(MC POV)


    I got to say, they outdid themselves.


    ??


    Yeah true, they still got wrecked in the end but let''s face it, they were never going to win.


    No, it''s not because I''m petty, ok? They needed to lose to understand humility.


    It''s definitely not because I don''t want them to im they had beaten me in a mock battle, most definitely not. I''m really not that petty, really.


    I made my way to the four of them, giving them time to regain their bearings from their "deaths".


    Brendan looked up at me from the ground, still rather out of it himself.


    "When?" He asked, still a little bewildered.


    I let a simple smile materialise on my lips, "When you guys were too preupied with the Wendigo''s appearance. You''re not the only one who knows how to divert other people''s attention, you know?"


    He chuckled, "It seems that I still have a lot to learn."


    "Indeed," I agreed. "But as long as one lives, the learning does not stop."


    I turned my head to the rest of the ss, "You guys alright?"


    The twins nodded, though they seem to be staring at me with eyes filled with awe.


    Sylphy on the other hand, stood up and bowed to me, "My deepest apologies sire, for showing you such an unsightly side of me."


    I waved a hand at her, "Think nothing of it. I can understand your feelings towards the monster. I believe all of you are feeling much better about it already?"


    All four of them nodded quickly.


    "Perfect, because from what I''ve seen, you guys are still severelycking. Every Technique that was thrown out was so basic and straightforward that they might as well be something little kids might use. I will need to change that today."


    All of them gaped at me, most probably not expecting those harsh words from my mouth.


    "Air is more than just wind des and sting people away with gusts of air. Water is more than just a binding tool for you to exploit. Light could be used in many more ways than just blinding someone and Fire could be used in so many more ways than just chucking boring fireballs."


    I raised my palm in front of me, creating a barrier in the air a few feet away.


    "Air is made up of lots of different elements. The most inelegant way is to make use of all of them as an instrument of force. Another way is to separate them into different elements, manipte the different ones apart so that you can get the reallybustible ones to do this."


    The air within the barrier exploded violently, shocking the four onlookers.


    If the barrier wasn''t there, the whole courtyard might have been caught up in the st, probably destroying it entirely.


    "Now for water, it can exist in many different states. What you have been doing so far is to use its malleability to create a binding Technique on your opponents. But there is so much more to its flexibility than just material for tentacle p… I mean for binding your opponent."


    I created a rod of water in my hands that instantly froze to be an ice spear.


    Grasping it with my right hand, I tossed the spear away, impaling it in the ground a short distance away from us.


    At the moment of impact, the spear cracked and disintegrated, causing the temperature in the area around it to instantly plummet and freeze over arge chunk of the courtyard.


    Brendan gulped, "That… Master Lin, isn''t that an Ice Technique?"


    I wagged my finger at him, "All of the Elemental Quarks are connected to another in some way, discovering those connections is what will allow you to learn the other Elements faster and easier."


    I reformed the spear of ice again, "Take a closer look at the spear, what do you see inside?"


    The four of them gathered closer to me and gazed at the weapon in my hand.


    "There are… Water pockets inside?" Sylphy answered.


    "That is correct," I praised, patting her on the head. An action that seemed to surprise her though she did not protest against it.


    Ah, I got too used to doing this for my disciples that I did it to her without thinking. At least she does not seem to mind?


    Continuing my lecture, I pointed to the little pockets of water, "These pockets of water is what causes the sh freeze effect you saw earlier. If you had just used Ice Quarks to create an ice spear, you might get a simr effect but that would require a much higher level of mastery over the element aspared to utilizing this Technique."


    I dismissed the ice spear and turned to ''Chris with a K'', "As I mentioned, the Light Element can be used for much more than just depriving your opponents of their sight."


    I created a wall of earth a short distance away before summoning an orb of light in my hands.


    "With a little inclusion of heat into the Technique, something like this is a simple thing to do as well."


    I chucked the ball towards the wall casually, letting it float towards it.


    The light ball hit the earthen wall and instead of dissipating like normal light balls, it simply phased through it, leaving a perfectly circr hole behind.


    ''Chris with a K'' just stared at me with wide, disbelieving eyes, "How?"


    I sighed, "Well… That will require me to talk about thews of thermodynamics which I think is still too early for you guys. Just know that it is possible for now. Speaking of thermodynamics..."


    I snapped my fingers, creating a small me at the tip of my index finger.


    "Fire can burn, but it can also do so much more than that. It is just as malleable as water as long as you have the mind to do so."


    Pointing my finger at the wall I created, the small me immediatelytched itself to its surface, expanding into multiple fiery chains that wrapped around it.


    The chains quickly burned away the lump of earth, leaving nothing more than a few clumps of dirt on the ground.


    The four of them just gazed at the destroyed earth quietly,


    "Now, let''s move on and apply what you''ve just learnt practically."


    They turned to look at me, it was obvious from their looks that they were still trying toprehend what I just taught them.


    "Practical?" Brendan repeated.


    "It''s not something hard right?" Chris asked, a little wary.


    "What? Of course not!" I chortled. "All you guys need to do is run ap around the Sect with something chasing you, making sure none of you get caught along the way. Simple right?"


    ''Chris with a K'' nced at this fellow students, "I… I guess?"


    "Perfect! You guys get a head start. Go on then! Remember, one entirep around the perimeter and ending back here! All of you fail if even one person gets caught."


    All of them nced at each other before proceeding to jog away at a rxed pace.


    I waited until they were out of sight before I summoned the thing that will chase them.


    Oh don''t look at me, I made sure to tell the rest of the Sect that this will be happening today so there shouldn''t be any panic.


    Probably.


    Well, back to drinking my tea.