Cloud Hand Takes Shape, Strength Surges

After Spell Arts class ended, the clamor on the practice field gradually died away.

Instead of returning to his dormitory as usual, Chu Bai went alone to a secluded stream behind the Dao Academy.

The murmuring water washed the stray thoughts from his mind. He slowly extended his right hand, and with a slight shift of thought, a crystal-clear Spirit Water Needle, its spiraling force plainly visible, formed once more at his fingertip.

Watching it spin merrily and refract rainbow light beneath the sun, Chu Bai finally broke into a smile he could not suppress.

"Finally... a breakthrough."

He spoke softly, a hint of emotion in his voice.

For more than two months, he had practiced hundreds of times every day without fail, then spent the quiet hours of the night repeatedly working through the technique and deepening his understanding. At last, today, its progress bar had filled completely, bringing a transformation in quality.

This was the Proficient Level.

The improvement it brought touched every aspect of the technique.

First came its power. That spiraling force gave the Spirit Water Needle terrifying penetration it had never possessed before. This was the real secret behind how he had pierced the puppet's hard armor so easily.

Next came control.

His command of the technique had now reached a sublime level. Directing it with his Divine Sense felt more natural than ever, and he could even divide his attention to control two groups of Spirit Water Needles—six needles in all—along different paths in a coordinated attack.

In a real fight, that would undoubtedly be a deadly move.

But the most crucial improvement was that his understanding of Spell Power's fundamental nature had risen to another level.

He discovered that, as his mastery of the technique advanced, he could actively refine and reshape the