Douluo Continent: I can overdraft the future in advance

The next morning, Luo Yun woke up very early.

It was still dark outside, and the sky was a hazy gray. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind replaying the thought from the previous night.

Five years of overdraft.

This option had been there ever since he got the system, but he had never considered using it. A one-year cooldown was too long. He had just embarked on the path of cultivation, using up a year's worth of resources every three months for steady improvement—not fast, but reliable. If he overused the system for five years, he wouldn't be able to use it for the entire following year, and he would have to rely on himself for that entire year.

Relying on the cultivation speed of a third-level innate cultivator?

He had experienced that feeling before. When he first transmigrated, without a system or resources, he tried meditating on his own. After three days, his soul power remained completely stagnant. Later, he learned that this was the level of the third level of the Innate Realm—without external aids, relying solely on meditation, advancing one level in a year was considered fast.

Later, with the system, whale glue, and ice spirit grass, his cultivation speed gradually increased. Now, without overexerting himself, and with the help of herbs, his cultivation speed is roughly equivalent to the fifth level of the Innate Realm, or even close to the sixth level.

But it's only close.

Luo Yun sat up, leaned against the headboard, and continued to think.

If I were to truly overdraw my cultivation for five years, and then pour all the results of those five years' worth of training into me at once, how high would my soul power reach? Level 20? Level 25? Or even higher?

The price, however, is that he can't use the system for a year. During that year, he'll have to rely on himself. With his current physique and resources, he should be able to maintain a decent pace. Plus, with Master Fang's progress on the soul tool, even if his soul power progresses slowly, it can be explained away by his soul tool talent.

It seems... not bad?

He frowned, pondering repeatedly in his mind.

There are risks. A year isn't a long time, but it's not short either. If something happens during this period and you need to quickly improve your strength, but the system is still cooling down, that would be troublesome.

But if we don't overdraw our resources for five years, and proceed at the current pace, reaching level 20 by age twelve would be quite good. Level 20, plus a level two Soul Master—that's definitely enough for Shrek Academy, but how does it compare to those characters who stirred up a storm in the original story?

Without this cheat code, I might have wanted to just give up, since the original owner's talent, no matter what, couldn't affect those big shots.

But now, no matter what, I am a person with a system, and I have a system master. Do I still want to be an ordinary person? Do I still want to watch Tang Shenwang carry out his ten-thousand-year plan and finally take Douluo Continent into my pocket?

"No," Luo Yun muttered to himself, "It needs to be lifted up a bit more."

But how do we bring it up?

Given our current family circumstances, we've already reached our limit on medicinal herbs. The traditional Chinese medicine practitioner says that the effects of these herbs—such as century-old whale gelatin, ice-spirit grass, and ginseng—will gradually weaken with continued consumption, as the body's absorption has a limit. Overdrawing our system is one solution, but we also have to bear the risk of a year-long cooling down.

He leaned against the headboard, his gaze fixed on the gradually brightening sky outside the window.

And one more thing.

Even if you increase your soul power, what will you do with your second soul ring?

Having grown accustomed to being seen as a child prodigy, his goals gradually rose—if he wanted to be a genius, his second spirit ring should ideally be a thousand-year-old one. In the original story, Wang Dong's second spirit ring was indeed a thousand-year-old one, although that was due to his exceptional talent and wealthy family background. But even if he wasn't destined for that, he still had to strive in that direction.

A thousand-year spirit ring means one must withstand the energy impact of a thousand-year-old spirit beast. With his current physique, he should be able to withstand it for about eight hundred years. Two years later, even if he consumes a lot of medicinal herbs, it will probably still be difficult for him to withstand the energy impact of a thousand-year spirit ring.

I need to find a way to strengthen my body.

Luo Yun frowned and began to seriously consider the problem.

In the cultivation system of Douluo Continent, soul power circulates within the meridians, increasing the soul power level and strengthening the meridians. However, meridians are only one part of the body. What strengthens muscles, bones, and internal organs?

In his memory, there didn't seem to be any methods specifically designed for Soul Masters to train their bodies.

Although there are Soul Masters with strong physiques, they either possess a Martial Soul or a Martial Soul that can enhance their physical body, or they consume immortal herbs.

These were either impossible or unsuitable for Luo Yun, so he had to find a way himself.

He recalled the cultivation novels he had read in his previous life, which featured body refiners who specialized in tempering their bodies, making them invulnerable to swords and spears. It seemed that such a concept didn't exist in the Douluo Continent. Soul Masters improved their physique primarily through Soul Ring modifications and medicinal nourishment; there were no specific methods.

Can you figure one out yourself?

Luo Yun closed his eyes and carefully sensed the soul power flowing within his body.

Soul power circulates within the meridians, cleansing them with each cycle. Over time, the meridians become wider and more resilient. This is how soul power tempers the meridians.

What if we let the soul power leave the meridians and directly enter the muscles, bones, and internal organs?

Could it also have a similar effect?

He imagined his soul power overflowing from his meridians, seeping into the surrounding muscle tissue like water seeping into a sponge. If that were truly possible, wouldn't his muscles also be "washed" and "forged," becoming stronger and stronger?

Theoretically, it seems feasible.

The problem is that soul power naturally circulates within the meridians. He tried to forcibly push the soul power out of the meridians, but as soon as it left, the soul power dissipated and couldn't be condensed at all. It was like water leaving a riverbed and flowing directly into sand, instantly seeping away.

We need to find a solution.

Luo Yun frowned, his mind racing with various thoughts.

Meridians are like river channels, and soul power is like water. Water flows smoothly within a river channel, but disperses once it leaves. What if the river channel isn't wide enough, and the water overflows? Or, what if we artificially create "small channels" within the muscles to guide soul power along fixed paths?

Like... miniature meridians?

He suddenly opened his eyes.

Yes, miniaturized meridians.

The human body's meridians are a few fixed major channels. But if you could use your soul power to forcibly "carve" some extremely fine channels in the muscles, allowing your soul power to flow along these channels, wouldn't that be equivalent to guiding your soul power out?

This idea is so bold, it's even a bit crazy.

He had never seen anything like it mentioned in any book. Master Fang hadn't mentioned it, nor was it written in any of the books about spirit beasts at home. It was entirely his own idea.

But what if it works?

Luo Yun took a deep breath to suppress his excitement.

Even if it's feasible, it will take time. Creating a completely new cultivation method from scratch is not something that can be done overnight. He needs to test it on himself first, starting with the smallest possible scope and exploring it little by little.

It was already light outside the window.

Luo Yun got off the bed.

This can be thought about and tried gradually.

He stood by the window, watching the sun rise outside.

There are risks, but there are also rewards.

If I overdraw my resources for five years, my soul power can increase significantly. Combined with the body-refining methods I've developed, I might actually be able to withstand the second thousand-year soul ring when I'm twelve.

If you do nothing, you can only follow the established path, drift along in the middle, and leave the rest to fate.

Luo Yun pondered for a long time.