An orange-like rune formation appears in the sky. The runic formation is from the spell Kanoru created—The Nine Sun Burst spell. After a few minutes, nine mini suns appear and explode in the clouds.
Asuna sighs, thinking about when she will be able to perfect the spell. Three months have passed since she got the spell from Kanoru. She mastered the spell in the next two months, and in the last month, she spent time perfecting it. But she still is not able to perfect the spell.
She formed five runes while mastering the spell. She was able to break through to the Spirit King Realm. Asuna hears a voice beside her saying, "Why are you sighing? Our husband gave you a powerful spell with which you were able to break through to the Spirit King Realm."
The voice turns sour, saying, "He does not give me anything."
Glancing at Gu Mingzhu, Asuna says, "You were in retreat. How was he supposed to give you a gift?"
Asuna continues, "Your first attribute is wood, and the second is metal. Neither of them matches Kanoru. How would he be able to create a spell for you when he doesn't understand anything about those two elements?"
Gu Mingzhu replies, "I know. So, I decided to comprehend a third element, but I cannot decide which one."
Asuna says, "I hope you're stuck deciding between comprehending Wind, Fire, and Water. Otherwise, Kanoru won't be able to help you." Saying this, she turns and starts flying toward their house.
Gu Mingzhu, flying beside her, says, "I know. I'm stuck deciding among the three elements I should comprehend."
She continues, "We know Kanoru's mastery is highest in the Wind element, then Fire, and lastly Water."
Asuna says, "Yes, his mastery is highest in the Wind element, but his Fire element spell is the strongest. I cannot say anything about the Water element."
Gu Mingzhu says, "That's the reason I'm hesitating. I want to choose the Water element to comprehend, as the alien energy of Water and Metal or Water or Wood would help my fighting style."
Asuna says, "Then, when he comes out, ask him."
Below them is the city where their house is. The entire city's 80% population is part of their army directly or indirectly. As they near the city, Asuna says, "Looks like you can ask him today."
Gu Mingzhu says, "He's out." She is unable to scan their house from where she is, as her cultivation is one realm behind Asuna's. So, her spiritual energy is also weaker. But as she nears, she also senses Kanoru's aura.
Kanoru was always inside their house, but he was in the retreat room. Runic formations are placed inside the retreat room. The formation stops anyone from disturbing whoever is inside in any way. So, spiritual energy also cannot probe inside the retreat room.
As they near their house, they lock onto Kanoru's aura in their garden.
They do not land directly in their garden, but hovering over it, they spot Kanoru standing in the clearing in the middle of the garden, with grey flames coming from inside his body.
They become concerned because the grey flame may be coming from inside Kanoru, but it is burning his body; they spot burn marks spreading over his skin, the skin ripping apart, showing the burned muscles, and the smell of flesh burning.
Asuna wonders, "What is he doing?" as she lands at a distance from him.
Gu Mingzhu, landing beside Asuna, says, "Should we stop him?"
Asuna says, "I don't think so. He knows what he's doing."
Gu Mingzhu says, "You can heal this damage in a minute."
They walk and sit on a bench and look at Kanoru.
After a few minutes, the grey flame disappears, and as his body starts healing, it stops as his skin starts to crystallise with ice, and from around his feet, the ground also starts to freeze.
Asuna says, "Now, you don't need to worry about your choice. His comprehension of the Water element is not lower than the Fire element."
Gu Mingzhu smiles, seeing and feeling the power of ice around Kanoru. She thinks she does not need to choose comprehending other elements. She can choose the element she thinks will help her—the Water element.
She starts wondering how Kanoru would help her comprehend the Water element. Her comprehension of the Water element can be said to be zero. She wants to comprehend it because she has entered a bottleneck.
She is facing difficulties in the comprehension of the Wood and Metal elements.
If there were no war, now that she's facing the bottleneck, she would roam the world, practice painting, and do things that help clear her mind. And stop thinking about cultivation for a moment.
But now, even if they are not participating in the war, she can sense the stirring of elemental energy all around them, coming from the coastlines of the Sacred Continent, where the battle for the survival of their world is going on.
She would also have to participate, and the days are near. She learned from Asuna that the councillor gave Kanoru six months to master the grey energy. Now, three months have passed, and Kanoru has left his retreat room.
This would mean two things: Kanoru's understanding of the grey energy has increased, and he came out to try something.
Or, Kanoru has mastered the grey energy. She thinks Kanoru has mastered it. As she looks at Kanoru, either burning or freezing himself, this could have been done inside the retreat room. There was no need to come outside.
So, the reason for Kanoru coming out after three months is that he has mastered the grey energy. This means that after Kanoru informs the council that he has mastered it, there would be no need for their army to remain in the city, as the highest council would not leave Kanoru free.
His strength has reached the peak of Spirit King. When the councillor and the leaders of the GreyRose Circus do not participate in the war, then Kanoru and people from both their side and the opposite side become the ones who can change the situation in the war zones in a short time.
In this situation, they're at a disadvantage; they have 23 people with the same strength as Kanoru, but the opposite side has more than 30.
So, the highest council will not let Kanoru waste time when they need more people like him. Then it is certain Kanoru would join the war, and if he joins, she would also have to join, as she is part of Kanoru's army.
Kanoru stops the freezing aspect from damaging his body. He was refining his body, but only the freezing and heat aspects were unable to refine it. As he has mastered the grey energy completely, he powers the six aspects he comprehended with the grey energy.
The combination of the six aspects led to the formation of grey energy. After mastering it, he became aware of how grey energy is formed and that he can teach others to form it.
The rune structure of the grey energy has two layers—in the inner layer, 60 runes from the six aspects are the reason behind the grey energy, and the 34 runes in the outer layer are not needed; they simply increase its power.
If any of the runes in the inner layer are missing, the grey energy cannot be formed. Kanoru feels his body completely heal and grow slightly stronger. After feeling the improvement, he looks toward Asuna and Gu Mingzhu, staring at them.
He turns around and says, "Congratulations, Asuna, for advancing to the Spirit King Realm." To Gu Mingzhu, he says, "How did your retreat go?"
Asuna replies, "Thank you. And you mastered the grey energy," and at the same time,
Gu Mingzhu replies, "It was fruitful, but now I am at a bottleneck."
Kanoru answers Asuna first, "Yes," and looks with concern at Gu Mingzhu.
He asks, "How can I help?"
Gu Mingzhu stands up and walks toward Kanoru, saying, "My comprehension of Wood and Metal elemental energies is at the limit. Before my spirit increases, I don't think I can comprehend them any further."
Kanoru watches her hold his arm with both hands, and he can feel something soft touching his arm. Kanoru, glancing at her helplessly, says, "You don't need to do this. I said I will help you."
Gu Mingzhu says, "I know you will help me, and I'm doing this for my husband. If I don't do this with him,
who am I going to do this with? Another man?"
Kanoru says, "If you keep doing this, I don't think I can control myself."
Gu Mingzhu says, "Do you think I want you to control yourself? Three months have passed—we didn't do that."
Kanoru says, "Then you don't want my help."
Gu Mingzhu says, "No, you will help me—but later. Right now, I need something else."
Kanoru mysteriously smiles at her and clicks his fingers, and Gu Mingzhu feels her desire fade away.
Gu Mingzhu, who had climbed onto Kanoru's side, quickly gets down to her feet and asks, "What happened?" She remembers everything she was doing. And she is not surprised that she did this.
The surprise is that she would not do this at this moment and location. They are in the garden during the daytime. Anyone flying over the city can spot them.
She is confused by her actions and spots the mysterious smile on Kanoru's face. She accuses, "You did this."
Asuna, sitting on the bench, was watching the performance the entire time. Hearing Gu Mingzhu's accusation, Asuna is surprised Kanoru was able to do this and asks, "How? Is it some kind of spell? But I did not feel any fluctuation of energy."
Kanoru thought he should tell them or not.
But Kanoru felt Asuna was already a Spirit King, and with his help, Mingzhu would also break through to the Spirit King Realm shortly. So, knowing this would help them quickly comprehend the runes and become stronger. He also discovered that if he completely comprehends an aspect in one element, and the same aspect is present in another element,
Then it would be easier to comprehend that aspect in the other element.
He also feels that the formation of new energies somehow involves the aspects behind them. He cannot say for certain for now, but he feels it.
At his level, when they feel something more than wrong, their feeling is usually correct.
Also, fully mastering an aspect in multiple elements increases the control over that aspect present in the world.
He says, "Listen carefully, what I am going to say is very important." Seeing both Asuna and Mingzhu turn serious.
He then starts his explanation, "Elemental energies are made up of multiple aspects. Some of the aspects in one element are found in multiple elements."
Gu Mingzhu, hearing a new word, asks, "Aspects?"
Kanoru says, "Aspects are like the nature of elements that we comprehend to break through the Spirit Realm. They can be called nature, traits, or anything. I name them aspects."
Mingzhu nods, "I understand, they are the nature of elements."
Kanoru nods.
Then, Mingzhu asks, "Then why don't you call them the natures of elements? Why give them another name?"
Kanoru rolls his eyes and says, "I can give them whatever name I like. I can name them anything. Do you want to listen further about the aspects?"
Seeing both of them nod, Kanoru continues, "Many elements have common aspects. Asuna, the spell I gave you—did you master the spell?"
Asuna nods and says, "Yes."
Kanoru says, "Then enter your spiritual space and check the runes you formed. Among them, you will find five of the fire and wind elements giving off similar energy fluctuations."
Kanoru watches as Asuna closes her eyes. Time ticks by, and after a minute, Asuna opens her eyes.
Gu Mingzhu asks, "What did you find?"
Asuna says, "You are right."
Gu Mingzhu speaks as she hears Asuna finish, "Then what about it?"
Kanoru says, "An element contains many elements, and after completely understanding an aspect of an element, it becomes easier to comprehend another element containing that aspect."
Asuna speaks with urgency in her voice, "Are you telling the truth?"
Kanoru, raising his right eyebrow, says, "Do you think I would lie to you about something this important? And why are you asking me if I'm telling the truth?"
Asuna says, "No, I know you're telling the truth, but this is the first time I've heard about this, and in a rune of the thunder element, I feel similar aspects to the 10 runes."
She then asks, "What is the name of that aspect?"
Kanoru says, "I name it the explosive aspect."
And asks, "You found an explosive aspect rune of the thunder element?"
Asuna nods. Kanoru, seeing Asuna's confirmation, thinks she may be correct, as he also feels the lightning aspect may be present in the thunder aspect. Then he thinks another aspect may be present in the thunder element that is also found in the wind and fire elements.
Kanoru says, "I think the heat aspect may also be present in fire, wind, and thunder elements."
Asuna says, "The runes that are responsible for the temperature rise?"
After Kanoru nods, she again closes her eyes to investigate her spiritual space. While Asuna investigates her spiritual space, Gu Mingzhu asks, "What aspects would I have in common with both wood and metal elements?"
Kanoru stares at her and asks, "How can I know what aspects are in the wood and metal elements? I do not understand anything about them."
Gu Mingzhu widens her eyes, and her eyes water as she stares at Kanoru. She says, "Can't you guess?"
Kanoru rolls his eyes. Seeing her act like this reminds him of the start of their marriage. She acted like the princess she was, but now, around 60 years into their marriage, they know everything about each other, and she only drops her princess persona after getting familiar with him.
Kanoru says, after thinking about what would be common in wood and metal elements, "Hardness aspect."
Gu Mingzhu nods and then says, "If hardness exists, can a softness aspect be there?"
Kanoru nods, "Yes, the softness aspect would be there, and also the poisonous aspect."
Kanoru then asks, "I remember you said your spirit cannot sense wood and metal elements?"
Gu Mingzhu says, "It's not that I can't, it's difficult."
Kanoru says, "We both know it's because your spirit is not strong enough, and as time passes, it will grow stronger under the pressure of the rune structure around it."
Gu Mingzhu nods, "I know."
Kanoru says, "Then to solve the problem, you should comprehend another element, and the water element would be best for you because the water element contains all three—hardness, softness, and poisonous aspects."
"I do not know how many runes you've formed of the three aspects of the wood and metal elements."
"If you've comprehended any of them completely, then those aspects would be easier to comprehend from the water element."
Asuna finishes checking her spiritual space and asks, "How can you know when you've comprehended an aspect completely?"
Gu Mingzhu nods and also asks, "How can we know?"
Kanoru says, "You can check the elemental particles you did not comprehend. If any of them are still giving off the fluctuation of that aspect, it's incomplete."
"Also, I discovered five runes contain the complete aspect of an element."
"I know this only from the aspects I've comprehended. I cannot tell about other aspects."
Asuna asks, "You've comprehended the heat aspect contained in the fire and wind elements completely, right?"
Kanoru says, "Not wind, only fire and water. But I think the heat aspect in the wind element will also form five runes."
He closes his eyes. With his spirit, he senses the wind element particles. As his spirit is close to the limit of its growth, he quickly finds four runes containing heat aspects—two in the core layer, one in the inner layer, and the last in the outer layer of the wind elemental energy. Among the four runes, he has comprehended the heat aspect rune present in the outer layer and another from the inner layer.
What surprises him is that there are only four wind elemental runes containing the heat aspect. He thought there must be five runes. The heat aspect is present in the water and fire elemental runes, with five runes.
Then, the heat aspect present in the wind element would form four runes. He remembers that ten elemental runes are found in alien energies. They are present in the elemental particles but remain hidden—only after comprehending them from the alien energies do they become visible.
Kanoru asks, "How many heat aspect runes did you comprehend?"
Asuna says, "Two of the wind element, three of the fire element, and one from the thunder element."
Kanoru says, "You'll be able to completely comprehend the heat aspect rune present in the fire element, but there are only four heat aspect runes present in the wind element. I think the fifth may be present in the alien energies. I cannot say about the thunder element."
Asuna hears this from Kanoru and sighs. She says, "Now, do I have to comprehend all wind-element alien energy to comprehend a single rune?"
Kanoru starts checking his memory. Sixteen alien energies contain wind elements—among them, half are dominated by the wind element.
He checks each of their names and introductions and thinks about which one would contain the heat aspect. He skips the alien energies that are present with fire and water elements—he had already comprehended them. If the one heat rune was present in them, he would have already comprehended that.
To find it, he has to discover which other elements contain the heat aspect. He is certain about thunder, as Asuna has already formed a heat thunder element aspect rune. Then the light element, metal element, earth element, and wood element may contain the heat aspect.
So, alien energies with them and in combination with the wind element may contain the heat aspect rune. Then, among the ten-element energies, one of them contains a heat aspect of the wind element. And he thinks that the alien energy called Blue Devil Metal may be the one where the wind element heat aspect rune can be found.
He says, "I think you can try to comprehend the Blue Devil Metal."
Gu Mingzhu asks, "Is there anything more we should know about the aspects?"
Kanoru says, "For now, that's all."
After that, Kanoru and the others return inside their house as the sun starts to set. They want to have dinner to recharge their energy for the night exercise on their bed. Kanoru also hasn't exercised them for three months.