Inside a somewhat rough campsite.
At the center of the camp stood an oxhide tent, its joints lashed tightly with oxhide strips, giving it a reassuringly sturdy appearance.
Beside the tent, a small fire pit crackled away, its bright yellow flames continuously licking at a small iron pot perched on top.
Inside the pot, broth bubbled vigorously, sending up slices of mushroom and dried meat.
Around the fire, several small fish and pieces of roast meat had been skewered on sticks, golden fat dripping steadily from their surfaces. The rich aroma of meat wafted through the air, and tiny bubbles occasionally popped on the glistening skin.
The golden-haired little girl sat to one side, staring at the steaming food, and couldn't help but swallow.
But she quickly turned her head away.
On a patch of grass, a white linen cloth had been spread out, and a handsome black-haired man sat cross-legged upon it in meditation.
This was, of course, Leilin.
After traveling a stretch with Aiwei, he had proactively stopped to rest.
Though with his physique he could march day and night for seven days straight without breaking a sweat, the little girl beside him certainly couldn't manage that.
Moreover, he needed to set aside a fixed period each day to practice his high-grade Meditation Method.
The Meditation Method he had obtained was the Comosn Serpent Eye, perfectly matched to his own bloodline. Combined with the ancient bloodline that the Chip had purified, his progress in Meditation could truly be described as advancing a thousand li a day.
"The eyes are the windows to the soul. Gaze into the Comosn Serpent's eyes, and you shall discover yourself — Noco Gulatu Fasil!"
This was what Leilin had repeatedly seen at the very beginning of cultivating the Comosn Serpent Eye.
Now, Leilin closed his eyes and felt himself staring directly into a pair of amber vertical pupils.
A sensation of darkness intertwined with scorching flame swept continuously through his entire body.
And Aiwei, who had been watching Leilin the whole time, noticed that thin wisps of black-red mist were constantly rising from his body, swirling around him and lingering without dissipating.
The wisps of smoke converged and coalesced into the shape of a small serpent that circled around Leilin, flicking its scarlet tongue.
The little serpent glided ceaselessly over Leilin's body before finally settling on his face, transforming into a strange mask-like pattern. Streams of dark-attribute energy particles were continuously drawn into the mask.
After a dozen minutes or so, the mask collapsed with a muffled boom, dissolving into tendrils of black smoke that seeped into Leilin through his seven orifices.
"Chip! Scan my current detailed data!" Leilin opened his eyes and silently commanded in his mind.
*Ding! Leilin Farell. Warlock, Rank One. Bloodline: Comosn Serpent. Strength: 7.1. Agility: 6.7. Constitution: 8.5. Spiritual Power: 28.2. Mana: 28 (Mana is synchronously determined by Spiritual Power). Condition: Healthy.*
*Host has completed one session of high-grade Meditation Method. Spiritual Power increased by 0.005. Spiritual Elementalization attribute selected: Dark. Progress: 1%.*
"Every meditation session increases Spiritual Power by a certain amount. That's already quite good!"
Leilin nodded with satisfaction.
The increase in a Wizard's Spiritual Power grew progressively harder the higher one went. For formal Wizards in particular, apprentice-level Meditation Methods had become completely ineffective. Without a high-grade Meditation Method, one could only rely on an endless supply of external resources to push one's Spiritual Power higher.
And resources that could actually benefit a formal Wizard were exceedingly rare, even on the South Coast. As a result, many formal Wizards saw their strength stagnate almost entirely after their advancement.
Only those who practiced high-grade Meditation Methods could maintain a continuous growth in their power.
However, each layer of a high-grade Meditation Method was extraordinarily difficult. The first layer was manageable enough, but after each subsequent breakthrough, every incremental step required decades — even centuries — of time.
The defining trait of a high-grade Meditation Method was that it only grew harder the further one progressed. According to Leilin's estimation, after the third layer, every single additional level would demand at minimum a thousand years of cultivation!
For this reason, many Wizards simply could not break through before the limits of their lifespan arrived, and they grew old and perished in place.
"Chip, calculate based on my current progress — how long until I meet the conditions for advancement to Rank Two Wizard?"
*Ding! Task established. Collecting host data. Constructing predictive model…*
"Based on the host's current data, it is estimated that the Rank Two Wizard advancement requirements will be met in fourteen years and seven months." The Chip reported back faithfully.
"That's quite a while! But compared to ordinary Rank One Wizards who spend decades or even centuries without being able to level up, what I've got is already pretty impressive!" The slight furrow between Leilin's brows quickly smoothed out.
From the detailed analytical charts the Chip had produced, the Spiritual Power boost provided by the high-grade Meditation Method would naturally slow down after reaching a certain threshold. Furthermore, the degree of Spiritual Elementalization grew progressively harder to advance the further one went. Both of these were factors preventing Leilin from advancing more rapidly.
Based on the Chip's calculations and the vague hints within the Book of the Giant Serpent, the advancement standard for a Rank Two Wizard was a Spiritual Power of 80 or above, along with a Spiritual Elementalization degree exceeding 80 percent.
These two conditions had stumped countless once-celebrated geniuses among Wizards.
Spiritual Power was the more manageable of the two. Whether through practicing a high-grade Meditation Method or seeking out large quantities of rare resources that stimulated Spiritual Power, one could always grind away at it given enough time.
Spiritual Elementalization, however, was a different matter entirely. First, if a Wizard had chosen the wrong energy particles, their elementalization degree would find it nearly impossible to exceed 50 percent. Specifically, one had to select the energy particles to which one was innately most attuned in order to have any hope of pushing Spiritual Elementalization past the 80 percent mark.
Moreover, this was merely the minimum advancement threshold. For the heirs of major families and true prodigies alike, breaking through at exactly 80 percent elementalization would compromise one's future potential. Only by pushing elementalization above 90 percent could one advance to Rank Two Wizard without encountering further bottlenecks down the line.