Chapter 254 - 19: Promotion to Apprentice

Chapter 254: Chapter 19: Promotion to Apprentice

After embedding three complex models, the Spirit Ring resonance was already nearing its end in just a single day. The process was significantly shorter than the average time for a White Ring.

A month of hard work was being generously rewarded at this very moment.

「Two hours later.」

Mo Ning suddenly sensed something, his gaze lifting from the pages of "Exploring the Original Soul Seal of the Phantom Lightning Carving."

The Phantom Lightning Carving possessed many Thunder Element Talent Witchcraft, and he was currently studying a Level Zero Soul Seal Witchcraft recorded in the book—[Lightning Chain].

It was the Witchcraft he most desired to master.

WHOOSH—

An incredibly strange sound suddenly rang out, like waves crashing against the shore. It seemed to come from the distant horizon, yet it also exploded right next to his ear.

Mo Ning instantly understood—the Spirit Ring resonance was over.

The third phase—Spirit Ring Magic Storage—had finally begun.

Magic Storage wasn’t just about filling the Magic Pool with Magic Power; it also involved saturating the Spirit Ring with Magic Power to form a stable channel. This would allow for much faster Magic Power restoration after the Magic Pool was depleted in the future.

The duration of this phase was roughly proportional to one’s Magic Pool Capacity, though it wasn’t a simple linear relationship.

In other words, the longer the Magic Storage phase, the larger the Magic Pool.

According to the statistics he knew, the average Magic Storage time for a White Ring was about thirteen hours.

The plug-in also provided the relevant data: [Ring Stability: 100%. Magic Storage Success Probability: 100%. Estimated Magic Storage Time: 32 hours.]

The smile on Mo Ning’s face deepened.

Flower’s gentle, joyous voice drifted through the small cabin. "Mr. Mo Ning, I sense Magic Power converging on you."

Mo Ning smiled. "Yes, I’m about to advance to an Apprentice."

Even the plug-in had given a "100% success" verdict; the gates to becoming a First Level Apprentice were wide open for him.

Flower’s voice was filled with amazement. "I’ve compared it with the knowledge base. The current rate of Magic Power convergence is three times that of a White Ring."

"Based on this projection, your Magic Pool Capacity will reach 2.6 to 2.8 times the average for a White Ring’s Magic Pool."

"The average Magic Pool for a White Ring, based on a benchmark of 1.1 points of Spiritual Strength, has a capacity of about 19.5 points. That means your Magic Pool Capacity will reach 50.7 to 54.6 points."

The Artificial Soul emphasized in a remarkably solemn tone, "This is a truly incredible figure."

She clarified the significance of this figure: "This means your Magic Power output efficiency will far exceed that of other Apprentices, your Casting speed will increase significantly, and your Magic Pool will recover several times faster than theirs. You will possess terrifying combat prowess."

Mo Ning chuckled. "It seems I just happen to be pretty good at constructing Spirit Rings."

Flower immediately corrected him. "It’s not that you ’just happen to be’ good at it. It is the fruit of your brilliant intellect."

Mo Ning simply smiled, offering no rebuttal.

In truth, he had his reservations about Flower’s estimate.

Spiritual Resilience wasn’t particularly noticeable during the novice stage, but its importance skyrocketed the moment one became an Apprentice—it directly affected the size of the Magic Pool.

Months ago, he had discovered that the [High Mountain Breathing Technique] was quite beneficial for training Spiritual Resilience.

His optimized version, the [High Mountain Magic Breath Technique], placed an even greater emphasis on honing Spiritual Resilience.

The Divine Statue Technique was also instrumental in this regard, and the plug-in’s countless deductions over the years had likewise trained his resilience.

With the combined effect of all three, his Spiritual Resilience had now far surpassed that of the other novices.

The plug-in’s prediction for his Magic Pool was between 58 and 60 points, considerably higher than Flower’s estimate.

*****

「Time passed in a flash.」

The sixth session of the elective course, "Spiritual Biology," began as scheduled in the Lecture Hall.

The lecturer, Third Level Apprentice Gray, was an extremely senior Apprentice who had been studying Spiritual Creatures for a full century.

The world of Spiritual Creatures was vast and varied, and Mo Ning, feeling his own knowledge on the subject was limited, would not miss Mr. Gray’s class for anything.

More than thirty people from the previous intake of novices had even come to audit the class.

After appearing on the lecture platform via Instant Shadow Powder, Gray, like many other instructors, habitually glanced toward Mo Ning’s seat.

It was much like how a teacher from any other world would habitually keep an eye on their star students.

"Good morning, everyone. Today..."

As Gray said the word "today," his brow twitched, and the sound suddenly caught in his throat.

The old Apprentice, nearly two hundred years old, glanced again in Mo Ning’s direction. Then, with a sweep of his hand at his waist, he produced a dark, black seed.

The action left everyone baffled, wondering what the lecturer was about to do.

Gray looked at Mo Ning for a third time and gently tossed the seed into the air with his right hand.

SNAP!

With a crisp sound, the outer shell burst open.

The seed rapidly germinated in mid-air, sprouting a tender green stalk and verdant leaves. In the blink of an eye, it shot up to over a meter tall.

Its blood-red roots twisted together to form three legs, allowing it to stand steadily on the ground. Dozens of green leaves brushed against one another, making a soft, rustling sound.

The novices watched with great curiosity.

However, having been at the academy for so long, everyone had seen their fair share of Spiritual Plants that could move, run, and jump. They had even personally experienced the power of a Tree Spirit Wizard evolved from a Tree Demon, so this was hardly cause for alarm.

Gray peeked at Mo Ning for a fourth time and whispered to the blood-rooted plant, "First, observe the surrounding Magic Power fluctuations. I’ll give you a treat later."

The blood-rooted plant immediately stopped rustling its leaves. A flower-bud-like organ grew from its top and sprayed out an extremely faint green mist.

The green mist swirled in the air without dissipating, instead condensing into a sphere one meter in diameter.

The next moment, visible green ripples, also formed from the mist, began to slowly spread out from within the sphere.

Gray took one look, and shock appeared on his old face.

He looked at Mo Ning for a fifth time, his tone filled with obvious shock. "You kid, the disturbance from your first Spirit Ring’s Magic Storage actually created a Magic Power vortex?"

All eyes in the room instantly locked onto Mo Ning.

Of course, Mo Ning knew the answer.

This strange phenomenon had begun to form around the tenth hour of his Magic Storage.

Flower’s explanation had been, "Your Spirit Ring model is exceptionally outstanding. It has formed a deep connection with the Ocean of Magical Power, which is what created this kind of disturbance."

Now that the Magic Storage was nearing its end, the magic ripples had already subsided significantly.

But he hadn’t expected the old Apprentice’s Perception to be so sharp that he would still notice it.

’You have to admit,’ he thought, ’the older they get, the sharper they become.’

He didn’t want to tell the truth, as it would be too much of a hassle to explain.

So, Mo Ning put on a blank expression and shook his head. "Sorry, Mr. Gray, I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Gray hadn’t expected an answer anyway. He simply remarked with a sigh, "The Spirit Ring you’ve formed is definitely no ordinary White Ring, kid. No wonder so many people consider you a genius."

A commotion instantly rippled through the Lecture Hall, but no one dared to speak out.

Everyone knew Gray was a strict lecturer, and breaking the rules was an easy way to get your Black Tower Points deducted.

Only Sitt lowered his head.

The man who was once considered the "strongest" naturally understood the implication of the old Apprentice’s words—if it wasn’t a White Ring, it had to be an Aurora Spirit Ring.

With Sitt’s abilities, an Aurora Spirit Ring was something he could never even dream of obtaining. The snake of jealousy coiled in his heart began to flick its tongue frantically once more.

The old Apprentice tossed out another "prophecy." "Perhaps in another decade or so, your combat strength will far surpass my own."

Mo Ning gave an awkward laugh. "Mr. Gray, you’re exaggerating."

Gray glanced at him. "I have a gift for you after class."

Mo Ning genuinely didn’t want it, but he found it difficult to refuse.

He had already accepted a gift from Bess, a Third Level Apprentice; to refuse this old Apprentice now would be an easy way to cause offense.

Gray wasted no more words and brought the topic back. "Alright, enough idle chatter. Let’s begin the class."

Two hours slipped by quietly, and the class was more than halfway over.

Mo Ning suddenly froze for a moment. Then, the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably into a smile he simply couldn’t suppress.

"This type of Spiritual Plant is extremely dangerous. Every one of its branches can transform into a snake..."

Gray seemed to sense something and cut himself off mid-sentence.

He turned his head to look at Mo Ning, a rare and rather eager smile appearing on his old face.

"Mo Ning... hmm. Perhaps I should add the honorific ’Mister’ now. Mr. Mo Ning, you are the first person to ever advance to an Apprentice during one of my classes."

According to the academy’s rules, there was no difference in status between First Level and Third Level Apprentices. It was common practice for them to address each other as "Mister."

WHOA—

The hall finally erupted into a clamor.