As Shen began his session of mana sensing, a ding rang in his mind that startled him.
'The heck?'
[Beep! Blood pressure and brain waves are moving unnaturally, the host is required to control his emotions.]
Shen was about to retort but he shook his head and helplessly sighed.
'How can I relax when knowing I'm being schemed against?'
Shen had been truly anxious when he reached that thought of his family's fakeness, but he didn't realise that it would affect his training!
'Calm down, in your first life, your situation was way worse, you had to fight the four protectors and all of their disciples alone,' He kept assuring himself as he slowly exhaled and inhaled deep breaths while closing his eyes.
The more anxious you are, the harder it is to sense mana. Yone stood in that state for a couple of minutes before his mind went blank and he entered a state of deep cultivation.
He saw nothing, yet he felt like the whole world was laid before him.
'Mana, it is ethereal and is around all of us, but also seeps through our pores and resides within the body, flowing throughout. How do I sense it? How do I mobilize it? The technique, said, it's all about comprehension, intention, and not the form…"
Shen continued to sense his mana, but besides feeling the soreness in his legs from maintaining the horse stance, he couldn't sense any mana at all.
However, despite all of that, his mind didn't wander and kept his focus without moving an inch from his spot.
Shen ended his horse stance, the frustration evident in his eyes as he felt slightly dispirited,' Why does this world's power system feel so complicated? This is stupid!'
It was true that Shen was a genius in his first world, but the power system greatly differed, and all he had to do was level up! Only spells were required to be painstakingly studied and built from scratch...
'It's fine, power can't be easy to acquire, right? Perseverance is a must,' He reassured himself, nodded his head, and went to grab his food from the kitchen as usual.
Rest was almost as important, and nourishing one's body is even more crucial. He had already spent a couple of hours training, that's even slightly longer than his first session if he recalled correctly.
While on the way, he couldn't help but inquire,' Synapse, what's your estimation of when I will be able to sense mana?'
[Beep! assessing the cultivation technique...assessing complete...assessing the mages path... assessing complete...]
0%...
15%...
75%...
100%...
[Beep! Calculation finished. The database doesn't have much information on the energy called 'mana'. Estimation of sensing mana is unknown.]
Tsk...
Shen clicked his tongue, helpless. He then went to the mansion's kitchen, grabbed his food, and went back to his room. He made sure not to interact with anyone before he got a bit of strength.
Taking his horse stance once again, Shen's face turned serious as he began pushing all external thoughts out of his mind to not endanger his body by wasting time.
Shen calmed his mind, focused on himself, and delicately sensed his body, sensing the mana inside of it since he felt that it would be way easier than trying to sense outwards.
If mages were to know what he was currently doing, they would slap their foreheads and think of him as a madman seeking a quick death.
It should be known that mana, although an ethereal energy was also extremly dangerous and any novice actions to sense it around you and seep it slowly into your body to began your cultivation journey was nigh-impossible without a mentor.
This is also why everyone who wished to start cultivating needed the help of a mage who is at least at the peak of the first realm to help him guide the energy the moment it enters his body, or else he might burst one of his internal organs in the process and die on the spot.
It was simply that dangerous to sense mana as a first-timer using one's environment...
One should then realise how hard it is if one were to sense mana inside of his body and failing to gain full control of that wisp of energy before a disaster befell one.
Nevertheless, Shen kept on his attempts, it's not because he was arrogant. It's just because he had tried that method before and it never functioned with his body; this is why he felt that he should go against the norm and try something else.
A streak of orange appeared in the sky.
It had been several hours since Shen began his next session, yet even though his legs were about to give in, his mind was in such a focused state that he didn't feel any pain in the slightest.
As a matter of fact, one could even see faint blood wisps drifting off from right above his ankles and slowly going along the smooth pathways of his skin as they ended under and around his feet.
As the sun was about to take its leave, Shen, immersed in sensing mana, suddenly felt a warm current emerging from his chest and abdomen, delicate and warm, seemingly flowing with his breath.
"This must be mana!"
"No! I'm sure of it, this feeling, it is the same one I felt in my first world, albeit slightly different from back then.'
"I've actually sensed mana this fast! I never expected it to be this fast!"
Shen, at this moment, was overjoyed as he kept focus on the tiny wisp of mana he caught that hovered inside his abdomen.
"Stay calm, stay calm, must be calm and composed, cannot let the mind be disturbed as the manual states…"
'I now have to mobilize that wisp of mana, and use it to refine my skin…' He stopped mid-sentence as he didn't know how to proceed. But he didn't panic,' How to mobilize mana in the first place? Is it the same way as my past life? Should I just guide it through as I did back then to launch spells?"
"No! The manual clearly said it's about comprehension, about intent, I must grasp this feeling at this moment, if I relax and think back on how to guide spells, I might lose that wisp of mana and spend another day of trying…"
"Moreover, operating spells and cultivating seem vastly different; I shouldn't risk it just like this and kill myself while trying..."