Maria left Duke Town, and the life of the townspeople became as peaceful as usual. If there is any difference, Amon has become a qualified miner. Every day when he sees this familiar town, he finds that the streets and houses, filled with the smell of fire, are not so attractive to him, and it always feels like something is missing. There seemed to be an indescribable emptiness in his heart, or as if something had been taken away.
Amon always recalled that scene, he didn't understand but seemed to understand why she did that. In her room, eyes burning at each other, he put his hand on her chest, was about to kiss her hot lips, and then was suddenly pushed away by a strange force.
This power seemed familiar to him, it was a bit similar to the moment when the mine core was opened with a sledgehammer. Maria left in a hurry the next morning, of course she followed Lord Dick, but in Amon's view, it seemed that she wanted to get rid of some kind of temptation from him—Amon would rather think so, although it was impossible .
Lying on the bed alone in the dead of night, Amon looked at the low roof, those blurred shadows and ambiguous light, it seemed that there was always a circle of light flashing in the middle. He couldn't help thinking of her all the time, and even thought, if she hadn't pushed him away and Lord Gabriel hadn't come in, what might have happened
The fourteen-year-old boy had no experience with the next thing, but after thinking about it, a certain place on his body became shamefully hard, and he bounced uncontrollably, which made him excited and ashamed. In fact, Amon was obviously stronger and more mature than children of the same age. He didn't think he just wanted something to happen to her, but he really wanted that feeling, and he was a little confused and overwhelmed by it.
In the end, Amon finally thought that he had figured it out. In fact, what happened at that time did not depend on his decision at all, so he got up with a sigh and slipped out of the house to take a bath in the cold spring.
For some reason, Amon had a desire for the first time—that this biting cold spring could become even colder, soaking every pore in his body, and allowing him to gain inner peace. But he hadn't lost his mind and forgot the old lunatic's advice, and he should come out when a warm current rose in his body. Move around on the shore for a while, then sit down and adjust your breathing quietly, close your eyes and listen to the sound of blood flowing in the limbs, and carefully experience the feeling of each pore slowly opening, as if you can see and control your own body.
According to experience, there will be a warm current overflowing the whole body at this time, making people feel very comfortable and peaceful, and they want to moan comfortably, but they don't want to think about anything peaceful. But today I feel different from the past, there is a strange commotion in the body and soul, the warm current becomes hot, it seems impulsive, and the cold spring in front of me seems to emit a strange fragrance—that is her breath.
Bathing in the cold spring could not get the same tranquility as before. After dawn, Amon habitually went to chat with the old lunatic again. He wasn't one to confide in secrets, but it was hard to hold such a thing in his heart, he was only a fourteen-year-old kid after all, and he absolutely trusted the old madman.
Amon didn't talk about what happened in the room that night at the beginning, but only talked about the trouble he encountered while taking a bath in the cold spring. As he spoke, he lowered his head and looked at his toes, as if he had committed some crime.
The old lunatic was not surprised when he heard this, instead he laughed and handed him a glass of wine with a smile.
Amon shrank instinctively and replied: "I don't drink." His father was an alcoholic, and Amon had seen enough of his father getting drunk, and he had an inexplicable resistance to alcohol since he was a child.
The old maniac smiled and said: "Not everyone will become a drunkard, child, you have grown up, it's time to taste many things in the world, just like this wine."
The words of the old lunatic seemed to be a kind of temptation. Amon took the wine glass like a ghost, and took a sip. There was a spicy feeling and a strange mellow aroma. The taste was not very pleasant, but it seemed to be exactly what he wanted. Zhu took another big sip, letting the hot and spicy flow go down his throat and directly into his body.
The old lunatic raised his wine jar to fill up his glass again, and asked with an inscrutable smile: "If you are confused and want to ask me for advice, please explain the matter clearly. Is it related to that Maria?" ? Don't think I don't know, kid, that's why I say you're grown up."
Amon was a little surprised, and his face turned red, not sure if it was because of the wine. He asked rhetorically, "What do you know? How do you know?" Then he lowered his head and took another big sip of wine as if trying to hide it.
The old lunatic still filled his wine glass, shrugged his shoulders and said, "I know what is my business, and whether you say it or not is your own business. Don't forget that you came to me, as if you have something to say look."
It was the first time for Amon to drink alcohol, and the old lunatic's wine was so strong that he became a little drunk after a few gulps, and finally said everything, then looked at the glass and said to himself: "I Isn't it shameful?"
The old lunatic laughed suddenly, and his messy beard was trembling: "What's so shameful? It seems that you like her, it's just human nature!... But you look like you have been tortured by the devil. lure."
"No, Maria is not a devil!" Amon raised his head and blurted out dissatisfied.
The old lunatic put away his smile, shook his head seriously, and said, "You misunderstood, Maria is not a devil, but you have a devil in your heart."
"Devil? What kind of devil?" Amon was stunned. In his impression, devils were representatives of evil in myths and legends, and they were hated and killed by gods.
The old madman explained unhurriedly: "You are wrong. This devil is not that devil. It is just the restlessness in your soul. This devil lurks in your heart and desire. If you get lost in this restlessness, the devil will occupy you. Breaking your heart is tantamount to selling your soul, which is also called depravity. In fact, one of the tests that magicians face in the process of practicing magic is the "temptation of the devil."
Amon wondered: "I'm not a magician, will I also encounter the 'temptation of the devil'?"
The old lunatic shook his head, his messy hair fluttering: "No, no, anyone can experience the temptation of the devil, but for a magician, if he wants to reach the peak of middle-level magic, he must go through this road. A test. As for you, you haven’t reached this point yet, and the test you’re facing now is the ‘awakening of desire’. The little story between you and Maria is somewhat related to this.”
Amon was even more confused, and suddenly remembered something, and asked curiously: "A few days ago, Lord Gabriel asked me if I had learned physical skills, and you mentioned divine skills today, can you tell me?" What are they all about? Why did Lord Gabriel ask me like that? Why do you say that I am facing a test? I have never learned anything!"
The old lunatic snorted coldly and poured himself a glass of wine: "Why haven't you learned it? The miners in Duke Town have it, but no one understands it! And the way I teach you is different from what others have learned. If you want to hear me speak well, just shut up and don't ask any more questions, and let me finish talking at once."
Amon fell silent, and the old lunatic explained what divine arts and physical arts were while drinking. On the Tianshu Continent, slaves are not allowed to learn physical arts, and only nobles are eligible to learn divine arts. This is the first time Amon has heard of this, and he didn't know that there were a lot of outrageous things in what the old lunatic was about to say—
Both divine arts and physical arts can obtain superhuman strength, but they take two different paths.
Taijutsu awakens the power of human beings and stimulates the greatest potential in the blood. According to myths and legends, people are created by gods, and the blood of the gods remains in the body. Awakening it can strengthen the muscles and bones, increase strength and courage, and also strengthen the body. Make people stronger and more responsive. When this power is fully stimulated and reaches a very strong level, it can also be emitted from the inside out.
It is said that gymnastics was originally just a way for people to train themselves to become stronger, but later it was used more in battles and fighting, and there were many skills in using it, so it was also called martial arts, and those who practiced martial arts were also called martial arts. for the samurai. Taishu is divided into nine levels: 1st to 3rd level samurai are usually called low-level samurai; 4th to 6th level samurai are usually called middle-level samurai;
It is especially difficult to become a high-level warrior, which means that you have already entered the ranks of the top warriors on the mainland.
What the magic spell awakens is the mysterious power between heaven and earth. The magician communicates with various energies from the outside world, controls, transforms and uses them. This is an ability that ordinary people do not possess. It should be possessed by gods, so it is regarded as a gift from gods. Like physical arts, divine arts are also divided into nine levels.
High-level magicians from the seventh to ninth levels are also called great magicians. They are transcendent existences on this continent, and they are almost as magical as gods in the eyes of ordinary people.
Learning both divine arts and physical arts requires the awakening of power, but the awakened power is different. Awakening the power given by the gods is much more difficult than awakening the power hidden in the blood of the body, only a few people can do it. It is generally believed that as long as the body is healthy and strong, the will is firm, and the belief is pious, people can awaken the power in the blood and learn physical skills.
Which kind or main kind of power is awakened for the first time determines the direction of a person's cultivation. Therefore, the number of magical masters on Tianshu Continent is much smaller than that of warriors; on the other hand, of course, there are far fewer people who are qualified to learn divine arts.
A small number of people may be awakened by two kinds of power at the same time, and there is also a strange phenomenon that when one kind of power is cultivated to a very strong level, the other power will gradually be awakened. Some people will practice both physical and divine arts, which mainly appear in samurai. The process of practicing divine arts is much more difficult than practicing physical arts, so magical masters generally do not practice physical arts as well. The profound and complicated divine arts are enough for them to devote a lifetime of energy.
Whether it is the ancient oracle or the actual situation, it tells people that it is impossible to practice both divine arts and physical arts at the same time, and they can only focus on one and supplement the other. For example, a warrior like Gabriel cannot practice divine arts to the same level as physical arts, and only uses simple divine arts to assist in combat.
Both divine arts and physical arts are divided into nine levels and three levels. The difference between the same level is the mastery of the skills and the proficiency of the use, but there is a qualitative difference in the use of power between different levels. They are called: the awakening of power , power control, power transformation.
Practicing divine art is more difficult than practicing physical art. On the one hand, there are very few people who can awaken the power bestowed by the gods. On the other hand, every level of divine art has to pass the test of the gods.
To receive the power bestowed by the gods, the test that needs to be passed for entry is "awakening of desire".
To practice low-level divine arts to the peak, the test that needs to be passed is the "appraisal of faith".
The test that needs to be passed to cultivate the middle-level divine arts to the peak is "the temptation of the devil".
Before becoming a great magician, there is still a difficult test "integration of beliefs"-to integrate the world you believe in with the world you live in, so that you can transform your own power to an incredible degree.
It seems that these are not required for the advancement of physical arts, as long as the practitioner has been practicing hard and hard, and it seems that there is also unclear luck in it. This is not to say that physical arts are easy to advance, it is also difficult, but it is easier than divine arts.
These are all for low-level and middle-level situations. When reaching high-level levels above seven, whether it is a magician or a samurai, it becomes extremely difficult to advance to the next level. Only the top management knows. Especially the highest ninth level, which is extremely rare in the entire continent. Whether it is a ninth-level magician or a warrior, it is said that they have the power to fight gods in the world, and they are even called demigods.
Hearing this, Amon couldn't help interjecting and asked, "Demigod? How can mortals have the power to fight against gods?"
When the old lunatic was talking, he was holding a wine glass in one hand, and waving gestures with the other hand, eloquently. After being interrupted by Amon, he asked a little unhappy: "Why not? Some gods who claim to be gods in the world are probably just demigods... It is said that such people are the descendants of gods and mortals, so they can have such power. Strength—I see the words as a lie!"
Amon asked puzzledly: "Lying, how do you know?"
The old lunatic drank the wine in his hand, looked deep and didn't know where to look, and replied clearly: "Because I only know one, he is my student, and he is a ninth-level great magician."