Spiritual Force
In an abandoned warehouse, Qin Yuan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, a faint golden light flickering around him.
If anyone could see inside his divine body, they would discover that an earthshaking transformation was taking place in Qin Yuan's mind. The ten epochs of Law Comprehension Acceleration had ended, but those insights had taken root like seeds in the depths of his consciousness, continuously growing, sprouting, and blossoming.
The Time Law and the Space Law were the two most fundamental higher laws in the universe. Any expert who cultivated these two laws to an extremely high level would possess combat strength far beyond others of the same tier.
And now, Qin Yuan's mastery of these two laws had reached a terrifying level.
Ten epochs of comprehension were equivalent to a hundred thousand years of arduous cultivation. Although a hundred thousand years was not particularly long compared with a Universe Master's lifespan, this was a hundred thousand years under a thousandfold acceleration, spent entirely in a state of epiphany!
For an ordinary Universe Master cultivating for a hundred thousand years, spending even thirty percent of that time cultivating efficiently would be impressive. But Qin Yuan had been in peak condition every minute and every second of those hundred thousand years.
By that reckoning, what he had gained in those ten hours was equivalent to at least several million years of cultivation for an ordinary Universe Master!
"Time Stop... Space Lockdown... so that's how it is."
Qin Yuan murmured to himself and slowly opened his eyes. Countless profound law patterns flowed through his eyes, as if they contained the ultimate truths behind the birth and destruction of the universe.
Just then, the warehouse door was pushed open.
Luo Feng strode in, still covered in dust and blood from the wilderness. But he was in excellent spirits, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Teacher, I'm back!"
Qin Yuan looked him up and down and nodded. "Advanced Beast General. You fought well. Sit down."
Luo Feng sat down on the cushion opposite him and asked eagerly, "Teacher, what did you mean when you said my fighting style was crude?"
"Exactly what I said," Qin Yuan replied bluntly. "From beginning to end, you used brute force to meet force head-on. If your physique hadn't been far superior to that Black-Scaled Wolf's, you would certainly have died."
Luo Feng fell silent. He knew Qin Yuan was telling the truth. In that fight, he really hadn't shown any technique to speak of. He had relied entirely on his powerful, genetically optimized body to withstand the attacks.
"Do you know how true experts fight?" Qin Yuan asked.
Luo Feng shook his head.
"True experts put every bit of their strength to the blade's edge." Qin Yuan raised a finger. "Like this-"
A pale golden beam as fine as a strand of hair suddenly shot from his fingertip and silently pierced the warehouse wall, leaving a pinhole-sized opening.
"I used exactly the same total amount of energy as you did in that punch just now," Qin Yuan said. "But I concentrated my attack on an area of less than one square millimeter, so it could easily pierce a steel plate. The force of your fist, on the other hand, was spread across a contact area of dozens of square centimeters. Most of the energy was wasted."
Luo Feng suddenly understood.
"That's only the most basic technique," Qin Yuan continued. "Higher-level techniques involve the use of laws. Like this-"
He lightly traced a line through the air with his finger.
A bizarre scene unfolded: Luo Feng clearly saw Qin Yuan's finger moving slowly, yet he felt as though the air around him had solidified, and his body couldn't move at all.
"This... what's happening?" Luo Feng asked in shock.
"A superficial application of the Time Law-localized Time Deceleration," Qin Yuan said. "I reduced the flow of time around you tenfold. From your perspective, my finger moved slowly, but in reality, that movement took only an instant. You were hit before your body even had time to react."
He snapped his fingers, and Luo Feng felt his body regain its freedom.
"That is the power of laws," Qin Yuan said. "When experts in the universe compete, it isn't about who has greater strength, but who has a deeper comprehension of the laws. The same amount of power, augmented by laws, can become ten times, a hundred times, even a thousand or ten thousand times more powerful."
Luo Feng's heart surged as he listened, but at the same time, he felt deeply discouraged. He had thought he was already strong, but only now did he realize he hadn't even touched the threshold of power.
"Teacher, how can I comprehend the laws?" he asked.
Qin Yuan looked at him but didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Luo Feng, do you know why I chose you?"
Luo Feng was taken aback, then shook his head.
"Because hidden within your soul is an exceptionally rare talent," Qin Yuan said. "Spiritual Force."
"Spiritual Force?"
"It's another system of power, separate from physical strength," Qin Yuan explained. "Ordinary warriors can only cultivate their bodies and gain strength through genetic evolution. But spiritual force users are different. They can directly control the energy in the universe, using their mental power to move objects from a distance, attack enemies, and even affect reality."
He turned his palm over, and a fist-sized stone in the corner of the warehouse rose into the air and hovered between them.
"This is the most basic application of Spiritual Force-controlling objects with mental power."
Luo Feng's eyes widened. He remembered the way Qin Yuan had first demonstrated water, fire, wind, and lightning in front of him. So that was Spiritual Force?
"Your soul is naturally much stronger than an ordinary person's. You're a born spiritual force user in the making," Qin Yuan said. "That's also why you were able to rise from an ordinary student to your current level in just a few years. Although your Spiritual Force hasn't awakened yet, it has already been subtly strengthening your body and your reflexes."
Luo Feng listened, dumbfounded.
So the "talent" he had always possessed wasn't true talent at all, but Spiritual Force working behind the scenes?
"Teacher, how can I awaken my Spiritual Force?" Luo Feng asked eagerly.
"Don't rush." Qin Yuan waved a hand. "Awakening Spiritual Force doesn't happen in a single step. It requires a specific method and the right opportunity. I called you back today to teach you the method of awakening Spiritual Force."
He took a thumb-sized, pale blue crystal from his robes and handed it to Luo Feng.
"What is this?"
"A Soul Crystal," Qin Yuan said. "A treasure from the universe that can nourish the soul. Place it against the center of your forehead, then follow the meditation method I teach you and try to sense the power deep within your soul."
Luo Feng took the Soul Crystal and carefully pressed it to the center of his forehead.
A cool sensation flowed from the Soul Crystal and penetrated deep into his mind. It was a wondrous feeling, like a clear spring washing over his consciousness, making his thoughts clearer than ever before.
"Close your eyes." Qin Yuan's voice sounded beside his ear. "Empty your mind. Don't deliberately think about anything. Feel the energy coming from the Soul Crystal and follow its guidance as you explore the depths of your consciousness."
Luo Feng closed his eyes as instructed and relaxed his whole body.
At first, his mind was still full of stray thoughts-the battle in the wilderness, the Black-Scaled Wolf's claws and fangs, the instructor's surprised expression... But gradually, with the Soul Crystal's help, those thoughts receded like the tide, and his consciousness entered an ethereal state.
Just then, he "saw" it.
In the deepest part of his consciousness, a faint light flickered. It was very dim, as though it might go out at any moment, but it was undeniably there.
"That is the source of your Spiritual Force." Qin Yuan's voice sounded again. "Now, try to touch it with your mind."
Luo Feng cautiously brought his mind toward the light. The instant his mind touched it-
Boom!