What was fire? Fire was the intense oxidation reaction that occurred during the combustion of matter. Its energy was released as light and heat, while producing a large amount of byproducts. The visible part of fire was called a flame, and it could take different shapes as particles vibrated. When the temperature was high enough, it could become plasma. No, no. That wasn't what I should have been thinking about.
Fire spells were structures mages constructed in their minds to control Fire Elemental Particles, then used their Mana to alter the Material World. What exactly did I need to comprehend?
Chen Yi sat naked within the flames.
God knew why Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's fire could directly burn his equipment's durability down to zero, leaving him nowhere to repair it.
It wasn't that he thought the equipment was expensive. He just felt this would bring him closer to the flames.
This was already Chen Yi's fourth day in the fire.
Every day, he summoned Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni for an hour. While training Fire Dragon, Yamamoto controlled the flames' temperature to keep Chen Yi from being burned to ashes in an instant.
But even within the flames, Chen Yi had no direction at all. He didn't know what he was supposed to comprehend.
Whether he described fire scientifically or tried to understand it from a mage's perspective, he made no progress whatsoever.
"Chen Yi Kid, stop. Continuing like this won't do any good."
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni withdrew Ryujin Jakka, and the flames around Chen Yi vanished along with it.
Chen Yi quickly put his equipment back on and habitually chugged a healing potion.
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stroked his long beard. "Perhaps my method simply isn't suitable for you. If you were a Shinigami, I would have other methods for you to try, but you aren't."
"Perhaps you should think carefully about it..."
After saying that, he ignored Chen Yi and seriously began instructing Fire Dragon.
Chen Yi knew Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was right. Continuing like this would only waste Copper Coins.
He suddenly understood why none of the mage biographies he had seen contained any records about Intent.
In the eyes of mages, everything in existence followed rules.
All kinds of spells that appeared unscientific had their own underlying principles.
So here was the question.
Why should a flame casually ignited contain an Intent that even the mage himself didn't understand? The mage clearly knew why that flame appeared, how it was formed, and how long it could burn.
If he wanted to raise a flame's temperature, shouldn't he increase his Intelligence attribute to expand his control over Fire Elemental Particles, alter the structure to increase Mana output, or simply make the explosion bigger?
Was it because he thought too much that he couldn't experience what Intent was?
With a thought, Chen Yi brought up the initial Training Mode interface.
He entered the keywords: Mage, Fire Intent, comprehension.
But the Game World showed that no such Strong Projection existed.
"Calm down! Think! Is there another way?"
Chen Yi began meditating on the spot, emptying his mind.
Half an hour later, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni had already vanished from the space, while Fire Dragon continued training.
Chen Yi slowly opened his eyes. He had suddenly thought of someone.
Someone whose way of thinking leaned toward that of a mage, whose energy system resembled a mage's, and who possessed techniques similar to Intent.
He entered the keywords: Ninja, Orochimaru.
That's right. Chen Yi had directly named him.
1,500 Copper Coins per hour.
The projection soon began. His loose hair bore no symbol of any Shinobi Village.
His narrow eyes and vertical pupils gave the impression that what stood before Chen Yi was not a person, but a snake!
Damp! Chilling! Ready to deal a fatal blow at any moment!
Judging by his age, this should have been Orochimaru's Timeline after fleeing Konoha Village.
After opening his eyes, Orochimaru's first concern was not who Chen Yi was.
Instead, he was curious about the existence that had brought him here. To think such an existence truly existed in the world. He wondered who was stronger, it or the Immortal of the Six Paths.
His snake-like tongue licked his lips. "Speak. What do you want me to do?"
Chen Yi briefly described the predicament he was facing.
Orochimaru became even more interested. So there were methods of cultivation in the world besides Chakra and natural energy.
I really want to study the differences.
Chen Yi was no stranger to that look. He looked much the same when researching spells.
"Orochimaru, your time is limited. I can't give you time to understand mages, and you can't bring the memories from here back to your original body."
"But I can promise you that if I ever get the chance to visit your world, I'll provide you with a certain amount of assistance."
In an instant, Orochimaru thought of many things. What did Chen Yi mean by the world he came from? Why couldn't the memories be taken back? This person seemed to know him.
Although his mind was racing wildly, Orochimaru's expression did not change at all. "Hehehe, I accept your terms. Even if you didn't do this, I would still have to help you."
Chen Yi's expression remained unchanged. "Sincerely helping and half-heartedly going through the motions are two different things."
"I know you want to study Mana. It seems to be a common flaw among mages and certain other people—they see something unknown and immediately want to experiment on it."
"As it happens, I am a mage."
The interest in Orochimaru's eyes deepened. He could sense that this guy should get along very well with him.
His tongue stretched out involuntarily, wanting to sense the scent like a snake.
Orochimaru pondered for a while. "The problem you described is somewhat similar to Chakra's Nature Transformation."
"Since you know Chakra, I won't explain too much. Every Ninja has Chakra of different natures, divided into water, fire, earth, lightning, and wind."
"Chakra's Nature Transformation is essentially the act of giving Chakra an attribute."
"I'm actually not particularly skilled in this area. The one best at it is that idiot instead."
Chen Yi wasn't surprised by this. Just like mages, those who thought too much found it harder to grasp Intent.
Noticing that Chen Yi understood what he meant, Orochimaru was pleased. He didn't like talking to idiots.
"Everyone's understanding of attributes is different."
"For example, when thinking of water, the Second Hokage understood it as sharpness, while some Ninja understood it as the impact force of ocean waves."
"They used their own understanding of water to alter their Chakra, then released Ninjutsu."
"That process of altering Chakra was Chakra's Nature Transformation."
Hearing it put that way, Chen Yi seemed to understand. It wasn't about changing his understanding of flames, but adding his understanding of flames to his own Mana.
After Orochimaru finished speaking, they began testing it. With a wave of Chen Yi's staff, two small mounds of earth slowly rose from the ground.
Fire Style! Great Fireball Technique!
The first fireball left a small round crater in the mound, white smoke slowly rising from within it.
The second fireball, infused with Nature Transformation, sank directly into the mound, leaving behind a deeper and larger crater.
"This is the result of adding Nature Transformation. Chakra's Nature Transformation can greatly enhance a Ninja's strength, but mastering it is difficult. Usually, only Jonin consider training in this area."
"Well~ I hope what I know was helpful to you."
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