Myriad Heavens: Rise of the Rune God

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: First Day

Runar woke up at seven in the morning.

One hour before classes started. He’d slept well in the new suite. The cultivation chamber’s had formations that created a peaceful environment even when not actively in use.

Celestia knocked on his door twenty minutes later. She’d already changed into the academy uniform and looked ready.

”Breakfast first?” she asked.

”Yeah.”

They took the lift down to the ground floor. Building Seventeen had its own dining hall exclusively for Apex Class students. Small space, high quality food. Spirit fruit and ingredients made from million year old spirit herbs and plants that enhanced the nutritional value of everything served.

Marcus was already there, eating what looked like spirit beast meat grilled with some kind of fire technique. He waved when he saw them.

”First day of classes,” Marcus said around a mouthful of food. ”Excited?”

Runar grabbed a plate and filled it with simple food. Spirit rice, Spirit vegetables, some eggs for protein gotten from some spirit beast chicken. Nothing fancy. ”It’s just classes.”

”Just classes? We’re at Prime Origin Academy. The instructors here are all Black Hole realm or higher. We’re going to learn techniques that most cultivators never even hear about.”

”Maybe.”

They ate quickly. Other Apex Class students filtered in over the next twenty minutes. Yuki sat alone in a corner, radiating cold. Khan ate mechanically, looking like he hadn’t slept. Lyra appeared, grabbed food, and disappeared again without talking to anyone.

At 0750, Instructor Verra walked into the dining hall.

”Class starts in ten minutes. Follow me to Training Ground One C.”

The fifteen Apex Class students followed her out of Building Seventeen and across the academy grounds. The training ground was a massive open field with formation arrays carved into the ground every few meters. Weapon racks lined one side. Target dummies stood at regular intervals.

The space in this galaxy felt different since they entered it. Thicker somehow. Denser.

”Notice the spatial density?” Verra said, gesturing around them. ”Earth-Prime exists in a region of space with exceptionally thick and stable spatial fabric. Your attacks here won’t display their full destructiveness. If you fought outside this galaxy, a single technique from any of you could destroy a mini-galaxy. Here, the space itself suppresses that.”

She pulled up a holographic display showing various combat forms.

”Combat Techniques class. This is where you learn to actually fight instead of just throwing qi around randomly. Most of you have achieved some level of Law comprehension. This class teaches you how to use that comprehension effectively.”

Marcus raised his hand. ”We already know how to fight. We passed the assessment.”

”You know how to kill pirates who barely understand what Laws are. That’s not the same as fighting trained opponents.” Verra gestured at the training ground. ”Pair up. Show me your current level. Don’t hold back too much or I can’t assess you properly.”

The students paired off. Runar ended up with Thane Ironfist, a solid-looking guy who’d scored 570,000 points on the assessment. Earth and Metal Laws based on his energy signature.

”Ready?” Thane asked.

”Go ahead.”

Thane activated his Earth Law. The ground beneath them trembled, then erupted upward in spikes of compressed stone that moved at light speed. Fast technique, good control, probably 35% Earth Law comprehension.

Runar stepped sideways. Used Space Law as he was stepping to fold the distance, appearing five inches away from where he’d been standing. The spikes hit nothing. Runar used minimal movement.

Thane shifted to Metal Law. Created a dozen metal projectiles in the air and launched them at Runar with significant force.

Runar raised one hand. Created a spatial barrier that deflected the projectiles harmlessly to the side. The metal pieces clattered against the ground.

”Your turn?” Thane said, breathing slightly harder.

Runar formed a spatial blade. Invisible cutting edge, only detectable as distortion in the air. Swung it casually in Thane’s direction.

The blade crossed the distance in a microsecond. Stopped half an inch from Thane’s throat.

”Done,” Runar said, dismissing the technique.

Thane lowered his hands slowly. ”That was fast.”

Around them, other pairs were still fighting. Marcus was trading fire techniques with Zara Voidwalker, their attacks creating small explosions across the training ground. Khan was using lightning against Yuki’s ice, electricity crackling against frozen barriers.

Verra walked between the pairs, observing. She stopped when she reached Runar and Thane.

”Show me again,” she said. ”Both of you. Full technique this time.”

Thane nodded and gathered his qi. Created a more complex Earth Law technique—the ground reshaped itself into a wave that rolled toward Runar, while metal spikes formed in the air above for simultaneous attack.

Runar used the same spatial blade as before. Slightly faster this time. The blade cut through the earth wave, dispersed the metal spikes, and stopped at Thane’s throat again.

Verra’s expression didn’t change. ”Runar, what Law comprehension level are you working with?”

”Space Law. One hundred percent.”

The training ground didn’t go quiet this time. Most of them had guessed Runar and Celestia had perfect Law mastery.

”Just Space Law?” Verra asked. ”Do you have others mastered?”

”Four more. Time, Light, Solar, Lunar. All at one hundred percent.”

Verra nodded slowly. She turned to Celestia, who was paired with Lyra. ”And you?”

”Five Laws at one hundred percent.”

”Which Laws?”

”Ice, Water, Space, Void, Time.”

Verra crossed her arms. ”So you’re both working with five-Laws. That changes things.”

She looked at the rest of the class. ”Continue sparring. I need to assess Runar and Celestia separately.”

The other students went back to their matches. Verra gestured for Runar and Celestia to follow her to the center of the training ground.

”I’m going to be honest,” Verra said. ”Basic combat techniques won’t help you. You’re already beyond that level. What I can teach you are advanced Law application techniques—creative combinations and unusual applications that aren’t commonly known.”

She demonstrated. Fire Law and Wind Law working together in a self-sustaining combustion cycle. Clever use of both Laws that created exponentially increasing heat.

Runar watched carefully. Analyzed the technique’s structure. The way Fire Law fed Wind Law, which in turn fed back into Fire Law. The mathematical precision needed to keep the cycle stable.

He mastered it in a second. And demonstrated it.

Celestia took 2 seconds. And also demonstrated it.

Verra demonstrated another technique. This one used Water Law and Ice Law to create a defensive barrier that absorbed kinetic energy and converted it to cold, strengthening the defense with every attack.

Runar mastered it in two seconds.

Verra stopped demonstrating after that.

”You both learn too quickly for standard instruction,” she said. ”So here’s what we’ll do instead. The most valuable thing I can teach you is battle instinct—reading opponents, adapting mid-fight, reacting to unexpected situations. That requires actual combat experience.”

She stepped back and drew her weapon. A long spear that radiated Black Hole realm energy.

”I’ll spar with both of you. I’ll limit myself to Law-level techniques only, no Rule manipulation. You can use your five Laws however you want. Goal is to land a clean hit on me.”

Runar smiled. Finally something interesting.

Celestia’s expression brightened slightly. ”A worthy opponent.”

”Don’t get too excited,” Verra said. ”I’ve been fighting for three hundred million years. You’re talented, but experience matters.”

Heaven Piercer appeared in Celestia’s hand, extending to full combat length.

Runar summoned his Void Severance Katana from his soul space where it is being nurtured. The blade materialized in his hand, Primordial-grade weapon humming with power.

Then he did something he had done before. Fused all his laws but this time only five of his Laws—Space, Time, Light, Solar, Lunar—into the katana itself.

The weapon changed. The blade became something that existed in multiple states simultaneously. Spatial distortions wrapped around it. Time flowed differently along its edge. Light and darkness coexisted on its surface. Solar heat and lunar cold merged into something new.

”Interesting technique,” Verra observed. ”Five-Law weapon fusion. Let’s see if you can use it properly.”

She moved.

Faster than the other students could perceive. Black Hole realm speed combined with perfect Law control and millions of combat experience.

Runar and Celestia moved simultaneously.

The battle exploded into thousands of times faster than light-speed combat.

To the other Apex Class students watching from the edges of the training ground, the fight was incomprehensible.

One moment, Instructor Verra was standing calmly in the center of the field.

The next moment, there were three blurs moving faster than their eyes could track.

For Light speed battles, their enhanced cultivation and law mastery gave them the ability to process information at those speeds. But the three fighters were moving thousands of times faster than light-speed, and even with enhanced perception, tracking objects at that velocity was nearly impossible.

Thunder cracked continuously as they broke the sound barrier with every movement. The training ground’s formations lit up, working overtime to contain the energy being released.

Marcus squinted, trying to follow the fight. ”Can you see anything?”

”Flashes of light,” Zara said. ”That’s it.”

”They’re moving thousands of times faster than light-speed ,” Lyra said quietly. She had her Illusion and space Law active, trying to track them through spatial distortions. ”Instructor Verra is using Space Law to teleport between positions. Celestia is countering with her own Space Law and Time Law to predict movements. Runar is... I can’t tell what he’s doing. His weapon keeps leaving afterimages.”

Khan activated his Lightning Law, trying to use electrical field distortions to track their positions. ”This is insane. We’re all Satellite Orbit realm. How are they fighting a Black Hole realm instructor to a standstill?”

”I guess perfect Law mastery and perfect fusion,” Thane said. ”Quantitative differences don’t matter as much when the quality gap isn’t that large.”

The fight continued for three minutes of objective time. Subjectively, for the three combatants operating at thousands of times faster than light-speed, it felt like months.

Runar’s fused-Law katana clashed against Verra’s spear.

The impact created a shockwave that the training ground’s formations struggled to contain. Space rippled and cracked. Time stuttered for a microsecond. Light and darkness exploded outward.

Verra disengaged immediately, appearing fifty meters away. Her spear spun in a complex pattern that layered multiple Law barriers in front of her.