Chapter 152: Meditation Class

On the twenty-second day, the academy's holidays came to an end, and the students returned to their studies once more. For the freshmen, a new and important course was introduced.

"Mental power is a fascinating concept, and at the same time, it is a formidable strength!"

Instructor Phil was currently lecturing inside the specialized classroom of Class Three, Year One. At the beginning of this course, there was no need to go to the trial grounds; it could be taught right here in the classroom.

Amidst the students' rapt attention, Instructor Phil continued at a slow, measured pace: "Not many people are able to utilize this power, because the mental power of ordinary people is extremely weak—so weak that they cannot even perceive its existence. What exactly is mental power? I imagine that the vast majority of you do not have a clear answer. Well then, next, I will demonstrate it more vividly so that you can understand this new friend. Whew, I've been talking for so long, and I'm a bit thirsty. Let me have a sip of tea before we continue."

No sooner had Instructor Phil finished speaking than a teapot resting on the desk began to float into the air, as if grasped by an invisible hand. The spout tilted, and tea was slowly poured into the adjacent cup. Once filled, the teapot returned to its original position, while the cup flew toward Instructor Phil, landing directly in his palm.

Taking a sip of the tea, Instructor Phil frowned. "Hmm, it's a bit cold. I'd better warm it up."

The teacup once again flew out of his palm, hovering in the air. At that moment, a soft *poof* was heard. A cluster of flames emerged from beneath the teacup, beginning to heat the tea inside. Only after the water came to a boil did the teacup leave the range of the flames and fall back into Instructor Phil's hand.

Instructor Phil took a small sip and said with satisfaction, "Much more comfortable now. Ah, I almost forgot to put out the fire."

He snapped his fingers, and a ball of water materialized in midair, extinguishing the flames with a hiss.

The students stared with wide eyes at this miraculous scene. *Wow, that's amazing! How did he do that? It's just like magic!*

In reality, this was Instructor Phil's demonstration. He was an exceptionally brilliant instructor who understood that to drive students' enthusiasm for learning, he first had to arouse their interest. Therefore, before formally teaching the method of meditation, he presented the students with a vivid and striking lesson.

"Did you see that? Mental power is not merely human emotions and desires; it is a tangible force with form. If this power can be properly utilized, it will provide tremendous assistance to your combat. The most prominent example of this is—the Esper!"

Espers were beings of a higher order than Psionic Warriors. Espers possessed many special abilities, among which were combat techniques driven by psychokinesis. Furthermore, the method of channeling spiritual energy into stones—which Luo Chen had already learned—was something Espers could also accomplish.

The students' hearts began to race with excitement, for all of them dreamed that one day they could become Espers, as cool and dazzling as Instructor Phil's performance just now. Beyond looking cool, an Esper's abilities were remarkably practical.

"Hehe, it seems everyone has heard of Espers. When a person's mental power reaches a certain degree, it can even resonate with the spiritual energy in the space around them and manipulate that spiritual energy, applying it directly to combat without needing to absorb it into the body. This is the magic technique of the Esper!"

At this point, Instructor Phil declared, "Starting from today, each and every one of you seated here will acquire the method to cultivate mental power and march toward the goal of becoming an Esper. Students, welcome to this new and magical realm—my meditation course!"

Instructor Phil's magnetic tone seemed to possess a special charm, filling the students with yearning. As a meditation instructor with formidable mental power, Phil could even regulate the students' emotions through his voice.

The students burst into enthusiastic applause. This was not done merely to appease their face-saving head teacher, Potter, but came entirely from the heart. Instructor Phil's explanation was simply too vivid, and they couldn't wait to immediately learn how to meditate.

Instructor Phil continued, "Of course, at your current stage, you cannot yet use mental power to cause resonance with the spiritual energy in space and manipulate it for your own use. However, through meditation, you can continuously strengthen your own mental power and control the flow of spiritual energy more smoothly. It is a supplementary course to the Qi-Governing Art. Therefore, I hope you will take this course seriously and grasp it firmly; it will play an immeasurable role in your battles!"

"Yes, Instructor!"

Seeing the students' high-spirited and excited reactions, Instructor Phil nodded with satisfaction. Although meditation was the necessary key to opening the door to Espers, and an Esper's abilities were flashy and cool, the process of meditation itself was extremely monotonous and dull. Even the most patient people could easily grow weary of it. Therefore, he had to stir up the students' interest and fortify their determination in the very first class.

Next, Instructor Phil began the lecture. Meditation was, in essence, thinking, but this thinking was a deep state of consciousness. It could reduce external stimuli to a minimum, produce specific mental imagery, and regular practice of certain forms of meditation would enhance awareness. It helped individuals gain enlightenment, view familiar matters in new ways, and liberate perception and thought from spontaneous, learned patterns.

The practitioner consciously focused their attention on a single point or idea. Through prolonged and repeated practice, they allowed the brain to enter a higher subconscious state and made the activity of the subconscious sharper and more active. That subconsciousness was also known as the sixth sense.

The mental cultivation practices in religious activities of ancient civilizations—such as seated meditation, yoga, and entering deep trances—were actually all forms of meditation. It was just that their functions were not yet recognized by the entire world at the time. If the cultivation of the Primary Martial Academy was limited strictly to the physical body, then the cultivation of the Advanced Martial Academy included the mind. The more powerful the mental cultivation methods and combat techniques, the more profound they were. Meditation could also broaden the students' thinking, improve their intelligence, consciousness, and comprehension, making it easier for them to accept profound mental arts and combat techniques.

However, the vast majority of the students were encountering this mysterious course for the very first time, and they were utterly bewildered and blank-faced.

Instructor Phil could understand; no matter how vivid his lecture was, it was impossible for the students to comprehend meditation in a short span of time. This required them to go back and ponder it slowly.

Luo Chen, however, listened with beaming delight. This so-called meditation shared the exact same underlying principles as reverse thinking methods and mental combat techniques!

In order to practice reverse thinking, Luo Chen had even studied auxiliary disciplines such as psychology and hypnosis from Nicole. Accepting this now was naturally much easier for him than for ordinary people. Listening to Instructor Phil's lecture, he even had a profound sense of drawing inferences about other things from one instance.

Instructor Phil quickly spotted this special student. He pointed at Luo Chen and said, "This student, please step forward for a moment."

Luo Chen was slightly startled, but he still stepped out of formation. Then, Instructor Phil said kindly, "This student, what I said just now—'The same world, viewed through different modes of thinking, appears vastly different. We must choose the most useful mode of thinking to view this world and all objects within it.' Can you share your thoughts on this statement? You can be bold and don't need to worry about whether you are wrong, because meditation is a course that sets the mind free."

Luo Chen nodded and said, "Instructor, this is how I understand it: for example, an apple is just a fruit to us. But in the eyes of a gunman, it might not be a fruit, but rather a target composed of countless bullseye-like dots. When he aims at this apple, he will be more focused and find it easier to hit the target. This is the most useful mode of thinking for him!"

This was a theory of microscopic reality that Luo Chen had learned from Nicole's psychology. Feeling that the underlying principle was similar to Instructor Phil's words, he had borrowed it.

Instructor Phil clapped his hands in admiration and said, "Exactly right, just like that. A very good analogy. This student, your comprehension should be quite sound. Um, what is your name?"

"Instructor, my name is Luo Chen."

"Luo Chen?" Instructor Phil was stunned. He had heard this name mentioned by the head teacher, Potter—he was a specially recruited student of Class Three. He had heard that this student's strength upon enrollment was merely mediocre, and at the time, Instructor Phil hadn't understood why the academy admissions committee had given a recommendation quota to such a student. Now it seemed this student truly possessed something special; at least in the first class, he had demonstrated his innate talent in meditation.

After letting Luo Chen return to the formation, Instructor Phil announced to the crowd, "The ranks of mental power are divided into ten levels: Concentration, Heart-Stirring, Perception, Out-of-Body, Materialization, Fusion, Spirit-Splitting, Integration, Great Accomplishment, and Spiritual Void!"

"What you must learn first is the first level: Concentration. To put it bluntly, concentration means focusing your attention so that no matter the environment, you can focus on the target without any distracting thoughts. Once you achieve this, you have passed."

Some students who had never received mental power education thought to themselves: *Isn't this easy? Is there even any need to learn this?*

Noticing the nonchalance of these students, Instructor Phil said, "Do not look down upon the first level of Concentration. Perhaps you do not know that the degree of focus when an ordinary person is fully engrossed only approaches one hundred percent at the very instant they begin to concentrate, and then it gradually disperses. In the end, no matter how hard you try, you can actually only maintain it at around eighty to ninety percent. The remaining mental power will generate distractions, and in complex environments, there will be even more distractions. However, the meditation course can allow your focused mental power to consistently remain at a level close to one hundred percent!"

"When your mental power is still very weak, you are severely restricted, as if locked by invisible shackles. Only when your mental power improves to a certain degree can you shatter those shackles and begin physical actions. This is the second level: 'Heart-Stirring'!"

"Heart-Stirring, specifically manifested in internal cultivation, is what your instructors have mentioned as internal vision. At this stage, your mental power can observe your own body and the flow of spiritual energy, which is of great help to internal cultivation! If your mental power continues to improve, it will no longer be confined within the body, but will even faintly tend to spread outward into external space, forming a sixth sense. Congratulations, at this point you have broken through 'Stirring' and entered the third level of Perception. As for the fourth level—Out-of-Body—your mental power can completely leave the body and exist in the external space."

Luo Chen listened in astonishment. If it was as the instructor said, wasn't his own mental power already at the fourth level of Out-of-Body?

Instructor Phil continued, "When your Out-of-Body state at the fourth level reaches a certain standard, even if you close your eyes and without utilizing other senses such as hearing, touch, and taste, you will be able to perceive the presence and movement of life aura nearby. At this point, it will be extremely effective for your battles!"

The students listened with rapt fascination, while Luo Chen was pleasantly surprised, because he had already personally experienced the marvels of the Out-of-Body state.

Before they knew it, the class had come to an end. Instructor Phil concluded, "Students, I hope you can set aside about half an hour every day to practice meditation, preferably at night, because people's minds are more peaceful at night than during the day, and meditation efficiency will be higher! If you can persist and treat meditation as a good habit, you will soon discover that it can continuously broaden your thinking and spiritual vision, benefiting you for a lifetime!"

Just before dismissing the class, Instructor Phil added, "If any students have already entered the third level of Perception regarding mental power, please gather at the freshman public trial grounds tonight at eight o'clock. You will receive special Esper training courses!"

People who could study at Blue Emperor Academy generally had decent family backgrounds and had been close to preparatory education since they were seven or eight years old, including the cultivation of mental power. However, most of them only possessed the second level of Heart-Stirring, and some were still lingering in the novice stage of Concentration.

An Esper training course—how yearning it was! Yet they did not yet have the qualifications.

Discussing animatedly among themselves, the students left the classroom.

That afternoon, when Shi Feng returned to the dormitory humming a little tune, he saw Luo Chen slumped over the desk, staring intently at something with utter concentration, completely ignoring his return.

Shi Feng walked over and said, "Hey, you beast. What on earth are you staring at with such absorption?"

Stepping closer, Shi Feng almost fainted from shock, because he unluckily guessed right—Luo Chen was indeed staring at a feather.

A tiny white feather lay on the desk. Luo Chen just stared at it quietly, as if the feather were forged from solid gold, without even blinking.

Because Luo Chen had watched Instructor Phil's performance earlier today, he was very interested in that supernatural ability to move objects with mental power. According to Instructor Phil, once spiritual energy reached the fifth stage of Materialization, one could manipulate objects through the air.

"You beast, you must have heard the instructor talk about the fifth-level mental power Materialization ability during the meditation class today, right? You fool, how could the fifth level be that easy? Take it slow; haste makes waste. The cultivation of mental power is just like picking up girls—it requires a slow fire and careful simmering before..."

Before the playboy could finish his sentence, he suddenly stopped talking, because he saw that feather move. It drifted slowly into the air, yet there was no wind in the dormitory.

Shi Feng's eyeballs almost popped out. "Materialization? What the hell, you beast! Your mental power has already reached the fifth level of Materialization?!"

The feather drifting in the air dropped back down. Luo Chen's mental power dispersed, and he scolded, "Birdman, will you stop chattering? You made me lose my concentration!"

How could Shi Feng not chatter? Anyone who witnessed Luo Chen's formidable mental power would probably be utterly dumbfounded. "You—you beast! How can your mental power be so ridiculously strong?!"

"You're too noisy!" Luo Chen picked up the feather and walked into his room to continue experimenting, while the playboy continued babbling behind him: "Could it be because this kid is constantly frustrated in love all day, leading to frequent mental activity? Damn, repressed yearning can increase mental power? That makes no sense..."