Chapter 470 - 98: Dao Transformation Level 16%
Clearly, Elizabeth had specially ordered it prepared to his tastes.
The sight of these familiar foods finally pulled Murphy completely out of his previous daze.
"Okay," he replied succinctly. His voice was steady, betraying no emotion.
With his permission, Lianna stepped forward lightly. She steadily pushed the cart to a low table by the bed, then skillfully and silently arranged the dishes and poured a cup of hot tea.
The entire process was silent and graceful, a display of excellent training.
"Please enjoy your meal, Your Excellency. Should you need anything, just ring the bell."
After setting everything down, Lianna bowed again and retreated silently to the door. She didn’t leave immediately, but waited quietly, maintaining a respectful distance while remaining ready to respond to any command.
Murphy picked up his chopsticks and lifted a shrimp dumpling, but a dark look flickered in his eyes.
The moment Lianna had entered and he had snapped out of his daze, he had discreetly used his Spiritual Power to inspect his own body.
The results made his heart sink.
His degree of Dao Body Transformation, or "Dao Transformation Level," had actually increased by a full one percent after that brief trance and cultivation session.
1%!
The number seemed minuscule, but to Murphy, it was an extremely dangerous signal—a fatal leap.
Ten years ago, when he had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, his Dao Transformation Level had been a mere 10%.
In the decade that followed, he had cultivated day and night, practiced breathing exercises, and used Red Dust Heart Refining to anchor his sense of self. Even so, his Dao Transformation Level had only climbed slowly from 10% to 15%—an average of just 0.5% per year.
But now, a single morning’s cultivation had caused his Dao Transformation Level to spike by 1%, jumping straight to 16%!
This completely defied all logic; it was more like a sign of things spiraling out of control.
Such a drastic fluctuation in his Dao Transformation Level usually meant the transformation of his very life form was accelerating, and the anchoring effect of his Divine Power on his consciousness was rapidly becoming imbalanced.
According to Murphy’s repeated calculations and tests, to purely rely on the strength of one’s Divine Power to maintain control over a consciousness deviating due to Dao Transformation, one needed an increase of 0.1 Divine Power to barely stabilize a 1% increase in the Dao Transformation Level.
In other words, to stabilize a 100% Dao Transformation Level—the equivalent of a 2.0 quality Dao Body—and break through to the Golden Core Realm, the required amount of Divine Power would reach a terrifying 14 points!
This was virtually impossible.
When a Wizard began Elementalization, the standard for Divine Power was around 6.
And at the Perfection stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, the theoretical value for Divine Power was only around 8.
For a Cultivator to rely solely on their Divine Power to reach 14 and master a 100% Dao Transformation Level was an almost impossible task.
The only exceptions were bizarre life forms nurtured by heaven and earth, born with exceptionally powerful spiritual essences.
With Murphy’s current Dao Transformation Level at 16%, his Divine Power needed to be at least 5.6 just to maintain control of his own mind.
But he wasn’t one of those unique beings. After a decade of cultivation, his Divine Power was currently only 5.2, still 0.4 short of the required 5.6.
It was impossible for him to completely control this sudden 1% increase in his Dao Transformation Level with only 5.2 Divine Power.
As thoughts raced through his mind, Murphy suppressed the chaotic turmoil within and let none of it show on his face.
He simply, slowly, brought the shrimp dumpling to his mouth.
His teeth gently pierced the translucent skin of the dumpling. The fresh, springy shrimp inside, mixed with a sweet, clear broth, burst upon his tongue.
Murphy chewed meticulously, focusing on the sensation of the food being ground, mixed, its flavors released layer by layer in his mouth.
The savory sweetness of the shrimp, the faint sweetness of the starchy wrapper, a barely-there hint of ginger... He deliberately captured, distinguished, and savored every subtle sensory signal.
After swallowing the dumpling, Murphy picked up the bowl of white rice porridge.
The rice grains were simmered until they had broken down, creating a thick, glossy porridge that gave off the pure fragrance of grain.
He lifted a spoonful to his mouth.
The warm liquid slid down his throat, spreading a gentle warmth through him.
He ate slowly, feeling the warmth and growing sense of fullness with every spoonful.
Next, Murphy picked up a piece of the pan-fried egg omelet.
Its edges were slightly crisped, the inside was tender and smooth, and it had a rich, eggy aroma.
He ate in small bites, able to even taste that it had been fried in high-quality peanut oil, which left behind a faint, nutty fragrance.
Murphy savored every side dish, from the crisp pickled melon to the salty, fragrant fermented bean curd.
Throughout the entire meal, he ate with extreme slowness and focus.
His gaze was lowered, as if his entire being was immersed in the simple act of eating breakfast.
Lianna, standing watch by the door, saw the Continent’s most powerful expert treat an ordinary breakfast with such meticulous, almost reverent care. While she was somewhat surprised, what she felt more was a deeper sense of awe.
She was absolutely certain that His Excellency’s every action was far from being as simple as it appeared.
’Perhaps it was this profound reverence for the experience of life, present in even the most mundane of actions, that had allowed His Excellency to ascend to the pinnacle of the Continent.’
’I must observe carefully and comprehend this with all my heart. In the future, I must bring this understanding back to my family and have the younger generation study it diligently.’
Murphy, of course, knew Lianna was watching him, but he paid her no mind.
For him, at this moment, this breakfast had become a form of "Red Dust Heart Refining."
He was using taste, touch, and the very act of eating itself to reaffirm his own existence, over and over.
’I am here. I am eating. I can feel these concrete, warm, mortal experiences.’
In this way, he was fighting the loss of control brought on by the spike in his Dao Transformation Level, trying to pull his wavering consciousness back to the reality of his self.