After strengthening his little companions, Han Ning had used up a significant amount of the materials plundered from the Red Centipede Tribe. The materials consumed were equivalent to about half of Fei Ming’s entire stockpile. And this was just for routine upgrades, not even accounting for Soul Beast evolution—a testament to the enormous cost.
Keep in mind, this was Fei Ming’s entire collection, amassed over one or two decades. In less than an hour, Han Ning had spent half of it as if it were water.
If Fei Ming could see how Han Ning was burning through his treasures, he would probably cough up blood and die all over again.
’Since the Soul Beasts all have corresponding skills to unlock... as a Beast Master, do I have something similar?’
With the thought of giving it a try, Han Ning switched the panel to his personal interface.
Sure enough, a prompt appeared at the bottom of his panel:
[Spend 20,000 Energy Points to unlock the Four Symbols Meditation Technique (Basic Level)?]
’A Meditation Technique?’
A look of delight spread across his face as he read the prompt on the panel.
On the Insect Continent, Meditation Techniques were rumored to be exclusive to the Five Ancestor Families. Obtaining one was said to be many times more difficult than waging war against both the Red Centipede Tribe and the Burning Fire Clan at the same time.
And now, the panel was actually offering him one. How could he not be ecstatic?
’This is great! With a Meditation Technique, humanity’s Cultivation can finally become systematic. Maybe we can even find a way off this gloomy continent where the sky is never seen...’
Han Ning lamented that the panel hadn’t shown him this information sooner.
But then he gave a self-deprecating laugh. The 10,000 points to upgrade the panel, plus the 20,000 to unlock the technique, totaled a full 30,000 Energy Points. A while ago, he wouldn’t have had any way to gather that much.
Having already spent tens of thousands of points, he gritted his teeth, and yet again, took out more precious Soul Beast Crystal Stones. He exchanged them for twenty thousand Energy Points and unlocked this Meditation Technique.
WHOOSH—
A vast river of stars materialized, forming the shapes of the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise.
"Part One—The Big Dipper"
Four large words came into view.
"Before practicing the Four Symbols Meditation Technique, you must first envision the Big Dipper Star Map within your mind. This will be used to locate the twenty-eight constellations of the heavens."
An inexplicable stream of information surfaced in his mind, appearing alongside the image before him.
"This Meditation Technique only contains content up to Tier Four Spiritual Power. To unlock more advanced content, please continue to spend Energy."
"When you have perfected the meditation on the Big Dipper Star Map, your Spiritual Power Level will have reached Tier One Perfection."
The first page of the text depicted a ladle-shaped Star Map.
Han Ning stared at the seven connected stars before him, which formed the shape of a ladle. He felt a wave of dizziness, and deep within the hazy expanse of his Spiritual World, an extremely faint, ladle-shaped Star Map began to emerge.
"Please close your eyes and feel it quietly."
"The assisted Meditation feature will guide you..."
Han Ning followed the panel’s instructions. He closed his eyes, his breathing pattern shifted, and he cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts.
"Close your eyes. Relax. Let your entire body relax. Imagine you are in a boundless, starry sky."
"It is frighteningly quiet all around... I am the only master of this domain."
INHALE... EXHALE...
Han Ning’s breathing gradually grew steady and deep, and the muscles in his face relaxed.
Time trickled by. Han Ning didn’t use his own powerful Spiritual Power; instead, he followed the panel’s guidance, step by step, into a state of deep Meditation.
All extraneous noise vanished.
Han Ning felt his consciousness ascend endlessly, as if he had arrived amidst a brilliant star cluster. There, he "saw" a shape like a ladle.
Within the chaotic, disorienting space of his Spiritual World, where north, south, east, and west were indistinguishable, seven faint, weak points of light suddenly appeared.
Immediately after, Han Ning felt what seemed to be streams of a cool current flowing through his mind.
Pulled by some strange force, these cool streams began to circle the first star of the Big Dipper.
After the current circled this star, Dubhe, once, it flowed on to the second star, Merak...
The third star, the fourth... all the way until it had finished circulating around the seventh star, Alkaid.
Han Ning suddenly felt a strange sensation well up in his mind.
A minuscule trace of coldness, even more "icy" than the previous cool current, was born from within his Spiritual World.
Furthermore, as he completed the first cycle of Meditation, the first star of the Big Dipper, Dubhe, grew a little brighter.
This was only the first cycle, and the flowing current had barely weakened.
It continued to revolve around the Big Dipper, drawn by that inexplicable force.
Thanks to the pull of this mysterious force, he barely needed to exert any effort. The Spiritual Power in his mind automatically circulated around the Big Dipper, one star after another.
It was a slow process. By the time a deep exhaustion began to well up from the depths of his mind, the first four stars of the Big Dipper hanging in his Spiritual World—Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, and Megrez—had already become dazzlingly bright.
Only the last three stars remained dim.
Moreover, a minuscule amount of Spiritual Power was now being generated at all times.
Practicing a Meditation Technique consumed Spiritual Power.
It was just like physical exercise for humans: you consume Power and Physical Strength, and with long-term persistence, the body grows stronger.
Because Han Ning’s Spiritual Power had already grown "wildly" to Tier Two without any formal technique, starting the Entry Level of the Four Symbols Meditation Technique from scratch was, for him, a familiar and easy task.