Chapter 12: The Starry Path to Spiritual Power

I carefully watched Qieluo slowly leave my position, but then she spoke again.

“Truly, I envy you simple-minded folk. The more one knows, the more one ponders, and the more distracting thoughts arise. This is one of the primary obstacles to entering meditation.”

“Have any of you encountered other issues? Or perhaps you have personal questions you’d like to raise? We have ample time this afternoon, so I can elaborate at length. Consider this a valuable learning experience.”

“No one?” Qieluo surveyed the class. Few seemed inclined to speak, likely due to the highly private nature of personal issues or past traumas.

“Then, has anyone in the class successfully entered a meditative state?”

Silence descended upon the classroom once more. This was precisely what Qieluo had anticipated. To achieve meditation purely on one’s own—what level of genius would that require?

Thus, she adjusted her expectations.

“Is there anyone who, even for a fleeting moment, entered a meditative state? Even if you only *think* you might have, please raise your hand. Your teacher won’t fault you.”

After a brief pause, only Air raised her hand.

“Only one?” Qieluo sighed, a hint of disappointment in her voice. This was fewer than she had expected, even accounting for the subtly present Ren.

She remembered the name of every student in the class, so it was no surprise she knew I was called Ren.

“Well, even one or two is acceptable,” Qieluo stated, returning to the podium. She spoke again, “Meditation is the greatest hurdle in introductory meditation techniques, and it is our primary focus now.”

“You have a maximum of seven days, including today, to master it.”

“Of course, we’ll discuss that closer to the end of class. For now, our priority remains the meditation technique itself.” Qieluo retrieved a box from beneath the podium.

It seemed to have been stored for a long time, given the thin layer of dust coating its surface.

“You’ve all previewed the textbook, haven’t you? So, tell me, what are the various methods that aid in meditation?”

“Visualization charts.”

“Meditation music.”

“Specific audio frequencies.”

“Incense.”

“Meditation incense.”

“Meditation lozenges.”

“Custom patches.”

“Hypnotic suggestion.”

One by one, the students recited the various methods documented in their textbooks.

“Precisely. From the five senses to the sixth sense, any method that proves useful is a good method,” Qieluo affirmed.

“The textbook only records visualization charts, which isn’t sufficient. Therefore, for this lesson, I’ve also prepared incense and audio aids.”

“Seize this opportunity, as incense offers the most significant assistance for meditation techniques.”

Sitting among my classmates, I hadn’t expected this lesson to be so remarkably unpretentious.

However, if the textbook’s descriptions were accurate, this incense was far from ordinary. It was, by all accounts, an alchemical product formulated from precious transcendent materials and sophisticated alchemical techniques—a luxury I currently couldn’t afford.

Yet now, it was being distributed as teaching material for the entire class?

And the audio? The book stated that only by replicating the original audio and applying special magical enchantment techniques would it yield significant effects.

In essence, these were methods that, given our current capabilities, we shouldn’t be qualified to use. Yet, our homeroom teacher had produced them. I wondered if every class received such standard provisions.

As the teacher began playing an audio track, she explained, “The magical maintenance required for this audio, I can still afford.”

“So, with this background music, let’s delve into the meditation technique. I’ll provide a formal explanation for those who haven’t previewed it, while the rest of you can review and fill in any gaps.”

“I’ll light the incense after my explanation, as every bit of it is precious.”

Listening to the audio, I found it wasn’t jarring. In fact, the teacher seemed to disregard the music entirely while explaining the meditation technique. Though I didn’t know its precise effects, it certainly felt potent.

Teacher Qieluo also briefly outlined a subsequent requirement for the meditation technique: the condensation of spiritual threads.

“The condensation of spiritual threads is a crucial step,” Qieluo emphasized. “The ultimate goal of introductory meditation is to condense a single unit of spiritual thread.”

Qieluo paused, allowing the students to absorb the information. “This condensation is also the threshold for resonating with a Witch’s Heart. Only after resonating with it does the Witch’s Heart in your possession truly become yours.”

“And only then do you become a probationary witch, embarking on the path of a witch.”

“I’ve merely given you a brief overview,” she continued. “Next, I will light the incense, and you should attempt to meditate.”

“Seize this opportunity, otherwise, the next chance won’t come for another three days.” Qieluo glanced at the time, estimated the incense’s duration, and then spoke.

Sitting in the front row, I soon detected a subtle, not-too-overpowering fragrance.

As the scent wafted into my nostrils, a cool sensation surged through my mind. Under its influence, I distinctly felt the uncontrolled distracting thoughts being dispelled.

Slowly, I closed my eyes. I was acutely aware of my poor talent; without my ‘cheat,’ I likely wouldn’t even know what meditation was.

Thus, I resolved to at least master the state of entering meditation, even if only for a fleeting moment.

Since I had succeeded once before, I believed that by mastering the method and practicing relentlessly, success would inevitably follow.

With my eyes shut, I continuously attempted to meditate. However, perhaps due to the previous excitement, I kept failing.

‘No, the more I crave success, the more this obsession will plague me. Ugh…’ I muttered to myself.

Controlling one’s own thoughts was hardly an easy feat. Only true prodigies, like the class monitor and Kereiya Akareiya, could manage such a thing.

Urgency was useless now. Therefore, I decided to close my eyes and simply ponder, allowing time for my mind to settle before attempting meditation again.

Time trickled by. With my eyes still closed, my mind felt as though it had replayed my entire life, even growing too weary to think of anything else.

As the music continued and the incense provided its subtle aid, my body relaxed once more, for what felt like the hundredth time.

I tried to open my eyes. Everything around me was no longer the classroom.

Extinguished stars twinkled anew, and the cosmos once again filled my vision.

‘Is this meditation?’

Upon beholding this starry expanse, I knew I had succeeded.

‘Then, how does one condense spiritual power?’

I didn’t even know what spiritual power looked like. I reached out and grasped a star as it drifted past me. Though I had experienced this once before, the sight still left me utterly astonished.

‘Spiritual power… what a headache.’

Since this was a meditation space, and spiritual power could be condensed here, then spiritual power itself must also reside within this realm.

‘So… what *is* spiritual power here?’

‘Could it be the stars?’

I squeezed hard, and the star instantly disintegrated into dust. Clearly, stars were not spiritual power. So what was it?

I gazed at the stars orbiting me. It seemed there was nothing else here besides them…

‘Really?’ I questioned myself repeatedly. ‘Am I overlooking something?’

I observed the star I had crushed; it seemed to have affected the trajectory of other stars.

The stars typically moved along predetermined orbits. Yet, the crushed star hadn’t directly impacted any others, even as those other stars subtly altered their paths.

‘Is it the star trails?’ I boldly conjectured. It wouldn’t matter if I was wrong; here, I could interfere with everything!

Even a shattered star could be restored in an instant.

I watched the star reform in my hand, then pushed it away, sending it soaring into the distance.

It didn’t orbit me, nor did it follow its original trajectory.

But I knew that if I wished, it could return at any moment and resume its original path.

In that moment, I felt as though I had grasped something profound…