An sat cross-legged on the hard wooden floor of the inn room, the book "An Introduction to Cultivation" open before him. The flickering candlelight illuminated the lines describing the first and most important step: Sensing Spiritual Energy.
"Calm your mind, let your consciousness become one with heaven and earth. Spiritual energy is everywhere, in every breath, every blade of grass. Feel it, as you feel the blood flowing in your veins..."
These flowery, philosophical words drove An crazy. To someone with a mind based on data and logic, abstract concepts like "becoming one" were meaningless. He had tried. He had sat still for hours, trying to "calm his mind," but his brain wouldn't stop working. It analyzed whether his sitting posture was correct, whether his breathing rhythm was even, whether the noise from the tavern downstairs was affecting his concentration. Every attempt was a failure. He felt nothing but numbness in his legs and a growing frustration.
"How can I analyze something I can't even perceive?" he asked himself, running a hand through his messy hair. He realized this was a completely new problem. In the forest, the enemies were tangible. He could observe, analyze, and plan. But this time, the enemy was invisibility itself, the very limit of his perception.
After pacing back and forth in the room for a while, a bold idea struck him. He had used Basic Analysis to understand the outside world. Why not try using it to understand the world within?
He sat down again, but this time, he didn't try to empty his mind. On the contrary, he focused it, sharpening it like the point of a knife. He closed his eyes and activated his skill, but the target wasn't the book or the wall. The target was himself.
A familiar stream of information appeared in his mind: his stats for strength, agility, and stamina. But he didn't stop there. He pushed deeper, trying to analyze the micro-structure, the flow of energy, the core essence that sustained this body's life. A dull headache began. His mental energy was being consumed at a dizzying rate. This skill clearly wasn't designed for such deep self-analysis. But he gritted his teeth and endured. He knew he was very close to a breakthrough.
And then, he "saw" it.
It wasn't an image, nor was it a sound. It was a completely new layer of perception, like a three-dimensional heat map of his own body. He saw faint energy flows, as weak as wisps of smoke, moving slowly through his organs and meridians. They converged at a point in his lower abdomen, forming a tiny, almost imperceptible vortex.
This... this is Spiritual Energy!
At the same time, his perception expanded outward. He could feel the Spiritual Energy in the air of the room. It was much denser and purer than the weak flow inside him. The room wasn't empty at all; it was filled with an invisible ocean of energy.
The book was right. Spiritual energy was everywhere.
The instructions in the book suddenly became clear. "Guiding spiritual energy" wasn't about forcefully pulling it in, but about creating a path, an attraction, to let it flow in on its own. Like creating a low-pressure zone for air to rush in and fill.
With intense focus, An tried to control the smallest wisp of spiritual energy inside him, moving it along a path drawn in the book – a basic meridian route. It was incredibly difficult, like trying to move a speck of dust with his thoughts. After many failures, he finally succeeded. The tiny wisp of his spiritual energy moved, creating a small vacuum. Immediately, a stream of spiritual energy from the outside, pure and cool, was drawn into his body, following that exact path and merging into the vortex in his lower abdomen.
A warm, pleasant sensation spread from that spot throughout his body. Although it was a very small amount, he could feel the change. His body seemed to become a little more vibrant.
Just then, a new notification from the System appeared, crisp and error-free.
[Spiritual Energy flow detected. Basic conditions met.]
[Cultivation Tab Unlocked]
A new tab appeared on his status screen. An opened it with a sense of excitement.
Inside was a simple diagram of his body, with faint glowing lines representing the meridians. At the bottom corner, a line of text appeared:
[Spiritual Power: 1/100]
An let out a long breath, feeling a sense of immense relief and excitement. He had done it. He had taken the first step on the true path of cultivation. The System wasn't just a flawed translation. It was an intelligent, adaptable tool. It would unlock functions corresponding to his understanding of the world. To upgrade the System, he had to upgrade himself.
He looked at his hand, then clenched it into a fist. True strength didn't come from blindly leveling up. It came from understanding. And he, as an analyst, had an advantage that no one else had. He would analyze this world, analyze the path of cultivation, and turn it into his own power.