Chapter 30: Re-entering the Soul Pod, Returning to the Journey to the West!

With lingering doubts in his mind, Shi Yu continued to study and practice the "Tiangang Qiankun Staff Technique." This staff technique was profound and intricate, consisting of twelve forms divided into an upper and lower volume, corresponding to the levels of martial arts. The upper volume covered the six forms of the Mortal Realm, while the lower volume covered the six forms of the Transcendent Realm. Currently, he only possessed the upper volume.

Every form was accompanied by detailed instructional materials, including demonstrations, internal mental cultivation guides, and essential precautions—all provided through text, images, and video. Shi Yu marveled at how modern teaching methods truly made a difference. The upper volume also included specific cultivation techniques tailored to different levels: the Yuan-Gathering Realm, the Foundation-Building Realm, and the Aperture-Opening Realm. Since the mental methods differed for each realm, the power of the staff techniques varied significantly depending on the practitioner's level.

After carefully studying the demonstration of the first form, Shi Yu walked over to the weapon rack and selected a black mysterious iron staff. It was two meters long and weighed 220 jin. For people of his previous life, such a weight would have been impossible to use as a weapon. However, in this Blue Star world, it was a standard, suitable weight for a student's training. But Shi Yu was no ordinary student. He hefted it in his hand and muttered, "Too light..."

Shi Yu’s current punching power was 3,486 kilograms, with an arm strength of 1,162 kilograms. A long weapon weighing around 230 kilograms would have been more suitable for him. The mysterious iron staff was nearly half as light as it should have been. "I'll make do for now," he decided. It was just for practice anyway; he would find a more satisfying staff later.

Shi Yu took a deep breath and assumed his stance.

[Tiangang Qiankun Staff Technique, First Form—Earth-Shattering Strike]

With one strike, the staff swung out like a falling meteor, its momentum massive and its power astonishing. Shi Yu practiced diligently, repeating each move over and over. In the martial arts room, the whistling sound of the staff sweeping through the air at high speed echoed periodically.

As he practiced, new text gradually emerged on the golden scroll within his soul:

[Host Martial Arts List]
[Tiangang Qiankun Staff Technique: First Form, Earth-Shattering Strike, Progress increased to 2%]

Seeing the real-time feedback from the God-Devil System, Shi Yu nodded with satisfaction. This visible progress provided instant gratification for his martial arts training. More importantly, it was a permanent mastery; once a level was reached, it would never regress. There was a saying: "Never let your fists leave your hands, never let songs leave your lips." This was meant to keep the body in a constant state of readiness to prevent decline. But with the God-Devil System, he had no such concerns. In a sense, this was the most valuable ability of all, saving him a massive amount of time that would otherwise be spent on review and consolidation.

Time ticked away, and Shi Yu’s staff technique progressed step by step. When the moon hung high in the center of the sky, the system updated: [Tiangang Qiankun Staff Technique: First Form, Earth-Shattering Strike, Progress increased to 7%].

Shi Yu silently assessed his training progress. At this rate, he would master this first move within two weeks at most. This also meant he would be able to learn the second move, "Heaven-Rending Strike," by tomorrow. Tomorrow was Sunday, and he would finally be able to enter the Soul Cabin! One hour in the Soul Cabin corresponded to a full fifteen days in the Journey to the West world. By the time he returned from the Soul Cabin, both his martial arts cultivation and his staff technique would have made significant strides.

...

The next day, despite it being summer vacation, the school’s martial arts arena was still buzzing with activity. It was open to students for free, with excellent facilities and training grounds. As Shi Yu left the arena to head toward the training building where the Soul Cabins were located, he saw his classmate, Li Luoke, who was training with intense focus. He was truly one of the two most diligent students in Class 1 of the second year.

"We're almost in our final year; everyone is starting to push themselves," Shi Yu thought to himself. When he arrived at the fourth floor of the training building—the area reserved for faculty—he was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Teacher Lin, why are you here?" he asked, stepping forward to greet him.

Lin Zhenfeng smiled and patted Shi Yu’s shoulder. "Principal Song told me you’d be using the Soul Cabin today. I didn't have anything going on, so I decided to come and take a look. Since I was the one who granted you temporary access last time and you haven't used it as an official user yet, there are some precautions I wanted to go over with you in person, just to be safe."

Lin Zhenfeng looked at the handsome youth before him. If nothing went wrong, this would likely be the most talented student he would encounter in his teaching career, past, present, or future.

"You should already be well aware of the importance of the Soul Cabin," he said, gesturing for Shi Yu to sit down. "Before reaching the Transcendent Realm, besides increasing soul levels through martial arts cultivation, the only other path for a martial artist is to use the Soul Cabin as an auxiliary tool. This is the most common method, as the rare treasures capable of nourishing the soul are prohibitively expensive and extremely scarce. Ninety-nine percent of martial artists simply cannot afford them."

"Conversely, resources for improving physical constitution are easier to obtain. As a result, many martial artists find their physical level rising faster than their soul level after they reach the Foundation-Building stage. That is why the Soul Cabin is such an essential resource."

"Generally speaking, every hour spent in the Soul Cabin increases one's soul level by about 0.05. In other words, if you could train for 20 continuous hours, you would rank up. It sounds fast," Lin Zhenfeng paused, "but no one does that. Do you know why?"

"Is there a risk to using the Soul Cabin for long periods?" Shi Yu asked.

"Exactly. The Martial Arts Research Institute once conducted studies showing that if the continuous usage time in a Soul Cabin exceeds one hour, the risk of a martial artist's soul becoming lost rises sharply."

"Soul lost..." Shi Yu listened intently.

Lin Zhenfeng continued, "Under the guidance of the Soul Cabin, every martial artist will visualize various things to cultivate their soul. While this method is effective, the visualized objects evolve over time. These visualizations are essentially the manifestation of one's deepest inner desires and preferences. When the time is short, a martial artist can effectively restrain and control themselves, remaining clear-headed. But as the visualizations evolve, the desires in one's heart gradually swell until they consume the soul entirely. The martial artist is no longer the person they once were."

"When the Soul Cabin was first invented, it was seen as a revolutionary breakthrough for the martial arts era. Many martial artists, eager to rapidly increase their soul power and gain superior qualifications, used it for long, uninterrupted stretches... The result was that they either went insane or became vegetative."

"Fifty years ago, a series of laws and regulations were introduced regarding the use of the Soul Cabin. The most fundamental rule is that each session must not exceed one hour. If one uses it for an hour, the frequency is limited to once every seven days. The quota for our teachers at Yale is based on this standard as well."

Lin Zhenfeng patted Shi Yu again. "Actually, the school originally allocated you thirty minutes per session to ensure your safety. Later, considering your soul quality was perfect, we increased it to a full hour. But I still worry." Lin Zhenfeng smiled sheepishly. Rationally, he trusted that Shi Yu wouldn't become addicted and would emerge when the time was up. But humans are emotional creatures, much like parents worrying about their children. Every time a child leaves the house, parents never tire of giving their warnings. The logic is the same.

Shi Yu understood his concern and said solemnly, "Thank you, Teacher Lin! If I don't return when the time is up, I'll be counting on you, Teacher!" He bowed deeply to the teacher.

...

Six days later, Shi Yu sat back inside the T800 Soul Cabin. The cabin door slowly closed.

[Welcome, User Shi Yu]
[Cultivation mode selected, training time: 60 minutes]
[Adjusting environment, please wait...]

Shi Yu slowly closed his eyes. After six years, he was returning to the Journey to the West.