Free Web NovelChapter 35: Chapter 33: Illusion Thunderbolt Eagle
Back in the Royal Library, Mo Ning had learned from the ancient texts that there were numerous schools of Meditation Techniques.
The three most mainstream and influential of these were the Starry Sky Faction, the Wave Faction, and the Imitation School.
The Starry Sky Faction involved visualizing different Star Maps in one’s Spiritual World during Meditation.
It was said that each Star Map corresponded to a specific spiritual frequency, resonating with the powers in the depths of the starry sky.
The Wave Faction, on the other hand, was about visualizing different kinds of waves.
Some visualized endless ocean waves, while others imagined monstrous tsunamis, washing over a mentally constructed "dam" again and again.
The Imitation School was even more bizarre and varied.
Cultivators would imagine themselves as an object from the real world, enduring all sorts of "hardships" in their imagination.
Mo Ning had read many short stories about the Imitation School.
Some imagined themselves as a rock, others as a stream.
There was even one who imagined himself as a black-feathered chicken, because he had scraped by a living on a chicken farm in his youth.
One story in particular gave Mo Ning a great deal of encouragement.
A young Wizard named Wayne transformed himself into a great tree in his Spiritual World.
Every day, it endured violent storms but stood tall. After the rain passed and the sky cleared, sunlight would pour down and rainwater would nourish it, allowing the great tree to grow ever stronger.
Day after day, year after year, the tree grew taller and thicker, eventually becoming a super-giant tree three thousand meters high.
And that Wizard, no longer a boy, had become a Third Level Wizard so powerful it was terrifying.
He earned an interesting title—the "Giant Tree Wizard."
According to the book, this esteemed individual later became the head dean of the Celestial Lake Wizard Academy.
Mo Ning had specifically looked up the location of the Celestial Lake Wizard Academy and found it was right next door to the Black Tower Academy.
Although it was just "next door," the distance between them was over fifty thousand kilometers.
Influenced by this story, Mo Ning had originally decided to follow the path of the Imitation School.
This was because he had mastered the High Mountain Breathing Technique, a Secret Technique that required him to imagine himself as a majestic mountain when he used it.
To better grasp the essence of a mountain and master the Breathing Technique, he had even climbed Battle Helmet Mountain outside the Royal Capital Sacred Spear City multiple times, standing on its peak for half a day on each occasion.
This practice itself shared a striking similarity with the methods of the Imitation School.
Besides these, the Basic Meditation Technique also had many lesser-known schools.
One of these very niche schools was called the Divine Statue Technique.
The "divine statue" in the name didn’t refer to the statues of gods worshiped by believers in a church.
The core of the Divine Statue Technique was to use a Spiritual Item or a Witchcraft Item as an auxiliary tool for practicing the Basic Meditation Technique.
Specifically, it involved creating a projection of the item in one’s Spiritual World, gradually fusing it with the standard Meditation Mark, and ultimately forming what was called a "spiritual image."
Or "divine statue" for short.
According to the book’s records, using the special connection between this spiritual image and the physical object during Meditation could significantly increase the rate at which one’s Spiritual Strength improved, far exceeding the average.
When he first read about this method in the book, he had genuinely thought that these Wizards had some wild imaginations.
At this very moment, as Mo Ning stared at the still-vibrating Magic Sonic Fork in the center of the Lecture Hall, he suddenly had an epiphany.
It was like a bolt of lightning cutting through a thick fog, illuminating a corner that had long been overlooked.
A memory, long buried, resurfaced.
It was his last day at the Royal Library, which was also the day before he left the Holy Spear Kingdom.
Mo Ning had made a special trip to the office of the librarian, Sir Rent, to formally bid the kind old man farewell.
The first thing he saw upon pushing open the door and stepping into the office was a statue sitting on the knight’s desk.
It was a Phantom Carved Statue.
The Phantom Carving is a magical species of Spiritual Creature.
They can fly to an altitude of twenty thousand meters, and their top speed can reach an astonishing eight hundred kilometers per hour.
The feather structure on their bodies is highly unusual, capable of refracting light. This makes them appear blurry, and when they fly, they look like a phantom streaking by like lightning.
This is the origin of the name "Phantom Carving."
A very small number of Phantom Carvings can even master the power of thunderbolts.
By flapping their wings or swiping their sharp talons, they can cast powerful Thunder Magic.
This type of Phantom Carving is called a Thunder Phantom Eagle.
It is said that even Second Level Wizards have difficulty capturing them.
For some unknown reason, the instant Mo Ning’s gaze fell upon the statue, he felt an indescribable tremor.
The tremor came without warning, yet it was exceptionally intense—as if an invisible string had been suddenly plucked deep within his soul.
The most wondrous part was that it seemed to reach the very depths of his soul, allowing him to faintly sense a strange presence.
This presence was distant and vast, like gazing up at a starry sky through a thick curtain of water.
The tremor lasted only for a moment before vanishing.
He once thought it was some kind of transformation occurring within his spirit—though a later check revealed that the change he had hoped for had not happened.
After that, he had put the matter out of his mind.
But in this moment, Mo Ning instantly understood everything.
Without a doubt, this statue was the "wisp of Spiritual Light that belongs to you" that the Tree Spirit Wizard had spoken of.
And the "strange presence" he had sensed back then was very likely the boundless Ocean of Magical Power.
To be more specific, the Phantom Carved Statue was like a smaller version of the sonic fork.
With its help, he had accidentally touched the edge of the Ocean of Magical Power and sensed its vast, limitless existence.
It had only been for a brief moment, as fleeting as a night-blooming cereus.
But that tremor, that resonance, that feeling of something being stirred in the depths of his soul—it was real.
As this thought crossed Mo Ning’s mind, a new idea surfaced. ’Looks like I’ll have to write a letter to Sir Rent.’
The statue should still be in the knight’s office, and he had to get his hands on it.
It seemed now that the most suitable school for him was, without a doubt, the Divine Statue Technique.
As long as he could establish a projection of the statue in his Spiritual World and merge it with the standard Meditation Mark, he could likely touch the Ocean of Magical Power with ease.
He was absolutely certain that the efficiency of this Meditation Technique would far surpass the Imitation School path he had originally planned to take.
Mo Ning thought of something else, which gave him a bit of a headache.
Although the Academy didn’t forbid new students from contacting the outside world, it wouldn’t send Apprentices or even Wizards to run errands and deliver letters for them either.
Therefore, if he wanted to write to Sir Rent, he could only send the letter via the messenger from the Kingdom stationed at Lakefront Manor.
The journey from the Royal Capital Sacred Spear City to Lakefront Manor was extremely long; a round trip would take about two months.
Mo Ning sighed inwardly. ’I’ll just have to wait.’
Then he suddenly thought of a solution.
Back then, the Eye of Truth had completely recorded that tremor. He could use Secret Divination and Divination to try and construct a projection of the statue in his Spiritual World.
The Divination Domain was his strong suit, so this wouldn’t be difficult. It would be enough to simulate a partial Effect.
Of course, compared to the real statue, the Effect would likely be weaker.
But he could make do with it for a while. It wouldn’t be too late to improve it once the statue arrived.
*****
The three-hour lecture was finally coming to an end.
"...And that is the entirety of my understanding of the Spirit Ring, the spirit, the soul, and the Basic Meditation Technique."
As the Tree Spirit Wizard’s voice faded, all the new students understood—the tide of knowledge was about to recede.
Lv Mei’s gaze swept across the young faces as it gave a brief summary.
"Every person possesses a unique soul.
"When each soul merges with the standard Meditation Mark, the mark will undergo its own unique transformation.
"And the Basic Meditation Technique is the product of that fusion between the mark and the soul.
"Just as you cannot find two identical leaves in the world, in the Wizard World, you will not find two identical Basic Meditation Techniques."
The Tree Spirit Wizard paused, then raised its voice slightly. "I sincerely hope that you will be able to use the knowledge I have explained in this class to continuously increase the fusion between your souls and the standard Meditation Mark, and to constantly improve your Basic Meditation Techniques."
As it spoke, a quiet change began to unfold within the Lecture Hall.
In the braziers atop the surrounding stone pillars, the green flames that had burned for three full hours reverted to their crimson color at a visible rate.
And the various flowers and plants that had been conjured by Witchcraft now began a strange process of vanishing.
The blooming flowers closed up, shrinking back into unopened buds.
The buds continued to shrink, regressing into tiny sprouts, and finally dissolving into specks of green light that dissipated into the air.
For a moment, the Lecture Hall transformed into an ocean of green light.
Countless tiny points of light drifted, spun, and danced in the air, like a shower of rain flowing backward in time.
The scene was so dreamlike and beautiful that it left people dazed, unable to tell where they were.
"Alright, that will be all for today!"
With that final sentence, the Tree Spirit Wizard concluded the new students’ first class at the Academy.
It gave a slight nod, a faint glimmer flashing in its wooden pupils. "I hope that by the time we meet again, you will have changed into the gray robes of an Apprentice."
All the new students simultaneously performed the Apprentice’s salute—raising their right hand, fingers together, palm facing inward, and gently pressing it over their heart on the left side of their chest.
