Hefei imparted fighting skills to her daughter and students. Having served as the head of the Naturalism Church’s Scalpel Organization in Paris, she was extremely adept at training disciples.
The so-called Scalpel Organization, akin to a surgeon’s precise strike, was entirely composed of elites battling on the front lines, with each division of Naturalism Church possessing its own Scalpel Organization.
The Scalpel Organization in Lundan had been crippled by the Dark Knights, and it currently hung by a thread. Though Hefei held it tightly in her grip, its immediate combat power was worrying and far from its former glory,—it wasn’t enough to withstand a charge from the Dark Knights.
Back to the main topic, Hefei’s fighting skills, unique due to her own bloodline, were gained through the enemy’s blood. Her so-called close combat, in addition to striking skills, involved the use of bloodlines, Magic Power, and Faith Magic.
Besides Veronica, who also possessed Dragon Blood, and Wayne, whose Essence of Life was exaggerated, others learning and applying these skills in actual combat had only one path: death.
Hefei briefly outlined the upcoming lessons and began to instruct Veronica through teaching by example, easily winning several close combat fights—severely crushing Veronica’s proud self-esteem.
That was precisely the effect she desired!
When it was Wayne’s turn, Hefei didn’t directly start with the practice but instead taught him how to practice Silver Cross.
The four key points of the Silver Cross, deriving from either merging or splitting the Hexagram, could only be practiced by a Mage who had thoroughly balanced the Hexagram. Wayne had already completed this stage. Next, he was to fuse the Four Elements: earth, fire, water, and wind to form the ’Life’ aspect of the Silver Cross.
"Silver Cross, God, Life, Void, Self..."
"You’re already aware of how important the Essence of Life is, so I won’t elaborate further here. Splitting ’God’ from Void, Self comes with certain risks. Once you successfully fuse ’Life,’ you will be able to significantly lower the risks. We’ll study this part of the course later on."
Hefei’s method of instruction was steady, focusing on being prudent, and she hoped that both Veronica and Wayne would follow her example: not to intentionally pursue speed but to build a solid foundation naturally, as that was the true path to mastery.
Otherwise, only chasing after power without valuing oneself would inevitably lead to a fall into becoming a Black Sorcerer.
"You have already mastered balance. The method of fusion lies in becoming close to nature, limiting your thought process, emptying your mind, and letting nature guide the earth, fire, water, and wind within you."
Hefei spread out a canvas with a complex Magic Array depicted on it. "Approaching nature is very challenging. Even Golden Mages have difficulty getting a response from it. Throughout the cultivation process, we must use a Magic Array to enhance our perception..."
"At the same time, our minds will become exceedingly active, which will take over as the dominant factor and severely disrupt the fusion of the Essence of Life."
Hefei explained a lot, down to every detail, so that even novices who had never studied the basics of Magic could understand her.
Wayne listened intently and nodded. Because Unity within the Hexagram had become one, the Essence of Life’s fusion would inevitably be impacted by Void, Self. At that time, it would be necessary to isolate these two factors, allowing the Essence of Life to be completely independent.
Without external assistance, the Essence of Life couldn’t transcend and transform on its own. One needed to draw close to nature to learn the stable coexistence mode of earth, fire, water, and wind in the natural world.
Communicating with nature was impossible, beyond the common knowledge of the Magic Realm. During cultivation, it was essential to utilize a Magic Array to strengthen perception in order to better sense nature.
And because of the enhanced perception, thought processes would become exceptionally active, which paradoxically increased the difficulty of fusing the Essence of Life.
According to Wayne’s understanding, people with empty minds had an easier time succeeding. The more one thought, the more difficult it became to hear the voice of nature.
To be honest, he had been trying this operation long ago. Communicating with nature had always been a minor goal of his.
"Try it first. You’re bound to fail the first time. Participation is key, so think of it as gaining experience," Hefei said with a smile.
Failure wasn’t fearsome, but giving up was. She believed her students wouldn’t easily give up. At most in a month, they should be able to hear the voice of nature, and at the latest in two months, they would be able to successfully fuse earth, fire, water, and wind with nature’s assistance.
This was an extremely exaggerated efficiency in cultivation, but she believed her students could achieve it.
Veronica snorted lightly; she had been stuck on this obstacle for a full half year. She hoped Wayne would catch up soon, or else sparring sessions would become quite dull.
"Alright, I’ll give it a try."
Wayne nodded and sat cross-legged at the center of the Magic Array Diagram. Though standing was also an option, he was adamant that this position felt more attuned to the act of cultivating.
As Magic Power was inputted, the diagram gradually emanated a pale blue glow, and his figure started to blur.
"Stop watching; I’ll continue teaching you fighting skills," Hefei said as she tapped Veronica on the shoulder and led her aside to prevent disturbing Wayne.
Meanwhile, Wayne, sitting cross-legged, emptied his mind and ’chatted’ with nature.
As if plummeting through the clouds, he gazed at the vast, endless universe above, hearing the silence of each breath, which slowly melded with the cosmos above with every exhalation.
Vitality flowed into his limbs and body, dispelling all negative emotions, emptying everything until he felt lighter and lighter, until he completely merged with the universe, his own existence vanishing yet omnipresent.
Wayne was no stranger to this process, having mastered it long ago. Even without the aid of a Magic Array, he could hear the voice of nature.
It was indistinct and not very clear. All he knew was that nature was quite talkative.
With his perception enhanced by the Magic Array, Wayne could hear distinctly this time—the breath of the wind, the tranquility of the water, the heartbeats of the earth, and the flame weaving between them, bringing vitality to the world like a conductor’s baton, combining all sounds into one, composing the symphony of nature.