Hu Fangyuan did not attend physical training class.
He sat alone beneath a large tree in a corner of the field, his back against the trunk, his legs crossed, and his eyes gently closed.
The tree's luxuriant branches and leaves cast a broad patch of shade, keeping the scorching sunlight out. Occasionally, a breeze passed through, rustling the leaves and bringing a little coolness.
Droplets of water hovered around Hu Fangyuan.
Those droplets were about the size of soybeans, clear throughout and gleaming translucently in the sunlight. They hovered quietly within three feet of Hu Fangyuan, utterly motionless, as though immobilized by a spell.
If someone observed them closely, they would be able to see that these droplets were extremely similar in size.
Every droplet had almost exactly the same diameter, with differences too small for the naked eye to distinguish. Moreover, their shapes were extremely regular: all were perfect spheres, without the slightest distortion.
This was no simple feat.
Water, after all, flowed and had no fixed shape. Using Soul Power to gather water into perfect spheres, keeping them exactly the same size, and suspending them motionless in the air for a long time demanded extremely fine control over Soul Power.
An ordinary Soul Master would have done well to form a single ball of water. Someone like Hu Fangyuan, who controlled dozens of droplets at once, all identical in size and utterly motionless, was simply a monster.
Yet Hu Fangyuan himself was not satisfied.
His eyes were closed, his entire mind immersed in controlling his Soul Power.
He could clearly feel that the Soul Power contained within every droplet was under his control. Like threads, his Soul Power connected to each droplet, maintaining its shape and position.
Even so, he could still sense extremely slight differences in the sizes of a few droplets. Some were a tiny bit larger, others a tiny bit smaller. Although these differences were almost invisible, they stood out distinctly in his perception.
Still not enough... Hu Fangyuan silently told himself.
He took a deep breath, concentrated his spiritual power intensely, and began making minute adjustments to the size of every droplet.
The third on the left was slightly too large; he drew away a thread of Soul Power. The fifth on the right was slightly too small; he infused a thread of Soul Power. The one overhead was a little flattened; he adjusted the distribution of Soul Power.
One by one, he slowly adjusted them.
The process was extremely tedious and consumed tremendous spiritual power. Sensing the condition of dozens of droplets simultaneously while making minute adjustments to each placed an enormous burden on his spiritual power.
After only a quarter of an hour, fine beads of sweat seeped from Hu Fangyuan's forehead. His temples throbbed, and his head felt slightly swollen.
These were signs of excessive spiritual power consumption.
Yet he did not stop, gritting his teeth and persevering.
There were no shortcuts to cultivating the Distraction Technique. He had to practice over and over like this, honing himself again and again until control over spiritual power and Soul Power was engraved into his bones.
Another quarter of an hour passed.
The droplets around Hu Fangyuan finally reached a state that satisfied him.
Every one of the dozens of droplets was exactly the same size, each a perfect sphere, hovering motionless in the air. In the sunlight, they resembled dozens of flawless crystal beads, translucent and sparkling.
Hu Fangyuan slowly opened his eyes and looked at the droplets around him, a satisfied smile curling his lips.
The first step was complete.
His ability to precisely control dozens of droplets simultaneously showed that his fine control over Soul Power had reached a new height.
But this was only the beginning.
Next, he had to make these droplets move.
Hu Fangyuan willed it.
The droplets around him began moving slowly.
They revolved slowly around him along specific paths. Some moved clockwise, others counterclockwise; some bobbed up and down, while others darted left and right. Every droplet followed its own path, never interfering with the others, yet all moving in perfect order.
This was another level harder than keeping the droplets still.
While they were stationary, he only needed to maintain a steady flow of Soul Power. Once they moved, however, the speed, direction, and path of every droplet required individual control. His spiritual power consumption instantly multiplied several times over.
Hu Fangyuan's brows furrowed slightly, his entire mind immersed in controlling them.
One droplet was moving a little too fast; he slowed it a fraction. Another had strayed slightly from its path; he adjusted it. Two droplets were about to collide; he made a minute adjustment to their directions.
His spiritual power was like a great net covering the three-foot radius around him, the condition of every droplet reflected clearly in his mind.
The droplets revolved faster and faster, their paths growing increasingly complex.
Their initially simple circular movements gradually became complex curves. Some droplets traveled in straight lines, others in arcs, others in zigzags, and some even trembled irregularly.
Dozens of droplets performed dozens of different movements simultaneously, without interfering with one another.
This was no longer simple Soul Power control. This was truly dividing one mind among many tasks.
More and more sweat beaded on Hu Fangyuan's forehead and streamed down his cheeks. His face had also grown slightly pale. His spiritual power consumption had reached a critical point.
Yet his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He could clearly feel his spiritual power slowly improving under this intense pressure.
Going too far was as bad as falling short. After reaching his limit, Hu Fangyuan stopped cultivating, took the bottle containing Moonlight Dew out of the Heaven Refining Furnace, and gently sipped it.
The Moonlight Dew melted as soon as it entered his mouth, a cool, sweet sensation instantly spreading down his throat. The next moment, that coolness surged straight into his mind. Hu Fangyuan felt a hum, and his entire spirit was invigorated.
Like parched earth receiving a welcome rain, his overtaxed spiritual power recovered rapidly at a visibly perceptible rate. The aching pressure in his temples swiftly faded, and the heavy, swollen feeling in his head was swept away.
In its place came an unprecedented clarity and lucidity.
Hu Fangyuan narrowed his eyes in comfort and leaned against the trunk, quietly experiencing the tempering of his mind.
The cool sensation of the Moonlight Dew slowly circulated through his mind, like the gentlest little hands softly massaging every inch of his nerves. His spiritual power, stretched taut by the intense effort of controlling the droplets, now relaxed completely. Nourished by the Moonlight Dew, it grew more condensed and purer.
The feeling was incomparably pleasant.
It was like sinking into a pool of cool spring water on a scorching summer day. From head to toe, inside and out, every pore radiated comfort.
Hu Fangyuan could not even help letting out a soft hum.
This Moonlight Dew truly was good stuff.
Before, he had only known that Moonlight Dew could restore spiritual power and nourish Divine Sense. Only after cultivating the Distraction Technique over the past few days, consuming spiritual power at such intensity, had he truly experienced how precious Moonlight Dew was.
Cultivating the Distraction Technique consumed spiritual power.
Absorbing Moonlight Dew restored spiritual power.
Through this depletion and replenishment, his spiritual power was like refined iron hammered over and over. Every expenditure and every recovery made it more condensed and more substantial.
In just these few days, Hu Fangyuan could already clearly feel that his spiritual power had become considerably stronger than before.
Previously, controlling a dozen or so droplets at once had felt strenuous. Now, he could control dozens simultaneously and even make each move along a different path. Although it was still tiring, he could hold on.
This was progress.
At this rate, Hu Fangyuan felt that his spiritual power was growing rapidly. Presumably, by the end of this semester, it would reach a level capable of supporting two Soul Spirits.
When that time came, he could go to the Spirit Pagoda and obtain his second Soul Spirit.
Right now, he only had his first Soul Spirit, Azure Cicada, and it was merely a Hundred-Year Soul Spirit. If he could obtain another Hundred-Year or even a Thousand-Year Soul Spirit, his strength could rise another great step.
Moreover, with sufficient spiritual power supporting him, he could cultivate the Distraction Technique faster as well. When the time came, simultaneously controlling both water and fire Soul Skills, along with a few Gu worms, would definitely make his combat power soar.
The more Hu Fangyuan thought about it, the more pleased he became, and the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.
He took another sip of Moonlight Dew, feeling his spiritual power recover little by little to its peak, with even a faint hint of further growth.
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