As Asher stood in the training courtyard, a sense of freshness enveloped him, contrasting with the fatigue of the previous night's.

Today, he felt revitalized, more so than in the past few days. With his priority set on gaining strength.

The allure of the awakening artifact tugged at his curiosity, but Asher exercised restraint, reminding himself not to succumb to greed. Patience was key, and he knew he needed to first assess his progress in cultivation.

 

Mana: 122

 

Watching the system screen, Asher examined his newfound cultivation with a sense of anticipation. A ten times increase in his mana capacity.

The abundance of mana at his disposal and the exponential increase in mana regeneration that he felt filled him with satisfaction and excitement.

His mind buzzed with ideas and strategies drawn from the plethora of novels he had immersed himself in. Even his military training provided him with a wealth of inspiration.

As Asher delved into his spiritual realm, the translucent body formed again and he quickly zoomed in toward his heart meridian and the suffocating presence of mana washed over him.

The feeling inside his heart meridian had totally changed.

Before, he could feel the mana at the tip of his finger.

But now it was saturating the whole space. His control had also increased, and now they felt like a part of him.

Sensing the mana, he will it in existence, and soon a blob of it formed above his hand.

He looked at the the mana in the surrounding area and realized some differences. It seemed completely indifferent to the mana in Asher's hand as if they were two separate entities entirely. 

Every time Asher tried to control the surrounding mana, it obediently joined the mana in his hand but ceased interacting with the rest of the surroundings.

Despite repeated attempts at practice, he couldn't figure out why. 

Frustrated, he decided to set the issue aside for now, feeling like a child chasing after one shiny thing after another, only to grow bored quickly.

As he looked at the blob of mana hovering above his hand, Asher realized he had no idea what to do with it. 

Lacking any techniques to utilize it effectively, he attempted to manipulate it in various patterns, but to no avail.

Apart from the Heavenly Rivers Formation for mending his meridian and the barrier-breaking technique, he had no other means to harness the mana.

With a resigned sigh, Asher released the blob, unsure of his next step. 

With a mana capacity in the hundred, Asher knew he could easily sustain his journey into the spiritual realm.

Taking a moment to center himself, he decided to explore his surroundings.

As he delved into his heart meridian, Asher observed the connection between it and the lung meridian, noting the presence of mana within the former. 

However, his attention was drawn to the barrier that had broken, allowing the two meridians to connect seamlessly. There was no difference between the two other than the mana saturation and the presence of his shield on one side. 

The mana on the lung meridian side was the same as the last time he felt it. The mana at the tip of his fingers. 

Despite the shield in the lung meridian holding strong, Asher regarded it with a complicated gaze. He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret for not consulting Xinyue about the pills earlier. 

Had he done so, perhaps he wouldn't have wasted Aether as a precautionary measure.

'20/20 Hindsight,' Asher thought with a sigh.

The opportunity to examine the broken barrier now felt like a missed chance. There was this inexplicable urge stirred within him, compelling him to investigate the meridian barrier further. 

Though uncertain of the reasons, Asher's curiosity also increases with it.

After looking around, there was nothing new going on. 

 

Exiting his spiritual realm, Asher attempted to will his mana into existence in the physical world, mirroring his actions from the spiritual realm.

However, despite his efforts, Asher achieved nothing more than looking like an idiot. 

With a frustrated sigh, Asher muttered, 'All this mana and I still didn't know how to use it…' 

He opened his status and scanned through his mana related skills.

 

Breathing Mana. Lvl 15

Meridian Sensing. Lvl 47

 

Asher noted the significant improvements in both skills. 

The increase in his [Breathing Mana] skill had undoubtedly enhanced his efficiency, but it was the considerable boost in his [Meridian Sensing] skill that caught his attention. 

Reflecting on his usage of the skills, Asher realized that this progress was likely the result of his high-grade materials.

Faced with the realization that he lacked the skill to effectively utilize mana, his attention turned to a reward he had received: Mana Constitution.

Asher had hoped to use mana freely, but it seemed he had overestimated his abilities. Using the system for every answer was not a long-term strategy, but after wasting an hour, he had to change his plan.

He looked at the previous message.

 

Reward: Memory Slip #Mana Constituation. Open: ?? 

 

Though it resided in a memory slip, he knew it must contain details of a technique that could help him.

The first time, he got the Cultivation slip. For his soul to suggest that, he was sure it would be good.

With a simple command, Asher gave his consent, and the information seamlessly assimilated into his brain. 

It didn't take long for him to grasp the technique, and as he had believed, he was rewarded with a powerful method to strengthen his body. Though they felt more like training exercises.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. 'Had the system detected his dissatisfaction and tailored the reward accordingly?' 

But despite his skepticism, Asher shrugged it off as it still provided him the right way and the problem with his method.

Accessing mana without the system skill was tightly regulated. It appeared that the system monopolized mana, making it accessible only to its users.

To use mana freely, You either possess significant strength or adhere to specific restrictions, which the technique only hinted at.

Even if Asher could overcome the restrictions within the spiritual plane, the control of mana in the outside world remained firmly in the hands of the system.

The realization left Asher feeling frustrated as he realized that he was using borrowed tools. But there was nothing more than to use the resources he was given, so he moved on from the fact.