They moved away from the distillery and found a secluded dark corner. Li Qingyu turned on a powerful flashlight, sat on the ground with his legs crossed, and asked:
"Well, genius, where do we start?"
The Silent One replied calmly:
"First, eat the holy bread. Then the demons won't notice you when you use your power."
Li Qingyu obediently chewed the bread. The Silent One did the same and began the lesson.
"Step one. Draw warp energy to your soul. Then, using your soul as a conduit, direct the energy into your body. Once you absorb it, you can control the flow and release the power outward."
"And how do I do that?" Li Qingyu frowned.
"Remember last time? Your consciousness entered the warp, and a demon almost dragged you away."
Li Qingyu nodded. He remembered that psionic shock perfectly: double vision, seeing both reality and its underside simultaneously – it felt like his soul was floating between worlds. A unique experience.
"I can't make my consciousness see the warp anymore," he admitted.
He hadn't been able to open his inner vision again since then. It's like the Taoists: if you learn to look inside yourself, you've entered the door; if not, you're standing at the threshold.
The Silent One seemed to expect this. He touched Li Qingyu's forehead.
"It's okay. Your soul is still too weak, and you don't have the habit of looking on the other side."
He continued:
"I was the same in my youth. I couldn't look into the warp of my own will. I only saw it in dreams or when demons came for me themselves. Over time, my soul grew stronger, and I learned to break through the veil and draw energy. Now, relax. I will pull your soul with me into the warp."
The next moment, Li Qingyu felt a stream of power emanating from the Silent One's hand, as if pulling him out of his body.
"Don't resist. Remember this feeling – exiting the body into the warp. You need to learn to do this yourself."
He felt the Silent One's soul drag him into the twisted universe of pure energy, and then return him back. The vision dissipated. The cycle was complete.
Li Qingyu opened his eyes and exhaled.
"How was it?" the Silent One asked.
Li Qingyu opened the system panel. His warp resistance, psionics, and psionic mastery stats had increased by one.
He excitedly exclaimed:
"Again!"
The Silent One nodded. His hand on his forehead again, the soul being pulled out, a flash in the warp, returning to the body.
"How did it feel?"
"Ten more times!"
"And now?"
"Again, again!"
"Did you feel the connection?"
"Again!"
Their souls plunged into the warp endlessly, flashing with golden light. The radiance was so bright that it attracted the attention of demons wandering nearby.
But as soon as they approached, the golden flame burned them to their bones.
The holy bread protected Li Qingyu's and the Silent One's souls with the Emperor's power. For the demons, such a bite was worse than red-hot iron – their flesh hissed and smoked.
Moreover, the damage was eternal. Demons could be reborn after their bodies died, but the Emperor's power burn never healed.
Those who dared to touch their souls condemned themselves to eternal torment.
The rest, seeing their brethren's suffering, did not dare to attack. They only watched from afar as the two golden souls flickered back and forth like a strobe light in subspace.
In reality, the Silent One, drenched in sweat from exhaustion, lowered his hand.
"That's it, I can't anymore. My head is empty. Did you grasp the essence?"
Li Qingyu looked at the panel. After dozens of immersions, his resistance and mastery stats had risen to fifty-five.
He closed his eyes – the world distorted, illuminated by strange visions of the warp. It worked!
Now he could push his soul into the warp with an effort of will and gain true sight.
He felt the energy flows and controlled them, drawing them to his body.
Opening his eyes, Li Qingyu raised his hand. A stream of power, invisible to the naked eye, erupted from his palm.
The Silent One froze. He had only slightly nudged his student's soul, and he had already learned to penetrate the warp, draw energy, and release it into reality!
Li Qingyu exclaimed:
"I can move warp energy! Am I a master now?"
The Silent One swallowed, envious of such natural compatibility with the warp, and replied:
"You've learned to go astral and channel power. That's the foundation. Now I'll show you how to change reality itself with this power."
He took a bolt from his bag. The iron piece slowly rose and hung in the air.
"This is gravity control – my favorite trick. It's useful in combat and for defense. The essence isn't to push the bolt with force, but to rewrite its essence in the warp."
The Silent One explained:
"Everything in reality has a reflection in the warp. There you can see what rules apply to an object. Usually, this bolt lies on the ground – that's the law. We change it, making it fly. Try it."