Tempering the Heart in the Mortal World

Life in the three-times-gravity room was practically inhuman.

Every day, Lin Fan squeezed himself into that silver-white metal box like toothpaste from a tube, and stayed there for hours.

When he came out, he looked as if he'd been fished from the water. His face was deathly pale, his legs unsteady, and he had to lean against the wall to stay upright.

Every muscle screamed in protest, and even the spaces between his bones ached with weakness.

Worst of all, the True Qi in his body, which had reached the peak of Qi Refining, moved sluggishly and heavily under the pressure, like someone constipated. If he tried to push it too hard, his meridians would cramp with pain.

It was truly grueling.

But the results were real, too.

He could feel that his True Qi, heavy as mercury, was being slowly stripped of its restlessness through each difficult cycle of circulation, becoming just a little denser.

The bottleneck remained stubbornly firm, but at least he'd found a direction to work toward.

Bulma stared at the monitoring data and clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Your vital signs are fluctuating so wildly, and your energy readings keep jumping up and down... Lin Fan, are you sure this 'training' of yours isn't going to make you suddenly go 'bang' and train yourself out of existence one day?"

She'd even secretly tucked a few emergency medical robots into the corners of the Gravity Room.

Lin Fan simply shook his head, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and walked back inside.

But the path of cultivation required a balance between tension and relaxation.

Grinding away at it relentlessly could sometimes yield half the results for twice the effort, or even give rise to inner demons.

That day, Lin Fan crawled out of the Gravity Room feeling utterly exhausted in body and mind. Even his control over his True Qi had grown sluggish.

He knew he couldn't go on like this.

"I'm going out for a walk."

Lin Fan said to Bulma, who was still bent over, fine-tuning the Gravity Room's energy curve.

"Huh? Oh, sure."

Bulma answered casually without looking up. "Use my card! I know all the best places in West City! Want me to recommend a few bars?"

Lin Fan smiled but didn't reply. He changed into a set of casual clothes Bulma had bought him, which fit this world's style better, then walked alone through the enormous, fortress-like gates of Capsule Corp.

Beyond the gates lay the bustling, dazzling streets of West City.

Hovercars glided silently between the skyscrapers. Holographic advertising displays flashed with brilliant colors, fashionable pedestrians hurried along, and small aircraft occasionally streaked across the sky.

A huge screen was showing an interview with some martial arts celebrity, or perhaps the latest ad for Capsule Corporation.

A lively wave of noise, full of technology and everyday life, washed over him. It was completely different from the lab's cold, focused atmosphere, where cultivation had even taken on a hint of self-torture.

Lin Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, adjusting to the stark contrast, then strolled into the crowd.

He had no destination in mind. He simply wandered.

He passed street food stalls wafting with tempting aromas. He watched the vendors expertly stir-fry some unfamiliar delicacy from another world, its alluring fragrance rising into the air, and listened to the oil sizzling and customers sighing with satisfaction.

He passed a lively arcade, where the shouts of excited teenagers and the sounds of video games rang out amid flashing lights.

He passed a park, where children chased one another, elderly people played chess at their leisure, and couples leaned close, whispering.

He even passed a martial arts school, where the sounds of training—shouts of "Hah!" and "Hyah!"—mingled with the dull thuds of energy blasts striking their targets.

He simply watched and listened.

He saw people working hard to make ends meet, their faces tired but full of drive.

He saw people enjoying life, their smiles simple and genuine.

He saw people pursuing strength, their eyes focused and hungry.

These were the ordinary sights of the mortal world, the truest picture of everyday people living their lives in this high-martial world.

He realized he'd been looking at things too narrowly.

He'd thrown himself into the lab and the Gravity Room, thinking only of cultivation, bottlenecks, pills, and magical artifacts. He'd nearly forgotten what a vivid and expansive world he lived in.

Cultivation wasn't just about power. It was also about the heart.

If he shut himself away and cut himself off from the world, how could he understand the universe? How could he see his true nature clearly?

The Great Dao Source Scripture also mentioned that traveling ten thousand miles was better than reading ten thousand books, and that experiencing the mortal world was itself a form of cultivation.

Gradually, his thoughts settled. The exhaustion and irritability built up over days of hard training quietly faded amid the everyday bustle of the city.

His spiritual sense no longer clung tightly to his body. Instead, it naturally extended outward. He stopped deliberately measuring the strength of energies and began to feel the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness flowing through the lives around him—the vitality and vigor in their everyday existence.

Before he knew it, he reached a relatively quiet street corner, where an old woman was selling handmade crafts from a stall. Business was slow, but she wore a peaceful smile as she carefully wiped each little item clean.

Lin Fan crouched beside her stall, his eyes passing over the clever little trinkets made from ordinary materials.

"Take a look, young man," the old woman said with a cheerful smile.

Lin Fan picked up a tiny, oddly shaped bird, polished from discarded parts. "How much is this?"

"Not much, not much. Fifty Zeni will do."

Lin Fan paid and picked up the metal bird. It felt cold to the touch, and the workmanship was nothing special, but he could sense the care and time its maker had put into it.

"Thank you for your business, young man," the old woman said with a smile as she put away the money. "You don't look like you're from around here. Are you here for the World Martial Arts Tournament?"

Lin Fan paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No. I'm just... taking a walk."

"Taking a walk is good," the old woman said. "Young people shouldn't always be so tense. Look around at the world. There's so much to enjoy."

Something stirred in Lin Fan's heart, and he nodded. "You're right."

Holding the metal bird, he continued wandering without any particular destination. His mind grew clearer and more transparent with every step.

The slight frustration he'd felt after failing to break through the bottleneck had completely vanished.

The bottleneck was there, and there was no point in rushing.

It was better to keep his feet on the ground, temper his True Qi step by step, and seek insight into the universe. When the time was right, everything would fall into place naturally.

By the time he leisurely made his way back to Capsule Corp's gates, dusk was drawing near. Bulma rushed out, apparently on her way to look for him.

"Oh, there you are! Where have you been? I thought you'd gotten lost!"

Bulma complained, then noticed the metal bird in his hand. "Huh? What's that? Some street-stall trinket? Why'd you buy it?"

Lin Fan smiled and handed her the bird. "I bought it on a whim. It's for you."

Bulma froze for a moment, then took it and turned it over in her hands. She pursed her lips. "The craftsmanship is really rough... but it does have an interesting shape... Thanks!"

She slipped it into her pocket, then excitedly pulled Lin Fan inside. "Come on, look! I fixed the Gravity Room's stabilization system! In theory, it can handle five times normal gravity now! But to be safe, we should start by testing it at three and a half..."

Lin Fan let her pull him along. Feeling the familiar bustle of technology return around him, he wore a peaceful smile.

A single day tempering the heart in the mortal world was worth ten days of sitting in isolation.

His heart had grown calmer.