Rex carefully sensed Xu Yuan's mental strength.
Hearing Xu Yuan say that his mental strength hadn't changed, Rex was somewhat surprised.
Although different cultivation systems required the support of laws, some cultivation systems were universal.
It wasn't that the magic system of the Sacred Heart Plane was a universal magic system, but rather that the laws of mana had been imprinted in the universe along with the Sacred Heart Plane.
Not only the Sacred Heart Plane, but many fundamental powers of god-level planes could be cultivated even in areas not covered by the power of the Sacred Heart Plane.
As for the difficulty of cultivation and whether certain key abilities could awaken, that was uncertain.
For example, after the Douluo Plane upgraded to a god-level plane, the soul power system would be imprinted in the universe. Soul power could also be cultivated by other planes, but martial souls might not necessarily be possessed.
And without martial souls, how could one cultivate soul power?
The mana system of the Sacred Heart Plane didn't have something like martial souls that altered the structure of living beings. The essence of magic was the laws of heaven and earth. By converting these laws into universal laws of the universe, the entire magician system of the Sacred Heart Plane could be universal.
The magic Rex promised to teach Xu Yuan was also a set of magic that could be universally applied across the universe.
When Xu Yuan meditated, Rex observed the entire process.
He wasn't surprised when Xu Yuan quickly entered the meditative state. For someone nearly reaching godhood, instantly entering a meditative state was normal.
Later, when Xu Yuan immediately constructed a model, it slightly surprised him, though he could still accept it.
What truly astonished him was how smoothly Xu Yuan's mental strength integrated with elemental forces.
Xu Yuan's affinities were all at the divine level, so it was expected that his fusion with elements would proceed smoothly. However, Xu Yuan chose to fuse with almost all elemental forces. The biggest issue with this method of fusion was balancing the different elements.
There was difficulty, naturally there were benefits.
Previously, Rex had mentioned that a more substantial foundation of mana meant magicians would have ample mana in the early stages. Having sufficient mana itself guaranteed a magician's advancement.
After being baptized by one element's mana, advancing to a primary magician required mastering more than three primary spells and frequently casting them to resonate with elements. It took at least half a year to improve the quality and quantity of mana to the second rank, which was the intermediate magician level.
However, being baptized by two elements' mana could shorten this time to one month.
Being baptized by three elements could allow one to directly enter the primary magician stage through continuous meditation and mana refinement. At this point, learning primary spells with higher quality and quantity of mana would reduce the time needed to master them. In the same amount of time, one could master more primary spells and cast them more often and with greater intensity and resonance.
Before the fifth rank, in the same amount of time, a magician baptized by three elements could generally surpass a magician baptized by one element by one or two ranks.
After the fifth rank, it was the growth of mental strength and comprehension that gradually began to show.
The fastest period of mental strength growth was before the age of twenty. As the body developed and the brain matured, mental strength increased proportionally. The earlier one used meditation to enhance mental strength to a higher level, the more one could maximize the mental strength growth brought by physical development.
This was the general situation without considering individual mental aptitude.
Mental strength was just one aspect. In short, the earlier one advanced to a higher level, the greater the benefits for a magician.
Therefore, starting with multiple elements' baptism to refine mana was very necessary.
However, what blocked most magicians was adjusting the balance between elements.
Xu Yuan had fused with at least seven elements, and the process was very smooth, not requiring additional adjustments. This was the key to Rex's shock.
On the Sacred Heart Continent, divine-level affinity was not non-existent, but even divine-level affinity mostly pertained to one element. To refine mana under the baptism of that element, it would take several years, and that was assuming other elemental affinities were at the heavenly level.
However, everything proceeded smoothly for Xu Yuan at the beginning. Logically, refining mana shouldn't have any problems.
Carefully sensing Xu Yuan's mental strength, Rex didn't find any abnormalities.
Frowning, he had Xu Yuan meditate again.
Following Rex's instructions, Xu Yuan tried meditating, but still couldn't feel any changes in his mental strength.
"Could it be because your mental strength is too powerful?"
Frowning, Rex gave an explanation.
He taught Xu Yuan the top-tier heavenly-grade meditation technique he obtained during his peak magician period.
"Try using the structure of this meditation technique to refine mana. This is the refinement model used by peak magicians."
Xu Yuan tried again.
He effortlessly constructed the model, quickly completed the fusion, and then began refining mana.
Xu Yuan opened his eyes and looked at Rex.
From Xu Yuan's gaze, Rex already knew the answer.
Still nothing.
"This is a god-level meditation technique."
Clenching his teeth, Rex refused to believe that Xu Yuan couldn't refine mana.
However, as Xu Yuan completed the meditation again, using the beginner's meditation technique and swiftly completing all the steps needed to refine mana, the result was—
Xu Yuan closed his eyes, raising an eyebrow as if he felt a change.
"Did it work?" Rex observed Xu Yuan's expression change and sighed in relief.
But Xu Yuan frowned, making Rex tense up again.
"How is it?"
Xu Yuan opened his eyes, and the one who was more nervous than Xu Yuan was Rex.
"Still no mana refined, but my mental strength has significantly increased."
Hearing the first half of Xu Yuan's statement, Rex was a bit disarrayed, but upon hearing the second half, he seemed to realize something.
"Wait a moment, I know where the problem lies. Your mental strength's affinity with each element might not be at the divine level—it might be above the divine level."
"Above the divine level?"
"It means you don't need to convert mana; your mental strength is sufficient to construct models and cast spells."
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow.
He thought of his Heavenly Origin Brush.
The Heavenly Origin Brush inherently controlled heaven and earth. Perhaps this allowed his mental strength to cast spells without converting to mana?
Of course, whether true or not still needed practical verification.
"This is the model for Inferno Storm. Try constructing it."
Inferno Storm?
Rex pointed his right hand in front of him, and a light point appeared, floating over to Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan simply infused his mental strength into it and felt the internal model.
"This is an intermediate spell, but it's a fusion of two intermediate spells, Inferno and Phoenix Tornado. Its cultivation difficulty is greater than that of ordinary high-level spells, but its power is not much weaker than high-level spells. The advantage is that it consumes less."
Consuming less mana?
After pondering, Xu Yuan asked, "Rex, so what about two primary spells? Can the fusion of two primary spells reach the strength of an intermediate spell, and what about the consumption? Can the fusion of four primary spells reach the power level of an advanced spell?"
Rex smiled.
"Your comprehension is good. The cultivation of magic is a process from simple to complex and then from complex to simple. After reaching advanced spells, it's a gradual process of deconstructing back to primary spells. The reason is that the structure of low-level spells is simpler, relatively speaking, and matches magicians better."
To explain this match, Rex gave an example.
"For instance, a structure like 1234 may be too complex for some. Magicians may not perfectly match every part of the structure."
"Each magician is different. The so-called magic models are just general ones and not necessarily the best fit for each magician. To master stronger magic, one must start adjusting the magic models to make them more compatible with one's own mana when casting spells."
"The 1234 model is too complex, and the mismatch with the magician's inherent structure would be numerous and unchangeable. However, if it can be changed to a structure like 1, 5, 6, 7 that matches the magician better, achieving the same effect while being more compatible, then both the speed of casting spells and the degree of resonance with elements would increase dramatically."
Xu Yuan nodded, showing a look of sudden realization.
Primary spells were just basic constructions.
Continuously changing the combinations of primary spells to find the most suitable path for oneself—this was the cultivation of a grand magician.
"A grand magician is a magician who can achieve the effects of advanced spells with primary spells. Though seemingly indistinguishable from advanced magicians, their actual strength is worlds apart. A grand magician can even cast combination spells comparable to advanced spells in an instant, something an advanced magician absolutely cannot do. Moreover, the difference in total mana and quality makes a grand magician almost crushingly dominant against an advanced magician. Even a great magician who has just begun combining basic spells is completely unable to match a grand magician."
Casting advanced spells in an instant is the terrifying aspect of a grand magician.
Advanced spells, converted to soul masters, were equivalent to ten-thousand-year soul skills.
"Inferno Storm is already a great magician's trump card ability."
Xu Yuan nodded.
Creating a combination spell of two intermediate spells could elevate one to a great magician, which was also the trump card of a great magician.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan began memorizing the model of Inferno Storm.
Within the dream space, a galaxy emerged, stars flowing, rapidly simulating this model.
About a quarter of an hour later, a model identical to the one constructed by Rex was replicated in Xu Yuan's dream space.
The starlight dissipated and reassembled, another quarter of an hour later, successfully constructed again.
Repeating this cycle, within about an hour, the model could be constructed within a minute.
At this point, Xu Yuan began to practice.
In the real world, only five minutes had passed.
Seeing Xu Yuan start practicing so quickly, Rex was slightly surprised.
Upon seeing Xu Yuan construct the model of this spell within a minute, Rex's eyes widened.
Could it be that this Xu Yuan was truly a genius in cultivating magic?
Even with already god-level comprehension, Xu Yuan's performance on his first contact with magic was enough to demonstrate his talent.
Memory and imitation were indispensable talents for becoming a magician, and Xu Yuan had unparalleled advantages in these two aspects.
As Xu Yuan finished constructing the model, the elements in heaven and earth quickly became active.
Fiery red energy spread, and the entire sky and earth seemed to transform into a massive furnace. Flames rose, and a sea of fire rapidly spread outwards with Xu Yuan at the center.
Green currents also diffused, swirling along with the sea of fire.
Suddenly, the entire sea of fire seemed to follow the trend of the tornado, beginning to rotate.
In just half a minute, the flame tornado formed.
Was this magic?
Though the prelude was long, that was the nature of a magician's profession.
To complete powerful magic, one needed to use low-level magic to ensure the opportunity to perform high-level magic, such as Wind Walk, Instant Step, Water Shield, Earth Shield, and other low-level spells.
Low-level spells needed to be cast without preamble. Even advanced magicians needed to ensure they could release at least one low-level spell within three breaths; otherwise, even mastering advanced spells would be useless. Great magicians could cast numerous low-level spells in one breath.
"Indeed, your mental strength is inherently mana."
Rex looked at Xu Yuan, his astonishment unconcealed.
Xu Yuan completing Inferno Storm in such a short time was enough to demonstrate his talent in learning magic, and the formation of this Inferno Storm spell also represented the fact that Xu Yuan's mental strength itself was mana.
The focus of Rex's astonishment was naturally the latter.
Goodness, did I really find a guaranteed Super God-level genius in this small, strange plane?
Rex's emotions fluctuated.
"It seems my talent in magic isn't bad." Xu Yuan grinned. "I said magic suits me."
"That's right, magic suits you, and you suit magic. Although your plane's laws are already at a god-level standard in terms of completeness, it's stuck at a bottleneck, and it's unknown when it will break through. Moreover, the perfection of the cultivation system is also uncertain, which would waste your talent."
Rex was very sincere, now persuading Xu Yuan earnestly.
"Your soul master system is excellent, but reaching godhood, let alone advancing further, remains uncertain. You're at your peak moment; why not follow me to learn magic and first achieve Super God-level through mana?"
"First follow the mana system?" Xu Yuan showed a look of surprise.
"That's correct. In our Sacred Heart Plane, magicians have reached quasi-God King levels, though no one has yet achieved God King status. Across the universe, it's considered a top-tier system."
"I'll continue to practice magic, but my main focus will still be soul mastery." Xu Yuan shook his head and said, "As for the upper limit of the path, there's no need for you to worry, Rex. My teacher is already at the Super God level."
"Your teacher? A soul master?" Rex frowned, finding it hard to understand Xu Yuan's words.
How could a cultivation system from a plane that hasn't broken through to the god-level produce a Super God-level practitioner?
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