Free Web NovelThe door closed, and silence immediately filled the room.
Lambert stood by the bed, still looking a little uneasy, and said, “My Lord, how are you feeling? Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”
He had never seen Louis in such a state. Getting hit in the center of the brow, falling straight down, and his life hanging in the balance—to him, this was the most terrifying scene he had ever witnessed, and he felt endless self-reproach.
Louis raised his hand and rubbed his temples, feeling that everything in his body was normal.
But deep in his mind, there was an additional heart-shaped mark.
“I guess I’m fine,” he said in a low voice. “Can you tell me roughly what happened?”
Lambert immediately reported everything he knew in detail:
“We were traveling north with you when the scouts ahead found an old man lying in the snow. There was a strange crack on his chest.
Then the old man was consumed by the crack on his chest, directly disintegrating and disappearing, leaving only a robe.
You were unconscious at the time, so we immediately brought you back to check your body; your Battle Qi was also normal. I suspect you might have been cursed.”
Lambert concisely recounted what he had seen and known, his expression full of worry.
Louis just listened, nodding slightly: “The first half—it’s pretty much what I remember.”
But it raised even more questions in his mind.
If that mage was truly the legendary Grand Mage Jürgen Loken, then why could he live so long?
Why did he appear in the snowy plains of Red Tide Territory?
And why did he die so strangely?
What was that light wave that struck his mind?
Were the scenes he saw while unconscious his memories? Or some kind of information?
Questions popped up one after another, pricking his mind like needles.
Louis frowned and reached out to rub his temples.
“Forget it, one thing at a time.” He shook his head, trying to suppress those distracting thoughts.
“Who knows about this?” He looked up at Lambert.
Lambert nodded: “When you fainted, many people saw it when we returned to the territory. But regarding the mage, only a few accompanying knights currently know.”
“Keep it secret,” Louis said calmly, yet with an unquestionable tone.
“Yes,” Lambert immediately responded. “Your subordinate will handle it.”
Louis then asked, “By the way, how long was I—unconscious?”
“Hmm—it wasn’t that long, about a day.”
“I see—” Louis murmured in a low voice, nodding thoughtfully.
The atmosphere was quiet for a moment.
Louis then said, “You’ve worked hard. Please go out first; I want to be alone.”
Lambert nodded, bowed, and withdrew.
The room became quiet again.
Louis leaned back on the edge of the bed, his eyes deep in thought.
None of the questions in his mind had lessened; instead, they weighed heavier. “I hope this—can give me some answers.” He slowly raised his hand and waved it gently in the air.
A translucent interface appeared before him, rippling like water, and text began to flash and arrange rapidly.
Today’s intelligence only had two entries.
“1: In seven days, Snowpeak County will fully enter the extreme cold period, expected to be accompanied by blizzards.”
“2: Grand Mage Jürgen Loken has passed on the ‘Heart of Origin’ and ‘Original Meditation Technique’ to Louis Calvin, and was subsequently devoured by a Void Worm and died.”
Upon seeing the first entry, Louis didn't even frown.
He had already made arrangements, and all cold protection measures were in place.
He just needed Bradley to execute the plan; he didn't need to worry anymore.
His gaze fell directly on the second entry.
This was the part he was most concerned about now.
This brief system notification, however, presented three terms completely unfamiliar to him: “Heart of Origin,” “Original Meditation Technique,” and “Void Worm.”
Among them, the “Heart of Origin” was probably the heart-shaped mark in his mind.
But what exactly was its purpose?
Was it a seed of power? A seal? Or some kind of inheritance vessel? Or a curse? He knew nothing.
“Can’t this useless system stop being a riddler?” Louis muttered in a low voice.
“Would it kill it to be clearer? If it had been clear earlier, would I have run over there to let that old man spit on me and knock me out?”
But no matter how he complained, the system remained coldly silent, offering no further explanation.
He secretly gritted his teeth, suppressing [N O V E L I G H T] the urge to continue cursing the system, and instead focused his attention on the term “Original Meditation Technique.” ƒгeewёbnovel.com
These words vaguely reminded him of a certain segment from his dream.
Among those chaotic, elusive memories, only that one scene was exceptionally clear.
On the mountaintop, a black-haired young man sat cross-legged amidst the wind and snow, surrounded by dozens of listeners, also seated cross-legged.
His tone was steady, and he was explaining a cultivation method that combined breathing rhythm with mental regulation.
“So that was the ‘Original Meditation Technique’?” Louis murmured softly.
He forced himself to calm down, recalling the young man’s words, rhythm, and movements.
Then he tried to follow them.
He never expected that he would succeed on his very first attempt.
An indescribable sense of tranquility quietly arose.
His thoughts seemed to sink into a transparent layer of water, external sounds gradually receded, and the sounds of his heartbeat, breathing, and snow falling on branches slowly faded.
At the same time, the heart-shaped mark in his mind actually emitted a faint glow.
Unlike Battle Qi’s Breath Control Technique, the Original Meditation Technique was gentler, focusing on guidance rather than tempering;
It was like “leading water into a pond,” rather than “carving a mountain to store springs.”
Although Louis had never received any education regarding magic,
He vaguely felt that this so-called meditation technique was essentially a key to activating magic inheritance.
It wasn’t like the Battle Qi Breath Control Technique, which required forcibly compressing and integrating elemental energy into the body’s blood vessels.
Battle Qi was about forging the flesh, treating flesh and blood as weapons, and bones as scabbards.
Cultivators, through special breathing rhythms, draw the 'elemental energy' from heaven and earth into their blood, which is then forged by the bloodline into a power system that permeates the entire body.
But meditation was not like that.
It was a spiritual guidance method, like using consciousness as a thread, casting it into the boundless tide of magic.
Only when the mind was focused enough, and empty enough, would the magic floating in the world's crevices quietly approach.
It was not about forcefully pulling, but about “resonance.”
Once resonance was established, magic would flow into consciousness like water,
Being guided, being shaped, ultimately becoming the foundation of spells, the true source of magic.
Louis finally understood.
Battle Qi was a power “seized” by the physical body.
Meditation Technique was a power “listened to” by consciousness.
These were two completely different paths, yet in their initial stage of “harmony between breath and intention,” they shared astonishing similarities.
Louis pondered, “Perhaps they—were originally techniques from the same source, but later diverged and took different evolutionary paths.”
So Louis made a decision.
In the future, in addition to operating the Tidal Battle Qi Technique daily, he would also set aside time to cultivate the Original Meditation Technique. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Perhaps he could truly embark on the path of “dual cultivation.”
Maybe one day, he would not only be able to charge with his sword but also wave his hand to summon lightning and fire, becoming an otherworldly Gandalf.
