Chapter 76: Crystal Meditation Method

Chapter 76: The Crystal Meditation Method

Liwei sat in his study, holding a blue crystal against his forehead.

He closed his eyes, sinking into deep contemplation.

He was absorbing and digesting the information contained within the blue crystal.

Liwei now understood why the Mage Tower decreed that only First-Order Mages could purchase the Crystal Meditation Method.

Because simply learning the Crystal Meditation Method was a threshold in itself.

Without a sufficiently powerful mental strength, one could not digest the information inside the blue crystal at all.

Instead, the rush of information could very well damage one's mind.

To play it safe, it was most secure for a First-Order Mage to learn the Crystal Meditation Method.

By cultivating the Basic Meditation Method to great mastery, one's mental strength could also reach the threshold required to learn the Crystal Meditation Method.

However, Apprentice Mages who could cultivate the Basic Meditation Method to great mastery were far too rare.

A blanket rule was simply easier, saving everyone the trouble.

Liwei slowly opened his eyes, putting down the blue crystal in his hand, leaving a visualization diagram of a human crystal within his mind.

The luster of the blue crystal vanished, turning into an ordinary piece of crystal.

The Shadow Servant walked over, bringing him lunch.

After eating lunch and resting for a brief moment, Liwei attempted his first cultivation of the Crystal Meditation Method.

He lit a stick of Soul-Calming Incense.

This was his May welfare benefit just received from the Magic Butler—ten sticks of Soul-Calming Incense.

"Shadow Servant, extinguish the Soul-Calming Incense in ten minutes."

Smelling the familiar scent, Liwei's mind gradually settled down, and his thoughts grew still.

"Visualize the crystal, view oneself as a crystal, continuously eliminating impurities within the crystal to enhance its purity."

It took several attempts before the visualization succeeded.

In his visualization, he turned into a crimson crystal, with faint impurities scattered inside it.

The crimson crystal pulsed in tandem with his breathing.

Upon inhaling, his mental strength absorbed the surrounding free magical elements into the crystal.

Upon exhaling, his mental strength expelled the minute impurities within the crystal to purify his mana.

Between each breath, his mana grew ever deeper, ever purer.

Unwittingly, three hours passed by.

His mental strength exhausted, Liwei opened his eyes.

He saw the shadow projected upon the wall forming characters.

[Crystal Meditation Method (First-Order)] 33/10000

Glancing at the time, he found he had only cultivated for three hours.

A look of satisfaction appeared in Liwei's eyes.

The effect of his first cultivation was distinct.

He felt his mana had increased by quite a bit.

The cultivation efficiency of the Crystal Meditation Method was two to three times that of the Basic Meditation Method.

With three hours gone, the visualization diagram of the human crystal in his mind began to blur; at most, it would completely vanish in four or five days.

Two hundred gold coins bought a single learning opportunity lasting four or five days.

If one failed to learn it, they would have to spend another two hundred gold coins to buy the visualization diagram of the Crystal Meditation Method again.

Liwei had already learned it, so he did not need to worry about this point.

"If I cultivate normally, wanting to reach the Second-Order will take at least three hundred-odd days."

Liwei calculated in his heart, finding it quite acceptable.

If he could become a Second-Order Mage next year, he would only be 17 years old, with plenty of time ahead of him.

"Reina becoming a Second-Order Knight at 17 is a once-in-a-century genius; if I become a Second-Order Mage at 17, wouldn't I be even more formidable than Reina?"

Liwei smiled faintly.

On second thought, keeping a low profile was better.

Being a genius meant the tall tree catches the wind.

When the time came and troubles flocked in, he wouldn't even be able to grind experience in peace.

At night, Liwei plunged into the dreamscape, grinding hard on the Invisible Armor spell, striving to reach perfection level as soon as possible.

There were no magical elements in dreams, making it impossible to cultivate mana.

Late into the night, Liwei's mind grew weary, so he went out for a stroll.

Opening the door, a dense fog lay outside.

Stepping out, the fog receded some eleven or twelve meters away.

After walking a few paces, he returned to the safe house.

The dreamscape of Maple Leaf City was quite stable, with no large-scale dream stitching occurring.

More than half of the mages in the Mage Tower had left again; for a time, Liwei found it hard to even find a single dream bubble.

He was too lazy to venture deeper into the fog to search for dream bubbles further away.

Returning to his room, he controlled the dreamscape for some self-entertainment, and after relaxing, continued to grind his spells.

For several days in a row, Liwei stayed holed up in the Mage Tower to cultivate.

Until the Magic Butler sent him a message. The Magic Butler: "Apprentice Mage Liwei, Mage Guze has sent you a message."

"Liwei, are you alright?"

Only then did Liwei remember that he had forgotten to report his safety to Guze.

By now, Guze might very well think he had gone missing.

He hurriedly transmitted a message to Guze through the Magic Butler.

"Teacher, I am fine, I have safely returned to the Maple Leaf City Mage Tower."

Looking at the magical badge in his hand, Liwei fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, he asked, "Magic Butler, can you connect to the Magic Net?"

The Magic Butler: "Insufficient authority, unable to answer."

Liwei smiled faintly, understanding.

After a moment, the magical badge vibrated.

Gu Ze: "As long as you're safe, stay in the mage tower and focus on your cultivation. Don’t come out."

Li Wei: "Yes, Master. Please take care yourself."

Gu Ze: "Don’t worry about me. We’re currently at an advantage—our chances of victory are high."

Gu Ze: "By the way, why did you return to Maple City? Weren’t you escorting the city lord to Windfall City?"

Li Wei: "The city lord is unharmed. He feigned injury to lure the beastmen into launching a siege. It was all part of Orin’s plan."

Gu Ze: "Then something’s strange—if the city lord is safe, why did the lord of Hancha City die by an assassin’s hand?"

Li Wei gazed silently at the magical insignia for a long moment.

Had the lord of Hancha truly perished at the hands of assassins?

He didn’t know.

Li Wei: "Did the city lord return?"

Gu Ze: "He returned. Two days ago, Commander Orin led our army to assault the beastmen’s main camp. The city lord brought a detachment to strike from behind, surrounding and crushing their forces. The beastmen were caught completely off guard—routed and scattered. Victory is within reach!"

Li Wei pondered quietly, choosing not to tell Gu Ze about Otz’s ambition to establish a kingdom.

If Gu Ze knew, it might not be wise.

Still, Li Wei offered a subtle warning.

Li Wei: "The city lord is profoundly strategic. To crush an entire beastmen army in one stroke—such extraordinary merit may earn him a noble title, perhaps even a marquisate."

Gu Ze paused upon reading the message.

Something felt odd.

Otz’s troops had appeared as if from nowhere.

Doubt stirred in his heart—had Otz been preparing this all along?

Otherwise, how? Maple City only had slightly over five thousand soldiers.

Three thousand had already marched to war. Where, then, had Otz’s forces come from?

That unit wasn’t smaller than the army led by Orin.

Even emptying every last soldier from Maple City wouldn’t yield such numbers.

And Otz certainly wouldn’t have left the city undefended, marching out with every soul.

Realizing Otz must have secretly trained an army, Gu Ze began to suspect the truth.

Yet seeing that Li Wei hadn’t spoken plainly, he refrained from asking further on the enchanted scroll.

Gu Ze: "Hmm. I understand."

Li Wei smiled faintly upon seeing this.

It seemed Master Gu Ze had sensed something too.

Whatever happened, as long as they weren’t blind, there would always be a way forward.

By now, Li Wei could more or less guess where the vanished winter grain had gone.

The tainted grain sold by the city lord’s estate was only part of it—the rest had fed a hidden army.

The profits from selling that tainted grain were likely spent arming this concealed force.

Otherwise, how could an entire army appear from nothing?

He didn’t need Gu Ze to tell him—Li Wei already knew Otz’s troops must have come from Maple City.

That was the true purpose of Otz’s return.

Li Wei turned his gaze to the vast, azure sky beyond the window.

Otz’s plan had only just begun. Crushing a beastmen army was no finale—it was merely the beginning.

To rebuild a kingdom would be no small feat.

If the Malkir Kingdom realized his ambition, they would stop at nothing to crush it.

They might even neglect the invading beastmen altogether.

Beastmen ravaging Malkir would cost them a few cities, some land.

But if Otz succeeded in founding a new kingdom, Malkir would face a fresh realm at its very doorstep.

Then it would be wolves ahead, tigers behind.

Trapped between the beastmen empire and this newborn kingdom, Malkir would be utterly vulnerable.

Such a thing would never be permitted.

(End of Chapter)