I studied the Titan's Crest pattern closely, holding the resonance stylus with both hands. The Titan's Crest was less complex than the Fundamental Rune, however, it had an elegance of its own - a series of interlocking triangles forming a hexagon.

  "You must maintain symmetry while allowing the natural energy flow, each line must be the same length and depth," Elder Molric instructed.

  I began drawing the Titan's Crest using the resonance stylus, attempting to apply steady pressure to create a smooth flow of resonance ink.

  My first attempt was too rigid.

  "Do not apply too much pressure," Azure encouraged, "remember how we created the Fundamental Rune - allow the energy to guide your hand."

  While the second attempt was a little better, the angles were slightly off.

  The third attempt also showed potential, however, I ended up rushing the last triangle.

  On the fourth attempt, I was beginning to get a rhythm of the flow of the Titan's Crest.

  "I see that your precision has improved," Elder Molric stated as he reviewed my most recent try, "but you can see how the energy pools here?" he pointed to a junction point on the leaf. "This could lead to instability during activation."

  I nodded, taking note of the problem.

  With the next attempt, I tried to maintain constant flow of energy through each line. As a result, the final product was smoother; each triangle was perfectly symmetrical, and the entire pattern was harmonious.

  About an hour later, I held up what I believed to be my best representation of the Titan's Crest, ever. The rune glowed on the lily's surface, with each line crisp and precise.

  Elder Molric took the lily off my hands to review it, turning the leaf around to see how the light reflected off of it. "That is good enough," he declared finally. "It is now time to make it permanent. Do you have a preferred location for it?"

  "For a general enhancing rune, such as the Titan's Crest, the location does not affect the functionality of the rune," he clarified, "although for more advanced runes, such as the Blink Step, the location may play a significant role in the functionality of the rune."

  I considered the question. Although the location of the rune did not affect its function, I still found myself eyeing the back of my left hand. It would be easier to carve there, I thought; good visibility, flat surface, and I could keep my dominant hand free to work, if anything went wrong during the process.

  "The back of my left hand," I finally answered.

  Elder Molric nodded and handed me a crystal knife similar to the one we had used for the Fundamental Rune. "As always, remember - quick, clean cuts. The pattern must be exact."

  I took a deep breath and began carving the pattern into my skin. The knife cut through my skin with ease, despite my enhanced durability, and created deep grooves in my skin that immediately started bleeding.

  "Good, good," Elder Molric mumbled as he watched. "Now channel the red sun's energy into it, but do not channel too much at first, allow the rune to adapt naturally."

  I channeled energy through my Fundamental Rune, and the energy caused the silver tree pattern on my chest to erupt in a bright flash of light.

  The branches of the tree appeared to ripple under my skin as they channeled energy down my arm and into the newly carved cuts. The blood flowing through the cuts began glowing red for a few seconds and then settled into a dark red tattoo-like mark on my skin.

  "Master," Azure reported, "status update is available."

  New Enhancement: Titan's Crest

  Type: Strength Amplification

  Location: Left Hand

  Effect: +10 Physical Essence when activated

  Duration: 60 Seconds

  Energy Cost: 50 Red Sun Energy units per activation

  I studied the numbers carefully while feigning admiration of the new marking.

  Assuming my calculations were correct, if I could adapt the Fundamental Rune to fit my cultivator body, it would provide a permanent increase in my physical essence of at least 10 units.

  If I could add the Titan's Crest to that, it would increase my physical essence by 20 units.

  So, based on my calculations, the combination of the two would allow me to temporarily equal the physical strength of a 5th Stage Qi Condensation cultivator. However, I wanted to beat Chen Wu soundly, not by chance.

  "Excellent!" Elder Molric exclaimed, distracting me from my musings.

  He walked to the far side of the laboratory, picked up what looked like a solid stone cube and returned to me. "Try it out, channel energy into the rune and hit the testing block."

  I activated the Titan's Crest and felt energy build inside my body as the pattern lit up red. I then hit the stone cube with a straight punch.

  The stone cube shattered into pieces.

  Elder Molric smiled at me expectantly, clearly waiting for me to react with awe.

  To be honest, I felt no different than I had after smashing the stone pillar at the sect. You couldn't walk past a training ground at the sect without seeing disciples smash stone pillars at least twice as large as the one I had smashed. However, I certainly couldn't tell Elder Molric that, it would bring up too many questions about why I didn't seem to be affected by the display of strength.

  "That is... amazing!" I managed, attempting to inject wonder into my voice.

  "Master," Azure chimed in, seemingly enjoying my attempt at acting, "you need to improve your acting skills. Next time, try opening your eyes wide."

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  Fortunately, Elder Molric seemed to accept my reaction. "Just wait until you learn how to use the next two runes," he said with a smile.

  Then he returned to his workbench, mumbling something about "Breakthrough Number One Hundred Fifty-One" as he began preparing the next experimental plant. I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

  As I opened the book, he had left open, I began to study the diagram for the Blink Step rune. The pattern was fascinating - a series of overlapping crescents forming what resembled a stylized gust of wind, along with small directional arrows embedded throughout the design.

  "The arrows appear to indicate flow," Azure noted, "they may direct the energy flow during activation."

  That made sense. An advancing technique would need to have clear paths of energy flow. I picked up a new Blank Canvas Lily and the resonance stylus, prepared to begin practicing the Blink Step rune.

  "Remember how the Fundamental Rune taught us to recognize natural energy flow," Azure said. "Likely the crescents work similarly."

  My first attempt went surprisingly well. The practice I had done with the prior runes had clearly paid off; it helped me develop confidence in my ability to handle the resonance ink.

  "Your control has greatly improved," Azure noted, as I completed my third try. "The distribution of energy is much more even than your earlier applications with the Titan's Crest."

  He was right. Where previously I had trouble maintaining consistent pressure and flow of energy, now it seemed almost automatic. By the fifteen-minute mark, I held up a perfect rendition of the Blink Step rune.

  "You are doing very well," Elder Molric stated from behind the counter of his work station, where a particularly eerie plant was slowly glowing under his control. "Try drawing the Aegis Mark while I finish up here."

  The Aegis Mark was a more difficult design to produce than the previous ones; a circular shield made of interlocking hexagons and smaller protective symbols placed between them. The whole thing resembled a honeycomb, if a honeycomb could somehow deflect sword slashes.

  "The symmetry is important when drawing the Aegis Mark," Azure explained. "You want each hexagon to attach to its neighbouring hexagons to create the protective energy field."

  It took me five tries to achieve some level of success. Each time I created the initial hexagons in order, however, my precision waned toward the outer edges of the circle, resulting in uneven distortion in the entire pattern.

  "I think you should begin with the outer edge of the hexagon circle and then move inward," Azure suggested after my fifth attempt. "This may make it easier to maintain the symmetrical layout."

  Starting with the outer edge of the hexagon circle provided a clear boundary to work within, allowing me to maintain the internal layouts more accurately. However, it still took me approximately twenty minutes to successfully create a version of the Aegis Mark that pleased both Azure and myself.

  Elder Molric finally stopped concentrating on his plant experiment (which appeared to be both crystallizing and melting) and walked over to examine my practice attempts.

  "Well done," he said in approval. "Now, the traditional placement of the Blink Step is usually on the legs or feet. This allows for a more efficient distribution of energy for movement techniques."

  “And the Aegis Mark?” I asked.

  "Chest or back," Elder Molric replied. "Most place the Aegis Mark on the back because it provides greater protection to the wearer."

  I understood why most chose the back as the primary location, but I also had to ask, "How does someone carve such intricate runes on their own back?"

  Elder Molric chuckled. "As opposed to the Fundamental Rune, the Rank 1 patterns used in the Aegis Mark and Blink Step do not use the individual's life force during the inscribing process. Therefore, anyone can carve the runes onto your skin; you merely need to apply your own red sun energy to the inscribed runes to activate them."

  His expression became slightly disapproving. "That is why many young masters hire servants to perform all of their runic work. They have no desire to learn the art of carving runes."

  I shook my head. There were people in every world that would take any shortcut they could find to gain an advantage.

  "I prefer to be independent," I said.

  "Good!" Elder Molric exclaimed. "Now then, let us start with the Blink Step. You will be able to carve this one by yourself."

  I pulled up my left pant leg and grabbed the crystal knife. The Blink Step was still fresh in my memory, and I began to carefully carve the pattern into my thigh. The cuts hurt, but it was less than half of what I experienced during the remodeling of my body. That was torture.

  "Master," Azure stated, "it appears that your pain threshold has greatly increased since your arrival in this world."

  When the Blink Step pattern was finished, I applied my red sun energy through my Fundamental Rune and into the fresh cuts. The blood in the cuts began to glow before settling into another black mark.

  New Enhancement: Blink Step

  Type: Movement Enhancement

  Location: Left Thigh

  Effect: Grants instant acceleration in any direction

  Duration: 1 second

  Energy Cost: 30 Red Sun Energy units per activation

  Range: 30 meters maximum per activation

  "That looks great," Elder Molric exclaimed. "Now for the Aegis Mark."

  I nodded and turned to allow him to access my back. His movements were quick and accurate - centuries of experience clearly visible in every cut of the knife. What I could accomplish in several minutes, he accomplished in seconds.

  "Channel your energy," he instructed once he moved away from me.

  I did so, and I could feel the usual warmth radiating from my Fundamental Rune.

  The Aegis Mark activated with a quick flash of crimson light.

  New Enhancement: Aegis Mark

  Type: Defensive Enhancement

  Location: Back

  Effect: Creates an invisible barrier that absorbs 80% of physical damage

  Duration: 30 Seconds

  Energy Cost: 40 Red Sun Energy units per activation

  Bonus Effect: Barrier automatically strengthens against repeated attacks in the same location

  I blinked in surprise at the bonus effect.

  That hadn't been described in the book's description of the technique. Was this what cultivation novels referred to as the Protagonist's Luck? After all, different versions of common techniques were essentially required for any respectable protagonist...

  "Master," Azure broke the silence in my mind. "I think you are overanalyzing this. The enhanced barrier is a standard benefit of a correctly drawn defensive array. Apparently, the Academy's instructional materials have only focused on the fundamental aspects of the techniques and not the technical aspects."

  I felt my face warm slightly. I should have realized that I was jumping to conclusions too quickly and that I shouldn't have jumped to Protagonist's Luck as an explanation.

  "Very good," Elder Molric praised. "Next, comes the fun part."

  Before I could inquire as to what he meant by "the fun part," Elder Molric was already headed for the door. I followed him to the door, still readjusting my robes.

  "Master," I asked as I caught up with him in the hall, "where are we going?"

  He turned around with a slightly mischievous grin. "Well, as much as I do not concern myself with what the other elders think of my... research interests, I still take pride in being a teacher." His eyes sparkled. "Can't have my first disciple in decades beaten in a duel, now, can I? We have some real combat training ahead of us!"

  "Master," Azure said, "we are about to find out why Elder Molric's laboratory has so many burn scars."

  Watching Elder Molric bouncing enthusiastically down the hall, I agreed with Azure.

  This was either going to be a very enlightening experience or extremely painful.

  Probably both.

  "Your style of learning is quite refreshing," Elder Molric said as we walked. "Many initiates come from established Skybound families, you know. They come to the Academy with years of theoretical knowledge but..." he wrinkled his nose, "rather rigid mind sets."

  He waved his arms as he spoke. "They are trained from the age of five that there is only one way to draw each rune correctly and one way to channel the red sun's energy. When I try to teach them how nature can guide the creation of the runes, they stare at me as if I am talking nonsense!"

  He gestured toward the buildings. "And they are usually the ones who end up becoming high-ranking members of the Academy."

  "Is it rare then?" I asked. "For the resonance talent to appear in villagers?"

  I already knew what he’d say. It sounded just like cultivation talent – more concentrated in the major clans and sects, almost unheard of in village dwellers.

  “Yes, quite rare,” he replied. “But, in my opinion, it has more to do with testing methods than actual ability. The standard evaluations are based on that rigid theoretical framework I mentioned.” His eyes sparkled. “Which is why I prefer to do my own testing. So much more… practical.”

  "Is that why you haven't taken many disciples?"

  “Ah, well…” he coughed slightly. “Some... incidents. The last one tried to steal my research, and the one before her exploded, and then there was that whole thing with the sentient vine…”

  I decided it might be best to not ask for any details.

  Book 1 Complete on

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