Chapter 139: Differential Treatment

Luo En attempted to integrate his spiritual power into this rhythm, trying to understand the "resonance" relationship between elements.

At first, it felt like trying to hear a specific sound in a noisy market.

The fluctuations of various elemental energies were mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish.

But as time passed, Luo En gradually became able to identify subtle patterns and rhythms from them.

Water elements and fire elements were not as completely opposite as he had previously thought; there was a subtle balance between them.

Wind elements were like an intermediary, capable of connecting and reconciling other elements.

Earth elements seemed dull, but contained the most stable and lasting energy.

"So that's how it is..."

Luo En whispered in his heart, and a brand-new understanding formed in his mind:

"Elements are not isolated, but an interconnected overall system."

With the deepening of this understanding, he felt that his control over elements became more and more natural.

The process that previously required precise calculation and deliberate guidance could now be completed almost by intuition.

【Elemental Perception EXP +1】

After several hours of meditation, Luo En felt a slight dizziness; his spiritual power had reached his current limit.

He slowly opened his eyes and found that the Energy Anchoring Crystal had changed from its original pale blue to a deep purple-blue, clearly having absorbed a large amount of energy.

"The effect is even better than imagined," Luo En whispered to himself, his fingers touching the crystal lightly, feeling the energy contained within.

In the time that followed, Luo En used most of his free time for elemental meditation and practice.

Various strange elemental phenomena often appeared in the workshop's courtyard—small fire whirlpools, floating water balls, and even short-lived light rain.

Luo En's control over elements steadily improved, especially his use of light and fire elements became more handy.

The techniques Yuni taught him allowed him to achieve stronger elemental effects with lower energy consumption.

【Elemental Perception EXP +1】

After every class, Luo En would stay behind to consult Yuni.

The old witch gave high praise for his diligence and progress, and also shared her knowledge and experience more generously.

"Your progress speed is amazing, Luo En."

After the third class, Yuni evaluated, her purple eyes flashing with appreciation:

"Especially your understanding of elemental resonance, which is already close to the level of an advanced apprentice."

Returning to the workshop, Luo En immediately devoted himself to further research.

According to the previous guidance from the other party, Luo En arranged a special meditation environment:

Crystals representing different elements were placed all around, the Energy Anchoring Crystal was in the center, and several specially made lamps provided a stable energy field.

After meditation began, Luo En attempted to synchronize his spiritual power with the fluctuation frequency of specific elements according to the method described in the notes.

This process was extremely delicate and required extremely high spiritual control; a slight carelessness would lead to failure.

After several attempts, Luo En finally found that special sense of "resonance":

It was like two tuning forks sensing each other; his spiritual power began to perfectly match the fluctuation frequency of light elements.

At that moment, he felt an unprecedented elemental power pouring into his body, like a bright river, nourishing every inch of his spiritual space.

【Elemental Perception EXP +1】

【Breakthrough! Elemental Perception (Entry 50/50) -> Elemental Perception (Proficient 1/100)】

【Obtained Additional Trait: Resonance

(Control efficiency over affinity elements increases, and the power of corresponding elemental spells is improved)】

When Luo En woke up from meditation, his whole person seemed to be surrounded by a layer of soft halo.

He could feel that his connection with elements had become closer, especially light and fire elements, which were as easy to mobilize as part of his own body.

"Incredible..."

Luo En whispered, looking at a miniature light flame condensed in his palm.

This light flame was more stable and brighter than any elemental structure he had been able to create before, and the magic power consumed was only about half of what it used to be.

Verifying his conjecture, Luo En began to attempt to construct the "Halo of Radiance" spell.

Previously, this spell required a certain amount of preparation and precise energy control, consuming a large amount of spiritual power.

But now, the spell model took shape almost naturally in his spiritual space, as smooth as an instinctive reaction.

Even more pleasantly surprising was that, under the blessing of the "Resonance" trait, the power and efficiency of the spell had been significantly improved.

The light ring not only formed faster, but the light flame was brighter, and the power was enhanced by at least two or three tenths.

【Spell Construction (Proficient) and Elemental Perception (Proficient) produce a linkage effect】

【EXP acquisition speed for elemental spells is improved】

【Halo of Radiance EXP +1】

【Current Progress: Halo of Radiance (Entry 42/50)】

"Skills can also be linked!"

Luo En's eyes lit up, realizing that after the two skills of spell construction and elemental perception reached the proficient level, they produced an unexpected synergistic effect.

This linkage caused the learning speed of elemental spells to increase significantly, almost three times what it was before.

At this rate, he would soon be able to raise "Halo of Radiance" to the proficient level, which usually required months or even years of hard cultivation.

"What a pleasant surprise," Luo En smiled, his mood exceptionally comfortable.

Early the next morning, Luo En got up early, preparing to conduct his daily "Whispers of the Star Eater" meditation.

Since the Chrono-Guard Pocket Watch advanced, the energy consumption for resetting mild spiritual pollution had returned to the initial one point, which gave him more space to attempt deep meditation.

Luo En took a bottle of pale cyan potion from the workbench—"Amber Thinking Liquid"; unlike those sold in the workshop, the ones he kept for himself were absolute masterpieces.

By adding a small amount of stardust and moonlight water, the medicinal effect was more focused on assisting spiritual meditation.

He carefully took a drop and placed it on the tip of his tongue.

The taste of the liquid was surprisingly good, like a mixture of fresh mint and sweet honey, but the effect was exceptionally strong.

Almost instantly, Luo En felt his spirit pulled to a higher level, his thinking became exceptionally clear, and his perception range expanded greatly.

"Perfect state..." Luo En whispered to himself, then sat cross-legged and began the meditation of "Whispers of the Star Eater".

The assistance of the potion allowed him to enter a deep meditation state faster.

When his consciousness sank into that familiar starry sky, he found that his perception of the star clusters was clearer than ever before.

Those living stars were no longer just blurry light spots, but presented more details.

He could see the textures on their surfaces, feel the subtle connections between them, and even identify the unique "personalities" of certain stars.

"Everything has just begun..."

Luo En whispered the incantation of the meditation technique in his heart, his spiritual power extending in the starry sky, contacting more knowledge and power.

【"Whispers of the Star Eater" EXP +1】

【Current Progress: "Whispers of the Star Eater" (Proficient 180/300)】

After two hours of meditation, Luo En's spiritual power had improved slightly again.

Although this accumulation was slow, it was indeed stable and lasting.

【Spirit: 3.7 -> 3.8 (+0.1)】

"Finally reached 3.8," Luo En opened his eyes, feeling the abundant spiritual power in his body.

This value meant that his spiritual power was close to the standard of an advanced apprentice, only one step away from the 4.0 standard line.

Of course, considering the non-linear nature of spiritual power growth, this last part might be more difficult than all the previous accumulation.

"At the current rate, when 'Whispers of the Star Eater' reaches proficient (200/300), my spiritual power should be able to go further, officially becoming an advanced apprentice; by then, the day the Bloodline Altar begins should not be far off."

Luo En estimated.

With this thought, a prompt soon popped up on the panel:

【Warning: Mild spiritual pollution detected】

Although the potion assistance significantly improved meditation efficiency, the accumulation of spiritual pollution seemed to accelerate as well.

Luo En had to activate the reset function of the Chrono-Guard Pocket Watch again to clear these potential threats.

【Successfully reset negative status: Mild spiritual pollution, energy -1】

Compared to the increasing consumption each time before, the current stable value made Luo En breathe a sigh of relief.

This meant he could perform deep meditation more frequently without worrying too much about the energy consumption of the pocket watch.

In the following week, Luo En's life was fulfilling and busy.

The morning was the cultivation time for "Whispers of the Star Eater," followed by elemental meditation and spell practice.

When there were classes, he would go to the school in the morning to participate in various advanced courses; when there were no classes, he would practice by himself, and in the afternoon, he would research magic potions and alchemy in the workshop.

At night, he would take time to check on the siren Dai'er while handling the daily affairs of the workshop.

In Soren's spiritual power control class, Luo En's performance was as outstanding as ever.

Especially in multi-spell model construction, he was almost always the first student to complete the exercise.

"Very good, Luo En."

Soren praised, looking at the three stable and coexisting spell models in Luo En's crystal ball:

"Your spiritual power control has reached a quite high level. Keep it up."

After class, Soren left Luo En behind for special guidance as usual.

This time the content was the compression technique of Spiritual Shockwave—how to load maximum energy in the smallest volume without affecting the stability of the energy.

"The power of Spiritual Shockwave is directly proportional to the compression rate, but the risk is the same."

Soren explained, his fingers outlining a complex energy structure in the air:

"Excessive compression will lead to energy loss of control, not only causing spell failure but also potentially causing backlash to the spellcaster."

Luo En studied every detail seriously, attempting to simulate this compression process in his spiritual space.

"You seem to have mastered the essentials very easily."

Soren watched Luo En's attempt, a glimmer of inquiry flashing in his eyes: "Is it because of that 'Whispers of the Star Eater' meditation book?"

Luo En was shocked in his heart, not expecting Soren to know this name: "You... know this meditation technique?"

"Yes, Ellen mentioned it."

Soren continued, his eyes mixed with appreciation and worry:

"'Whispers of the Star Eater' is one of the few meditation techniques that can directly enhance the essence of spiritual power, but its danger is equally daunting. Many wizards who attempted to cultivate it were eventually eroded by the gathered spiritual pollution."

Luo En maintained a cautious attitude:

"Madam Ellen did warn me of the risks, and I have been carefully controlling the cultivation progress."

"It shows."

Soren nodded: "Your mental state is very stable, and almost no signs of pollution can be seen. This either shows that you have extraordinary talent, or that you have found some effective purification method."

He looked at Luo En meaningfully:

"Regardless of the situation, it proves that you are a young man worth paying attention to."

Luo En felt a trace of unease, but it was soon dispelled by Soren's next sentence:

"Don't worry, I don't mean anything else. As the supervisor of the candidate wizard sequence, my duty is to observe and guide those seeds with potential, not to hinder their growth."

In the subsequent guidance, Soren appeared more generous than usual, sharing some advanced techniques regarding spiritual power stability and pollution resistance.

These knowledge were usually only accessible to advanced apprentices, clearly a recognition of Luo En's special talent.

【Spiritual Interference (Proficient) EXP +1】

When Luo En left the classroom, he did not notice that his special treatment had already attracted the attention of other students.

"Special guidance again, how many times has this been?"

In the classroom, Luo En's strengthened extraordinary senses caused him to inadvertently hear the low-voiced conversation of two students behind him.

"I heard that Lord Griffith takes special care of him, giving him at least half an hour of individual guidance after every class."

"What's so strange about that? Isn't it said that he has the special talent of 'Medicine-Body Resonance'? That is a rare second-tier talent."

"No matter what, he is still just a little guy who just entered the intermediate apprentice level; why does he deserve this kind of preferential treatment?"

Luo En stopped listening and focused on the crystal ball in front of him.

But these discussions indeed alerted him—his special treatment seemed to have become an open secret.

After the course, Soren left Luo En behind for special guidance as usual.

However, this time, when other students left, two people hesitated for a moment and then boldly stayed behind.

"Lord Griffith..." a middle-aged student who looked at least thirty years old gathered his courage and spoke:

"I also have some questions about the theory of Spiritual Shockwave; I wonder if I may ask for your advice?"

A trace of imperceptible displeasure flashed on Soren's face, but he quickly returned to calm:

"Of course, Apprentice Morris, what questions do you have?"

Another student also took the opportunity to step forward; it was clearly a planned action.

Soren did not refuse their request but patiently answered the questions they raised.

But Luo En keenly sensed that Soren's attitude toward them was clearly not as invested and enthusiastic as it was toward him.

After the guidance lasted for about a quarter of an hour, Soren frowned slightly, seemingly feeling uncomfortable due to the low comprehension of these people.

"That's all for your questions today."

He said indifferently: "Before the next class, I suggest you review the basic theory of spiritual power fluctuations; this will help you better understand advanced concepts."

Although the two students were somewhat disappointed, they dared not say anything more and could only bow respectfully to take their leave.

When only Luo En remained, Mentor Suo Lun's attitude became significantly more relaxed:

"Now, let us continue with the shock-compression technique from last time..."

Luo En noticed that the look Mentor Suo Lun gave him carried a special kind of attention, as if he were evaluating some precious item.

After the special instruction ended, Luo En stood up to take his leave:

"Thank you very much for your guidance, my lord Griffith. The techniques you taught have been a great help to me."

Mentor Suo Lun nodded slightly: "Your enthusiasm for learning and your talent are both very impressive, Luo En. I look forward to seeing your future achievements."

Leaving the classroom, Luo En had not gone far when he encountered the two students who had stayed behind to ask questions earlier.

(End of chapter)