Next, Xu Yang picked up the book The Enhancement of Cultivation through Martial Spirit Fusion Skills.
This book documented that when individuals with Martial Spirit Fusion Skills cultivated together, their soul power could circulate and transition between each other, resulting in a 10% increase in cultivation speed. It also contained a wealth of supporting data.
The theory had proven viable, but unfortunately, Martial Spirit capable of forming Martial Spirit Fusion Skills were extremely rare. Moreover, they required the Soul Masters involved to be spiritually in tune, which made it even rarer.
"It's theoretically achievable, but mastering a Martial Spirit Fusion Skill is just too difficult!"
Tossing the book back to Qian Renxue, Xu Yang picked up the last book—Visualization Method.
Contrary to what one might expect, this book did not contain visualization diagrams, but rather a theoretical explanation of how to use visualization as a form of meditation. It was purely conceptual, merely an idea proposed by one Soul Master.
It seemed even less reliable than the earlier book How to Accelerate Cultivation.
Yet, Xu Yang found himself deeply immersed, contemplating the potential of this training method.
"I've read that book," Qian Renxue said kindly upon seeing Xu Yang reading it. "The concept is great, but in practice, it's nearly impossible to execute."
"I know. I'm just having a look," Xu Yang replied without even lifting his head.
As a transmigrator, Xu Yang clearly understood that visualization cultivation was not just feasible—it was well-known across his past world. In both Taoist and Buddhist traditions, and even in the West, similar methods existed. The only thing he was uncertain about was how its cultivation speed compared to conventional meditation.
Whoosh!
The Sun Martial Spirit instantly manifested, floating before Xu Yang.
Following the book's theory, Xu Yang began repeatedly visualizing the form of his Sun Martial Spirit in his mind—its appearance, its essence, its feel. He traced it again and again, refining the mental image.
Qian Renxue stared in awe at the radiant golden sun before her, a deep yearning rising in her heart.
This... this is what I'm missing.
The temperature in the private study room steadily rose, but Qian Renxue didn't mind. She was too focused on the changes within her own soul power. She was shocked to discover that under the Sun Martial Spirit radiance, her cultivation speed had increased significantly—far exceeding anything she had experienced in even the most advanced mimicry environments.
More than ten minutes passed. Besides a heightened sense of inner calm, there were no other effects.
"No wonder it remained just a theory—no one followed up on it. With an already perfected meditation system, who would bother investing so much effort in something like this?"
A bit disappointed, Xu Yang exited the visualization state, retrieved his Martial Spirit, and began to reflect.
He now understood why the method was left unstudied. But as he recalled the sensations from earlier, he realized something:
While this method couldn't match traditional meditation in boosting soul power—and in fact, didn't enhance it at all—it was noticeably more effective at strengthening spiritual power.
Even if it lagged behind meditation for now, as visualization deepened, its effects would become more pronounced.
In other words, it had immense potential.
"Well? Disappointed?" Qian Renxue teased with a light smile as she saw Xu Yang open his eyes.
"It's fine. It has some use, just not much," Xu Yang exhaled, trying to calm his scattered emotions.
"Then Senior Brother, I'll go check if there are any books I need from this library. Let's talk again later!"
"I'll go with you."
Seeing that Xu Yang also planned to head into the main library, Qian Renxue stood up to join him.
Helpless, Xu Yang could only let her tag along. The two walking together drew plenty of attention—after all, Xue Qinghe, Qian Renxue's disguise, was the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Very few in the entire Heaven Dou Imperial Academy would dare walk alongside him so casually.
Xu Yang ignored the stares and dove straight into the library stacks. He browsed from shelf to shelf, occasionally pulling out books that caught his interest. If they turned out to be useless, he put them back; useful ones were temporarily stored in his storage-type Soul Tool.
Most books were introductions to soul beasts, and he even discovered a copy of Records of Exotic Beasts, which included ancient species such as the Ten-Headed Fiery Yang Serpent, the Double-Eyed Bright Bird, and the Godly Taotie Bull.
Soon, Xu Yang reached the herbology section and began meticulously searching—he even flipped through various travel logs, hoping to find any information about immortal herbs.
—
Two hours later...
Qian Renxue was visibly irritated. This infuriating guy had been digging through herbal books for two hours straight, ignoring her completely.
"Senior Brother, what exactly are you looking for? Do you want some help from your Junior Brother?"
"No need."
Xu Yang refused without hesitation.
He was absolutely not going to risk revealing anything about immortal herbs right now. If Qian Renxue found out even a little, he might lose his chance at harvesting anything from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"Fine then! Search on your own!"
Qian Renxue snorted coldly and stormed off. She wasn't like Xu Yang—she had official duties as a prince and didn't have the luxury to dawdle around all day. However, before leaving, she instructed She Long to secretly monitor Xu Yang and find out what he was up to.
After she left, Xu Yang continued combing through the herbology books, determined to find more references to immortal herbs.
Sure enough, his efforts paid off:
On a dust-covered bookshelf, he finally found scattered records of the very herbs he had been searching for.
They included several rare and invaluable herbs, such as:
Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower
Cinnabar Lotus
Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum
Snow-colored Swan Kiss
Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone
Aromatic Silk Beauty Immortal Herb
...and a few other immortal-grade medicinal plants.
Xu Yang brought the books back to his private room and began copying the relevant information by hand.
After transcribing everything, he returned the books to their original places, cleaned up, and headed to the cafeteria for dinner.
In the afternoon, he returned to the library to browse for any other interesting books.
Unfortunately, he didn't find anything worthwhile.
Looking up at the sky—now growing dim—Xu Yang decided it was time to leave the library.
I should finally check out my dormitory.
After enrolling earlier, he had gone straight to class, then skipped class to read. He hadn't seen his dorm yet.
—
Heaven Class Dormitory Area
Standing before the opulent dormitory building, Xu Yang could only sigh in amazement.
There were only three floors, each with six rooms—three on each side—with incredibly spacious layouts.
Following the wall instructions, Xu Yang made his way to Room 103.
Using the key to open the door, he stepped into a luxurious living room outfitted with exquisite furniture.
There was a study, a dining area, a bedroom, and even a high-end bathroom—everything was provided.
"This isn't school—this is a vacation resort!"
Of course, Xu Yang had misunderstood. Not all dorms at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy were like this.
There were more modest options—but even those were far superior to other academies.
Xu Yang had been assigned this luxury suite due to his background, though he wouldn't find that out until later.
After taking a shower, Xu Yang stepped out onto the balcony, summoned his Martial Spirit, and split it into eight fragments to begin cultivation.
"According to modern science from my past life, all the stars in the sky are essentially distant suns. Even moonlight is just sunlight reflected.
There's no reason I shouldn't be able to absorb their power!"
Of course, this was merely an experimental attempt—for now, there were no observable effects.