Chapter 88: Tale of the Blue Moon


    Much to Evelyn''s surprise, Aurora was actually quite familiar with the Courtyard of Spirits.


    But when she thought about it, it made some sense for the headmistress to have told Aurora about such things. And even if she hadn''t, Aurora might have been able to figure things out through other means, considering how long it had been since the headmistress passed away.


    If Evelyn''s thoughts were right, it should have been at least thousands of years since then. Once Aurora had grown strong enough, it really wouldn''t surprise her if she managed to explore and find some things that even the headmistress might not have known in her life.


    Of course, Evelyn had no way of knowing if the current Aurora was stronger than the headmistress of the past.


    Going by the normal train of thought in this world, the headmistress would naturally be stronger. After all, it was well-known that the overall level of top tier power in the academy had declined sharply whenpared to what they had thousands of years ago.


    And no doubt, the existence of the ''Lord of Bones'' should have yed some part in that, as well.


    But Evelyn felt in her heart that Aurora definitely had to be stronger than that woman who created the ''Searing Soul''.


    Evelyn listened readily as Aurora continued dictating about the ''Courtyard of Spirits'', not even caring that her friends were listening in by the side, shocked to discover more and more about this mysterious piece ofnd that only the top powerhouses had the right to explore. All they had known before was just the name of ''Spirit Lands''.


    Although she was now Aurora''s ''student'', Evelyn didn''t know how readily this mysteriousdy would give her information in the future.


    Of course, her attitude was quite good so far, but when she thought about what had actually ended up binding them together, Evelyn couldn''t be certain about their future.


    Regardless of what excuses were given, the treatment that the headmistress had for Aurora was far from good.


    Right from her birth, all that she had received were demands, expectations and scorn. Never once had the headmistress shown her care and affection.


    In Aurora''s ce, Evelyn wouldn''t feel the need to fulfill such a woman''s demands at all. And taking care of Evelyn was exactly one of those demands, which made her greatly ufortable.


    She didn''t want their ''rtionship'' to be defined by such a thing. But until she was a little closer to Aurora, she didn''t feel like she had the right to ask her such personal questions.


    Aurora was of course unaware of her thoughts, and serenely continued to talk about the courtyard of spirits. "There are of course many types of spirit beasts in the Spirit Lands, but not all of them have a representative in the Courtyard of Spirits. Only the top level spirit beasts, such as the Qilin, are able to have that honor, and that too only if they have a living member of a high enough level."


    Although the older girls kept quiet while listening to Aurora, Vivian couldn''t help curiously interrupt her while squeezing the indignant Ruru''s paws while the little fox tried to escape towards her master. "Is that fox leader you mentioned Ruru''s grandma?"


    Aurora chuckled. "You can think of it that way, but it''s a little different. Unlike humans, the spirit beasts can mate with any species and give birth to offspring. This means that their descendants have a great ''variety'', and Ruru, although definitely rted to that old fox, can''t really be considered of the ''same species'' anymore."


    Evelyn nodded, although her perspective of the difference between Ruru and the old fox was different. Not only was there variation caused by the different parents through the generations, there was also the fact that Ruru had changed greatly after whatever it was that she had gone through to be rted to herself.


    After all, her species was now ''Lotus Moon Spirit Fox'', and all her abilities were so absurdly and tightly tied to Evelyn that she was sure that it couldn''t be something specific to her race. She didn''t know if Aurora was unaware, or simply didn''t bother mentioning it to the others.


    Vivian made a fascinated ''ohhh'', and Aurora just smiled, continuing with her ''lecture''. Since the little girl was so interested in the topic of the fox, somehow she seemed to focus on it more.


    "The old fox I mentioned is actually not that old, only being around a thousand or so years older than myself."


    "Ohhh! How old is Miss Aurora?!"


    Aurora either didn''t hear her question, or pretended not to hear it. "Before her, the one who ruled the Courtyard of Spirits was still a Fox Spirit, though a far more ancient one. That one had been around for far longer than any of us remember, longer even than the academy itself."


    Evelyn didn''t know if she did it intentionally or not, but Aurora''s eyes flicked to her when she mentioned the old fox.


    Perhaps she wanted to see if the Evelyn had witnessed anything between the ancient fox and the headmistress. But although Evelyn didn''t know if it was important, she remained calm and faced her gaze steadily.


    Aurora didn''t seem to dwell on the matter too much.


    However, it became clear why she mentioned the old fox, because the tale that she dictated next sent chills down Evelyn''s spine.


    ==========


    Many, many years ago, a little girl was born. No one knew if she was born from an abandoned spirit egg naturally, or if her mother had perished or just gone missing after giving birth to her. Some even dared to specte that she had killed her mother after being born.


    The girl was born with flowing blue hair like the waves of the ocean, her eyes were of the same color, and calm and deep like ake. And her spirit power was so potent even in her childhood, that few dared approach her for fear of bing a smear on the ground with a single wrong thought.


    In those ancient times, cultivation was not as prominent or well developed as this day, and the girl was able to walk around unimpeded through the world like a god, from the moment she was born.


    It is said that whenever she used her might, the blue moon would glow faintly, as if to praise her and shower her in adoration.


    Some called her the Child of the Blue Moon.


    The bnce in power seemed to have changed with her appearance. While the other two moons remained the same, the glow from the blue moon seemed to grow stronger and stronger as the little girl grew.


    Many dreaded that there would soon be more tyrants. After all, the celestial bodies were worshipped like gods. How could the other gods be satisfied being outshone by their peer?


    But the pink moon''s light was still gentle, and the white moon remained dull and yellowed.


    However, many yearster, the little girl noticed that the dull white moon had started giving off a sickly yellow glow that repulsed her instinctually. Feeling that whoever was the cause was her natural nemesis, the decisive little girl set out to remove the threat before it matured.


    After many years of searching, she came across a pink haireddy she felt kinship with, and the two got along naturally. With time, they became close friends, and the little girl thought of her as the purest, kindest girl she had ever met, unstained by the mundane world.


    One night, as they were sleeping together, the little girl decided that she did not want her close older sister to perish just like the other mortals and leave her alone, and thus sent her spirit power into the sleepingdy''s body. What she discovered, however, was not a mortal body, but a wless physique of the moon, with a soul strength even superior to her own.


    Her feelings of betrayal were so great, that she immediately killed her without a second thought.


    It was onlyter that she realized what she had done, but it was toote. What made her despair even more, was that the white moon continued giving off its sickening yellow glow, and it was the pink moon that dulled, like amp that had lost its light. Its glow had been so dim and gentle that she never even realized it until it went out.


    Her immediate thought at that time was that thedy must have manipted her thoughts somehow how could she be wrong? If thatdy was truly as pure and kind as the little girl thought, how could the yellow moon give off such a repulsive feeling?


    But what about everything she had felt so far? The little girl couldn''t deny it for too long, and knew that she had made a grave, irredeemable mistake.