Translator: AnubisTL
The conversation between Amy and Jieming grew much more relaxed and casual.
Amy continued sharing the latest gossip from the dining hall and the struggles of the new apprentices, while Jieming listened attentively, subtly refining his mental map of the academy and its intricate web of relationships.
They chatted animatedly until the dining hall began to empty, and they realized it was getting late.
"Alright! I need to get back to my dorm and keep working on my meditation technique. I won't be able to sleep soundly until I've drawn the first pattern!" Amy stood up, stretching languidly like a cat.
"I should head back too. I'll give it another try tonight," Jieming said, rising as well.
"Great! See you tomorrow! Let's hope we both get initiated soon!" Amy waved cheerfully and headed toward the alchemy department's dormitory building.
Jieming watched her retreating figure until she disappeared from sight. The smile on his face faded, replaced by a deep, thoughtful gaze.
"Interesting," he murmured.
He recalled Amy's sly eyes and her seemingly casual "probing."
"Her coming to find me was definitely a test. She knows about my sixth-tier talent and wants to assess my potential, but more importantly, she wants to see if I've seen through the academy's games... Very clever and pragmatic."
Jieming shook his head, a hint of admiration rising in his heart.
"It seems few who enter the Logistics Department through their own merit are simpletons. Amy, I hope you'll be a good partner."
After all, he genuinely needed an additional source of intelligence, and someone like Amy was perfectly suited for the role.
Meanwhile, as Amy walked back, the smile on her face gradually faded.
She murmured to herself, "Jieming... sixth-tier talent... much smarter than he lets on. Every word carefully measured, every question hitting the mark... And he seems to have seen through the academy's tricks too. Hmm, this one... he's the type who likes to keep his cards close to his chest. But his abilities should be far superior to that showy fellow. I need to maintain a good relationship with him."
Several days had passed since the Talent Assessment at Noren Academy.
After gathering intelligence over the past few days, Jieming felt the time was right.
Most fifth-tier talented apprentices were nearing success. As a "prodigy" with sixth-tier talent, he naturally expected to achieve success sooner than them.
Tonight, he resolved to let his "efforts" bear "fruit."
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Jieming once again submerged himself into his mental sea.
With practiced ease, he began to carve the final main pattern, his mental power flowing like a brush, smoothly tracing each intricate line within the mental sea.
He felt his mental power flowing along specific pathways, converging and solidifying. The pattern's structure was extraordinarily refined, resonating with some profound cosmic law.
This time, he made no mistakes. With a steady hand, he drew the final stroke, perfectly connecting it to the starting point!
Boom!
A silent thunderclap erupted within his mental sea!
The entire mental sea space trembled violently, but this tremor was no longer the backlash of failure. Instead, it was a vibrant, transformative force!
The newly completed truth rune instantly blazed with blinding light, radiating outward as if carving out an entirely new region within his mental sea.
Jieming could clearly sense that the pattern was deeply connected to his soul and mental power, becoming an... anchor point within his mental sea!
As the entire pattern fully stabilized, a sudden realization flooded his mind—he "saw" the deeper structure of the pattern.
He understood that the final pattern was conceptually distinct from the other four.
The complete truth rune consisted of four peripheral patterns and a fifth pattern at its very center, together forming an abstract triangular pyramid shape.
The truth rune associated with the Basic Meditation Technique actually comprised only the four outer patterns, which primarily structured most of its effects.
As for the fifth pattern at the center, Jieming felt an inexplicable familiarity—those lines, that structure... He cross-referenced it with the descriptions of basic alchemy runes in the Basic Alchemy Manual and instantly understood.
The fifth pattern was, in fact, one of the most fundamental core runes of alchemy!
It represented the concept of "transformation" and served as the key to unlocking interaction with domain-specific energies within the first truth rune!
Realizing this, Jieming immediately pulled out his Basic Alchemy Manual and compared it with the Basic Meditation Technique.
Sure enough, the core patterns of the second and third truth runes in the Basic Meditation Technique were identical to the "Fusion" and "Refinement" runes used in alchemy.
No wonder Mentor Clark had emphasized the importance of mastering the meditation technique quickly, and no wonder the academy had forcibly divided students into various schools of thought.
It wasn't just because learning a single school of thought required immense effort, but also because the fundamental differences were already embedded in the initial meditation techniques.
As the first truth rune stabilized within his mental sea, Jieming faintly sensed a new connection—a subtle link to the external environment that he had never perceived before.
Following the instructions in the later sections of the meditation technique, Jieming focused his consciousness on the newly formed rune, attempting to "draw" that faint connection using his mental power.
In the next moment, weak but remarkably active energy particles were indeed drawn to the rune, slowly gathering from the surrounding environment and flowing into his mental sea!
These energy particles were what wizards called "elemental power"—active, diverse, and imbued with distinct properties.
As elemental power surged into his mental sea, it was immediately drawn to the truth rune, slowly merging with his mental power to nourish and strengthen his mental sea.
Vast quantities of elemental power gathered around the truth rune, forming a flame-like shape of pure energy.
"So this is what it means to ignite the spiritual fire. No wonder..."
He could feel his mental power becoming more active and resilient, evolving in a way distinct from the spirit refinement methods of immortal cultivation.
Sensing the elemental power slowly flowing into his body, Jieming suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
He pushed the Inner Circulation Method to its limit, sealing his internal state to prevent external detection.
Cautiously activating the technique, he utilized the mutual interaction of Essence, Qi, and Spirit—the three treasures of refining essence into qi—to guide a portion of the incoming elemental power into his body's true essence system, which was structured by the Inner Circulation Method.
The refining essence into qi process of immortal cultivation and the Inner Circulation Method both fundamentally involve converting the body's Essence, Qi, and Spirit into each other, establishing a self-sustaining cycle within the body.
Therefore, when elemental power from the outside world entered his inner circulation system, his true essence system could "digest" and "transform" it.
Jieming could clearly sense a subtle increase in his true essence, even without refining his blood and qi!
The originally chaotic elemental energy, filtered and refined by his inner circulation system, was gradually being converted into pure true essence!
Although the conversion efficiency seemed low, far slower than directly absorbing spiritual energy, it was undeniably successful.
Jieming's elation was almost uncontrollable!
This meant he had finally found the "fuel" needed to cultivate immortal cultivation techniques in this spirit-void world!
The wizard system's meditation technique had unexpectedly opened a door for him to absorb external energy.
More importantly, this discovery completely solved another problem: he no longer needed to rack his brains to conceal the speed of his meditation practice.
By adjusting the ratio of elements converted into true essence, he could slow down his meditation progress to match the persona of a "sixth-tier talented apprentice."
(End of the Chapter)
🔓 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦 — 13 Series (7 Ongoing) | 14+ New Chapters Daily | 6,100+ FREE