Cult of the Sacred Runes

Chapter 6 – Three Mistakes

“Ye Wei, Miss Zi Yan would very much like you to try and suggest how the stance can be improved.” She tried to push him again for an answer, waiting to be surprised and see just how much he knew.

“Erm... about that...” Not willing to give up anything, Ye Wei was trying to stall as much as possible.

Dong~ Dong~ Dong~

As Ye Wei struggled to deal with the situation, the muffled chiming of the school bell interrupted him.

Finally, the lecture is over!

Ye Wei felt relieved as the school bell saved him. He smiled at Lin Zi Yan, scratching the back of his head and saying, “Miss Zi Yan, since the lecture is over, what do you say to resuming this discussion next time?”

Ye Wei knew that his statement would end this drama, as Zi Yan was just a substitute teacher and it was uncertain the next time she would be teaching junior three’s class.

“Class dismissed.” Miss Zi Yan ended the lecture. “Not you, Ye Wei. You are coming with me!” Judging from the soul sensitivity Ye displayed earlier, Zi Yan was pretty certain Ye Wei had potential; as such, she would arrange for Ye Wei to meet one of the Runemasters for further assessment.

Ye Wei really thought he got away with this one, but Miss Zi Yan had other plans. He could not refuse an order from her and therefore followed her out of the classroom, reluctantly.

As soon as the two were out of sight, the class engaged in an intense discussion. Gossip and chatter filled the room.

“His senses are so sharp! I didn’t expect that from Ye, that guy has no talent for fighting, whatsoever...”

“Where is Miss Zi Yan taking him to? Probably to a Runemaster to verify if the show he put on was genuine? If that was real he’d probably start studying under a master!”

The class was as envious as they were curious. They always looked down on Ye Wei because of his Sentient, but with Ye’s newfound talent, the tables were slowly turning.

Cao Ning and a couple of Ye Wei’s real friends were genuinely happy for him and a bit jealous at the same time, like everyone else.

“Shut up! All of you!” Xiao Qi slammed the table with a heavy strike, the veins on his arms bulging. Having the spotlight taken off him was hard enough, but taken by someone he had been abusing, someone he deemed inferior, was something way more humiliating. Xiao Qi was drowning in envy; he couldn’t deal with the sudden debut of Ye’s apparently new talent.

Frustrated and envious, Xiao Qi was in denial. “It can’t be true... Why don’t I have greater soul sensitivity? Why can’t Miss Zi Yan only look at me?”

Lin Zi Yan was only fifteen years old and she was already a ten star Student, one step away from becoming a Warrior. When it came to her appearance, she was impeccable. Her soft, pretty face, graceful posture, and perfectly proportioned body... In the whole student body of South Star Academy, there were no more than three boys who were attractive and smart enough to match her. That list of three of course excludes Ye Wei, who was unknown until today!

Lin Zi Yan was a gentle and friendly person, but anyone who knew her well enough knew that when she talked to people she liked, she kept a bit of distance to protect herself. Now she was walking close to an unfamiliar face. It drew a lot of attention and eyes, and many people wondered who exactly was walking behind Zi Yan.

Feeling the intensity of everyone’s gazes, Ye Wei realised becoming close to Zi Yan would make him the center of attention, and in turn his every move would be observed. It takes a lot of self-esteem and confidence to overcome everyone’s judgemental looks. ‘How stressful must it to be her boyfriend...’ Ye Wei wondered.

Luckily he wasn’t.

Walking down the gravel trail that ran through the campus, Ye Wei followed Miss Zi Yan to the gate of Green Phoenix Hall.

The Green Phoenix Hall was one of the female dormitories on South Star Academy campus. Here resided the female scholars in the senior classes who reached the top of their class, and those who were soon to be promoted to the Warrior rank. Being very close to becoming a Warrior, Zi Yan won herself a place at Green Phoenix Hall. She was then allowed to skip ordinary classes, not having to waste time in them.Unlike ordinary students who usually needed to go through the junior, intermediate, and senior class to reach the ten star level and eventually become a Warrior.

There were thirty-eight junior classes, thirty-six intermediate classes, and twenty-five senior classes, and outside these ranks, for the exceptional talents in South Star, there was a class for the gifted of which Lin Zi Yan was a part of. South Star academy taught five thousand three hundred and seventy students... But there were less than a hundred qualified enough to live at Green Phoenix!

Looking at the rows of classical elegant houses beyond the gate, Ye Wei’s mind wandered. His memories from half a year ago resurfaced; his brain remembered a time past: a girl and him standing against the backdrop of these beautiful houses... With bittersweet memories slowly filling his head, the edge of his lips curled up slightly.

“Hurry!” Ye Wei snapped out of his nostalgia as Lin Zi Yan gave him a little tug towards the entrance.

“Okay.” Ye Wei nodded reluctantly then unwillingly followed Miss Zi Yan through the gate towards the isolated quarters of Green Phoenix.

‘I swore to myself that I would never step foot near Green Phoenix Hall again.’ Images of the girl, Joe Yin, flashed in Ye Wei’s head again. He shook his head with regret,letting out a depressing sigh.

‘Sometimes people drift apart from each other over time, but time also heals and changes a person. I should stop dwelling on this!’ Ye Wei let positive ideas overcome dark ones, holding his head high. A growing confidence could be seen in his eyes.

Ye Wei followed Zi Yan into a little courtyard, and next to it was a small house. Upon realising that Zi Yan, herself, lived here, Ye Wei was quite astonished. It was completely out of his imagination that Zi Yan would have her own house and garden at Green Phoenix Hall, especially when the majority of students were assigned to smaller and less luxurious accommodations, sometimes even just a lone bunk bed.

It must be great to be Lin Zi Yan!

They entered the spacious training chamber within her house, and Zi Yan was eager to get to work. Without saying a word, she hastefully willed will-force to the tip of her index finger. Primal energy flowed from her dantian to her fingertips, merging with the will-force. And with her finger she drew the thirty-six runes in the air while making one mistake in the process, but the runes none the less formed a rushing tide pattern, the Triple Tidal Palm!

“Ye Wei, now that we’re alone, can you tell me what’s wrong with it?” Zi Yan was determined to get to the bottom of this.

“Miss Zi Yan, if I am not mistaken, you were trying to test me, right? Why is it so important that I correct this? Does it really matter?” Ye Wei fired a few questions with annoyance, while keeping a smile on his face to be polite.

“It would be game changing! If you could correct this, I would refer you to an established Runemaster. You might even become his apprentice and eventually someone who matters!” Zi Yan explained her intention sincerely. “And if you couldn’t, I would like to refer you to a journeyman who is not as brilliant, but his teaching maybe more understandable for your level.”

Ye Wei was touched having heard the confession and realised Zi Yan had pure intentions. His frustration, which he partially blamed Zi Yan for, over the scene in class and the hassle during the lecture subsided.

When he slept during, and eventually interrupted, the lecture, he was seen as a careless student; however, Zi Yan overlooked the negatives and tried to motivate him. He had only shown a bit of his newfound talent, yet she was ready to put a word in for him with an established Runemaster.

Ye Wei felt grateful for Miss Zi Yan’s expectations, he couldn’t help but admire her for her sincerity.

No longer frustrated, Ye Wei opened up: “Miss Zi Yan, the stance you displayed earlier and just now had three very obvious mistakes.“ Ye Wei looked at the thirty-six glimmering runes in the air, took two steps back, and stood right next to Miss Zi Yan ready to give his opinion on the mistakes.

“Three mistakes? Did you just say you felt three mistakes?!” Zi Yan was flabbergasted. It was only now that she knew Ye Wei saw three mistakes. ‘But I only left one flaw?!’ she thought. Ironically, Ye Wei had assumed she left three flaws, not one! How could that be?