Cultivating in the Cabin of Spirit and Time

The night at the Lookout was exceptionally bright with stars.

Perched atop the world's highest man-made structure, Zhang Wutian, Son Wukong, and Krillin sat in a circle around an electric grill Zhang Wutian had produced, roasting meat.

"This piece is ready too!" Son Wukong grabbed a large chunk of meat with a grin, then settled comfortably into Zhang Wutian's lap, holding the meat as she gnawed on it.

"This meat tastes great. Is it some kind of special cut?"

"I just added seasoning beforehand." Zhang Wutian, a wealthy man who could already afford to build villas in the city center, noted that this was merely the most basic setup for a trip.

"Also, could you stop sitting on me? It's crowded."

"I don't want to." Son Wukong refused flatly. "You smell good, Zhang Wutian." Having said that, she seemed to feel it wasn't enough, so she added, "You smell even better than the roasted meat!"

"Are you saying your favorite food is human meat?"

"I don't like human meat! You're always teasing me!" Son Wukong pouted, though a moment later she brightened up again. "Zhang Wutian, don't move."

"What for?"

The next moment, Son Wukong leaned in, stuck out her tongue, and licked the grease from the roasted meat off the corner of Zhang Wutian's mouth.

"All done."

"What are you doing?" Zhang Wutian, having had his mouth licked by Son Wukong's wet tongue, glared at her in his lap, feeling rather exasperated.

"I was helping you wipe off the grease," Son Wukong said nonchalantly. "Didn't you used to wipe it off for me all the time? I'm just doing it for you once."

"All the time..." Not far away, Krillin looked at Zhang Wutian with an "I see how it is" expression, a gaze that felt incredibly piercing.

"I always used a handkerchief or a tissue to wipe your face..." Zhang Wutian said helplessly.

"But I don't have a handkerchief or a tissue," Son Wukong replied righteously.

Zhang Wutian suddenly felt exhausted. Was his educational approach flawed? He felt completely drained of energy.

Krillin suppressed a laugh and called out to Tien Shinhan, who was still training, "Tien Shinhan, come and have something to eat. If you don't come over soon, the meat will be all gone."

From the distance came Tien Shinhan's cold voice: "You guys eat. A Senzu Bean is enough for me."

"What an unsociable guy. I wonder if the Tien Shinhan from our side is this much of a killjoy," Zhang Wutian remarked.

"His master and fellow disciples are all dead; it's no wonder he's like this. Come to think of it, I'm the one who seems a bit unmotivated," Krillin said with a self-deprecating smile.

"No, you're fine as you are. He's just abusing his own body."

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhang Wutian felt his other cheek get licked by Son Wukong again.

"I told you to stop licking!"

"But there was a stain on this side too," Son Wukong said, aggrieved. "I just wanted to help you."

"Fine, then thanks a lot." Looking at Son Wukong's aggrieved expression and Krillin, who was holding back laughter until he looked like he was suffering internal injuries, Zhang Wutian had nothing left to say.

In a place untouched by the light, an exhausted Tien Shinhan swallowed a Senzu Bean and began another round of hellish training.

The days of training passed in a flash, and Mr. Popo's words brought their training to a temporary halt.

"You are now qualified to enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Mr. Popo will open the doors to that room for you."

The four stopped their training and, after a brief rest, followed Mr. Popo to a door filled with an exotic atmosphere.

"This is the Hyperbolic Time Chamber," Mr. Popo explained the situation of the room.

Inside and outside the door were two different worlds; one year inside was equivalent to one day outside. The temperature inside was sweltering, and it possessed four times the gravity of Earth—an extremely harsh environment for any human from Earth.

However, all verbal explanations were hollow. It wasn't until the four of them actually stepped through the door that they felt the pressure from this space.

"This... what is this feeling?"

It felt as if he had returned to the era of training under Master Roshi, forced to carry a turtle shell heavier than his own body. Krillin struggled to straighten his bent spine and said intermittently.

"Is this what they call four times gravity? Truly amazing. Are you okay, Wukong?" Zhang Wutian was in worse shape than Krillin, appearing to have difficulty even walking.

"It's so hard, and so hot. Do we have to stay here for a year?" Even Son Wukong couldn't resist such a harsh environment, especially since she was the girl version, pampered by Master Roshi and constantly fed by Zhang Wutian.

"Very good... this is exactly what makes it worth training in." Only Tien Shinhan gave the place a thumbs up.

What followed was training to adapt to the gravity.

Among the four, the first to adapt to the gravity was not the "cheating" Zhang Wutian, but Tien Shinhan, who trained the hardest and possessed the highest base combat power.

Krillin followed closely behind. The third to adapt was Zhang Wutian; resisting the gravity also satisfied the conditions of his cheat—[Fighting against powerful opponents, regardless of win or loss, will surely make you stronger]. Under the harsh environment, his combat power skyrocketed, finally surpassing Krillin—who had grown for several more years in this timeline—within a few months.

Son Wukong was the last to adapt to the gravity. After all, she was still too young, and her body, not yet fully developed, kept her combat power restricted, preventing any significant leaps.

Sometimes Zhang Wutian would think, "Is it too early to bring her here? What if the gravity stunts her growth?"

But immediately after, thoughts like, "Actually, being short isn't bad; being petite and dainty is quite cute," would flash through his mind.

Once everyone had adapted to the gravity, sparring became the daily required course.

"So, today's sparring schedule is me against Tien Shinhan, and Krillin against Wukong."

"Please go easy on me, Brother Krillin." Son Wukong still addressed Krillin this way to this day.

"Fine, please go easy on me too," Krillin said to Son Wukong with a wry smile. He no longer had the heart to argue with this stubborn girl.

"Come on, Tien Shinhan."

"Fine, show me everything you've got."

Having trained together for so long, Zhang Wutian no longer went out of his way to needle Tien Shinhan, and Tien Shinhan, at the very least, could now hold a proper conversation with Zhang Wutian.

Both men entered a high-speed state simultaneously, appearing to vanish in the eyes of any onlookers.

"So fast. Even under four times gravity, they're still this quick. If they were outside, they'd probably be even faster!"

The crackling sounds of strikes were like rolling thunder, the noise of their clash rising and falling as they appeared now above, now behind, moving and fighting at blinding speeds.

Then, Zhang Wutian was knocked out of the air by a punch from Tien Shinhan.

Landing on the ground with a flip, Zhang Wutian found himself a move behind and was immediately subjected to relentless pressure.

Several times he tried to counterattack, only to be suppressed by Tien Shinhan's stronger strikes. Like prey caught in a web, no matter how he struggled, he could not break through the blockade. It was total suppression; at this moment, whether in attack, speed, defense, or even combat experience, Tien Shinhan was completely dominating Zhang Wutian, leaving him in a miserable state.

"Break through, damn it!!" Zhang Wutian's fist erupted with radiance as he threw a punch at Tien Shinhan, but Tien Shinhan neither dodged nor parried, taking the blow head-on.

"Is that all you've got?!" Struck by Zhang Wutian's full-force blow, Tien Shinhan merely shuddered, absorbing the impact before throwing a punch of his own, sending Zhang Wutian—who had abandoned his defense to attack—flying once more.

"Volleyball Fist!!" Tien Shinhan rushed beneath the airborne Zhang Wutian, setting him up with a bump, a toss, and a final spike!!

With a boom like a falling meteorite, Zhang Wutian was slammed into the ground, unable to rise again.

"That's too much, Tien Shinhan. This is just training; there was no need to use a move like that."

Watching Son Wukong rush anxiously toward the prone Zhang Wutian and use the True Senzu Bean Breathing Method she had learned from somewhere to pass a Senzu Bean mouth-to-mouth, Krillin walked over to Tien Shinhan and spoke with a hint of reproach.

Faced with Krillin's questioning, Tien Shinhan looked at his clenched fists and remained silent.

Only by fighting Zhang Wutian could one understand how fast he was improving. It was the pressure of an opponent on the same level, someone who wouldn't yield a single step and could only be countered by going all out.

Feeling that pressure, Tien Shinhan had been forced to strike hard.

Facing Zhang Wutian, who had grown crazily strong in just a few short months, Tien Shinhan—despite undergoing the same training—found his own rate of growth significantly slower. Unable to calm the turmoil in his heart, he wondered when he would be surpassed.

"Is this the gap between us? I refuse to accept it!"

Tien Shinhan gripped his fists tightly.