Bai Jingshen was never fully content with his fighting style. Using his White Illusion Arts as a foundation was an obvious choice for him, but other then that his fighting system never really felt fleshed out. Ever since he discovered a sword immortal's legacy in the Great Cultivation World, he tended to trap his enemies in illusions, before destroying them with sword attacks.
However, even as an emperor he felt his father's distaste with his fighting style. Admittedly, Bai Wang's mastery of the White Illusion Arts always seemed out of his son's reach. Somehow Bai Jingshen got the feeling that the White Illusion Arts should be stronger than the legacy he found.
Thinking back to his fighting style in the Great Cultivation World, he slowly realized that he didn't earn the title of White Illusion Emperor at all. Suddenly, the White Illusion Art circulated by itself. For just the shortest moment, Bai Jingshen felt himself turn slightly illusionary, while grasping a vague insight. He seemed to perceive the endless possibilities the White Illusion Arts were somehow hiding from him previously.
Bai Jingshen grabbed at the air in front of him. He felt the boundaries between illusion and reality turning blurry. At this point he understood, that if his will was strong enough, and his understanding deep enough, he could put an illusion on anything, even the very laws of this world itself. If even the laws couldn't differentiate between real and illusionary, how would all living beings fare any better. Wasn't this basically creation?
As an experienced cultivator Bai Jingshen quickly realized, that the state he was in would be damaging to his mind if he kept it up. He might constantly try to chase after this feeling again and might even develop mental demons, if he paused on this path for even a second. Bai Jingshen quickly used all of his concentration, in order to end this dangerous train of thought. To his surprise, even his core energy got roused and a jolt ran through his body, as it forcefully stopped the White Illusion Arts from circling any longer.
As a consequence, Bai Jingshen suddenly spat out blood, while falling to the ground.
A good five minutes later a low growl could be heard. Bai Jingshen began to inspect his body and was only relieved after he felt nothing amiss.
What just happened? So dangerous…
Bai Jingshen slowly stood up again and asked General Mao, if there was a way to quickly clean his blood.
The AI didn't disappoint, as a hole in the ceiling quickly sprayed water on the bloodied spot. Bai Jingshen was sure the liquid didn't only consist of water however, as it brought a lot of foam with it. Shortly after, a strong wind came from the slightly bent wall, sucking all the water outside. In only a few seconds the floor was spotless again. Bai Jingshen even realized, that neither the blood nor any water was able to sicker into the floor.
Going through this weird intermezzo sill held a lot of importance for bai Jingshen. He was steadfast in his decision now, to discover his own fighting style with the White Illusion Arts as its core. In retrospect he was led astray after he found the sword immortal's legacy and didn't take one short but important sentence in the White Illusion Art's introduction to heart:
Every Weapon could be your pencil.
Therefore, he knew what he wanted to do from now on. As someone cultivating for a second time, if trivial problems in his cultivation could stomp him, he should just give up and live in the mountains as a hermit. Things like how to achieve a perfect breakthrough and how to keep a perfect mental state shouldn't prove difficult to him anymore.
For this reason, Bai Jingshen decided to dedicate this time to become proficient in all weapons. He didn't have the desire to be a grandmaster in all of them, but he wanted to always be able to catch his opponent off guard. On top of that, the more he knew about the movements of different weapon users, the better he could simulate them in his illusions.
Having come to a firm decision, Bai Jingshen spoke out loud:
"General Mao, show me everything this training room has to offer!"
Following Bai Jingshens words, a 3D projection of this training room appeared, floating above his bracelet. Taking a closer look, he was surprised by how much this room was actually hiding.
All sort of training tools were hidden behind the walls. Almost any weapon one could think of would be provided for the user, even some weapons Bai Jingshen had never seen before. They obviously belonged exclusively to the Rising Force World. He also realized, why he saw people training outside the first time he came to the training center. According to General Mao, the bent wall could be retracted, allowing Bai Jingshen to step outside.
Even a massage table and a hot tub for relaxation after training could be produced.
For now, Bai Jingshen however was most interested in the training robots. They looked like sturdy training partners, able to simulate all kinds of enemies after being controlled by the AI.
After telling Mao to ready a training robot loaded with proficiency in all kinds of weapons and provide said weapons for the both of them, Bai Jingshen finally began treading his new path.
With a suitable training partner, Bai Jingshen tossed his robe on the couch before picking out a weapon. On a whim he took a massive spear, which could crush opponents with its pure weight. He positioned himself in the training room's center opposite the robot emerging from the ground and told his AI to start.
Bai Jingshen's face turned serious. He took on an aggressive attacking posture. This time he didn't wait for his opponent to make the first move. With a low shout, he raised his spear up and brought it down on the robot's head… and he was defeated in a few exchanges.
F*ck! I didn't realize that telling the AI to be proficient in all weapons would make it an inhuman monster. I thought it was alright since I choose a robot suitable for the Body Refinement Realm, but this is simply inhuman. Most people would have to be at the Nascent Soul Realm to switch weapons this easily. It feels like multiple thought processes are going on at the same time in that metal puppet's head. Still, I couldn't wish for a better training partner. Like this my proficiency will increase rapidly and I will even get used to my Sea Of Consciousness faster.
With these thoughts Bai Jingshen stood up again. Over the next few days, Bai Jingshen stayed holed up in his training room, receiving the beating of a lifetime. He couldn't be more exited though, as he felt himself improving day by day. In fact as a cultivator such single minded training was something Bai Jingshen longed for. This room provided everything he needed. He had food, water, and a strong opponent.
Almost a week later, Bai Jingshen was suddenly awakened out of his focused training state by General Mao's voice:
"You have visitors, Lord Bai."
"Huh, who would visit me? Is it Bennet?"
"Yes. Together with Miss Kayleen Hunt and Mister Thomas Imal."
"Well, let them in."
Kayleen was a bit annoyed right now. After she found Bai Jingshen that day, she was just a bit curious, so she went to New Haven Academy's library. She hoped to find out which language Bai Jingshen spoke but came up with nothing. However, as she was studying in the library a few friends saw her, asking her what she was doing. Not trying to hide anything, Kayleen simply told them what happened.
In her friends mind's however, somehow a romance story ensued. This spawned a rumor of Kayleen finding love at first sight, and now searching for information to help her lover out of his predicament. Kayleen didn't mind it to much at first and the rumor quickly died down. Who could have guessed that a few days later Thomas Imal would show up.
Thomas was two years older than Kayleen. He was an outstanding medical student, who even found an alchemist's legacy in the New World. Right now, he was working on integrating those alchemy techniques in the medical practices he learned at New Haven Academy. If he succeeded, Thomas had a good chance of becoming a one star scholar. Such a young scholar had unlimited prospects. He could freely chose his employer and could have thousands of girls.
Unfortunately, this young man was already enamored with a junior siter of his, Kyleen Hunt. The both of them already knew each other before coming to New Haven Academy. Ever since Thomas' father, a renowned doctor, healed Kayleen's father a few years back, the two kids became good friends.
This time, Thomas came back from the New World in high spirits. He managed to become a guard for the newcomers, who would be sent into the New World this time. On top of that he succeeded in getting Kayleen in his group. One could only imagine how betrayed he felt, when he heard about Kayleen's rumored lover.
Kayleen quickly found it strange, how Thomas didn't come to see her this time, so she sought him out. After talking to Thomas for a bit, she picked up on his seemingly dejected feelings. It took her a while to convince Thomas, but in the end the young man opened up to her. Kayleen was elated when she realized how much Thomas liked her. She reassured him, that she obviously didn't have any lover.
In fact, she hoped Bai Jingshen would visit her soon to thank her. Bai Jingshen could the tell Thomas about his situation and all would be sorted out. Afterwards Kayleen and Thomas would even be boyfriend and girlfriend. Who would have thought that this shameless idiot wouldn't visit her even once. Kayleen even found Bennet and learned how Bai Jingshen hadn't left his training room in three weeks.
Therefore, since Kayleen and Thomas finally both had some free time, she decided to see what Bai Jingshen was up to.