Chapter 30: Beyond Skysoar (2)
More and more water was poured into the glass, and more overflowed out of it.
Boom!
Su Yu felt like he could see the water turning into a river. The water surged, flooding the room, flooding the school, and the river turned into a deluge, forming an ocean, and eventually reaching the sky itself.
Boom!
Cities were submerged and mountains collapsed.
At that moment, Bai Feng's voice rang out, "This is the strength of willpower. It can turn water into ice, it can also gather water into rivers or oceans. Like physical power, it is only a type of power you can use. However, it is also a unique power with no boundless possibilities. Presently, for physical cultivation, there is actually an end. Of course, the end is still far beyond us.
"In truth, one would start cultivating both powers upon reaching the Skysoar Realm. For us, we will first let our water overflow before wrapping our water around the glass and strengthen it. A physical cultivator will first turn the porcelain glass into a stone glass before pouring water into the glass.
"If you ask me which is the better path, I can tell you that both are the same. It merely depends on your choice and talent. Just pick the easier path for you."
The scene before Su Yu's eyes blurred before vanishing. The sight of Bai Feng with the glass of water entered his gaze.
He gasped for breath before asking, "What if I can't fill the glass? What if like Instructor Liu, my glass is full but I can't get it to overflow? Will my willpower be completely useless?"
"Strictly speaking, that's not true. At the very least, your thoughts will be sharper and you will have more energy than before. Also, if you're not even capable of willpower materialization, it doesn't matter what path you take. You will never be able to become an expert. Do you think there is a big difference between a Great Strength cultivator and an Infinite Strength cultivator?"
"Can we measure the willpower's strength before it overflows?"
"Yes." Bai Feng explained, "Upon reaching a certain point, you can sense it yourself. Of course, experts who have materialized their willpower will be able to see it clearly. Take you for an example. Your glass is about one tenth full. I can clearly see it. But you won't be able to sense it yourself."
"When will I be able to start sensing it?"
"When it's half full. At that point, you'll be able to sense it clearly. That power is within you, but you won't be able to do anything with it. We call that stage the Mental Tempering Stage. That is not a realm, but you can also see it as something similar to the Source Opening, Great Strength, and Infinite Strength Realms. That is a very difficult stage to live through. Your patience will be tested. You can feel the power yet can't use it. Will you be anxious?
"You clearly feel that you have enough power to face an Infinite Strength cultivator, yet even a Great Strength cultivator can defeat you with one hit. Will you be anxious? Your glass is full. You're so close to overflowing. Yet you still have to suffer the beating of a Great Strength cultivator. Will you be anxious?
"But no matter how anxious you are, your willpower refuses to overflow. Will you be angry? It doesn't even matter how angry you are. Many people fail to get through this stage. They give up and switch into physical cultivation instead. People like that can be found everywhere. That is simply too infuriating a stage."
Bai Feng laughed and said, "I look forward to that day. To see you angry yet helpless. You need to know that at that point, the academy will do one thing. During your Mental Tempering Stage, they will allow the students of the war academies to visit for a study exchange. But that is merely an excuse to have them beat you up. You will be tortured. You will be insulted. You will be infuriated."
Su Yu was dumbstruck. Even Liu Yue couldn't help but to softly ask, "Teacher Bai, why is the academy doing that?"
"The answer is simple. To provoke you. Only if you can remain calm and truly know yourself will you be able to achieve willpower materialization. Of course, the tempering process is a double-edged sword. Some students will go mad and give up from sheer anger. But those capable of surviving this stage had all done rather well for themselves."
Bai Feng laughed happily, "This is the grand performance of cultural research academies. Upon joining, you can go and see how your seniors are tortured. It is a truly miserable process. Those from the war academies love nothing more than to brag about the big names from the cultural research academies they once tortured back in the days. Those big names are probably already at the Mountainsea Realm while the war academy students are still at the Infinite Strength Realm.
"They will tell stories of how who-and-who have been beaten until they piss themselves. Many people think that these war academy students are bragging, but they are actually telling the truth."
Su Yu couldn't resist asking, "Teacher Bai, is this what all cultural researchers will go through? What about you?"
"Me?" Bai Feng said nonchalantly, "That wasn't the case for me. I was too strong. I was already exceptionally strong during the Mental Tempering Stage."
Su Yu immediately realized that he had asked the wrong question, so he smiled awkwardly and stopped pursuing the matter. He hadn’t suffered the same fate? That did not seem possible. This Bai Feng had probably been beaten to the point he cried as well. Su Yu was very surprised to learn that there was actually such a stage for cultural researchers. His horizons had been widened.
"As for the cultivation of willpower..." Bai Feng switched the topic. "Read. Learn. Of course, you need to do more than reading ordinary books or learning ordinary characters. You have both learned different languages before.
"But what is the purpose of learning all those languages? The languages aren't anything special, but some texts with cultivation methods and martial techniques are filled with willpower. Reading those texts is the same as clashing against the willpower within them. The more powerful the cultivation method, the stronger the author of the text would be, and the harder it would be for you to withstand the text’s willpower. Reading such texts is actually a type of test."
"In the academy, by the time you gain the ability to read a Great Strength original text, it means that your willpower has grown enough to contend against Great Strength cultivators. And when you reach the point where you can read Skysoar texts, you'll be ready for willpower materialization. The Mental Tempering Stage starts around the time you start reading Infinite Strength original texts."
Su Yu finally understood. Suddenly, a white bone fragment appeared in Bai Feng's hand.
"This is a Great Strength cultivation method. Of course, it is incomplete. Such texts can be commonly found at the Allheaven Battlefield. The academy has a lot of these as well. You will be focusing on these texts as new students of the academy. You can try taking a look at it. The willpower in this incomplete text is weak. If you can actually see the characters on it, it means that your willpower is nearly one fifth full."
Bai Feng had just claimed that Su Yu's willpower was only one tenth full. But now, he was showing something that could only be read with one fifth full willpower. Su Yu did not think too much. He accepted the white bone fragment and started looking at it.
Bai Feng guided him, "You only need to focus on it."
Su Yu nodded and placed all his focus on the bone fragment. Slowly, the bone fragment before his eyes changed. It started glowing faintly, and from it, he could see some indistinct characters. Curious, he placed even more focus on the fragment.
Boom!
.
Right that moment, he felt like his brain had been hammered. With a painful wail, Su Yu tossed the glowing bone fragment away.
Bai Feng saw that coming. He smiled and said, "Even reading is an activity you need to pay a price to do. This is how we cultivate. This is how cultural research academies work. Do not think that studying at the academy will be the same as Nanyuan Secondary School where you only need to read some books in foreign languages. There is nothing special about that.
"Each reading session is a clash of willpower. And each session will temper your willpower. Naturally, you can't read too much in a day. Once or twice will be enough or you'll drive yourself mad. In fact, the academy has no lack of madmen. Many students have driven themselves mad reading something beyond their ability."
...
Su Yu felt like his head was going to burst apart. He was hurting so much he nearly teared up. After about ten seconds, he opened his eyes and breathed heavily while slowly regaining his calm. This pain was similar to the sensation he would feel each time he was killed in his dreams. After so many years, he was already used to such a sensation. The pain had merely been too abrupt.
Bai Feng was just about to say that it was fine to cry. In fact, that was actually normal among the students of their academy. But he immediately swallowed his words before they could leave his mouth. He looked at Su Yu with his eyebrow raised. He was certain that Su Yu's willpower was only one tenth full. And yet this fellow had withstood the pain just like that?
Impossible!
The willpower in that bone fragment was twice as strong as Su Yu's willpower. That would subject him to at least half an hour of pain. Bai Feng blinked, impressed with what he was seeing. No wonder his martial uncle looked so highly upon this kid. Perhaps this kid's talent wasn't anything special, but he was most certainly a tenacious person. At times, tenacity was more important than talent in cultivation.
While grimacing with pain, Su Yu said, "Teacher Bai, how about the willpower of a regular person?"
"One percent full." Bai Feng cleared his mind of his thoughts and smiled, "That is the level of a regular person. They have no talent in terms of willpower cultivation. Your talent is decent. As for Liu Yue, her willpower is slightly better than yours. About fifteen percent, I would say."
Su Yu smiled awkwardly. So it turned out that Liu Yue was better than him as well. Bai Feng did not say anything more. He could actually see that this wasn't Liu Yue's first time reading one of these incomplete texts. That was why her willpower was stronger. But in truth, Su Yu was going to catch up soon.
To the side, Liu Yue had remained silent. However, she was also looking at Su Yu in astonishment. She had read one of these original texts before, so she knew how painful one's first experience would be. During her first session, she had spent half an hour crying and another half day of sleeping before recovering.
As for Su Yu...was he a beast? Or perhaps this fellow was...slow? He couldn't feel fear? In fact, after her first session, she was so afraid that she almost gave up her second session. But this Su Yu...was actually picking the bone fragment up with a look of longing, as though he wanted to read it again!
Bai Feng couldn't help but to laugh. Previously, he didn't care much about these two. But now, his interest in Su Yu was growing. With a smile, he said, "You can have it. But remember to not read it more than twice per day. You won't be able to withstand more than that. When you find yourself capable of clearly seeing the characters on it, your willpower would be twenty percent full. You will be one step closer to willpower materialization. This is merely an incomplete copy. There are three pages per copy. When your willpower is forty percent full, you would be able to read all three pages in full."
"By the time you gain the ability to read the full Infinite Strength text, you would reach the Mental Tempering Stage."
Bai Feng had decided to give the bone fragment to Su Yu. This thing was quite valuable, but for him, it was nothing. Su Yu was unaware of the bone fragment's value, but that wasn't the case for Liu Yue. She looked rather envious. Her family was among the richest in Nanyuan, but a single original text would be sold at a price of no less than a hundred thousand dollars at the Xia Trade Company.
They had both arrived together, and she was obviously the stronger one. However, Bai Feng had decided to give Su Yu the bone fragment instead. From that, it was obvious Bai Feng was more interested in Su Yu.