Meditation

"Alright, class is done for today. That's all we've got. After this, we'll head to the academy cafeteria for lunch. In the afternoon, I'll be showing you how to meditate. If you're aiming to become a spirit master, pay close attention." Lin Ximeng glanced at the still-unfinished children and spoke with a smile.

Shortly after, a group followed Lin Ximeng to the cafeteria. Following her lead, they grabbed their meals and found seats to settle down.

When Lin Ximeng noticed that Tang Wulin had grabbed more meals than anyone else, she playfully touched his head and whispered, "Kid Wulin, can you really finish all that food?"

"Yeah, my appetite seems to have grown since my martial spirit awakened," Tang Wulin replied with enthusiasm.

Lin Ximeng shook her head with a smile, choosing not to say more. She continued guiding the students to get their meals. Anping at the back thought, "What's this about? Once he unlocks the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King, you will find out just how much he can eat."

Lunchtime quickly passed, and Tang Wulin's appetite proved impressive. Not only did he finish off his first serving, but he also went back for seconds and finished that too. Observing this, Lin Ximeng chose to stay silent, marveling inwardly at the diversity of human physiques.

As they headed back to the classroom, the fat boy, Wan Yunchao, approached Tang Wulin and playfully patted his shoulder. "Tang Wulin, who would've thought you could out-eat me despite your small size?"

"This all started after my martial spirit awakened. I'm not sure why," Tang Wulin admitted, scratching his head.

As they entered the classroom, everyone found their seats and turned their attention to Lin Ximeng at the front. It was evident they were keenly anticipating the meditation method she was about to share.

"Alright, let's keep it simple. Spirit power is all around us, even though we can't see it. The meditation method is about using your mind to sense this spirit power, then using your mind again to guide it. The goal is to help your body soak up as much of it as possible, boosting your own spirit power," Lin Ximeng explained, breaking it down step by step.

"That's the basic idea of meditation. If you end up in a more advanced spirit master academy in the future or even luck out and get into Shrek Academy, the big shot spirit master academy on the continent, you'll learn more advanced meditation techniques."

As Lin Ximeng mentioned Shrek Academy, the students below couldn't help but daydream about the possibility of being admitted there one day.

*Clap.*

Lin Ximeng clapped her hands, breaking the students' reverie and also snapping Anping out of his mental comparison between the meditation method and the "Energy Diversion" article.

"Alright, alright. If you're aiming for a top-notch spirit master academy, you've got to put in the effort to boost your own strength. Now, let's give this meditation thing a shot based on what I just explained."

"Teacher, how do you deal with distracting thoughts?"

"Teacher, what exactly is calmness?"

"Teacher..." The questions kept coming.

A flurry of questions continued, yet Lin Ximeng remained patient. She listened to the hushed inquiries, responding to each with simplicity and clarity.

Anping found himself in a bit of a dilemma, torn between Spirit Power Meditation and "Energy Diversion". Both methods touched on utilizing mental power, with the initial step involving sensing the presence of one's own mental power.

In the Spirit Power Meditation method, you use your mental power to sense the presence of spirit power and then guide that spirit power into your body.

On the other hand, as per the details in "Energy Diversion," after detecting your mental power, you manipulate it to construct a mental power model. This model is then used to absorb so-called magic power, forming a magic source. The idea is to harness this magic source to interact with external magic and even manipulate rules.

After careful consideration, Anping opted to start by sensing mental power before delving into anything else. Besides, "Energy Diversion" seemed far more advanced than the so-called Spirit Power Meditation method, not to mention its potential to enhance mental power.

Gently shaking his head, Anping dismissed the cluttered thoughts. Instead, he decided to give a shot to a calming breathing method outlined in "Energy Diversion." This technique was touted as effective for clearing the mind and quelling distracting thoughts, supposedly offering significant benefits for the perception and control of mental power by wizard apprentices.

Adjusting into a comfortable sitting position, Anping closed his eyes. Inhaling and exhaling deliberately, he worked diligently to attain the frequency specified in "Energy Diversion."

As time ticked away, Anping occasionally hit that specified frequency, inching closer with each attempt. Gradually, a sense of calm enveloped him.

In an unexpected moment, a white light flashed in the classroom, revealing Anping's martial spirit silently resting on the table. Simultaneously, an imperceptible power radiated from it, vanishing in an instant.

Accompanying it, a gentle vortex of spirit power manifested around Anping.

A sudden white light caught the attention of the six-year-old children, all inquisitive about the world at this age. Their gazes turned toward the origin of the glow. Being individuals with accompanying spirit power, they could faintly sense the subtle fluctuations.

Witnessing Anping's martial soul, they observed his spirit book unfurling on the table. Pages turned, one after another, silently gliding from slow to rapid, without a hint of the usual rustling sound of pages in motion.

Time passed bit by bit, but the book kept turning endlessly, not as thick as it seemed.

Anping, completely engrossed with closed eyes, seemed oblivious to the curious gazes of the students. With puzzled expressions, they turned their attention to Lin Ximeng and Anping. The chubby boy, Wan Yunchao, took the initiative and asked in a hushed tone, "Teacher, what's happening?"

Lin Ximeng, encountering this situation for the first time, swiftly collected her thoughts. A certain term came to her mind, and she contemplated deeply. After a moment of reflection, she whispered, "Student Anping seems to be deep in meditation. Alright, everyone, please refrain from disturbing him and see if any of you want to give it a try."

A murmur of confusion spread among them. They had all recently awakened their martial spirits together, so why was Anping seemingly excelling? Determinedly, they all remained seated, attempting to delve into meditation.

Unaware of the commotion outside, Anping felt a flash of white light, transporting him to what seemed like a grand structure—a magnificent building or perhaps an elaborate library.

Gazing at the seemingly boundless bookshelves, stretching row after row, evoked a staggering and perplexing sensation. Strangely, Anping's mind entertained a term—sea of spirit. Yet, it felt somewhat implausible, particularly as he couldn't fathom why he had suddenly entered the sea of spirit.

Traditionally, the sea of spirit was believed to reflect an individual's spirit, but having one's spirit manifest as endless bookshelves and books seemed quite unbelievable.

Preferring not to dwell on it for now, Anping took a step forward, drawn to a particular bookshelf. There, he perused the familiar titles of the books displayed.

"One Hundred Questions for a Wizard's Apprentice," "Take You Into the World of Wizards," "The Relationship between Meditation, Mental Power, and Magical Power," "Miscellaneous Notes of a Certain Person," "Travel Notes of a Certain Plane," and so on—these were undoubtedly the titles Anping had previously glimpsed from his Martial Spirit.

Alongside them were some unfamiliar titles, but he could discern from the names that they pertained to wizards.

Amid the Sky of Truth, Anping found himself contemplating why his Martial Spirit had been bestowed with such a name.

Muttering in a hushed tone, he began to explain, "So, this is the origin of the Sky of Truth's name." He proceeded deeper into the sea of spirits.

As he strolled, his gaze landed on titles like the elemental side, the bloodline side, the mysterious side, and many other branching categories.

Absorbed in his exploration, he inadvertently collided with an unseen barrier. Though there was no tangible impact, it felt as if he had struck something.

Before Anping could grasp the situation, a sudden pain surged through his head, compelling him to retreat from the sea of spirits.