Chương 118: Yggy VS Constantine

There was one final question that had been nagging so I decided to ask before I left the laboratory.

"Elder," I said, "how are runes removed?" The elder shifted his gaze upward from adjusting the new weight set for Constantine since the cactus apparently filed a complaint regarding the previous dumbbells lacking challenge.

"Remove a rune? Oh, that is quite simple at your rank!" I didn't like the way he said 'simple'. Whenever Elder Molric used that word, it typically involved a minimum of three distinct methods for accidentally crystallizing your own body.

"Since the inscriptions sit on your physical body," he spoke with a cheerful tone, "you only need to separate the rune from your flesh! Several methods exist, you could scrape the skin off, that's the most common way. Or you can burn it away if you prefer a quicker solution." Yeah, that was the definition of simple that I had been worried about.

"And the option always exists to completely remove your limb if you find yourself in a real hurry, or worse, when someone removes it for you during combat..." I kept my eyes locked on him while wondering if he was joking but his expression was telling me he was being serious.

"Though I would not recommend that final option unless absolutely necessary," he added as though that part served as the only problematic element of his statement.

"Trying to reattach or regenerate a limb is quite troublesome."

"Right." Honestly, I shouldn't even be surprised at this point. Self-mutilation appeared to be a recurring theme inside Skybound cultivation.

"Things grow much more complicated at higher ranks of course," the elder kept speaking while apparently mistaking my sheer horror for genuine interest.

"Once runes begin integrating with your spiritual core, the removal process becomes quite... interesting." He took a pause to stroke his chin with a thoughtful look, but again, I doubted that we had the same definition of interesting.

"But you don't need to worry about that for a while, so off you go!" He performed a shooing motion toward me.

"Return once you finish inscribing those runes we discussed. We can perform some proper combat practice afterward!" I gave a nod even though I knew I wasn't going to be here long enough to see what kind of crazy combat training he was planning this time. Right when I turned around to leave the lab, something went flying straight past my head, or actually it was aiming right at Yggy who was sitting wrapped around my neck like a scarf.

I ducked down without thinking while Yggy shot forward to meet Constantine's attack right in the air. The muscular cactus apparently decided to quit working out so he could ambush his rival instead. I tried to step in and stop them, but Elder Molric put his hand up.

"Let them play around!" he yelled with a huge grin on his face.

"Don't worry about it, they won't kill each other." I really wasn't too sure about that since they were both made by the elder, which meant trying to murder each other was normal behavior for them. Constantine attacked first by shooting out a wave of needles with terrifying aim. Yggy spun around in the air and its body moved like a ribbon blowing in the wind while it dodged the spikes. A couple of the needles managed to scratch it and left tiny cuts that leaked out light green sap.

But Yggy wasn't just dodging, it was actually getting closer while it weaved through the attack. The vine whipped forward looking like green lightning and it hardened its tip into a spear aiming right at the middle of Constantine's chest. The buff cactus used one of its arms to block it. The hit made a little shockwave that blew a bunch of papers all over the lab floor. Constantine's protective spikes managed to draw some more sap from my buddy, but Yggy pulled back and was circling around to try again.

"That is wonderful form!" Elder Molric shouted, looking like a dad watching his kid play sports.

"You need to make sure your energy circulation stays steady!" Constantine shot out another wave of needles except this time he spun around which made them cover a larger area. Yggy had to back up, which gave the cactus the chance to push forward. Constantine ran at it, moving faster than any potted plant had the right to move, and his muscular arms started throwing punch combos that a real martial artist would be jealous of.

Yggy was more agile though and it flowed right between the punches like water while throwing out quick counter jabs that left little cuts all over Constantine's thick skin. The two of them kept trading hits at a speed that maybe even some Rank 1 Skybound wouldn't be able to see.

"Look at how they use their energy!" Elder Molric pointed out looking excited.

"Do you see the way they adapt their moves?" I had to admit the whole thing was impressive. They were both obviously using the red sun's power, but they were doing it differently. Constantine used raw heavy force, so every punch was packed with concentrated energy. But Yggy used tiny bursts, so it could speed up and land precise hits. The whole fight changed when Constantine swung too far and overextended his punch.

Yggy didn't even bother dodging it, it just wrapped itself right around the cactus's arm like a snake. Before Constantine even knew what was happening, Yggy used all the momentum from the punch to flip the muscular pot in what looked like a judo throw. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Constantine smashed into the floor so hard it actually cracked the stone tiles.

He tried to get back up with his muscles flexing hard, but Yggy was already there floating over him with its tip curved downward in a way. I understood what was happening. Yggy was asking if Constantine was going to surrender. I thought Constantine was going to say no for a second, but then he let his arms drop down. Yggy dropped the combat stance and went over to help its old enemy stand back up. The vine's movements were gentle now, careful not to aggravate any of the cuts or bruises it had inflicted.

Elder Molric looked like he was going to explode from how proud he was.

"Fantastic! Just fantastic! The control and the technique!" He pulled his little notebook out and started writing.

"I need to make sure I tweak the strength to speed ratio for the next one..." Constantine hopped back into his pot and did a series of little waves that meant he hadn't figured out his energy manipulation yet and there was going to be a rematch when he did. Yggy's response was pure sass: a complex series of movements that somehow conveyed "Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that." I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

It was great seeing Yggy make a friend even if that friend just wanted to prove he was better by beating it up. Back in the cultivation world, trying to kill each other was how you became sworn brothers anyway. When we finally walked out of the lab, my face turned serious again. I had two major tasks left in this world before the Lightweaver attack: inscribing new runes into my inner world, and increasing my red sun energy capacity. The second would require a trip to the meditation chamber, but first things first.

When I arrived at my door, I entered and settled into meditation. The familiar sensation of entering my inner world washed over me as my consciousness separated from my physical form. The massive expanse of my domain spread out before me: the mountain ranges in the northwest, the garden region to the northeast, and the training zones in the southern quadrants. Yggy's spiritual form floated peacefully in its bubble near the garden area, seemingly none the worse for wear after its recent battle.

Right in the middle of everything, the Genesis Seed was standing there with the runes that I spent so much time carefully making floating all around it. I let out a sigh while I looked at all the patterns I wasted days putting together. I had to get rid of most of them because my actual cultivator body already had them inscribed and keeping copies in here was a waste of energy.

"You should look at it as getting good practice for weaving your runes," Azure popped up right next to me.

"The experience is going to help a lot when we start making the new patterns."

"That is true," I nodded. It still felt bad though, kind of like I was throwing away a painting I worked on for a long time, since these were the result of my first time actually managing to weave energy properly. But there was no reason to be sentimental about it, so I reached out with my mind and cut the energy lines connecting the red sun to the runes.

I only kept the Fundamental Rune, the Worldroot Conduit, and the Aegis Mark, everything else melted down into red energy streams that sucked right back up into the sun.

"Have you decided which new runes you'd like in your inner world?" Azure asked me even though he already knew.

"The Soul Ward is the first on my list," I told him while watching the last little bits of the old runes disappear completely.

"Then I need to do the Shroud Rune, the Rootform Rune, the Overclock Rune, and the Hawk's Eye Rune."

"You're missing one," Azure told me.

"We still have one empty slot left over." I let out a frown.

"I haven't made up my mind between the Leaf Storm Rune or the Rootbind Rune yet since they both have their uses." The Leaf Storm would be amazing for controlling the battlefield and giving me a shield I could move around. But the Rootbind could lock somebody down out of nowhere which could instantly win a fight if I used it right.

"Maybe we should start working on the ones we know we want," Azure suggested.

"You might figure it out by the time we finish those ones." I agreed and got straight to work on it. Azure made a glowing spiritual template of the Soul Ward Rune for me to look at while I drew red sun energy between my hands to manipulate it into the intricate pattern. It was harder than I thought it would be. The energy wanted to flow in its own ways, resisting my attempts to shape it into precise lines and curves. Several times, the pattern collapsed and the energy dispersed back into the air.

"You have to remember," Azure spoke up after my fifth try, "you spent a lot of time physically drawing those old runes out before. Doing that made energy weaving easier for you. This is a new pattern so it is supposed to be hard." He was right about that. I couldn't expect to perfectly weave a new rune after trying a few times. It was probably going to take me hours or maybe even a few days before I got it right.

Six Days Later The Soul Ward and the Shroud runes were finally floating in the air in front of me. The former's design consisted of concentric circles filled with intricate symbols, it reminded me of a mandala. As for the latter, it was all flowing lines that seemed to slide away from direct observation, creating a visual effect that matched its purpose.

"That is excellent work," Azure said looking proud of me.

"They are both stable and they are pulling power from the red sun perfectly." I gave him a nod, but I was feeling pretty annoyed about the whole thing.

"I really wanted to get at least one more done before we have to leave this world, but we're out of time now. The Lightweavers are going to attack the academy any second now." Looking around my inner world, I felt another twinge of regret.

"I'd hoped to develop this place more during this loop too."

"We're going to have plenty of loops to do that before the tournament starts," Azure told me.

"And while you may not have made major terrain changes, your breakthrough to the sixth stage of Qi Condensation has caused significant growth. The entire space has expanded greatly." He was right. A cultivation breakthrough was better than moving some dirt around. All that extra power and capacity was more useful in the long run. I let my spiritual body fade out as I returned to my physical body. When I opened my eyes, I was sitting back on my thin mattress in my academy quarters.

"What is the plan now, Master?" I let out a smile while I stood up to stretch out my back since it was stiff from meditating for so long. For the last few days, all I did was eat, sleep, and spend hours trying to weave runes in my inner world.

"It's time to go to the meditation chamber. I need to absorb as much red sun energy as I possibly can before everything goes sideways." While I was walking down the academy hallways, I couldn't stop myself from wondering if I was going to see any of these people again when the loop reset. All the regular initiates doing their training out in the courtyards, the crazy elders doing their weird experiments, and even Constantine the bodybuilding cactus, were their lives going to play out differently next time?

But I didn't have time to worry about that right now. I had to go absorb some red sun energy and try pushing my limits up. And if I got lucky, maybe I could finally figure out what I wanted to put in that last rune slot. A few minutes later, the meditation chamber was before me with warning signs plastered over the doors advising the disciples to follow energy safety rules.

I had to smile at that because in a place where initiates were constantly blowing themselves up or turning into crystals, they still thought putting up a warning sign was going to help. But then again, maybe that was exactly why they needed to put them up in the first place. I pushed the heavy doors open, getting myself ready for what was probably going to be my last training session in this particular timeline.