One-Star Spiritual Apprentice

The West Station was in the outer city, while the Spirit Tower was in the inner city.

Trams shuttled through every street, with all sorts of passengers coming and going. Duke, however, always sat by the window, taking in every sight.

"It's like the European cities during the First Industrial Revolution described in textbooks..."

"Or like a cyberpunk new world..."

Chen Jiao City was a place with rolling black smoke and sewage-filled streets, but also with neon lights and bustling traffic. The dazzling charm of technology and the sordidness of life coexisted, both separate and yet fitting together.

However, as they entered the inner city, the dirty sights gradually diminished.

Tall, tower-like buildings stood in clusters, and villas with gardens were spread around the low mountains. Patrol Knights on cool mounts maintained order, while skimmers flew close to the ground, and sedans drove slowly by.

Compared to the reckless chaos of the outer city, the inner city, despite being crowded, was orderly.

"Spirit Tower Station!" the ticket seller shouted loudly before the tram had even stopped.

Duke quickly stood up and moved to the door. After the tram stopped, he stepped off, along with several others. One of them, a middle-aged man, was also heading to the Spirit Tower, just like Duke.

"New here?" the middle-aged man asked, noticing Duke looking around.

"Uh, yes."

"What brings you here?"

"Registering as a Spiritual Apprentice."

"Hmm, took a Spirit Awakening Potion?"

"How did you guess?" Duke decided to walk with the middle-aged man.

"No one would let a genius register at the Spirit Tower alone; they'd be snatched up immediately." The middle-aged man reached the entrance of the Spirit Tower and turned to the two guards. "He's with me."

"Understood, Mr. Willgang." The guards no longer questioned Duke's identity.

Duke entered the gate and asked curiously, "Mr. Willgang, may I ask who you are?"

"A Meditation Record Keeper, just a regular staff member." Willgang waved his hand. "You can go straight to the hall; a dedicated clerk will help you complete your Spiritual Apprentice registration. Once you're done and come to collect your meditation method, we can meet again."

With that, Willgang, carrying his briefcase, hurried away.

"Thank you."

Duke thanked him and headed straight for the hall.

Many people were already gathered at the front desk, handling various matters. Duke joined the queue, listening to the types of services available. He heard about reissuing qualification certificates, exchanging Arcane Templates, assessing apprentice levels, and applying for private tutoring. The Spirit Tower's scope of services was indeed very broad.

"Next."

"Hello, I'm here to register as a Spiritual Apprentice."

"Do you have a recommendation form?"

"Here."

"Tom, someone's here to register as a Spiritual Apprentice, take him over." The clerk at the front desk immediately called out.

Soon, a young man with a pockmarked face took the recommendation form from the Snakehead Town Spirit Society. He glanced at the contents, then at Duke. "Follow me."

Perhaps the recommendation form indicated that Duke had used a potion to Open his Spirit Sea.

Or perhaps Tom was just a man of few words.

The two walked in silence, climbing a flight of stairs and turning down a corridor, arriving at a room labeled "Spirit Sea Induction Center."

There were quite a few staff members busy inside.

Tom waited with Duke for a moment, then found an opening and quickly handed over the recommendation form. "Spirit Sea opening test, please."

Soon, someone came over and led Duke to a machine with a rich texture. The machine was surrounded by non-metallic panels, with a crystal ball in the center.

"Place your hands on it and meditate on your Spirit Sea," the old man operating the machine instructed.

Duke complied.

His hands touched the crystal ball, and his mind instantly entered his Spirit Sea.

As soon as he entered, Xiao Yi's thoughts reached him. "Master, a power seems to be imprinting on your Spirit Sea."

Duke had already looked into such matters. "They are reflecting my Spirit Sea to test my Spiritual Arcana talent. Xiao Yi, can you and Desert Eagle hide yourselves?"

"Of course."

"Good. Hide yourselves. I also want to know how high my Spiritual Arcana talent is," Duke decided.

When he heard someone say, "You can let go now," he opened his eyes and saw that the non-metallic panels around the machine were reflecting numerous points of light, which bore some resemblance to the starlight distribution in Duke's Spirit Sea.

"Elemental Affinity: Low... Energy Stability: Medium... Spirituality Absorption Efficiency: Low... Overall Talent Assessment: Below Average." The old man announced the test results and stamped the form.

"Oh..."

Duke felt a bit regretful, but not too disappointed.

Most Spirit Seas opened with potions had low talent. In fact, even naturally opened Spirit Seas had a high probability of low talent. But talent was just a parameter. According to the book Opening the Spiritual Arcana, talent did not determine the height of one's Spiritual Arcana. There were countless examples of Spiritual Apprentices with low talent becoming powerful Arcane Mages.

"Besides, I have Nine-Ring Xiao Yi, and I'll eventually reach Nine-Ring too!"

Duke was not discouraged.

But from Tom's eyes, Duke saw a hint of undisguised contempt.

"Let's go, Duke. Your Spirit Sea has been checked, and it's time for formal registration." Tom called out and said no more, just going through all the procedures for Duke step by step.

Finally.

He paid the processing fee and card fee with one silver dragon.

Duke received his Spiritual Apprentice identification, a Spirit Card as thin as a bank card. It had a light green background, and didn't directly display Duke's information. Instead, it featured a tall, magnificent tower-like building—the headquarters of the Spirit Tower in the capital of the Seven Towers Federation.

"Once you advance to First Ring, you can get a blue Spirit Card. I doubt you'll need to... Take good care of this Spirit Card; replacing a lost one costs ten silver dragons."

Tom said casually, "Spiritual Apprentices are divided into five levels, from One-Star to Five-Star. You are currently a One-Star Spiritual Apprentice. You can come here to swipe your card each time you level up to adjust your rank. Alright, now I'll take you to choose a meditation method."

Duke put away his Spirit Card and quickly followed.

When it came to choosing a meditation method, he indeed saw Willgang, who had brought him in earlier. However, the other party showed no special reaction and said in a businesslike tone, "Your talent is on the lower side. Your three basic attributes, elemental affinity, and spirit absorption are not good, only energy stability is passable. We recommend cultivating the Bedrock Meditation."

Duke thought for a moment and replied, "Mr. Willgang, may I learn about the other meditation methods before choosing?"

"Of course. Rixi, introduce the apprentice-level meditation methods to him."

Rixi was Willgang's female assistant. She had a full chest, a slightly rough facial structure, and a rather robust voice. "The Spirit Tower has improved them over generations and derived five meditation methods most suitable for Spiritual Apprentice cultivation. They are Colorful Meditation, Bedrock Meditation, Vortex Meditation, Blank Paper Meditation, and Field Meditation..."