Chapter 249 - 18: Gazed Upon by a Deity, Aurora Spirit Ring

Chapter 249: Chapter 18: Gazed Upon by a Deity, Aurora Spirit Ring

Mo Ning himself was surprised by the fact that he had optimized the Starlight Secret Technique, increasing the potential Spiritual Strength gain in the first year from the original 0.46 points to 0.65.

’But he didn’t think this was because the creator of the Secret Technique was incapable, nor did he feel his understanding had surpassed the founder’s.’

’Quite the opposite. The author of this book was a First Level Wizard. Forget 0.65 points; even 0.75 or 0.85 would likely have been easy for them.’

’The only logical explanation was that the author had drastically simplified the original Starlight Secret Technique to lower the entry barrier and maximize its appeal.’

’Driven by the pursuit of Black Tower Points, this was entirely plausible.’

’Just imagine: if a Secret Technique was so difficult that even a Third Level Apprentice found it hard to learn, how many Apprentices in the academy would be willing to borrow it?’

This fact filled Mo Ning with some regret. He would have much preferred to witness the splendor of the original version and was even willing to pay a considerable price for it.

Unfortunately, the First Level Wizard named Luo Ta was not from the Black Tower Academy, so Mo Ning had no way to contact him privately through connections.

At that moment, with a flicker of thought, an illusory casting model, visible only to him, quietly appeared.

"Flower."

He called out softly.

The Artificial Soul responded at once.

A box of Spiritual Incense, worth fifty Black Tower Points, was delivered by an invisible hand and hovered before Mo Ning.

The box opened automatically, revealing pale yellow Spiritual Materials. A strange, fragrant aroma, like orchid and musk, burst into the air as if a flower were blooming.

The complete set of materials needed to cast this Secret Technique was valued at a steep 450 Black Tower Points, enough for a total of ten uses.

According to the book, the Secret Technique should not be cast more than twenty times a year, or it would cause "Spiritual Resistance."

In other words, the body and spirit would no longer be able to effectively absorb Spiritual Power.

By this calculation, it would cost 900 Black Tower Points per year, an amount most ordinary Apprentices could not afford.

This was, in the truest sense of the word, "burning money."

Although the Secret Technique was extremely safe and even had the special Effect of clearing away spiritual residue, its greatest drawback was how much money it burned.

Mo Ning was completely unfazed by this.

The balance in his Guiding Ring account had long surpassed the ten-thousand-point mark. This expense was just a drop in the bucket.

He raised a finger and quietly cast the Trick [Burning]. A wisp of flame emerged from his fingertip and drifted toward the Spiritual Incense suspended in mid-air.

The next moment, the incense was lit.

A milky-white smoke, even finer than milk, billowed up from the incense.

The white smoke behaved strangely. It didn’t disperse, but instead gathered into clumps, like clouds, drifting lazily in mid-air.

The name of this incense was Cloud Incense, which was quite fitting.

Mo Ning’s hands began to move with the speed and grace of a pianist.

Flower’s invisible gaze hung in the air, quietly observing her master’s movements.

Having observed for so long, the Artificial Soul already knew her master’s optimized Secret Technique process like the back of her hand. She naturally understood what he was doing.

Simply put, he was transforming his Spiritual Power into invisible threads to draw those "clouds" into the Star Map constructed by the Secret Technique.

The Star Map contained 148 "Nebulae"—the 148 spiritual clouds formed by the burning incense.

The position of each Nebula was a point he had precisely calculated by means of Secret Divination and Divination, in conjunction with his own Spiritual Spectrum.

The position of every Nebula had to be extremely precise; the slightest deviation would cause the Secret Technique to fail.

This was also why, despite its excellent effects, the Starlight Secret Technique was shunned by so many Apprentices.

It was difficult to start, difficult to learn, and even more difficult to master. The Casting process itself remained fraught with peril.

It was just too difficult.

「One minute later.」

Flower saw the incense extinguish as all 148 Nebulae settled into their positions, one by one.

With her abilities, she could tell at a glance that the position of every Nebula was perfect, without the slightest error.

A flicker of admiration passed through the Artificial Soul’s consciousness.

’According to the information I’ve obtained from the database, most Apprentices would have to attempt this single step many times. It wouldn’t even be surprising if they wasted an entire box of Cloud Incense.’

’But Master performed it as if he had practiced it thousands of times, without wasting a single shred of incense.’

Then, she saw the invisible threads of Spiritual Power guide each Nebula to begin vibrating.

This step was also extremely difficult, as each Nebula had a different vibration frequency, and again, no error could be tolerated.

’And Master’s every action was nothing short of perfect.’

Then, a wondrous sight unfolded.

The Nebulae seemed to come alive, slowly pulsing like hearts.

"THUMP—THUMP—"

Flower’s transcendent spiritual hearing captured the strange sound of heartbeats.

She murmured happily in the silence, "The star cluster is in position! Master is so fast. He’s already surpassed ninety-nine percent of the Apprentices who have studied this Secret Technique."

A moment later, as if stimulated by something, the color of the Nebulae rapidly shifted from milky white to a pale blue.

Flower understood instantly. ’Master has successfully completed the most critical step: fusing his own Spiritual Power with the Star Map.’

The Artificial Soul quickly did two things.

First—she delivered a bottle of the Magic Potion, Starlight Potion, worth a steep 150 Black Tower Points, into her master’s left hand.

This was a Magic Potion that permanently increased one’s spirit. Drinking a bottle on its own could raise Spiritual Strength by 0.03 to 0.04 points and also temporarily boost one’s Spiritual Activity Level.

But when used in conjunction with the Starlight Secret Technique, a miraculous reaction would occur.

Flower watched as her master opened the cap and precisely drank one-fifth of the potion.