Four Seasons Of The Weeping World (I): Sword Of Summer

Alex might be just a fourteen year old boy, but there was a quality that set him apart from most boys his age, and that was his patience. The basic knowledge of the three vocations were memorized, but even he knew that they weren't mastered yet. No matter how talented he was, a month and the half was not enough time for him fully comprehend the intricacies behind the vocations, so he snuck into lessons being held in the vocation hall.

The teachers never seemed to notice him, or maybe they did and just chose to ignore him, but never the less the missing part of his knowledge, which in this case was the experience and perception of masters more familiar with the vocations than he was. It was a refreshing experience for him, but eventually his allocated month and the half of study came to an end.

There was just a month left until the sect competition, and he knew it was about time for him refine his combat abilities.

For this stage of his training, Alex was going to be mostly relying on himself, so far he has had a few teachings about cultivation and techniques imparted on him by his father, uncle, and mother. But every single one of them just gave him the basis and expected him to master everything himself, which was why today Alex was going to focus on his sword skills, but he was going to be using it with his fire mask!

The [Four Seasons Of The Weeping World] only had the south sword of summer mastered, a moved that focused mainly of destructive fiery hits. Today Alex was going to try to comprehend the north sword of summer with a fiery defensive technique, and then spend his remaining time learning the east sword of summer which a controlling move, and the west sword of summer which was a move that focused on speed.

It might seem complicated, but it wasn't that hard. The remaining three seasons which focused on the fundamentals of other elements also followed the same templates, only the amount of damage and effects they had was quite different. The summer sword focused on fire, which means all of it's move was destructive and burns, it was a versatile skill tailored to the supreme power of the four main elements, yet it was balanced and covered all the bases.

Alex held west wind and east cloud in his hands and took a deep breath, he let himself sink into the profoundness of the sword art in his hand. There was more to the sword than just being versatile, heck even a spear is more versatile than a sword. However a sword has always been a man's ideal weapon, capable of doing much and so little at the same time.

Alex let out a deep breath as the hot noon sun above his head blazed down on his body. He felt his 100 open meridians expand as they took in Qi from world and channeled it into his body, each of them following a particular set matter as the swords in Alex's hands suddenly came ablaze. He didn't hurry to start using the other moves, he just started moving around, incorporating his understanding of Taichi into his sword moves, it was slow and steady, and the wind began to move around him.

However the wind that blew was not cool or refreshing as it was before, rather it was scorching hot and even the grass beneath his feet seemed to start wilting rapidly. In all honesty Alex had not really paid attention to any of his martial skills, he's just been so swept up in the motion of life that it's become really hard for him to properly place focus on them, but this time he was sinking in deep.

He first went through the motions, understanding the concept behind each sub move for the fiery summer sword. In no time at all the wind and cloud element blades blazed up, their dull grey form blazing with a rage that even the fire that was used to forge them wouldn't even compare. If it was anyone else, just getting the blades to turn red was enough, but right now Alex was wearing the fire mask, he was in control and he had access to the profound flames of the world, this was his moment!

[South Sword Of Summer!] Alex roar as both blades swung left and right releasing a powerful wave of flames that scorched the grass within a three meter radius. It might not be much, but Alex was still just in the opened meridian realm, and it should be impossible to give his Qi an attribute since his Dantian was not yet open yet, but Alex had his spirit mantis, and the fire mask was a big cheat. Alex didn't stop as he jumped back, both swords held in a reverse grip as he started swirling them around his body.

[North Sword Of Summer!] An intricate net of flames suddenly came alive around him, or rather it would be easier to explain it as a deal made from yarn like flames gathered around his form but tight enough to be seen. Nothing could come close to Alex, heck it even seemed as if the very air that was coming close to him was also getting burned. The ground was scorched black and copying scent of burnt grass clung to the air. Then all of a sudden Alex sheathed both swords by his side, both of them hanging over his left hip. He took a stance, bringing himself crouching low to the ground as placed both hands on his swords and took a deep breath.

Deep within his body, everything seemed to have slowed down, even his heartbeat and blood flow. However the Qi in his body was rapidly being absorbed and held captive by his meridians, those tiny gateways into his body acted like a dam that absorbed Qi and held it in place for Alex as he prepared for this move, and then.

[West Sword Of Summer!] There was barely any flames released, all that could be seen was a sharp and very fast red glow that appeared and disappeared in an instant. The only those accompanying sound was that of both swords returning into their sheathes with a resounding click. Everything within Alex's body resumes their motion as his heart beat began to race once again. In front of him, just a meter away on the ground was a smooth incision on the ground, if someone just took a look at it, they would think they were just looking at a line drawn by a stick, but it went deeper. It was a cut a meter deep in the ground, if he had sued this move against a person then it would have split them in half.

Alex made to move forward, about to use the fourth sword of summer, however his heart shook and blood gushed out from his throat and flew out his mouth. There was an intense pain in his chest and in his head, and at that moment he heard Nezha's voice screaming at him.

"Enough! You're pushing your luck using the fire mask to practice with weapons not suited for it. Don't make any more moves, go take a rest and keep your swords safe. There would be a chance for you to use someday, but for now they won't help you. This martial skill you're practicing is not only meant for swords, I've seen the fundamentals behind it, and because of that I know the summer season is tailored for a spear! Tomorrow I will teach you the basics of a halberd, then you can use the south season skills with it! Now..."

But it was too late as Alex's vision went dark and he fell to the huge latch of burnt and still burning grass in front of him. His last though only being on Nezha's words as he asked himself a question.

"What's a Halberd?"