Considering she did not have too long, she should make the best use of her time and fulfill what she came here to do. Sitting down in the Stellar Sky Foundation, she continued to cultivate her Mental Force.
Within her was the floating island that represented her cultivation, the grand mountain, and the flowing waterfall. Looking upwards and into the space of her mind was where her Mental Force resided, a colorless and calm sphere of energy.
She took her time growing it, merging together more and more heart and soul energy together. There were no changes on the outside of this sphere but within, its strength grew denser. Every day was like this, under the watchful eyes of Grand Researcher Ou, Ming Yue cultivated her Mental Force, essentially exhausting her heart and soul energy each day. Then she found that she could no longer pour more energy into this colorless sphere.
"So this is your limit... Not bad."
Grand Researcher Ou spoke, her voice echoed in Ming Yue's mind.
"This limit can be surpassed as you become more accustomed to using this power. Furthermore, it does require your mental fortitude to be at certain thresholds. For now, this much enough to use techniques."
Looking at Ming Yue, Grand Researcher Ou took out a few scrolls from her ring and handed them to her.
"These are the four basic techniques to utilizing your Mental Force. The first is illusions and what not, while the other three refer to mental attacks. Sending a sharp but condensed burst of Mental Force into your opponent's mind will disrupt their thoughts. A continuous stream could influence their thoughts and decisions without noticing. You could insert nightmares and hallucinations, drive a person mad."
The first three she handed to Ming Yue while the fourth one she still held.
"This one is more dangerous than the others as it will have a much worse backlash. By bringing out the full force of your Mental Force, you overwhelm your opponent's mind and potentially destroy it. However, success hinges on your mental fortitude, if you are the weaker one then your mind will be damaged or destroyed. Do you understand? This is meant to be a last resort."
Ming Yue nodded as she received the fourth scroll and began skimming over them.
"These scrolls contain the general method and can be altered to your preferences. You may choose to change them to fit your style but refer to the scrolls as you do this. There are some instructions relating to this"
Grand Researcher Ou gestured for Ming Yue to stand up as she activated some mechanism to the Stellar Sky Foundation. An illusory puppet formed, standing idly in the center of the room.
"This puppet here is used to mental techniques. A work of genius by Shen Zhong as this puppet will also simulate the general response to any technique."
She turned around and fed her Mental Force into the puppet. After a moment, the puppet looked around, walking one way before turning and walking another way. Then she sent a burst of it into the puppet, to which it froze in place as if forgetting what it was doing. Finally, a wave of energy came, washing over the puppet, who still its frozen state had suddenly dropped to the floor.
It did not move in the slightest. If it was a real person, they would have dropped dead right then and there.
"That is how each technique works in its essence. You can practice anytime you'd like."
She shut down the Stellar Sky Foundation afterward, the puppet turned into bits of light that disappeared.
"Do remember that the last technique will destroy a person's mind and that is something that cannot be recovered. No miracle pill or medicine can do it. The same goes for the user if they fail."
This warning was planted firmly in Ming Yue's mind. She nodded in understanding and left the Research District for the Craftsmen District where she entered the Forge of 81 Fires to work on her control over the new additions to her sword.
Other than these two goals, she spared no attention to anything else. It was two months, two months of bitter cultivation where she did nothing but eat, sleep, and train. Despite an invite from Zhi Qing to relax and check out the rest of the city, she did not accept it.
Ming Yue absorbed as much as she could, even going so far as to ask for access of the Dark Water Kingdom's library where she would gather reading material on Mental Force. There were few who had succeeded in this but those who did, left detailed accounts of their experience. Among those included accounts from Elder Shen and the Grand Researcher.
There was a small pile of books in her room which only grew as her studying extended past the scope of Mental Force.
Two months came by very quickly and soon, it was time for her to leave.
She said her farewells to the three elders in the Craftsmen District. The Long Siblings as well as the rest of the researchers. In those two months, they had achieved a lot with the Dragon Emperor Scales and were preparing their first attempt at fully replicating dragon energy. Perhaps the next time she came back, they would have successfully done it.
As she made her way to Grand Researcher Ou, she found her along with Zhi Qing within her private quarters, where the old woman quietly drank tea. Rather than an island on the sea, the scenery had changed to a simple cottage in the forest. Though Ming Yue was able to see through the illusion to a degree.
She bowed in respect and gratefulness to the Grand Researcher for helping her so much. In response to this gesture, the Grand Researcher smiled at her.
"You are Shen Zhong's disciple and he is a friend. This much should be expected of me."
She said as she raised her hand, signaling for Zhi Qing, who walked in front of Ming Yue before handing her a medallion.
"This item my disciple has given you is a gift from the higher-ups, including me. It is a reward for your hand in the expedition to the Ying Long Sea. They had concluded that without you, the expedition would not have obtained the items that it did. That brand Shen Zhong gave you is only temporary. This medallion here is for you so that you may enter the kingdom with ease."
Ming Yue held the medallion in her hands and studied it. Made from a dark blue piece of jade, it was small and rectangular in shape sporting a simple engraving of the words "Dark Water". Outlining those words was gold wire, inlaid and highlighting them.
"Thank you for this."
She thanked the Grand Researcher as well as saying goodbye to her and Zhi Qing. As she made her way through the capital city, she bought a bit of the food and some trinkets in the Market District. Feeding herself and her two pets as she reached to the teleportation circle, there was a guard who awaited her, masked and armed with a staff.
Pressing down on the teleportation circle, the scene changed around her as they entered an empty and familiar room. She bowed to the guard before exiting where she saw the illusionary barrier and the stone gate. She opened them and walked through where there was a single path through a clear field.
In one month, she would be back for the tournament. However, the journey itself was going to be dangerous. After all, if she wanted to make it, she had to go through a few hurdles. The first of which was the Merciless Storm Peak, it was also the deadliest. Surviving it the first time took a bit of luck and this time might require a bit more.