Chapter 431 Pathways Of Power



A boy appeared to be meditating on top of a boulder. It had been two weeks since he had started it. His hard work paid off, and he was able to speed up the process of creating his mana vein network. He knew his body thoroughly. This was all necessary for him to move on to the next step.

After Meditative Focus came Mana Visualization; he needed to meditate and focus on visualizing his mana as a subtle, glowing through his body. In this process, he had to keep visualizing and then envisioning this energy as interconnected pathways, like veins, branching from a central core.

He started this process with his eyes closed. It was harder than the first one, but he kept trying. His 'Extreme Focus' helped him immensely, and he soon noticed progress. It was small, but it could be counted as a small step.

Days kept passing, and he kept visualizing, getting better every day. One day, he was in a meditative state, visualizing his veins. It was then that he found that his mind went blank; he was able to notice mana veins all over his body. They were coming out of his mana core and connecting to his whole body. It went on for a few seconds before his consciousness returned.

He tried again but failed. It took him some more days to be able to enter that state again. After two more weeks, he was able to enter that state and visualize the network of mana veins starting from his core and branching all around his body.

He exhaled and lay back to relax, only to find himself falling down. He had forgotten he was sitting on the tree branch, not the ground, but he was not panicked. Unlike his previous self, who would have started thinking about which skill to use, he calmly let his feet slide over branches.

Before he could start falling down, his toes held onto the branch tightly, digging into them a little. His body stopped falling, and he stood in that position for a while. This was what he had achieved in the past month; his control over his body now is incomparable to before.

After resting well and eating his meal, it was time for him to move on to the next step. It was called controlled flow. In this process, he had to direct his mana with focus, starting with a particular body part, like his hand. He then needed to gradually build up the flow of mana in that area, feeling it becoming stronger and more defined.

He started his training again, but it was way harder this time than the previous steps. He closed his eyes and tried; he started with his right hand. He first directed his mana slowly toward it through his mana veins; it took him a lot of time, but he succeeded.

Repeating the process, he set multiple waves of mana toward his hand, only to notice that there was no change at all. He kept practicing again and again. The only good part was that he had a lot of mana, and his mana regeneration was also very high.

He kept trying until his head started aching. This was due to the mental fatigue. It had been two days since he had continued this process without rest. He stood up, deciding to move out a little and do other things. The last two things he did were to relax his mind. The first was to get a cold bath, and the second was a relaxing sleep.

This busy routine continued for a month, even with the breaks he took. He was feeling a slight headache continuously; he tried it again. Mana started moving toward his hand in many sets, but soon, his hand started feeling different. It started shining light blue as if an aura were surrounding it.

He decided to test it and hit the branch he was sitting on, 'Boom!' A small explosion took place. It shattered into small wooden fragments, and he started falling. He summoned his chains and stopped himself. This situation reminded him of the story of the foolish woodcutter cutting the branch he was sitting on.

"I succeeded finally; I should not continue. My mind needs proper rest," he said before climbing down.

He started his training again. Now that he had learned controlled flow, the next step was progressive strengthening. Now that his mana pathways have become more defined, he has to start increasing the amount of mana he channels. As his mana veins adapt to this increased flow, they will expand and become more robust over time.

This process was not complicated. It was a little painful, as he had to expand his mana veins forcefully constantly. It was also time-consuming; he continued practicing it, forgetting about his surroundings.

Hours passed, days passed, weeks passed, and soon it was already a month. He continued and only stopped until he was satisfied. It took him two months, but he was satisfied with his progress; he could now channel a large amount of mana faster all over his body.

This increased his strength a lot. His full-blown punch was now enough to injure even an Epic Stage Magic Beast. He could also use mana to increase his movement speed by multiple times; the only sad part was that he could only strengthen one body part at a time.

Hopefully, the next step will tackle this situation. He had to start connecting these pathways after being proficient in the individual body parts. To do it, he had to visualize his entire body as a complex web of mana veins interconnecting and flowing together. This was the most crucial process.

He sat down in a meditative pose and started again. Visualization took time, so he needed to be patient here. He was getting results as time passed, but the pace was too slow. He kept trying, and while he was in the middle of a training session, he realized his skill, 'Extreme Focus' had achieved a breakthrough.

This sped up the entire process; he could form multiple small webs all over his body and create a network to connect the mana veins to each other. One more month passed, but finally he could achieve his goal. He could now strengthen his whole body at once.

Now that he was able to use mana all over his body, he realized that there were many flaws in his circulation. Each part didn't need a similar flow; he needed to achieve balance to keep using the Mana Veins Network for a longer duration.

After realizing it, he started working to achieve balance and harmony. He had to study mana flow throughout his body and figure out the mana intensity in different areas. This process took him two more months, but the result was very good.

He had now gained minor success in the Mana Vein network. It acted as a body-type aura and boosted the strength and power of his overall body. He could use more mana to further increase his strength, but it came with a price. It would stress his body and mana veins. It also burned his mana and increased his mental fatigue.