The castle was huge. He knew this. It was also a breathtaking sight when he looked upon it on a summer's sun morning, from a hilltop outside the city. A breathtaking view.

It took up a small chunk of the city. A twelve-point-four-kilometer long behemoth, and a half-a-kilometer high of nigh-impenetrable stone. This did not include the lands that surrounded it; the gardens, pools, and anything that might of use for preparing its next generation of students.

It was a very large academy.

So it surprised Cifer, when he noticed that the castle wasn't as it should be. A normal man, even those with extensive martial cultivating training, wouldn't have noticed the distinctive, and subtle shift in space. It was there, just at the preception of his peripheral vision, like an itch. The magic that fixated into the very bedrock of the world, sharp and as distinctive as the smell of wood smoke.

The reality of space stretched itself out just a little bit wider.

In other words, the castle was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside.

A lot bigger.

A mindboggling achievement that must have taken centuries to suffuse the inscriptions and runic magic of such sophistication into something as large as the Everlasting castle. Countless specialized sages, calculations, and decades of work to ensure that nothing goes wrong and collapses in on itself, just from interfering with the castle wards itself.

And that was just the basic first step.

He certainly assumed that such a massive undertaking hadn't interfered with the warding schemas and defenses outside the castle. Or perhaps, they didn't have to. The inner walls of the castle might be separated from the outer walls. It might be that the wall separated two rooms inside the same building, at the same time.

It was beautiful, like looking into a world within the space of his imagination. Gods, the costs to engineer something of this magnitude, within a space as large the castle must have been an undertaking of centuries.

And the cost of it all... he didn't think anyone had the kind of money to achieve something like this. This undertaking must have taken centuries of savings and massive investments to complete from start to finish.

Cifer shook his head and cleared away his thoughts.

It wasn't the time. They had an exam to complete, and he would be damned if he got distracted by something he only theorized.

The paintings and carpeted hallways ended when Cifer and Fei entered into what must be their main hall.

Another surprise awaited them. While Fei hadn't sensed the spatial distortion of the world within, she did notice what was above them. There was no roof, but a mass of shifting, endless stars within the backdrop of inky blackness, moving minutely. It was a painting, he realized.

A moving painting?

Cfier blinked.

The painting shifted. The night sky shifted into another beautiful art. Cifer recognized it, as did Fei.

Two men, armoured and armed. The painting told of their story, of their animosity, and the rage for one another. An interesting tale, one of betrayal and sacrifice, but once he heard of from his mother.

Choezom the Enlightened, with his six arms, and six holy weapons, beheld himself before his adversary in his ready stance: his brother, Ahuizotl, the man who founded the Song dynasty and ushered in a new era of war and strife.

So they claimed.

The Songs would say otherwise.

Cifer grasped his sister's arm, and shook it lightly. Fei's wide eyes flickered, glaring at him. He said, "Come on, let's go."

The great hall inhabited a few students, studying or eating their morning breakfast. Their uniforms were absent, and wore casual clothings. It was a relaxed atmosphere, and Cifer noticed a few drinking and card games amidst the few that studied from their papers or ate their morning breakfast.

These must be the students that came back to the academy early, or had never left.

"Welcome," The young girl was a tall one, with hair as red as the fires of the sun. Cifer shifted uncomfortably underneath the pair glaring golden orbs. He sensed her distaste for them. She didn't even try to conceal it. She sneered, "You must be the new students. I have heard much of you from the dean,"

He assumed she was a student of this school, possibly one of great regard and achievements. Cifer bowed low. "In our hope, the news presented us in a good light?"

The woman didn't even blink. "He did say you were polite," Then her eyes moved to his sister. "Though it is a disappointment that your sister had not learned any manners,"

Fei yawned, her mouth hidden behind her fist. "Keep yapping. You're about as important as the dung I stepped on getting here,"

The student bristled, then pivoted on her feet stomped away. Well, she didn't actually stomp away. She was far too graceful for that. "Follow me. The examiners are waiting for you."

Cifer quickly followed. He leaned toward his sister, and hissed, "Do you want to get us killed?"

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"Oh please. She's nothing we can't handle," Fei smirked. "I bet she's all show and no bite."

He sighed, then quickly followed after the girl.

Eventually, they were led up the stairs, passed classrooms and auditoriums and up another floor. It was another ten minutes before they were eventually led into a large classroom, filled with desks and chairs and a chalkboard on the front wall.

"This is where I bring your sister with me to another classroom," Fei wasn't even acknowledged before the student walked away.

Fei sniggered. "She's way too sensitive, brother," She said, before following after her charge.

Cifer rolled his eyes, and called out his farewell before he entered the room. A short and balding man sat before the table, drinking a cup of coffee and munching on snacks.

"Ah. You've arrived," The man stood from his desk, and with a smile, he held out his hand. "My name is Tang Cai. You may call me Mr. Tang,"

Resisting the urge to bow, Cifer shook his hand instead. It held a strong grip, calloused and rough. "Sir, it's a pleasure. Are you do be my language examiner?"

"Oh, yes. You may take a seat wherever you like," He indicated to the large classroom, and handed him clipped, and crisp papers, as well as a pen, and an eraser. "You have two hours to complete the exam before the time's up. No extension. Your results will be provided for you before you leave,"

Cifer took the exam papers, and picked out a table near the window. Two hours later, he was led to another classroom by the same young woman.

She didn't speak, and neither did Cifer. Inbetween the hourly breaks between the exams, it ended up costing him half the day. It had exhausted him.

It was the trial Cifer was more worried about. He had constantly circulated his Qi to strengthen his mind, and the body. Tea helped, as did the light lunch in the cafeteria. He prepared as best he could for the sage trial.

He wondered how well his sister was doing. When the trial for sage arts came, it arrived from an unexpected examiner. The student.

"I'll be your examiner for your sage trial," She crossed her arms, her eyes glaring down at him. Well, up at him. "I am the examiner Qiao Fu, and I'll be testing your capabilities to not only your ability to cultivate, but the ability to draw upon your magic,"

Cifer blinked.

"So, I shall face you in combat," Her qi lit up around her, in tiny pinpoints of light surrounding her. Fu looked part fae, surrounded by the arcane lights. "Are you ready?"

The three dantians within his spirit lit up like suns, igniting his soul and invigorating his mind.

There are many schools of thought, in both martial cultivators and sages. Limitless possibilities existed so long as the human mind could achieve it, and time. Fu, it seemed, was an arcane specialist.

"Should you concede defeat, it will not go against you. This exam is to test your capabilities not only in times of war, but your ability to push through stress and creativity. Everlasting does not accept fools and unimaginative layabouts. Oh, also, I will not let anything come to harm you," Fu smiled evilly, her hands outstretched. "Let's begin!"

The world exploded in motion: a blue rain. Like arrows, the arcane magic targeted him with frightening speed.

Cifer breathed out.

He felt his heart speed up. The world slowed down. His fingers twitched, and walls of earth formed from the arena floor. The arcane bolts struck the earthen barrier and exploded. The chunks of the wall went missing, and the smaller shrapnels would have struck him if Cifer hadn't already been moving.

Cifer manipulated a small circle of the earth beneath his foot, and formed it into a small platform. He braced himself, and he moved harmlessly out of the way.

A line of sight helped him manipulate the earth beneath the feet of Fu, his examiner. The girl looked bored, though focused on her magic.

Her eyes locked on to his.

Jagged spikes of rock and earth erupted beneath the girl, hoping to bind her legs and arms as quickly as possible.

No such luck.

A pulse of disruptive magic echoed around her like a bubble. The spikes went inert, having lost the magic that powered it. "Not so easy. You're good with earth manipulation. Have you studied other elemental spells?" Examiner Fu sneered. "Come, show me what you got!"

The points of light expanded into spikes, thicker and wider than arrows. The air cracked like thunder when they shot toward him.

Cifer didn't even have to think. Lightning flared into existence. The ability to manipulate lightning was a complex piece of art. They were nearly impossible to control, due to their static nature and their absurd speed. At least, not with this kind of control and precision. Lucky for him, Cifer had a trick up his sleeve.

His heartbeat slowed to a near-stop, and the world around him stopped moving. Cifer's body stopped catching up with his brain.

The spikes of arcane bolts slowed, only a few feet away from striking true and impaling him to the wall behind him. A death sentence. Was she trying to kill him? Unlikely. There might be a fail-safe or some countermeasures that would prevent him from killing him.

A worry for later, and Cifer threw away his troubling thoughts.

He could feel the blue-white tendrils of pure light forming into thick branches of lightning. It was beautiful, to watch the nature's power in such vivid details.

He knew his body would not react to such extreme speeds, but his ability to manipulate magic was in the will of his mind. Directing every branch of lighting toward every spike that came his way.

Cifer resumed his previous speed.

The world exploded in the sound of cracking thunder. He could feel every strand of hair on his body stiffened. The arcane bolts, every one of them were deflected or outright destroyed. The wall behind him was impaled by some of Fu's spell instead.

"Enough!" Fu stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "That was lightning,"

Cifer wished to respond with a sarcastic wit, but he knew that would be a bad sign.

"That was... impressive," Fu dismissed the rest of her bolts with a flick of her hand. "I have never seen anyone manipulate lightning with such precision, before. And to block my spell so precisely... if I were to face a martial cultivator, they might be able to deflect most of my attacks, and leap away before engaging again. Even a sage would have formed a protective barrier to outright escape it, before retaliating with a spell of his or her own,"

Cifer smiled, but disinclined to talk. There wasn't a question. 

Fu's frowned deepened. "The dean was correct to enroll you into our academy. You are gifted. Your cultivating ability is passable, and your ability to manipulate both qi and magic are the exact types of students this academy accepts," Fu sighed. "In that light, welcome to the Everlasting Academy."

"Thank you," Cifer bowed low. "May I ask how my sister has done?"

She looked annoyed, but reluctantly answered. "She did well in all her exams. Her combat trial with my fellow colleague was... exemplary,"

Cifer raised his brow. There was something she wasn't saying. "Meaning?"

Fu grimaced. "She beat the fourth year classmate of mine by a fraction of a margin. A close call for both combatants. She's a prodigy, and far more gifted then most martial students."

Cifer grinned, showing teeth.