After about a month of rest, my body finally recovered to its original state.
"Zhang Ling, You've just about fully recovered. Today we're going to start class."
"Alright. Teacher Xiu, what do you want to teach me?"
"First, I want to see what level of magic you are currently at. I want to teach in alignment with your level."
"I don't know what level I am at anymore."
"What level can your magic power reach when you meditate?"
"I have made progress in Shadow affinity, but I haven't made any progress with my blue light magic power for a long time. Right now, I feel like my magic power has already reached a bottleneck. No matter what I've tried, I can't break through this bottleneck."
"Then your magic power should be at the level of an intermediate image. Not bad. Do you know why your magic power is incapable of progressing?" Teacher Xiu asked with a smile.
I scratched my head puzzlingly. "I don't know."
"I'll give you an analogy. How much water and air can one bottle hold?"
"Depends on how big the bottle is." Teacher Xiu had asked what seemed to be an idiotic question.
"Then can a similar bottle hold the same amount of air and water?"
"Of course. It has the same amount of space. It just holds different things." Even this genius couldn't grasp such a simple riddle.
Teacher Xiu nodded with approval, "You are correct. Similar bottles can hold the same amount of air and water. But if you take the water and turn it into steam, can the bottle still hold the same amount?"
Right then I had seemed to understand, but Teacher Xiu's words were still a bit vague.
Teacher Xiu saw me fall into a state of contemplation so he didn't disturb me.
"Good. This is the subject of today's class and tonight's homework assignment. Think about it thoroughly. The question I just asked is related to your bottleneck. Magic knowledge is mainly something that should be comprehended by one's self. That is why a master's closed-door cultivation is an individual effort. How much you can learn will depend on yourself. I will leave first. This semester still has two months left. You will be trained here with me for a month. After that, you will return and attend class with everyone else. The main purpose of the training that I've given you is to allow you to participate in the magic academy's end-of-semester tournament.
"Ah! Participate in the tournament? Teacher Xiu, am I capable enough?"
"How are you not? You The Disciple of the Shadow God's particle and the Academy's director after all. You mustn't let me lose face. Be sure to practice diligently." Teacher Xiu turned around wanting to leave.
"teacher?"
"That is of course out of the question. This competition is the end-of-semester final exam that every student must take. If your grades are too low, then you might have to repeat the year." Humph! This brat wants to be lazy. Don't bother asking. As if I would change school rules for you.
Seeing Teacher Xiu's slightly sinister smile, I became aware that it looked like I was scheming. In any case, I also wanted to start diligently practicing magic. When the moment comes, I will ask him again.
Teacher Xiu left after I had started to think about what he assigned me for homework.
Water… Steam… Air… Bottle… What do they have to do with each other?
Steam can turn into water. A bottle can only hold so much water (I pretended a bottle was in my hand). Similarly, a bottle can only hold so much steam. If the steam becomes water….
Ah! I understand now, so it is like that. Then I shall explain. Let's say I was a bottle and steam was my current magic power. My magic power is already incapable of growing inside the bottle. But if magic power is like steam, then I can condense it into the water and hold more magic power. Yea!!!! I'm far too smart.
After I understood, I felt as if I could breakthrough. Good, I'll try it now.
I began to meditate. No, I didn't sleep this time. I retained awareness of the magic power within me. I suddenly began to think about that one question. How do I compress my blue light magic power? No matter, it will come to me.
I used my spiritual power to grasp the magical power within my body and separated about a fifth of it. The rest of the magic power scattered throughout my body. This one-fifth of magic power gathered to my upper dantian (also between the eyebrows). I began to use my spiritual power in an attempt to compress it.
How difficult. It's almost as if it doesn't want to compress, opposing me with all its might. Why does it not reduce in size? What sort of problem is this? I said to the Blue Light elements within me, "Elders, uncles, and aunties, you are so far away from each other. Everyone is so lively together. Quick, won't you help me? Is it alright if you come closer to each other?
The Shadow elements inside my body seemed to have understood my words. They began to gradually compress, slowly taking the shape of a small sphere of light. It was about one-fifth of its original size. Success! I succeeded. After the successful compression, the Light element made me unusually excited. Then I immediately entered the land of dreams. (The compression of magic elements consumes an exceptional amount of spiritual energy. My spiritual energy had been stretched to its limit. I could not persevere and naturally fell asleep.)
The morning of the second day, I went to the same place, I felt that the Shadow element within me was much richer than before. The Black Shadow that I compressed yesterday still resided in my upper dantian and the space that I manipulated already replenished by itself. (My sleep meditation skill has reached the point of perfection, hehe.) Yes, this kind of feeling isn't bad at all.
Teacher Xiu pushed the door and entered. He did not speak, he only stared at my face. His jaw gradually dropped. After a while, I met his blank stare.
"Teacher Xiu, What happened? Why have you been staring at me for so long?" I hesitantly asked.
"Zhang Ling, you truly don't disappoint! Out of all the people I've known, you were the quickest to comprehend the method of compressing magic power. Not only that but you are still so young. Your future potential is immeasurable." Teacher Xiu had unexpectedly acted like a child, jumping in excitement.
"Huh? What? How did you know I understood the method to compress my magic power?" I asked bafflingly.
"Fool. Just look in a mirror and you'd already know why."
"Ah. Really? I'll take a look."
I walked in front of a mirror and I was slightly stunned at myself. This is me? Although my previous complexion was quite good, compared with now, it was entirely different. There is a layer of gentle luster on top of my face. The skin below had a wandering brilliance, like that of polished jade. How awesome…
"Teacher Xiu, How did this happen!?"