Unlocking a Class

With a slight thought from Lin Xu, the Bright Light Lamp's flame spread along with his spiritual sense, burning away the last of the black smoke.

As though a veil had been brushed aside, his vision suddenly cleared. His soul perception spread out like a river of stars, and he could clearly sense the subtle flow of spiritual essence in the air.

These energies, which had originally been evenly distributed, now seemed drawn by some invisible force, slowly converging on his soul.

"The forum said that once a Spirit Eye-type spell reaches the expert level, you can directly observe the flow of energy in the air. It looks like, in the brain overclocking state, I naturally gained a similar ability..."

"The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom: 'When a bodhisattva attains these supernatural powers, they are not obtained from without. Their nature is pure, and when their practice and deeds are complete, they naturally manifest.'"

Lin Xu silently recited the words, which rang in his heart like a morning bell and an evening drum. Under the influence of Transcendent Wisdom, the flow of energy, which had seemed somewhat blurry to him, became clearer.

An understanding quietly dawned: even if he left the brain overclocking state now, he had already mastered the Spirit Eye Technique, even though he had never learned a similar cultivation method.

With a thought, his soul returned to his body, and his mind sank into his sea of consciousness.

The great radiant sun projected by the Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp floated silently at the center of his sea of consciousness. The spiritual power that had accumulated rapidly transformed, and his soul body, once as insubstantial as mist, gradually grew solid, faintly taking on the contours of Lin Xu's face.

His consciousness merged with the great radiant sun. His soul body was like morning dew reflecting the rising sun, and every ripple resonated with the great sun's rhythm.

The spiritual power in his sea of consciousness transformed ever more rapidly. A faint light shimmered over the surface of his solidifying soul body, as though coating it in a layer of Glazed Purifying Flame.

At that instant, the bright lamp flame in his hand stirred slightly, undergoing a subtle change. The flow of spiritual essence that had been slowly gathering suddenly spun faster and collapsed inward. Fine golden patterns appeared along the edge of the flame, unfolding in layers like the petals of a blooming lotus.

This was the phenomenon of "Spirit Fire Condenses a Lotus," recorded in the basic chapter of the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art. It was clear proof that a Soul Refining cultivator had grasped the mysteries of the chapter and become one with the lamp flame in mind and heart.

In this state, the spirit fire resonated with the soul body and moved at will, giving rise to all manner of wondrous uses. It could illuminate the hidden and dispel illusion, focus the mind and nourish the soul, and even be used to refine the soul.

These, however, were the methods of ordinary cultivators. Lin Xu went a step further: using Transcendent Wisdom to deduce the possibilities, he used the light of his heart lamp to illuminate the void, changed the frequency of the spirit fire, and drew the surrounding spiritual essence toward himself.

It was like setting up a Spirit Gathering Formation, drawing in the free energy within the quiet room.

That alone doubled his cultivation efficiency.

Each fine adjustment to the spirit fire's frequency was accompanied by a flickering succession of formulas in his sea of consciousness. Transcendent Wisdom surged like a deep current, peeling away the hidden meanings of the basic chapter of the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art layer by layer.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, the heart of the spirit fire lotus suddenly trembled. His sea of consciousness abruptly opened up, and a glazed radiance shone through the bright lamp flame from within. Lin Xu stirred a thought, and the flame spun gently, its Spirit Gathering effect abruptly tripling.

The flame of the Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp quietly went out. Lin Xu slowly opened his eyes, and silence returned to the quiet room. Only an illusory sun remained in his sea of consciousness, illuminating the outline of his soul body.

He opened his personal panel:

Name: Lin Xu

Race: Human

Status: Outer disciple of Xuanwei Monastery

Class: Taoist (Level 1)

Strength: 13

Agility: 12

Constitution: 12

Spirit: 16

Intelligence: 15

Charisma: 14

Health: 125/125

Mana: 8/8

Skills: Basic Meditation Method · White (Master), Basic Fitness Technique · White (Advanced), Talisman Drawing · Cyan (Intermediate), Wisdom Art · Gold (Beginner), Spirit Eye Technique · Cyan (Grandmaster), Light Mantra (Advanced), Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art (Basic Chapter) · Gold (Master)

Talents: Focus (Gold), Thought Overclocking (Gold)

Equipment: Ice Heart Jade Pendant, Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp

His Spirit attribute had increased by one point. That meant a single cultivation session had increased his spiritual power by more than 20%!

Of course, this was the accumulation of the past ten years. It would not be so easy from now on.

What delighted Lin Xu most was that, in just one cultivation session, he had deduced the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art to the master realm, thoroughly grasping every obscure key to its basic chapter.

This meant that his subsequent cultivation would yield twice the results for half the effort, and both the speed and quality of his Soul Refining would far surpass those of others.

He opened [Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art (Basic Chapter) · Gold]: 15/100 (Master)

Cultivation efficiency bonus: 300%

Special effects: Heart Fire Spirit Communion, Illuminate the Hidden and Dispel Illusion, Bind Souls and Capture Spirits, Gather Spirits Like an Array

"Good! Thought Overclocking's effect is even better than I imagined." Lin Xu's heart surged, and he could not help laughing aloud.

A current of ice swept through him, smoothing out his roiling emotions.

For a Soul Refining cultivator, whether it was great joy or great sorrow, both were obstacles to cultivation.

No wonder he was so happy. Skill books were rarely seen in the real world, and even if an ordinary person obtained one, they could not use it without unlocking their personal panel.

Take the Talisman Drawing skill Lin Xu had taught himself: he had worked it out on his own, spending several years to develop it.

Without passing the trial or having a skill book, one could only rely on instinct to comprehend a skill, at less than a tenth of the efficiency of a Spirit Realm adventurer.

Under normal circumstances, skill books could only be obtained from Spirit Realm treasure chests or special locations, such as Xuanwei Monastery's Scripture Repository.

But once a skill reached the master tier, one could teach it to others or, after mastering the relevant skills, produce skill books to sell or trade.

A Spirit Realm adventurer with a master-level skill was an honored guest wherever they went.

After reaching the master realm in a cultivation-method skill like the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art, he could even teach it to his family.

The Spirit Eye Technique was a skill Lin Xu had comprehended on his own while his soul was outside his body. He had been able to deduce it to the grandmaster realm without a skill book, which was clearly also the result of the combined effects of the Wisdom Art and Thought Overclocking.

The Light Mantra was a skill that came with the Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp. He had not even practiced it; merely by manipulating the candlelight while his heart and the flame were one, he had naturally grasped the essence of the mantra.

"With the help of the Wisdom Art and Thought Overclocking, my greatest advantage is that I can learn and master all kinds of spell skills in an extremely short time. I have to make use of that."

A calm light flickered in Lin Xu's eyes as he began to put his next cultivation plan in order.

Unlike killing monsters and leveling up in a game, cultivation in this world could only be verified through one's own practice, one step at a time.

But it was not entirely without shortcuts. For example, by cultivating the Bright Lamp Spirit Kindling Art, one could use the power of the Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp to make the heart fire resonate with spiritual light, thereby accelerating the process of soul refinement.

What was more, once proficiency in the cultivation method reached the expert level, a cultivator could use the Dao Rhyme Bright Light Lamp to purify the power of faith and convert it into soul power they could absorb, greatly increasing their cultivation speed.

Lin Xu picked up the bronze lamp and looked at the oil in its bowl.

In just the time it took an incense stick to burn, three drops of lamp oil had been consumed. Clearly, this was because he had used the oil in place of mana to maintain the Thought Overclocking state for a long time.

At that rate, he would use up all the lamp oil in a few hours.

"Dharma Coins, and soul-nourishing incense..."

He glanced at the ashes of the incense, which had already burned out, knowing the use of the incense.