Transitioning

Ethan put the staff back into his ring and stretched his fingers.

He had tested his cantrips, but he hadn't tried a pure physical attack yet.

In his previous battles, he had long grown accustomed to resolving issues with wizardry.

Thorn Pierce, Giant Wood Spike, and Vine Strangle—wood-element cantrips came naturally to him, and their power far exceeded any close-combat methods.

However, the physical constitution brought by his body refinement was right there, and he was very curious to know what level his current pure physical destructive power actually reached.

Ethan walked up to the target pillar and adjusted his breathing.

Without circulating mana or mobilizing energy particles, he relied purely on raw muscle power.

Taking half a step back with his right foot, he twisted his waist and hips violently, sending his right fist crashing against the surface of the target pillar with a whistling howl.

Bang!

The numbers on the monitoring crystal display jumped.

180 degrees.

Ethan withdrew his fist and glanced at the value.

This level of power already far exceeded the normal standard of a Third-Tier Apprentice, and could even go head-to-head with certain First-Tier lifeforms that did not excel in defense.

The tempering effect of the Elemental Torrent Body Refinement Technique was indeed excellent. Combined with the double empowerment of his Warrior's Body and the Goddess of Life's Favor, his current physical constitution had long surpassed the scope of a normal apprentice.

He picked up World Eater once more.

Gripping the end of the staff, Ethan swung it toward the target pillar like a club.

World Eater tore through the air, producing a dull, low howl.

The shaft of the staff smashed into the protective runes on the surface of the target pillar, and an emerald-green light abruptly exploded.

Boom!

The numbers on the monitoring crystal display jumped frantically, finally settling on a value that raised his eyebrows.

2,017 degrees.

Ethan looked down at the staff, then at the numbers on the crystal display.

He hadn't injected any mana just now.

That strike relied purely on physical strength, using World Eater as a club.

As it turned out, the staff itself also amplified physical attacks, and the amplification multiplier exceeded tenfold.

“A Third-Tier Wizardry Tool is indeed ridiculous.” Ethan turned the staff over to examine it a few times. The light patterns on the shaft had already dimmed once more, returning to its ordinary appearance.

However, the emerald-green light that had erupted in that instant, along with the eye-catching numbers on the monitoring crystal display, proved the authenticity of this amplification.

He gripped the staff tightly once more and injected a sliver of mana into it.

The emerald-green light patterns lit up again, spreading from the base of the staff to its tip.

Ethan swung the staff at the target pillar again, but this time, it was a strike infused with mana.

The moment the shaft hit the target pillar, the exploding green light illuminated half of the testing ground.

The protective runes on the surface of the target pillar vibrated violently, letting out a sharp, buzzing hum.

The numbers on the monitoring crystal display jumped to 5,689 degrees.

Ethan withdrew his staff, walked to the crystal display, and read the recorded values from top to bottom.

A pure physical attack of 180 degrees, a basic staff amplification of 2,017 degrees, and 5,689 degrees after mana infusion.

This amplification ratio completely exceeded his expectations.

As a Third-Tier Wizardry Tool, the power of World Eater he could currently unleash was merely the tip of the iceberg. Yet, even this tip was enough to serve as an extra trump card when facing First-Tier lifeforms.

Though, a typical First-Tier lifeform probably wouldn't pose much of a threat to him now anyway.

Ethan put the staff back into his storage ring.

Having tested both his cantrips and physical attacks, he now had a general grasp of World Eater's performance.

Wood-element cantrips were amplified by over fifty times, and physical attacks by over ten times. Furthermore, as his own strength increased, these two numbers would continue to rise.

He turned and walked toward the exit of the testing ground.

...

Blood Bone Tower, Talent District, Villa 77, cultivation room.

Ethan sat cross-legged on the stone slab in the very center of the cultivation room, his consciousness sinking into his mental sea.

Thirty-six emerald-green runes floated in alignment, each radiating a steady glow.

These runes were ones he had condensed one by one using a low-level meditation method, accompanying him throughout his journey from a First-Tier Apprentice to a Third-Tier Apprentice.

Now, he was going to shatter them all with his own hands.

Ethan took a deep breath.

The complete diagram of the thirty-six runes of the Myriad Forest Meditation Method, along with their visualization methods, mental power output precision, and stability techniques, had already been deeply ingrained in his mind back in Amons World.

Every step, risk point, and countermeasure in the transition chapter had also been repeatedly simulated and analyzed countless times.

There was no more need for hesitation.

Nor was there any more need to wait.

Step one: resetting the old frequency to zero.

The thirty-six runes trembled simultaneously. Like machines with their energy supply cut off, their light began to flicker unsteadily.

Following the resetting secret technique recorded in the transition chapter of the Myriad Forest Meditation Method, he guided his mental power to withdraw from the runes, pulling it back bit by bit to the center of his mental sea.

The glow of the runes grew dimmer and dimmer.

Changing from emerald-green to light green, then to grey-green, and finally turning into an almost transparent greyish-white.

The process of resetting to zero was extremely slow. His mental power fluctuated constantly as it withdrew, and each fluctuation sent ripples through his mental sea.

As the ripples swept across the runes, those dimming symbols vibrated gently, as if protesting, or perhaps struggling.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Ethan's forehead.

The fluctuations within his mental sea grew increasingly violent.

The runes that had already been suppressed to a greyish-white began to twitch on their own, and a few even lit up with a faint emerald-green glow once more.

This was the resistance of the mental inertia formed by the low-level meditation method. His mental sea had grown accustomed to the old frequency, and the sudden reset to zero triggered a violent rejection response.

Ethan grit his teeth.

The resetting secret technique operated repeatedly in his consciousness, washing over the runes that attempted to relight, over and over again.

Each wash made the runes' light dim a bit further, and caused the fluctuations in his mental sea to grow a bit more violent.

The third rune was the first to dim completely. The last trace of emerald-green light on its surface dissipated, leaving behind a greyish-white, lifeless runic projection.

Then the seventh.

The twelfth.

The twentieth.

The twenty-seventh.

The thirty-fifth.

Twenty-five hours later, all thirty-six runes had completely reset to zero.

They hovered in his mental sea, their greyish-white projections faintly visible in the mist.

Without light or vitality, only their most basic structural framework remained to prevent them from disintegrating.

His mental sea entered a state of empty silence.

The old frequency was completely reset to zero.

Once the reset was complete, the neutral state of the mental sea could only be maintained for an extremely short period. If the time limit was exceeded, the old runes would disintegrate on their own, and at that point, even the foundation for casting them anew would be lost.

Ethan immediately began step two: imprinting the new frequency.

In his consciousness, the Primal Seal of the Myriad Forest Meditation Method emerged.

It was the most central rune in the entire sequence, and its structure was incredibly complex.

While the runes of a common low-level meditation method required only thirty-seven mental power incisions to form, this Primal Seal required one hundred and ninety-three.

The depth, width, and curvature of each incision had outrageously strict requirements. Any error in a single incision would lead to the collapse of the entire Primal Seal.