Cultivation is Creation-Chapter 216: Restricted

I reappeared a few metres to the side, only for one of the spears to adjust its trajectory mid-flight, catching me in the shoulder.

Luckily for me, I activated the Aegis barrier just in time to absorb most of the impact, but there was enough force in the strike to send pain lancing down my arm.

"Master, those light constructs are not normal," Azure warned. "They have some form of targeting capability."

“Darkness cannot hide from the eyes of the Beloved,” the Lightweaver smiled coldly.

Suddenly, a burst of golden aura exploded from his body, and he vanished.

The world slowed to a crawl as I instinctively activated the Hawk Eye rune, I noticed the telltale distortion in the air to my left just as the Lightweaver materialized.

Twisting to the side, I let the strike fly past me.

The young priest’s eyes widened in shock, it was clear that few had ever countered this technique of his.

Before he could recover, I grabbed onto his sword arm, preventing him for going for another attack.

"Now!" I shouted mentally to Yggy.

In an instant, Yggy materialized, shooting forward and wrapping around the Lightweaver's throat.

The young man face reddened, eyes bulging out of their sockets as his free hand flew to his neck. Whilst he desperately tried to pry Yggy loose, I took the opportunity to drive a Phantom Strike, enhanced by Titan’s Crest, directly into the centre of his chest.

The blow was devastating.

A spray of blood flew from his mouth as his ribcage caved in.

His eyes went wide with disbelief, then they lost that spark of life as he fell backwards.

With its mission accomplished, Yggy nuzzled against my arm before returning to my inner world.

For a moment, I stood there, breathing heavily.

The fight had been pretty brief but quite intense.

"Well done, Master," Azure congratulated, bringing my out of my thoughts. "But we need to move quickly. The battle might have attracted attention."

He was right.

Before I left, I looked down at the Lightweaver's body, feeling a twinge of something. Not quite regret, but…acknowledgment.

My opponent had been young, probably not much different from the Skybound initiates cowering in the evacuation chamber. Just another pawn in a war he didn't fully understand.

“His sword,” I pointed to the weapon that lay beside the corpse, “should I take it?”

"It is too risky," Azure replied after a moment's consideration. "Without a storage ring, the Lightweaver's weapon would be instantly recognizable to any Skybound we encounter. Besides, it's likely attuned to Blue Sun energy, which we're trying to keep hidden."

I suspected as much.

With a sigh, I made my way deeper into the academy, deciding on my next route of action.

At my level, I had no delusions in trying to affect the outcome of this war, it would be better to secure a view of the main battle and gather intelligence for a future visit to this world.

After avoiding a few Lightweavers as well as two more groups of Skybound, I found what seemed to be the perfect spot.

It was a tower that overlooked one of the academy’s main courtyards. Its partially collapsed state created the perfect hiding spot among the rubble whilst providing an excellent vantage point.

I carefully climbed the unstable structure, and when I reached a suitable spot, I settled in.

From my elevated position, I could see much of the battle raging across the academy grounds. The sky was filled with clashing energies as higher-ranked practitioners from both sides engaged in aerial combat.

A particularly intense duel between what appeared to be a Rank 5 Skybound and a similarly powerful Lightweaver drew my attention.

"It's like watching gods wage war," I murmured.

"Gods driven mad by their respective suns," Azure replied. "Look at their expressions."

He was right.

Even from this distance, I could see the unhinged look on their faces.

The Skybound laughed maniacally, his eyes glowing blood red as he fought like a madman, unbothered by the destruction caused by him.

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The Lightweaver's expression while more carefully controlled was no less disturbing. There was a serene smile fixed on his face that fooled absolutely no one as he threw one light construct after another with precision, but make no mistake, they were just as lethal, if not more so.

Different manifestations of madness, but madness nonetheless.

"There seems to be no 'good guys' in this conflict," I observed. "Just different flavors of fanaticism."

"A common theme in religious wars," Azure agreed. "Each side absolutely convinced of their righteousness, blind to their own atrocities while condemning their enemies for similar actions."

As the battle raged on, I continued watching, analyzing the combat styles of both factions.

"Their fighting styles reflect their philosophies," I noted. "The red sun's chaotic power versus the blue sun's ordered light."

"Yet both equally deadly," Azure pointed out. "Different paths to the same result."

A flurry of activity in the courtyard below captured my attention.

A small group of Skybound initiates, who looked as though they had just started their training, were led by a senior disciple.

The group moved in a tight formation as they attempted to reach another building across the open space.

They almost made it.

Three figures materialized before them, blocking their path.

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Lightweavers!

With a cry, the senior disciple pushed the younger initiates behind him, a complex blood red rune already forming at his fingertips.

What followed was quick but brutal.

The senior skybound was able to cut down the Lightweaver on the right with a well-placed wind blade.

But the split second that it took for him to prepare another attack cost him his life.

A golden axe appeared in the air and decapitated him in one blow.

The initiates screamed in terror as they tried to retreat, but the Lightweavers cut them down with cruel efficiency.

All the while, the serene expression on their pious faces didn’t falter.

The corpses were left to rot as the Lightweavers disappeared into the building. No doubt on their way to add more bodies to their tally.

I turned away, a bitter taste in my mouth.

Sometimes I wondered which world was more brutal, the Cultivation world or the Two Sun’s world…

My thoughts were disrupted when the entire tower shuddered beneath me. Looking up, a frown appeared on my face as I saw the cause.

There were two particularly powerful practitioners, likely Rank 5 or 6, that had decided to take their battle directly above me.

Just the clash of their attacks alone was sufficient to send shockwaves rippling through the already damaged tower.

"Time to move," I decided, already heading towards the exit. "This tower won't survive much longer thanks to those two.”

When I was halfway down the stairs, a massive explosion rocked the tower.

The force threw me against a wall as sections of the ceiling came crashing down around me.

Instinctively, I activated Aegis Mark, the barrier springing to life just as a large chunk of masonry struck me. The shield absorbed most of the impact, but the force blew me a few feet back.

When the dust settled, I found myself in a precarious position.

The destruction of the stairs resulted in there being a fifty-foot drop between me and the next intact section. The drop itself wasn’t the issue, I was pretty confident that even without having an enhanced body, the power of the red sun would be enough for to survive such a fall.

The bigger issue was that I didn’t know what awaited me in the next section, if I were to land just as a group of Lightweavers appeared, I would be screwed.

Looking up, I held back a sigh. The passageway above was blocked by fallen debris. Not to mention, heading up when there were deadly aerial battles taking place sounded like a really bad idea.

So, this meant that I was trapped.

I couldn’t even stay here.

At any moment, whatever keeping the structure upright could give away and crush me to death.

"Well, this is inconvenient," I muttered.

"Master, the situation might not be as dire as it appears. There could be alternative exits created by the destruction.”

Nodding, I decided to examine the walls around me. I noticed that the explosion had created a sizeable hole in the outer wall of the tower. Through it, I could see another section of the academy about fifty feet away. It seemed pretty safe, no Lightweavers or Skybound in sight.

"Blink Step won't reach that far," I calculated. "And creating a bridge with vines would only draw attention.”

"Master, perhaps look for handholds created by the damage to climb down the wall."

Memories of video games where characters scaled walls in a similar manner flashed through my mind. It seemed worth a try. I just hoped the destruction around me hid my actions.

With a deep breath, I began to pick my way down the outer face of the tower.

About halfway down, I found that an opening had been created by an energy blast. It led into what appeared to be a library or archive.

Ensuring that there was no one inside, I swung myself through the gap and landed quietly on the stone floor inside.

Surprisingly, the room was in pretty good condition compared to most of the academy I’d seen so far. Intact scrolls and tomes filled the bookshelves that lined the walls. At the centre of the room, open books and half-finished notes decorated a large table. Clearly, the initiates had fled in the middle of their work.

Despite visiting this world a few times already, I had yet to check out the library. I always meant to, but one thing after another distracted me.

"This seems promising," I smiled, moving deeper into the room. "Maybe we can find something useful while we wait out the worst of the fighting."

"Knowledge is never wasted," Azure agreed. "We weren’t able to gather much information about Lightweavers, the higher ups at the academy seem determined to keep that information away from initiates, perhaps see if you can find anything here?”

I nodded and began scanning the shelves, looking for anything related to the Order of the First Light. After a few minutes of searching, I realized what I needed wasn’t here, it would only be in the restricted area.

Now, where was this restricted area?

After a few minutes of scanning the large room, I noticed a hidden doorway at the back of the library. The doorway was partially destroyed, either one of the energy blasts from the battle had landed on it, or someone else had the same idea as me and decided to ransack the academy’s restricted material.

Cautiously, I approached the damaged entrance, making sure to keep my footsteps muffled. The door now awkwardly from a single attachment point, revealing only darkness beyond.

"Alert me if you sense anyone," I mentally instructed Azure whilst slipping through the narrow opening.

Once inside, I stood perfectly still, scanning the dark room.

Outwardly, it looked no different to any other section of the library. Shelves lined the walls, packed with tomes and scrolls.

But more importantly, the room was empty.

"Looks clear," I said, shoulders relaxing slightly when no ambush came. "Let's have a look and find out exactly what the academy didn't want its students to know."

Moving through the restricted section, I ran my fingers along spines of books with faded lettering and unusual symbols. Some were bound in materials I couldn't identify, others secured with runic chains or locks now broken in the chaos.

After examining several shelves, a particular volume caught my eye.

It was much thicker than the others, bound in dark leather with silver embossing.

"Now this is interesting," I murmured, pulling down a leather-bound volume titled "Heretical Practices of the False Light: A Comprehensive Analysis."