Chapter 103 - 83: Spiritual Strength Surges
Mo Ning, however, felt that it was entirely possible.
The Imitation School, one of the three major schools of Meditation, had proven time and again that the Meditation World could create astounding miracles.
The most classic example was the famous Giant Tree Wizard—Lord Wayne, a Third Level Wizard and the headmaster of the Celestial Lake Wizard Academy.
Lord Wayne practiced the Imitation School, and in his Meditation World, he had transformed into a tree.
As the tree grew, Wayne discovered that his plant-related Life Magic became increasingly powerful.
Eventually, the tree in his Meditation World grew into a colossal, towering giant, its height measured in kilometers.
Its canopy blotted out the sky and its roots pierced the earth, like a great green tower standing at the center of the Spiritual World.
Using this as his foundation, Lord Wayne created an exceptionally powerful Second Level Witchcraft—the Giant Tree Technique.
When this Witchcraft was cast, a giant tree hundreds of meters tall would burst from the ground to entangle, crush, and trap its enemies.
And so, the illusory and the real merged in a fantastical way.
Although the Divine Statue School was a niche school, it still contained elements of imitation. It wasn’t hard to understand, then, why something like this had occurred.
Mo Ning immediately had another guess: ’The Phantom Carved Divine Statue in my Spiritual World must have undergone a transformation.’
He closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into his Spiritual World.
He immediately "saw" the Phantom Carving slowly unfurling its wings amidst a brilliant radiance of Magic Power.
Wisps of blue electrical light snaked across its wings, flickering in and out of existence like Electric Snakes trapped between its feathers.
’Just as I thought!’
A wave of joy washed over Mo Ning.
He unconsciously recalled a passage from another book about the "Original Soul Seal":
"Many Magic Creatures are born with the ability to cast Witchcraft. The fundamental reason for this is that their souls resonate with the Ocean of Magical Power in a unique way, giving birth to a miraculous energy structure.
"We call this the Original Soul Seal.
"In a sense, an Original Soul Seal can be considered a naturally formed Spirit Seal.
"Compared to a Spirit Seal constructed through Secret Divination and Divination, its structure is primitive and crude, and its energy utilization is less efficient.
"Under specific circumstances, humans with special talents can also form an Original Soul Seal within their souls.
"However, the human constitution is far weaker than that of Magical Beasts, and their innate talents don’t even come close. Consequently, the power of their Original Soul Seals is often pitifully weak.
"But knowledge is a Wizard’s greatest strength. We can use the Knowledge of Divination to modify an Original Soul Seal, gradually transforming it into a Witchcraft Model.
"Because of the Soul Seal, the Witchcraft Model naturally has a very high affinity with the soul. This means the resulting Witchcraft is more powerful and consumes less Magic Power.
"Best of all, this Witchcraft Model doesn’t occupy a Spell Slot, which is equivalent to having an extra Witchcraft."
Mo Ning glanced down at his fingertip and murmured thoughtfully:
’It seems that under the stimulation of an external force, the transformation of the Phantom Carving in my Spiritual World led to the formation of an Original Soul Seal within my soul.
’The Original Soul Seal fused with the Phantom Carved Divine Statue, thereby granting the statue the power to control Thunderbolt.
’The statue is essentially a special type of Spirit Seal, which is why I’m able to control Thunderbolt.’
At this point, the logical chain was complete. All his questions now had a reasonable explanation.
As for the so-called "external force," its source was obvious.
Mo Ning turned to the nearby Radiant Spirit Lamp and said with a solemn expression, "Praise be to Lord Martin!"
All the strange phenomena from today—the 0.06-point jump in his Spiritual Strength, the unlocking of his Spiritual Potential, the transformation of the Phantom Carved Divine Statue, the arc of electricity that appeared from thin air on his fingertip, and the Original Soul Seal deep within his soul—were all thanks to the Radiant Spirit Lamp and the Radiant Spirit Oil.
He was thus deeply grateful to the former headmaster.
Mo Ning reached for the statue, but stopped halfway and lowered his hand. ’Forget it. From now on, I’ll do my Meditation in the Cabin in the Woods.’
The dark undercurrents swirling within the academy made him feel that the Cabin in the Woods was much safer.
’The dormitories seem heavily guarded, but there might be a Dark Wizard’s spy hidden among the new students. Who knows what could happen?’
Mo Ning didn’t wait any longer. He used his Spiritual Power to activate "Walking into the Painting."
Everything around him rapidly faded, like an old photograph, before blurring into obscurity.
When the world came back into focus, he was standing inside apartment 804.
Morning light was already filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and his gaze fell upon the tall birch trees outside.
Recalling the night’s events, Mo Ning thought to himself, ’What a wondrous night!’
*****
「Deep within the Black Tower.」
「Inside the Observation Room.」
The moment Mo Ning appeared, the Sharp-eared Female Apprentice, Nasha, leaped from her chair, her face a mask of profound relief.
"Thank heavens! The little brat is finally back!"
When Mo Ning had suddenly vanished earlier, she had immediately reported the matter to her mentor, Yi Lin, due to its gravity.
Her mentor had simply replied, "Noted."
Although the reply didn’t seem to show any anger, Nasha keenly sensed that her mentor was not in a good mood.
This "bad mood" was mostly concern for Mo Ning, with a smaller part being dissatisfaction with his Supervisor.
The Female Apprentice even felt as if she could hear her mentor’s thoughts from afar: ’A Third Level Apprentice, and you can’t even keep track of a single newcomer?’
So, from three in the morning until now, Nasha hadn’t taken her eyes off the glowing sphere for a second.
Now that Mo Ning was back, she could finally relax completely.
The Female Apprentice quickly sent a message to her mentor, informing her of the good news.
Her mentor replied with only a single word: "Mm."
However, from the fact that her mentor’s reply was almost instantaneous, she could tell how much importance her mentor placed on the matter.
Nasha suddenly felt a little indignant. ’For so many years, the academy has recruited hundreds of new students annually. Has any of them ever been more of a troublemaker than Mo Ning?’
’Not a single one!’
’Dear mentor, how can you blame me for Mo Ning’s sudden disappearance?!’
The Female Apprentice gritted her teeth as she stared at Mo Ning’s image in the glowing sphere. She watched him retrieve a carefully prepared breakfast from his mailbox—a delivery from Anya—and suddenly felt her anger deflate.
Because she had realized something—Mo Ning was a genius. And in her mentor’s eyes, how could a genius ever be at fault?
The world was never fair.