once and for all…
In my past life, like many others, I played online games, watched anime, and movies. So, we all know—or even just by thinking logically—that control over space and time are the most unbalanced abilities, plain and simple.
And again, I'm out of luck, or rather, not just me, but the entire Spirit World. No one can touch them, not even ancient spirits. As for Vaatu and Raava, the author makes no guarantees.
There were still many spirits of Storm, Magnetism, Lava, Metal, and so on. But they didn't really grab my attention—all their powers could be replicated using the four primary elements.
The problem with unique spirits is precisely their uniqueness. Most of the time, there's only one of each, and there's no guarantee that defeating one will create another. I'll have to rely solely on my own strength to master the element. There won't be any scrolls, and no one will teach me how to use them. I'll be stumbling around like a blind kitten until I figure something out.
Lost in thought again, the library seemed to lead me in circles. It was time to head to Van Shi Tong—I could already feel the imminent activation of the sources through my skin.
"You took your time," the spirit remarked as I entered one of the halls.
"So, what's your plan?" I asked curiously, scanning the hall filled with incomprehensible symbols and signs, inadvertently noting their differences from the virtual reality room.
"At the moment of your breakthrough, I want to analyze your chi. Perhaps I'll be able to determine how many elements you can contain. We'll proceed from there."
As we waited for the event to begin, we discussed my choice of elements. The Spirit of Knowledge fully approved my selection and the order of the elements.
"It's starting," I informed him, though with his senses, he likely already felt it.
With every heartbeat, energy began circulating through my channels, gaining speed with each breath. The chi, as if possessing its own consciousness, made several circuits around my body, as if greeting an old friend.
The "Waterbending" source didn't stop but only gained momentum, preparing to break through the gates into the realm of higher spirits. The source of water's essence, which had been in a gaseous state, began to solidify rapidly, absorbing more and more external energy, devouring all available water energy in the vicinity. Still unsated, it continued its path beyond the library, draining the already dry desert.
By the end, my waterbending source had transformed into a deep blue stone, resembling a sapphire. In the final moment of the process, I was drawn into an unusual state where I felt the ebb and flow of tides, the turbulent currents of rivers, and the calmness of lakes. It's hard to describe in simple words—it was as if, for a brief moment, I had become water myself.
What struck me even more was that, in this watery state, the opening lyrics of an old song by Guf and Basta—"ChP"—played in my mind.
"I say: empty your mind, be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend."
These words perfectly capture the versatility of waterbending. By the way, no offense to Bruce Lee, but it's this song, not his interview, that I associate with this text.
"Why don't we have some tea?" I asked, still immersed in the echoes of the experience. Perhaps tea would help me touch something new and unexplored, even if just a little.
"We can celebrate the good news with a cup of tea," Van Shi Tong agreed, scanning something on a scroll that had appeared out of nowhere. "Two new elements are definitely secured for you!"
"That's fantastic!" a happy smile spread across my face. "So, airbending and Mind are practically already in my pocket."
"An hour for tea, and then we'll solidify the battles you've been through, right here in the real world," the Spirit of Knowledge began planning immediately. "It'll also help you get used to the increased power of waterbending."
There's no one to complain to about these constant trainings, and the food brought in definitely has some kind of additives… Vaatu, it's all because of you. If you'd stayed hidden in that tree, I'd be sitting among beauties right now, without a care in the world. Well, never mind. I'll ruin your life too, just give me time to gather my strength.
*
No spirit senses, no water, no earth—nothing related to bending works here. I'll have to rely solely on my sight and hearing. And yet, this spirit has killed me countless times without me ever catching a glimpse of it. How is it that Van Shi Tong can replicate almost all the abilities of various spirits? Is this the level of an Ancient Spirit?
A sudden dive underground, accompanied by the compression of the earth into a harder state.
"Khah," I spat out a bit of blood from the blow that had churned my insides like a blender. If he had struck with the full force of that higher spirit, I'd already be dead. Nightmares—truly the best stealth spirit in the world.
Restoring the damage with waterbending, I waited for the next round. Day after day, for an entire month, until I lost consciousness. Van Shi Tong replicated the traits and abilities of the spirits I had encountered in the virtual world to recreate an accurate picture of the battles with them.
"I remember this bastard from real life," I said, spotting the stone giant who had given me the source of earthbending. "This time, it'll be completely different," I smirked, already knowing how this type of spirit operates.
Maneuvering with firebending, I released flames from my hands and feet, circling around him to locate his core.
"Looks like his 'heart' keeps moving. I'll have to blast it," I admitted after minutes of fruitless searching.
Condensing a large amount of water and dodging stone projectiles, I slowly moved away from the giant. I didn't want to be caught in my own attack. And it could definitely hit me—after all, I didn't call this move "Bomb Number Zero" for nothing. It's an upgraded version of Bomb Number One, which, with the transition to a higher rank, had doubled in power.
Launching the bomb, I quickly shielded myself with water and earth, just in time. The shockwave shattered the earth shield, stopping at the water layer.
"Five wins out of eleven battles today," Van Shi Tong's calm voice sounded. "Not a bad result for someone who's only been in the higher rank for a month."
"I'm not sure I'd call it not bad—more like terrible," I shook my head in disagreement.
"Don't dramatize. I intentionally play the role of rare spirits most often, whose abilities are far more deadly. And don't forget, once your other sources catch up to Waterbending, defeating any higher spirit will be a breeze," the spirit immediately refuted my words. "Rest up, and get ready," he said, instantly creating a water dragon in his place, strongly resembling the offspring of Unagi.
The spirit opened its mouth, releasing a powerful stream of water. Not lagging behind, I also created a water stream, neutralizing his attack. Our strengths were almost equal, but in battles with spirits, my inhuman physical attributes played a crucial role, allowing me to dodge long-range attacks without wasting chi reserves.
For now, only waterbending could seriously wound or kill a higher spirit, so I conserved it for moments when I was certain of hitting. In battles of this level, firebending was of little use—I mostly used it to give myself explosive speed by releasing flames from my limbs. Earthbending protected me, or at least tried to, though spirit attacks were no joke and often pierced my mid-level earthbending.
Creating ice skates and propelling myself with jet flames from my hands, I quickly closed the distance between us. The spirit intensified its attacks, unwilling to let me get close. Occasionally, I had to release jet flames from my feet, sending myself into the air, where, after gaining altitude, I'd create skates again.
Higher spirits, consciously or unconsciously, constantly control their element within a radius of about ten meters around their body. There'd be no water to draw from for an attack. Firebending and earthbending wouldn't inflict enough damage. So…
Drawing a bit of blood from my hand, I quickly created a whirlpool of my own blood, piercing the spirit through and adding more holes. Spirits don't have blood? No problem! I'll use my own if needed!
I have a ton of life energy to spare. Admittedly, I could have taken him down with "normal" waterbending moves, especially since my arsenal of techniques has grown significantly with the battles I've experienced. But I still had to fight other spirits, and my waterbending source was already running on empty, while my life energy was overflowing. If it runs low? I'll beat him with my hands and feet! My condition? Rambo at max level!
Spirit World. Valley of a Thousand Forests.
"So… who… are… you… saying…?" asked a massive tree with a human face on its bark, pausing for long five-minute intervals between words.
"Yuki, take me back!" Driya covered her face with her hands, no longer able to endure the slow speech of the nature spirits, who often forgot what they'd said just an hour ago.
"They're speaking quickly, actually," another higher nature spirit patted her shoulder reassuringly. Her head, arms, and torso were those of a beautiful woman, while her lower body was that of a deer. With her violet eyes, she looked at Driya with a maternal smile. "The solstice is near, and soon your Yuki will come. We should practice more—I'd be ashamed to face Van Shi Tong if he doesn't see significant progress."
"You're right! Yuki's counting on me!" Driya agreed. "Show me again how you created that mega-super-cool move!"
"Ah, youth," the dryad's laughter tinkled like a bell as Driya ran off. "I'm curious to see this Yuki," she mused. "I hope he's not hurting her, or else…"—as if the lights had gone out, a dark shadow swept over her face, her teeth sharpened, and impressive horns appeared. "But judging by the stories, he's a good boy," she said, and just as suddenly, everything vanished, leaving only the "maternal" smile on her lovely face.