Chapter 5.2, Painless Suffering

"... Do you get it now?" The old man inside Si Liuqi's mind asked after repeating the restrictions about the element devouring techniques.

"So, if I were to cultivate the Ice Devouring Technique, I would only be able to cultivate the yin attributed element devouring techniques?" Si Liuqi asked to confirm.

"Not necessarily, it will all depend on if you are capable or not." The old man answered.

"Also, is it painful to cultivate the element devouring techniques?" Once again asked Liuqi.

"It depends on how you are devouring the element. In theory, you don't have to digest the elements' physical form, rather their energy and essence. But you would need to train your physical body to be able bear that." Said the old man.

"...you mean?" Liuqi asked in a scared way as if he already knew the answer.

"Yes, you will need to soak in that ice for at least 5 hours everyday." The old man answered sternly. Then he continued: "After a cycle of maximum 200 days, you will achieve initial success within the ice devouring technique. Only after you achieve peak success, will you be able to directly devour their essence and energy. And achieving peak mastery will take you more than tens of thousands of years, if you were to only *soak* in the ice."

"Eh? Ehhh! Tens of thousands of years?! That will take way too much time! I need to get stronger quicker! Is there any way to speed this up?!" Si Liuqi was flabbergasted. He wanted to get strong quick. Why? Because only after he was capable enough could he learn the truth of his amnesia and the location of his "family".

"Calm down kid." Said the old man who was a bit angry, since Liuqi was still not thinking about what the old man had really said. The old man then continues; "I only said that it was maximum, and I said that you only need to soak to achieve mastery. Think about it. What would happen if you cultivate while soaking in the ice? And the cultivation technique you will be using is the Ice Devouring Technique itself. You really should learn how to read between lines."

"Ah. I'm sorry. I just couldn't stop myself when I heard the maximum time to achieve peak mastery was that long." Liuqi was red and ashamed. Even though he only acted like this towards people he could trust, it was still a bad trait.

"Hmph. Now that all of your questions are answered, empty all the ice into the wooden bathtub the school has given you." The old man couldn't wait any longer as he was interested in how talented Liuqu would be in element devouring techniques.

Liuqi then emptied the ice into the wooden bathtub, and entered it after stripping all of his clothes, exception to his boxer briefs because of LAW&ORDEr. He then jumped in without thinking.

"Ai, its so cold!"

"Of course it would be! It is ice, the coldest element!" The old man was really angered this time. Who would jump in an ice cold water to later call it, 'wow this is so cold'. "... Now try the devouring technique!"

"Yes, sir!" Liuqi wasn't actually afraid of this old man. He knew that the old man never meant to harm him, and instead helped him lot. It was just that old man had a really bad temper. Liuqi then started using the devouring technique. He sat on a cross legged meditation pose, closed his eyes, and did the same thing as he did when he was in the second test of water, but this time he tried becoming one with the ice instead of water. "I have rule over water, ice is a form of water. It is water. Ice is water. I have control over Ice." He became one with the ice as he executed the ice devouring technique. "Ice devouring technique is to absorb the essence of it without becoming one with it. What would happen if I were to become one with it?"

"Hey kid! What are you doing? Why are you trying to fuse your consciousness with the ice? Do you have a death wish or something?" The old man voiced out out within Liuqi's mind. "Tch. He is in a deep meditation and can't hear me. Whether or not he wakes up will completely depend on himself.

Ai, what a troublesome -------- I have..."

-Within Deep Meditation, Si Liuqi-

"This is really troublesome, it actually doesn't hurt but it still makes me suffer! I think this is what they call Painless Suffering? Or was it Suffering Without Pain?"

The again the chapter will never end with the chapter name, so Liuqi then continued becoming one with the ice.

"Ice is water tempered with cold qi. Thus it is yin attributed. Just water itself is a perfect mix of yin and yang, thus it can't be devoured as a technique. The goal of the element devouring techniques are to either bring body to a perfect yin yang condition, or to eventually elevate that yin yang condition to a godly level!"