Apocalypse: Grinding EXP through Hunting

The blue lake reappeared.

[Spiritual Power Lake connection detected. Begin absorption?]

He didn’t begin absorbing right away.

Tang Wen focused his mind on his Sea of Consciousness.

Tadpole-like pictographs appeared one by one.

Thirty-one in total.

He had counted them many times; there was no mistake.

According to what Bai You Ruo had said when she taught him the Spiritual Meditation Method.

As a Peak Martial Artist, she had already outlined thirteen pictographs.

Among Martial Artists, that wasn’t great, but it certainly wasn’t bad.

Those who had just entered the Extraordinary realm typically had around eighteen.

After becoming a Veteran Extraordinary, one might see some growth through years of slow and steady work.

But without Talent or fortuitous encounters, they would cap out at around twenty-one or twenty-two.

But Tang Wen had already broken past thirty.

He had ascended to a whole new level in both quality and quantity.

The gap between thirty and twenty-one or twenty-two...

...wasn’t as simple as being a third larger.

At the same time, his Spiritual Power output and recovery speed after exhaustion were on a completely different level.

Take Li Zi, for example. She could only sustain her projected Dark Ability for an hour.

Tang Wen, on the other hand, was an absolute freak; he could output power all night without getting tired.

It was the difference between a man who can go three times a night and one who can go just once—but all night long.

The former can only deeply satisfy one woman, while the latter takes all comers.

Outlining thirty-six pictographs signified Great Success in the Meditation Technique.

Even a typical Extraordinary Peak couldn’t reach that level.

Once Great Success was achieved, it meant one had at least a sixty percent chance of breaking through to the Sixth Grade Gangwu Realm.

Spiritual Power Cultivation was too slow and too difficult.

This was why the major factions, camps, and cities might have a decent number of Extraordinary individuals, but the number of Sixth-Grade Powerhouses above them was drastically lower.

A few minutes passed.

Within Tang Wen’s Sea of Consciousness, thirty scattered pictographs appeared.

The thirty-first faded into view, pulsing gently.

Then came the thirty-second.

He failed.

He didn’t give up.

After a few tries, he finally managed to outline the thirty-second pictograph.

It appeared in a pale, semi-transparent state.

’As expected, it gets harder the further I go!’

This thirty-second pictograph was more than just a little bit harder than the last.

’I can’t even count this as a success.’

’At best, it’s half-formed.’

The grand total was thirty-one and a half.

This was only possible thanks to the 0.32 increase in his Spiritual Power from using the Azure Stone Slab yesterday. Otherwise, he never would have been able to outline even this half of a pictograph.

The absorption began.

The blue bubble reappeared.

Tang Wen held his breath.

Maintaining the stability of the thirty-two pictographs was already taking nearly one hundred percent of his concentration.

His state could be described as a CPU running at full load; if he had a cooling fan, it would be screaming by now.

The bubble swelled up, filling his entire Sea of Consciousness.

POP POP POP POP...

A silent ripple spread out.

One by one, the pictographs dissipated like illusions.

’I pushed it too far!’

Tang Wen sighed.

The Spiritual Meditation Method was delicate, technical work.

Normally, Cultivation required a quiet environment and had to be performed with extreme care.

For him to force his Cultivation while his Sea of Consciousness was connected to the Spiritual Power Lake was practically courting death.

HUM!

Tang Wen withdrew from his Meditation.

His Sea of Consciousness had become unstable, and the Experience Panel had forcibly kicked him out.

It was similar to the timeout protection in an online game.

"You’re awake? So fast?! It’s only been three minutes, hasn’t it?"

Li Zi’s barrage of questions made Tang Wen frown.

"What do you mean, ’fast’?! I just haven’t gotten into the zone yet."

"Well, hurry up and get in it!"

"Ahem."

’Is that an active invitation?’

’But General Zhao and Qian Dong are still in the room.’

The latter, Qian Dong, seemed to understand, wiggling his eyebrows and winking at Tang Wen.

Without a word, Tang Wen simply rolled his eyes at him.

Tang Wen started to try again.

This time, he lowered his standards, outlining only twenty-seven pictographs.

In groups of three.

He formed them into stable links.

He connected to the Spiritual Power Lake.

The blue bubble swelled up.

POP POP POP...

The pictographs dissipated.

’Still can’t hold on.’

Tang Wen recalled that he seemed to have held on for a little longer this time.

’Let’s try again!’

Eighteen glyphs appeared. When the bubble came, they wavered for a moment before shattering again.

’Hah!’

’I refuse to believe it.’

He kept at it: fifteen, then twelve. Finally, with nine pictographs arranged in a three-by-three formation, he barely withstood the bubble’s expansion and stabilized!

’This might work!’

His Sea of Consciousness was violently stretched open.

An unbearable, bloating pain washed over him.

The nine pictographs in his mind began to flash in sync with the Spiritual Power value on his Experience Panel.

[Essence: 11.73]

[Essence: 11.85]

[Essence: 12.00]

[...]

The immense Spiritual Power dyed his Sea of Consciousness a pale blue.

The nine pictographs also changed.

Their originally deep color grew even more profound.

The bloating pain also began to subside.

Tang Wen was delighted.

He dedicated the majority of his focus to making the nine pictographs rotate in an orderly fashion at a higher frequency.

This was the core Dharma Gate of the Meditation Technique.

It was just much more difficult to practice under these circumstances.

The pictographs turned a faint black.

It was a very pure black, as if it had its own matte finish.

An unknown amount of time passed.

A roar echoed through his Sea of Consciousness.

Utterly exhausted, Tang Wen exited that state.

When he opened his eyes, Li Zi jumped in fright.

A brilliant light shot out!

His eyes were glowing, as dazzling as the muzzle flash from a gun fired at night!

"What’s with you?"

"This is a sign of a massive increase in Spiritual Power!"

"How is that possible?!"

Li Zi’s face was a mask of confusion.

General Zhao had only been cultivating the Meditation Technique for a short time, so his understanding of Spiritual Power matters was superficial at best.

Li Zi rambled, "How do you feel? You weren’t driven stupid by the vast Spiritual Power, were you? Look here, who am I?"

Tang Wen turned his head, slowly observing his surroundings.

He did, in fact, look like an idiot.

A mournful look appeared in Li Zi’s eyes. "It’s over! It’s over! I finally found a man I liked, and he’s turned into an idiot!"

Tang Wen glanced at her.

Li Zi paused. "You’re not an idiot? Then do you still recognize me? Who am I to you?"

Tang Wen ignored her.

The Spiritual Power he had seized from the Azure Stone Slab had reached [Essence: 13.99].

Far higher than before.

Although the value was slowly decreasing, he had a feeling that he would be able to retain more of it this time.

It was just that the overflowing Spiritual Power wasn’t so easy to control.

He was in a strange state.

His vision was greatly enhanced, and he could see his surroundings with perfect clarity.

He didn’t even need to use his eyes; his Spiritual Power could generate a 360-degree panoramic scan.

The busy ants outside the window, the grain of the wooden furniture—it was all reflected in his mind with crystal clarity.

The clothes on the baby-faced, busty girl in front of him might as well not have been there.

Tang Wen’s gaze swept over her. ’So pale, so big.’

He quickly averted his gaze. If he didn’t, his body was about to give a mandatory salute.

’All I can say is, she really lives up to the ’baby-faced’ part. So delicate and pink.’

Li Zi, unaware she was being seen through, said mischievously, "I’m your first wife! Your senior sister! Your fiancée! Got it?"

Tang Wen smiled. "Got it, my thirty-seventh concubine!"

Li Zi’s little face fell completely!

General Zhao and Qian Dong came closer, their faces full of concern.

Looking at the two of them, Tang Wen gave a wry smile. "I was originally hoping to figure this out and teach you from my experience. But now it seems you’ll have to do it on your own. My method probably isn’t suitable for you."

Qian Dong looked at the terrifying light in his eyes and quickly shook his head. "You kid, just get some rest for a few days first! You trained like your life depended on it back at camp, and you’re still doing it here."

’A few days of rest is out of the question.’

This trip was under the guise of taking a break.

They had been out for three or four days already.

It was time to head back to Ganshan City.

...