The Urban Dao Child

Yang Dao and Feng Yun appeared in the void of the space duct. The pressure exerted by the surroundings was lower than what he had experienced in the past. He asked, “Elder said, there will be void monsters?”

Feng Yun nodded and said, “You are the representative of the will of heavens, you seek to maintain balance, while they seek the contrary. As you grow stronger, you become a greater threat for them, so they will try to attack you every time you travel through the void. It may be just four times before you ascend, but in the higher realm, to travel to different places, you will have to be a frequent void traveler.”

Yang Dao asked, “When did I sign-up to be a door-to-door service?” with a confused expression on his face.

Feng Yun chuckled at his remark and said, “You will be traveling to get stronger. The way of elements is not the only thing a Dao Child needs to master. Achieving the realm of the Elemental God-king is just the beginning. You will have to master other ways of strength as well.”

“For example?” asked Yang Dao.

Feng Yun said, “For example, the way of the spirit, then the way of dharma, then the way of eternity.”

Yang Dao was surprised to hear that so many ways of cultivation. He was curious about it but he did not raise a question. It was not the time yet. He took off the bow from his back and condensed an arrow instilled with the laws of life and death. He stretched the bowstring to a full moon. His eyes had the dao pupil slowly rotating in them.

Feng Yun said, “Good that you sensed them. But can you see them?” with a faint smile on her lips.

Yang Dao shook his head. He reacted to his instincts but did not see anyone around as they walked through the space duct. He asked, “What is this?”

Feng Yun said, “Have you heard the phrase when you look at the mirror, the mirror looks back at you?”

Yang Dao nodded, this phrase was very popular and he has read it a few times. Feng Yun nodded and said, “The void is a materialization of this phrase. Everything in existence, whether it follows the dao path or goes against it, has dao within it. The void is like a blurry mirror. You look at it and it looks back at you. In simple terms, you are a stone and the void is water. Your movement causes ripples, but you also sense the vibration.”

Yang Dao nodded, this analogy may be vague but the mystery of the void was not something he could understand at the movement but he did understand that it was usual and he was being paranoid.

Feng Yun and he walked for a bit and soon they found an opening in the space duct. They picked up the space and reached the hole and jumped in. The glow inside the hole was too strong for Yang Dao and thus the boy closed his eyes. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

After a few minutes, he woke up. He found himself standing in a barren land, with strong waves of heat. Yang Dao did not find Feng Yun around him but he did not panic. He saw the ground was parched and filled with cracks. The cracks stretched to the horizon, as he raised his head, a big yellow sun hung above his head.

The heat was enough to melt cheese if exposed to air. He saw that in a distance an arch of black stone was standing. He walked over and found that the two pillars were covered with different marks. Out of curiosity, he raised his hand, and just as he was about to touch the pillar a strong wave of heat washed over him.

He smiled and turned to look back. What he saw was nothing less than a fantasy. A faint bird covered in vermillion feather, red ruby eyes, a feather crown on her head, two strong, scale-skinned talons. The bird had an aura of supremacy to itself. Yang Dao could not help but admire it more. It was as if a flame itself had come in front of him.

The bird spoke in a soft voice, “Greetings.” the voice was not cold or robust as the previous to heavenly spirits but warm.

Yang Dao smiled as he replied, “Greetings. How are you?”

“I am fine. May I ask, if you are ready for the trial?” asked the bird in a calm tone.

“I agree.” replied the boy simply. He was aware of the trial and thus he had no reason to deny it or drag this.

The vermillion bird nodded and said, “The trial of fire is simple, you will have to use the flame to rejuvenate this parched land. Do you understand?”

Yang Dao thought about it and nodded. He did not say anything but used his actions. He sat down on a boulder and began to circulate the heat around him. This place was already so hot that even if it rained the water vapors will evaporate. So, he decided to make all the heat gather into him.

This was not very hard for him to do, but he did not have a cooling source of energy inside his body. He will be pouring fire inside his body, burning himself up. This trial has been one of the hardest trials proposed by the four beasts. The reason was the restriction set upon the Dao Child. The vermillion phoenix asked them to use the flame to rejuvenate the land.

That meant that only fire bending can be used to make the land rejuvenate. Nothing else was to use, no other element, and neither the laws. If they did the punishment will be so heavy that the Dao Child night not be able to bear it. The trail of fire began, Yang Dao, began to make all the heat towards him.

He was blessed with an inbuilt thermostat and rarely did he experience a heat this strong. The phoenix beside him kept gazing at the boy as she flew around him. She was waiting, not for him to make it work, but for a mistake.. She will turn him to ash and evaporate his soul.