Ball of Nothing

It was nice to hear Zero's voice after one week of silence. Hua Tuo smiled as Zero recounted his experience alternating between telling what happened in his inner dimension and talking through his conflicting thoughts. From what the physician gathered, it was a very different trial from the one he overcame.

"I still don't understand why the Aggression Falls did not try to replicate that empty space that scared me so badly the first time."

"Maybe we will find out the reason once we begin the training in the Progression Falls. You mentioned that the spring water was the complete opposite feeling as compared to that illusion of the empty space under the Aggression Falls?"

Zero nodded. Hua Tuo frowned. He had a few ideas of what that could possibly mean but he wasn't sure. After all, the physician only had his personal experience to speak about. After conquering Trigression Falls, Hua Tuo still had yet to hit the limits of his cultivation potential. The physician felt slightly guilty for putting his cultivation training off for so long. He'd been too busy answering prayers and attending to his Sage God duties that working on his personal progress became on the bottom of his to-do-list. It was left sitting on the back burner for so long that Hua Tuo could confidently say he'd forgotten about it until Zero came along.

"Don't worry too much about it," he told Zero. "The toughest part of your training is over. Trigression Falls can help cultivators improve greatly because of the three stages - formation, enhancement and enlightenment. You might have skipped a few steps because you've already had the formation and enhancement part done. I'm not sure who helped you with the meridian and chakra network creation but it was done very well. There is no real need to go through the creation and strengthening process again."

The teenager nodded. That could explain why it was so difficult for Zero to understand the illusions. Enlightenment was something that caused many sages to stumble. Understanding something greater than the capabilities of oneself wasn't as simple as learning something new. It was a combination of discovery, research and mastering a new concept.

"Is there a need to complete the Trigression Falls trial if I've completed all three stages?"

Hua Tuo flicked his student on the forehead. "You think that you've overcome enlightenment just by conquering the Aggression Falls? You're a fool to think that there is an end to learning."

Zero groaned at the pain and felt his cheeks flush in shame. He let his first victory get to his head and forgot that learning was a never-ending process. His teacher had every right to admonish him and Zero apologised. The teenager felt shame at his arrogance and was mortified by the words coming out of his mouth.

Hua Tuo knew that look on his apprentice's face. Zero was mentally beating himself up for what he'd done and this time, the physician didn't stop him. It was always better to nip arrogance in the bud before it poisoned the mind. It was a lot easier to pick up bad habits than cultivate good ones. However, the Sage God didn't want Zero to linger on it for too long. they had more important things to prepare for. The Progression Falls had a slightly more complicated setup and Hua Tuo needed some help with it.

"We will resume training at the Progression Falls tomorrow. Today, I will need your help to gather materials for the setup at the second stage. We're going to be learning how to utilise qi with the help of the waterfall."

Zero perked up at the mention of training preparation. "What do we need?"

Hua Tuo passed him a list and the young doctor raised a brow. A huge majority of the things on the list were herbs. Was someone going to get injured? Also, he spotted things like honey and wine on the list. Were they going to host a feast?

"No, we're not going to be hosting a feast. Wipe that drool from your mouth," Hua Tuo told his apprentice tiredly. Leave it to Zero to be so easily sidetracked.

Zero wiped the drool away with his robe sleeve and grinned. "Why do we need all these then?"

"We're going to bathe in it while training."

There was a funny silence as student and master stared at each other. The birds flew away from the strange atmosphere building in the air and even the forest bugs fell silent.

For Zero, he hated baths as much as he hated brushing his teeth. Although he did them daily whenever possible, it wasn't his favourite time of the day. This trial keeps getting worse and worse. Not only was he made to overcome his fear of potentially becoming the void again, but now, he also had to endure bathing sessions while cultivating under the second waterfall. What was it going to be like with the Regression Falls? Would he be made to do Math in freezing water?

Hua Tuo couldn't make out the weird expression on his student's face but he was willing to bet that Zero was thinking about something ridiculous again.

"Can I ask what's the final stage of this trial?" Zero asked in the most cautious manner Hua Tuo has ever heard from him.

The physician blinked. "It's going to be normal meditation," he answered and omitted the part about having to tie Zero to some rock while he meditated. Also, the coldness that Zero has to learn how to overcome would be more difficult than the heat from Progression Falls.

Zero sensed that Hua Tuo isn't telling him everything but normal meditation did sound reassuring. At least he wouldn't be required to do Math. The look of relief on his face made Hua Tuo even more perplexed. Just what kind of training did Zero have in mind? Hua Tuo didn't think that he was a terrible teacher. He didn't exactly torture Zero during the training session, did he?

Hua Tuo froze and thought back on his actions. He didn't torture Zero, right? Ignoring the boy at the initial stage to force the teenager to think of a way to acknowledge his fears and make him face them head-on isn't it, right? He didn't answer because he didn't want to give Zero a leeway out again but he would save him regardless even if he failed. This shouldn't count as emotional abuse... right?

Zero tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Shifu, are you alright? You suddenly look very pale."

Hua Tuo chuckled nervously and patted Zero's head gently. "Don't worry, I'm alright. Let's go gather the herbs together. I'll make you some handmade noodles in pheasant broth later."

Zero rejoiced. It wasn't often that his teacher offered to cook. Pheasant broth noodles were one of Zero's favourite dishes apart from steamed dumplings. Hua Tuo would cook but he always made Zero help out. For his teacher to want to make a meal all by himself without having Zero to help out was a real reward.

Without waiting to be told twice, Zero went to grab the harvesting medical basket and Hua Tuo heaved a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Zero wasn't very hard to bribe. Even as a teenager, the kid still had some childishness left in him.