39: It’s okay, I’ll support you!

At 2 PM, the students of the Magic Cultivation Department appeared on time in another, more spacious teaching hall.

Unlike the somber square of the Sword Cultivation Department, the ceiling here was inscribed with intricate star patterns, and the surrounding walls flowed with visible five-colored Spiritual Light, filled with a mysterious charm.

Li Heng was still in simple casual clothes, standing at the podium.

"Spell Cultivators focus on communicating with Heaven and Earth, using themselves as a bridge to draw upon the power of Heaven and Earth for their own use."

"And the key to communication is hand seals and incantations."

As soon as Li Heng finished speaking, a suppressed chuckle arose from below the stage.

A slightly overweight boy with a streak of blue hair raised his hand, a barely contained smile on his face.

"Report, Dean, are these hand seals you're talking about like the ones on TV?"

He stood up, mimicking a scene from a Xianxia drama, pressing two fingers together and drawing a random circle in front of his chest, muttering incantations.

"Lin Bing Dou Zhe, Jie Zhen Lie Qian Xing, Zhu Xie!"

"Pfft!"

His comical movements and intonation instantly ignited the entire room.

"Hahaha, Zhou Fatty, you're a real talent!"

"Don't say it, it really has that vibe!"

"Quick, quick, make me an Ultraman!"

The entire classroom was immediately filled with cheerful air.

Li Heng looked at the student named Zhou Fatty, noncommittally.

"The meaning is similar, but true hand seals are ten thousand times more complex than you imagine."

After saying that, he raised his right hand.

There were no extra movements, nor did he utter any incantations.

His fingers instantly danced in mid-air, so fast that they left a blur, as if a thousand-armed Guanyin was simultaneously forming hand seals.

The complex seal was completed in 0.1 seconds.

"Boom!"

Outside the hall, the clear sky suddenly darkened.

A thick, pale lightning bolt tore through the clouds, striking precisely onto the open space in front of the teaching hall, yet without emitting any destructive roar.

The lightning bolt did not dissipate; instead, it condensed and took shape, circling and moving around Li Heng's body.

The electric light crackled, and finally, it transformed into a majestic tiger composed of pure lightning!

The lightning tiger roared to the sky, and a silent pressure instantly swept through the entire hall.

The students who had been laughing uproariously just moments before were now like ducks with their necks squeezed.

Everyone's expressions froze on their faces, their minds blank.

Zhou Fatty, who had performed "Zhu Xie," even felt his legs go weak, almost sitting directly on the ground, his face ashen.

What was this?

Was this special effects?

No, this was a miracle!

Li Heng was very satisfied with the students' reactions; he waved his hand, and the majestic lightning tiger transformed into a sky full of electric light, quietly dissipating.

"Now, does anyone still think forming hand seals is simple?"

The entire place was dead silent.

After a long while, an overwhelming surge of enthusiasm erupted.

"Holy crap! Dean is awesome!"

"Cool! So damn cool! I want to learn this! No one stop me!"

"This is true cultivation!"

The students' enthusiasm was completely ignited, and everyone wished they could immediately rush to the podium and hug Li Heng's leg.

"Quiet."

Li Heng's two faint words instantly restored order to the boiling hall.

"The essence of hand seals is to construct special spiritual energy circuits with the fingers, drawing the Spiritual Qi within the Dantian to circulate according to specific trajectories, ultimately resonating with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi outside."

"The most basic Fireball Spell requires three hand seals and twelve changes in spiritual energy nodes."

"Watch carefully, I will only teach it once."

Li Heng slowed down his movements, breaking down the simplest Spell hand seal, while also explaining how Spiritual Qi circulated through the Meridians in the body.

All the students held their breath, committing every detail firmly to memory.

"Today's homework is to practice this hand seal until proficient, by yourselves."

"Next class, I will check your casting results."

After Li Heng finished speaking, he turned and left the hall, leaving behind a group of highly motivated students who eagerly began their practice... Girls' dormitory, inside the courtyard.

On a stone table, a copper hotpot was bubbling with steam.

Surprisingly, there was no fuel beneath the hotpot; only a fist-sized orange flame burned in mid-air, steadily providing heat.

"Qing Yuan, quick, add some water, it's going to boil dry!"

Zhang Qiqi picked up a slice of fatty beef, swished it in the boiling soup, put it in her mouth, and happily narrowed her eyes.

"Coming, coming."

Li Qingyuan extended her fair fingers, somewhat clumsily forming a few hand seals.

A thin stream of water appeared out of nowhere from her fingertips, shooting crookedly towards the hotpot, with most of it spilling onto the table.

"Oh dear!"

Li Qingyuan was a bit annoyed.

"It's fine, it's fine, you'll get better with more practice," Zhang Qiqi said with a smile to comfort her, then casually pointed her finger, and a precise stream of water flowed into the pot, just the right amount.

Li Qingyuan looked at her, her face full of envy.

Is this what a Heavenly Spiritual Root is like?

After only one day of learning Spells, she couldn't even control a stream of water steadily, yet Qiqi could already use the Fireball Spell to cook hotpot.

This was the gap between people.

Just then, Li Qingyuan's phone, placed on the stone table, vibrated.

She picked it up and saw the words "Dad" flashing on the screen.

Her heart sank, but she still slid to answer.

"Hello, Dad."

"Li Qingyuan!" Her father's voice, suppressing anger, came from the other end of the phone, "Where exactly are you right now? I went to the re-study school today and they said you never even reported!"

Li Qingyuan's heart sank further.

"Dad, I told you, I was accepted into a special training camp, it's confidential, I can't say the location."

"Confidential? Who are you trying to fool!" Her father's volume suddenly rose, "Have you been scammed by some pyramid scheme? I'm telling you, come back right now! Immediately!"

"I'm not coming back!"

Li Qingyuan's stubbornness also flared up; she bit her lip, her voice choked with tears.

"I don't want to re-study! What I'm learning now is more useful than going to any university!"

"Useful? What useful thing can a young girl like you learn! You just don't want to suffer!"

The voice on the other end of the phone grew sterner, even carrying a hint of disappointment.

"Li Qingyuan, I'm asking you one last time, are you coming back or not?"

"No!"

"Good! Very good!"

Her father laughed in extreme anger.

"From today on, I don't have a daughter named you! Don't even think about getting a single cent of living expenses from home again! I want to see how long you can last in that godforsaken place without money!"

"When you're at your wit's end, you'll know to cry!"

"Beep... beep... beep..."

The phone was hung up abruptly.

Li Qingyuan held the phone, stunned in place, tears falling uncontrollably like broken beads.

She felt incredibly wronged and helpless.

Why?

Why wouldn't Dad believe her?

A soft handkerchief was handed to her.

Zhang Qiqi had sat down beside her at some point, looking at her with concern.

"Don't cry, Uncle is just worried about you."

"Qiqi..." Li Qingyuan could no longer hold back, she threw herself into her arms and burst into tears.

Zhang Qiqi gently patted her back, and when her emotions had calmed down a bit, she spoke.

"It's okay if Uncle doesn't give you living expenses."

"I'll support you."

Li Qingyuan raised her tear-filled face, looking at her with confusion.

"You... support me?"