Chapter 268

Although this couldn’t provide any real training for tourists who only had a few days, it could at least give them a full experience. After leaving the Gravity Beach, you could adapt to different gravity levels more quickly.

It was worth mentioning that gravity systems weren’t difficult to set up; many Ability users with related abilities could do it. Needless to say, the gyms in the Ability World had them, and even Endless Ability Academy had a dedicated gravity training room.

This place was special only because natural fields were quite rare.

Speaking of which, they had never been to the academy’s gravity training room, as it required at least being a second-year to use. According to Meng Huai, this was because the bones of first-year students were still somewhat fragile. Rashly exposing them to excessive gravity could easily cause physical damage. The degree was difficult to control, so first-year students were exempt from this training.

However, experiencing it once in a while was fine, and besides, they were almost second-years. So, the three of them entered without any hesitation.

There were already some people on the beach. Wesi Sanctuary limited the number of visitors, but only to the extent that it wasn’t crowded and didn’t excessively consume the sanctuary’s resources. It wasn’t so sparse that they could enjoy an exclusive experience at every location.

There was a dedicated staff member here leading everyone in basic training. The three exchanged glances, went directly to the back of the line, and began exercising with the instructor.

These exercises, which they normally considered basic, felt completely different under the influence of the varied gravity. Various movements that were once easy now required a huge amount of stamina.

Stamina consumption wasn’t the biggest issue; the most important thing was the poor sense of balance. The different gravity rendered everyone’s adapted sense of balance completely ineffective. It was fine when standing still, but the difference was obvious once they started moving.

Even someone as physically fit as Su Bei felt very uncomfortable exercising under this gravity at first. But fortunately, his extremely strong fundamentals supported him, so he didn’t make a fool of himself.

However, the others weren’t as stable as him. Stumbling was considered good; people taking a big fall while training were a common sight. If only one person fell, they would feel embarrassed. But if everyone was performing like this, it was just amusing.

The instructor at the front was clearly prepared for this. He was highly professional, without a hint of a smile on his face, as if he hadn’t seen everyone’s predicament, and continued to lead the training with a straight face.

Su Bei now understood why he had heard continuous laughter from outside. They had happened to arrive during a rest period, so they hadn’t anticipated the difficulties they would face during training. Aside from Su Bei, both Feng Lan and Si Zhaohua looked a bit disheveled.

Compared to the others, they were actually doing quite well. Although they came later, they adapted quickly, only tripping occasionally during complex movements. Most of the time, they were able to follow the training step by step.

But for Si Zhaohua, these one or two blunders were already intolerable. After losing his footing again, he became unusually annoyed, “Isn’t there some trick to this?”

If moving freely in a gravity field could only be achieved through practice, wasn’t their training here a complete waste of time? In such a short period, even if they spent all five days soaked in the Gravity Beach, how much progress could they make?

Feng Lan pointed to Su Bei, who seemed to be adapting well. “Ask him.”

He himself was also stumbling about, but because he didn’t care as much about his image, he had been quietly falling without saying anything.

Unlike the two of them, Su Bei, after some initial stumbling, started moving very naturally, almost like the instructor in front. Although Su Bei was indeed far superior to them in physical arts, it was everyone’s first time experiencing a gravity field. It didn’t make sense for him to adapt so quickly, right?

Hearing his words, Si Zhaohua felt it made sense and turned to look at Su Bei, his intention obvious.

Su Bei wanted to shrug, but the motion of shrugging had become exceptionally difficult in the gravity field; he could even hear his shoulder blades creaking. He had no choice but to give up the action and answered concisely, “The effect is similar to wearing heavy weights all over your body.”

He often wore weights during training in the past, not just on his limbs but also on his chest. Overall, it was indeed similar to a gravity field. But a gravity field was obviously more convenient.

Although it had been a while since he had trained, his foundation was still there. After the initial moments, he quickly found the familiar feeling and adapted.

Of course, they couldn’t replicate Su Bei’s method in a short time. Si Zhaohua stood to the side, dejected. He wanted to leave, but on second thought, those who were falling even more spectacularly than him were still persisting. If he left so soon, wouldn’t it mean he was inferior to them?

That was unacceptable. How could he give up halfway? Gritting his teeth, Si Zhaohua continued to follow the instructor’s movements.

While training, Su Bei didn’t forget to observe the two of them. After watching Si Zhaohua’s entire internal struggle, he couldn’t help but let a smile show in his eyes. “Don’t want to continue? Shall we go?”

This place didn’t have much of a training effect on him. It was novel, yes. But he could experience the same thing at the academy or by spending some money at a gym outside. The only difference was that because this was a naturally formed gravity field, the gravity was very balanced, which was much better for the body than an artificially created one.

But regardless of the type of gravity field, it required long-term training to produce results. Therefore, Su Bei didn’t plan to waste time here. Seeing that Si Zhaohua didn’t want to stay either, it was best to leave as soon as possible.

So, his goal was to complete two activities a day, but that was a minimum, not a limit. After all, besides the ten activities on the map, there were also some publicly open areas, such as the library.

Su Bei had always been very interested in such places, not because he loved to read, but because by adjusting his luck a little, he could often find the knowledge he needed there.

He also planned to leave ample time to explore these public areas and couldn’t waste all his time experiencing various activities. Naturally, he wanted to be quick about it.

“Let’s go!” Si Zhaohua felt as if he had been given a pillow just as he was getting sleepy. He had just been wondering how to escape this godforsaken place.

But then he felt that his response had been too eager. He coughed awkwardly and said, trying to cover it up, “This Gravity Beach doesn’t provide any training effect for us anyway. It’s better not to waste time.”

Su Bei and Feng Lan tacitly saw through him but didn’t expose it. The three of them left the Gravity Beach together and continued on to other activities.

The first activity was completed quickly, but the second one was different from the first; it could genuinely increase Mental Energy. In Wesi Sanctuary, there was a banyan tree called the “Holy Spirit Banyan That Reaches the Sky.” Meditating and using one’s ability under the banyan tree with hands placed on the trunk could increase one’s Mental Energy.

The increase this tree could provide was limited. It wasn’t as if one could keep increasing their Mental Energy just by staying under the tree. That would be too overpowered; even Wesi Sanctuary couldn’t protect such a treasure.

But its advantage was that the increase in Mental Energy was percentage-based, not a fixed amount. That is, however much Mental Energy a meditator released under the tree, they could increase their own Mental Energy by an amount equal to 0.1% of the Mental Energy released.

0.1% might not sound like much, but it mainly depended on how much Mental Energy the user themselves had. For a possessor of Advanced Mental Energy like Su Bei, let alone 0.1%, even 0.01% was a very large number.

Feng Lan and Si Zhaohua didn’t plan to do this activity. Just looking at the project description, they knew it wasn’t something they should be doing now; doing it now would be a complete waste. Their Mental Energy was still far from its peak state. They would have to wait until at least after the age of 24 to be considered barely at their peak.

Of course, many people wouldn’t be so considerate. They might only get to visit Wesi Sanctuary once in their lifetime and had to do every activity they could. But Feng Lan and the other had confidence that this would definitely not be their last time here, so naturally, they didn’t need to be in such a hurry.

Unlike the two of them, Su Bei had to do it. He was already a possessor of Advanced Mental Energy, and it was extremely difficult for him to improve further on his own. Moreover, he hadn’t improved on his own but through the Manga Forum.

The Mental Energy gained through the Manga Forum itself had no drawbacks, but it was difficult to continue growing it. After all, he had no experience in this area and had no idea how to make his already-bottlenecked Mental Energy continue to grow.

This was also true for his ability research. Because he obtained his ability and various derivative abilities through the Manga Forum, Su Bei’s ability to create was much weaker than others. But he could continue to use the forum to change his ability, so he didn’t need to be anxious about that.

He could change his ability through the forum, but he couldn’t continue to change his Mental Energy through the forum. The currently known upper limit for Mental Energy in the Ability World was Advanced Mental Energy. He couldn’t just inexplicably tell his classmates that his Mental Energy had increased a lot again, could he?

Now that he had finally encountered a prime spot for increasing Mental Energy, and in a form that was very beneficial to him, Su Bei certainly couldn’t miss it.

When they arrived at the location, all three of them widened their eyes, staring blankly at the banyan tree. Even for them, who had seen the world, they couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration upon seeing this banyan tree.

What kind of tree was this? It was a tree that could be called a forest. Countless thick pillar roots looked like the trunks of individual trees, perfectly illustrating the meaning of “a single tree makes a forest.”

Looking up along the thick trunk, the huge, dense canopy blotted out the sun, filling their vision with a lush green color. They could hear countless birds chirping from a great distance, but they couldn’t see many birds. Apparently, most of the birds had made their homes inside the canopy, hidden among the leaves.

The roots below covered an area of over 200 square meters. Many of them protruded directly from the ground, thick and long, tangled and intertwined, making it easy to trip even when walking on them.

If it were only what was just described, it wouldn’t be that surprising. One could find many such banyan trees in a tropical rainforest. But what was truly shocking were the green light spots floating around the banyan tree.

Specks of light, large and small, floated around the banyan tree. Even during the day, it looked dreamlike, giving a fairy-tale-like visual experience. Su Bei couldn’t imagine how beautiful it would be on a lightless night.

At first glance, one might think those green light spots were fireflies, but upon getting closer, they discovered that there was nothing inside those light spots. Trying to catch them with a hand caught nothing; the light spot would just quietly dissipate and then reappear in another place.

The notice board had already explained it: these light spots were actually Mental Energy attached to the wood element, a tangible fusion. They were also the key to how the “Holy Spirit Banyan That Reaches the Sky” could increase an Ability user’s Mental Energy.

Several people were sitting under the banyan tree, all cross-legged with their eyes closed, their hands pressed against the tree. As they released their Mental Energy, they slowly attracted many green light spots. The light spots would merge into a single patch as they got closer, making them look as if their whole bodies were glowing green.

This sight would be comical if taken out of context, but in this setting, it faintly exuded a sense of sanctity. The “Holy Spirit Banyan That Reaches the Sky” truly lived up to its name.

However, the green light on some people was very bright, while on others, it was very faint. Su Bei guessed that the brightness of their glow was related to their Mental Energy.

And it was indeed so. The more Mental Energy released, the more green light was attracted. In the end, all this green light would be absorbed into the Ability user’s body, becoming a significant aid in expanding the user’s Mental Energy.

After a brief look to confirm what to do, Su Bei chose a spot that wasn’t uncomfortable, sat cross-legged under the banyan tree, and slowly released his Mental Energy. Now, he no longer needed to release his gears first to let his Mental Energy accompany them, as he did in the beginning.

He slowly released his Mental Energy externally, gradually emptying the Mental Energy within his body.

This kind of thing couldn’t be done in one go. If he exhausted his Mental Energy instantly, he would immediately fall into a coma. Not to mention whether he could properly receive the Mental Energy growth from the “Holy Spirit Banyan That Reaches the Sky” after falling unconscious, just the act of fainting in public was something Su Bei couldn’t accept.

Apparently, everyone had the same idea. Besides Su Bei, there were five or six adult men and women performing the same operation. Everyone was slowly releasing their Mental Energy, and the green light spots slowly being attracted around them faithfully recorded the speed of their Mental Energy release.

Seeing Su Bei, who was clearly not yet an adult, come in, one of the women couldn’t help but kindly advise, “Young man, have you carefully read the rules for the ‘Holy Spirit Banyan That Reaches the Sky’? The higher the Mental Energy, the greater the reward. A person only gets one chance in their lifetime. Why waste it now?”

“Thank you for the information.” Su Bei was always polite to the kindness of strangers. “Now is the best time for me.”

Perhaps in a few years, his Mental Energy would indeed have grown compared to now, but Su Bei was certain the amount of growth wouldn’t be much. In that case, rather than waiting until then, it was better for him to use the opportunity right now, which would also give him an extra bit of self-preservation ability in the dangers to come.

However, others didn’t know the inside story. The woman who advised him only thought Su Bei was being stubborn and hard-headed. She frowned slightly but didn’t say anything more. Some things only needed to be said once; good advice is lost on a stubborn fool.

She had a good temper, but there was a hot-tempered person next to her. A bald man complained loudly to his face, “I don’t know why the parents of such a brainless kid would send him to Wesi Sanctuary. Isn’t this just a terrible waste?”

Hearing this, Su Bei’s heart didn’t waver in the slightest; he even felt like laughing. “My parents are already deceased.”

The bald man: “…”

Feeling the unfriendly gazes from the entire area, his whole head turned bright red, as if an egg had turned into a soy-sauce egg. He opened his mouth for a long time before finally mumbling a soft apology, “Sorry…”

Now he only regretted why he couldn’t control his mouth just now. Look what happened, he directly poked someone’s scar. Cursing a parent in front of an orphan, he felt like he would have to sit up in the middle of the night and slap himself. Why was his mouth so cheap?

With such a lesson, the others immediately stopped talking. They all closed their eyes to meditate, pretending they hadn’t seen anything.

However, as time passed bit by bit, everyone noticed something was wrong—why hadn’t this blond teenager left yet!

It was clearly written on the notice board next to it: The growth provided by the “Holy Spirit Banyan That Reaches the Sky” did not count the mental power recovered midway. Therefore, no one would deliberately release their Mental Energy at a particularly slow pace, as that would have no effect other than wasting time. Everyone’s speed of releasing Mental Energy was about the same.

Most importantly, even if the speed of releasing Mental Energy could be faked, the green light around him couldn’t be. Right now, Su Bei was like a green light bulb, emitting a dazzling green light. These lights honestly reflected how vast his Mental Energy was.

It was a good thing Su Bei was handsome enough, so the overall look was still strange and wondrous. If he wasn’t so good-looking, the scene would be a bit comical.

According to their thinking, Su Bei should have run out of Mental Energy and left an hour ago. But he was still sitting there with composure, the green light growing more and more intense, while his face hadn’t paled much.

Of course, Su Bei’s face wouldn’t turn pale. The recovery speed of Advanced Mental Energy was extremely fast. As he released his Mental Energy, a continuous stream of it was also pouring into his body. Although it wasn’t as fast as the release, it did provide him with a considerable buffer.

However, to those who didn’t know him, this seemed rather unscientific.

How could he have so much Mental Energy? He didn’t even look seventeen or eighteen, yet he had more Mental Energy than them, who were almost thirty. Even a genius couldn’t be this absurd, right?

Si Zhaohua and Feng Lan were sitting on a bench outside, waiting. Listening to the gradually rising whispers nearby, Si Zhaohua also became interested, “How much longer do you think Su Bei can stay in there?”

“I don’t know.” Feng Lan shook his head honestly. “There’s no reference.”

That was true. Si Zhaohua didn’t delve deeper and took out a book from his Storage Ring to kill time.

“Do you know that blond boy?” Suddenly, a woman walked over. It was the same woman who had advised Su Bei earlier. She heard the conversation between the two just now, which piqued her curiosity.

Si Zhaohua and Feng Lan looked at her in unison, which made the woman freeze for a moment. Are kids these days all this good-looking? Three handsome guys in a row. If she weren’t so moral, she would have asked if she could sponsor them by now.

“We know him, we’re classmates.” Si Zhaohua had no intention of hiding this.

So they’re classmates, that makes it reasonable for them all to be so handsome… reasonable my foot! Are you guys attending an art school?

Forcibly suppressing the urge to complain in her heart, the woman continued to ask about what she was curious about before, “Is that blond boy’s Mental Energy very high? I see he’s been in there for a long time, and the green light around him is getting stronger and stronger.”

It had been another hour since she had come out, yet he still hadn’t left. This made her unable to control her curiosity.

Si Zhaohua nodded but didn’t say much, just answered concisely, “It’s quite high. you can ask him when he comes out.”

However, before Su Bei came out, something happened outside. The two staff members responsible for guarding this project, who were not far away, actually started fighting!

That’s right, it was the staff, not the tourists.

To prevent Ability users from causing trouble, Wesi Sanctuary had arranged for many Ability users to serve as guards for each project.

They had originally thought that the other staff members would break up the fight, but something even more unexpected happened. Not only did they not break up the fight, but they took sides, turning a two-person fight into a group brawl.

The onlookers: “…”

They were all dumbfounded. The woman standing next to Si Zhaohua watched in disbelief for a while before turning her head to ask in an uncertain voice, “Is this some kind of performance?”

Clearly, it wasn’t a performance. They were completely fighting with real weapons and abilities.

Seeing that this group’s abilities were about to affect the surrounding tourists, the tourists immediately scattered and fled, no longer bothering to watch the drama, and all moved away from this place of conflict.

One must know that the Ability users assigned by Wesi Sanctuary to guard the projects must be very strong. Their fights were very destructive, and when many people fought, they could easily lose their reason. It would be bad if they were accidentally injured.

“Should we go and break it up?” someone in the crowd asked.

Those who could travel to Wesi Sanctuary were either high-ranking and powerful or exceptionally strong. The high-ranking and powerful had already fled. Those who remained were all confident in their own strength and not afraid of being affected, so they naturally had the courage to break up the fight.

Another person shook their head and refused, “I don’t think so, this feels like an internal matter of Wesi Sanctuary…”

It’s normal for two guards to fight. Who hasn’t had an argument and acted impulsively? But for it to escalate into a two-group brawl immediately after they started fighting was very abnormal. If those two had lost their minds, did the other guards around them also lose their minds? How could they fight with them?

This could only mean that this group had long-standing grudges, which just happened to erupt at this time.

Since it was their old grudge, it was not appropriate for outsiders to interfere. They might end up doing a good deed with bad consequences, not only failing to break up the fight but also earning resentment.

What he said also made sense. For a moment, those who had been eager to mediate all fell silent. Who in their right mind would do something risky with no benefits?

“I suggest you go,” suddenly, a slightly playful voice sounded from behind the crowd.

Hearing the familiar voice, Si Zhaohua and Feng Lan turned their heads in pleasant surprise, “Su Bei! Are you done?”

Su Bei nodded with a smile. Facing the puzzled expressions of the others, he continued with the previous topic, “You also said that this is their internal matter at Wesi Sanctuary. And if an internal matter affects us tourists, what kind of compensation can we receive? If we ‘kindly’ intervene in their dispute and prevent greater losses, what kind of compensation can we receive then?”