As soon as he stepped inside the plant-cultivation room, Tang Wulin almost tripped.

  How is this a room? This is already an entire forest! A dense thicket of trees surrounded him. There were no paths discernable, nothing but towering trees that stretched toward the skies. The air pulsed with vitality, a single breath enough to fill him with vigor. His ears caught the distinct melody of bird songs. The whole experience almost surreal.

  This place reminds me of somewhere else…… Tang Wulin gasped. Right! The spirit ascension platform! The platform is modelled after the Great Star Dou Forest, so if they’re so similar, does that mean this place modelled after it too? But the life energy is a lot thicker here. And the plants are more lush. Wow. Shrek Academy’s cultivation space is nothing compared to this. This place has three times the energy density! I can cultivate way faster here!

  Mindful of his limited time, Tang Wulin immediately sat down cross-legged and began to meditate. His eyes closed, he sent his senses outward, entangling with the life energy around him. Then he absorbed the energy, fully descending into a deep meditative state.

  Time flew by. Tang Wulin finally stirred awake at a faint disturbance. When he opened his eyes, he was astonished to find himself back in the corridor of rooms. The portal of light was right before him.

  So my time is up? Tang Wulin understood immediately.

  He felt invigorated after his cultivation session and was happy with his progress. His soul power had grown twice as much as in a night in the campus cultivation spaces. His blood essence had grown purer and stronger as well. Is this the effect of bathing in life energy? Amazing! That place is great! As expected of the Tang Sect! They’re just as great as the Spirit Pagoda!

  Stepping through the portal, Tang Wulin experienced another bout of vertigo before arriving outside the bronze door.

  Guo Xiaoxu was there waiting for him, welcoming him back with a warm smile. “How do you feel?”


  “Amazing! I can cultivate so quickly in there! If I could cultivate in that plant-type room every day, I’m absolutely certain I’ll reach rank 40 within a year.”


  A chuckle escaped Guo Xiaoxu. “Actually, it’s a bit of a waste to use your time in there cultivating.”


  “A waste? How come?” Tang Wulin asked.

  “Just follow me and you’ll find out,” Guo Xiaoxu said, making for the exit. The doors of the Tang Sect had shut behind them, the evening sky looming above.

  “Huh? It’s not morning yet? I guess I didn’t cultivate a full twelve hours?” Tang Wulin looked around in confusion.

  Guo Xiaoxu shook his head. “No. You did in fact cultivate for a full twelve hours. But only one hour has passed here in the outside world.”


  Tang Wulin staggered.

  “The Battle Hall’s pocket space isn’t just seperated from the rest of the world,” continued Guo Xiaoxu. “Time passes quicker in there than outside, about twelve times faster. So for every twelve hours you spend in there, only one hour passes out here. Couldn’t you use this time to hone your combat skills? Perhaps go blacksmithing? There are all sorts of things you could spend that time on. So don’t focus so much on cultivation next time. That’s a bit of a waste.”


  Tang Wulin struggled to overcome his shock throughout Guo Xiaoxu’s lecture. W-what? Time flows differently? Twelve times as quickly? How is that even possible? There’s so much I can accomplish if I use those rooms often! His heart raced, imagination running wild.

  “Hall Master, doesn’t that mean if I cultivated in a pocket space for one year, it would be equivalent to cultivating for twelve years?”


  Guo Xiaoxu smiled wryly and shook his head. “You shouldn’t think of it like that. If you stay in there too long, your life energies will become attuned with the quickened time flow. And the change will become irreversible. Once you finally leave the space, you’ll age twelve times quicker too. After a lot of testing, we’ve found that for the best results, the first session should be twelve hours long. After that, you can enter once a week for twelve hour sessions. That way, your life energies will stay attuned to the outside world’s timeflow.”


  Tang Wulin sighed. “I guess I was expecting too much. If you could spend as much time as you want in there, that would defy the laws of the world too much.”


  Amusement lit up in Guo Xiaoxu’s eyes. “Kids at your age have too much on your plates and not enough time to clear it all. The benefit of the Battle Hall is an extra eleven hours a week in the best cultivation environment on the continent. Make sure you come every week and spend your time doing something important.”


  “These benefits are amazing.” Tang Wulin smiled gleefully. “I never expected the Tang Sect to have such advanced space-time technology.”


  “Don’t let all this get to your head. In order to become strong, you must rely on your own efforts and not on others. Your path of cultivation is excellent so far, but I can’t comment about your bloodline’s growth since something like that has never appeared in all of Douluo history. You’ll have to be careful about it. If you ever have anything you’re not sure about, I encourage you to come ask me.”


  “Yes! Thank you, Hall Master!” Tang Wulin said, bowing his head.

  “Remember to keep it a secret that you’ve become a Battle Hall agent and don’t worry about completing a mission for now. You can hold off on that until the vacation at the end of your academic year. Now carry on. I’m sure you have a lot to do. You can come back next week.”


  “Understood!”


  If there was a word to describe Tang Wulin at this moment, it would be overjoyed. He now had an extra eleven hours each week in a wonderful cultivation environment. This couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Lately, he had felt pressed for time, left struggling to balance his schedule, especially with the addition of mecha piloting practice to his long list of responsibilities.

  Mecha piloting was heavily reliant on skill and technique and required a large time investment for proficiency. Tang Wulin had been at a loss originally as to how he would fit in piloting practice outside of class with his already busy schedule. Combat practice, blacksmithing, and cultivation were all too important to be sidelined. But now, with an extra eleven hours per week, he could fit everything in. He could practice piloting, blacksmithing, or combat training in the Battle Hall, depending on which he felt like.

  The Hall of Heroes had left a deep impression on Tang Wulin. The oppressive might of the replicated historical figures was awe inspiring, and he had been able to sense chasm between their strength. The Battle Hall was just too great of a boon for him.

  Once Tang Wulin left the Battle Hall, he returned to his busy life, working hard to learn and grow as fast as possible alongside his classmates in the first grade.

  Although it was Wu Zhangkong’s first time teaching at Shrek Academy, Shen Yi had left all teaching responsibilities to him. The students were much more diligent compared to when she had led the class, so she needn’t get involved. Watching their growth though the days brought a smile to her lips.