Chapter 126: Chapter 102: The Curse Seal Inheritance
Seeing Gwendolyn look his way, Fang Zhen smiled slightly. "I’m happy to report I didn’t fail you."
"Master, may we co in?"
Gwendolyn ca back to his senses.
"Hurry and co in."
Mark and Fang Zhen entered the courtyard one after the other, closing the gate securely behind them.
Mark was still visibly excited. He pulled two jars of an Abnormal Ghost’s cerebrospinal fluid from a leather pouch and said, "There are five jars in total. We got the cerebrospinal fluid."
"Fang Zhen is truly incredible! In the span of less than four breaths, he killed three Abnormal Ghosts."
Upon hearing this, Gwendolyn asked for more details.
Mark, finally starting to calm down, recounted the entire event.
After listening, the look of surprise in Gwendolyn’s eyes only intensified.
Gwendolyn turned and studied Fang Zhen for a long mont.
"It seems my previous observations of you weren’t thorough enough."
"It seems your abilities are far greater than I imagined."
"It was just luck. The terrain was ideal for the attack," Fang Zhen said.
Gwendolyn shook his head. "Even if that was a factor, knowing how to use it to your advantage is a strength in itself. Wisdom is also a asure of power."
"Master, I’ve brought back the cerebrospinal fluid. May I now learn about the Curse Seals?" Fang Zhen asked.
"Of course. I do not make promises lightly, but once a promise is made, I will honor it. That is my principle," Gwendolyn said with a nod. "Follow ."
Gwendolyn headed toward one of the rooms.
Fang Zhen followed close behind.
The two of them entered an inner room.
The room was sparsely furnished with just a bed, a table, and a chair. The most valuable item inside was likely a bronze candlestick.
After entering, Gwendolyn opened a hidden compartnt under the bed. He pulled out a box, unlocked it with a key, and revealed several parchnt scrolls inside.
Gwendolyn picked up two of the scrolls, closed the box, and walked back over to Fang Zhen.
Gwendolyn’s expression was grave as he stared intently into Fang Zhen’s eyes.
"Fang Zhen, I am about to impart to you the Curse Seals of the Curse Sealers."
"But before that, I require you to perform a ritual with ."
"Whether or not you ultimately beco a true Curse Sealer, this ritual is a mandatory part of the succession. It is the code of conduct that all Curse Sealers must pledge to uphold."
"Alright." Fang Zhen nodded.
He didn’t say anything more. ’If I’m going to receive this knowledge, I’ll follow the rules.’
"Good." Gwendolyn was pleased with Fang Zhen’s attitude. "The ritual of succession is very simple, rely a spoken oath."
"Place your hand on this parchnt scroll." Gwendolyn set one of the scrolls on the table and unfurled it.
Fang Zhen saw that the scroll depicted a diagram of the human body, sowhat resembling a ridian chart used in acupuncture.
On the bottom right of the scroll were two handprints.
Gwendolyn instructed Fang Zhen to place his left palm on the handprint to the left.
Fang Zhen did as instructed.
Gwendolyn placed his own left hand on the other print.
"Repeat after , but say your own na where I say mine," Gwendolyn said.
Fang Zhen nodded.
"I, Gwendolyn, today pass on the Power of Curse Seal. I shall bequeath this power to my apprentice, Fang Zhen, and I swear that the Power of Curse Seal I have learned shall never be used for evil."
"To do no evil is the first and only law of the Curse Sealer."
"If I violate this oath, may I be forsaken by gods and n."
Gwendolyn recited, his expression grave.
Fang Zhen repeated the oath. "I, Fang Zhen, today accept the Power of Curse Seal. I shall receive this legacy from Master Gwendolyn, and I swear that the Power of Curse Seal I learn shall never be used for evil."
"To do no evil is the first and only law of the Curse Sealer."
"If I violate this oath, may I be forsaken by gods and n."
After repeating the oath, Fang Zhen suddenly felt his heart skip a beat.
He couldn’t identify the sensation, but he felt as if he had brushed against so unseen power.
It was the kind of feeling only those with exceptionally strong intuition could perceive.
A shiver went down Fang Zhen’s spine.
’Don’t tell
I just triggered so law of the world, or attracted the attention of so powerful entity?’
But when he considered the oath, it was just one rule: do no evil.
The thought put his mind at ease.
’If it had asked
to be a savior, a great philanthropist, or so kind of saint, that would have been asking too much.’
’But just "do no evil"? That, he could manage.’
The ritual was complete.
Gwendolyn seed quite pleased. He pointed to the diagram of the human body on the scroll.
"This diagram illustrates the foundational training thod for a Curse Sealer."
"Curse Sealers believe that two types of energy naturally exist within the human body. One is the energy of the flesh, and the other is the energy of the Spirit."
"The power of a Curse Seal is generated by combining these two energies. We call the result ’Seal Power’."
"In other words, to use a Curse Seal, you must expend physical stamina. At the sa ti, stamina alone isn’t enough. You also need the power of your soul—or, to be more precise, your Spirit."
"This is a visualization diagram. It teaches you how to focus your ntal imagery and combine the power of that imagination with your physical energy to create Seal Power."
"I will walk you through it once."
Gwendolyn began explaining the visualization diagram to Fang Zhen.
Fang Zhen listened intently.
After about five minutes, he had a firm grasp of the Curse Sealer’s training thod.
The Curse Sealer’s visualization thod was sowhat like the progressive relaxation techniques used by hypnotists.
The thod involved visualizing a small ball of light, like a snowball, rolling along a set path within the body. It would grow larger as it rolled until it finally split into three, leaving large orbs of light at the forehead, the center of the chest, and a point near the dantian in the lower abdon.
The training process was accompanied by a set of chants and verbal cues.
The thod itself felt more like a guided ditation script.
Of course, Fang Zhen didn’t dare underestimate this visualization technique, nor did he dare alter it in any way.
While it resembled a hypnotic progressive relaxation technique, the guiding words and the path of visualization were different.
’He had no idea if changing even a single word of the script could cause a chain reaction. Since he was a beginner, it was best to play it safe and practice exactly as his teacher instructed.’
After explaining the Curse Sealer’s visualization thod to Fang Zhen, Gwendolyn said gravely, "There are different schools of thought among Curse Sealers, but broadly speaking, their training thods are all quite similar."
"However, not everyone has the aptitude to beco a Curse Sealer."
"Only one in fifty people might have the talent to cultivate Curse Seals, and perhaps only one in three hundred will achieve any real mastery."
"I’ve lived in this town for nearly seven years, and in all that ti, I have only taken on two real apprentices: Nick and Mark. Nick is the more talented of the two. He’s been learning for almost five years, and as you’ve seen, his technique is still quite unrefined."
"Mark is more diligent, but his aptitude is even less than Nick’s. He can barely manage to form the Gang Zan Seal."
"Fang Zhen, even if you are lucky enough to have great talent, you must be prepared to spend three years building a solid foundation and five years before you can master the Gang Zan Seal."
Fang Zhen gave a noncommittal nod.
’He, for one, didn’t think it would be that difficult.’
’Gwendolyn had the typical attitude of a master, hitting him with a bit of a reality check right from the start.’
’As for Fang Zhen, he had stopped paying attention to such talk back in his school days. The only way to know if he could do it was to try. Practice is the sole criterion of truth, after all.’
"Go ahead and give it a try. Don’t worry if you fail. Even for the talented, it’s normal to take one to three months just to get started," Gwendolyn said.
"How will I know when I’ve succeeded?" Fang Zhen asked.
"When you can clearly perceive the three orbs of light at your forehead, chest, and lower abdon during your inner visualization, you will have succeeded," Gwendolyn explained. "You might even feel them beco full, pulsing with your body as if they were actual physical tissues. At that point, you can attempt the next step: constructing a Curse Seal. However, I advise you not to get ahead of yourself. It’s best to proceed one solid step at a ti."
Fang Zhen nodded, then stood right where he was and began the visualization.
The scene, however, seed to stir sothing in Gwendolyn. He let out a soft sigh and said wistfully, "This is how my master taught , all those years ago. I was just like you—young and full of spirit. I thought I was different, that I could master the Curse Seals with ease."
"But who would have thought? It took
a month and a half just to grasp the basics."
"From that day forward, I began to face reality. I was just an ordinary person. The only way to beco stronger was through relentless effort, effort, and more effort..."
Gwendolyn was getting old, after all. Once the floodgates of mory opened, he couldn’t seem to stop himself from reminiscing.
Fang Zhen heard almost none of what Gwendolyn was saying.
His entire focus was on visualizing the orb of light moving through his body.
As he perford the basic training of a Curse Sealer, an invisible power surged from within his body.
Fang Zhen felt his body grow hot, as if seared by fire, but there was no pain.
The experience was almost identical to when he had first acquired his Source Power.
As Fang Zhen continued his training, he suddenly felt the visualized orb of light inside him expand by several dozen tis. It began to move with incredible fluidity, allowing him to complete the basic visualization exercise at a speed dozens of tis faster than before.
At his initial pace, one cycle of the visualization would have taken forty-five minutes to an hour. But under the influence of that miraculous power, he completed a full cycle of the Curse Sealer’s foundational training in less than thirty seconds.
Without even closing his eyes, Fang Zhen could see with his mind’s eye three enormous orbs, brimming with white light, located at his brow, the center of his chest, and his lower abdon. The orbs were even pulsing, feeling as tangible as real organs.
’It’s the Source Power.’
He understood at once. Now that he had a foundational training thod, his Source Power was converting directly into the Seal Power of a Curse Sealer.
"Master?" Fang Zhen suddenly spoke.
Gwendolyn was still lost in his reverie, reminiscing about the eventful years of his past.
Fang Zhen called out again before Gwendolyn finally started, snapping out of his reminiscence.
"Oh, my apologies," Gwendolyn said, a flicker of embarrassnt crossing his face before vanishing. "When one gets old, one tends to ramble. I forgot that you need a quiet environnt for this foundational training. My apologies for disturbing you."
"No, Master," Fang Zhen said. "I was just going to ask... now that I’ve completed the foundational training, what’s the next step?"
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