Chapter 2 Ghost Chef, Cha Ji (Part 2)_1
Cha Ji bit his own finger, drawing a circle in the air with blood, "With my blood as a guide, seal it, endless hatred." With a flicker of red light, Nian Bing's body was enveloped, and with a slight tremble, his calmness returned.
Cha Ji continued, "Nian Bing, my name is Cha Ji, I am your teacher. From this moment on, you will forget everything other than your understanding of knowledge, your recognition of the continent, and magic knowledge. Everything that happened before will become illusionary. Now, your heart is purely devoted to the cultivation of magic and cooking skills. Pursuing the zenith of cooking skills will be the grandest goal of your life."
Upon saying this, Cha Ji paused, while Nian Bing murmured the words he had previously said, his vacant gaze becoming even more obsessed.
A trace of reluctance shone in Cha Ji's eyes as he continued, "Unless your magic reaches a point where it is powerful enough to eliminate your enemies, the sealed memories will never awaken. Sleep, child, sleep well." As he spoke, Cha Ji cradled Nian Bing in his arms, and Nian Bing closed his eyes, his breathing quickly becoming even.
Holding Nian Bing, Cha Ji sighed, "I never thought that the first time I would use the Seal Hypnosis Technique, which I had initially exchanged for a meal, would be on a child. Nian Bing, I'm sorry, I have no choice. If you don't learn cooking skills with me, I'm afraid the knowledge I have accumulated may be lost. I hope you can understand my predicament. In the future, I will wholeheartedly teach you to become the greatest chef. Perhaps, one day when your memory awakens, even if you hate me once again, I am willing to bear it. You will not be the previous me, not the Ghost Chef, but a Magic Chef, a chef who knows magic. You will transcend all of your past, reaching the true pinnacle of cooking. Maybe, I'm too selfish, but if your parents are still alive, they definitely won't blame me. Rather than living in hatred forever, isn't it better to happily pursue cooking skills?"
Cha Ji murmured to himself, not noticing that when he uttered the last sentence, a faint red light quietly disappeared from Nian Bing's right hand that was hanging at his side.
Picking up Nian Bing's body, returning him to his room and pulling the covers over him, Cha Ji smiled, "Hope has finally arrived. I won't give up on the gift heaven gave me. Child, sleep well. Starting from tomorrow, you will learn the skills of the Ghost Chef. Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha." His obsession with cooking made Cha Ji forget everything. For ten years, no moment has ever made him happier than now.
The door closed, Cha Ji left. Perhaps, he won't be able to sleep peacefully tonight.
The wooden house returned to tranquility, everything once again submerged in deep darkness. Unexpectedly, Nian Bing, who should have been deeply asleep, abruptly sat up. A faint glow emanated from his blue eyes. It was not a vacant gaze; he seemed to be contemplating something.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out two stones, one blue and one red. The red one was a gemstone carved into a flame, and the blue one was a rhombus gemstone. Both stones radiated a glow of their respective colors. Although the red and blue glows were faint, they seemed to repel each other.
"Mother, thank you. If it weren't for the Ice-Snow Goddess Stone always protecting my soul, perhaps, I would have lost my memory by now. Mother, can you tell me what should Nian Bing do next? Should I really do as Grandpa Cha Ji said, to abandon all enmity? No, I can't! Those people hurt you so much, I, I..."
His hands clutched the red and blue gemstones, the burning fire element and cold ice element invading his body from his palms. Amidst these extreme energies of fire and ice, Nian Bing felt no discomfort as he pondered and continued to ponder. On the Yangguang Continent, regardless of any of the Five Empires, the rankings of mages remained the same. From lowest to highest, they were Junior Mage, Intermediate Mage, Advanced level Mage, Great Archmage, Magic Instructor, Sorcerer, and Divine Convergence Instructor. He himself was merely a Junior Mage, while the Ice God Tower could become the protector of the entire Bing Yue Empire precisely because it had the most powerful mage—the Divine Convergence Instructor. Even the power of his own father, a Magic Instructor, was nothing before the Divine Convergence Instructor. What good was his hatred?
Nian Bing's heart turned cold. A Divine Convergence Instructor was the unattainable pinnacle for those cultivating magic. It was not a realm that could be achieved by practice alone. It required opportunity, insight, and the support of countless advanced crystal stones. After years of hard work, only by merging with the universe, could one possibly successfully conduct the divine convergence, and unleash the most powerful Twelfth-Rank Magic. So, was it seeking death to resist a Divine Convergence Instructor with his meager power? Grandpa Cha Ji was right. What was the point of harboring hatred if his magic wasn't potent enough to destroy his enemies? Perhaps, he should truly seal his memories of hatred. His father had once said before going to the Ice God Tower that only by not clouding his mind with hatred could he possibly save his mother. By temporarily putting aside his hatred, he may have the best chance of taking revenge in the future.
After coming to this realization, Nian Bing's mind became completely clear. A faint smile emerged in his eyes, he muttered to himself, "Grandpa Cha Ji, although you didn't successfully seal my hatred, Nian Bing himself will seal it. When the day comes that I am able to confront a Divine Convergence Instructor, then I will carry the name bestowed by father to myself. Father, Mother, would you really be happy because Nian Bing gives up on hatred? Don't worry, there will be a day, a day when justice will be served."
He clenched his fist forcefully. The Ice-Snow Goddess Stone and Flame God Stone intimately contacted his skin. Immersed in his decision, Nian Bing did not notice that around his body, the water and fire elements were exchanging in a wonderful way. Lying on the bed, he began his necessary daily meditation. His father had once told him that there's no shortcut to cultivate magic. Only through constant meditation and continual communication with magic elements, could you gradually possess stronger magic power. Under the influence of magic power, you could resonate with magic elements of your attribute and then, through spells, unleash stronger magic.
In the past, Nian Bing only cultivated Fire Magic. However, before he activated the scroll that teleported him to the mountain peak, his mother had given him something at the cost of all her strength: the Ice-Snow Goddess Stone in his hand. After obtaining this stone, Nian Bing was surprised to find out that a portion of his Fire Magic had transformed into Ice Magic. Upon introspection, he saw a clear division in his body where magic power was separated, making it look very peculiar. No wonder he was able to cast low-rank magic in a critical moment through the two gemstones.
Today was his first time practicing since obtaining the two gemstones. Closing his eyes, Nian Bing called out to the magic elements in the air. The scenery of half-blue, half-red appeared in his body. Once the Fire Attribute magic elements were absorbed, they naturally flowed to the right side of his body while the Ice Attribute took residence on the left. Both red and blue colors formed a line of demarcation in his body, leaving every other part untouched.
At this point, Nian Bing finally had the peace of mind to contemplate his current magic situation. His body's situation was indeed very odd. When Rong Tian was instructing him on magic, he had told him that the best way for a mage to improve magic was to focus on one type. If he scattered his efforts to learn several types of magic, his spiritual power would inevitably be diluted and it would be hard to improve further. Among the known Seven Attributes of Magic, there were two opposing pairs: Fire and Ice, Light and Darkness. Ice was a variant form of Water Magic and was hence considered the same kind of magic. Nobody could possess both extremes, Fire and Ice simultaneously. If one were to cultivate both at the same time, there was a considerable risk of harming oneself due to the collision of fire and ice. When Nian Bing first started learning magic, Rong Tian allowed him to choose, as his body could accept both Fire and Ice Elements. Eventually, Nian Bing chose the more accessible Fire Attribute and continued to practice under Rong Tian's guidance. However, his ice constitution did not disappear. Rong Tian thought that once Nian Bing's Fire Magic reached a certain level, his Ice Constitution would become negligible. He didn't pay much attention to it, even he didn't notice that during Nian Bing's meditation, his Ice Constitution subtly influenced him all along.