Chapter 709: New Epic Rank Skill!

Moon’s proficiency climbed steadily with the new approach, threading the Freezing Cold property into the integration alongside the pure element.

Seventy became eighty. Eighty crept toward ninety.

At ninety, a thought struck him.

He’d taken the technique as far as static practice and basic drills could carry it. What he needed now was an active opponent, something that could move, react, and pressure him into maintaining the assimilation under real conditions.

Moon didn’t want to ask Selene or Yara because he would need to hold back against them, and he would rather have them rest in the lounge instead.

Thankfully, he had the perfect training partner. Moon summoned his newly acquired Beast Soul with a massive smile of anticipation on his face.

The southern commander appeared in the training room in a shimmer of pale light, both blades in hand. It stood just a few meters away from Moon, waiting loyally for its orders.

"Just defend against my attacks," Moon ordered. "I want you to make me work to land anything."

The Beast Soul dipped its head in acknowledgment and raised its guard against its master.

Moon summoned both his own swords and began threading ice into each of them, applying his new assimilation approach to two blades at once rather than one.

It was significantly harder to cast the skill twice, then maintaining them at the same time. Of course, battling whilst doing that made it a more arduous task.

But Moon knew that this would not only accelerate his progress, but it would also add a new technique to his arsenal.

Every cell in his brain was focused on the tasks at hand. Which was exactly what he wanted.

After the casting had been completed, and both swords had ice properties assimilated into them, Moon attacked the southern commander.

~Clash~

The training room was instantly filled with the ringing of clashing steel. Moon pressed forward with both assimilated blades, and the Beast Soul met him strike for strike, its own dual-wielding mastery turning every attack aside with precision.

It was a blademaster through and through. Moon was no longer surprised that it came with its own blades as a beast soul.

Moon’s swords carried the deep, integrated cold now, and each time they clashed against the spirit’s guard, tendrils of frost crept along the contact point, the Freezing Cold property trying to sink in even through a parry.

The Beast Soul defended flawlessly, giving Moon a moving, reacting target that forced him to sustain the assimilation through every exchange, every feint, and every rapid combination.

When his focus slipped on one blade, the integration wavered, and he had to catch it, rebalance, hold both at once again. The constant correction sharpened his control with every passing minute.

His swords wove through the air, ice trailing behind them, the Beast Soul’s blades flashing to meet each strike, the two of them moving through an intricate dance of attack and defense across the training room. Moon layered feints into his attacks, tested combinations, pushed himself to maintain the technique under increasing complexity.

His proficiency ticked upward through it all, and he smiled as he watched the number climb.

Ninety-two. Ninety-five. Ninety-eight.

Twenty minutes later, Moon ended the bout with a final crossing strike that the Beast Soul turned aside cleanly, and he lowered his blades, a massive grin on his face. He recalled the spirit back into his summon pool with a grateful nod.

The notification settled across his vision.

[Ice-Assimilation]

[Order: Second]

[Rank: Epic]

[Level: MAX]

"Ice-Assimilation is now mine," Moon murmured, satisfaction spreading in his chest.

He’d walked into the gate unable to assimilate at all, told by Sierra that it would take him the River of Paths to manage.

And now that he understood the principle at its core, extending it to lightning, and every other element he commanded, was only a matter of time.

With the skill mastered, Moon stopped training.

The whole ordeal had drained his mental energy. Sustaining assimilation across two weapons, chasing down the missing concept, drilling against the Beast Soul, all of it had taxed his focus in a way physical fatigue could never.

He’d pushed hard, and now he just wanted to sit down and rest until he got home.

"About thirty minutes left before we land," Moon muttered, checking the time as he made his way back to the lounge.

He sank into one of the plush seats beside Selene, let his eyes drift half-closed, and simply existed for a while in the comfort of the orbital, being safe and among friends.

Thirty minutes later, the orbital touched down in the capital, returning them to their home city.

Moon, Selene, and Yara gathered their things and stepped out into New Avalon, the familiar skyline a welcome sight after everything.

Yara turned to the other two, adjusting the white bow across her back.

"I need to head to my teacher’s estate for training. Sierra’s expecting me for my session soon, and I want to get there before I’m late. I’ll see you both later?"

Moon and Selene nodded.

"Of course," Moon said. "Go, don’t keep Sierra waiting. And congratulations again, on all of it. You’ve earned every bit of what’s coming."

"Take care," Selene added, pulling Yara into a quick hug. "Message us when you’re there. And don’t work yourself too hard on the first day."

Yara grinned, returned the hug, and stepped back.

"I won’t. Well, I might. But I’ll message you either way." She waved to them both, then turned and headed off toward the transit that would carry her to Sierra’s estate, a spring in her step, a disciple of an Ascender walking toward the next Chapter of her life.

Moon and Selene watched her go for a moment.

Then it was just the two of them, standing together in their home city.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Selene asked.

"Tom texted me, he said he wants to me. I will probably go visit him now." Moon responded.

"Can I come?"

"Of course."