Chapter 25

——Black Iron Castle

——Length: 1 Krosa

——Width: 1 Krosa

——Spirit Energy: 0.7

——Merit Points: 35

——Basic Energy Reserve: 0.2

——Special Output: None

The increase in spirit energy did not surprise Zhang Tie. The sprouting potatoes grew a little bit each day, and the spirit energy they provided naturally increased. It had been almost half a day since morning, so it would be strange if the spirit energy did not increase. The peak increase in spirit energy would come when the other plants sprouted, and this was just the beginning. The other attributes did not change much, but the increase in merit points startled Zhang Tie. He remembered that in the morning, the merit points were only 3. Then, he tried to invest 2 merit points into the mutation and evolution of a potato, leaving him with 1 merit point. How could it increase so much in just half a day? So, Zhang Tie opened the log of merit points to check the situation for the day:

——On February 14, 889 Black Iron Year, in the afternoon, the handsome and noble Lord of the Castle helped his mother make rice wine, reducing her labor and making her feel comforted, increasing merit points by 1.

——On February 14, 889 Black Iron Year, in the evening, the handsome and noble Lord of the Castle delivered rice soup to the orphanage and donated 10 copper coins. His good deeds benefited many people, increasing merit points by 32.

——On February 14, 889 Black Iron Year, in the evening, the handsome and noble Lord of the Castle cleaned up the house after dinner, washing dishes and sweeping the floor, making the house tidy and pleasing the family, increasing merit points by 1.

Looking at the sudden and significant increase in merit points, Zhang Tie was deep in thought. He then refocused his gaze on the introductory text about merit points at the top:

"Eliminating evil and promoting good is the greatest kindness bestowed by the Creator upon humanity; revering heaven and loving people is the nearest ladder for mortals to ascend to heaven. Blessed one, on your journey to reascend to heaven, please manifest the Creator's kindness in the world, so that all the gods in the sky may understand your heart! Go and harvest the most sincere joy and gratitude of the myriad beings, go and end the evil souls and boundless darkness, and become the person you aspire to be. You will find that when you become yourself, you will walk on light, and a glorious and splendid path will unfold at your feet!"

Although there were still many things he did not understand, reading this text and seeing the significant increase in merit points greatly encouraged Zhang Tie. His understanding of how to gain merit points deepened. Although he currently lacked the ability to eliminate evil, promoting good meant doing good deeds within his capabilities, no matter how big or small, as long as they helped others and made them happy. It seemed that no matter how big or small the deeds, they all earned merit points. Ha, not bad, I love you so much...

Thinking about the various "fruits" that the small tree could provide, Zhang Tie burst into laughter. If Black Iron Castle were a person standing in front of him, he would have wanted to kiss her twice...

After planting the seeds and checking the basic attributes of Black Iron Castle again, Zhang Tie was full of energy. He ran to the Manjusha Fruit Tree and carefully circled around the small tree twice. Suddenly, Zhang Tie paused, his gaze fixed on a branch of the strange little tree.

Zhang Tie remembered that the branch, which was bare yesterday, now had a light green, grape-sized fruit hanging from it.

Just as Zhang Tie was about to reach out to touch it, a line of text appeared before his eyes:

—The Non-Leaking Fruit is growing and cannot be consumed yet. An unripe Non-Leaking Fruit will vaporize and disappear if it leaves the Manjusha Fruit Tree. It will take another 124 hours for the Non-Leaking Fruit to ripen...

This line of text made Zhang Tie quickly retract his hand. He then recalled that when he first obtained Black Iron Castle, the Manjusha Fruit Tree seemed to have made him make a choice, using the energy leaking from his body to generate something called a Non-Leaking Fruit. Could this be the small grape-like fruit in front of him?

The generation time for the Non-Leaking Fruit is 168 hours, exactly 7 days, or one week. So, by next Friday, this small fruit should be ripe. Although Zhang Tie was eager to eat it and experience its effects, he knew that haste makes waste. He finally restrained his impulse, circled the small tree twice, and even boldly touched the various strange leaves. He then found a spot, sat down without minding the dirt, propped his chin on his hands, and daydreamed.

He had been busy in this space for over an hour. Looking at the barren land around him, he found it quite boring, though it was initially novel. Now, he could only wait for his mental energy to recover a bit before going out. This place was good for physical exercise and running, but he was too tired today to run. He wondered if his parents had returned home yet. They probably hadn't, as it was Saturday, and his father had a day off tomorrow. If things were as usual, they would return later.

What to do with the remaining time? Just sit and daydream, waiting for mental energy to recover naturally? Or... meditate! Zhang Tie found his idea amusing. Ha... don't be ridiculous. Meditation, such a high-level skill and technique, was not something that could be learned in an ordinary school in Black Flame City. Techniques to increase mental energy through meditation were monopolized by a select few, and the general public had no access to them. Even Captain Colleen once said that those who mastered mental energy meditation in the Black Flame City military had various backgrounds, and even the terrifying one-eyed man, who had reached the rank of captain, did not know it, let alone others.

Without mental energy, it was impossible to cultivate the Divine Palace Bright Point. After a while, Zhang Tie suddenly slapped his head. How could he forget that he had obtained a book called "Heart Slaying Divine Calculation"? Since he had plenty of time, he might as well use it to familiarize himself with it, rather than sitting here like a fool.

Thinking of this, he immediately acted. He quickly recalled the content of "Heart Slaying Divine Calculation" that he had read and understood thoroughly over the past two days, which he could almost recite from memory. He sat cross-legged, placed his hands naturally on his legs, and half-closed his eyes. Soon, his mind calmed down. For some reason, this meditation seemed to be faster than usual.

Once his mind was in a meditative state, Zhang Tie began to visualize a counting board in his mind according to the methods and mantras taught in "Heart Slaying Divine Calculation." This was the most critical and important step, the foundation of the entire mental calculation technique. Once a person could stably visualize a counting board in their mind, they could perform rapid mental calculations. If one had to explain the principle of "Heart Slaying Divine Calculation" in one sentence, it would be: using consciousness to replace hands and operate a counting board in the mind. It was that simple.

The only thing that puzzled Zhang Tie was the requirement to visualize a golden counting board with a radiant appearance. The book did not explain why, and Zhang Tie did not understand it either, but he did not want to delve into it, thinking it was probably just the way it was.

Following the requirements of "Heart Slaying Divine Calculation" from large to small and from simple to complex, Zhang Tie first visualized a rectangular frame of the counting board, then a horizontal beam inside the frame, and then three vertical rods. The three vertical rods represented the ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within three digits, which was the minimum requirement of "Heart Slaying Divine Calculation." Once the three vertical rods were visualized and the image stabilized, he began to visualize the upper bead on the first vertical rod, then the four lower beads, followed by the upper and lower beads on the second and third rods, and so on...

The first time, Zhang Tie had just visualized the upper bead on the first rod, and the entire image in his mind collapsed...

The second time, the same thing happened...

The third time, he completed the first lower bead on the first rod...

The fourth time, he completed the second lower bead on the first rod...

...

After countless failures, the three-rod counting board in Zhang Tie's mind, after breaking down four times, was finally successfully visualized and stabilized. 125 plus 579 equals what? Zhang Tie focused his mind, and the addition mantras in his consciousness hit the counting board. The beads on the three-rod counting board in his mind moved slowly, eventually forming a readable number—704.

18 times 39? More mantras hit the board... 702!

987 minus 789? More mantras hit the board... 198!

Zhang Tie laughed heartily, enjoying himself. He tried several more times, performing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with three-digit numbers. The beads on the counting board in his mind moved faster. After a few more tries—56 times 29? More mantras hit the board, and the golden counting board in his mind trembled and then shattered into pieces, disappearing from his mind.

Zhang Tie opened his eyes. The last mental calculation exceeded the three-rod range of the counting board he had visualized, just like a steam boiler bursting under high pressure.

The four silver coins were worth it, Zhang Tie confirmed again, and he really got a good deal.

Oh no, what time is it now? If his parents returned home and found him missing, they would be very worried! Zhang Tie quickly stood up, without any preparation, and without checking if his mental energy had recovered, he closed his eyes and focused his consciousness on the gate between his eyebrows—go out...

The next second, Zhang Tie appeared in the bathroom of his home's courtyard. Seeing that the door was still locked from the inside, he breathed a sigh of relief. If his parents had returned and found him missing, and the bathroom door was locked from the inside, they would have kicked it open. Zhang Tie opened the bathroom door, peeked out, and saw that it was only a little past 11 PM. The door was locked, and his parents had not returned yet. What a close call.

Standing in the dark, empty courtyard, looking at the stars, Zhang Tie patted his chest in relief, comforting himself. He decided to be more careful when entering and exiting Black Iron Castle in the future. If this happened again, his secret might be discovered. It was better to conserve his mental energy. Then, Zhang Tie suddenly froze, thinking of a question: That's not right, how did my mental energy recover so quickly?

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