23 || Runes of Power! Wolyung and Oorun Awakened!

If they could reach Vein Plating wouldn't they be able to use two elements at once with ease? Once dismissed it was time for lunch. Afterwards came the evening lecture which focused on mathematics, history, and geography.

The few wanderer students in their class seemed to be struggling with their note taking, which led to the usually teasing yet charming Leiana to take charge. Donning a pair of glasses, she immediately starts up a study group post the lecture to get them all up to her standards.

A curious thought crosses Tara's mind as she returns to her room for the night. She begins to practice the mysterious alphabet by rewriting her notes for the day. A strange thing happens as the symbols are etched into a diamond scroll: not only are certain things retained in her memory but also within her heart and soul!

Her own comprehension towards what she was taught in the morning lecture is suddenly so much clearer, as if hidden gaps were being filled in. For example, the idea of the extra Body Altering stages becomes a little less fuzzy!

Tara is stunned! What would happen if she rewrote her previous notes in the same language? Tara could hardly imagine what would occur! Before she takes on such a task, though, first Tara wanted to perfect and quicken her usage of this mysterious language.

The following day was combat practice. Unlike her lectures, where students of the same class were grouped together, Tara finds herself around fellow members of the same rank. There were fifteen Dark Saber novices, ten Dark Saber apprentices, and five Dark Saber masters.

The Dark Saber apprentices were high tier Bone Crystallization to low tier Billowing Muscles while all of the Dark Saber masters were all Billowing Muscle mid tiers.

If they were to achieve high tier Billowing Muscles, then they could apply for a position at Eightsword Academy's staff or seek joining the Eightsword Sect. So every few years their general staff would grow with a couple of the Dark Saber masters aiming squarely for the sect.

With Tara and Yaoyang being the newest, their instructors wish to see what their combat prowess was. They had them spar with two other members of their rank. A Bone Crystallization mid tier on the cusp of a breakthrough for Tara while Yaoyang faced a low tier Billowing Muscles.

Both fights are similar with Body and Weapon Arts only. Tara takes them out easily enough with a few Ember Gathers while Yaoyang overwhelms his opponent with just a simple fist strike, nothing fancy.

After their fights, as short as they were, their instructor Hui immediately corrects flaws he saw in their execution: Tara's form is uneven and her strikes lose too much energy between them; Yaoyang isn't thinking about his next move and simply plowing through with brute force. The two lament on their weaknesses while everyone else pairs up and begins to practice exchanging moves. Tara watches as they practice with black wooden sabers or repeat the same body arts. Yaoyang explains that each rank has their own specific combat art style.

With tomorrow being auxiliary practice, Tara spends her evening meditating on the pill and potion formulas from the ancient memory. Pills took longer to revolve but had stronger lingering effects while potions were instantaneous.

Despite her Apprentice level proficiency, Tara was really at the start of being an alchemist! According to teachers they had different levels: starting with Beginner all the way to Grandmaster! She had only scratched the surface as an lowtier Apprentice. As with everything she'll take her time to get better at medicine making and memorizing what needs to be done for success.

What made her nervous was her first lesson with the Headmaster. Tara isn't even sure what stage the woman was at but to be Headmaster meant she was impossibly strong. Tara enters the training room near Beiling's office. Just as she sits down on the wooden floor, Beiling steps in behind her.

"For our first session, I would like you to come at me with everything you have. How you did within the trial tower Eight Swords of Death doesn't truly give a gauge of your abilities. Now rise." Beiling laughs at Tara's startled look as the young girl stands up.

Tara summons the Twin Sphere daggers she had crafted but Beiling shakes her head. When Beiling extends a hand, Tara places them into her palm. Beiling's own auxiliary focus is in weapon forging and she can see that Tara had created them.For a child they're actually very well made. She knows a bit about inscription work and can tell they seem to gather energy but what kind, Beiling isn't sure.

At that moment, a turquoise box appears in Tara's left hand with an amber sphere appearing in her right. Sun Claw and Moon Fang hum in her hands and Tara feels that the Soul Beads have grown a bit more within her.

"Your blades have Soul Beads within them, correct?" Beiling asks as her eyes go over the two weapons. Tara nods in confirmation. "Even among sect disciples such a thing is very rare. It's said that the souls of the weapon can grow with their users. Yours seem different somehow than those I've held."

Tara shifts backwards at the last possible second when Beiling strikes out with a knee kick. Tara's aura wraps around her form in that moment, Twin Sphere energy rushing through her body. Tara uses Rain Scatter with both Sun Piercer and Moon Cleaver.

Beiling deflects both attacks with a blank palm. Tara expects as much, deciding to get in close by using Sunny Dance but Beiling doesn't flinch. Tara does a cross slash with her daggers but Beiling isn't using any aura when blocking the weapons. She's done nothing more than raise a hand to defend herself with her other hand resting behind her back.

The young girl's aura is composed of two other energies Beiling cannot place, similar to the daggers from earlier. These energies were enhancing her student's aura making Tara stronger and faster. They were also infused into each Hufang technique and whatever materials these weapons were made from were exceptional. The blue dagger causes a tremble in her soul and interrupts her thoughts, while the orange colored knife impacts the mind on top of the physical damage. Beiling has to put up a stronger defense being attacked at all fronts like this.

A normal Blood Directing low tier would have been tired after five minutes with Beiling but Tara pushes for fifteen. Though Beiling keeps a neutral face as Tara unleashes wave after wave of techniques, she has to admit she is impressed. It only stops once Beiling flicks Tara on the forehead.

"Your strikes are powerful but you're losing kinetic energy in your movements and therefore lacking any real sharpness. Similarly, you aren't balancing your energy well enough so some of it is dispersing before you strike but I'd chalk that up to age rather than instruction. We'll work on how to find your balance and to keep you from losing or wasting your energy."

Beiling spends the reminder teaching Tara how to keep as much kinetic energy as possible while also keeping her aural energy from dispersing. With this in mind, Tara's first month blows by. Tara treats her study days as extra meditation days, rewriting her class notes with the mysterious alphabet while honing her comprehension of the ancient memories. Having fallen into a routine now, her and her classmates are surprised to hear their schedule would change slightly.

With the inclusion of five hundred new students, the ranking of the true Eight Swords of Death tower needed to be swept clean. With the upcoming Sunday being the first of the month, being the day the martial skill library was open, now was the best time to hold the ranking event. A student could bring out a scroll and a book they found to rent for a month and study.

Beiling personally leads Tara, Yaoyang, and Leiana to the Celestial level of the skill library. Many of the books or scrolls, despite being either too complicated or incomplete, were similar to the book Di had found in the ruins. They all carried a faint aura from them and with so many it was a bit overwhelming.

Tara walks among the aisles with the others, using her lunar mind to see if any of the books' auras stand out. It isn't until she wanders further back, where the strangest or hardest to learn items are located, that something catches her eyes.

It's a book written in a strange language but one she's familiar with. The cover says Soul Bead Cultivation but only had a single page, the rest of the book seemingly torn out. With how much she has been studying the ancient language, it takes her a moment to read over the page.

"When a weapon is enhanced with a Soul Bead, the growth will go both ways. As the user grows so does the Soul Bead. By first absorbing world energy into the Soul Beads, the same way a future martial artist would to break through into the Body Altering stages, the spirit can eventually reform into a physical presence."

The first paragraph had reiterated what she had experienced so far.

"Often the Soul Beads take the form of where they are harbored. If the user has the ability to channel elemental energy then growth is hastened. Hm? If I name my Soul Beads they could evolve?!" The rest of the page was such a surprise that Tara couldn't help but wonder what was on the missing pages.

Though it was only one page Tara held it as if it were made of gold.The Soul Beads of Sun Claw and Moon Fang had been gathering Twin Sphere energy and had already manifested with metaphysical forms within the dreamscape of the trial tower. What would happen if they were named?

Instead of looking for another book or scroll, Tara takes her findings back to her room. Tara copies what was written from the page onto a diamond scroll, spending the whole evening to do so. She feels the knowledge of the page bind to her aural points and two names come to mind.

For the Bubble Tiger the name Wolyung is etched overhead the Soul Bead in the elder language while the Spark Lion has the name Oorun appear in front of it. Like the powerful runes they are, the letters flow into the Soul Beads and there's a burst of energy within her soul and mind. In place of the Soul Beads were a sleeping Bubble Tiger and Spark Lion cubs.

[Soul Beads Named! Oorun And Wolyung Evolution in process. Growth Rate Extended To 10%! Loyalty increased by 20%!]

Both internal guardians are in a deep slumber as if they had used up all the energy they had gathered previously. Tara also feels drained of her Twin Sphere energies and spends the rest of the night gathering them up again. Oorun and Wolyung take for themselves some of the energy she gains until they can start to pull their own reserves again.

The next morning arrives, the newest students trembling with anxiety while the older ones have a lot of anticipation in their eyes. Today is possibly the day that old legends will fade as new ones will take their place.

Beiling is overlooking the 3,000 students and all of the various classes with a smile. She easily finds Tara in the crowd, noticing something has changed within her. Beiling makes a note to ask her about this later.

"For those of you who are new, you are about to enter the true Eight Swords of Death. Here you will be facing off aurators in their entirety. Unlike the trial towers which only focused on combat arts these foes will use aural arts as well."