Cultivation Online

”Nine Heavens, correct? I have registered it in the system, Sergeant Yuan. Once you acquire three other members, you’ll officially be recognized as a squad.”

”Do I have to bring them here with me?” Yuan then asked.

”No, they just need to join the squad. Although it’s not an official squad, soldiers can still apply to join it.”

”I understand.”

Yuan left the place shortly after and went to notify Mei Xiaoyun that he’d created the squad.

”The name of the squad is Nine Heavens.”

Mei Xiaoyun raised an eyebrow at the name and inquired, ”Is there a specific reason why there are nine heavens? Do you intend to have nine members?”

”No, it’s just the name of my world,” he said with a smile.

”Now that you mention it...” Mei Xiaoyun recalled hearing such a name before. ”Anyways, I’ll put in my request whenever I have time, unless you really need me to do it right now.”

”You can take your time, since I still need to find two other members,” he said. ”Speaking of time... what do you usually do these days?”

”Training. Although I can already use Void Control, I want to improve my mastery and confidence before doing missions outside the city.”

”I’d love to help you, but Void Control isn’t something that can really be taught—” Yuan suddenly paused, a pondering expression appearing on his face.

”Hey, you wanna try something? It could help speed up your training.”

Mei Xiaoyun looked at him with a suspicious gaze.

”What is it?”

”It’s hard to explain, so just follow me.”

Yuan proceeded to lead Mei Xiaoyun to his living quarters.

”Are we going to train here...? At your home?”

Yuan nodded, ”It’s not something I want people to see, after all.”

The suspicious look on Mei Xiaoyung’s face became even more evident, but she didn’t say anything and entered his home shortly after.

Once inside, Yuan extended his hand and said, ”I am going to bring you into the void with me. See if being surrounded by the void helps with your training.”

”Huh? What do you mean—”

Before Mei Xiaoyun could even finish her sentence, Yuan grabbed her hand and used Void Manipulation, dragging her into the void with him.

Once they were inside the void, Yuan manipulated the void around both of them, keeping Mei Xiaoyun safe. However, doing this consumed Yuan’s stamina at several times the rate it normally would.

”T-This is...?!” Mei Xiaoyun stared into the pitch-black void with widened eyes and a dazed expression.

Although this wasn’t her first time entering the void, as she could also use Void Manipulation, she had never remained inside for more than a split second—unlike Yuan, who seemed perfectly capable of lingering there.

However, it wasn’t that Mei Xiaoyun was incapable of remaining inside the void. Rather, when she had been taught Void Manipulation during boot camp, there was one warning the instructors had repeatedly drilled into everyone’s minds.

”Go in and get out. Never linger in the void, or it could destroy both your body and soul.”

That warning had been emphasized so often that it had practically become instinct.

Mei Xiaoyun turned to look at Yuan, who looked unfathomably tranquil.

”Don’t look at me,” Yuan suddenly said to her. ”You won’t learn anything by staring at my face. Look at the void and study it.”

Mei Xiaoyun nodded in a dazed manner before focusing on the void. But because her situation was so bizarre, she had a hard time focusing.

A few short minutes later, Yuan brought Mei Xiaoyun out of the void.

”Well? What do you think?” he asked her in a somewhat exhausted voice.

”...”

Mei Xiaoyun did not respond, merely staring at him in silence.

Yuan didn’t rush her and patiently waited. ℯ

After a long moment of silence, Mei Xiaoyun rubbed her eyes and sighed aloud, ”I can’t believe you just dragged me into the void with you. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”

”Don’t worry, it’s not my first time taking people with me into the void. Your safety is guaranteed.”

”That’s not the point! You should’ve warned me first!”

”It’s much quicker to show you.”

Mei Xiaoyun released another sigh before speaking, ”I... didn’t really get to study the void too much because I wasn’t mentally prepared for it.”

”No worries. We’ll do it as many times as you need. This is great training for me, too.”

”I’ve heard about your unfathomably perfect Void Control and how abnormally fast your progress has been. Is this the secret behind it?” she asked.

She paused for a moment before adding, ”Are you sure you want to share something like this with me? What if I share it with others?”

”I don’t mind.” Yuan casually shrugged. ”Besides, I doubt anyone other than me could use this training method efficiently, given how dangerous it is.”

The main reason Yuan’s understanding of Void Manipulation improved so drastically was that he didn’t protect his body while training, instead allowing the void to ravage him freely.

Such a training method would normally be impossible, as it required regenerative abilities powerful enough to constantly repair the damage inflicted on both his body.

”The Perfected Heavenly Refinement physique sure is convenient,” she sighed.

”Give me a moment to mentally prepare myself before we try again.”

Yuan nodded and said, ”I will need some time to recover every time we do it, too.”

Some time later, Yuan brought Mei Xiaoyun into the void once again.

This time, having mentally prepared herself beforehand, Mei Xiaoyun quickly entered a training mindset and began studying the void with intense concentration.

A few minutes later, they left the void.

”It’s still too early to say how effective this method will be in the long run, but I can definitely feel my understanding of Void Control improving much faster than when I train normally,” Mei Xiaoyun revealed afterward.

”That’s good to hear. Want to continue training?” Yuan then asked.

She nodded.

”At least until the briefing in a few days.”

Thus, they continued training in this manner for the next several days.