Su Ming’s spirits lifted, and he immediately focused his divine sense into the jade slip, firmly imprinting the rune for “Control” in his mind—a structure several times more complex than the rune for “Gather”.

Following his previous successful experience, he first deconstructed it in his mind.

This character “Defend” had a square, upright form with a closed structure, resembling a shield.

He extended his finger, channeled that strand of docile spiritual energy, and confidently began tracing it on the ground.

This rune for “Control” had a square, upright form with a closed structure, resembling a shield.

The second stroke turned smoothly.

However, when he reached the third stroke, which required guiding the spiritual energy outward to construct a closed framework, a problem arose.

That strand of spiritual energy, accustomed to the introverted, spiraling nature of the character “Gather,” was completely unaccustomed to this outward-expanding method of guidance.

It suddenly stalled.

“Pop.”

A soft sound. The spiritual energy snapped at the turning point, and the two strokes that had just taken shape instantly dissipated.

Su Ming was stunned.

Refusing to believe it, he tried again.

“Pop.”

He attempted to slow down, guiding it with extreme care.

The spiritual energy passed through, but the entire runic framework became soft and limp, utterly lacking any sense of “defense.” Its glow flickered and died.

It simply couldn’t take shape.

After over a dozen consecutive failures, fine beads of sweat appeared on Su Ming’s forehead.

He realized he was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

The experience gained from mastering the character “Gather” was almost entirely useless when faced with the character “Defend.”

“Master…” he began, somewhat dejected.

“How does it feel?” Lin Yu’s voice held no emotion.

“Disciple… feels this ‘Defend’ character rune is completely different from the ‘Gather’ character. The way the spiritual energy moves is entirely opposite.”

“Oh? How is it opposite?”

“The character ‘Gather’ attracts and compresses external spiritual energy inward. But this character ‘Defend’… seems… seems to require using one’s own spiritual energy to construct a barrier outward. It emphasizes a sense of ‘propping up.'”

“Correct. Continue.”

“No matter how I guide it, disciple cannot form a stable ‘surface’ with the spiritual energy. It always disperses.”

“Superficial.”

Lin Yu’s evaluation was blunt.

“You only see the surface. This teacher asks you, what is the core of the character ‘Gather’?”

“It’s… the vortex?” Su Ming ventured a guess.

“It’s ‘gravitational force,'” Lin Yu corrected. “It uses your own spiritual energy as a core to create a tiny gravitational field, attracting external energy. Therefore, its strokes are inwardly spiraling, centripetal.”

“What about the character ‘Defend’ then?” Su Ming pressed.

“Think again. What is the purpose of a shield?” Lin Yu didn’t give the answer directly.

“To block external force.”

“How does it block?”

“By… dispersing the impact force?” Su Ming recalled the shield formations of mortal armies.

“Exactly!” Lin Yu’s voice carried a hint of approval. “The core of the character ‘Defend’ is ‘repulsive force’ and ‘conduction.’ It requires you to use your spiritual energy to construct a uniform and stable repulsive field, and to evenly conduct and dissipate any impact received along the closed structure of the rune.”

“Therefore, its strokes must be outwardly expanding and closed! Using the mental method for drawing the character ‘Gather’ to draw this one is like climbing a tree to catch fish—completely futile!”

It was as if a thunderclap exploded in Su Ming’s mind, instantly clearing the fog.

The experience gained from mastering the “Gather” rune was almost entirely useless when faced with the “Control” rune.

Inward spiral and outward expansion.

Absorption and conduction.

This was the most fundamental “principle” behind different runes!

He no longer rushed to act. Instead, he closed his eyes and placed the two runes side by side in his mind, comparing them repeatedly.

One was like a clenched fist, the other like an open palm.

“Disciple… feels this ‘Control’ rune is completely different from the ‘Gather’ rune. The way the spiritual energy moves is entirely opposite.”

So, learning a new rune wasn’t simple copying and pasting.

One must first understand its “intent,” then imitate its “form.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Master! Disciple understands!”

…

Early the next morning, Su Ming tidied up, left Courtyard Ding-Qi, and prepared to head to the Accounting Office.

The moment he stepped out of the courtyard gate, Lin Yu’s soul sense, tinged with curiosity, extended from the Xuantian ring.

“Disciple, hold still. Let this teacher take a look.”

This was the first time Lin Yu, since his awakening, was truly “seeing” this world.

In the next moment, the magnificent and spectacular scenery of the Cloud Hidden Sect unfolded completely within the perception of his soul sense.

Immortal mountains floating in a sea of clouds, rainbow bridges spanning the sky, cultivators flying on swords…

Lin Yu’s soul body fell silent.

Su Ming could feel a trace of… disturbance in his master’s soul force fluctuation.

“You only see the surface. This teacher asks you, what is the core of the ‘Gather’ rune?”

Su Ming thought to himself, that’s how he felt the first time he saw it too.

However, the next second, a barrage of mental outbursts exploded in Su Ming’s mind.

“Holy crap! These floating mountains defy basic physics! Such massive mass, and there’s not even an anti-gravity rune array underneath? Just propped up by a few energy pillars? If the energy supply becomes unstable, wouldn’t they all go bungee jumping?”

“And that guy on the flying sword! Speeding, buddy! Don’t you see that crane rider ahead? Don’t you need a traffic department to manage this? A rear-end collision is inevitable sooner or later!”

“Pill Cauldron Peak? Good grief, that pill cloud billowing from the chimney—back in my day, the PM2.5 would be at least a thousand! Where’s the environmental protection department?”

“What about the ‘Control’ rune then?” Su Ming pressed.

He felt he might have some misunderstanding about the word “awestruck.”

Just then, Lin Yu’s soul sense abruptly retracted.

Waves of powerful, obscure auras emanated from the higher peaks in the distance, pressing down on him like invisible mountains, almost suffocating him.

Golden Core… Nascent Soul… and even more terrifying existences!

Lin Yu’s outburst-prone soul was instantly extinguished, replaced by deeply ingrained vigilance.

An urgent thought rang in Su Ming’s mind.

“Disciple, listen carefully!” Lin Yu’s voice was unprecedentedly serious.

“From now on, except within your own room, do not call out to me anywhere!”

“Don’t even think about me too much!”

This place was filled with powerful beings, their divine senses reaching the heavens. Any slight abnormality could invite catastrophic disaster.

He responded respectfully in his mind.

Only then did Lin Yu relax slightly.

“This place… the waters run too deep, and there are too many powerful figures. We… need to keep our tails tucked in even tighter.”

…

Life returned to its usual calm.

But Su Ming’s daily routine underwent a dramatic transformation.

He no longer went to the corner of the courtyard to fiddle with those broken stones.

During the day at the Accounting Office, he remained that remarkably efficient accountant.

But during breaks between checking ledgers, he would often stare blankly into the air or at a blank sheet of grass paper, lost in thought.

Sometimes, his finger would hover in mid-air, unconsciously and slowly tracing, as if copying something invisible.

This was him visualizing the structure of runes, deducing the flow of spiritual energy.

When night fell, the eastern side room became his most secretive cultivation ground.

He no longer pursued quantity.

Instead, following Lin Yu’s guidance, he thoroughly digested and understood each rune.

Mastering the second rune, “Defend,” took him a full five days.

Mastering the third rune, “Fortify,” took him four days.

The fourth rune, “Channel,” cost him another five days.

The progress was agonizingly slow, but each step was taken with incredible solidity.

He was no longer rote memorizing. He was truly beginning to understand the common, eternal “principle” behind these ever-changing lines.

His spiritual energy remained feeble.

But his control over that strand of spiritual energy, through day after day of meticulous tracing, had reached an astonishing level.

All of this was observed by certain people within Courtyard Ding-Qi.

Zhang Meng simply thought Su Ming had become even more silent and eccentric lately.

Manager Zhao believed Su Ming was distressed over his inability to cultivate, often sighing and sending over some spirit fruits as consolation.

Only Li Kai from the South Room.

He remained as quiet and withdrawn as ever, leaving early and returning late each day.

But when he went out to fetch water, he would always, inadvertently, glance at the tightly closed door of the eastern side room.

His gaze was more complex than before.

As another “self-taught” practitioner exploring alone, he understood better than anyone what Su Ming’s current state signified.

That wasn’t confusion.

That was focus.

It was the most painful, yet most crucial, entry phase for someone who had just stepped through the gate into a difficult field.

Li Kai withdrew his gaze, picked up his water bucket, and silently walked back to his room.

He closed the door and leaned against the cold wooden panel.

In the darkness, he slowly extended his own hand.

A strand of spiritual energy, several times more refined than Su Ming’s, silently formed a small, stable…

“Defend” character rune at his fingertip.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep