Chapter 101

The first ray of sunlight in the morning pierced through the window, and Luo En was already sitting in the center of the small experimental place on the second floor of the workshop.

The air was filled with the scent of faint incense, a special formula specifically used to stabilize the spirit, mixed with calming grass, Peace-of-Mind leaves, and cinnabar powder.

This was a meditation auxiliary potion he had recently formulated himself, which could resist the mental pollution brought by "The Whisper of the Star Eater" to a certain extent.

During the time since the workshop was established, Luo En had been meditating and cultivating every day without fail.

Getting up at 4:00 AM, starting the first meditation at 5:00 AM, lasting at least an hour, and then starting other work for the day.

If he didn't have the Time Guardian pocket watch, he would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

"Deep breath, empty your thoughts..." He whispered to himself, closed his eyes, and his mental power flowed slowly.

In the space of consciousness, the complex structure interwoven by dozens of runes had become increasingly clear and stable.

Compared to the crumbling state when it was first constructed, like a toddler learning to walk, the star-track runes now could maintain a stable state for a long time, like a precision clock running.

Thousands of stars twinkled in the darkness; they were no longer simple light points, but existences containing a certain life force.

Luo En's mental power shuttled between the sea of stars under the guidance of runes, and every circulation brought deeper understanding and purer power.

【Current Progress: "The Whisper of the Star Eater" (Proficient 147/300)】

"Progress is almost halfway..." Luo En calculated silently in his heart, frowning slightly.

Time passed faster than imagined; the hard cultivation these days had made him progress rapidly, but there was still a long way to go before fully mastering the first phase.

"If I maintain this speed, I will reach the critical point of the first phase in about half a year and seek to break through to a high-level apprentice."

He estimated in his heart: "Lady Ailan said before that ordinary apprentices need at least several years to master the first phase; it seems I am indeed much faster than ordinary apprentices."

However, what the definition of "ordinary" is, it makes him quite curious; it probably shouldn't refer to those five...

Just as he was immersed in his thoughts, a certain dark area deep in his consciousness emitted a low pulse, as if something was squirming and growing there.

That was the accumulated mental pollution, settling in the mental sea like silt.

With the increase in meditation depth, mental pollution also became increasingly difficult to ignore, and even began to affect daily thinking.

Luo En felt the mental pollution accumulated over time in the mental sea; it was like a layer of black silt gradually settling in the originally clear lake water.

At first, it was almost invisible, but as time passed, the layer of silt became thicker and even began to affect the water quality itself.

【Warning: Mild mental pollution detected】

He tried to focus his attention back on meditation itself, but the sense of pressure became increasingly intense.

Even with the assistance of incense and stabilizing potions, even if he used the pocket watch to reset every week, the speed of pollution accumulation was still accelerating.

What worried him most was that the purification effect of the Time Guardian pocket watch seemed to be weakening. At first, a little energy from the pocket watch could completely clear the pollution, just like a sharp knife cutting through butter;

But now, eliminating mild pollution had risen to three points of energy, and there would always be a trace of residue, like stubborn ink stains remaining on the fabric, which could not be completely removed no matter how it was wiped.

"Must find a way to advance the pocket watch..."

Luo En frowned, still maintaining a meditative state, but his heart had already begun to feel anxious, "Otherwise, I will eventually be crushed by pollution. By then, all the efforts I have made will be wasted."

To control the accumulation of pollution, he had adjusted the time of his daily routine meditation, stopping in time every time before mental pollution reached the warning line.

At the same time, he increased the use of more auxiliary potions, which undoubtedly greatly increased the cost of cultivation.

Luo En had calculated that the monthly expenditure on meditation auxiliary potions alone reached more than twenty magic stone fragments, not including the energy consumption of the Time Guardian pocket watch.

For him, who had already become a professional Potion Master, although it was not difficult to bear, it was also not a small expenditure.

【"The Whisper of the Star Eater" (Proficient) Experience +1】

Another successful circulation was completed, and Luo En could feel that his mental power was purer, just like a filter purifying turbid water into clear, bottom-seeing sweet spring water.

But at the same time, the feeling of being watched by countless eyes deep in his consciousness became more intense, which was chilling.

"That special inspiration can indeed bring ten times the experience improvement, but mental pollution is also ten times... can't use it randomly anymore."

With the last trace of mental power retracted, Luo En slowly opened his eyes, and the meditation ended.

He took a deep breath, feeling the heaviness accumulated in his chest, which was a physiological reaction brought about by mental pollution.

Every time meditation ended, he would feel a sense of inexplicable fatigue and palpitations, and this feeling became stronger as pollution accumulated.

His fingers gently rubbed the silver pocket watch at his waist, feeling the remaining scale inside—today he didn't need to reset it temporarily, he could invest the energy scale into the recovery of other cultivation, and purify it in a few days when pollution accumulated to a certain extent.

"That bit of 'Grace' shared in class yesterday..."

Luo En recalled that wonderful feeling, a warm current surged in his heart, as if a clear stream was injected into his heart, whispering to himself, "Although it was insignificant, it did eliminate a part of the accumulated pollution, probably equivalent to the amount produced by ten days of daily meditation."

This made him more determined to share his experience in the future.

Not only can it help others, but it can also bring tangible benefits to himself; why not do it?

………………

After resting for a while, Luo En entered the spell practice session.

During this period, he focused on spell construction and mental interference skills.

Under the systematic guidance of paid courses, these two skills made significant progress.

"Focus..." Luo En gently held up a crystal ball with both hands and began to guide his mental power to construct the spell model of sonic oscillation.

The crystal ball is the best tool for ordinary spell practice, as it can intuitively show the stability and energy flow state of the spell model.

A good spell model will present a regular and stable energy flow in the crystal ball, while an immature model will show energy disorder and unstable fluctuations.

Through Eric's guidance, he had a brand-new understanding of magic circuit optimization.

It is no longer simply pouring mental power into the spell model, but guiding it through specific paths to maximize energy efficiency.

This is like dredging the originally chaotic river into orderly water channels, which not only reduces energy loss but also improves spell stability.

A rotating energy vortex gradually formed inside the crystal ball. As Luo En's mental power was injected, the vortex became more and more stable, from the violent fluctuation at the beginning to almost completely static now, with only the core flickering with a slight pulsating light.

Every successful spell construction brings a sense of achievement, as if creating order in chaos.

【Spell Construction Experience +1】

Immediately after, he tried to construct the spell model of mental interference.

This skill had received systematic training in Liya's course, and now it could accurately affect the perception of small creatures around him, making them temporarily fall into a state of confusion or fear.

Mental interference is more delicate than sonic oscillation, requiring mental power to be shaped into a special "ripple" that can interfere with the target's thinking process.

This is like playing a complex piece of music, where every note needs to be precise to produce the expected effect.

Luo En found a moth resting on the windowsill and gently sent a ripple of mental interference toward it.

The moth immediately stopped the action of flapping its wings, as if it had been frozen in place, and then suddenly began to fly wildly, as if it had seen something terrible.

【Mental Interference Experience +1】

"At this speed, one skill should be able to break through to the proficient level within a month."

Luo En analyzed his progress and began to think about the choice of the third spell.

As a middle-level apprentice, one must master at least three zero-ring spells; this is the basic requirement for the magic circuit to form a complete thought network.

Currently, he already had sonic oscillation and mucus splash, and needed to add one more.

"Spells of the light-heat system seem to be a good choice..."

Luo En recalled his mastery of "Sun Corona Breathing Method" and the unique "Sunlight Protection" in his body, pondering in his heart:

"I can consider defensive heat fields or repulsive fire rings; these can form synergy with the 'Sun Corona Breathing Method,' combining offense and defense."

Having decided on the next step of learning direction, Luo En stood up, picked up the iron-wood sword placed in the corner, and began the second cultivation session of the day.

The iron-wood sword drew a beautiful arc in the air, and every movement perfectly matched his breathing.

"Inhale for seven breaths, hold for three breaths, exhale for five breaths..."

Following the rhythm of the "Sun Corona Breathing Method," the sword momentum was continuous like flowing clouds and water.

Those movements that originally required careful thinking had now been integrated into muscle memory, and the body could naturally make the most appropriate response.

Every time he swung the sword, he could feel the muscles and bones working together perfectly, like a precision machine, with every part operating just right.

【Basic Swordsmanship Experience +1】

Luo En frowned, slowed down his movements, and carefully felt the changes in sword momentum.

Despite the significant bonuses given by the professional linkage between Potion Master and Knight Attendant, the last bit of experience for basic swordsmanship was still unusually difficult to accumulate.

"Just a little bit away from breaking through..." He whispered to himself, looking at the data on the panel, a trace of frustration surging in his heart.

【Current Progress: Basic Swordsmanship (Proficient 99/100)】

Just a little bit away from reaching the proficient level, this feeling of hovering at the critical point was particularly agonizing.

Like a hungry person seeing food but unable to reach it, or a thirsty traveler seeing an oasis but never being able to get close.

(End of chapter)