When Yasenia stepped on the tall stairs, the surroundings changed, and the energy pulsed. Her surroundings, which looked illusory due to the bead's influence, shifted very slightly.
The paradise-like location, with lakes, mountains, rivers, and forests, was something straight out of a fairy tale. Still, the place where Yasenia fought had large craters and barren locations. It was as if Yasenia and her copies had carved out a natural arena for them to fight as they exchanged moves.
Looking up, Yasenia noticed that the Moon was high up in the sky. The lack of light pollution allowed for the magnificence of the starry sky to reflect in her golden eyes. As she glanced at such a sight, she noticed the new copy appearing in front of her.
Looking over, her face couldn't help but turn serious. The copy in front of her was identical to those in the bronze level. The only difference was that around the copy, there was an extremely faint silvery glow.
As it was night, the silvery glow was visible even in its dimness. Yasenia looked at the copy and pondered deeply. "How do you feel?"
The copy raised her eyebrow. "Why would you ask? Do you want to ask if I can beat you?"
Yasenia was honest and nodded, but the copy shrugged. "I don't know. While we do have a lot of control and knowledge over ourselves, do you think I can accurately pinpoint my chances? You should just fight me and come to a conclusion yourself."
Yasenia blinked and nodded. "I guess you are right. Alright, let's fight."
Both sides raised their battle flags, entered their combat stances, and then rushed forward. The silver copy's lips suddenly arched cruelly, and Yasenia's heart thumped, danger gripping her heart.
While rushing at each other, the copy spun around, the flag waving above her. A profound energy spread from the flag, covering the entire battlefield. Then, the copy stomped the ground to accelerate further.
BOOM!
The ground trembled, cracks spreading out on the hard ground, and her speed monstrously increased. Yasenia's eyes barely had time to register the sudden acceleration before she moved to block.
BANG!
Yasenia grunted, her flag almost being ripped out of her grip from the collision. While flying back, the copy rushed toward Yasenia and appeared before her. "Fall."
The flag moved, and before Yasenia could block, it landed right on her stomach. Yasenia's body curved like a bow for a second before the brutal strength behind the attack sent her down like a speeding meteor.
BOOM!
Yasenia grunted in pain, but she quickly came back to herself. Looking at the copy piercing down as energies gathered with the flag, Yasenia was quick to react. "[Celestial Aegis]!"
The gorgeous blue shield manifested just in time, and the copy was struck down. Another shockwave spread out, Celestial Aegis almost breaking down with a single impact. The backlash almost made Yasenia cough up blood.
After blocking the attack, Yasenia jumped back up and used [Pegasus Gallop] to create distance. The copy wouldn't let Yasenia gain an advantage and quickly followed behind Yasenia.
With her advantage stolen since the first exchange, the battle quickly degenerated to Yasenia fleeing and the copy trying to finish her off.
At the sides, Tatyana squinted and asked. "Did that copy activate the battle flag?"
Sui Xing was observing attentively, so he answered confidently. "She did. But what she activated was nothing but a minuscule part of the flag's strength."
"Hm…" Tatyana frowned. "So, the flag is just another strengthening treasure?"
Sui Xing shook his head. "Far from it. What the copy activated was the energy of the flag. You know that someone at Yasenia's level is incapable of bringing out the full strength of an Ancient Ranked treasure. It is like asking a mortal to use an Earth Ranked treasure to its full potential. The mortal would just die out of exertion."
Tatyana understood without extra explanation. "So, the copy is more proficient using items than Yasenia?"
Sui Xing nodded. "At least for now, that's the case. The reason the copy waved the flag was probably a tactic."
Tatyana placed herself in Yasenia's usual line of thought and understood. "Ah. That copy is trying to deceive Yasenia. She is trying to show that Yasenia needs to make movements, when that's not the case at all."
Sui Xing nodded, but on the side, Cai Xue frowned. "Isn't your bead supposed to be a teaching method? Why is the copy trying to mislead Young Miss?"
She was not very happy about that. As Yasenia's personal maid, she was wary of everything around Yasenia, trying to keep up with even the smallest details.
Sui Xing smiled. "As I said, I am some sort of guardian, so I am unaware of what the copy wants to do. Still, know that the copies will act with one absolute purpose: to make the person stronger as fast and perfectly as possible.
While not fully convinced, she didn't really have much else to say. So, she continued watching.
As they fought more and more, Tian Long's rumbling voice reached them. "Little Princess is getting accustomed."
Looking closer, everyone could see that the initial one-sided barrage of attacks was starting to meet resistance. Yasenia's face, although marred with traces of blood, was full of vitality. Her golden-slit eyes were wide open, her pupils taking in each and every detail of her opponent.
That gaze sent everyone shivers down their spines. Tatyana's lips arched as her skin got goosebumps. "That gaze is always so sexy."
Cai Xue couldn't help but agree. Yasenia's gaze was that of an absolute predator, absorbing each movement of her prey to later devour them whole.
Even Yasenia's copy flinched when she saw Yasenia's gaze. Still, the copy smiled widely and activated the flag's strength.
An ancient but faint glow enveloped the treasure, and the copy performed a thrusting motion. The flag fluttered, energies gathering around it at a terrifying level. "[Shattering The Heavens]."
Yasenia didn't step back. Instead, as if she had been waiting for this exact instant, her leg muscles exploded with power as [Pegasus Gallop] activated.
When the copy was mid-thrust, Yasenia appeared right in front of it, her hand enveloped in ridiculously strong and compressed celestial energy. The copy reacted quickly, activating Yasenia's defensive dress skills.
BOOM!
The fist of the dragon landed on the copy's chest, disrupting the activation of [Shattering The Heavens]. The copy felt her ribs cracking before her body flew back, tumbling on the ground helplessly.
Then, Yasenia pointed up with the battle flag. Energy soared through the item and enveloped everything. "[Empyrean Galaxy Domain: Falling Sky]."
A galaxy of stars manifested, with a gargantuan Sun and Moon orbiting around it. Then, everything that appeared in the sky was plucked out of it, as if someone cut the strings holding them up there.
The silver copy looked up and smirked. "[Orion's Shield], [Star Dome]."
Right after they appeared, the giant celestial bodies collapsed, exploding violently in a Star, Sun, and Moon explosion.
Yasenia's face was now cold and indifferent, her eyes squinting at the explosion site. She was more than sure that her copy survived. Still, this would give her a few moments of rest to focus. 'The way she uses skills… There is a very small difference. I can tell that it's more proficient than I, but the gap between us is small. Our strength is still not equal, even if the Silver copy is stronger than the bronze one. So, I have an advantage.'
Having stopped the constant barrage of her copy, Yasenia was now in a position to take the initiative in the battle. While the copy pummeled her, she noticed a few minor faults in her own battle style.
'When I barrage my opponent, I leave them no option to defend. However, at that moment when the copy wanted to finish me off, she was a bit too slow. Am I like that as well? Or is it a problem of the copy?'
An aura explosion blasted all the dust away, revealing a mostly unharmed copy. Then, the copy moved ethereally, in a short yet elegant dance, and her voice echoed. "[Heavenly Constellation Steps, Fifth Sky: Aquarius Rain]."
The silhouette of a woman manifested above the copy, tilting a large jar she held and making energy rain down. This rain fell on the copy, regenerating her injuries at a shocking rate.
Yasenia blinked. "You… use more stars than I do to create Aquarius."
It was not a question, but a statement. The copy chuckled. "That's right. You are currently stuck in your skills, right? I am currently showing you how to improve their usage. So, you'd better look closely and not get beaten up too badly by me."
Yasenia raised her hand, stopping the copy for a moment. The copy blinked and paused. Yasenia looked at Tatyana and asked. "Mom, are there levels to skill mastery?"
Tatyana smiled. "Yes. Are you starting to feel your limit?"
Yasenia frowned. "Why didn't you…" The dragoness paused. "Wait, you did tell me about it. The only thing you didn't say was the name of the realms, right?"
During their training sessions, there were times when Tatyana used some basic skills to teach her. When Yasenia used the same skills, the results were always much worse. At first, she attributed that to Tatyana being a Demigoddess. Now, though, she understood that what she previously thought was nothing but one of the many facets that composed that distance.
Tatyana smiled. "Until now, you were improving through the ranks without any problems. So, there was no reason to limit you. Instinctively learning and reaching new heights of proficiency is much better, and it will not create invisible boundaries where there aren't any in the first place."
Sui Xing was baffled. "Are you saying that her current skills, which she uses at the [Initial Achievement] proficiency, reached that level naturally?"
Tatyana shrugged. "That's how it is."
Sui Xing didn't know what to say. 'Monster indeed.'
Tatyana glanced at Yasenia and smiled. "Your level in your skills, or the proficiency, is at the peak level of the Initial Achievement proficiency. You can still improve them a bit, but I see that you can't reach the [Big Improvement] level on your own. At least not as quickly as usual."
Yasenia was still confused, so she asked. "What are the levels?"
Tatyana commented. "The levels in each realm are like with treasures, but all the way. Low, mid, high, and peak levels. Four small realms in each proficiency realm. Those proficiency realms are the following. Novice, Mortal Master, Mortal Perfection, Initial Achievement, Big Improvement, Profound Expert, Supreme Perfection… and well, a few more. For now, those are more than enough for you, though."
Yasenia frowned. "So… I am only at the fourth proficiency realm, so to speak? Isn't that too weak?"
Tatyana and the others smiled wryly. "Little Treasure, Initial Achievement is what mid-level transcendents usually achieve after a few thousand years of work. Geniuses have different standards, but just know that for someone who has been practicing for a few decades, your current level is absurd."
This time, even Tatyana wouldn't let Yasenia look down on her current level. Yasenia became thoughtful.