Murphy gazed at the docile whirlwind in Eleanor’s palm. A mont later, he slowly nodded.
"You can."
At his answer, Eleanor’s dark eyes instantly lit up.
Murphy gestured for her to sit on the low stool opposite him, his gaze lingering for a mont on her young yet already focused face.
"However," he said, his voice calm and clear, "you must first learn ditation."
Eleanor straightened her small back and looked at him earnestly. "Yes, Father. ditation... How do I do it?"
Murphy began to guide her. "Close your eyes. Relax your body, but keep your mind awake."
"Imagine your breath is like a gentle breeze. When you inhale, feel the subtle energies in the air that ordinary people cannot perceive, and bring them into your body."
"When you exhale, release all impurities and stray thoughts. Don’t try to achieve anything in particular. Just feel. Just breathe."
"Then..."
"..."
Eleanor quickly entered the state. Her breathing beca long and gentle, and the aura around her began to resonate faintly with the early spring Spiritual Qi outside on the balcony.
Murphy watched her quietly.
’This child’s talent is truly rare. Even without ditation, she can absorb Spiritual Qi on her own and give her Spiritual Power a rudintary, tangible form.’
’But this is far from enough.’
Murphy spoke again. "Very good. Maintain this state. The first step on the Path of a Wizard is to condense your Spiritual Power through ditation. Spiritual Power is, in essence, your ability to sense and control Dinsional Energy."
"Continue to ditate, and it will absorb Dinsional Energy and gradually strengthen, transforming from an intangible perception into a power that can tangibly affect the outside world."
"Just like when you summoned the wind before."
Eleanor’s long lashes trembled slightly. She didn’t open her eyes, only murmuring a soft, "Mm."
"When your Spiritual Power is solid enough, you can try to use it to ’draw’ patterns, construct Magic Models, and inscribe them in your Spiritual World." Murphy paused. "Now, open your eyes."
Eleanor slowly opened her eyes.
She saw Murphy extend a finger, a point of spiritual light glowing at its tip. In the air, he simply sketched the outline of a basic rune representing a "gentle breeze."
The trace of light vanished in a flash, yet it seed to have been branded into the surrounding air.
"Different Magic corresponds to different Models. You can think of these Models as... keys, woven according to the specific Laws of this world. They are used to leverage the corresponding Dinsional Energy to create different effects."
The fading trace of light was still reflected in Eleanor’s dark eyes, which were filled with curiosity and contemplation.
Murphy knew she was digesting these concepts.
’These so-called Magic Models are actually a type of Dao Pattern—a runic system exclusive to the Path of the Wizard.’
’Different Paths and different world Laws give rise to Dao Patterns of various forms and principles. But ultimately, they are all a ans of controlling Spiritual Qi, or in other words, Dinsional Energy.’
’Relying on the Spiritual Power granted by his Path of Qi Refining, Murphy had no trouble learning and using Apprentice Level Wizard Magic.’
’The Magic Models of Official Wizards, however, were a different matter.’
’This touched upon the essence of the Dao Pattern.’
’A Dao Pattern must rely on a Path to unleash its true power.’
’It was like how different computer operating systems require different machine instructions.’
’Apprentice Level Magic didn’t touch upon this core; it could still be cast by borrowing from the ambient Laws of the environnt.’
’But the Magic of an Official Wizard required the caster—or rather, their Spirit Root—to bear the corresponding Path.’
’According to the history Murphy had pieced together from the Wizard’s Scriptures, the earliest forms of Wizard Cultivation lacked this step.’
’Back then, Casting was entirely dependent on the environnt. The mont a Wizard left a specific plane and lost the support of its corresponding Laws, their Magic would beco ineffective.’
’Every ti Wizards arrived on a new plane, they had to re-develop suitable Magic from scratch.’
’Those Wizards who could traverse different planes and cast Magic with stability across a myriad of worlds were revered as Legends.’
’But this was, in the end, far too inconvenient.’
’Thus, during the great age of planar exploration, Wizards pioneered a Path that involved inscribing fragnts of the Wizard World’s Laws into their own Spiritual Power. From then on, Casting was no longer completely at the rcy of the environnt.’
’This was like...’
Murphy’s eyes deepened slightly.
’It was just like how he himself could practice the Path of Qi Refining. He strongly suspected that his own Spirit Root, thanks to the "system," had already been silently imprinted with a Path that was uniquely his.’
’This was also why he didn’t want to rge his Spiritual Power into the Source Sea, as other Wizards did.’
’It wasn’t just because the process was similar to Refining Spirit and Returning Void; he was more concerned that the two Paths would conflict at a fundantal level, compromising his future potential.’
Murphy pulled his thoughts back to the present and looked at his daughter. "Your talent leans toward prophecy and insight. It gives you a sensitivity to Energy, information, and even unmanifested trajectories that far surpasses that of an ordinary person."
"The gentle breeze you summoned just now was a natural, unconscious expression of this talent."
"But if you want to truly master it, to make it your power rather than an instinctual reaction... ditation is the only starting point."
Eleanor’s gaze returned to her palm, as if she could still feel the lingering sensation of that docile whirlwind.
She gently closed her fingers. When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with firm resolve.
"I understand, Father. I will practice ditation diligently."
Murphy nodded.
’In truth, it wasn’t that he was unwilling to teach Eleanor [Breathing and Guiding].’
’Twelve years ago, he had used a Wizard Apprentice captive from Ghostly Touch to conduct an experint: he had tried to teach them the Path of Qi Refining.’
’The result, of course, was failure.’
’At first, he had attributed it to differences in ridians between individuals. But after he beca aware of the existence of "Paths," he understood it was far more complex than that.’
’This universe contained thousands of planes and countless cultivation systems, each of which could be called a "Path."’
’Each Path corresponded to the core Laws of a specific plane, much like how different civilizations progress down entirely different technology trees.’
’In this world, before the Dawn War, the Path of the Wizard was this world’s "Path."’
’After the war, this "Path" was suppressed by the Church Court, making it nearly impossible to advance beyond the rank of Official Wizard.’
’The Path of Qi Refining he possessed had been opened for him alone by the system. It was a unique path, carried by his Spirit Root, that only he could walk.’
’And Murphy believed that a so-called "Path" was, in essence, simply a fundantally different thod for cultivating a living being’s Spirit Root—the internal organ responsible for sensing Spiritual Qi.’
’It was like how identical seeds, even with the sa genes, would grow into vastly different plants due to selective gene expression based on varying soil, light, and care.’
’Eleanor’s talent with her Spirit Root was exceptional, but she was rooted in this world. What she could cultivate and bear was destined to be the Path of the Wizard.’
’At least, that would be the case until he could find a way to excavate the "Path" within a Spirit Root and cross the barriers between different Paths.’
"That’s all for today. Continue your ditation for now. From now on, you will ditate with here for two hours every morning, and then we will gradually begin learning how to construct Magic Models."
"Yes, Father."
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