Compound Ritual Magic was different. To ensure it could produce multiple magical effects, amplification runes could not be added to it.
If amplification runes were forcibly added to one magical effect, the magic circle's balance would be disrupted, and the spell would fail outright.
If amplification runes were added to every magical effect in a Compound Ritual Magic spell, the different amplification runes would conflict, causing the constructed magic circle to collapse outright.
The inability to add amplification runes meant that Compound Ritual Magic was much weaker than ordinary ritual magic.
Why spend a large amount of mana casting a much weaker Compound Ritual Magic spell when less mana could produce a stronger effect? That was also why Compound Ritual Magic had been abandoned.
Lin Yu had chosen Compound Ritual Magic only because it could produce multiple magical effects. Lin Yu wanted to create an all-purpose Compound Ritual Magic spell as an innate spell.
Next came deciding what magical effects to include in the Compound Ritual Magic spell.
Lin Yu already had ideas about that.
The Compound Ritual Magic spell Lin Yu planned to design was a Large-Scale Compound Ritual Magic spell made up of five different Compound Ritual Magic spells.
The five magical effects were:
Manipulation and transformation of elements
Increased thinking speed, analytical ability, and perception
Disassembly, transformation, and transmutation of matter
Creation and manipulation of matter
Strengthening spells and the body
Before designing the Large-Scale Compound Ritual Magic spell, Lin Yu first had to design those five Compound Ritual Magic spells. Only then could Lin Yu design the large-scale ritual magic spell.
Creating such a spell required sufficient knowledge. Lin Yu's current knowledge was barely enough to design it, but it always felt as though the result would be less than perfect.
Looking at the library's seemingly endless bookshelves, Lin Yu decided to spend more time there building a stronger foundation and learning more before designing the Compound Ritual Magic spell.
Having made that decision, Lin Yu spent seven silver coins on fourteen hours of reading time, then quickly flew over to the books. Under the control of Mana Hand, books were brought before Lin Yu one after another. With powerful mental power, Lin Yu needed only to sweep through a book with it to memorize everything inside. Once Lin Yu had quickly finished reading a book, Mage Hand would put it back.
For the rest of the time, Lin Yu used Mage Hand to take books down for reading, then put them back after finishing them.
While Lin Yu was reading, the panel popped up automatically. Guan Canghai had sent a message in the friends section.
Guan Canghai: Bro, do you have any more potions to sell?
I'm Just Passing By: No, I've been busy lately and haven't had time to refine potions.
Guan Canghai: All right. Remember, bro, I'll buy as many Simple Blood-Activating Potions as you can get.
I'm Just Passing By: Sure, I'll let you know when I have some.
After a brief reply to Guan Canghai, Lin Yu closed the panel and resumed reading, learning all kinds of magical knowledge.
Time slipped quietly by, and before Lin Yu knew it, it was nine in the evening.
Seeing that the reading time had run out, Lin Yu put the book in hand back on the shelf.
Lin Yu went to the inn, took a bath, then used Water Control to clean the clothes worn that day.
After drying the clothes with magic, Lin Yu put the robe away. Next came meditation.
Sitting on the bed, Lin Yu quickly entered a meditative state.
During this time, Lin Yu had discovered that whenever Lin Yu concentrated on a task, a flow state would set in. While in that state, Lin Yu could instantly learn any spell.
When practicing magic, Lin Yu could learn to cast a spell instantly after only a few attempts.
Lin Yu had also entered this flow state while creating Compound Ritual Magic. In that state, inspiration seemed to flow endlessly, and Lin Yu designed one Compound Ritual Magic spell after another. Through repeated simulations and attempts, the spells Lin Yu had designed went from being impossible to cast to being barely usable after many revisions.
Entering the flow state while meditating greatly increased both the rate of mental power recovery and the efficiency of soul training.
After experiencing the flow state so many times, Lin Yu had a rough idea why concentrating on a task always triggered it. It was probably because of the Heaven's Jealousy of Geniuses talent.
As Lin Yu continued to temper the soul with mana, Lin Yu could clearly feel its strength increase with every round of tempering. As the soul grew stronger, the Magic Aperture also continued to improve as mana strengthened it.
Now, during meditation, Lin Yu recovered mental power faster than it was consumed. Lin Yu could already use meditation instead of sleep to restore energy.
At eight in the morning, Lin Yu stopped meditating and slowly sat up in bed. After eating and drinking, Lin Yu silently called up the panel, ready to see the results of a whole night's meditation.
[Character Panel] Nickname: I'm Just Passing By Race: Mixed-Blood Fairy Gender: none Class: Scholar Level: 10 (1900/1900) [breakthrough pending] Primary attributes: Strength: 7 (growth value 0.1) Constitution: 7 (growth value 0.1) Agility: 7 (growth value 0.5) Spirit: 176 (growth value 3.2) Health: 7/7 Mana: 5732/5732 Stamina: 7/7 Hunger: 100% Hydration: 100% Physical attack: 0.7 Spell power: 563.2 Defense: 0.35 Mental resistance: 281.6 Speed: 0.35 Dexterity: 1.75 (3.5) Reaction: 1.75 (3.5) Luck: 8 Appearance: 97 Traits: small size, Magic Life, flight, Lucky Star Talents: Heaven's Jealousy of Geniuses (special), Mortal Body, Divine Mind (special), Analysis Eye (A) Status: Sluggishness Skills: ... Cultivation method: Basic Meditation Method Items (5/10): silver coins * 50541, waterskin * 1, copper coins * 160, smoked jerky * 74, Inn Key (20 days) Cloth bag: robes * 4, needle and thread (87%)
A night's meditation had increased Lin Yu's spirit attribute by 11 points. Lin Yu knew that such rapid improvement was possible because of the flow state.
Without the help of that flow state, Lin Yu estimated that it would take at least several days of meditation to increase the spirit attribute by one point.
Starting today, Lin Yu no longer needed to go to the library to read. The reason was simple: during this time, Lin Yu had scanned and memorized all the knowledge in the library with mental power.