After returning home, Wang Teng conveniently solved his dinner problem near the apartment complex. Ever since he started living alone, he had completely stopped cooking for himself.
He ate at nearby stir-fry restaurants instead. Once he got tired of one place, he switched to another, rotating between them. He wasn't picky anyway.
After taking a quick shower and changing into loose home clothes, he headed up to the rooftop.
Only residents of the tenth floor could access this place.
A steel-framed canopy had been set up here, originally for drying clothes, though it also served as a decent viewing platform.
From here, he could see the distant mountains and forest. For someone living in the city, being able to enjoy such a sight was already quite rare.
He walked over to a meditation cushion he had prepared in advance.
This was something he had deliberately arranged.
In open areas, it was easier to come into contact with free-floating spiritual energy, which provided a noticeable boost to spiritual power growth.
In the beginning, the range he could absorb from was extremely small—barely one or two meters around his body.
So even after a long time, the growth had been minimal.
However, after breaking through the first spiritual realm, his coverage expanded to five meters. Upon reaching the second realm, it expanded further to ten meters.
This greatly increased his absorption speed. Any stray spiritual energy appearing within this range would be automatically captured and devoured.
On the rooftop, his usual routine consisted of meditation and tempering his martial will. This helped condense his spiritual power and even allowed him to observe his own body internally.
The reason Wang Teng possessed ideas so different from ordinary people was precisely because of these two points:
A physique comparable to a Servant-level demon, and
An exceptionally deep understanding of his own body.
These gave him more than enough confidence.
Demons could directly absorb magic energy to strengthen their bodies—or even evolve—making their vitality and physiques abnormally powerful.
Humans, on the other hand, could only rely on their souls. Through Awakening Stones, they guided the awakening of Stardust, then cultivated through meditation, slowly strengthening it step by step.
These were two extremes.
And demons were overwhelmingly stronger than humans.
From his deductions, it was certain that more than one person had proposed learning from demon growth methods.
Yet to this day, no such cultivation system had appeared.
Perhaps absorbing magic energy directly was simply too dangerous. One misstep could cause magic backlash—best case severe injury, worst case death.
Without a powerful foundation, trying to control and absorb magic energy with the body alone was likely extremely difficult.
There might also be… reasons that couldn't be spoken aloud.
This was one of the conclusions he had reached so far, and the reason he had not forced himself to absorb magic energy through his body at this stage.
"Hoo…"
Wang Teng took two deep breaths, closed his eyes, and smoothly entered a state of emptiness.
Within his spiritual world, that transparent Stardust emerged.
Seven stars drifted about inside it, roaming chaotically without any order.
After observing for a moment, he picked out one that seemed slightly less active and wrapped it with his spiritual power.
"Little brat—let me give you a *proper* reward."
A strange thought surfaced deep in Wang Teng's mind. His understanding of stars was, in his own opinion, quite thorough.
Mo Fan could strengthen stars using essences. From that, one could infer that stars were, to a certain extent, attribute-bearing spiritual particles.
Stardust stored magic energy. Stars served as guides. Connecting stars into a Star Track gave birth to magic.
So in his view, controlling a star meant imprinting it thoroughly with one's own mark.
Using cultivation terminology—it meant completely refining it.
Wang Teng wrapped the star with his spiritual power and forcefully poured energy into it.
Under this rough treatment, the star trembled, desperately trying to escape—but it couldn't.
Within the spiritual world, Wang Teng watched as the continuously pressured star suddenly flared with light, its brightness surpassing the other six.
His heart surged with excitement.
So his idea *was* correct!
The reason everyone struggled so much in the early stages, progressing so slowly, came down to two factors:
First, they couldn't quickly enter a meditative state.
Second, their spiritual power was severely lacking.
They didn't usually focus on refining their spiritual power, allowing it to remain scattered. Classes and entertainment consumed even more of it.
Teachers also told them to cultivate after dinner—when they were already drowsy. Naturally, they couldn't last long.
The purpose of Stardust magic tools was simply to provide extra spiritual power—essentially like taking a stimulant to forcibly extend duration.
Even then, there was a limit.
If one tried to push beyond it, the result would be complete collapse—spiritual exhaustion, soul weakening, or even fragmentation.
At that point, one would directly explode their residual soul and *reward someone else*.
After two full hours of ruthless "rewarding," the star finally felt different to him.
That sense of spiritual resonance—of mutual understanding—appeared.
It had completely become *his* shape.
"No wonder Mo Fan always treats stars like his own children. That's all there is to it."
"Having strong spiritual power really makes a difference. Even though I don't have his heaven-defying dual-element awakening per tier, my spiritual devouring isn't bad either."
Under his will, the fully saturated star now remained perfectly still.
Like a brilliant star, it shone conspicuously within the Stardust.
"Next one."
The speed at which he refined stars was terrifying.
If anyone found out—especially the Black Vatican—they would probably haul a train overnight just to kidnap him.
So secrecy and keeping a low profile were absolutely necessary.
Once he had the strength to fight back, even exposure wouldn't be so frightening.
After all, this world was full of people doing insane things.
…
Another two hours passed. Night fell, and a faint chill crept in.
"Hoo… two stars in one night. Not bad."
A sharp glint shone in Wang Teng's eyes. There was a hint of fatigue on his face, but with second-realm spiritual power, he still hadn't been fully drained.
Still, this was the time to stop and rest—or switch cultivation directions.
Especially since he also needed to meditate to increase his magic energy capacity.
In the early stages, without resources, the only option was continuous meditation—absorbing magic energy and increasing the Stardust's internal capacity.
Even if the process was slow, it had to be done.
He at least understood the logic of small accumulations forming great results.
If only he had money…
He could directly cultivate with Stardust Crystals—or even Stellar Veins. The speed of magic energy accumulation would be absurdly fast.
As for purer Magic Crystals…
Unfortunately, for now, all he could do was resent his lack of financial power.
After calming his excitement, Wang Teng relaxed his body and entered meditation once more, focusing his mind on the Stardust.
Once detected, external free-floating magic energy was slowly guided inside—like a drop of water falling into a bowl.
At the Basic Tier, the Stardust's magic energy was pitifully scarce.
Casting even a single Basic Tier Level One spell could almost drain it completely.
But precisely because of this, early-stage meditation made growth feel rapid.
Later on, when the capacity became like a water tank—or even a pond—accumulating drop by drop…
Who knew how long it would take to fill?
Near midnight, Wang Teng finally ended his day of cultivation.