Free Web NovelChapter 399: Chapter 386: Three Seconds
Coming out of the office, Gu Ming had obtained the future’s method for Spiritual Fragment Analysis.
Once he came back to his senses, a cold sweat broke out on his back. He had actually debated principles with Professor Zhang in front of so many teachers.
Whether he had won the debate didn’t matter. The important thing was that he had dared to lock horns with an old professor, which seemed outrageously disrespectful.
But judging by Mr. Huo’s cheerful expression and lack of blame, the impact probably wasn’t that bad.
As long as Professor Zhang could come around and see some merit in his arguments, that would be enough. After all, truth is always clarified through debate.
If all he had spoken was nonsense, Professor Zhang wouldn’t have debated with him for so long.
Besides, by the end, it was obvious Professor Zhang had lost his composure, which was why he terminated the discussion and allowed Gu Ming to extricate himself.
This meant he had either convinced the professor or, in the worst-case scenario, shaken the man’s Dao Heart.
"Come with me. Today, let’s talk about your Dynamic Array..." Elder Huo said.
Gu Ming left the faculty building and followed Elder Huo into another one, walking into his private office.
Elder Huo had mentioned just yesterday that he wanted to combine the Dynamic Array with memory extraction.
To be honest, Gu Ming’s debate with Professor Zhang today had also been a great source of inspiration for Elder Huo.
At Elder Huo’s level, his academic achievements were already immense, and his breadth of knowledge was something Gu Ming couldn’t hope to match.
The fact that even he had benefited showed that Gu Ming’s flashes of inspiration, which were ahead of their time, had given Elder Huo many new ideas and provided answers to some of his unresolved lines of thought.
He had called Gu Ming over precisely to impart everything he had conceived without reservation.
Even though Gu Ming hadn’t joined the Array Society, Elder Huo felt the thrill of discovering a rare talent and simply couldn’t resist passing on his knowledge to him.
Gu Ming was quite moved by this gesture.
After a full day of studying, whether he had successfully learned anything was another matter.
Lu You, on the other hand, had diligently mastered the practical knowledge of Dynamic Arrays that Elder Huo had taught.
After all, Lu You had also participated in researching this Array. Learning together with her Insect Baby, she progressed at a remarkable pace.
As for Gu Ming, perhaps from piggybacking on the guidance provided for his "severely socially anxious classmate," a few sparks of inspiration also lit up in his mind after the study session, leading to a new understanding.
"When you get back, don’t just do your Cultivation in the villa. Go to the school’s Spiritual Power Cultivation Field. It’ll be much more effective—a benefit that a Spirit Gathering Array can’t compare to."
"Is it a pressure-based Cultivation Field?" Gu Ming asked.
Elder Huo nodded. "That’s right. The school’s Spiritual Power Cultivation Fields are primarily pressure-based.
"By creating a high-pressure Illusion Realm, they stimulate a Beastmaster’s Spiritual Power in real time to produce a sensation similar to combat. This makes cultivating Spiritual Techniques much more efficient.
"The memory-gathering techniques we discussed today are similar to scenarios where one has to counter Spiritual Interference or Spiritual Attacks.
"If you apply the key principles of the Dynamic Array there, you should be able to gain some insight.
"I won’t say any more. You’re both smart; you’ll understand after training there a few times."
Elder Huo waved his hand, saying no more. Half a day was the maximum amount of extra time he could spare. He was a very busy man, so he waved them away.
"Off you go."
Gu Ming and Lu You exchanged a glance, said their goodbyes, and left.
Once outside, Lu You looked at Gu Ming and asked quietly,
"Are we going to go?"
Lu You was very smart. She knew that the so-called pressure-based Cultivation Field was far inferior to the realistic simulations in Gu Ming’s Dream Cultivation Space.
If Gu Ming simulated the high-pressure environment of the underground cavern in the Yichuan Ruins, no Dao Field could rival its training effectiveness, let alone the school’s facilities.
Furthermore, even if one "died" during the Dream Realm Cultivation, the real-world consequence was merely Spiritual Power exhaustion. It seemed only Gu Ming’s Dream Space could provide such a hyper-realistic environment.
Gu Ming just nodded lightly without speaking, but they both instantly understood what the other was thinking.
「That evening.」
Gu Ming did not go to the school’s Spiritual Power Cultivation Field.
Although Elder Huo had suggested it, Gu Ming felt he probably should have at least shown his face there.
But this was the first day after his big debate, and Gu Ming didn’t want to draw any more attention to himself at school, even if he was already in the spotlight.
He turned to Lu You and said, "Let’s go test it out in the Yichuan Ruins environment."
Gu Ming communicated this to her with his Divine Sense, and they nodded as their eyes met.
Just then, Lu You gently extended her small hand.
This was their signal; it was time for their nightly training. By touching fingertips, Gu Ming could pull her into the dreamscape.
Lu You was very fond of this ability, as it was the one thing that made it seem reasonable for her to reach out and touch Gu Ming’s hand.
Gu Ming took her small hand, and a second later, pulled her and her Pet Beasts into the Dream Cultivation Space.
With the Dream Cultivation Space, they both made rapid progress in their Cultivation.
The Pet Beasts had long since mastered their Breathing Techniques to the point of automatic Cultivation. As long as they carried Spirit Stones, they could automatically absorb Spiritual Qi and train rapidly.
Meanwhile, their consciousnesses sank into the Dream Cultivation Space to face the dream trial of the Yichuan Ruins.
Gu Ming once again found himself in that terrifying underground cavern. The scene before him was eerie, damp, and forbiddingly deep. Ghostly lights floated in the air, stretching into the cavern’s depths, as if something even more horrifying within was luring him closer.
Even without taking a single step, he could feel the Spiritual Power throughout his body being severely suppressed.
According to Professor Zhang’s theory, a Dynamic Array was an exceptionally useful tool for countering this kind of spiritual pressure.
He began his Cultivation. With each breath, he closed his eyes and submerged his consciousness in his Sea of Consciousness, causing his Divine Sense Sword Body to ripple gently.
Before long, a few wave patterns formed, causing Gu Ming’s Spiritual Power to become turbulent.
He then felt as if he were standing on a plank, adrift on a vast and unstable sea.
He opened his eyes and took a step forward. Instantly, he felt the Spiritual Power throughout his body tear into countless fragments, scattering like dust into the vast ocean to drift with the currents.
The terrifying Illusion Realm manifested its tangible pressure as a giant, fluttering shadow that swooped toward him.
He knew it was a memory fragment from the Primordial Dream Butterfly; the aura radiating from the gargantuan creature within was suffocating, enough to crush him.
But thanks to the modular structure of the Dynamic Array, his spirit underwent Decentralization, shattering completely.
For a rare three seconds, he managed to hold on, using a Memorization Array to record the scenes he witnessed.
The next moment, Gu Ming snapped back to reality, drenched in a cold sweat.
Beside him, Lu You was gripping his hand tightly, her forehead beaded with sweat as she gasped for air.
Even the Pet Beasts’ Breathing Technique rhythms had been disrupted.
It wasn’t just the Beastmasters who had experienced the terrifying dreamscape; the Pet Beasts had undergone a horrifying ordeal as well.
Fortunately, he had successfully recorded the Illusion Realm from within the Yichuan Ruins.
Even though it was only a small memory fragment, extracting it was considered a Great Success.
’I managed to extract three seconds today. Maybe I can get six tomorrow, and break ten seconds the day after that?’
Thinking positively, Gu Ming felt his motivation to continue his Cultivation surge once more.
