I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Old Big walked back to this side of the table, scratched his head, and began to explain seriously:

"If one's inspiration is too high, it's easy to see things one shouldn't see when one's position is low."

"What kind of thing?"

"What's behind the curtain."

The smile lines on that round face completely disappeared.

"Inspiration is like a window; the bigger the window, the more scenery you can see outside."

"But windows are two-way; you can see outside, and people outside can see you."

His gaze shifted from the lamp to Richard's face.

"If your inspiration is high enough to perceive the depths of the veil even in the novice stage, those things will also perceive you."

"A newly lit candle, its flame so bright, was immediately visible to those in the distance."

He drew a circle in the air with his index finger:

"But your flame is only so big. If those things in the distance really see you, what will you use to deal with them?"

Richard recalled a passage from "On Ascending Behind a Curtain"—"The brighter the candle, the more eyes see it."

That document devoted a great deal of space to explaining this logic.

Maintaining a low profile when in a low position is the first rule of survival.

"Too high is a curse," old Big concluded, his tone heavy.

"Too low is also no good. If it's too low, you can only live like a Muggle for the rest of your life, unable to even perceive the most basic free ether."

His fingers tapped on the table:

"At your level, your perception isn't particularly strong."

Although you correctly judged eight of them, you hesitated for more than five seconds on three of them.

This means those signals are on the edge of your perception range; you can detect them, but not firmly.

"The window is just the right size, big enough to see things up close without being noticed by things in the distance."

He leaned back in his chair and picked up the copper kettle to refill his cup of tea.

"When your strength increases, your rank rises, and your ether reserves become thicker, your inspiration will naturally grow as well."

The windows were bigger then, and you were able to handle the stares from outside.

"What I fear most are those children who are born with an abundance of inspiration."

The window was frighteningly large; a person standing in front of it was wearing only a thin shirt, while a strong wind was blowing and a torrential rain was pouring down outside.

He took a sip of tea and smacked his lips.

"One of my disciples was like that. On the day he entered the sect, he correctly distinguished all twenty items given to him by the teacher during the spiritual vision test."

It not only distinguished between presence and absence, but also directly reported the relative strength ranking of each item.

"All twenty are correct, and they even have a ranking." Old Big gave a thumbs up: "If it's not a once-in-a-century event, it's at least a once-in-a-decades event."

"And then?"

Old Big's thumb slowly lowered.

"Later..." He glanced at the tea dregs at the bottom of the cup and didn't continue.

The room fell silent.

The filament in the lamp hummed, and the yellow cloth lampshade swayed slightly.

"Anyway," Old Big blinked twice.

"You have enough inspiration right now. Take it easy and proceed slowly."

"Don't rush to enlarge the window; the window will grow on its own as you grow."

Richard silently processed these words in his mind.

I have one point left to allocate.

The initial plan was to decide based on the results of today's inspiration test.

If inspiration is low, you can quickly add points to [Perception] to replenish it.

Now it seems that inspiration is in just the right place.

As for [Breathing], at the current rate of accumulation, the progress bar will naturally fill up soon.

Then you can directly invest the points you've saved to upgrade your breathing from Lv.2 to Lv.3 and gain the "Healing" trait.

A body that continuously repairs itself has a higher energy ceiling, deeper sleep, stronger immunity, and all activities that depend on the body's condition will become more efficient.

After saying this, Old Big's expression relaxed from its previous seriousness.

"Speaking of inspiration... my teacher wasn't particularly inspired back then either."

"Mrs. Mary?"

"Yes, when she was young, her test scores were only slightly better than yours, above average, not particularly outstanding."

Old Big placed the tin cup on the table and spun it around.

"When she started, she was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, working as an apprentice in a pharmacy in the southern part of the capital."

One day, an old lady walked into the pharmacy to buy peppermint oil. The pharmacist casually pinched the old lady's forehead and immediately took her on as a student.

He rubbed his hands together, somewhat moved:

"After the test, her teacher said something that she later relayed to us."

"What did you say?"

"They say, 'The best apprentice in a pharmacy isn't the one with the most sensitive nose, but the one who's most willing to sniff.'"

Old Big drank the remaining half cup of tea in one gulp.

"Her ability to get to where she is today may have been partly due to her initial inspiration, but it was mostly due to her hard work and high level of comprehension."

At this point, old Big paused for a moment.

He blinked his small eyes twice, clearly showing some annoyance.

This big mouth of hers says everything, and only now does she realize that she has revealed things she shouldn't have.

"Anyway," he mumbled, pulling the conversation back to its original point.

"Talent is the foundation, hard work is the ceiling. Your foundation is sufficient, the rest depends on how you train."

Richard mentally marked the information "Mrs. Mary's inspiration level is above average".

Based on what Gerald had revealed in the phone call, Mrs. Mary had a very good reputation in the central and northern parts of the Empire, a vast network of connections, and students from all walks of life.

A person with above-average inspiration has managed to build a business to its current scale, and that's definitely not just due to talent.

Gerald said she "cast a wide net," while old Bige said her teacher had his eye on "the one who was most willing to listen."

When the two pieces of information are put together, the portrait becomes clear.

This is someone who makes up for his lack of talent with diligence and shrewdness, and he does it very successfully.

He tentatively asked:

"What is Lady Mary's rank now?"

Old Big scratched his chin.

"That's no secret; she's at the Great Master level."

After he finished speaking, he thought for a moment and added:

"Mastery is the ceiling in the Old World."

"What do you mean?"

"It means exactly what it says."

"The Old World is the Western and Eastern Continents, including our Albion Empire."

Among the cultivators currently known to be alive, there are virtually none at the high level of mastery or above.

Above the level of mastery, the ranks recorded in the literature include expert, master, and hermit.

Now Old Big has added another piece of information: among the actual practitioners in the Old World, the Great Mastery has reached its peak.

Richard asked curiously, "No experts? No masters?"

"If it exists, it's not at a level we can access."

Old Big shrugged.

"The teacher would occasionally mention some things when teaching us, but never go into too much depth."

His gaze fell on the old brass clasp on the table:

"That's what she said... 'Those who have reached the highest level of mastery no longer need to be known by us.'"

Whether they are there or not has no impact on our daily lives.

Whether a star in the sky is bright or not won't affect whether you eat dinner tonight.

Richard listened quietly.

"But she also said something..."

Old Big's expression became even more serious.

"If one day you see a star falling in your direction, run! Run as far as you can!"

"Because when a star falls, it doesn't care whether it's an ant or an elephant that gets crushed."

Richard nodded.

The wording in "On Ascending Behind a Curtain" and the metaphor of Lady Mary both refer to the same thing.

The stars don't care about the ants, and the flames don't care about the moths.

Those in high positions are a calamity to those below them.