Under Laun's careful guidance, Lin Tian threw himself wholeheartedly into practicing Fireball. Laun stood to one side, watching Lin Tian intently and offering pointers from time to time.
Lin Tian took a deep breath, focused his mind, and cast Fireball again and again as Laun had taught him. With a wave of his Magic Staff, fireballs shot out like meteors, streaking toward distant targets. At first, their speed and accuracy left much to be desired, but with continuous practice, the fireballs grew noticeably faster and struck the targets without fail. Their power also gradually increased; the sparks bursting from the targets became larger, and the scorch marks burned into them grew deeper.
Lin Tian practiced without pause until Laun finally smiled in satisfaction. "Mm, Lin Tian, you have already gained a fairly good grasp of Fireball." Next, Laun introduced him to the incantations for other first- through third-rank spells: Firebolt, Chain Fireball, Fire Arrow, and more.
As Laun explained, he demonstrated how to cast each spell for Lin Tian.
"As for instant-cast magic, the key lies in having an extremely high degree of control over your mana and spiritual power. In an incredibly short time, you must mobilize your mana and guide it with your spiritual power. That requires extensive practice and a deep understanding of magic." Afterward, Laun explained the techniques for instant-cast magic.
Lin Tian listened attentively, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Then he eagerly began practicing these new spells. He trained until dusk fell and the lingering glow of sunset spread across the manor, leaving him no choice but to return to the imperial palace.
Before he left, Laun reminded him, "Lin Tian, I need to go out for a while soon. During this time, cultivate properly in the imperial palace. Do not be impatient. Steady progress is the proper path of cultivation."
Lin Tian nodded. "Rest assured, Teacher. I will cultivate diligently."
After returning to the imperial palace, Lin Tian hurried through dinner and immediately began meditating. He sat cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes. The air around him seemed to grow still, with only the sound of his steady breathing echoing through the room. As his meditation deepened, Lin Tian felt his spiritual power slowly increasing. Only when he began to feel mentally exhausted did he fall into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, Lin Tian rose as usual and completed his warrior training. After breakfast, he began studying etiquette, culture, and other subjects. Lin Tian said to his instructor, "Teacher, I hope to speed up my studies and finish learning this material as soon as possible, so that I can have more time to cultivate."
The teacher looked at Lin Tian and smiled helplessly. "Your Highness, although this knowledge is complicated, every part of it is vital and must be learned step by step. However, since Your Highness is so determined, I will do my best to adjust the pace of instruction."
By the end of the morning, even Lin Tian, whose spiritual power far exceeded that of ordinary people, felt somewhat overwhelmed. The cumbersome rules of etiquette, profound literary knowledge, and complex theories of art flooded toward him like a tide, forcing his mind to work at high speed.
After lunch, Lin Tian rested for a while. Once his mental strength had recovered, he immediately began practicing magic incantations. Holding to the belief that a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush, he decided not to rush into practicing other spells and instead continued consolidating his Fireball.
Holding his Magic Staff, Lin Tian cast Fireball once more. A fireball quickly condensed at the tip of the staff and hovered in the air. Lin Tian stared at it, sensing the fire elements constantly leaping within it, and fell into thought. He recalled Teacher Laun saying that most magic involved a magus supplying part of the mana, then using spiritual power to draw in external elements. The two would merge to increase the spell's power. So what would happen if he severed the mana and spiritual power maintaining the spell?
It is only a first-rank spell. With my peak second-rank body, there should not be any major problem. Thus, he decisively cut off the mana and spiritual power sustaining the magic. The instant they were severed, the fireball exploded with a boom, scattering blazing flames in every direction. Lin Tian reacted swiftly and dodged aside with his agile speed.
Seeing that the exploded Fireball was relatively weak and posed no threat to him, Lin Tian began a series of experiments. He continuously controlled the speed at which he withdrew his mana and spiritual power. Sometimes he tried withdrawing only mana, and other times only spiritual power. With each attempt, the fireball exploded in a different manner, and muffled bangs repeatedly echoed through the training grounds.
After numerous attempts, Lin Tian looked utterly disheveled, as though he had just crawled out of a coal pile. His clothes were covered in scorched holes. This was because, in order to observe the fireball's explosion in detail, he had failed to dodge in time. Still, these experiments gave Lin Tian a deeper understanding of the roles mana and spiritual power played in Fireball.
After repeated trial and error, Lin Tian flicked his Magic Staff, and a fireball shot out instantly. In speed, accuracy, and power, this fireball was no different from the ones he had cast with an incantation before. Yet it consumed only one-third of the mana and spiritual power it had previously required. Through observing explosion after explosion, Lin Tian had discovered the minimum ratio of mana and spiritual power needed to control a fireball's formation.
Then Lin Tian cast Fireball again and kept it hovering in the air. At the same time, he recalled the principles of Firebolt that Teacher Laun had explained yesterday and attempted to add mana and spiritual power based on those principles into the already formed fireball.
Boom! It exploded once again. After many adjustments, Lin Tian finally succeeded in casting a version of Fireball with the speed and power of Firebolt, while consuming the same amount of mana and spiritual power as Fireball had before being modified. This meant that a third-rank magus like Lin Tian could instant-cast a second-rank spell while consuming only as much mana and spiritual power as a first-rank spell. Moreover, its appearance was no different from an ordinary Fireball.
Lin Tian imagined himself instant-casting Fireball in a future battle, his enemy defending against it as though it were a first-rank spell, only to be killed by what looked like Fireball but was actually Firebolt. He could not help letting out a sinister chuckle. Hearing the strange laughter, the guard on duty felt a chill sweep past him and could not help shuddering.
Once his excitement subsided, Lin Tian thought again, Since Fireball can possess the power of Firebolt, could it also possess the characteristics of other spells? He immediately began a new round of experiments.
At first, when experimenting with second-rank spells, the process was somewhat rocky, but with his deep understanding of Fireball and powerful spiritual power, he could barely make it work. However, when he tried third-rank spells, he still could not successfully cast them even after several days of practice.
Lin Tian felt deeply frustrated, but he did not give up. After thinking carefully, he realized that many third-rank spells consisted of fire elements shaped into different forms. Could that be where the problem lay?
Thus, Lin Tian began controlling the fireball's shape. He concentrated, carefully guiding his mana and spiritual power as he attempted to turn the fireball into the shape of a Fire Arrow. At first, the fireball always lost control and exploded during the transformation, but Lin Tian was not discouraged and tried again and again.
Finally, after countless failures, the fireball successfully transformed into the shape of a Fire Arrow. Sensing the consumption of his mana and spiritual power, Lin Tian revealed a gratified smile. "Next, it is time to test its power."
He launched the transformed "Fire Arrow," which streaked toward the distant target with a trail of flame. However, its power was only slightly greater than that of second-rank Firebolt and had not reached the level a third-rank spell should possess.
After that, Lin Tian continued experimenting for several more days, constantly adjusting the way he output mana and spiritual power and controlling the form in which the elements gathered, but he could never make the "Fire Arrow" reach the power of a third-rank spell. Still, after this period of practice, Lin Tian could already manipulate Fireball into all kinds of shapes at will. Whether it was a weapon or a magic beast he had seen, as long as he could imagine it in his mind, he could transform the fireball into it through his control of mana and spiritual power.
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