I sat down on the crystalline surface and felt it vibrating with the energy I was attempting to draw in from the red sun's energy.

  My method of resonating with the energy was quite unlike the refined resonance techniques many of the other Initiates used. It couldn’t even be called a technique. I was basically just calling energy to me like a novice qi cultivator. While it wasn’t elegant, it would have to do until I could learn the proper method from my new master.

  "Your method is...unusual," the senior sister who guided me here murmured with a slight frown. "However, since you are a Natural, this is understandable."

  "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister," I replied politely, essentially telling her to leave me alone so I could close my eyes and enter a meditative state.

  The energy of the platform flowed into me instantly and I directed my attention to my internal world.

  Since coming to this world, the Genesis Seed had spat out the red sun core and allowed it to stand alone. This was an unusual sight, seeing the red sun out in the open was a sight that I was still becoming accustomed to. It sat in the corner of my inner world and appeared to be looking nervously at its significantly more powerful neighbor.

  "Are you still trying to figure out why it's acting that way?" Azure asked.

  "Yes," I replied silently. "The Genesis Seed normally just absorbs everything."

  "Maybe the Genesis Seed sees some worth in maintaining a separate red sun core in this world, or perhaps it is merely entertaining itself," Azure suggested.

  There was no use trying to figure out the reasons, it would be better to focus on why I came here. I began directing the stream of energy that was entering my body towards the red sun. The little red sun instantly began to consume the energy, it grew larger and larger, and the intensity of the crimson light increased with each passing moment.

  "Quite the glutton," Azure observed dryly. "And its processing efficiency is very crude compared to the Genesis Seed's methods."

  He was right. While the tiny sun consumed tremendous amounts of energy, a large portion of the energy appeared to be wasted into my internal world. Only a small percentage of the energy was actually contributing to increasing the strength of my red sun core. Still, with the enormous amount of energy available from the platform, the inefficient consumption process generated noticeable results.

  As I watched, something in the behavior of the miniature sun changed. As it swelled to nearly double its size, it moved more violently and almost with a swagger. The excess energy that the tiny sun consumed appeared to have caused it to develop a sort of primitive consciousness — or at least to exhibit a sense of spiritual arrogance.

  "Oh no," Azure sighed. "It looks as though your little sun has become conceited with its newfound power."

  The miniature sun, now swollen with energy, directed its attention towards the Genesis Seed. It pulsed with great force and sent out waves of crimson energy in what appeared to be a challenge. The display reminded me of a young cultivator showing off their skills to an elder cultivator whilst being ignorant of the vast difference between their powers.

  The Genesis Seed responded with a complete and utter disregard for the miniature sun. It continued to convert energy at its normal rate, ignoring the miniature sun much like a mountain ignores an insect.

  This apparent dismissal irritated the sun, which flashed brightly and charged towards the seed in a spirit tantrum.

  "This is going to be interesting," Azure commented, laughing with a mix of amusement and secondhand embarrassment.

  The Genesis Seed's response was swift and absolute. One moment, the miniature sun was charging forward with confidence and excess energy, and the next, the Genesis Seed simply swallowed the red sun core.

  For a brief moment, I could sense the seed performing an exaggerated chewing motion as if to demonstrate the ease of this action. Afterward, with what I interpreted as disgust, the Genesis Seed spat the sun back out.

  The once-proud red sun, now greatly diminished in size and power, hung limp in my inner world, and as quietly as possible, retreated to the far corner of my inner world and tried to remain as invisible as possible.

  "Well," Azure said after a moment of silence, "it seems the pecking order has been firmly established."

  I couldn't help but agree. The Genesis Seed had fully drained the miniature sun's absorbed energy, and transformed it into something entirely different than what I was familiar with.

  Whereas the red sun core normally supplied energy to enhance my physical essence, the purified energy reminded me more of spiritual qi.

  I watched as the converted energy flowed through my internal world, temporarily stored within the space that the Genesis Seed had created for it. It wasn't perfect, it was like holding water in cupped hands rather than in a proper container, but it was progress.

  "Your inner world can store this energy like this for now," Azure explained, "however, it is a bit crude. Once you create your Foundational Rune, that will serve as a better container for this type of energy. Think of it as a dantian that has been specifically designed for storing red sun energy."

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  I nodded. It made sense - the Foundational Rune would likely provide the structure and stability that my unrefined method was lacking. However, for now this would have to do.

  "The Genesis Seed has taken most of that unstable energy and converted it into something usable. I think I can probably move to a higher platform now,"

  "Yes," Azure agreed, "although moving to a higher platform would certainly bring unwanted attention."

  I weighed my options carefully. Ascending to a higher platform would result in faster growth and development of my red sun core, which was essential for creating a Foundational Rune in the future. But like Azure pointed out, it would make me even more conspicuous than I already was.

  "If they're going to try to kill me anyway...", I decided. "Then I might as well grow strong enough to deal with it."

  So, I stood up, which immediately drew the attention of the Initiates sitting around me.

  The senior sister who had explained the platform arrangement to me noticed what I was doing and frowned slightly. "Initiate, meditation time has not yet—", she stopped speaking as I stepped off my platform.

  Steps formed under my feet - another aspect of the Academy's complex formation networks. "This place thinks of everything," I muttered.

  Each step carried me upward, past numerous platforms occupied by other Initiates who cracked their eyes open to observe the commotion surrounding me.

  The whispers started almost immediately.

  "Is he insane?"

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

  "He'll burn out his core!"

  I ignored the comments, focusing on climbing, I was more worried about losing my balance rather than burning out my core. The higher I went, the more noticeably stronger the red sun’s energy grew, but the Genesis Seed seemed to be handling the increase without any difficulty. Finally, I reached the highest occupied platform level – which was nearly twice as high as my original position.

  When I settled into meditation position, I immediately sensed the difference. The red sun's power here was extremely concentrated, and the energy flowed into my spiritual core like a crimson waterfall.

  "The platforms appear to be arranged in a logarithmic progression," Azure explained. "The energy density at this height is at least eight times that of your previous location."

  The miniature sun, seemingly having regained its composure following its earlier humiliation, began slowly absorbing the increased energy flow.

  "Don't get cocky this time," I mentally told the sun, although I was skeptical that the construct could actually understand me.

  Of course, as the miniature sun absorbed the additional energy, it began to swell once more. Having apparently forgotten the lesson of its earlier defeat, the sun was again confident and aggressive. Upon reaching what it clearly believed was an adequate size, the sun again directed its attention towards the Genesis Seed.

  I could almost hear Azure sigh.

  The confrontation unfolded nearly identically to the first time. The red sun core, emboldened by its temporary surge in energy, once again challenged the Genesis Seed. The seed, appearing to be just as disinterested this time as it was during the first confrontation, simply consumed the sun, processed the energy, and spat out the spent remains.

  As I withdrew my spiritual senses from my inner world, I became aware of the increasing intensity of the whispers surrounding me.

  "That guy is crazy...".

  "Look at his energy signature - no runes at all!"

  "I heard Elder Molric took him as a direct disciple..."

  "So this is Natural everyone's been talking about?"

  The senior sister had abandoned her attempts to warn me, and I could tell that she was intensely observing me. Her expression reflected equal parts concern and curiosity, probably because she was wondering how an Initiate with no formal training could effectively utilize the concentrated energies available on the upper levels, and if I was going to suddenly explode.

  "If she only knew," Azure mused. "The Genesis Seed is doing all the heavy lifting. Without it...".

  "I'd probably be turning crystal like those failures in the garden," I agreed. That was a sobering realization. The World Tree Sutra's protective influence was essentially the only thing that kept me from losing my sanity in this madhouse of a cultivation system.

  The remainder of the day progressed in this manner. The red sun core would gobble up as much energy as possible, challenge the Genesis Seed, receive a severe humbling, and the cycle would start again. With each iteration, I received more and more pure red sun energy in my storage.

  When the bell finally tolled to signal the end of meditation, I opened my eyes to find nearly every eye in the room on me. The whispers had developed into a continuous, low rumble of noise, despite the senior disciples' best efforts to maintain silence.

  As I walked down the steps to join the lines, the senior sister who had first guided me to the upper platform approached me.

  "That was...impressive," she said hesitantly. "And unsettling. No one should be able to control energy to this degree without proper runic foundations."

  I politely bowed. "The crimson light shines all paths, Senior Sister. As the ancient saying goes - a drop of water finds its own level, just as resonance finds its natural vessel."

  Of course, everything I had said was complete nonsense, I had fabricated the "ancient saying" on the spot. I found that most people preferred to accept an ambiguous answer that sounds profound over admitting they don't understand something.

  To my surprise, her eyes widened. "The crimson light...yes, of course! Just as water molds itself to any container, resonance must...". She trailed off, lost in thought.

  "I'm surprised that actually worked," I thought to Azure as she walked away, still mumbling to herself about water and containers.

  "Sometimes, Master," Azure replied dryly, "the most effective nonsense is that which allows others to derive their own profound meaning from."

  As we filed out of the meditation hall, I could hear her enthusiastically explaining her "insight" to another senior sister. Something about natural resonance patterns and fluid dynamics, that was totally unrelated to anything I had said.

  "I should probably feel bad about that...".

  "Who knows?" Azure replied. "Your words may inadvertently inspire a breakthrough. It is not the first time in history that profound understanding resulted from a misinterpretation of nonsense."

  Our conversation was interrupted when the boy who had attempted to speak to me earlier fell in line beside me.

  "That was incredible," he whispered loudly. "I have never seen anyone go straight to the upper platforms before. What did you—"

  A sharp snap cut him short as a discipline whip struck the floor near our feet.

  "SILENCE IN THE LINES!" The senior disciple’s voice was full of anger. "The next time someone breaks a rule, the whip won’t miss.”

  The threat made the boy’s face turn pale and he snapped back to proper posture.

  I did the same, but my mind was already thinking about what I would learn in tomorrow’s lessons. Since my rough method of absorbing energy was generating this much attention, I needed to learn proper resonance techniques quickly.

  "At least the Genesis Seed is up to the task," I thought.

  "For now," Azure agreed. "But we should probably learn the proper foundations before someone decides to 'help' by forcibly inscribing runes on you."

  Given what I had experienced so far in this world, that was a chillingly realistic concern.

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