Mind, Body, Technique

"You say I'm too weak. So how strong do I need to be before I can cultivate the marvelous secret manual you mentioned?"

Bai Muye was reluctant to give up. After assimilating the memories, he understood that Luoluobai Muye had only cultivated a widely circulated staff technique, albeit the most advanced one available at that training camp.

As for other things, such as movement techniques and Soul Defense Secret Techniques, they had all been developed independently through training and combat.

Xiao Si said leisurely, "In my view, cultivation ultimately comes down to three things: mind, body, and technique! The reason the strong are strong is that they excel in every regard and have no weaknesses...

"Mind refers to the heart, soul, will, consciousness, and so on. If you're lacking in that area, no matter how powerful you are, someone might enslave your soul with a single look...

"Body refers to your physique, strength, physical toughness, and genes. To put it simply, in the early stages of cultivation, it means your Gene Multiplier. The universe is unfair. If your current genes count as onefold, some beings are born with tens or hundreds of times that, while others are born with Perfect Genes. You have onefold, they have tenfold. Even at the same level, they're ten times stronger than you at the most basic level. How are you supposed to fight that?

"Technique is an umbrella term for methods, domains, and Law Comprehension. Whether it's mind or body, both are meant to help you survive. But technique is the foundation of your continued progress. Without a domain, you'll never get beyond Universe Rank. If you don't cross the threshold of law, becoming a World Lord will be incredibly difficult. You can't become an Undying without fully comprehending one lower law. And even if you become an Undying, if you fail to comprehend an Upper Law, you'll still be trapped, eventually vanishing when the Primitive Universe completes its cycle..."

Bai Muye found this lengthy summary quite convincing.

"I survived for countless ages in the Infinite Hunyuan Space, so naturally I collected countless marvelous secret manuals. But you'll have to reach the Undying level at the very least before you can cultivate even the most basic ones... Hmm, wait, that's not right!"

Xiao Si seemed to remember something. "There is a technique focused on the 'body' that you could cultivate at Universe Rank. But make even the slightest mistake, and your soul and genes will collapse. You'll die for sure!"

Bai Muye thought, Isn't that the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual?

He couldn't help asking, "You're not going to tell me I need an Undying Body before I can cultivate it, are you?"

"Oh, you know about the Undying Body? Not bad!" Xiao Si praised him with a hint of sarcasm. "Having an Undying Body would certainly be the safest way to cultivate it, but you can also start once you reach Domain Lord Rank..."

"Domain Lord Rank is enough?" Bai Muye perked up.

"It is, but you'll need to prepare enough energy..."

Xiao Si explained, "At Domain Lord Rank, you'll have a Singularity. As long as it remains intact, you can use energy to restore your body..."

"Didn't you say that a mistake would make my soul and genes collapse? Can the Singularity protect my soul?"

"Of course you can't do it by yourself!" Xiao Si said proudly. "But I can help. I can't do anything about your body, but as long as I'm here, I can make sure your Singularity stays intact!"

"Xiao Si, you know about the Virtual Universe, right? Can I try this technique there?" Bai Muye asked expectantly, thinking of the Virtual Universe's wonders.

"Call me Fourth Master." It corrected him out of habit, then added with a hint of amazement, "The person who created the Virtual Universe really was a genius. They managed to cover the entire Primitive Universe and create another universe of consciousness, where you can even cultivate and comprehend laws. Most importantly, it allows instant communication across the entire Primitive Universe..."

"The Virtual Universe is amazing, but you can't cultivate in it," Xiao Si said, dousing his hopes. "You have to understand: this secret technique I collected transcends dimensions and defies the workings of the Primitive Universe. Without me, you couldn't cultivate it even in the real world. In fact, you wouldn't even be able to remember its contents..."

"So, you can't cultivate it in the real world, and it's the same in the Virtual Universe. I can't enter the Virtual Universe, and even if I could, it wouldn't help. The Virtual Universe isn't the real Primitive Universe, after all..."

Bai Muye understood. It was similar to the Nine Tribulations Secret Manual, which Mount Seated Guest had recorded on Heaven Soul Crystals so others could cultivate it, with only one person allowed to cultivate it at a time.

Xiao Si, on the other hand, didn't need Heaven Soul Crystals. It was itself an existence of a far higher order than they were, so it could easily let Bai Muye cultivate the technique.

Bai Muye shook his head and sent a sliver of consciousness into the Virtual Universe. He still had more than three days to train in the Killing Field, and he wanted to test his current strength again.

On a lush green grassland, he faced an opponent who wielded the same Tier 3 Force Weapon, a Thunder Staff, and had immense combat experience and exceptional battle talent. Bai Muye couldn't help recalling all the times he'd been smashed into a pulp.

The moment the battle began, both of them activated their domains and charged forward.

Their staffs clashed and blocked each other's blows, ringing out in a steady clatter.

Bai Muye had a strange feeling. He completely understood what his opponent was trying to do with each move and what the next one was meant to achieve—

But the same was true for his opponent. It knew exactly what Bai Muye was trying to do and where his next strike would land!

They were perfectly evenly matched.

The fight lasted a full hour. Both had used up thirty percent of their Origin Energy by the time a winner finally emerged.

Bai Muye had only one advantage over his opponent: his state of mind. He was optimistic and patient!

Those qualities had been forged in his previous life, as illness had tormented him. He had endured the pain of a terminal illness in his mortal body for years, leaving his will and spirit extraordinarily strong.

Combined with the calm and perseverance that Luoluobai Muye had honed in hundreds of life-or-death battles, this gave him an unparalleled strength of will.

When his virtual opponent grew impatient after the long fight, Bai Muye seized an opening. One strike left it lightly wounded, the second inflicted a serious injury, and the third killed it!

"At last, I've smashed you into a pulp too..." Bai Muye let out a long breath. Finally, he felt at peace.

Anyone who had been smashed into a pulp by the same opponent more than a thousand times in a short period would have felt just as exhilarated after finally turning the tables.

"I'll try some other opponents..." After facing that same face for so long, Bai Muye was sick of the sight of it.

Unfortunately, the stingy merchant had given him too little time—only five days in all. Before his final battle was even over, Bai Muye was forcibly kicked out of the Virtual Universe.

Time passed quickly. Two months after he had fully assimilated the memories, Bastian came to see him.

Looking at Bai Muye, who was as composed and taciturn as ever, Bastian nodded in satisfaction.

"You seem to have recovered well. Come on, the next life-or-death battle has been scheduled. It's in ten days, and the location is quite far from here. We need to leave as soon as possible."

After saying this, Bastian turned and walked away, not at all concerned that Bai Muye might not follow.

Bai Muye silently fell in behind him. He had considered killing Bastian at close range and seizing the controller for the chip in his head, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.

First, Bastian was himself a Universe Level 8 powerhouse. Bai Muye didn't know whether he had a domain, but with his own strength at Universe Level Fifth Order, he doubted he could kill Bastian in a single blow.

And that was assuming he had a suitable weapon—though the weapons in the Training Room matched the Thunder Staff in size and weight, their materials were worlds apart.

Second, he wasn't sure the controller was on Bastian.

Third, he wasn't even sure there was only one controller.

If he took the risk and killed Bastian, only for someone else to casually press the controller and make his head explode, wouldn't that be a laughingstock of the highest order?

He was supposed to be detected and punished if he had any thoughts of harming Bastian, since he had a Bio-chip in his head. But he hadn't been affected when he considered it.

Perhaps it was because his soul had crossed over from another world, or perhaps it was because of Xiao Si. Whatever the reason, the outcome was good. At the very least, he wasn't like the other slaves, who couldn't even entertain thoughts of harming their master.