He Xi stepped forward into the open space at the center of the Practice Room and faced all the new students.
Rather than gathering his mana immediately, he first gave a brief explanation. "I'll demonstrate slowly. Pay attention to the rhythm of my mana flow and the sensation of establishing a mental lock."
With that, his gaze sharpened slightly, and a faint but steady blue light began gathering in front of his palm.
The new students, especially those who had yet to cast this spell successfully, widened their eyes and tried hard to sense the mana fluctuations emanating from He Xi.
"The first shaping node." The blue light's internal structure began to change, complex geometric patterns faintly emerging within it.
"Imbuing it with tracking properties." Tiny runes seemed to flash within the blue light before vanishing. The entire mass of energy appeared to come alive, subtly orienting itself toward the distant Training Dummy.
"Final compression. Stabilize the structure and prepare for release." The fully shaped mass of energy contracted again, becoming even more condensed.
"Fire." He Xi gently pushed his palm forward.
Whoosh—bang!
Trailing a faint wake of mana, the streak of blue light flew straight ahead and struck the Training Dummy twenty meters away squarely in the center of its chest.
"That concludes the demonstration." He Xi lowered his hand, turned toward Mirabelle, and gave her a slight nod.
A hint of satisfaction flickered in Mirabelle's eyes. "Did you see that? Stable, precise, efficient. No excessive pursuit of speed, not a trace of wasted mana, and no unnecessary fluctuations. That is the standard you should aim for at this stage.
"Now, pair up and begin practicing with the Training Dummies over there."
"He Xi, come with me to check on them and offer guidance."
The students could hardly contain