Chapter 56: Chapter 54: A Day’s Plan Lies in the Early Morning
The morning sets the tone for the day.
No, for Mo Ning, a more accurate saying would be: the day’s plans are made in the wee hours of the morning.
Three-thirty in the morning.
Mo Ning opened his eyes after only two and a half hours of sleep.
He felt mentally refreshed and used his consciousness to check the status of his Spiritual Power.
[Current remaining Spiritual Power: 100%.]
Without a moment’s hesitation, Mo Ning got out of bed and sat down at his desk.
He pulled out a sheet of scale pattern paper and quickly wrote:
"Applying a trace amount of Calming Ointment, combined with the Snake Sleep Technique, allowed my Spiritual Power to recover from 51% to 100% in two hours and forty minutes.
"The amount of ointment applied was about one-tenth of the normal dose for meditation.
"By this calculation, one jar of Calming Ointment, which provides 100 uses for meditation, could instead last for 1,000 uses to aid sleep—enough for about three years.
"This method allows for rapid recovery of Spiritual Power and significantly reduces sleep time, giving me more time for study and research."
The above were his objective observations.
Next came Mo Ning’s conclusion: "This sleep method possesses high practical value and also indicates that the Snake Sleep Technique’s potential is greater than I anticipated."
The version of the Snake Sleep Technique he was now using had been iterated from v1.5 to v1.6 just a few days prior.
The new version, optimized for use with a Magic Potion, compressed his sleep time from the original three hours to just two and a half.
Half an hour might not seem like much.
But over the course of a year, that saved him a full 180 hours. Converted to days, that was a whole seven and a half days.
To put that in perspective...
According to statistics Mo Ning had read, the average First Level Apprentice slept for five and a half hours.
Compared to those apprentices, he could save two hours every day, giving him an extra thirty days and nights over the course of a year.
This was by no means a small amount.
This extra time was enough for him to take on two more Witchcraft research projects—completing them from start to finish, including writing the papers, submitting them, and finalizing the projects.
And at the end of it all—two handsome rewards, and perhaps even an extra bonus.
At this moment, gazing at the line on the paper about the "practical value of the sleep method," a smile touched Mo Ning’s lips. ’This really is a valuable research topic.’
Just imagine—if he could further improve the Snake Sleep Technique, reducing sleep time even more while enhancing Spiritual Power recovery, wouldn’t such a Secret Technique be incredibly popular?
The answer was self-evident.
As far as he knew, the entire academy had 58,000 apprentices, 34,000 of whom were First Level Apprentices.
He did the math from the academy’s perspective: if every First Level Apprentice gained an extra three hours of study time per day, tens of thousands of apprentices would collectively gain over a hundred thousand extra hours in a single day.
Even if only half of those apprentices adopted this method, that would still be fifty thousand hours.
Accumulated over a year, that would amount to nearly twenty million hours.
’What would the academy think?’
’They’d be desperate to have it.’
’Of course, considering First Level Apprentices are generally broke, the cost of the Magic Potion would have to be brought down further—ideally cut in half.’
’That way, one jar of Calming Ointment could last for about 2,000 uses, or five and a half years.’
’A cost like that would be much more acceptable to First Level Apprentices.’
’At that point, the Snake Sleep Technique would become truly valuable.’
In the terminology used by the academy to review papers, that would be deemed to have "significant value."
This was an evaluation that most people, including even Third Level Apprentices, couldn’t even dream of receiving.
Mo Ning grew excited. ’As long as I complete the research, the academy’s reward won’t be less than two thousand Black Tower Points... Hmm, maybe even three thousand isn’t out of the question.’
However, he didn’t plan to apply for the research project just yet.
He had a decent amount of Black Tower Points for now. It wouldn’t be too late to submit his third research proposal after the current phase of his Breathing Technique research was complete.
Mo Ning set down his Ink Tube Pen, whispering with a smile,
"Gentlemen, let the rat race begin."
’Honestly, he truly didn’t understand how these apprentices, at an age meant for studying, could sleep for five hours a day with a clear conscience.’
’Stop sleeping!’
’Get up and get to work!’
*****
Five in the morning.
A sliver of white had appeared on the horizon.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the vast, silent, snow-capped mountains revealed their soul-stirring silhouette for the second time that morning.
Flurries of snow filled the sky, as if someone had dumped an entire year’s worth of white between heaven and earth.
Mo Ning had already been working for an hour and a half, researching ways to improve the High Mountain Breathing Technique.
His first paper had earned him an extra 120 Black Tower Points and a bottle of Magic Potion. The reward was like a heap of burning coals, fanning the flames of his passion for research.
"HUUUH—SHHHH—"
Mo Ning stood as straight as a pine, the breath hissing from his nose and mouth with an immense rhythm, each inhalation and exhalation like the tide crashing against the shore.
His forehead was coated with Calming Oil, while his chest and limbs were covered in a measured amount of Golden Kui Essential Oil.
The latter had been an additional suggestion from the Lord Wizard who reviewed his research proposal; this spiritual essential oil possessed the power to slowly nourish the body.
A cool sensation seeped in from his forehead while a Warm Current surged from his chest to his limbs, reaching deep into his organs and bones.
The coolness and warmth intertwined within him, creating a sensation of being between ice and fire.
But far from being unpleasant, Mo Ning found that the "ice" and "fire" neutralized each other, giving rise to a strange sense of comfort.
As he performed the Breathing Technique, he faintly felt himself becoming more and more relaxed.
A realization suddenly dawned on Mo Ning:
’The Lord Wizard’s advice was sound—when the body and soul are nourished by Spiritual Power simultaneously, the connection between them becomes more harmonious and tightly bound, which ultimately provides a great benefit to one’s own Spiritual Power.’
He couldn’t help but marvel. ’As expected of a Wizard.’
"HUUUH—SHHHH—"
The sound of his breathing continued, steady and drawn-out.
On the illusory light screen floating before him, all sorts of data streamed past like a torrent.
This was the Eye of Truth, faithfully recording every minute change in his body and mind.
Mo Ning was confident that if he accumulated enough data, he would surely find the key patterns hidden deep within.
By then using Secret Divination and Divination as a tool for analysis and deduction—his specialty—he could sooner or later unveil the deep-seated mysteries connecting the Breathing Technique and the spirit.
And once he grasped that Mystery, making targeted improvements to the High Mountain Breathing Technique would be a natural next step.
A few more minutes passed.
Suddenly, Mo Ning felt an intense, burning heat surge through his body.
The heat was so fierce that it brought a faint pang of pain, causing his brow to furrow.
The next moment.
Like a volcanic eruption, the burning sensation washed over his entire body, from his limbs to his very bones, making him scalding hot in an instant.
In a flash, Mo Ning was drenched in sweat, and visible steam rose from the top of his head.
The torrent of data on the illusory screen surged even more violently, every value fluctuating wildly.
But Mo Ning wasn’t flustered in the slightest.
His Spiritual Intuition told him this was definitely not a bad thing.
The burning sensation came as quickly as it went.
A mere second later, the burning sensation had completely vanished.
He didn’t feel weak at all. On the contrary, he felt as if his body was brimming with inexhaustible energy.
A guess formed in Mo Ning’s mind, and with a slight mental nudge...
The Nebula within the illusory eye swirled, and his attribute panel appeared before him.
Name: Mo Ning.
Spiritual Strength: 0.55.
Physical Strength: 0.22.
Mo Ning glanced at the panel, a flicker of a smile in his eyes.
’Just as I thought.’ His Physical Strength had indeed increased by 0.01.
For a Wizard, Spiritual Strength was paramount, but improving one’s physique also had plenty of advantages.
Better stamina, more energy for tasks, a stronger immune system, less susceptibility to illness... the only downside was that he’d get hungry faster.
"WHOOSH—!"
Mo Ning let out a long breath, stopping the Breathing Technique at the opportune moment.
The unexpected increase in his Physique Value was like a sudden flash of light in his mind, completely igniting his inspiration.
He stared at the silhouette of the snowy mountains, lost in thought. ’Perhaps I need to drastically adjust my theoretical framework.’
’The Breathing Technique shouldn’t focus solely on improving Spiritual Strength; it should also account for Physique Value.’
’There’s an unbreakable, invisible bond between spirit and body. If they advance in concert, nourishing each other, perhaps the effect on improving Spiritual Strength will be even greater.’
Mo Ning quickly solidified his thoughts. ’This is it, then.’
This was more than a simple adjustment to his theoretical framework; it was like tearing down the entire foundation to rebuild from scratch.
The core metric for improvement had shifted from the singular goal of Spiritual Strength to a combined goal of Spiritual Strength and Physical Strength.
The research difficulty wouldn’t just double; it would increase fivefold, sixfold, or even tenfold.
This was because the number of variables had more than doubled, as had the relationships between them. The combined effect was a geometric increase in complexity.
For most apprentices, this was a daunting tower; the mere act of looking up at it was enough to make their legs go weak.
But Mo Ning didn’t care in the least.
He had never been one to fear a challenge.
Just then.
"BZZT~"
The sudden vibration of his Secret Technique Whisper interrupted Mo Ning’s train of thought.
He reached out to touch the face of his ring, then paused, stunned.
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