She couldn't help but interrupt, "What 'Kongming borrowing the east wind'? It's all about anger and strategy; I'm completely confused."
Hermionesi tried to guess:
"It must be an ancient Eastern term. Could this 'qi' refer to the breath a person takes with each breath?"
"Sort of, but not entirely." Draco nodded.
"Inhaling and exhaling, in ancient times this was called spiritual energy. Now the energy is too impure, and the methods of cultivating energy are also lacking, so it's impossible to cultivate immortality."
Trillian was even more confused:
"What exactly is this 'cultivation of immortality' thing?"
"Cultivating immortality involves constantly refining oneself, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and ultimately transcending the shackles of mortals to possess power as great as that of God, with a long lifespan and vast supernatural abilities."
Draco gave Trillian a brief explanation.
"Were people in ancient times really that amazing? They could actually cultivate abilities like God!" Trillian exclaimed in amazement.
"It's impossible to verify," Draco replied.
"Documents have preserved some records, but countless records, texts, and histories from ancient times to the present have been lost. What has remained, besides its interesting aspects, possesses some degree of authenticity. Purely falsehoods may not survive; purely truthful things may not endure either. Only things that are a mixture of truth and falsehood, and falsehoods that are a mixture of truth and falsehood, coupled with belief in them, can endure. Why do people believe? Perhaps some have witnessed or heard it firsthand."
Draco waved his hand, steer the conversation back to the main topic:
"That's a bit of a tangent."
"Time moves forward, and it flows in a negative direction. Trees wither and die, people grow old and die, and our vital energy gradually thins. As our vital energy thins, we can absorb less and refine less essence, which is insufficient to sustain us for a day and a night without sleep. Therefore, we need sleep to replenish our vital energy. During sleep, our vital energy is consumed more slowly, allowing us to restore our essence."
Trillian tilted her head and asked curiously, "Young Master, according to you, in ancient times, the energy of heaven and earth was abundant, so people in ancient times didn't need to rely on sleep to restore their energy?"
"Who knows? It's just a deduction based on surviving ancient texts and the laws governing the changes in nature. No one can definitively say whether it's true or false." Draco shrugged, offering no definite answer.
"Anyway, I understand now. The things I didn't understand were things from the East." Trillian gave up thinking.
"We shouldn't have so rigidly divided into East and West in the first place," Draco said with a smile. "The terms 'East' and 'West' are merely names given by later generations for the convenience of distinguishing regions and cultural contexts."
" The Gnome, the power of the spirit and soul, and the flow of fortune are universal rules that transcend geographical boundaries. It's just that people in different regions explore, apply, and record them in vastly different ways."
Draco continued downwards.
"Good fortune comes, but luck is also crucial. Luck, when it's bad, brings a string of misfortunes; when it's good, it brings great fortune. And when a person's luck accumulates and flows to a certain extreme, they can become what novels often refer to as a 'child of destiny.'"
It's what's often referred to in novels as the "auspicious cloud cover" phenomenon.
"Some are born with destiny, while others acquire it through luck. The destiny of a child can even influence their external environment. Things like accidentally falling off a cliff and stumbling into a secret realm are all manifestations of destiny."
Trillian was deeply moved and eagerly asked, "If luck has such wondrous and boundless uses, how do we use it?"
"We can't find a way to do it ourselves," Draco explained.
"The methods of cultivating internal energy have long been lost in Muggle society, and very few people in the world can release the internal energy they have cultivated."
"Even among this small group, the vast majority still rely on external objects such as talismans, ritual implements, consecrated ornaments, and incense as mediums to activate their energy and manifest extraordinary phenomena. The remaining millions of ordinary Muggle can only internalize their pure energy throughout their lives, storing it within their bodies to nourish themselves, unable to release it externally."
"So, wizards are a group of people who project their energy outwards?"
Following his train of thought, Trillian asked.
"That's right, the root cause lies in the difference in bloodline," Draco explained. "Perhaps there's a special pathway within a wizard's bloodline where refined energy is directly converted into magical power to unleash spells."
"But the Muggle passage has long been closed."
"So what exactly do you mean by internalization? Um... can't Muggle use their 'qi'?" Kraven ignored him, so he could only start by asking about internalization.
"From what I understand, of course it's possible," Draco replied affirmatively. "The methods aren't limited to external projection."
"It can also be internalized, allowing qi to enter the body and provide vital energy, giving you spirit and enabling you to sustain your activities throughout the day. These activities include not only physical activity but also mental activity, which is called mental recitation."
"The power of thought, the power of intention—even the slightest thought consumes energy. This is why sorcerers chant incantations when casting spells."
Hermione, being a practitioner herself, chimed in, "Yes, ignoring the activation of magic can also lead to mental and physical exhaustion."
A new association popped into Trillian's mind. "Just like God, with a single thought, all things in the world change accordingly. A single thought can create all things, and a single thought can bring down calamities. In essence, it is also an extremely powerful thought force driving vital energy to change reality?"
"Yes." Draco continued, listing examples from her. "A flick of the finger, a transformation, turning stones into gold, scattering beans into soldiers, summoning wind and rain—these are all manifestations of projecting telekinesis."
"But Muggle don't have wizarding blood and can't project magic, so is telekinesis useless to them?"
" Muggle telekinesis isn't entirely useless," Draco countered. "Human telekinesis is also very powerful; if you strongly believe something can happen, it's very likely to happen."
Selene suddenly spoke up, "I usually believe in many things, but nine times out of ten they all fall through, and I've never gotten what I wanted."
"That means you've never truly believed," Draco said, cutting to the chase. "You've always been caught between self-doubt and self-denial. The Muggle world is full of lies, scheming, and false promises. Over time, people naturally develop a suspicious nature. When suspicion grows, the mind becomes fragmented and scattered, and one's energy becomes chaotic. Of course, one can't use telekinesis to influence things."
"To give a simple example: you only have three thousand yuan in your pocket, and you say you firmly believe you can earn five million, but deep down you are constantly doubting yourself. How can three thousand yuan turn into five million? The gap is too big, it's simply impossible."
Hearing Draco say this, Trillian thought of the Country of Sakura in the East and said, "The people of the Sakura Country are pure-hearted, single-minded, and not suspicious. According to this logic, wouldn't they be more likely to concentrate their minds and accomplish what they want to do?"
Draco shook his head. "I don't know much about the people of the Sakura Country, so I dare not make any conclusions."
"Probably not," Kraven interjected, then pointed out the flaw in the notion that success could be achieved solely through a single thought.