Chapter 475: Weak Spellcasting State, Meditation Time

The next day, Xia Duo woke from his deep sleep, feeling his consciousness clearer than ever before. At this moment, he was suddenly moved to act; instead of getting out of bed, he began to attempt Meditation.

Every previous time he had meditated, it was right before going to sleep. He had truly never tried it when his mental state was at its best. Perhaps due to habitual thinking, he had always linked Meditation and sleep together.

But in fact, the Meditation Method obtained from the Arcane Empire was essentially a way to train one's focus. It was certainly most effective when done at a time when one's mental state was good!

Deeply feeling that he had wasted so much time in the past, Xia Duo could not help but feel a bit annoyed. Fortunately, realizing it in time was not too late, but this meant his Meditation time would have to be adjusted, changing from right before sleep to right after waking.

This attempt felt completely different from the past; there was no longer that feeling of being willing but unable. While maintaining extreme relaxation, Xia Duo also felt the Magic Net lingering around him, faint and elusive.

At this time, he did not need to deliberately do anything at all; he only needed to let his subconscious act. Xia Duo had previously had guesses about this state, though of course, he understood it from a different perspective.

He called this state "Weak Spellcasting State," used to regulate and order the Spellcaster's subconscious to achieve the effect of improving focus. At the same time, it also possessed an effect that other focus training methods found difficult to reach: raising the lower limit of one's level of focus.

This greatly reduced the probability of spells going out of control due to human factors.

The Meditation Method did not distinguish between stages; it was consistent throughout and could be called the best "AFK" method. However, Xia Duo speculated that this was not the end point. The ultimate achievement of Meditation should not only be allowing the Spellcaster to perceive the Soul, but should also allow one to integrate the subconscious and conscious mind.

However, this was not reflected at all in the *Empire Meditation Third Edition*; it was just Xia Duo's own speculation. At the same time, he would also develop in this direction, though for now, it was merely a prospect.

The first Meditation session ended quickly. Xia Duo felt somewhat exhausted, and his body felt sluggish. It seemed this Meditation Method was indeed not meant for resting; it was already distinctly different from Elf Meditation or the yoga meditation on Earth.

After resting for a moment, Xia Duo tried again. Having had one successful experience, he succeeded again this time. However, when Xia Duo felt joyful and his consciousness was disturbed, he instantly dropped out of the Meditation state.

Following that, Xia Duo tried continuously from morning until night, until he felt as if he were carrying a great mountain on his mind; only then did he stop. This was approaching his Spellcasting limit.

The Meditation Method was indeed, as he had previously guessed, a "Weak Spellcasting State."

But no matter how weak the Spellcasting state was, if it continued indefinitely, it would eventually reach a limit.

Yet, the focus training methods here in Netheril were not Spellcasting states. Although they also had a negative impact on one's mental state, one could recover quickly after a short rest.

They did not affect the Spellcaster's actual Spellcasting ability.

However, the mental fatigue caused by Spellcasting, including weak Spellcasting, required Deep Sleep to recover.

Now, two choices lay before Xia Duo: one was to completely give up his usual Spellcasting and also give up a portion of his time to turn to Meditation Training, in order to perceive the Soul as quickly as possible and reach the requirements for advancement.

The other was to reduce Meditation Training, which would, to a certain extent, delay the time for advancement.

But regardless of which choice he made, his advancement date would be earlier than before he obtained the Meditation Method. Previously, it would have taken over a year, but now—

If he chose the first option, he could potentially reach the threshold for advancement within one or two months.

If he chose the second option, it would take no more than half a year at most.

"How should I choose?"

If Xia Duo's goal was merely to advance to Arcanist, or if advancing here meant becoming a god directly, then choosing the first option would be no problem. Even if he had to lie in bed for one or two months, he could endure it.

But Arcanist was only a starting point. Xia Duo could not waste one or two months for this. If he were in a Projection Plane, it wouldn't matter, but time in the Main Plane was relatively more precious.

Additionally, the effect of Meditation was positively correlated with one's mental state; the better the mental state, the better the Meditation effect. If one were meditating all day long, then considering the diminishing marginal returns, it was actually very inefficient.

Considering the long term, it did not serve Xia Duo's interests.

At the same time, he was also asking himself: did he really have a need to advance to Arcanist in a short time?

The answer was no. Advancing to Arcanist did not necessarily mean his combat power would be stronger than it was now. Only his status would truly increase, but not to the extent of changing the current situation.

Wasn't Aiboke an Arcanist? He hadn't seen anything different about him after he advanced.

As for that Secret Flame Ritual of rejuvenation, Xia Duo now knew that it was something only believers of the Goddess could enjoy. Moreover, the Goddess's cleric who came back then was from Yi Ao Le Mu Ling; there might have been secret transactions involved, or perhaps it was the legacy of the Great Arcanist Saville.

After thinking it over slightly, Xia Duo decisively gave up on rapid advancement. After all, besides satisfying some vanity, there was no real benefit to it.

However, exactly how many hours of Meditation per day was most efficient was something he still needed to figure out as soon as possible!

After eating a little something, Xia Duo continued to sleep. By the time he woke up again, it was a new day.

If he really spent one or two months meditating from morning to night, then sleeping, then meditating again after waking, he would simply be a Meditation machine. Just psychologically, Xia Duo found it hard to accept.

In the following few days, Xia Duo continuously tried meditating, and it wasn't until the fifth day that he roughly figured out the optimal Meditation time: about 5 hours.

Calculating from the time he woke up each day, the first five hours were the most efficient. Although it was still effective afterward, the diminishing returns were very severe. Unless he was truly desperate for advancement, it was best not to meditate all day long.

Time utilization and the value created per unit of time were things any Spellcaster valued highly.

The issue of the Meditation Method was temporarily put to rest. According to Xia Duo's plan, one task was to finish his advanced courses, and the other was to research new communication spells.

The fourteen advanced courses should have been finished in the Projection Plane, but he had returned early due to an accident. However, by now, only some finishing touches remained.

Once he perceived the Soul, there were still some techniques in *Soul Studies* that needed practice, and after that, he could advance. There were no problems regarding time.

As for the new communication spells, with the communication spells of the Arcane Empire as a reference, this aspect was not difficult either.

"It's time to return to Linshui Village!"

Calculating the time, from the perspective of the Main Plane, he had only been away from Linshui Village for ten-plus days, but if one counted the time in the Projection Plane, it had been over a year.

Although the Tower of Time was more useful to him, emotionally, the Daxia Territory, which he had built from nothing, gave Xia Duo a greater sense of belonging.

Additionally, the Daxia Territory could be considered his foundation in Netheril; the identity of "Pioneer" was more reliable than "Niya's husband."

This was at least directly connecting with a Great Arcanist, rather than being there because of nepotism.

As it stood, the Territory still needed to be managed. Giving up the Territory would be equivalent to giving up the various direct or indirect benefits from the Princess's side.

For example, the *Nether Scroll* that Xia Duo wanted to read next.