Cultivating the Netherworld Meditation Method

Thinking this, Kadiya watched them hammering away and said softly, "I am a sword fighter in the service of Lord Aodum, the Deputy City Lord. My name is Kadiya. You two have quite impressive skill."

Dole showed no reaction upon hearing Kadiya's name, but Verek was somewhat startled. He immediately looked up at the man in black. "Are you Kadiya, the Star Swordmaster?"

Kadiya nodded modestly. Far from being arrogant, he spoke with an even temperament. "Yes. Star Swordmaster is merely a title my friends gave me. This little fellow Dole is quite good—he has reached the threshold of a Level One blacksmith so quickly."

Though Verek was surprised, he was not overly astonished. They were not on the same level; he had only heard people speak of Kadiya often.

Glancing at Dole, Verek smiled. "Dole has good talent and sharp instincts. He is already a Level One blacksmith. After building up experience for a while, once he has the strength of an intermediate warrior, he can find a way to advance to a Level Two blacksmith." He could tell that Kadiya thought highly of Dole, so he mentioned it.

Dole had no idea what the two were talking about. This Kadiya looked formidable, but what did that have to do with him?

Verek came back to himself, and the two continued forging.

After an entire afternoon, the battle sword had been reforged. Its dimensions were exactly the same as before, and even its center of balance had not changed. It was merely a little heavier.

After quenching and polishing it, Kadiya took the sword from Dole and gave it a few light swings, immensely satisfied.

Looking at Dole, he smiled. "Little fellow, you are quite good. If you have time, you may come find me." With a flick of his wrist, he produced a calling card and handed it to Dole.

Dole was somewhat bewildered, but rejecting someone was never good manners. He wiped his filthy hands on his clothes and carefully accepted the card.

Seeing this, Kadiya became even more pleased. He put away the sword, paid them, then turned and left.

Since it had only been a modification and Kadiya had supplied the materials himself, after an afternoon's work and handing over the money owed behind the counter, the two still had three silver coins left.

With a grand wave of his hand, Verek gave Dole one silver coin.

Looking at the silver coin in his hand, Dole was overwhelmed with emotion, nearly brought to tears. At last, he had laid eyes on a silver coin.

After work, he wandered around outside for a bit and bought a set of clothes and a bundle of candles along the way.

A bundle contained twelve candles, each costing one copper coin—very cheap. An ordinary set of linen clothes cost around thirty copper coins. Spending more than forty Mafa copper coins in one go, Dole would be lying if he said it did not hurt.

All along the way, Dole had feared running into that damned Aoduo. Fortunately, he did not encounter the fellow today.

Returning to the thatched hut, Dole was full of energy. Through his efforts over this period, he had already learned most of the words. Now that he had candles tonight, if he worked a little harder and learned all the words he did not understand, he could begin studying the wizard portion. According to Naluye's book, wizards could greatly enhance one's spiritual power and perception, making everything far more convenient, though wizard apprentices had almost no combat ability to speak of.

But they were still wizards—mysterious wizards. Compared with warriors, wizards were exceedingly rare in everyday life, almost never seen. Yet everyone had witnessed their power. They had run through the entire history of humankind; the strongest humans in history had been wizards, capable of destroying a city with a wave of the hand. They were terrifying, like gods.

If warriors were what every ordinary person pursued, then wizards were what everyone yearned for.

When he opened the door, Dog Aoduo was lying on the ground without moving. Dole walked over, rubbed his dog head, and set down food for him. There had been leftover fatty meat in the kitchen today, making for quite a feast.

Dog Aoduo looked at the lavish meal and thought, I stopped eating this stuff long ago. Still, he did not refuse. He cleaned every last bit from the bowl and dutifully fulfilled his role as a dog.

But he soon noticed that Dole had brought back a bundle of candles today and had even changed clothes. He blinked at once. Had this fellow gotten rich?

Thinking of Dole's current strength, he must have earned money from blacksmithing.

It was already late. In the dark little room, the flickering flame was the only source of light. Dole secured the candle, then opened Naluye's book. He was not planning to train today; reading came first.

Reading while flipping through the dictionary, Dole studied with great seriousness. Before long, he had looked up every word he did not understand. There had not been many left to begin with.

Naluye's section on wizards was very simple, containing only a single cultivation method. In fact, whether it introduced warriors or wizards, the book covered only the basics, going no higher than Level One for each profession. There was nothing beyond that. Whether for warriors or wizards, there was only one foundational cultivation method. The warrior section was more detailed, explaining how to train the sinews, bones, skin, and five viscera, while the wizard section contained only one method.

The name of this method was simple as well: Basic Meditation Method. After studying it for two hours, Dole finally finished all its contents. It did not seem all that difficult.

This Basic Meditation Method was simple: when one was calm and at peace, one imagined an object within one's mind. It could be an item or an animal. The more detailed the imagined image, the better. There was no fixed pattern.

When one advanced in the Meditation Method, one would naturally feel it; there was nothing special about it. In other words, once the kung fu was there, advancement would come naturally.

It seemed rather like a scam, leaving Dole with no clue where to start, but this was Naluye's wizard enlightenment method.

After finishing it, Dole looked around for the thing he knew best, preparing to begin cultivating this Meditation Method.

After pondering for a long time, he realized there seemed to be nothing he particularly wanted to imagine.

After thinking for ages, he turned inadvertently and heard the metallic clink of copper coins colliding in his pocket. He froze. Right—copper coins were what had left the deepest impression on him. Why not imagine Mafa copper coins? The book had no particular requirements anyway.

No sooner thought than done. He sat cross-legged, calmed his heart and quieted his mind, emptying himself of stray thoughts.

This part was also included in warrior training, so he easily entered a state of concentration. Then he began sketching a copper coin in his mind.

He had long since become intimately familiar with the appearance of copper coins. Their patterns, texture, every minute detail—he knew them all clearly. Thus, he easily formed its rough outline.

But then a problem arose. When he tried to flesh out its specific image, he felt powerless.

Still, he did not lose heart. Keeping the rough outline unchanged, he did his utmost to sketch in the details, adding them bit by bit.

The Meditation Method had said that this process would take a very long time and could not be accomplished in one stroke. So he only needed to proceed step by step. As for being slow, that was only natural. If he could form a complete copper coin at once, it would only mean he was not normal.

As he practiced, his spirit gradually failed to hold up. Exhaustion quickly overcame him, and he collapsed into sleep.

At the other end of the room, Dog Aoduo had been observing Dole all along. He had noticed when Dole began practicing the Meditation Method, and was somewhat surprised when he saw him fall over. This fellow had persisted for three hours on his very first attempt—remarkable, truly remarkable. His talent for wizardry was far greater than his talent as a warrior.

Seeing Dole asleep, he spat out a ray of seven-colored light as usual, enveloping him, then raced outside.

Dole had wasted several hours. He had to hurry over.