Chương 119: My Last Training Session

The meditation chamber looked the same as it did in my memories, it was a vast space filled with floating crystalline platforms arranged into tiers resembling an otherworldly amphitheater. Thousands of these platforms hung suspended in the air, each one attuned toward different levels of the power of the red sun. I found myself unable to stop a smile while watching the other initiates look for platforms matching their specific cultivation level.

They reminded me of freshmen on their first day at college, trying very hard to look like they belong while secretly terrified of making a mistake. Whispers started almost immediately when I rose up the platforms.

"Has he lost his mind?"

"Those platforms are only for peak Rank 1..."

"Stay away from him, he is going to explode!" The concerned muttering grew louder as I passed the middle tiers, but I ignored them just like I did in the previous loop. Their warnings might be true for a normal initiate, but I had the Genesis Seed to regulate the energy flow. A senior disciple stepped forward to intercept me, he was different from last time, but he wore an identical expression of concerned authority.

"Initiate, the higher platforms are restricted to—" I kept walking, letting the steps of the formation materialize beneath my feet. The words from the senior disciple trailed off as I ascended past him, he was probably wondering if he should forcibly stop my advancement or let me learn my lesson the hard way. He chose the latter option, which was a wise decision, trying to physically stop someone who might be preparing to explosively crystallize was not a safe career move.

I could feel the difference in energy density when I reached the highest platform. It was like comparing a garden hose against a fire hydrant, the sheer volume of energy pouring downward was just as overwhelming as before.

"The concern of the other initiates is not misplaced," Azure commented while I settled my body into a meditation pose.

"The energy concentration at this height would literally cook a normal Rank 1 inside out."

"Good thing we're not normal then," I replied, closing my eyes to shift my awareness inward. The red sun pulsed with eagerness as the external energy began pouring inside, its blue counterpart remained partially hidden beneath the canopy of the Genesis Seed and looked almost sulky.

"I think," Azure said, materializing beside me, "your blue sun is feeling left out." He wasn't wrong. The blue sun definitely radiated a jealous aura from watching its crimson counterpart swelling with power. If a celestial body possessed the capability to pout, then this one was.

"Sorry," I sent the thought toward it even though I didn't know if it could actually understand my words.

"But this is the Red Sun Academy. Blue sun energy might raise some awkward questions." The blue sun responded by ducking further beneath the canopy of the Genesis Seed, its light dimmed slightly as though trying to say "fine, I see how it is." While that was happening, the red sun was gorging itself on all the incoming energy with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm. It kept getting bigger and bigger, but it didn't instantly try to fight the Genesis Seed like it did all those other times before.

It just kept sitting there absorbing more energy instead.

"That's interesting," Azure pointed out.

"It actually looks like it learned something from getting beat up before, maybe it's trying to save up enough power to put up a real fight this time." The red sun swelled up even more until its whole surface was rippling with thick waves of crimson energy. It got to three times its normal size, and then four, and then five until it looked like it was going to pop at any second. At that point, it finally turned around to look at the Genesis Seed.

The tiny sun swaggered over there radiating total confidence while it got ready to challenge its ancient rival. It pulsed aggressively and shot out massive waves of crimson power that would have been impressive if I didn't already know what the Genesis Seed could do. The tree's reaction was actually different this time around, instead of just swallowing the sun whole, it shot its roots out like tentacles and wrapped them around the giant swollen sphere.

The red sun tried to fight back, and its surface kept flaring up desperate energy bursts, but it looked like a tiny mouse trying to wrestle a giant anaconda. The roots started squeezing it tight and methodically sucked the stored up power out of it.

"That's new," Azure murmured.

"The Genesis Seed looks like it's actually taking its time doing the energy conversion process now." He was right. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The roots kept pulsing with stolen energy and made complex patterns while they fed the power straight down into the seed's core. When the sun finally got shrunk down to about half its giant size, the roots lifted the whole thing up and dropped it straight into the Genesis Seed's open mouth.

A second later, the seed spat the sun back out again. There was something different about it this time. It was smaller than its power-drunk giant form, but it was still noticeably bigger than it was when we first started the meditation session.

"Doing the slow absorption process looks like it allowed for better energy conversion," I mumbled.

"And look at the runes." All the runic patterns I spent so much time carefully making were stable with thin streams of energy connecting to the red sun even after it just got digested. The Fundamental Rune specifically looked like it was processing the energy better than it ever did before.

"I think," Azure said with a thoughtful tone, "if we keep repeating this cycle, then every loop should give us a bigger and more condensed core."

"And that means we get more energy to power the runes," I finished the thought for him.

"We should test that theory out next time." We sat there watching the process repeat over and over again. Every single time the red sun would gorge itself on the new energy until it was ready to burst, and then the Genesis Seed would drain it with its roots to process the energy, before swallowing whatever was left and spitting out an upgraded version.

After doing it for about twenty cycles, the pattern was obvious, the red sun was definitely growing even though it was happening slowly, but the most important part was that its energy was becoming more refined and concentrated. The connection to my runic network kept growing stronger with every cycle we did.

"Forty-seven... forty-eight... forty-nine..." Azure kept counting out loud while we ran the process. After we hit the fiftieth cycle, he finally stopped to check out the results.

"That is remarkable Master, your energy capacity is hitting what they would consider a mid Rank 1 right now, and the core's density went up by thirty-seven percent."

"We just need a few more cycles and we should easily hit mid—" The whole world shook. And I don't mean just my inner world. The physical world outside suddenly snapped right back into my focus as a massive explosion rocked the academy. The floating crystal platforms inside the meditation chamber started swaying around dangerously and their normal stable hovering broke from whatever massive force had smashed into the outside barrier. All the other initiates around me got jolted out of their meditation trances.

Confusion and straight up panic started spreading everywhere through the chamber when more explosions started hitting after the first one and every single impact sent these huge tremors going through the whole ancient building.

"What is even happening?"

"Are we getting attacked right now?"

"The barrier is down; there is something wrong with the barrier!" The senior disciples were desperately trying to keep everybody in order, but I could see how terrified they were in their eyes. They knew what this meant even if they didn't want to admit it to themselves. As the explosions continued, the academy's barrier collapsed. The protective energy shield that kept this place safe for thousands of years had vanished into thin air which caused the whole chamber to turn into total chaos.

Initiates were practically crawling over each other, trying to scramble down to the lower platforms. A bunch of the senior disciples were screaming out instructions trying to get a real evacuation going, but nobody could hear them over the panic. I stayed sitting there on my platform as a smile appeared on my lips.

"Well," I whispered, "it looks like my time here is up." I closed my eyes and focused on that feeling of being separate from my physical body. My consciousness slowly started separating out of Tomas's body like I was taking off an old comfortable coat. While my soul floated up out of the physical form, I watched the other initiates ignore Tomas's slumped over body. They were too busy worrying about their own survival to care about one random student who looked like he had passed out.

I drifted higher up and passed through the chamber's ceiling as easily as mist blowing in the wind. A little part of me was worried that the Lightweavers might be able to spot my disembodied soul since their blue sun arts were supposed to be tuned into anything having to do with the soul. But fortunately for me, the white-robed priests who were trading devastating attacks with the Skybound seemed oblivious to me being there.

"Either their rank is too low to actually detect you, or your soul is fundamentally different from the normal inhabitants in this world," Azure explained. The sky floating above the academy was pure chaos with the Skybound and Lightweavers crashing into each other with spectacular displays of power, their attacks were lighting the sky up like they were doing a competing fireworks show. I felt the familiar pull trying to drag me back to the cultivation world, but I fought against it for a second.

There was one last thing I needed to check first, so I let my soul drift higher up to get a better view of everything going on. While I was rising above the academy, I watched the massive floating citadel become smaller beneath me, and I could see everything. I was hoping that maybe I could figure out who actually disabled the barrier in the first place, but the whole battlefield was too chaotic, and the damage was spread out too far for me to figure out where it started.

I wasn't that surprised though because anybody who was good enough to break a barrier like that definitely wouldn't leave a bunch of obvious clues laying around about their sabotage.

"Whoever perpetrated this most likely acted a long time before the actual attack started," Azure pointed out.

"Any actual traces of them would be gone by now." I was just about to say something when some movement happening right near the top apex of the barrier caught my eye. I spotted a group of people who were practically radiating pure authority, it was the Skybound elders, they were gathered in what seemed to be an emergency meeting. Elder Molric was standing there with them looking uncharacteristically serious and his normal manic energy was gone.

Then this other figure manifested out of nowhere, one second it was empty air and then the next second, he was standing in the middle of them like he had been there the whole time. Even from afar, I could feel an absolute authority radiating right off him. I knew immediately who it was – the Headmaster of the Red Sun Academy. Unfortunately, the pull of the cultivation world was getting stronger now, harder to resist.

I wasn't able to pick up on what they were talking about, so with one last look at the academy, I let go, allowing my soul to be drawn back along that familiar path between worlds. The void wrapped around me like an old friend as streams of energy guided me back home. Reality started fading away around me, and the sounds of the battle became distant while I followed the suns' connection back to the cultivation world.