“This is the second level? What a mysterious place.”
One instant he was in a hall filled with paintings, then he spent some time in an all white realm and now here he was in a beautiful peaceful forest that seemed all too real.
“You see, Hihi didn’t lie to you!”
Still caught up in admiring this fantastical place, Zilan had almost forgotten about his reason for coming here.
“Mm, I can see that you didn’t lie to me so how about we do this?” His face was stern as he made his proposal.
As if understanding what Zilan was going to say next, Hihi immediately responded,
“What do you want? Hihi can’t open the third level, okay. Only your strength can open the remaining levels, so don’t bother asking!”
Zilan silently shook his head. Although it was good to know that only his strength could open the remaining levels, that wasn’t Zilan’s aim at all.
He had used cheap trickery that at the time was indeed amusing, in order to get to this place however, his true character was not that of a rogue or shameless trickster. So then, what better time than now existed for him to stop his cheap act.
With a slight bow Zilan apologised,
“I’m truly sorry for tricking you but I lack the luxury of time so it needed to be done. It is my sincere hope that in the future we can put this whole thing behind us, and start over.”
Needless to say Hihi was utterly stupefied, he couldn’t comprehend the words that came out of the mouth of the demon who had tormented him even in his dreams.
“A..are you trying to trick Hihi?”
“No! What benefit would I gain from doing so? I only want you to know the real me since we will be spending a long time together from now on.” said Zilan as he seriously stared into Hihi’s eyes.
“Brother Zilan hasn’t done anything very bad to Hihi yet, so Hihi will forgive you, but about that thing….”
Zilan waved his hand as he realised what Hihi was trying to imply,
“Don’t worry, I already swore that I wouldn’t consume you. I only used it as a threat because it was the most effective way to get you to do what I wanted quickly.”
Hihi nodded in understanding but from the way he looked at Zilan, it was evident that he still harboured some suspicions as well as wariness towards him.
“What is that?” asked Zilan as he pointed towards the shadowy figure standing beside Hihi.
“This is Brother Zilan’s shadow coach. It will help you navigate and train in the technique that this realm was built to house. When you’re ready touch it and the training will begin, Oh! I should also mention that the maximum time that you can train here is one day, after that you will be kicked out regardless of whatever state you’re in, so manage you’re time wisely.”
Zilan listened attentively to Hihi’s explanation however he had some questions,
“When you say this realm was built to house a technique, does that mean that the realm was built to suit the technique?”
“Yes! Although Hihi doesn’t know what the technique is, as the guardian of this Palace Hihi knows that every level is designed to be the best possible environment to teach descendants. Just like how this second level is the best environment possible for you to learn this technique.”
Zilan’s mind trembled at the thought of the great lengths Sera had gone through to create this Cloud Inheritance Palace.
“If I had Grandmother’s strength, how much easier would my path be to tread?” sighed Zilan.
“Um, you also said that the longest I can stay here is one day but then while I’m training here, won’t my body outside suffer?”
“Ah, that’s already been taken care of. One full day in this level is the same as four hours in the outside world, so as long as Brother Zilan can set aside four hours, you should be fine.”
If before Zilan could be said to be shocked, now he was simply terrified of Sera the Spring Dragon’s strength.
He no longer had the heart to ask anymore questions about this realm, so he just shook his head while walking on the sandy beach, making his way towards his shadow coach.
……
As soon as his hand came into contact with the shadow, a stream of knowledge on what the technique was, how he was to train as well as the shadow coach’s role, flowed into Zilan’s brain.
The technique was called [Infinite Rain] and it was the only technique the Rain Dragon King had ever created. After all, it was a High Dragon and as such had its own Divine Abilities that were exclusive to its bloodline so it didn’t really need to create techniques.
However the fact that it created this [Infinite Rain] was enough to show that the technique’s power was at least close to if not equal to its own Divine Abilities and the only way such a feat was possible would be if the Rain Dragon King comprehended a secret of the Universe and then used those insights to create the technique.
[Infinite Rain] was one technique however it was divided into three different parts.[Rain shower], a defence skill.
[Rain Storm], an attacking skill.
[Drizzle], a movement skill.
These three seemingly separate skills when mastered, combine together to form an infinite cycle of perfect harmony.
Movement, defence, attacking! Drizzling, showers, storm!
Sensing that Zilan had digested the information, the shadow coach finally made its move.
The first thing it did was cover itself in a layer of water before suddenly turning invisible. It then ran on top of the lake water at full speed for some distance but after seeing that Zilan was not following it stopped.
Zilan on the other hand just stood by the shore smiling wryly. The reason? Because he was not yet at the level of strength needed to make himself fully invisible for long periods of time nor was he able to walk on water.
“The training grounds are located in the middle of the lake but the fact that its not only concealing itself but also running above the lake means that if I try to swim there, I’ll probably meet with a not so good outcome.” concluded Zilan.
“Hihi, thanks for your help but I don’t think I’m ready to tackle this training just yet.”
Hihi sighed as he already predicted this outcome however he never thought that Zilan wouldn’t even try to swim there. For someone like him, Hihi believed they would first jump in and only after getting knocked around a bit would they finally understand. Also he was really looking forward to it, that’s why he didn’t bother to warn Zilan of the dangers within the lake.
Although Zilan was truly disappointed that he couldn’t undergo the training right away, he wasn’t completely disheartened. After all, he had the basics of what he needed to learn already stored safely in his memory and also Hihi only said that this place was the best possible environment to train in [Infinite Rain], he didn’t say a word of it being the only environment.
“This is where the advantage of having the Book of Path comes into play.” mused Zilan.
