Meditation Analysis

Holy Soul Village had only one work-study student spot. Logically speaking, the old village chief would have given this spot to himself.

But Tang San and Tang Hao had never given a damn about logic!

The doorman at the Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy had only insulted Tang San a couple of times, yet he had already found the Way to court death.

One had to remember that this was merely a verbal quarrel.

As for the work-study student spot, that involved benefits. A struggle over benefits was far more serious than a verbal quarrel. If Han Tao snatched the spot for himself, he would be courting death several times over.

When one lacked strength, one had to keep a low profile. Han Tao understood this—and understood it deeply.

"Kid Han Tao, our Holy Soul Village has a work-study student spot. You can go to the Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy to study. Do you want to go?"

Soon, Old Jack's question reached him.

Han Tao fell silent for a moment before replying word by word.

"I remember Tang San awakened a Martial Soul too."

When Old Jack heard this, his expression grew somewhat angry. He waved his hand.

"Don't mention it. I just came back from their house. That damned drunkard refuses to let Tang San go study. He even spouted some nonsense about how no one would cook for him if Tang San left!"

"I only said a couple of things to him, and Tang San even threatened me. Sigh!"

At this point, Old Jack's gaze turned helpless. The person he had helped for so long had become a Soul Master, yet had turned against him in the blink of an eye.

Oh, no. He hadn't become a Soul Master yet! "Thank you, Old Village Chief."

Han Tao didn't dare agree. This was a life-threatening question.

"I'd like to ask, how much are the tuition fees for that Soul Master Academy?"

"Could I borrow some money?"

At this point, Han Tao felt somewhat embarrassed. Old Jack was kind and compassionate, so there was a high chance he would agree to his request.

"Don't worry. I'll definitely pay you back. Definitely!"

Old Jack looked at the hopeful Han Tao and remained silent for a moment before finally softening.

"All right, then. You must work hard!"

Half a month later,

Old Jack brought Han Tao to the Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy.

Perhaps Han Tao wasn't a work-study student, or perhaps this simply wasn't the same doorman. In any case, the two of them encountered no difficulties.

The paperwork was completed quickly. Before long, Han Tao had successfully enrolled and arrived at his dormitory.

A tall young man approached him. After seeing Han Tao enter, he made a simple judgment based on his clothes and appearance.

A pauper!

And the kind of pauper who pretended to be rich! Xiao Chenyu sneered contemptuously and immediately launched into the stereotypical villain's taunt.

"Kid, call me Boss!"

Faced with the taunt, Han Tao didn't hesitate much. He immediately called out, "Boss."

Then he casually placed his bedding on the bed beside Xiao Chenyu's and sincerely asked, "Boss, is it all right if I sleep here?"

The unexpected answer left him stunned. For a moment, Xiao Chenyu found it difficult to lash out.

Young children cared about their pride. Han Tao had called him Boss, so if Xiao Chenyu bullied him now, it would mean bullying his underling. It would be rather embarrassing if word got out.

"All right!" Boss Xiao nodded.

Having received his boss's approval, the other roommates no longer made things difficult for Han Tao. Soon, he had hit it off with all of them.

After dealing with the trivial matters of daily life, Han Tao began solving his first problem after enrolling.

Learning to read.

Don't assume that learning to read was simple. Being able to understand and speak a language was entirely different from being able to write it.

Besides, why would a normal six-year-old child know how to read? All of this had to be learned bit by bit.

Han Tao spent a month mastering the spoken language of the Douluo Continent. Writing and reading, however, required a much longer period of accumulation.

This was also why Han Tao had shamelessly asked Old Jack for a loan.

For work-study students, there were far too many trivial chores. Not only was their food poor and their accommodations bad, they also had to take responsibility for cleaning. This consumed a great deal of time.

Work-study students had to apply to enter the library, and even if they asked a teacher questions, the teacher might not answer.

Of course, Tang San had Master, so he clearly didn't need to worry about any of this.

"Meditation is the only way for a Soul Master to raise their Soul Power Level besides Soul Rings and Soul Bones."

The teachers at Notting City's academy were fairly competent. Besides teaching the basic properties of Soul Beasts and Soul Rings, their most important lesson was teaching the Meditation Method.

Most of Notting Academy's courses revolved around how to perform "meditation" and the various techniques involved in meditation.

"Meditation" was a basic cultivation method that used Mental Power to circulate Soul Power through the Meridians. It had something in common with the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

However, in terms of precision and potential, the gap between them was like a natural chasm. The Mysterious Heaven Skill could even raise one's Innate Soul Power, while "meditation" clearly could not.

When Han Tao had first arrived on the Douluo Continent, he had been somewhat naive. He had thought he could easily modify meditation and thereby overcome the defect of his low Innate Soul Power.

Only after putting it into practice did he discover that things were nowhere near that simple.

The difficulty of optimizing the Meditation Method was practically comparable to developing a new mathematical formula in his previous life. To optimize the Meditation Method, he first had to learn it.

Where was Mental Power? Where was Soul Power? How did one sense Soul Power with Mental Power? How did one mobilize Soul Power? What were Meridians? What did Meridians look like? All these questions had to be explored by Soul Masters bit by bit, and all of it required time.

Han Tao wrote the following in his notebook:

1. Mental Power could be restored through sleep.

2. Mental Power was affected by one's Soul Power Level.

A low Innate Soul Power Level meant weak Mental Power and a limited ability to mobilize Soul Power, which in turn made the "Meditation Technique" difficult to learn.

This was a vicious cycle, and I had happened to fall into it.

"What should I do?"

The predicament was like a thick wall, cutting Han Tao off from the path ahead.

"Stay calm. Think. I can't use the diligence of action to conceal the laziness of thought."

Han Tao began considering a solution.

"Sleep can restore Mental Power. When Mental Power can't be improved, obtaining better-quality sleep becomes especially important."

"Fatigue. Fatigue can significantly improve the quality of sleep."

How could he make himself tired? That was incredibly simple. Exercise, studying, training, meditation—any one of these activities could make a person feel fatigued.

"Come to think of it, Yu Xiaogang's running exercises seem to be somewhat useful?"

"That is, provided he discovered that fatigue can improve sleep quality and thereby restore Mental Power more quickly. If he hasn't, then running is practically meaningless."

After establishing his growth plan, Han Tao began putting it into practice.

Learning written language, exercising, and practicing the Meditation Technique became the mainstays of Han Tao's daily routine.

Oh, no. There was one more thing.

"Boss Xiao, among all the Soul Masters in our school, you're the strongest!"

Xiao Chenyu held his head high arrogantly. Clearly, he greatly enjoyed Han Tao's flattery.

Flattering Boss Xiao was also part of his daily routine. As for why he did it, that was because the boss was exceptionally generous. Whenever he was in a good mood, he would treat his underlings to a meal.

Young men had their pride. Sometimes, to maintain his image, Xiao Chenyu would order one or two portions of Ten-year Soul Beast meat.

That flavor...