First Attempt at Meditation

"All right, class is over. That's enough for today. Next, I'll take you to the Academy Cafeteria for lunch. This afternoon, I'll teach you how to meditate. If you want to become a Soul Master, you must listen carefully." Lin Ximeng smiled at the children below, who were still wanting more.

Before long, the group followed Lin Ximeng to the cafeteria. Under her guidance, they collected their meals one by one and found seats.

When Lin Ximeng saw that Tang Wulin had taken far more food than everyone else, she patted his head and gently asked, "Wulin, can you finish all that?"

"I can. Ever since my Martial Soul Awakening, I've felt like I can eat more." Tang Wulin nodded vigorously.

Lin Ximeng lightly shook her head and said nothing more, continuing to guide the students behind him as they collected their meals. An Ping, who stood behind them, muttered inwardly, What's so impressive about that? Once I awaken the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, you'll know what it really means to be able to eat.

Lunch soon ended. Tang Wulin's appetite did not disappoint. Not only did he finish everything, he went back for another serving and finished that as well. Seeing this, Lin Ximeng said nothing more, merely sighing inwardly that people's constitutions truly could not be judged by the same standard.

On the way back to the classroom, Little Fatty Wan Yunchao moved up beside Tang Wulin and patted him on the shoulder. "Tang Wulin, I never expected someone as small as you to eat even more than I do."

"It only became like this after my Martial Soul Awakening. I don't know what happened either." Tang Wulin scratched his head.

When they reached the classroom, everyone returned to their seats and stared eagerly at Lin Ximeng on the platform. They all seemed extremely expectant about this so-called Meditation Method.

"First, we all know that Soul Power is distributed around us. Though it cannot be seen with the naked eye, it is everywhere. A Meditation Method is the use of Spiritual Power to sense the Soul Power around you, then guide that Soul Power with your Spiritual Power as much as possible and allow your body to absorb it, thereby increasing your own Soul Power." Lin Ximeng stopped keeping them in suspense and explained the necessary steps bit by bit.

"That is what basic meditation is like. If you enter an Advanced Soul Master Academy in the future, or are even fortunate enough to enter Shrek Academy, the most famous Soul Master Academy on the continent, you will be able to come into contact with more advanced Meditation Methods."

When Lin Ximeng mentioned Shrek Academy, all the students below wore looks of yearning, imagining the day they might be admitted to Shrek Academy.

Clap, clap.

Lin Ximeng clapped her hands, interrupting the students' fantasies and also breaking An Ping out of his comparison between the Meditation Method she had described and Energy Circulation Flow.

"All right, all right. If you want to enter a stronger Soul Master Academy, you'll have to work hard to improve your strength in the future. Now, follow what I taught you and begin trying to meditate."

"Teacher, how do we suppress distracting thoughts?"

"Teacher, what does calming the mind and gathering one's focus mean?"

"Teacher..."

A steady stream of questions followed. Lin Ximeng showed no impatience, answering each one gently in language that was as simple and understandable as possible.

An Ping was also somewhat uncertain about how he should choose between the Soul Power Meditation Method and Energy Circulation Flow. Both mentioned the use of Spiritual Power, and their first step was to sense the existence of one's own Spiritual Power.

The Soul Power Meditation Method involved using Spiritual Power to sense the existence of Soul Power, then guiding that Soul Power into the body.

According to Energy Circulation Flow, after sensing the existence of Spiritual Power, one had to control it to construct a Spiritual Power Model. Through the Spiritual Power Model, one absorbed the so-called Magic Power to form a Magic Power Source, achieving the goal of using that Magic Power Source to leverage the Magic Power outside oneself and even the rules themselves.

After thinking it over, An Ping decided to sense his Spiritual Power first and worry about everything else later. Besides, Energy Circulation Flow looked far more advanced than the so-called Soul Power Meditation Method. More importantly, it could improve Spiritual Power.

An Ping lightly shook his head and stopped thinking about that mess. He tried a breathing method recorded in Energy Circulation Flow for calming the mind. It was a method that taught one how to clear one's thoughts and suppress distractions, said to be extremely useful for Shaman Apprentices trying to sense and control Spiritual Power.

An Ping found a relatively comfortable sitting posture and closed his eyes. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. He worked hard to control his breathing until it matched the rhythm recorded in Energy Circulation Flow.

Time passed second by second. At first, he only occasionally reached that rhythm, but gradually he came closer and closer, and his heart grew increasingly calm.

Suddenly, a streak of white light flashed through the classroom. An Ping's Martial Soul appeared silently on his desk. At the same time, an invisible force that no one could sense emanated from it, flashing away in an instant.

A faint vortex of Soul Power also appeared around An Ping.

As the white light flashed, the six-year-old children, all at an age when they were full of curiosity about the world, turned toward its source. Since they all possessed Innate Soul Power, they could vaguely sense that fluctuation.

An Ping's Book Martial Soul automatically opened on the desk. Its pages turned one after another, first slowly and then faster and faster, yet not a single sound came from it. There was none of the rustling one would hear when wind blew through a book.

Time continued to pass, but the Book seemed to turn endlessly, completely unlike what its apparent thickness should have allowed.

An Ping sat with his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of anything. The students looked curiously from Lin Ximeng to An Ping and back again. Little Fatty Wan Yunchao boldly stood up and asked in a low voice, "Teacher, what's happening?"

Lin Ximeng had never seen such a situation either. Her mind raced, and then a term suddenly came to her: Deep Meditation.

After considering her wording, she gently said, "Student An Ping should have entered meditation. All right, don't disturb him. Try to see whether you can enter meditation as well."

A quiet murmur spread through the room. They had all only just awakened their Martial Souls, so why was he already so outstanding? Still, they all settled down and earnestly tried to enter meditation.

Meanwhile, An Ping was completely unaware of the changes outside. He only felt a flash of white light, and then he appeared within a grand building—or rather, within a grand Library.

Looking at the seemingly endless rows of bookshelves, he felt an inexplicable sense of awe. For no apparent reason, a term came to An Ping's mind: Sea of Consciousness. Yet he found it somewhat unbelievable. Leaving aside why he had suddenly opened his Sea of Consciousness, it was said that the Sea of Consciousness reflected a person's soul. No matter what, the reflection of his soul could not possibly be endless bookshelves and Books.

If he could not figure something out, he would simply stop thinking about it for the time being. That had always been An Ping's habit across both lives. He walked toward a bookshelf and looked at the familiar titles on it.

100 Questions for Shaman Apprentices, Introduction to the Shaman World, <Meditation Method, Spiritual Power, and the Relationship Between Magic Power>, Miscellaneous Notes, Travels Across Planes, and so on.

They were clearly the ones he had previously read from his Martial Soul. There were also some he had not read, but from their titles alone, he could tell that they were related to Witches.

Sky of Truth. He had never understood why his Martial Soul bore that name.

"So that's how it is. Knowledge explains truth, and that is where the name Sky of Truth comes from." He muttered softly and walked deeper inside.

As he walked, he examined the labels on the bookshelves: Elemental Path, Bloodline Path, Mystic Path, and so on, each with many further branches.

Bang! Though there was clearly nothing there, it felt as if he had collided with something. Before An Ping could react, a sharp pain shot through his head, forcibly ejecting him from the Sea of Consciousness.