148 Outmaneuvered

Red water swirled around Ed's body, causing his legs to sink deep within the snow. Steam radiated from his body, forcing back the falling snow. He threw a punch towards the ice in front of him. Almost instantly, the red water froze around his fist, causing ice to clash against ice. 'Again.' He clenched his teeth as he pulled his fist back and worked to melt the ice. One attack after another, he alternated his punches. Like this, several days passed without rest.

"Huff. Huff." He heavily breathed, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His breath was visible as foggy mist in midair. Even with the healing abilities of his chimera flesh, his fists were torn to shreds and covered in blood. His usual powers weren't working, so he couldn't resort to healing it himself. His vision started to fade in and out from a mix of exhaustion and cold.

"Damn." He blurted out as he lost consciousness.

...

Several hours later.

Ed remained unconscious. However, his body was up and moving, as if he was wide awake.

"Where the hell is this?" A voice slightly deeper and gruffier than usual grumbled. Interestingly, Ed's eye color had changed from black to a fiery red. "I fucking hate the cold!" He complained as he pointed both arms forward. "BURN!" He shouted enthusiastically, but nothing happened.

"Hmm? That isn't right." He mumbled. "This body should have fire abilities. I can feel it." He snapped his fingers together. "Nope, not that one." He snapped again. "Not that either." Several snaps later, a silver flame appeared in his hand. "BINGO!" He excitedly exclaimed before the fire quickly vanished.

"Huh?" He stared in confusion at the missing fire. He snapped his fingers again, causing it to reappear, but it vanished soon after. After several tries, he frowned. "The fuck kind of hellhole did this brat land himself into?" He trudged through the snow, shivering as he went, the wind howling in his ears. "There's gotta be a way out. I can't miss this opportunity to enjoy myself!"

...

Within a black void. Ed stood face-to-face with Mayor Mick.

"Tsk. Tsk." Mick shook his head back-and-forth. "I warned you they'd take any opportunity they can get to take over, and then you go and train yourself to complete exhaustion. So foolish."

Ed grimaced. "I didn't think another soul would be able to take over so easily. I never felt anything coming."

"Well, now you know the real risks." Mick sighed. "I can't hold all of these guys back. You're lucky the esper's soul that escaped isn't a particularly special one. Only thing he's good for is burning everything to the ground."

"Is that so?" He replied. "Well, at least he won't be able to do anything with my body then. Flames are almost completely suppressed in this environment. That is, unless he can use my water powers?"

"He shouldn't be able to." Mick shook his head. "The soul that escaped is only compatible with fire and a bit of earth."

"That's good." Ed sighed in relief.

An unknown amount of time passed as the two chatted. The concept of time didn't seem to exist at all, and neither knew what was happening outside. It was as if they had been locked out from the world.

...

Back within the snowy tundra, Ed's body continued searching. The soul seemed to have no intention of giving up it's rare opportunity of obtaining a body. But no matter how long or far he travelled, he couldn't find any way to escape the frozen wasteland.

Unknowingly, two weeks passed as Ed's body struggled looking for food and warmth. Silver flames occasionally flickered over his entire body, briefly warming him up, but they always vanished quickly. "Shit!" He grunted. His vision was fading in and out. Just as he was losing consciousness, he spotted what looked like a group of humans. He reached his left arm out towards them, and then, he fainted.

...

"Ugh..." Ed groaned as he awakened. He looked at his hands, sighing in relief at being back in his own body. 'What a terrifying experience.' He thought to himself as he sat up. Looking around his surroundings, he found himself to be in a pure white room with an exit barely large enough to crawl through. A sleeping bag covered his body, helping to keep him warm. He reached towards the wall, curious as to what it was made of. 'Snow?' He thought. 'Is this an igloo?'

"You're finally awake!" A Chinese girl appearing just a bit younger than himself smiled towards him. "We found you passed out in the snow. You should really be more careful."

"I've never seen an idiot like him before." A masculine voice scoffed as a thin and tall Chinese boy entered the igloo. It seemed he was completely prepared for the harsh weather, as he wore warm furs all over his body. He could easily pass for a nomad or barbarian from the ancient past if not for this thin and delicate frame. He glared at Ed. "What the hell were you thinking by coming here with no supplies or gear? Most cultivators prepare months or even years' worth of supplies before entering. You're lucky to even be alive."

Ed frowned. "Sect Leader Fang didn't tell me to bring anything in with me."

"Sect Leader Fang?!" The both replied in surprise as they glanced at each other. "You're saying the Sect Leader personally allowed you to enter?" The boy skeptically questioned.

"Mm." He nodded. "I'm an honorary elder, and he said I could use the training rooms as much as I wanted and led me to them." He rubbed his head as it throbbed in pain. 'Did Sect Leader Fang fail to notice my damaged soul? Or was he trying to kill me? No, he wouldn't have anything to gain by doing so... Especially since he likely views me as someone easy to beat at the moment.'

"Well..." The girl hesitantly spoke up. "He wouldn't have died even if we didn't find him. His body is really strong, so I don't think he could have frozen to death, and it's not like there are any beasts here that could attack him."

"It's suspicious." The boy commented. "Show us your medallion."

"Mm." He nodded as he pulled the medallion out.

The boy's face eased as he saw it. "Well, what's passed has passed. You're lucky we found you here. It's rare for people to cross paths in the training rooms since they're so large and not many people enter them around this time of year."

"Is that so?" Ed looked towards him. "What are the requirements to exit the training room?"

"They're the same for everyone." The girl interrupted with a smile. "The cultivators that enter just need to master a new path of water. The entire training room is divided into seven floors, each one being ideal for mastering a different path. Entering means being determined to master a path or die trying. To leave, you have to defeat the central guardians with the correct path."

"That..." Ed frowned. "The Sect Leader didn't mention any of this to me." He sighed. 'So, what I was doing was completely pointless and wrong. Even if I further perfected my control over red water somehow, I still wouldn't have been able to use it to leave.' He pushed the sleeping bag covering off his body and stood up. "So, do people normally get to pick their path at least?" He questioned.

"Mm." The boy nodded while pulling out a small blue token with a symbol for water on it. "Each path has a different token. This is the default path for normal control over water. Normally, only stress awakened cultivators enter this floor, as normal cultivators would have mastered this path as soon as they completed their meridian training. So, this floor is even more sparsely populated than the others."

"And if you don't have a token?" Ed questioned curiously.

The boy and girl glanced at each other before shrugging. "Random maybe?" They guessed.

"I really don't know what the Sect Leader was thinking." Ed sighed. "If you two defeat the guardians, can I tag along through the exit?"

"Won't work." The boy shook his head. "It's been tried before. The exit will instantly close and block everyone from leaving."

'Figures...' Ed thought to himself. 'So, I have no choice other than mastering the default path of water... Damn. If this shit kills me, I swear I'll haunt that old man until the end of time.' He started moving towards the igloo exit. "Thanks." He waved as he crawled out.

The boy and girl watched silently as he left. They had their own training to do, and it seemed they had no desire in forcing someone else to stay. Especially as they didn't want to share their supplies, which was a matter of life and death in this harsh environment.

The wind bellowed past as Ed stepped outside. The snow continued to fall without end. He travelled for nearly an hour before finding a smooth rock like he had used previously. He sat atop it in the lotus position and closed his eyes. 'Hopefully, mastering a new path won't cause too much damage to my soul.' he thought as he entered the void.

Ed felt the many paths of each element. He focused on the seven paths of water, and they appeared before him like freely floating streams. One such stream was red, having already been mastered by him. It felt warm to the touch and acknowledged him as its master. It swam around him, like a pet trying to please its owner. The other streams radiated various emotions. One amongst them was the most ordinary, appearing as blue water.

He concentrated on the blue water. His emotional attachment to it wasn't strong. On the contrary, it was probably the one he had the weakest or 2nd weakest connection to. As he continued focusing, he felt the emotions pour into him. Coldness. Infinite coldness. Detachment. Uncaring. Disdain. The water slowly transformed into a river of ice shards, followed by a stream of melting snow. It then transformed back into ordinary blue water. The process seemed to repeat itself infinitely.

Like with the previous silver flame and red water, Ed tried connecting to it. Even without purple mana-cores, he could now meditate upon any path whenever he wanted, though the results didn't seem to be as good. Unfortunately, it seemed he really didn't have enough in common with the default path. He could perhaps be described as a cold individual, but he was hardly detached. In fact, it was hard to find someone more attached to worldly affairs than him. When wasn't he struggling for power? When wasn't he diving into the mysteries of the world with extreme care and interest?

...

Weeks passed, and Ed remained still like a statue the entire time. A small thread connected him and the blue water, built upon the foundation of cold. The external environment seemed to help greatly with this mindset. However, he still felt attachment to many things in the world. Eventually, he grew frustrated. "FUCK!" He cursed aloud angrily as he stood from the rock. 'At this rate, I'm going to be stuck here for years instead of months!' He paced back-and-forth, the snow crunching beneath his feet. 'Sect Leader Fang must have a motivation for this. I refuse to believe somebody does something for nothing, and this is too far for even a joke or prank. With Sect Leader Fang's experience, he had to know it would take years for me to master this path.'

His frown grew increasingly deeper as he rubbed his chin. 'Let's assume Sect Leader Fang knows everything or almost everything about me. Moving past powers, what's my relationship to the man...? I met Captain Fang, thus becoming acquainted with the sect and forming an alliance. There's nothing there that could explain any motivations... Mr. Sai then? I damaged his hard-earned reputation while he almost killed me. It's plausible that Sect Leader Fang wanted some low-key revenge for that... maybe? But from what I've heard, their relationship doesn't seem to be that good. Would he really go out of his way for a son that doesn't respect him? Hell, would OP Baldy of all people even need such mundane help? So, that possibility is really unlikely as well.'

Ed sighed as he looked up at the snow falling from the sky. His train of thoughts immediately switched gears and jumped to Yuki. 'Right, Yuki... I stunned her that one time, betraying her trust. Could her grandfather have found out? It's plausible if Mr. Sai told him. If I view it from the lens of a loving grandfather, then that makes sense... But Mr. Sai probably isn't the type to openly tell such things to the Sect Leader. That leaves Yuki herself. Would she have told her grandfather about what I had done to her?' He paused and frowned. 'No, I don't think she would. Even if she doesn't like me anymore, what would she have to gain by telling her grandfather? It might just make him overprotective, which is probably the opposite of what she would want. Then what else...?'

Suddenly, Ed stumbled, almost falling to the ground. He had been so lost in thought that he had returned all the way to the boundary that separated the snowy area from the icy area. He caught himself on the ice, accidently cutting his right hand, causing it to bleed. He saw his own face reflected in the ice. He appeared rather handsome. It was only natural when considering his strong body, cultivation, and natural powers.

'Wait! Maybe that's why!' Realization set in as he stared at his own reflection. 'If Yuki did tell her grandfather about me, then maybe it wasn't the negatives but the positives? Mentioning there was a boy in America she liked... Then could it be the overprotective grandfather doing this as a show of force?' He frowned. 'No, he could just keep her away from me in that case. To intentionally get me locked up in a so-called training room for what could go on to be several years. It can't be an accidental mistake nor a prank. It can't be to just keep me away from her...'

Suddenly, he thought of Tai and the wedding proposal. 'Tai and Sect Leader Long were absolutely sure they'd get the wedding deal sealed. Neither one of them is foolish. No, if anything, they're rather intelligent even amongst the ranks of most espers I've met. For the wedding to be turned down, there would need to be a good reason. Yuki declining because she doesn't want to or likes somebody else is a possibility... but that still wouldn't be a reason to lock me up. Then... maybe if there was already an arranged marriage planned? But who?'

Ed's hand felt increasingly wet as blood poured from his cut. Instinctively, he looked at it and tried to heal it with his powers, failing due to the unique environment. 'Blood...' His eyes widened with realization as he remembered his recent fight against an esper that controlled blood like a weapon. 'Sect Leader Fang continuously mentioned his adopted son during the meeting, and he only had good things to say about him. But after Yuki awakened her powers, there would be demand from within the sect for her to take on the mantle as the next sect leader.' Going along that line of thought, Ed suddenly grinned. 'Heh. So, that's your game, old man. You want to secure Bai Fang's spot at the next sect leader while also securing a spot for your granddaughter. You're going to have them marry. It explains everything. Tai's grand wedding proposal denied? It would interfere with your plans. My being locked up for training? If you know about Yuki's former feelings for me, then I might be the only person capable of breaking the whole charade up. You even wanted me to master the path of blue water first since it requires detachment from others and the world. That only leaves OP Baldy... Did you come up with a plan to temporarily get rid of him too?' Ed's eyes narrowed as he glared at the icy tundra. 'I don't like being forced into things, old bastard! We'll see how you react once I force my way out of this damned place!'

With those thoughts in mind, purple water roared as it swirled around his body like a dragon rising from the sea. He stomped towards the ice, the wind howling in his ears and the hail pelting against his back. Determination flashed in his eyes as he moved forward, ready to destroy anything that stood in his path.