50: Chapter 50 [A First Glimpse into Spirit Control]

At 5:03 AM, Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

It was three minutes later than yesterday, but he could clearly feel that it wasn't because he had overslept.

It was because his body had naturally woken up after completing a full cycle of Spiritual Qi during deep sleep.

Just like a precision instrument completing a preset program, switching states right on time.

He lay still and first used Internal Vision.

The cluster of Spiritual Qi in his Dantian had condensed another layer; its rotation speed was stable and slow, like a rotating planet in the Universe.

The Spiritual Qi flowing through his meridians was smoother than yesterday, and those tiny areas of stagnation had been nourished and loosened up significantly.

The passive ability [Internal Vision] felt more wonderful the more he used it.

Cultivation used to be like "crossing the river by feeling the stones," but now it was like having real-time navigation; he could see at a glance which meridians needed focused nourishment and which organs were slightly weaker.

He sat up and swept his gaze across the room.

Cleaning Spell.

1 point of Spiritual Qi consumed, and the room was instantly clean as new.

The leaves of the pothos on the windowsill even trembled slightly, as if it had enjoyed a bath of Spiritual Qi.

Chen Zhen got out of bed and got dressed.

His movements were as fluid as if they had been rehearsed a thousand times; every turn, lift of the hand, and buttoning was just right, without a trace of excess.

This was the combined effect of [Integrated Power Initial Success] and [Initial Glimpse of Spirit Control].

His control over his body had gone deep into his marrow.

During his morning run, Chen Zhen started trying out some new tricks.

He first ran one kilometer normally to warm up, then started attempting "micro-manipulation of Spiritual Qi."

The first item: while using Spiritual Qi to adjust his breathing rhythm, he minimized the sound of his footsteps landing.

He split his focus into three strands.

One strand controlled the depth and frequency of his breathing, one adjusted the force of his leg muscles, and one formed a buffer layer with Spiritual Qi the moment his soles touched the ground.

At first, the coordination was a bit stiff; when his breathing sped up, his footsteps couldn't keep up, and the buffer layer was sometimes strong and sometimes weak, leading to unstable landings.

But after running half a kilometer, the three gradually coordinated.

His breathing became long and steady, and every step landed as lightly as a cat's; on the quiet streets in the early morning, his footsteps could barely be heard.

And his speed didn't slow down at all; instead, it was a little faster because his exertion was more efficient.

Running to the second kilometer, he increased the stakes:

Simultaneously using [Anomaly Perception] to scan for energy fluctuations within a ten-meter radius.

Now the pressure was high.

Maintaining running posture, breathing rhythm, Spiritual Qi buffering, and energy perception all at the same time—this four-line operation required extremely high mental concentration.

Ten seconds later, he felt a slight throbbing in his temples.

It wasn't that he lacked Spiritual Qi, but rather the consumption of Mental Energy.

But he didn't stop; instead, he adjusted his strategy:

Not pursuing "simultaneous perfection," but rather "dynamic balance."

When the breathing rhythm was dominant, the other three items were slightly relaxed.

When his feet landed, energy perception was temporarily eased.

Like playing the piano, with ten fingers taking turns applying force, the overall melody remained unbroken.

It was indeed much easier.

By the time he reached the Riverside, he could basically maintain the four-line operation without collapsing. Although each item couldn't reach its best state compared to solo operation, the overall effect far exceeded normal running.

The system panel popped up:

[Morning Run Quality 'Extraordinary']

[Health Dimension Experience +58]

[Cultivation +0.68]

[Initial Glimpse of Spirit Control effect improved: Spiritual Qi control precision +2% (Currently 7%)]

[Mental Energy slightly increased]

The harvest was not bad.

Especially the growth in Mental Energy; although it wasn't quantified, Chen Zhen could feel it.

After the throbbing in his temples subsided, his mind felt clearer than before.

It seems that multi-line operation and fine control are effective ways to exercise Mental Energy.

Today, the old man was standing on a protruding rock by the Riverside, looking at the sunrise with his hands behind his back.

When Chen Zhen ran closer, he didn't even turn his head: "Running like a cat today, your footsteps are much lighter."

"I tried using Spiritual Qi for cushioning."

"Mm, the method is correct." The old man jumped off the rock. "The Qi Refinement Stage is about playing with Spiritual Qi in various ways. When you can fight while counting ants without making a mistake, your basic skills will be solid."

Chen Zhen laughed: "That's still a long way off."

"Even if it's far off, you still have to practice." The old man took a small cloth bag out of his pocket. "Today's homework."

Chen Zhen took it and opened it.

Inside were five stones of different sizes, shapes, and weights.

The largest was the size of an egg, the smallest was only the size of a soybean, and there was also a flat, flake-like one.

"Lift them up, arrange them in a straight line, large on the left, small on the right, with equal spacing." The old man said, "Ten-second time limit."

The difficulty had upgraded.

Not only did he have to lift them, but he also had to precisely control their position, spacing, and order.

Chen Zhen took a deep breath and spread his palm.

He split his Spiritual Qi into five strands and reached toward the stones.

The largest one was the most strenuous.

It required a lot of "lifting force," but the output had to be steady and couldn't wobble.

The smallest one was the hardest.

It required little "lifting force," but it had to be precise; if he wasn't careful, it would fly off.

He dealt with the largest and smallest first, stabilizing the two ends.

The three in the middle were relatively easier.

The five stones floated up shakily, lining up in the air, but the spacing was uneven, with the large one in the middle and the small ones on the sides.

It was all a mess.

"Do it again." The old man was expressionless.

The second time, Chen Zhen adjusted his strategy.

He no longer split his Spiritual Qi into five independent "lines," but imagined it as an elastic "net," with the five stones as five nodes on the net.

By adjusting the shape and tension of the net, he could control the relative positions of the stones.

It was indeed effective.

The five stones floated steadily, arranged from largest to smallest, with almost equal spacing.

He held it for eight seconds, and the smallest one began to tremble slightly.

The control precision wasn't enough.

At the tenth second, the flake-like stone flipped over and almost fell.

"Not bad." The old man finally nodded. "Better than yesterday. Remember that feeling of the 'net'; in the future, when controlling multiple objects, use this approach."

Chen Zhen withdrew his power, and the stones fell back into his palm.

In just those ten seconds, his forehead was already sweating.

"Go back and keep practicing." The old man said. "When you can perform a set of Tai Chi while lifting these five stones, and keep them in formation, that counts as Minor Achievement."

"Understood."

Chen Zhen put away the stones, his training plan already decided in his heart:

Add ten minutes of practice after his morning run every day, starting with five stones, and slowly increasing the quantity and difficulty.

On the way home, Chen Zhen bought breakfast on the way.

Today he changed it up, buying xiaolongbao and mung bean porridge.

When he arrived home, his father had already left, leaving a note on the dining table: "Skills competition training at the factory, left early. Porridge is in the pot."

His mother was watering flowers on the balcony and saw Chen Zhen return: "Bought buns today?"

"Mm, just changing the taste." Chen Zhen put the buns on the table. "Mom, did Dad go for training?"

"Yes, they said it's a week of intensive training." His mother put down the watering can. "Their factory takes this competition quite seriously; the top three can go to the head office to participate in the finals."

"Dad will definitely make it."

"I hope so." His mother washed her hands and sat down. "Your father is a competitive person. After being laid off last time, he's been holding back a drive."

Chen Zhen nodded.

He could understand his father.

Being unemployed in middle age and then re-employed, this opportunity was not just for the bonus, but a stage to prove himself.

The mother and son ate breakfast quietly.

The xiaolongbao had thin skin and large fillings, and the soup was delicious.

The mung bean porridge was cooked just right, sweet and refreshing.

"Oh right," his mother said suddenly, "Yesterday, that old professor in the community gave me a few more books, saying you might like them. I put them on your desk."

"Thanks, Mom."

"What are you thanking me for?" His mother smiled. "You like reading, Mom is happy."

For his morning study, Chen Zhen decided to test another use of the Eye-Brightening Spell: speed reading.

He pulled that book the old professor gave him, *Yingzao Fashi (Treatise on Architectural Methods)*, from the bookshelf. It was very thick, densely packed with text and line drawings.

In his normal state, he estimated it would take a month to finish reading and understanding it.

Today, he wanted to test his limits.

First, he cast the Eye-Brightening Spell.

2.9 points of Spiritual Qi consumed, and a cool sensation spread through his eyes.

The world became clear to the extreme once again.

He opened the book and started from the first page.

It wasn't word-by-word reading, but "scanning reading."

His eyes scanned the pages at a fixed rhythm, capturing key terms, structural diagrams, and core conclusions.

Combined with [Literary Perception], the logic and knowledge framework behind the text automatically built up in his mind.

One page, five seconds.

Ten pages, one minute.

One hundred pages, ten minutes.

This was no longer reading; it was information infusion.

His brain operated at high speed, quickly classifying, integrating, and storing the visually input information.

Half an hour later, he closed the book and shut his eyes.

The knowledge framework of the entire book had already formed in his mind:

From foundation treatment to roof construction, from major carpentry to minor carpentry, from official-style architecture to residential variants, the structure was as clear as a 3D map.

Of course, the details still needed to be slowly digested, but the framework had already been built.

[Limit Reading Mode]

[Learning Dimension Experience +188]

[Cultivation +1.05]

[Eye-Brightening Spell proficiency +8 (Currently 14/100)]

[Consumption further reduced: 2.8 points of Spiritual Qi]

[Status obtained: 'Photographic Memory (Temporary)' (Memory ability significantly increased within 24 hours)]

Photographic Memory!

Although it was a temporary state, 24 hours was enough to do a lot of things.

Chen Zhen immediately seized the opportunity, flipped out his math, physics, and chemistry error notebooks, and started reviewing quickly.

The difficult problems, common pitfalls, and core formulas that usually required repeated viewing to remember were now deeply imprinted in his brain after just one look, as clear as if they had been carved in.

Within an hour, he finished reviewing half a month's worth of errors in the three major science subjects, feeling it was even more effective than doing the problems ten times normally.

This was the qualitative change produced by combining Spells with learning.

He glanced at his remaining Spiritual Qi: 6.8/10.

He could still use the Eye-Brightening Spell one more time, or do something else.

After thinking about it, he decided to save his energy.

He still had to go to the Bookstore in the afternoon; he might be able to use it then.

At noon, Chen Zhen cooked for himself.

In the refrigerator, there were ingredients his mother had prepared: half a chicken, shiitake mushrooms, and green vegetables.

He decided to make braised chicken with shiitake mushrooms.

When processing the chicken, he once again realized the benefits of fine control.

The tip of the knife could precisely cut into the joints, easily disassembling the whole chicken, cleanly separating bone and meat, with almost no wasted meat.

He heated the wok, added oil, sautéed the ginger and garlic until fragrant, and stir-fried the chicken.

The heat control was just right; the surface of the chicken was slightly golden, locking in the juices, while the inside remained tender.

He added boiling water and shiitake mushrooms, then turned to low heat to simmer slowly.

While waiting, he took out the five stones the old man gave him and practiced lifting control in the open space of the kitchen.

This time he increased the difficulty:

Not only did he have to arrange them in a straight line, but he also had to make the stones rotate slowly at different speeds.

The largest one rotated slowly, and the smallest one rotated quickly.

Simultaneously controlling the suspension, position, spacing, and rotation speed of the five objects.

It required extremely high mental concentration.

He was fully focused, and sweat soon seeped from his forehead.

But he could feel that his control precision was improving bit by bit.

The smallest stone rotated more and more steadily, and the spacing was controlled more and more accurately.

After practicing for ten minutes, the chicken was braised.

He withdrew his power, and the stones fell back into his palm. The Mental Energy consumption was not small, but the harvest was also great.

The effect of [Initial Glimpse of Spirit Control] improved by another 1%.

He lifted the lid, and the aroma was overwhelming.

The chicken was stewed until tender, the shiitake mushrooms had absorbed the soup, and it was full of umami.

Chen Zhen served a bowl and ate slowly.

The taste was not bad, but more importantly.

From preparing the ingredients to serving the meal, the whole process was smooth and fluid, without any rush, without any waste.

Every step was precise, efficient, and perfect.

Cultivation improved not only his abilities but also his quality of life.