The pains of cultivation

The spirit exists in all living things, and the will is an untraceable, invisible force that originates from the spirit.

The will manifests in various forms.

It controlled stellar cosmic energy and was known as willpower.

It also frightened and suppressed others, manifesting as killing intent or murderous aura.

At times, it can be overbearing, causing one's knees to buckle under its pressure.

It can also appear hypnotic, influencing thoughts and drawing individuals together.

Or even transform them into obedient servants, servants of love, or slaves to lust.

This eldritch force, willpower, has yet to be understood fully.

Anon extended his will into the surrounding space, directing the stellar cosmic energies around him.

Stellar cosmic energy is brilliant.

As previously said, it nurtured the spirit, allowing the spirit to extract from the principle, power.

This process was simple.

The spirit isn't a container per se; rather, it's like a hand wielding an item or a pair of hands lifting a basin filled with water.

Simply put, the spirit uses stellar cosmic energy as a phantasmal container to extract the 'water' from the principle.

However, the spirit cannot 'lift' a large, sturdy container without sufficient strength.

This means it cannot operate with an amount of stellar cosmic energy beyond its capacity.

For a spirit to expand its capacity, is for it to become more powerful, which is possible only through the act of being nurtured by stellar cosmic energy, and in turn, becoming more capable at manipulating said energy.

As the spirit grows in strength, the container expands, allowing for a greater amount of power to be extracted from one's principle.

However, 'larger' and 'sturdier' refer to different aspects.

We already know how to make it larger, but a sturdier container can only form with a more adept and complex control over and manipulation of stellar cosmic energies.

For example, if one hundred units of stellar cosmic energy can draw out three percent of the power from one's principle, another person with stronger, more complex control could use the same hundred units to pull out four or five percent.

In this context, a single percentage represents a significant improvement in strength, quadrupling three percent, which itself is triple the strength of two percent and double that of one percent.

Naturally, five percent is quintuple four percent, and all of this is possible depending on one's control over stellar cosmic energy.

The easiest and most direct way to achieve such results is to strengthen one's spirit through a magic ritual, similar to what Seth did with the blood pool.

However, as previously mentioned, Anon didn't have that option.

More importantly, magic rituals did indeed raise the percent of power one can extract, but that was only truly the container's enlargement.

However, they did not make it sturdier.

What happens when the mass of the water in the container exceeds its limits?

Thus, magic rituals and cultivation go hand in hand.

Magic rituals made the process of cultivation many times faster, but only through cultivation can one grasp a higher degree of manipulation over stellar cosmic energies.

Once stellar cosmic energy fell under his command, the particles united into a single cluster.

This cluster then broke into two smaller clusters.

Two then transformed into four.

This was the first great limit, and also, his current limit.

One cluster ascended toward the ceiling, another descended toward the floor, one drifted left, and the final one drifted to his right.

A droplet of sweat formed on Anon's forehead as the four clusters began trembling.

Upon reaching a certain distance, these four groups of energies dispersed into multicolored particles in the air.

They regrouped into a single large cluster, which then segmented into three shapes: one into a circle, another into a triangle, and the third into a square.

These three shapes constantly underwent changes, becoming more and more complex, yet still, there was no fourth shape at any one moment in time.

His sweating intensified, and his head throbbed.

A vein on his temple bulged as he gritted his teeth, trying to hold these three shapes for as long as possible.

Finally, he could hold on no longer.

Huffing and puffing, he paused.

Though he could continue, working on the spirit this way would exhaust him and lead to sleep.

Fortunately, he had grown accustomed to the pain, so the nightmares had subsided; however, although sleep healed the spirit quickly, since he had yet to finish his cultivation session, meditation was a better option.

As for those nightmares...

When he thought of those nightmares, especially the illusory bloodstains he usually saw afterward, he couldn't help but wonder.

Even though it was just an illusion, he wondered: what if it were real?

What excuse would he use in this camp?

He was not opposed to considering ways to get out of such theoretical events, at least to keep his mind sharp.

But how could he explain the bloodstains on his sheets every night?

He wasn't a woman.

'And even if I were, women don't bleed every night, wait…'

Anon shook his head.

He would need to reveal the severity of his nightmares to Seth and accept the boy's offer.

With the two of them sharing a room, the bloodstains could be explained, especially if coupled with his screams.

Although such things wouldn't actually happen, they would have to pretend they doing such acts... every night.

Would he really do that?

Pfft!

What were honor and pride?

In this scenario, it was simply a matter of public perception.

Anyways, these were random thoughts…

When attempting to meditate, various thoughts would flash through one's mind, and his was no different.

It took effort to clear these distracting thoughts and enter a state of thoughtlessness.

Soon, however, he succeeded, completing an hour of focused meditation in the blink of an eye.

Once more, stellar cosmic energy shimmered as he wrote his name in the air.

Writing in the air was different; even a single letter 'a' was complex enough. And to write the second letter 'n', he had to maintain the first letter simultaneously.

'O' was the simplest to draw in the air, but he couldn't continue; this was his limit.

Though it seems simple, try tracing an 'o' in the air with one hand while drawing a square with the other.

Now try to do that while also drawing a… wait, you only have two hands.

Your brain only has two halves too.

But it wasn't that etching these three letters were incredibly difficult. Drawing complex shapes were more difficult than this. But attempting to write the fourth letter of his name was what truly tried breaking his mind.

Four was a great limit, and his current limit.

He held on for as long as he could, eighteen minutes, before the letters dispersed into starlight.

'Once more, I'm stuck on 'O.' This is the so-called bottleneck…' Anon shook his head with a wry smile.

He had been stuck at this bottleneck for over a month.

Cultivation and profound arts go hand in hand.

If he could instantly strengthen his spirit with a magic ritual, coupled with his current achievements, he could easily shatter this bottleneck and etch the name 'Anon' in the air.

A magic ritual directly increases the strength of the spirit, enlarging the container.

Learning to control that strength adeptly is called consolidating one's strength, which makes the container sturdier.

Because of this, one couldn't simply use magic rituals continuously to strengthen their spirit—unless they could instantly consolidate their strength.

Right now, however, Anon's strength was consolidated to the maximum and beyond.

Normal cultivation could not see him break this bottleneck unless he was prepared to cultivate for a year or two.

A year or two just to complete four complex tasks simultaneously?

In business terms, this would be considered a rip-off.

'But all hope isn't lost. I've shown that I'm already a stellar fighter for this reason,' Anon pondered in silence.

'Still, with the help of this program, if I can complete four complex tasks simultaneously by the end of the official camp, it will be a success.'

Cultivation was like this.

Completing four tasks simultaneously in under four months was a goal, not a certainty.

With a profound art, he could achieve the same in just a few hours…

He meditated to recover his spirit once more before repeating the entire process again and again.

By the time Anon opened his eyes, morning had arrived.

With his will permeating the surroundings, it was as if he had a pair of incorporeal eyes. So when the light parted the curtains of the dorm room, he sensed the arrival of morning.

Anon groaned as he stood up and headed to the bath.

Classes began at nine, so he would take a bath and then try to sleep.

'If I'm late, they'll just send someone to fetch me.'

Anon smiled to himself.

Who was the greatest slacker?

Whether in high school, this genius program, or the camp of ten thousand, he was the greatest slacker!