Chapter 100: Increasingly Severe Pollution, Critical Point

The first ray of sunlight at dawn penetrated the window, and Luo En was already sitting cross-legged 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 mind, mixed with calming grass, Ningxin leaves, and cinnabar powder.

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

Since the establishment of the workshop, Luo En had been conducting meditation cultivation every day without fail.

Waking 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.

This level of self-discipline, if he didn't have the Time Guardian pocket watch, would have likely 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 consciousness space, 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 an infant learning to walk, the star track rune now could maintain a stable state for a long time, like a precision-running clock.

Thousands of stars twinkled in the darkness, they were no longer simple light spots, but existences containing a certain vitality.

Luo En's mental power, under the guidance of the runes, traveled between the star seas like a fish, each circulation bringing deeper understanding and purer power.

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

"Progress is faster than imagined..." Luo En calculated silently in his heart, his brow furrowed slightly.

Time passed faster than imagined. The hard cultivation of these days had allowed him to make rapid progress, but there was still a long way to go before fully mastering the first stage.

"If I maintain this speed, I will reach the critical point of the first stage in about half a year, seeking 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 stage. It seems I am indeed much faster than ordinary apprentices."

However, what exactly this so-called "ordinary" definition is, it really makes him feel curious. It probably shouldn't refer to those five...

Just as he was immersed in his thoughts, a low pulse was emitted from a dark area in the depths of his consciousness, as if something was squirming and growing there.

That was 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, which was like a layer of black silt gradually settling in the originally clear lake water.

At first it was almost invisible, but as time went on, 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;

And 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 washed.

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

Luo En frowned, still maintaining the meditation state, but his heart had begun to be restless, "Otherwise, I will be crushed by pollution sooner or later. By then, all my efforts will be wasted."

In order to control the accumulation of pollution, he had adjusted the time of his daily routine meditation, each time keeping it within the warning line of mental pollution and stopping in time.

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 Potioneer, 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 the mental power was purer, just like a filter purifying turbid water into clear, bottom-visible spring water.

But at the same time, the feeling of being watched by countless eyes in the depths of his consciousness was also 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 indiscriminately 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 the meditation ended, he would feel a burst of inexplicable fatigue and palpitations. This feeling became stronger as the 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 after a few days when the pollution accumulated to a certain limit.

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

Luo En thought of that wonderful feeling, a warmth surged in his heart, as if a clear stream poured into his heart, whispering to himself, "Although it is insignificant, it did eliminate a part of the accumulated pollution, which is roughly equivalent to the amount produced by ten days of daily meditation."

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

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

………………

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

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

These two skills had made significant progress under the systematic guidance of paid courses.

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

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

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 the optimization of magic circuits.

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 rivers 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. With the injection of Luo En's mental power, the vortex became more and more stable, from the violent fluctuation at the beginning to almost completely static now, only the core was pulsing with light.

Each 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 been systematically trained in Leah's course, and now it could accurately affect the perception of small creatures around, making them temporarily fall into confusion or fear.

Mental interference is more delicate than sonic vibration, requiring the shaping of mental power 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 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 mid-level apprentice, one must master at least three zero-ring spells, which is the basic requirement for the magic circuit to form a complete thinking network.

Currently, he already had sonic vibration and slime 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 "Corona Breathing Method" and the unique "Sunday Protection" in his body, thinking in his heart:

"Can consider defensive heat fields or repulsive fire rings, which can form synergy with 'Corona Breathing Method', both offensive and defensive."

Deciding on the next 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 seven breaths, hold three breaths, exhale five breaths..."

Following the rhythm of "Corona Breathing Method", the sword style 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 in perfect coordination, like a precision machine, with every part running just right.

[Basic Swordsmanship Experience +1]

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

Although the linkage between the Potioneer and Knight Attendant professions gave a considerable bonus, the last bit of experience for basic swordsmanship was still exceptionally difficult to accumulate.

"Just a little bit away from breaking through..." He looked at the data on the panel and whispered to himself, 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, and like a thirsty traveler seeing an oasis but never being able to get close.