Inside, in Dongfang Yao's room.
The girl's body was tense, her small hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, looking extremely nervous.
"Brother, I'm ready, come on."
"Yao'er, are you really sure? It will hurt a lot."
"I'm not afraid! Yao'er, Yao'er can endure it!"
"Sigh, alright then."
Dongfang Jing sighed softly, holding his sister's hand, hoping to give her some sense of security.
In a few days, Dongfang Yao would turn six.
Therefore, she suggested that she wanted to experience her brother's usual training place in advance.
So, Dongfang Jing led her into the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors.
In Dongfang Yao's eyes, this was a world constructed from countless crystal mirrors, infinitely extending, with light and shadow intertwined, magnificent yet silent.
As soon as she entered, Dongfang Yao let out a soft groan, her little face instantly turning pale,feeling a series of subtle, needle-like throbbing pains in her head.
"Don't be afraid," Dongfang Jing immediately noticed her discomfort and gently comforted her, "I've now actively dispelled all the pressure effects in the space, so it's no different from the outside world now. What you felt just now was pure mental energy depletion."
He led his sister, explaining in detail as they walked:
"When I awakened my martial soul, my soul power was level 10. Every minute I stay here consumes 1% of my mental energy.For every level my soul power increases, the consumption per minute decreases by 0.01%."
Dongfang Jing emphasized solemnly, "Once mental energy is excessively depleted, it can cause headaches, tinnitus, and lethargy at best; at worst, it can cause fainting on the spot, or even permanent damage!
Yao'er, I will protect you while you cultivate here, but if you are fighting outside, be sure to be wary of those skilled in mental attacks!"
"Yes!" Dongfang Yao carefully noted it down.
"Therefore, I always come in to cultivate when I am full of energy. Once I realize that I have consumed nearly 80% of my energy and have about 20% left, I must leave immediately and return to rest."
Then, he mentioned another mystery of this place:
"Furthermore, the flow of time here is different from the outside world, at a ratio of 1:2.That is to say, two days here are equivalent to only one day outside."
Dongfang Jing, seeing his sister's wide eyes in surprise, added with a smile:
"But don't worry, this difference in the flow of time only affects 'cultivation' itself, or rather, this space."
It won't actually accelerate our growth; our physical age will still increase normally with the outside world.
"We'll remain the same age as before."
After explaining this,Dongfang Yao sensibly stopped disturbing her brother's cultivation.
Dongfang Jing sent his sister back to reality,while he stayed to continue cultivating.
Two years of peaceful village life, free from outside disturbances, allowed him to devote all his attention to cultivation.
As his soul power steadily increased and his understanding of martial souls deepened,
Dongfang Jing's control over the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors reached a new level.
And it was precisely this deeper level of control that finally made him realize the immense confusion that had been buried deep in his heart since obtaining his first soul ring!
He still vividly remembered the extreme pain he felt when absorbing a thousand-year-old soul ring in Sunset Forest, a pain far exceeding his level.
How had he, with the frail body of a six-year-old child, managed to endure it without any miraculous elixirs or aids? Later, when absorbing his second soul ring in the Frozen Forest, although there was still some pain, the process was noticeably "easier."
At the time,he attributed it to the expansion of his meridians by the violent soul power of the first ring, increasing their resilience.
But this explanation never truly convinced him.
Until last year, during deep meditation in the Hall of a Thousand Mirrors…
Dongfang Jing inadvertently examined himself and was horrified to discover that his bones, meridians, and even the depths of his flesh were covered with countless fine, spiderweb-like, translucent cracks!
These weren't static; they were constantly micro-cracking and spreading,only to instantly heal and recombine under the influence of some mysterious force.
This cycle repeated endlessly!
Strangely, this process brought no pain;instead, an indescribable sense of tempering flowed through his entire body.
In that instant, Dongfang Jing suddenly understood!
All his doubts were answered.
The core test of the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors was always spirit and will!
If one's mind faltered and will collapsed, one would be torn to pieces by the omnipresent mirror blades of intent within this space. But if one could steadfastly maintain one's true self and withstand this endless mental tempering and the potential "severing" imagery, one would receive unexpected rewards!
From the moment Dongfang Jing first stepped into the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors to cultivate, this unique tempering had been subtly taking effect on his physical body!
His body had long since become accustomed to this cycle of "breaking" and "reconstruction" without him even realizing it!
Every seemingly ordinary training session was a profound and rigorous tempering of his physical body!
Each subsequent healing after shattering made his meridians, bones, and flesh more resilient, stronger, and better able to withstand terrifying energy impacts!
When the violent energy from his soul ring surged into his body, tearing and destroying his meridians, the pain was real.
But at the same time,the physical resilience and tenacity that had already been tempered by "Mirror Body Splitting Soul" to far surpass that of ordinary people were also fully unleashed!
With an almost immortal tenacity, it constantly repaired, reconstructed, adapted to destruction and rebirth, fiercely tug-of-war within his body.
In the end, resilience triumphed over violence, and adaptation covered the pain. Dongfang Jing's success was by no means a fluke.
It stemmed from the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors, from the hidden abilities of his martial soul's origin!
His thoughts suddenly became clear, and the biggest question in his heart was finally answered.
A bolder idea sprouted in Dongfang Jing's mind:since this "Mirror Body Shattering Soul" was a passive process of tempering, could it... be actively controlled?
Could he, with a mere thought, cause his body to shatter like a mirror, and with a single thought, instantly reassemble it as before? From the moment this thought arose,he began a near-self-torturous, insane training session within the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors.
Initially, it was fraught with difficulties. Actively guiding the body to shatter meant fighting against the most primal life instinct— a protective desire for "integrity."
Each attempt was accompanied by a violent conflict between mind and body, as if his soul were being forcibly torn from his shell. The resistance and fear originating from the deepest recesses of his consciousness were far more intense and direct than when passively enduring pain.
Several times he failed due to the mental turmoil, even nearly suffering severe backlash.
But how resilient was Dongfang Jing's will? He failed, he tried again; he suppressed the backlash.
He devised a rigorous training plan for himself:in reality, he would meditate, steadily improving his soul power and physical fitness; within the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors, he would wholeheartedly comprehend and attempt to actively control the power of "Mirror Body Splitting Soul."
Two years of arduous training, uninterrupted through scorching summers and freezing winters.
At this moment, within the Hall of Ten Thousand Mirrors,Dongfang Jing stood as still as a pine tree, a confident smile slowly curving his lips.
He raised one hand to his chest, forming a hand seal—the next instant,his body, starting from his fingertips, instantly disintegrated into countless crystal-clear, sharp-edged yet subtly radiant shards of mirror!
These shards hovered where he had originally stood, trembling slightly.
If a gentle breeze were to blow at this moment,they would surely flutter lightly like falling ice crystal petals!
However, there was no breeze.
Only a moment later, all the shards were drawn together by an invisible force, suddenly converging inward! They were seamlessly pieced together and reshaped!
Dongfang Jing's figure reappeared clearly and unmistakably,his posture identical to before he dispersed.
The Mirror Body Splitting Soul technique had finally been accomplished!
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(End of this chapter)