221: Chapter 221 I Want You to Lead the Team

Su Yunling did not answer; all her attention was focused on maintaining the circulation of spiritual power in her palm. Her Divine Sense was stretched taut, and the two methods were barely meshing together; the slightest distraction would cause them to disconnect.

But she held on, and during this half-stick of incense, she vaguely felt an experience she had never had before.

The alternating rhythm of the base fire and the pulse became increasingly smooth, transforming from initial stumbling into an almost instinctive coordination.

This was the rudimentary form of momentum.

The flame burned steadily in her palm for half a stick of incense.

After half a stick of incense, Su Yunling withdrew her palm, and the spiritual power flowed back into her Dantian.

As the flame extinguished, it took away a thin layer of skin, revealing the tender red new flesh underneath—a minor burn left by the overload of spiritual power.

She looked down at her palm and clenched her fist.

Uncle Zhao on the stage had stopped his demonstration at some point and was looking toward her, his expression somewhat complex; he had naturally sensed Su Yunling's actions just now.

"You girl..." Uncle Zhao walked over to her, crouched down to examine the burn on her palm, then looked up at her face and asked, "What were you rubbing down there just now? I saw your palm bursting with fire, and it even carried a bit of momentum."

Su Yunling stood up and bowed to Senior Brother Zhao: "Senior Brother Zhao, Junior Sister was just inspired by your Crimson Fire Thunder and tried to make some adjustments to the spiritual power circulation method of the Beacon Fire Seal. It was a bit reckless."

Uncle Zhao was stunned for a moment, his expression becoming subtle.

Uncle Zhao was a veteran Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator who had practiced the Crimson Fire Thunder for over sixty years; his understanding of fire-attribute Spells was far beyond what Su Yunling, a girl at the Early Stage Foundation Establishment, could compare to.

Precisely because he understood it, he was clear about what that ball of flame meant.

Embedding pulse compression into the uniform superposition of the Beacon Fire Seal—he had thought about this approach before.

He had tried it when he was young, but it didn't work; the rhythms of the two spiritual power circulation methods were too far apart, and forcing them together was more than his Meridians could handle.

Later, he changed his approach and focused exclusively on the instant burst of the Crimson Fire Thunder, completely abandoning the line of sustained output.

Yet this girl had watched the demonstration a few times from the audience and had managed to conjure the rudimentary form of pulse embedding right on the spot?

And she had even grasped the momentum.

"Let me see your palm."

Su Yunling opened her hand; the burn on her palm was already beginning to heal under the nourishment of her spiritual power.

Uncle Zhao scanned her Meridians with his Divine Sense, his brows knitting together: "Go back and use two biling pills to recover, and do not activate any fire-attribute Spells for three days."

"Understood, thank you, Senior Brother."

"However," Uncle Zhao continued, "your path is correct. The Beacon Fire Seal follows continuous superposition, while the Crimson Fire Thunder follows pulse compression; embedding the two methods together can indeed achieve something remarkable."

"But your current Divine Sense cannot sustain long-term control. Don't rush; wait until you reach the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage and your Divine Sense has grown stronger before you come back to refine it; the results will be twice as good with half the effort."

Uncle Zhao paused, then added: "Regarding that ball of flame just now, I can see that you have already grasped the momentum. To reach this step at your age is truly rare; you are indeed worthy of the Sect's vigorous cultivation. Heal well, don't rush to practice; haste makes waste."

After finishing, Uncle Zhao patted her on the shoulder and turned back to the stage.

Su Yunling sat in her seat for a while, looking down at her healing palm.

That ball of flame had only burned for half a stick of incense before she withdrew it, but during that half-stick of incense, she had clearly felt two things.

First, the Bottleneck of the fourth layer of the Beacon Fire Seal had loosened.

Originally, she had always been stuck at the threshold of momentum and couldn't get past it, but this time, the idea of pulse compression had opened it up a little. The circulation of spiritual power in the acceleration phase had become much smoother than before, and both the temperature and density of the fire seal had reached a new level.

Second, she had grasped the momentum.

Although it was only a rudimentary form, and although it only lasted for half a stick of incense, the feeling of spiritual power running on its own and the Spell following her intentions—she had remembered that feeling.

It was much the same for the Fire Crow Sword Art.

The idea of pulse compression was equally applicable to the final stage of Sword Qi formation.

After the crow-shaped Sword Qi had finished condensing, adding a short, sharp pulse compression within the three breaths before it was released would significantly increase the density and penetrating power of the Sword Qi.

Su Yunling hadn't had time to test it in practice yet, but she had already simulated it several times in her Sea of Consciousness, and the spiritual power routes were completely compatible.

Two Spells, both having simultaneously crossed the threshold of momentum.

Senior Brother Zhao's few demonstrations of the Crimson Fire Thunder had pointed her in the right direction; the principle of pulse-style output had cleared the hurdle she had always been unable to overcome in both Spells.

The release of spiritual power could blend uniform speed and bursts together—using uniform speed as the base and pulse as the superposition—allowing the flame to burn continuously while also possessing penetrating power.

The key to momentum lay in letting the spiritual power find its own rhythm according to one's intentions.

Su Yunling took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

During the last half-day of the Dao discussion lecture, she did not try to activate any more Spells and sat honestly in her seat, listening to the rest of the content.

Uncle Zhao demonstrated the Crimson Fire Thunder a third time; that round was a full-power output of the Late Stage Foundation Establishment, and its power was so great that it blasted that large trial stone directly into powder.

But Su Yunling's attention was no longer on the power.

She was using her Divine Sense to observe Senior Brother Zhao casting the Spell, every detail—how the hand seals were cut, what route the spiritual power took, and how the Divine Sense was distributed.

She had only seen the surface of these things during the first demonstration; looking at them now, she could see something on a deeper level.

This was momentum.

After the lecture, Su Yunling was called by her Revered Master, Elder Jing Xuan, into the quiet room in the back.

She first scanned Su Yunling's Meridians with her Divine Sense, then said: "Junior Brother Zhao sent a message just now, saying that you grasped the 'momentum' of the Beacon Fire Seal on the spot during the lecture, and were even inspired by the Crimson Fire Thunder."

Su Yunling lowered her head slightly: "I only touched upon the edge of it; it is far from being called a realization."

"Touching the edge is enough." Elder Jing Xuan's tone was filled with gratification. "When cultivating Spells, the technique is the Foundation that everyone can reach, but as for the momentum above the technique, among ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators, there might not even be one who can touch upon it in the Early Stage."

"You have just broken through to the Early Foundation Establishment Stage not long ago, yet you have simultaneously touched the threshold of momentum in two Tier 2 Spells; it is nothing short of Genius."

Su Yunling did not reply.

Elder Jing Xuan looked at her, then changed the subject: "Yun Ling, how far are you from the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage?"

Su Yunling thought for a moment: "The capacity of my spiritual sea is still about thirty percent short, and the purity of my spiritual power has not reached that threshold either; optimistically, it will take two to three years."

Elder Jing Xuan shook her head: "Too conservative. Given your current supply of Medicinal Pills and cultivation intensity, two years will be enough."

Su Yunling did not argue; if her Revered Master said two years, then it would be two years.

"However, the reason I called you here is not just to talk about your cultivation." Elder Jing Xuan put down her teacup. "Two months from now, the Sect will send a team of Disciples to the Monster Beast Mountain Range for training. I have discussed it with several Elders, and we would like you to lead the team."

Su Yunling was slightly stunned—leading the team, they wanted her to lead the team.