Chapter 118 The Third Order

It has to be said, Hei Wukai is a man of his word. He said he would beat Mo Tong, and now it's a daily practice, making Mo Tong have to muster all his strength just to get through class. Honestly, he's much more well-behaved now. Ah, a child's energy needs to be expended before they can behave properly.

The application of the Second Order encompasses all eight major professions and is currently the mainstream rune application in the League of Blades. There are six fundamental runes.

The first one is the Rhythm Pact, which can convert part of an attack into damage absorbed by a summon or puppet, with a conversion rate between 5% and 10%. It is suitable for Spirit Beast Masters and Exorcists.

The Will of the Martial God provides an automatically triggered soul barrier that not only defends against physical, soul, and witchcraft attacks but also reduces certain curses. Its wide range makes it suitable for Martial Artists and Gunners.

The Essence of Nightmares allows witchcraft attacks to carry curses, causing debuffs like weakness and soul force depletion. This is a witchcraft auxiliary method primarily used by Wizards.

The Tide of Mermaids: a healing rune that enhances the effects of healing spells and even strengthens potions. It is a specialized rune for Exorcists and Potion Masters.

There are also two other representative runes of the Second Order.

Primal Blood Sacrifice: it overdraws potential life force to enhance the recipient's attack, defense, speed, and soul force comprehensively. Although it has side effects, it is applicable to all professions.

Soul Pool: it maintains a soul force storage pool for daily use, enhancing Soul Dominating combat skills. It is also applicable to all professions. Worth noting is that this rune can be applied to objects, such as low-level soul artifacts, wizards' staves, martial artists' greatswords, and guns, making it one of the most representative and widely used runes of the Second Order.

"The biggest feature of the Second Order rune application is its broad usage and high practicality, making it the most mature and mainstream sequence of runes studied today."

"The patterns are more intricate and complex compared to the individual structures of First Order runes. The Second Order runes are more about multiple combinations, whose complexity is almost on par with higher-order runes."

To put it simply, if the complexity of First Order runes is akin to basic strokes, then from the Second Order onwards, it becomes true writing.

Many people believe that the First Order is merely foundational, and the real runes start here.

Li Sitan casually drew a 'Soul Pool,' with its intricate patterns spanning half a meter wide. Of course, this was an enlarged version; a beginner wouldn't be able to see anything clearly if it were drawn precisely.

Mo Tong stared in disbelief.

What the hell...

He had just learned how to draw 'Liqibao's Witchcraft' and hadn't even gotten a chance to show off yet. Now he was learning something like this. What the hell is this?

Is this a rune? This looks like seaweed! Who could remember all these details!

Even Yin Fu, who was standing nearby, was staring wide-eyed. Despite her talent and memory, and despite having reviewed it last night, she still felt like she was reading a foreign language.

"Everyone, compare the original diagram in your textbook," Li Sitan said with a smile. "Who can spot any differences in this Soul Pool?"

Yin Fu looked several times and seemed to notice something, but hesitated before raising her hand, unsure of her judgment.

Mo Tong was completely lost. To him, both patterns looked similar, just a mess.

But this didn't stop Mo Tong's strong desire to show off, especially when he saw Li Sitan looking at Wang Feng.

Mo Tong suddenly raised his hand. "Senior Brother Li Sitan, I observed it, and I think this Soul Pool is correct! Although there are some minor differences in the strokes, it doesn't affect the overall effect!"

Li Sitan couldn't possibly make a mistake, right? But since he asked, there must be a trick.

This was a foolproof answer. As the saying goes, when knowledge fails, emotional intelligence takes over. Hmph, Wang Feng isn't the only one who knows this!

Li Sitan smiled without confirming or denying, looking at Wang Feng, who had his eyes half-closed. "Junior Brother Wang Feng, what do you think?"

"Senior Brother..." Old Wang glanced briefly and said, exasperated, "The left half is a Soul Pool, and the right half is Primal Blood Sacrifice. They're too different..."

"Very good." Li Sitan chuckled, his eyes filled with admiration. "Beginners often get confused by the complex lines of Second Order runes and struggle to distinguish details. Of course, Junior Brother is no longer a beginner, but being able to spot the difference so quickly is quite impressive."

Initially, he thought his junior brother wasn't as talented as Principal Karida, but now he had completely changed his mind. Even if Wang Feng claimed to have self-studied, his talent was beyond imagination. However, he needed to focus and stay grounded. He knew Luo Yan's temper, and his junior brother must be working hard.

Yin Fu, standing nearby, was enlightened.

Both 'Soul Pool' and 'Primal Blood Sacrifice' are universal runes, and their similar appearances can be confusing. No wonder they seemed similar earlier.

Mo Tong turned red, though not from scolding, but from feeling utterly abandoned.

Li Sitan was playing dirty, not following the usual script!

Mo Tong, still bandaged, felt the world's deep malice. Things really haven't been going well lately.

"The First Order is just the basics, like simple strokes, and the danger is relatively low, so I had you practice. But the Second Order is different. Careless drawing or use can lead to serious consequences, including rune explosions or loss of control due to soul force instability."

"Typically, Holy Sanctuary disciples reach a certain age and maturity level before starting to engrave and use Second Order runes. Even those with exceptional talent usually wait until they become heroes to seek masters for rune engraving."

"So our current lessons will focus on theory and imitation, without actual practice..."

General concepts, broad understanding, and some warnings.

At the end of the class, Li Sitan said meaningfully to Old Wang, "Junior Brother Wang Feng, while forging can carry young dreams, ultimately, you'll find that runes are truly eternal. I'm not negating your passion for forging, but runes are the true path."

Yin Fu apologized, "Senior Brother Li Sitan, Senior Brother Wang Feng has actually started researching Third Order runes. It's just that Mo Tong and I have been holding back the class progress..."

Li Sitan was surprised and delighted, looking at Old Wang with glowing eyes. "Junior Brother, is this true? How is this possible?"

Honestly, Old Wang didn't want to show off too much to Li Sitan. Who knows what he might tell Karida, leading to unreasonable tasks.

But he had indeed bragged a bit to Yin Fu a few days ago about Third Order runes to explain his absence from class. It was hard to backtrack now.

Old Wang nodded. "Actually, I haven't fully understood the Second Order yet. I've hit a bottleneck recently, so I decided to try Third Order runes to see if it would give me some inspiration. Just exploring."

"If you have any questions, come to me!"

"Senior Brother, your concern means a lot to me," Old Wang said sincerely. "Forging is a task assigned by the principal, but runes are my lifelong pursuit. Plus, I have my adorable junior sister and brother here."

Yin Fu smiled sweetly, and Li Sitan's face lit up.

A harmonious and united Rune Academy, how wonderful.

Mo Tong sniffed, huffing. "Who's your adorable junior brother? I'll have nightmares tonight!"

Just after finishing class and returning to the Foundry dormitory, he was about to take out his key to open the door when he saw, to his dismay, that the lock had already been burned through.

Damn it!

Old Wang was furious and pushed the door open angrily: "Winnie Lee, you’re destroying Holy Sanctuary property again!"

Fine, we gave you the Rune Academy’s dormitory, but now you’re causing trouble here too? Am I a magnet or something, always attracting you wherever I go?

The originally neat room was now in complete disarray. Several empty snack bags were carelessly thrown on the ground, along with various other items and fruit peels. Damn it, that Dragon Blood Fruit—I hadn’t even had the heart to eat it myself. You damn—

Winnie was enthusiastically playing with the "Alchemy Puppet" on the coffee table in the living room, a lifelike puppet that could be driven by infusing a bit of soul power, capable of performing several simple actions.

Exorcists’ puppets are made by casters and are crucial for their survival. For Foundry students, rune technology is just a means of making a living, while soul artifacts and puppets are what they truly pursue.

Seeing Old Wang come in, Winnie completely ignored his angry face and said excitedly: "Wang Feng, this thing is really fun. Can I have it?"

Giving things away isn’t a problem.

That puppet was made by Su Yue herself as a gift to Old Wang to celebrate his joining the Foundry. It was a heartfelt gift, but the small puppet’s facial features bore a slight resemblance to Old Wang, which always made him feel that this girl had ulterior motives, coveting his good looks. If Winnie likes it, she can have it, but...