Absolute Cheater - Chapter 479
479: Averin Academy III 479: Averin Academy III “And our goal is to master these two stages,” he said, and the cousins immediately drew their weapons.
Maxwell and Sylens each wielded a sword, their stances mirroring years of shared training.
Amanda unfurled her whip, its length sparking faintly with threads of black lightning.
The twins, Lia and Sophia, worked together as always-Lia wielding a bow while Sophia carried a shield.
Yet both also kept daggers at their sides for close combat, moving in perfect sync whenever battle demanded it.
Asher moved among them, his eyes sharp but patient, correcting each stance with the precision of a seasoned master.
“Focus on your pulse,” he instructed.
“Every breath, every heartbeat must flow with your weapon’s movement.
Don’t force your blood energy-guide it.” Maxwell was the first to grasp the rhythm.
His blade shimmered faintly crimson as his veins pulsed in harmony with his strikes.
Each swing left a thin ripple of red energy in the air-evidence that he had begun syncing his blood essence with motion.
Sylens followed closely, his form more disciplined and methodical.
Unlike Maxwell’s raw aggression, his technique was steady, the faint hum of beastly resonance echoing behind each swing.
His bonded creatures crouched nearby, instinctively syncing their heartbeats with his flow.
Amanda struggled at first-her lightning nature clashing with the art’s steadier rhythm-but Asher stepped beside her, lowering his hand over hers.
“Don’t fight the pulse,” he said quietly.
“Let your blood conduct the energy, not resist it.” She inhaled slowly, then exhaled, and the whip in her hand began to move smoother, the black lightning now dancing seamlessly with the crimson glow of the Sanguine flow.
Her strikes cracked through the air like living veins of thunder.
On the other side of the yard, Lia and Sophia moved together in a dance of precision and trust.
Lia’s arrows pulsed with bloodlight, tracing arcs that resonated with Sophia’s shield movements.
Whenever Sophia blocked, her blood energy rippled outward, reinforcing Lia’s next shot.
The twin daggers at their sides hummed faintly, reacting to the growing connection of their bloodlines.
Hours passed.
Sweat mixed with crimson light as the rhythm of training deepened.
The courtyard echoed not with the clash of steel, but with the steady pulse of synchronized heartbeats-a living symphony of blood and soul.
By the time the sun began to dip, the first stage-Crimson Flow-was complete.
Each of them stood steadier, their weapons faintly glowing with the hue of their blood essence.
Asher nodded in approval.
“Good.
You’ve all opened your flow.
Now, we move to the second-Soul Vein Resonance.” He drew his sword, the faint hum of his aura vibrating through the air.
“In this stage, you’ll merge your soul rhythm with your weapon’s energy.
It’s not about strength-it’s about awareness.
The blade must feel as though it’s part of you.” He demonstrated-swinging once.
The blade didn’t shine brighter, but the air around it warped.
The energy was silent, invisible, yet it carried immense pressure.
“Your weapon isn’t a tool,” Asher continued.
“It’s a living extension of your will.
If your soul hesitates, it will shatter.” They began again, focusing deeper.
Each cousin struggled to grasp the elusive connection-learning to listen to their weapon’s pulse.
Asher guided them through the subtleties, correcting hand placements, adjusting breathing, helping them match the faint vibrations that marked the bond between soul and steel.
As twilight fell, faint glimmers of success began to emerge.
Maxwell’s sword sang softly, Sylens’ beasts trembled with resonance, Amanda’s whip became almost weightless in her hand, and the twins’ coordination had reached a harmony so precise that even their soul auras intertwined.
When the final rays of light faded, Asher sheathed his weapon and looked at them with quiet pride.
“You’ve done well,” he said.
“You’ve taken your first steps into what it means to wield both blood and soul as one.” The next day dawned under a sky streaked with pale crimson light, the horizon glowing faintly as if the realm itself recognized what the Magnus heirs had begun.
The courtyard was silent at first-mist curling across the marble tiles, dew glimmering like spilled gems beneath the early sun.
Asher stood in the center once more, his expression calm but commanding.
“Yesterday, you learned to flow and resonate.
Today,” he said, voice cutting through the still air, “you’ll learn to fight as one.” The cousins assembled quickly, their postures more refined, their energies steadier.
A faint hum of synchronized auras filled the yard, the echoes of yesterday’s progress still alive in their veins.
“Pair into sides,” Asher ordered.
“Maxwell and Sylens-together.
You two will fight Lia, Sophia, and Amanda.” A flicker of surprise passed between them, but no one argued.
They had learned by now that Asher’s matches were never about fairness-they were about growth.
Maxwell cracked his neck, his crimson-gold aura flaring to life.
The Golden Blood that marked his hybrid-Sword Saint and Blood Ruler-ignited within him, turning his eyes into molten fire.
His blade shone like a shard of dawn, pulsing with disciplined fury.
Beside him, Sylens’ aura deepened to a dark scarlet hue.
His Beast Dominion stirred in resonance; from the bloodlight around him, three spectral beasts materialized-a winged dragon wreathed in crimson smoke, a shadow-lion with burning veins, and the silver-eyed wolf, Blade-Fenrir.
Together, their auras fused-the golden and blood-red energies weaving into a single warlike rhythm.
Even the air around them seemed to thrum like a living drumbeat.
Across from them, Amanda rolled her shoulders, sparks of black lightning crawling up her whip.
Her Black Blood burned with defiant power, crackling between her fingers.
Lia and Sophia stepped to either side of her-the twins’ auras merging into a deep crimson-gray glow.
Greyblood.
The fusion of their Necromantic and Blood lines gave them a balance of vitality and decay, their presence both alive and deathly still.
Asher raised a hand.
“Begin.” The world exploded into motion.
Maxwell charged first-his sword cutting through the air with a golden flash that tore apart the mist.
Amanda met it head-on, her whip striking like a lightning serpent.
The two forces collided, red-gold light and black thunder erupting in a violent shockwave that rattled the entire courtyard.