Chapter 113: Fireball_1
Is this what a spell is?
Mo Hua’s eyes widened in astonishment.
It seemed that all it took was channeling Spiritual Power through specific meridians and using Divine Sense to propel it outward. Then, one could form spells of various attributes, achieving a power far beyond Mo Hua’s expectations.
After a disturbance, the pond returned to tranquility.
Only the mottled water stains along the shore and the fragmented vegetation floating on the water bore witness to what had just taken place.
Old Kui nodded, “Not bad.”
Mo Hua scratched his head, “Grandpa Gui, what should I practice next?”
“Keep practicing this one.”
“Keep practicing this one?”
“Yes,” Old Kui said, “first practice it a hundred times, feel it out.”
“Feel out what exactly?” Mo Hua asked, puzzled.
“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. After a hundred repetitions, you’ll begin to grasp it,” Old Kui replied.
Mo Hua was a little confused.
Old Kui added, “It’s like with your Formation practice, practice leads to perfection. With more practice, certain things become clear intuitively, but such things are difficult to convey with words.”
“Oh.” Mo Hua nodded, understanding a bit more.
“Can I practice here?”
Mo Hua asked a bit sheepishly.
He certainly couldn’t practice at home; what if he accidentally set the place on fire with the Fireball Technique?
Practicing alone in the mountains and forests was also somewhat dangerous.
“It’s no bother,” Old Kui said indifferently.
Mo Hua hesitated a little, “But what if I damage the pond or these flowers and plants, is that okay?”
Old Kui glanced at Mo Hua with composure and then with a gentle wave of his sleeve.
Mo Hua didn’t even know what happened, he just noticed in the blink of an eye, the water stains by the pond had vanished, the charred vegetation was restored, and the fish leisurely resumed their swimming.
As if nothing that had just taken place had ever happened, as if Mo Hua had never used that Fireball Technique.
Mo Hua stood rooted to the spot.
“It’s no bother,” Old Kui said lightly.
In the following days, Mo Hua kept running over to Mr. Zhuang’s place.
If Mr. Zhuang was awake, he would greet him and seek answers to some questions; if Mr. Zhuang was asleep, that was the perfect chance to go practice the Fireball Technique beside the pond, next to the bamboo grove.
The underlying principles of the Fireball Technique were already clear to Mo Hua, and after practicing for several days, he was getting the hang of using it.
However, the power of the Fireball Technique, the speed of casting, and the accuracy of the strike varied slightly each time.
These indeed, as Old Kui had said, required personal practice and gradual understanding to master completely; they were hard to put into words.
In these days, Mo Hua had been practicing the Fireball Technique by the pond.
Splash after splash as fireballs exploded in the pond, disrupting the placid waters and causing vegetation to scatter in all directions, the fish at the bottom in panic.
Fortunately, every day after Mo Hua left, Old Kui would restore the pond.
Otherwise, Mo Hua would have already blown the pond dry…
On this particular day, as Mo Hua practiced his Fireball Technique by the pond, he saw a little head sneakily peeking over from afar.
Upon seeing that only Mo Hua was there, Bai Zisheng stealthily ran over, asking curiously, “What are you playing with?”
“It’s not a game, I am practicing a spell,” Mo Hua corrected.
Bai Zisheng’s eyes lit up, “You’re learning a spell? Which one? Show me!”
Mo Hua set off another Fireball Technique into the pond.
With a thunderous boom, water splashed every which way.
After watching, Bai Zisheng’s excitement faded a bit, and he said dismissively:
“It’s just the Fireball Technique…”
Mo Hua wouldn’t have it, “What’s wrong with the Fireball Technique?”
Bai Zisheng consoled, “It’s alright, I guess. I thought you had learned something more powerful.”
“Like… oh, right, you have low Spiritual Power, even if you learned it, you couldn’t use it,” Bai Zisheng said.
Mo Hua gave him a disdainful look and said coolly, “Have you finished your homework?”
“Not yet,” Bai Zisheng’s spirits instantly sank, “I heard noises coming from here, so I sneaked over. I’ll have to go back soon.”
Bai Zisheng went on to ask, “Won’t your practicing the Fireball Technique disturb Mr. Zhuang?”
Mo Hua shook his head, “I asked Grandpa Gui, he said it wouldn’t. Mr. Zhuang’s place is far away, very quiet.”
Bai Zisheng nodded and looked at Mo Hua enviously, “Mr. Zhuang is really good to you…”
“Mr. Zhuang is also pretty nice to you all, and you and Mr. Zhuang, you have some connections, right?” Mo Hua asked with puzzlement.
Bai Zisheng waved his hand, “You don’t understand…” He thought for a moment but did not elaborate further.
He and Zixi held Mr. Zhuang in great awe, and even though they would go to him with questions on regular days, they generally would not disturb the gentleman unnecessarily.
Like Mo Hua, who would seek the gentleman’s guidance whenever he encountered a problem, even going as far as to use the Fireball Technique to blow up a pond in Mr. Zhuang’s courtyard—they would not dare to do such a thing.
“Are you trying to scheme against the gentleman, feeling guilty, and hence you are afraid of the gentleman?”
Mo Hua looked at Bai Zisheng with suspicion.
Bai Zisheng curled his lip, “I would need the ability to do that first.”
“That’s true,” Mo Hua nodded.
Bai Zisheng curiously asked, “Did Old Kui teach you this Fireball Technique?”
“Did Old Kui only teach you the Fireball Technique?”
“You don’t understand, what’s suitable is the best.”
Mo Hua said, imitating Old Kui’s experienced manner.
Bai Zisheng thought about it and nodded, “That’s true.”
Mo Hua asked in return, “Is Grandpa Gui really that powerful?”
“He should be,” Bai Zisheng said, uncertain.
“So you don’t know either.”
Bai Zisheng gave an awkward smile.
Mo Hua then hurried him, “You better go do your studies, don’t disturb me from practicing spells.”
Bai Zisheng didn’t really want to leave, studying was too tedious.
“You practice, I can give you some pointers.”
“What can you point out? You don’t know spells,” said Mo Hua, taken aback.
Bai Zisheng said, displeased, “Haven’t eaten pork, but haven’t seen a pig run either? Although I practice martial arts, I still know some powerful spells.”
That was indeed the case; the Bai Family had a rich heritage of knowledge.
“Use the Fireball Technique again for me to see,” Bai Zisheng said.
“Oh,” Mo Hua used the Fireball Technique again.
The pond got blown up once more.
“Hmm… the power seems a bit small,” Bai Zisheng said.
“Is it because my Spiritual Power is too weak?”
“Not entirely. The strength of a spell is related to your proficiency with it, the more adept you are at using the spell, the greater its power will be. Master a spell to perfection, and even if the consumed Spiritual Power remains the same, its strength will still increase,” Bai Zisheng explained patiently.
Mo Hua nodded continuously, “Then what specifically does this proficiency entail?”
“Do you have the Meridian Chart for the Fireball Technique?”
Mo Hua opened the Meridian Chart for the Fireball Technique.
Bai Zisheng pointed at the chart and said:
“Simply put, it’s about the precision when your Spiritual Power follows these meridians and acupoints. If every time your Spiritual Power circulates exactly through these channels and points, then undoubtedly the power of the spell will greatly increase.”
“Of course, absolute precision is nearly impossible, humans after all, are not puppets, it’s unrealistic to be perfect every time, close enough will do,” Bai Zisheng further explained.
Mo Hua had an epiphany and asked Bai Zisheng several more questions.
Bai Zisheng was thrilled to show off in front of Mo Hua for once and eagerly gave guidance for quite some time.
Suddenly, a paper ball flew over from nowhere, striking Bai Zisheng right on the head.
Mo Hua picked up the paper ball, unfolded it, and saw that it was a simple sketch of a small face drawn with a brush.
The face had simple lines, just a few strokes and two dots, and it seemed somewhat displeased.
Bai Zisheng, holding his head, saw the note and exclaimed:
“It’s over, Zixi is angry. I told her I was coming to play with you for a while, but I inadvertently stayed too long.”
Bai Zisheng hurriedly stood up, dropping a “Practice more by yourself,” before he ran off quickly.
Mo Hua was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh.
Afterward, Mo Hua practiced with precise control of Spiritual Power as Bai Zisheng had said, and sure enough, the Fireball Technique became a bit more powerful.
Once Mo Hua had practiced a hundred times, he had managed to use the Fireball Technique rather proficiently.
Mo Hua then went looking for Old Kui, “Grandpa Gui, I’ve practiced it a hundred times!”
Old Kui nodded, “Have you got it?”
“Good,” Old Kui gave a nod of approval, “Now I will start teaching you properly.”
Mo Hua was stunned, “Haven’t you already taught me?”
Old Kui said indifferently:
“I haven’t started teaching yet. What’s there to teach about the Fireball Technique.”