ã€ŠCultivation Online [A VR Xianxia Adventure]ã€‹


 Chapter 01 - The Game Begins

    Cultivation Online

    With a flash of pale-blue light, my surroundings changed. Darkness morphed into colours, which in return turned into a variety of shapes.

    Suddenly, I was no longer in my bed; I was standing in a large plaza, wearing a surprisingly scratchy grayish-white tunic and a pair of brown cloth pants which offered little to no protection.

    My outfit was obviously not rare since every other person standing on the plaza alongside me wore the same thing. Even the girls did.

    ¡°Wow, look at the graphics!¡± A nearby man said, waving his hand around in front of him.

    ¡°Bro, did you feel that? Did you feel the breeze just now?¡± Another young man said, excitedly caressing his cheek.

    Similar phenomena were occurring all over the plaza as new players struggled to acclimatize to the most technologically advanced VR game of the century.

    ¡°It''s like another world.¡± I thought as I looked up at the sky, where I saw three birds with four wings flapping away in the distance.

    I really was in a fantasy world.

    Deciding to move on before the starting plaza became too crowded, I walked in the first direction that struck my fancy.

    On the way, I disturbingly took note of the fact that the NPCs working in the background had no indicators differentiating them from players. Consequently, one wouldn''t be able to tell if someone was a player based on their appearance alone.

    A red-eyed teenager with unnaturally crimson hair ran past me in excitement.

    ¡°Okay¡­ maybe I was wrong.¡± If all players had designed their characters as flamboyantly as that guy, it would be easy to distinguish them.

    Just as I was about to exit the plaza, however, a notice board filled with fliers grabbed my attention.

    Joining the small crowd in front of it, I read the notices.

    ¡°The guards are employing new trainees huh, that¡¯s sure to attract some attention.¡±

    The next piece of paper had a cat drawn on it.

    ¡°Someone''s lost their cat and is looking for it.¡± I smiled as I recalled the similar notice I''d recently seen in the real world. ¡°This smells like a quest.¡±

    In fact, the majority of the numerous fliers on the board contained information about a variety of different tasks and potential occupations.

    Yet, the notice that grabbed my attention was naturally the largest one, with an ornate crest of a white tiger embellished on it.

    ¡°The White Tiger Sect is recruiting new disciples.¡± I read slowly. ¡°Age requirement: between the ages of thirteen to eighteen.¡±

    Suddenly, I understood why the character customization had insisted on creating a teenager.

    It was so we would be eligible to join sects.

    Shaking my head I memorized the time and place for the recruitment and moved on.

    Even without excited players clamoring around, I reckoned that the city would still have been bustling with activity. Now, with the flurry of players running around, the streets were nearly impossible to traverse.

    Initially, it had been a novel experience, but the longer it took for me to get anywhere, the more annoyed I got.

    And I wasn''t the only one.

    Three times I had already witnessed angry NPC guards apprehend mischievous players. Some of whom were behaving very childishly.

    ¡°At least they act their current age.¡± I smiled to myself. I reckoned I was a lot older than the majority of these players, heck, I even had children of my own playing somewhere in this virtual world.

    Reminded of my children I awkwardly opened my friend tab.

    ¡°There doesn''t seem to be a way to send friend requests without being physically present¡­¡± I noted to myself. ¡°I guess I will have to talk to them later and ask where they wound up.¡±

    According to the guide who''d helped me with the character customization, players were spawned according to their real life location. And since I lived in a different country, it was probably safe to conclude that my children would be far away at the moment.

    Finally, I reached the city¡¯s outer gate. Even here, players were scurrying around, probably looking for lost treasures and hidden quests.

    As far as I could tell, Cultivation Online was a hyper realistic VR game. There were no actual quests or classes, instead, one progressed by cultivating a mystical energy called qi.

    As someone intimately familiar with the Wuxia/Xianxia genre, I was incredibly excited about the prospect of cultivating, defying heaven, and grasping immortality. I dare say more so than my children, who were more interested in the adventure that the new online game heralded.

    Even if it was all in the VR world.

    Naturally, first on my priority list was learning how to cultivate. The urge to sit down in the lotus position and blindly grasp in the dark was strong, but I reckoned that even if I somehow managed to create my own cultivation method (which I strongly doubted) the quality wouldn''t compare to a cultivation method taught by an established sect.

    And so far, I''d only heard of the White Tiger Sect. A prestigious name, at least from a Xianxia perspective.

    The new recruitment would occur in a remote village called Durnatel, located two days away from the starting city of Easton.

    ¡°But which way do I go¡­¡± Opening my inventory, all I found was a stale piece of bread and 10 copper coins. The value of which I didn''t know, but I reckoned it was low.

    Approaching one of the more angry-looking guards standing by the gate, I balled my fists in greeting like I had seen other NPCs do to people of repute.

    ¡°Excuse me sir guard, would you be so kind as to give me directions to Durnatel?¡± I asked, figuring it wouldn''t hurt to show a bit of humility.

    The guard scoffed in response.

    ¡°Another lad with a deathwish?¡± The guard clicked his tongue in irritation. ¡°Be gone with you, not any street rat can become a cultivator.¡±

    Opening my inventory, I stealthily flaunted a pair of copper coins, betting on the nature of human greed.

    Again, the guard scoffed in response, but he took the coins nonetheless.

    ¡°It''s your life.¡± He shook his head in disapproval before continuing. ¡°Go to the eastern gate. There you should find a caravan headed for Durnatel. Look for a merchant called Quan Zan. Tell him Guard Yang sent you. Now be gone.¡±

    I didn''t forget to ball my fists in gratitude before I left, two copper coins poorer.

    As soon as I went away, two other players rushed the irritated guard who I had just left behind.

    ¡­

    Finding the eastern gate took some effort, but thankfully I found a nice old grandma who didn''t mind giving me directions for free. When she heard I was heading to Durnatel, all she asked for in return was for me to keep an eye out for a young lad called Ye Feng. Apparently, her grandson was also aspiring to become a cultivator.

    Offering her my heartfelt gratitude, I naturally promised to do so.

    To my surprise, the eastern gate was a lot more bustling than the southern one. Not only were there more players here, but several caravans were either entering or leaving the city, bringing people and goods with them.

    After asking around for a bit, I eventually found the caravan with a merchant named Quan Zan in it.

    ¡°Greetings Quan Zan, Guard Yang told me to approach you for passage to Durnatel.¡± I said, balling my fists in greeting. The gesture had worked for me so far, and until it didn''t, I figured it was as good as any.

    ¡°That miserable old guard did?¡± Quan Zan looked me over with a pair of bushy, raised eyebrows. ¡°What a surprise, you must have left quite the impression on the old geezer if he sent you to me.¡±

    Hearing the merchant¡¯s words, I looked back on the encounter I had had with the guard and the two copper I had handed him for the information.

    ¡°I definitely didn''t leave any sort of impression.¡± Nevertheless, it would be a blunder to correct the merchant''s misconception since it suited my current objective nicely.

    ¡°I heard your caravan is heading for Durnatel; I''m willing to serve as a guard if you let me accompany you.¡±

    The merchant looked at my arms with a raised eyebrow.

    ¡°You know how to use a sword?¡± He asked.

    Remembering all the years I had spent learning kendo in my youth, I nodded.

    ¡°I''m decent.¡± I said.

    The merchant responded with an amused smile; he didn''t seem to believe me.

    ¡°Since you''re recommended by old Yang, it would be foolish of me not to humour your request. Fine, you will join our caravan as a guard, but know that there will be no reimbursement unless you prove yourself useful. Is that clear lad?¡±

    Nodding my head I balled my fists in gratitude.

    ¡°Good." Quan Zan looked at the rest of the bustling caravan. ¡°We will leave in two more hours, and we won''t wait for you if you''re not here by then.¡±

    ¡°I won''t miss it.¡± I promised easily. It wasn''t like I had anything else to do.

    Quan Zan dismissed me with a nod.

    After looking around for a bit, I eventually found a nice, secluded shade from which I could observe the happenings of the gate.

    I still couldn''t get over how lifelike the game was. The NPCs acted incredibly naturally and behaved indistinguishably compared to real humans.

    Treating them like mindless NPCs would definitely be a blunder.

    Suddenly, a group of players ran past me, heading for the gate.

    ¡°A guild?¡± I smiled as I remembered all the time I spent with my old gaming buddies. As I grew older, more and more real-life responsibilities meant that I didn''t have as much time to play videogames anymore.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°I wonder if they are also playing CO.¡± I thought to myself. Maybe I should try reconnecting with them?

    Nibbling on the bread in my inventory, I realized I actually did have tasks to complete before I headed off.

    And so, with eight whole copper coins to my name, I searched for a place to procure some provisions.

    ¡­

    After a lot of haggling I was left with a measly two copper coins. In exchange, however, I had procured three loaves of stale bread, and a second-hand waterskin with crisp water sloshing around in it.

    Looking at my inventory, I nodded satisfactorily. It wasn''t much, but if rationed properly, it would get me to Durnatel.

    I hope.

    With a bit less than an hour left until the caravan left, I decided to quickly logout and catch-up on some real life chores.

    After a visit to the bathroom, a cheese-and-ham sandwich, and some text messages to my children, I was ready to log in again.

    Disappearing from my quiet one-bedroom apartment, I reappeared in the bustling street of Easton.

    When he noticed me, Quan Zan greeted me with a nod before returning to the conversation he had with two other men, probably merchants.

    When the horse-led carriages began rattling and moving, I couldn''t help but to feel a childish sense of wonder course through me.

    ¡°Amazing.¡± I smiled as I walked alongside one of Quan Zan¡¯s wagons.

    Outside the gates, multiple wide-open fields with some form of grain growing in them stretched into the distance. With a clear blue sky blanketing the city and its surroundings, it truly seemed like I had traveled back in time.

    Now that we were leaving the city, it quickly became clear that I wasn''t the only resourceful player who''d found a way to join the caravan.

    After some surveillance, I counted at least a dozen teenagers who I thought were potential players. Without any indicators, it was all guesswork.

    The caravan itself consisted of around twenty carriages and around forty horses. Riding on the carriages were the merchants and more affluent people who could afford to.

    Excluding the players, there were at least twenty swordsmen tasked with protecting the caravan and its wares.

    After about an hour of sightseeing, a sudden prompt appeared before my eyes.

    [¡°Attention! This is a world-wide announcement congratulating player Fishbones for being the first person to successfully create an original cultivation method!¡±]

    ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Another player exclaimed behind me.

    I couldn''t hide my envy either.

    ¡°Damn, should I have tried cultivating by myself after all?¡± An original cultivation method, who didn''t want to create one for themselves?

    Ultimately, however, when considering the thousands upon thousands of players logged in right now, someone was bound to do the impossible.

    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I''m doing the right thing.¡± Even if I beat the odds and successfully created a cultivation method, I still wouldn''t have the resources to advance my cultivation without a sect backing me up.

    In the long run, joining a sect was definitely the best option I had available.

    After six more hours of uneventful traveling, but with beautiful scenery, one of the caravan leaders announced that it was time to take a break and feed the horses. Helping the rest of Quan Zan¡¯s workers set up a temporary camp, I was surprisingly rewarded with a copper coin afterwards.

    ¡°I guess this is another way to prove myself useful.¡± I smiled as the coin joined two of its new friends in my inventory.

    ¡°Oi boy!¡± I looked around only to realize that the ¡°boy¡± the approaching young man was referring to was me.

    ¡°Oh right, my character is fifteen.¡± I smiled at my forgetfulness.

    Seeing the smile on my face, the young man smirked challengingly.

    ¡°I heard from Mister Quan that you''re supposedly handy with a sword.¡± The young man rested one of his hands on the sword tied to his waist. ¡°Personally, I¡¯d be surprised if a scrawny little rat like you can lift, much less swing, a sword.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately,¡± I answered slowly, realizing that there was a small group of swordsmen watching our interaction in amusement. ¡°My proficiency with the sword isn''t contingent on your approval.¡±

    Shock turned into laughter as the group watching heard what I said.

    The young swordsman in front of me wasn''t laughing, however. Instead, his previous smirk had turned into a displeased frown.

    ¡°Oi oi oi, you started this young man.¡± I thought inwardly.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The young swordsman forced a smile. ¡°Since you''re so confident, you would not mind making a little wager, would you?¡±

    Raising an eyebrow at his words, the young man continued.

    ¡°A spar. If you can last twenty, no, ten bouts against me, I''ll give you a silver. How does that sound?¡±

    Intrigued, I looked between the young man and his friends who nodded, urging me to agree.

    ¡°And if I lose?¡± I asked simply.

    The young swordsman smirked as if he''d already won.

    ¡°Dont worry, I''ll go easy on you. If you lose, you will just have to do my chores for the rest of the caravan.¡±

    Just as I was about to agree to the wager, he added, ¡°And you will refer to me as your grandfather.¡±

    Immediately, the observing group erupted in laughter.

    Personally, it took me a few seconds before I realized that it was an insult.

    ¡°I don''t mind sparring with you, but don''t you think the terms of your wager are a bit too one-sided?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The young man raised an eyebrow in response.

    ¡°My grandfather is worth more than a measly silver coin.¡± I shook my head exaggeratedly, in reality, my grandfather was dead. ¡°Instead of a silver, if I win, I want your sword.¡±

    Again, the group watching cackled as if what I had said was the most hilarious thing they¡¯d ever heard.

    Even the young swordsman chuckled in response.

    ¡°Fine, if you can last ten bouts, I''ll give you my sword. Though I doubt you can carry it.¡±

    Realizing I forgot something I quickly added.

    ¡°Oh, and I''m also going to have to borrow a sword.¡±

    ¡­

    Feeling the heavy metal sword in my hand, I looked around at the crowd that had quickly gathered. Apparently, word of our little bet had spread like wildfire in the caravan.

    ¡°I guess everyone wants a bit of entertainment.¡± I remarked inwardly.

    On the opposite side of the clearing stood the young swordsman who looked like he really enjoyed all the attention he was getting. Like most NPCs, the man was tanned and fit. It didn''t exactly take a genius to conclude that the young man was stronger than me.

    ¡°I can do this.¡± I hadn''t held a sword in what felt like ages. And I had never actually fought with a sword capable of shedding blood before.

    An older swordsman stepped forth, glancing at me before focusing on my opponent.

    ¡°The spar will be until first surrender or until ten bouts have elapsed. No permanent injuries are allowed. Is that clear?¡±

    ¡°Yessir.¡± My opponent said.

    I just nodded.

    ¡°Last chance to back out.¡± The older swordsman said, looking at me. When he realized I wasn''t caving in, the experienced swordsman shook his head in disappointment.

    ¡°Begin.¡±

    Immediately, a couple of players began howling at me from the crowd, but my focus was glued to my opponent.

    Approaching with a smirk, he attacked with an overconfident overhead swing.

    Holding my one handed sword with both hands, I parried the sword aside before stepping into his guard.

    Shocked at my boldness, the swordsman didn''t have enough time to react before I swiftly bashed the pommel into his sternum.

    Retreating two steps, the young swordsman clutched his chest in agony. I didn''t doubt for a second that his chest hurt excruciatingly.

    However, I wasn''t one to give my opponents time to recollect themselves.

    Swinging the heavy sword with both hands, I took advantage of his bad composure.

    Unfortunately, the young swordsman wasn''t completely useless.

    My hands vibrated as metal clashed against metal. However, realizing that my opponent, who had only used one hand, wasn''t faring much better, I swiftly repositioned before kicking him in the knee.

    Ignoring the painful scream that erupted from my opponent, I swung my sword again.

    This time, the young man failed to react in time.

    And thus, holding the shaking sword with two hands against his neck, I waited for someone to announce my victory.

    Only to remember that it was a fight until either surrender or ten bouts, and if I remembered correctly, the fight had ended in four.

    ¡°Surrender.¡± I said to my opponent, unwilling to shed blood if I didn''t have to.

    When the young swordsman gritted his teeth, I recognized what he was about to do immediately.

    Stepping aside, I dodged the disorganized lunge and kicked him in the other leg.

    This time, my opponent keeled over.

    Resting the heavy sword against his chest, I looked the young man dead in the eye.

    ¡°Surrender.¡±

    A glint of unwillingness and hatred flashed in his eyes, but when he felt the weight of the sword against his still aching chest, the young man reluctantly closed his eyes.

    ¡°I¡­ surrender.¡±

    ...

 Chapter 02 - Swordsmanship

    Chapter 02

    After a brief moment of silence, I was showered in applause. Only my opponent¡¯s closest confidants remained silent. The rest of the spectators erupted in cheers. The loudest of whom came from my fellow players.

    ¡°Oh my god! Bro just wiped the floor with that turd.¡±

    ¡°Wow! Did you hear that bone crack? Fuck, man¡¯s definitely in a world of pain right now.¡±

    ¡°Dude, that was absolutely awesome! Where did you learn how to fight like that?¡±

    Ignoring the questions for now, I instead focused on the new prompt that had appeared after the fight.

    [¡°By successfully defeating an armed opponent in a bout of swordplay, you have unlocked the proficiency ¡°Swordsmanship¡±. You can check the progress of your proficiencies under the proficiency tab.¡±]

    Surprised, I opened the tab which I had hitherto not known about.

    [Proficiencies]

    [¡°Swordsmanship¡± - Beginner Lv.1]

    ¡°Cool.¡± I muttered beneath my breath. The tab was spartan, but would without doubt prove useful once I started accruing more proficiencies.

    Turning, I looked at the senior swordsman who surprisingly nodded at me respectfully.

    ¡°Well done, young man.¡± The man congratulated me on my victory while his friends took care of my moaning opponent. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I last saw someone as young and skillful with the sword as you.¡±

    The serious look on the man¡¯s face faded as he smiled before joking.

    ¡°I cannot help but think that you remind me a bit of myself!¡±

    The rest of the swordsmen groaned in unison.

    ¡­

    The senior swordsman introduced himself as Hou Wen and he was apparently the leader of a small guard detail working for one of the more affluent guests of the caravan. While he was a bit secretive concerning his employer, Hou Wen loudly expressed how glad he was that quote ¡°not all caravan guards were a useless waste of space¡± end of quote.

    The eavesdropping players had not appreciated that comment.

    Surprisingly, I didn¡¯t have to badger any of them to uphold their end of the wager as before five minutes had passed, I was handed a sturdy sword kept in a scabbard. Immediately, I recognized the scabbard as the one which previously had been tied to my opponent¡¯s waist.

    ¡°This is definitely worth more than a silver.¡± I thought with a satisfied smile, the weight of the sword reassured me.

    When the guard detail retreated to lick their wounds and laugh at the poor sod who¡¯d lost against me, three players approached.

    ¡°Man, that fight was epic.¡± The first teenager said dreamily; he was a young man sporting black curly hair and bright yellow eyes. The yellow eyes easily distinguished him as a player.

    ¡°Yeah, you wiped the floor with that guy. Well done.¡± Another player said; a young woman with purple hair. Moreover, she seemed awfully fixated on the sword that I had now tied to my belt.

    The third player remained quiet, but, like his peer, he looked at me in admiration. The boy looked like he had chosen the youngest age option when he¡¯d created his character but otherwise looked quite natural with blonde hair and blue eyes.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I answered before realizing I didn¡¯t know their names. ¡°You are?¡±

    ¡°Oh right!¡± The curly, black-haired boy laughed. ¡°The name¡¯s DarkKnight, but you can call me Dark.¡±

    ¡°I am not calling him Dark.¡± I immediately decided.

    ¡°And this is my younger brother Li-*cough*, I mean Atom.¡± The black-haired teenager gestured at the blonde boy who liked like he was thirteen. ¡°He¡¯s not actually thirteen, of course, but at least now, his appearance actually matches his introvertness.¡± Dark laughed.

    Meanwhile, Atom glared at his older brother.

    ¡°You suck.¡± He simply said.

    ¡°And I am Luna.¡± The young woman introduced herself with a handshake, not afraid of eye-contact.

    ¡°Nice to meet you all.¡± I returned smilingly. ¡°My name¡¯s Bishop.¡±

    ¡°Great, now that that¡¯s out of the way.¡± Dark smiled what he probably thought was an endearing smile. ¡°You don¡¯t think you can teach us how to do that?¡±

    ¡°Fight, you mean?¡± I raised an eyebrow.

    Before Dark could respond, however, Luna interjected.

    ¡°That was a skill, right?¡± She said, referring to something I had done during the fight. ¡°That parry, I mean. I searched in the city, but there weren¡¯t any skill instructors.¡± Her eyes narrowed.

    Shaking my head I answered honestly.

    ¡°No skill involved I¡¯m afraid.¡± I said before realizing I was, in fact, lying. ¡°At least no Skill-skill. I was merely doing what I have learnt in the real world.¡±

    ¡°Arrrgghhhh!¡± Dark exclaimed in exaggerated dejection. ¡°Of course! God forbid the game should be user friendly!¡± He complained about how spartan the game was.

    After a brief hesitation, I decided to share my discovery with them.

    ¡°Although I haven¡¯t found any skills yet,¡± I emphasized. ¡°I did unlock a proficiency called ¡°swordsmanship¡±.¡±

    Seeing the teenager perk up at my words, I continued. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you can unlock it too if you start fighting with a sword. In fact, I bet there are loads of different proficiencies out there.¡±

    ¡°Proficiencies? Maybe I can be an archer after all.¡± The young boy, Atom, muttered to himself.

    ¡°But those require weapons, don¡¯t they?¡± Luna was quick to point out the issue. ¡°And there is no way you could be persuaded to sell your sword, is there?¡±

    I didn¡¯t even have to answer, it seemed.

    ¡°Maybe I can do what you did.¡± Dark mused out loud. ¡°Maybe I just need to challenge one of the guards?¡±

    Observing him, it was like a light bulb had been turned on in his head. Opening my mouth to warn him, I hesitated before ultimately deciding to close it again.

    ¡°If he wants to try it, it¡¯s his choice.¡± Suddenly, I remembered what Guard Yang had said.

    ¡°It¡¯s your life.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡­

    As I expected, Dark didn¡¯t unlock any proficiency. Yet, his time wasn¡¯t entirely wasted as he did become more proficient at taking a punch. Watching his endeavors, there were multiple factors that contributed to his failure.

    Firstly, the remaining guards had learnt their lesson and they took their challenger seriously from the get go; no more overconfident overhead swings to take advantage of. Secondly, albeit quick on his feet, Dark fumbled whilst handling his sword which, to his evident surprise, was a lot heavier than he had thought. Thirdly, and finally, after losing his few remaining copper coins, there weren¡¯t many who were willing to accept his little gauntlet anymore.

    At least the guards got a good laugh when Dark addressed one of them as grandpa. I reckoned it did much to alleviate some of the harsher feelings induced by my victory.

    Unlike their travel companion, Luna didn¡¯t challenge any of the guards, instead, like me, she patiently observed Dark¡¯s efforts and took note of what worked and didn¡¯t work.

    Finally, Atom seemed like the kind of person who would rather opt out of a fight whenever he could.

    Caressing my new sword, I smiled as I helped Quan Zan pack up camp.

    Apparently, we still had three more hours until nightfall, and the caravan leader wasn¡¯t willing to waste it.

    Now that I was properly acquainted with three of the players in the caravan, we naturally chose to travel together.

    ¡°Do you think the sect recruitment will be difficult?¡± Dark asked as we walked side by side. Next to Dark, Atom fiddled with a twig he¡¯d found on the side of the road. Luna was half a step behind me.

    ¡°There will most likely be some kind of test.¡± I said, not afraid to offer my thoughts on the issue. ¡°But I can¡¯t say how difficult it¡¯ll be.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll probably pass it easily¡­¡± Dark muttered quietly; his eyes glancing at the sword hanging from my waist.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± I said. ¡°But without knowing what the test assesses, I¡¯m not taking anything for granted. And I doubt combat ability is the only thing they will look at.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Luna asked.

    Turning around to look at her, I hesitated before answering.

    ¡°How familiar are you guys with the Xianxia genre?¡± I answered her question with one of my own.

    ¡°I know a bit.¡± Dark revealed. ¡°When they announced the release of Cultivation Online, I studied it of course. Xianxia is about attaining immortality, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no.¡± I responded. ¡°It¡¯s more of a mix of different philosophies. Inspired by Chinese religion, martial arts, traditions, mythology, and Daoism, xianxia is about cultivating qi to strengthen the body, mind, and spirit. In doing so, you basically ¡°level up¡± and become stronger. In some cases, you even unlock supernatural powers.¡±

    ¡°Yeah I read about that.¡± Dark added. ¡°I heard we can fly and get telekinetic powers.¡±

    ¡°Cultivators can, yes.¡± I corrected. ¡°At this point of the game, everyone is still mortal.¡±

    ¡°Except Fishbones.¡± Luna pointed out.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± I assuaged. I doubted he¡¯d progressed far without support.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get how any of this has to do with the test though?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°So, in most Xianxia stories, one must be talented enough to be accepted into a sect. Naturally, it differs in different stories, but basically, talent dictates your innate ability to absorb, refine, and cultivate qi.¡±

    ¡°So the test will assess our talent?¡± Dark asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s my conjecture.¡± I nodded. Ultimately, however, it was all guesswork. The playerbase would flip if something as arbitrary as chance or fate decided who gets to be an omnipotent immortal and who is destined to remain as powerless as an insect.

    ¡°Shit, I¡¯m feeling kinda nervous all of a sudden.¡± Dark laughed awkwardly. ¡°It kinda reminds me of tests back in high-school hahah..¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± I said. ¡°In the end, all any of us can do is our best.¡±

    Unfortunately, my words did little to assuage their worries.

    Or my own.

    ¡­

    When dusk approached, the caravan stopped for the night. Apparently, traversing the road at night was a fool¡¯s errand. Though we had yet to see any, the guards claimed there were monsters - and worse - lurking behind the treelines, waiting anticipatingly for foolish travelers to wander into the woods.

    For some reason, when I looked into the ancient forest, I didn¡¯t doubt their words the slightest.

    Unlike the last pitstop we¡¯d made, a proper camp with tents was set up. The horses had to be groomed and a parameter had to be established. Like last time, I helped out and earned a copper coin for my efforts.

    ¡°Slowly I¡¯m becoming the richest player out there.¡± I thought as I nibbled the stale bread I had bought.

    Around camp, I noticed that the remaining players had formed several cliques, with mine being one of them.

    Surprisingly, some players had wandered off, leaving the safety of the caravan to fend for themselves. I both respected and derided the decision. Yet, like the wise guard had said, it was their lives.

    According to Quan Zan, we¡¯d made good ground today and would most likely arrive at Durnatel sometime tomorrow evening.

    I didn¡¯t necessarily look forward to another day of travelling on foot but I was excited about our destination.

    Unwilling to sleep on the forest floor, I didn¡¯t hesitate to log out for the night.

    ¡­

    Silently, I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. In it, a middle-aged man with way too many gray hairs stared back at me. Compared to my youthful character in Cultivation Online, my real body seemingly had much to make up for.

    Sighing, I brushed my teeth, sent a couple of text messages to my children, and went to bed.

    ¡­

    The next morning was starkly different compared to my normal morning routine. I basically inhaled my morning coffee, forwent scrolling on my phone entirely, and dipped in and out of my long shower with a toothbrush in my mouth.

    Then, before I had even said so much as a word, I logged in to Cultivation Online again.

    Back at the camp, I took a deep breath, savoring the fresh, woody smell of pine and the earthy smell of moss. Looking around, I quickly discovered that I might have rushed a bit too much. Most NPCs were still fast asleep.

    Impatient to get started, I walked off to do some morning exercises.

    Holding the heavy one-handed sword in both hands, I frowned as I recalled my old kendo drills.

    ¡°Relax your shoulders.¡± I thought as I repositioned my feet. After a few breaths, I started.

    ¡°Was it always this difficult?¡± I complained as my arms began to ache. Nevertheless, I stubbornly continued. I had once been able to do all these drills without stopping, as such, I wouldn¡¯t need to rest now either.

    Nearly an hour later, I had gone through three different drills and was positively leaking sweat.

    ¡°This is going to smell later¡­¡±

    Still, I wouldn¡¯t stop smiling as I read the new prompt.

    [¡°You have invented a new ¡®Basic Swordsmanship Training¡¯ exercise. As the creator of this exercise, please name it.¡±]

    After thinking for a bit, I decided.

    ¡°Bishop¡¯s Kendo Drills.¡±

    [¡°Bishop¡¯s Kendo Drills executed. Performance rating 31%.¡±]

    [¡°Results: +1 Swordsmanship Lv. (Beginner 1 > 2); upper body strength, breathing, and endurance have improved marginally.¡±]

    ...

 Chapter 03 - The Cultivator

    <h2>Chapter 03</h2>

    Fortunately, the rest of the morning passed expeditiously. The merchants and their workers were obviously competent at their work as before long, the camp was reassembled and the horses fastened to their wagons.

    For some reason, despite helping out, I didn¡¯t receive a copper coin this time. However, after some deliberation, I decided to abstain from asking why.

    Additionally, as the caravan leaders announced it was time to take off, a worrisome problem appeared

    Dark and Atom were still offline.

    When I asked the still drowsy Luna if she could contact them, she shrugged and explained that they had met in Easton and weren¡¯t actually friends in real life.

    Thus, it was with a heavy heart that we continued on our journey to Durnatel.

    ¡­

    Luna wasn¡¯t nearly as competent as Dark at conversing with other people. And since she didn¡¯t show any interest in fostering a conversation, I similarly chose to focus on the journey we had ahead of us instead.

    Looking around the caravan, it dawned on me that Atom and Dark weren¡¯t the only players who¡¯d missed the caravan¡¯s take off.

    ¡°I hope they¡¯ll survive.¡± So far, the roads had seemed safe to traverse, at least during the day. But then again, that might be because of the large group I was in.

    ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll see them in Durnatel.¡±

    The caravan continued without any obstacles or issues and despite my worst fears, no bandits attacked us. Then again, with the number of armed guards employed by the caravan, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised.

    A couple hours after midday, the caravan stopped to rest. Many of the players groaned as they collapsed to the ground, not used to this kind of physical labour. Unlike them, however, I actively approached Hou Wen¡¯s guard detail.

    When I arrived at their camp, the swordsman I had beaten up yesterday immediately glowered at me; yet, when he noticed that I wasn¡¯t perturbed by his glare, he scoffed and ignored me.

    ¡°How petulant.¡± I sighed in disappointment.

    ¡°Well well well, if it isn¡¯t the prodigy swordsman!¡± Hou Wen greeted me with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smile. Around him, four other veteran guards sized me up like I was a lamb ready for slaughter.

    ¡°Hello Hou Wen.¡± I greeted with a clasped fist, an action which had an immediate positive effect on the group of mercenaries. ¡°I¡¯m here to request another spar.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The leader looked at his men, some of whom seemed intrigued by the idea. ¡°Are you looking to make another wager perhaps?¡±

    Shaking my head, I clarified. ¡°There¡¯s no need for a wager, all I¡¯m looking for is a way to improve my swordsmanship before the White Tiger Sect¡¯s recruitment.¡±

    Hou Wen smacked his knee in laughter before standing up to stretch his back.

    ¡°Spoken like a true swordsman indeed!¡± Hou Wen sized me up with a predatory smile. ¡°I know I said it yesterday, but you truly do remind me of myself when I was younger.¡±

    For some reason, no one groaned this time.

    ¡°I do not mind giving you a quick lesson, young man.¡± Hou Wen threw a look at one of his men, who nodded before walking away to one of their carriages. ¡°But first, isn¡¯t it time you introduced yourself?¡±

    Realizing my faux pas, I quickly apologized.

    ¡°My apologies,¡± I said, feeling a bit chagrined. I still wasn¡¯t used to having to introduce myself to NPCs. ¡°You¡¯re right of course. My name is Bishop.¡±

    ¡°Swordsman Bishop huh.¡± For some reason, the NPC showed no outward reaction over my foreign name, which obviously wasn¡¯t of Chinese origin like theirs.

    ¡°Maybe the NPCs have been programmed not to notice it?¡± In the end, it didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°Well, hurry on then Bishop, draw your sword. I ain''t got all day.¡± Hou Wen smiled, holding his scabbard in his hand, his sword still sheathed.

    Looking around their camp, I raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Here?¡± I asked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we move somewhere more suitable for a spar?¡± Moreover, there was the risk of accidentally hurting someone.

    ¡°That¡¯s the first lesson I''ll teach you today, Bishop.¡± Hou Wen took a step towards me, and something about his stance immediately put me on guard. ¡°Sometimes, you will have to be ready to fight even in lousy conditions.¡±

    Before I could answer him, he attacked.

    Scrambling to deflect his scabbard, I winced as I realized it was a feint.

    Dodging in panic, I barely avoided getting beaten into a pulp in the first exchange.

    ¡°Which brings us to my second lesson.¡± Hou Wen smiled as he renewed his attack, keeping me on the defensive and unable to launch an attack of my own. ¡°An experienced swordsman will take advantage of your proclivity to look your opponent in the eye during a fight.¡±

    Hou Wen glanced at my right arm, only to flick his wrist and swing at my left.

    ¡°Shit!¡± I panicked as his sword seemingly coiled like a snake before me. Acting on instinct, I blocked the blow with my arm; fortunately for me, Hou Wen¡¯s scabbard wasn''t sharp. Unfortunately for me, it still hurt like a motherfucker.

    Off balance and in pain, I struggled to keep up with my opponent, who was already preparing another swing.

    Lifting my sword to block, my eyes widened as a single collision was sufficient to fling it away from my grasp.

    ¡°And finally,¡± Hou Wen rested his heavy sheath on my shoulder. ¡°When facing a physically stronger opponent, evade or redistribute, don¡¯t try to block.¡±

    Somehow, the spar was over before it even had a chance to begin.

    Luckily, only the guard detail and Luna witnessed my embarrassing display of swordsmanship.

    Before I could thank the man for his lessons, however, a consoling prompt materialized before me.

    [¡°You have been taught a valuable lesson in swordsmanship by the Guard Captain, Hou Wen. As a result, your swordsmanship proficiency has increased immensely.¡±]

    [¡°Results: +2 Swordsmanship Lv. (Beginner 2 > 4). Spatial combat awareness has improved marginally.¡±]

    Dusting myself off, I clasped my hands in gratitude; meanwhile, I did my best to ignore the sharp pain that suddenly pierced through my aching arm.

    ¡°Thank you for the lessons, Hou Wen.¡± I said honestly. Though a bit unfair, the spar had given me a lot to think about.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    First, I realized I was way too trusting of strangers. Hou Wen¡¯s attack startled me more than it should have. I wasn''t in civilized society any more, and it was time I started acting like it. Moreover, it would be a waste of my brand new sword if I wasn¡¯t prepared to use it at a moment¡¯s notice

    Second, I wasn''t an experienced swordsman. I had some sparring experience, sure, but when it comes to actual fights, I struggled to keep up with my opponent.

    Third, unlike the majority of people in the real world, these NPCs actually know how to fight. Hou Wen''s advice about not relying too much on my opponent¡¯s eye-movements was something of an eye-opener; pun intended.

    After some self-reflection, a new goal emerged. I had to adopt a more holistic approach in my swordsmanship moving forward. Although it would be difficult, in order to avoid falling for feints so often, I had to start paying more attention to my opponents¡¯ hips and and shoulders.

    ¡°But I have no idea how to defend myself against that coiling sword art of his¡­¡± I sighed in defeat.

    ¡°Don''t be too hard on yourself, Bishop.¡± Hou Wen smiled encouragingly. ¡°As a matter of fact, I would be a lousy guard captain if I couldn''t even teach a brat a thing or two every now and then.¡±

    ¡°That''s right kid!¡± One of the observing guards whistled in agreement. ¡°You still did better than Tan Fang usually does.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± One of the other guards, probably Tan Fang, immediately raised his voice and defended himself. ¡°You ought to take a long and hard look in the mirror before you start critiquing others, Jian. Also, I wasn''t the one whose overconfidence lost him a sword yesterday.¡±

    The young man I defeated yesterday grumbled something incoherent, probably an insult of some kind.

    ¡°Oh come on. You are not still touchy about your loss, are you Huan? I say get over it already. Honestly, you should probably take a page out of the kid''s book. At least he knows how to lose with integrity and honor.¡±

    ¡°What you know about honor wouldn''t even fill a page, Jian.¡± Huan, the swordsman I defeated yesterday, snapped harshly at his fellow colleague.

    Jian stood up looking ready to throw hands when Hua Wen suddenly interrupted the bickering men with a loud whistle.

    ¡°That''s enough useless posturing out of the two of you.¡± Hou Wen spoke with a tone that begot compliance. ¡°You will act in accordance with your stature, especially when in the presence of outsiders. Do I make myself clear?¡±

    ¡°Yessir.¡± To their credit, neither Huan or Jian hesitated to comply.

    ¡°Oh and by the way, Bishop.¡± With his guard detail in order again, Hua Wen turned his attention back to me. ¡°If, for some reason, you do not pass the White Tiger Sect¡¯s recruitment tests, know that you are always welcome to join my merry little band of miscreants. We could always use another sword prodigy or two.¡± Hou Wen said with a wink.

    Thanking him again for the lessons, I retreated to lick my wounds in solitude. Though I''d done my best to show a good face, underneath the surface, I hated how easily the guard captain had dismantled my swordsmanship.

    ¡°I never should''ve stopped practicing.¡± I grumbled to myself.

    ¡°That sure was a¡­ spectacle.¡± Luna said as I returned to ¡®our¡¯ wagon. ¡°I thought you knew how to use that thing.¡± She said, gesturing to the sword tied to my waist.

    Glaring at her, I bit my tongue in an effort to not say something stupid. Unlike the young guards, I was in control of my emotions, and not the other way around.

    After a few seconds of breathing, I found that the anger had lessened greatly.

    ¡°I can always become better.¡± I muttered dismissively.

    ¡°And mark my words, I will.¡±

    ¡­

    Overhearing some of the other players¡¯ conversation, I heard something quite interesting. Apparently, our trip hadn¡¯t been as effortless as I had assumed.

    Earlier, some of the guards and players walking in the front of the caravan had had to fight an ill-tempered boar that some of the players claimed had been absolutely massive. Though personally, I doubted the credibility of their words. If the boar really had been the size of a horse, I bet I would¡¯ve at least seen it. The fight had ostensibly ended quickly when the guard NPCs had joined the fray.

    Still, the appearance of a wild beast reminded me of Dark and Atom¡¯s setback.

    ¡°They¡¯ll make it.¡± I tried to persuade myself. According to my friendlist, they were both online now at least. Hopefully, they will catch up with us soon.

    While waiting for the caravan to resume, I wanted to practice with my sword, but since my arm was still aching, I refrained from doing so. Thus, like Luna, I sat down in the lotus position, trying various sorts of breathing patterns in hopes of creating an original cultivation method.

    Before long, I caught the caravan leader¡¯s yelling. It was time to pack up.

    ¡­

    The sun was beginning to set when we finally arrived at the walls of Durnatel. When I first started playing this game, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d immediately spend two days travelling with a caravan. And although it had been tiresome at times, I actually found the whole experience to be quite enjoyable. Not only did I improve my swordsmanship proficiency, but I also got to experience nature in a way that I very rarely got to in the real world.

    And so, we entered the Durnatel town gate.

    ¡°Wow.¡± My eyes darted around to gape at the bustling activity.

    Despite being substantially smaller than the starting city of Easton, Durnatel was absolutely packed with people, especially teenagers frolicking around. And according to Quan Zan, the reason was obvious: it was all because of the White Tiger Sect¡¯s forthcoming recruitment.

    Luna left without saying anything, and honestly, good riddance. The standoffish attitude she¡¯d begun displaying during our trip made me glad that I hadn¡¯t bothered to add her to my friendlist.

    After exchanging some grateful goodbyes with the caravan¡¯s NPCs, I left the caravan to do my own thing.

    A plethora of food stalls sold a variety of meat skewers and confectionery, some of which looked and smelled really appetizing. But with only four copper to my name, I reluctantly moved on. Sugary sweets were my one true weakness out in the real world, it didn¡¯t need to be my vice here as well.

    My miserable financial situation didn¡¯t stop me from window shopping however.

    Some teenagers were scuttering around the streets playfully, greatly irritating a few stall owners. From the 2nd floor windows of the adjacent buildings, NPCs were staring down at the crowd, chit-chatting about god knows what. The only inn I could find had a wooden sign that said ¡°NO VACANCIES¡± hanging on the door.

    And then, just as I was wondering where to go, I saw him.

    My first cultivator.

    ¡­

 Chapter 04 - The Bullies

    <h2>Chapter 04</h2>

    Wherever the white-robe clad cultivator went, the crowd parted like the red sea did for Moses. Suddenly, it was crystal clear who was native and who was a player.

    The NPCs bowed reverentially at the cultivator, while the players seemed to see him as some form of tourist attraction. They gawked and snickered as he walked past them, some even made fun of his robe, calling it tacky.

    Then, just as I thought the players couldn¡¯t get any stupider, an eighteen year-old boy with spiky, yellow hair approached the cultivator with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. The surrounding NPCs¡¯ faces paled as the disrespectful youth swaggered across the street.

    Subsequently, the yellow-haired youth did the unthinkable.

    Brandishing a sturdy¡­ stick¡­ he attacked the cultivator without any planning or foresight. He attacked the high-level NPC, in the middle of town, surrounded by witnesses.

    Before I could facepalm, a flurry of movements seized my undivided attention.

    What ensued took place in the blink of an eye. One second the cultivator was striding along the street composedly, the next, he was holding an ornate sword and the yellow-haired player¡¯s head could be seen traveling in an arc above the crowd.

    Someone screamed as the player¡¯s severed head and body dematerialized into pixels. And after a few seconds, there was no trace left of the yellow-haired player.

    But it was too late; everyone had seen what had happened. A player had just been beheaded, in the middle of a town nonetheless.

    Stunned silence took place as the cultivator indifferently looked around, searching for something in the crowd. When he supposedly didn¡¯t find what he was looking for, he sheathed his sword and continued to saunter away, acting as if nothing had happened.

    As if he hadn¡¯t just killed a man, albeit a player.

    When the cultivator finally disappeared, it was as if everyone in the crowd had collectively been lifted from under a spell.

    Chatter erupted as a number of players discussed what they had just witnessed. Many condemned the cultivator¡¯s actions, arguing that the town was supposed to be a safezone; others snickered, claiming that the yellow-haired player had gotten what he had deserved, proclaiming that provoking a cultivator was a death-sentence.

    One person, seemingly a friend of the dead player, surprisingly started to ineffectually shout for a gamemaster to appear, arguing animately that what had happened must¡¯ve been a bug of some kind.

    There was no way a game company would allow this kind of NPC behaviour, was there?

    Watching the NPCs'' petrified reactions to what had transpired, I suspected it wasn¡¯t a bug, but a feature. When the company claimed that Cultivation Online was a hyper realistic VR world, they meant that.

    However, as luck would have it, the yellow-haired player would respawn in a while, only with a severe debuff plaguing him for a few hours. According to the information I had found online, the death penalty in Cultivation Online was quite lenient as long as you remained a mortal. But, once you started cultivating and amassing qi, dying could have grievous consequences. Depending on the nature of your death, you could even become ¡°crippled¡±, losing the ability to cultivate.

    Sighing softly, I resolved to stay as far away as I could from cultivators from now on. Even if the death penalty was lenient at this stage of the game, I definitely wouldn¡¯t be a fan of the experience.

    Moreover, the ease at which the cultivator had killed a man disturbed me.

    Thus, following the stream of teenagers, I continued exploring the town.

    ¡­

    Somewhere on the opposite side of the town¡¯s entrance, I found the place where the White Tiger Sect would host the recruitment. A large, elevated platform had been constructed out of meticulously chiseled stone. In front of the platform a sign said:

    ¡°The White Tiger Sect¡¯s annual recruitment starts at noon every day until the summer solstice. Only youths between the ages of thirteen and eighteen may participate. Failure to comply will result in immediate termination.¡±

    Confused, I searched for an NPC who could answer some of my questions. At a nearby corner, I found a nice-looking grandma selling crab cakes for a copper apiece. Seeing as there weren¡¯t any customers frequenting her stall at the moment, I decided to try my luck.

    ¡°Good evening.¡± I said, balling my fist in greeting. ¡°Any chance I could buy a crab cake and some answers along with it?¡±

    ¡°Depends,¡± The grandma smiled as I produced one of the precious copper coins from my inventory. ¡°On the nature of your questions young man.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking to participate in the White Tiger Sect¡¯s recruitment tomorrow.¡± I said, money and crab cake exchanging hands. ¡°Any tips for a newcomer?¡±

    ¡°Do as they say.¡± The grandma answered immediately. ¡°The White Tiger Sect does not have much patience for disobedience.¡±

    Nodding my head quickly she continued.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen many of their recruitments over the course of my life, short as it may be compared to the immortals.¡± The grandma sighed. ¡°And since what I¡¯m about to tell you is no secret, I do not mind sharing what I have seen with a well-mannered boy such as yourself.¡±

    I smiled at the compliment, unsure if I deserved it. I wasn¡¯t even a teenage boy, after all.

    ¡°Did you know that Durantel isn¡¯t the only town blessed with hosting the White Tiger Sect¡¯s annual recruitments?¡± Seeing the surprise on my face, the grandma chuckled. ¡°Indeed, the White Tiger Sect¡¯s domain stretches much farther than the contested borders of our kingdom.¡±

    The grandma continued before I could say anything.

    ¡°The recruitment is always overseen by two immortals.¡± The grandma pointed out. ¡°And although they may seem young, don¡¯t be fooled. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they are older than me.¡±

    I nodded understandingly.

    ¡°Using one of their crystals, they will check if you have what it takes to join their ranks.¡± The grandma sighed. ¡°Most people do not pass this test.¡±

    ¡°There really is an aptitude test.¡± I frowned at the discovery.

    The grandma must¡¯ve noticed my consternation as she continued.

    ¡°But lately, a lot more people have been accepted.¡± The grandma added quickly. ¡°To my memory, I don¡¯t think they have ever accepted as many as they did yesterday.¡±

    Nodding slowly, I conjectured that some players must have managed to participate in yesterday¡¯s recruitment.

    ¡°They had to have run through the night to get here so quickly¡­¡± I noted inwardly. Either way, a day¡¯s headstart wouldn¡¯t matter in the long run. Attaining immortality is a marathon, not a sprint, at least according to all the novels I have read.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°I noticed on the sign that they will continue hosting recruitments until the summer solstice.¡± I said. ¡°When is that?¡±

    Raising an eyebrow, she looked at me funnily. My question must¡¯ve surprised her as she answered slowly.

    ¡°Tomorrow of course.¡±

    Handing the old lady another copper coin, I asked another question.

    ¡°And, what happens to the ones who get accepted?¡±

    The grandma smiled as she placed the copper coin in her pouch. ¡°As you would expect, they are given a letter of acceptance and directions to the sect.¡±

    Looking around she added whisperingly. ¡°But I¡¯ve heard that many do not make it all the way to the sect. Son, if you are indeed one of the chosen ones, I implore you to act with utmost prudence, for always remember: heaven is jealous of heroic genius.¡±

    With much to think about, I clutched my hands in appreciation and gratitude.

    ¡°Thank you grandmother.¡± I said, hoping that she wouldn¡¯t take offense at my choice of words. ¡°You have given me lots to think about.¡±

    ¡°Of course dear.¡± She smiled a smile only grandmothers know how to smile. ¡°I always try to help my customers.¡±

    Just as I was about to leave, her countenance suddenly reminded me of someone very similar.

    ¡°Oh, and by the way.¡± I looked at the grandma who was busy preparing another batch of crab cakes. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to have met a young boy around my age who goes by the name of Ye Feng?¡±

    ¡°Ye Feng?¡± The grandma¡¯s eyes narrowed as she furrowed her brows.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I added hurriedly. ¡°A young man from Easton with an oval-shaped face and a defined chin.¡± I repeated the description I¡¯d received from the old woman in Easton knowing perfectly well that I wouldn¡¯t recognize the boy even if he sat on my face.

    ¡°Ye Feng¡­ Yes, that name does ring a bell.¡± The grandma said before shaking her head remorsefully. ¡°But alas son, I can¡¯t remember where I heard it. It¡¯s not exactly an uncommon name either.¡±

    Thanking her nonetheless, I proceeded to take another stroll around town, savoring my freshly baked crab cake.

    ¡­

    ¡°The only thing worse than a bully, is a group of bullies.¡±  I thought as I shook my head in disappointment. The more time passed, the more players emerged from the woodwork. Most knew how to behave themselves, but some liked to prance around pretending to be the hottest thing since sliced bread.

    Currently, a group of thugs were taking advantage of the fact that the patrolling guard was away to pick on two female players.

    ¡°Come on baby.¡± One thug said, smirking at one of the girls. ¡°Do you know how much work I had to put in to procure a room at the inn?¡± The thug shook his head, pretending to be tired.

    ¡°I just need someone to pamper me a bit.¡± He added. ¡°I don¡¯t even mind paying for it. How does five copper sound?¡±

    ¡°Five copper?¡± One of the thug¡¯s friends interjected. ¡°Dude, I would suck your dick for five coppers. This bitch should feel honoured.¡±

    The thugs roared in laughter.

    ¡°You¡¯re fucking repulsive.¡± The woman in question scoffed in disgust, her face pale as a piece of paper. ¡°Come on Lilac, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± She grabbed her silent friend¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Hey hey hey!¡± The thug sidestepped to block her way. A shit-eating grin evident on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, Tom is just jesting.¡±

    The thug sized them up with a pair of lewd eyes, stopping unnecessarily long on the silent woman¡¯s well-endowed chest area.

    ¡°How about you Lilac? That¡¯s a pretty name by the way. You¡¯d fancy having a good time, wouldn¡¯t you honey?¡±

    Just as I was about to step in to knock some sense into the crude bastards, another group of players beat me to the punch. Led by a handsome young man with a pair of angry, blue eyes, the street quickly became crowded.

    ¡°I know some people like to roleplay as villains in VR games.¡± The handsome young man said, looking the hooligan in the eye. ¡°But I guess the role comes natural to some.¡±

    ¡°A villain?¡± The thug¡¯s eyes widened before looking at his friends for verification. ¡°Is this guy for real? Did this dude seriously just call me a villain?¡±

    The group of thugs chortled.

    His face red, the handsome player looked ready to draw his sword when a displeased voice cut through the crowd.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here? Break it up immediately!¡± Two armed guards clad in chain mail pushed through the crowd looking ticked off and ready to fight.

    Since the guard seemed to have the situation under control, I decided to move on.

    ¡°A lot of players chose to be eighteen it seems.¡± I remarked inwardly. In hindsight, it wasn¡¯t strange. If given the choice between playing as an adolescent and a young adult, most would probably choose the latter. Honestly, the main reason why I chose to play as a fifteen-year-old was because of the novelty of having a character 30 years younger than my real age.

    When I still felt hungry, even after eating my last piece of bread and the crab cake, I realized that it wasn¡¯t my character, but my real body that was forcing the issue.

    Sighing, I reluctantly logged out.

    ¡­

    As soon as I took off my VR HeadGear and looked around my empty bedroom, an overwhelming sense of dejection swept over me.

    Compared to the VR world with its bustling activity, exciting drama, and vivid colours, real life felt bland and tedious in comparison.

    ¡°And then there¡¯s my body.¡± Like it or not, all the years of working as an electrician had taken its toll on me. Compared to the sprightly young physique I had in CO, my real body was slightly overweight and a lot more rough-looking. I wish I could say I had a valid reason for my unhealthy lifestyle, but apart from laziness, I really didn¡¯t.

    More dejected than I cared to admit, I didn¡¯t hesitate to order some home-delivery to sooth my depression.

    Neither of my children had responded to my previous text messages, but I persuaded myself that they must be busy playing CO.

    My son and daughter, their mother, and my ex-wife¡¯s new husband James all lived in England, while I resided in the US. I still saw my family occasionally during holidays and whatnot, but as they grew older, their old man in the US fell lower and lower on the priority list.

    I didn¡¯t blame them, of course. It¡¯s a natural part of becoming a young adult to want to find your own place in the world. Even I had gone through something similar when I was eighteen.

    I just wished they would respond to my messages more often.

    ¡­

 Chapter 05 - No Place for Garbage

    <h2>Chapter 05</h2>

    Night had already fallen when I finally relogged. Yet, since it was so close to the summer solstice in-game, I reckoned it would get a lot darker when the seasons changed. For a moment, I just marvelled at how the air felt somewhat colder, crispier, and easier to breathe.

    Understandably, the numerous shops had closed for the night and the streets were significantly more desolate than before. Still, however, I spotted the occasional player frolicking around either alone or in smaller groups. Naturally, there were patrolling guards on night duty as well.

    By now, I reckon the starting cities were positively brimming with new players as more and more people entered the game that was already being dubbed ¡°the game of the century¡± by the media.

    After strolling around the town aimlessly for a bit, I found myself returning to the raised platform where the recruitment would take place tomorrow. Above the platform, a small cloud of fireflies played in the moonlight.

    ¡°I guess this is as good a spot as any¡­¡± I thought to myself. Since the inns were all full, I hadn¡¯t been able to procure room for the night.

    ¡°Not that I would¡¯ve afforded it even if I found an inn with vacancies¡­¡± Which begged the question, how did other players accumulate money at this point in the game?

    ¡°Probably by doing odd jobs¡­¡± I remembered the notice board I had seen in Easton, and the numerous requests it had contained. ¡°Or maybe by stealing.¡±

    I also wouldn¡¯t be surprised if some players had started looting already.

    ¡°Honestly, the game might be a bit too realistic.¡± Throwing new players into a strange world with nothing but ten copper coins to fend for themselves? No wonder I had found criticism and complaints online.

    Squatting down, I folded my legs and sat down in a lotus position. In the real world, a position like this would be beyond uncomfortable. Yet, for some reason, my in-game avatar found it surprisingly comfortable.

    Taking a deep breath, I let the cold, slightly damp, night air fill my lungs.

    ¡°Okay, empty your mind.¡± I followed the instructions I had read online. ¡°Focus on your extremities and visualize your blood coursing through your veins¡­¡±

    It was easier said than done, but I had plenty of time for trial and error.

    Occasionally, as I focused entirely on my breathing, a random player would show up and ask me some inane question. At first, I didn''t mind it, but after the seventh player asked me what I knew about tomorrow¡¯s recruitment, I finally gave up and moved to the opposite side of the platform.

    There, hidden from plain view, I resumed my efforts.

    An hour quickly turned into two, and when I finally felt like I had accomplished something, the sound of rambunctious laughter jolted me out of my daze.

    Just as I was about to release a frustrated yell of exasperation, a gratifying prompt appeared, compensating me for my efforts.

    [¡°Through trial, error, substantial luck, and a smidgeon of talent, you were successful in harmonizing your mind, body, and spirit, at least temporarily. In doing so, you have unlocked the proficiency ¡°Meditation¡±. You can check the progress of your proficiencies under the proficiency tab.¡±]

    Immediately, I checked my updated proficiencies.

    [Proficiencies]

    [¡°Swordsmanship¡± - Beginner Lv.4]

    [¡°Meditation¡± - Beginner Lv.1]

    To call myself pleased would be an understatement. According to the posts I had read while eating dinner, only a tiny minority of the playerbase had reported being able to unlock this particular proficiency.

    Naturally, as soon as I read about it, I knew that I had to have it. Meditation was the bread and butter of any cultivator worth their salt.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not a demonic cultivator, I guess.¡± But I bet even a demonic cultivator would benefit by having the meditation proficiency; there was no downside, after all.

    So far, I hadn¡¯t been able to find any information online about whether players had found a way to join the demonic side - or if there even was one to begin with. However, since I had no intention of relying on despicable means, I wasn¡¯t overly downhearted by my lack of findings.

    Too excited to go to sleep or worse: logout, I stretched my neck to see what all the fuss was about.

    On the opposite side of the platform, where I had initially tried to meditate, a party of players were gathered, talking jovially. From a glance, I quickly recognized the handsome player from earlier; not surprisingly, his party was joined by the two girls as well.

    A part of me wanted to walk over and join them but, on second thought, an even bigger part wanted to develop my proficiencies. Thus, I stayed on my side of the platform, doing my best to pretend like I couldn¡¯t overhear parts of their conversation.

    ¡°So his name is Percival.¡±  A suitable name considering his chivalrous actions. Ultimately, however, I wasn¡¯t interested in what they would do once they learnt how to fly.

    And so, I meditated.

    Without a timepiece, it was nearly impossible to tell how much time had elapsed when I exited my meditation. During my session, I had refrained from trying to create my own cultivation method.

    My decision was based on multiple reasons, all of whom I thought were quite sensible. The foremost of which was that I had no clue what a good cultivation method constituted. Even if I did accidentally fumble upon a way to cultivate, who was to say I wouldn¡¯t accidentally cripple myself by following it? At the very least, I needed to learn more about the ins and outs of cultivation before I branched off on my own.

    Needless to say, I wondered more than once what kind of cultivation method Fishbones had created.

    Stretching my legs, I checked my proficiencies.

    ¡°No level yet¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t strange since I still struggled with finding that elusive feeling of detachment. Still, despite not seeing it on my proficiency tab, I felt like I had made some progress.

    Lifting my arm, I smiled excitedly.

    ¡°Finally.¡± The arm I had used to defend myself with in the spar against Hou Wen had finally stopped hurting.

    Although intriguing, meditating was nothing compared to the feeling I got from holding a sword in my hands.

    Thus, after throwing a glance at the jovial group of players, which had not-unexpectedly grown since I last concentrated on them, I left to do some of Bishop¡¯s Kendo Drills.

    I couldn¡¯t help but to smile at the name.

    It took some time, but I eventually found an open, secluded space where I reckoned I could exercise in peace. Despite the fact that it was still nighttime, the sun was already rising in the horizon, providing me with some much needed lighting.

    And so, with a heavy sword in my hands, I relaxed my shoulder.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.¡­

    [¡°Bishop¡¯s Kendo Drills executed. Performance rating 36%.¡±]

    [¡°Results: +1 Swordsmanship Lv. (Beginner 4 > 5); upper body strength, breathing, and endurance have improved marginally.¡±]

    Naturally, I smiled a pleased smile as I read the results of my practice session. If the drills weren¡¯t so staggeringly exhausting, I¡¯d do nothing but grind the drills repeatedly all day.

    ¡°Not bad, kid.¡± A voice startled me from my rumination. Turning around, I saw a pair of town guards watching me attentively. ¡°Though I don¡¯t recognize the style, I can at least tell you¡¯re improving.¡± The other guard nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Uhm, thanks?¡± I said in-between breaths, still covered in perspiration from the exercise.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± One of the guards smiled as he noticed my consternation. ¡°We don¡¯t mind you using the training grounds during nighttime, since you¡¯re not exactly bothering anyone. But I suggest you don¡¯t let the captain catch you. She''s a stickler for protocol and, without being at least a trainee, you¡¯re not actually permitted to be here.¡±

    My eyebrows rose in response. Looking around the area, I couldn¡¯t comprehend how I hadn¡¯t noticed the fact that this was the guard¡¯s training grounds before. In hindsight, it seemed obvious.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know.¡± I apologized. ¡°And don¡¯t worry, I was just leaving anyway.¡±

    ¡°Oh, and get some sleep!¡± The other guard yelled at my retreating back. I turned around with a confused look on my face. ¡°Believe me, you will want to be well rested for the sect recruitment later.¡±

    Nodding slowly, I decided it wouldn¡¯t hurt to take his word for it.

    ¡°I will, and thank you.¡±

    The guard dismissed me with a wave.

    After a short stroll, I was back at the platform, my sweaty clothes drawing an uncomfortable amount of attention from the expanding crowd.

    Staring at the morning sun that was just beginning to peek over the town walls, I reckoned it was safe to presume I still had a couple of hours left until noon. Thus, before anyone could vie for my attention, I logged out to get some well-deserved sleep.

    ¡­

    I was still feeling a bit dopey when the alarm on my phone began blaring, awaking me from my dreamless slumber. Nevertheless, realizing what was at stake, I forcefully pushed myself out of the tantalizing comfort of my bed.

    After a quick visit to the restroom, despite feeling faintly morning sick, I forced some breakfast down my throat. With my morning routines taken care of, I felt a lot better.

    Thus, after impulsively sending a text message to one of my old gaming buddies, I logged in to Cultivation Online.

    When the darkness retreated, I opened my eyes only to discover I had spawned in the smack middle of a huddled crowd of players. The area, which had only held a group of players before, was now filled to the brim, with people stacked like sardines as far as the eye could see.

    Nevertheless, despite the crowdedness, my surroundings were suspiciously quiet, with only the occasional whisper reaching my ears. And after taking a brief look around, it wasn¡¯t difficult to ascertain why.

    Two cultivators were talking privately with each other on the middle of the raised platform, which otherwise remained empty. Like the cultivator I had seen yesterday, the two cultivators wore white, daoist robes with intricate black patterns embellished on them. Their robes were obviously a homage to the white tiger, but still managed to look refined and elegant.

    Although I had missed what had happened, based on the heavy atmosphere bearing down on the crowd, I reckoned the two cultivators were responsible for the peacefulness.

    After nearly fifteen minutes of just standing still, waiting, one of the cultivators nodded to the other.

    With a loud, harsh clap, he promptly seized the crowd¡¯s scattered attention. Yet, before the cultivator could start, he was rudely interrupted.

    ¡°Finally!¡± A random player shouted in indignation. Moreover, his exclamation aroused more than one murmur of ¡°yeah¡± from the more disgruntled players in the crowd. I opted to stay quiet, like the majority of the crowd did.

    Although I couldn''t find the person who was responsible for the interruption, the brief expression of irritation on the cultivator¡¯s face promised revenge.

    ¡°Since there are a lot more aspirants than usual today.¡± The cultivator spoke slowly but confidently. ¡°We¡¯ve decided to hold the recruitment twice: one will start now and the second one will take place an hour after noon.¡±

    When none protested, the cultivator continued.

    ¡°The White Tiger Sect is one out of five 4th rank sects governing the eastern continent.¡± The cultivator announced proudly. ¡°So even if you aren¡¯t talented enough to join the White Tiger sect, I¡¯m sure one of our subsidiary sects will have you.¡±

    I doubted anyone missed the hint of ridicule in the cultivator¡¯s voice as he talked about the subsidiary sects. He didn¡¯t exactly hide his contempt for the lesser sects.

    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s a hierarchy.¡± I sighed, anticipating the amount of controversy this would produce.

    ¡°I¡¯ll repeat that again.¡± The cultivator slowly looked around the crowd, his eyes seemingly stopping a little whenever they swept over one of the disgruntled players from earlier. ¡°The White Tiger Sect is no place for garbage.¡±

    Some people muttered quietly in response, but no one spoke up.

    ¡°Fortunately, Inner Disciple Xiang and I brought two aptitude crystals with us. Touch the crystal, and we¡¯ll know whether you have the aptitude to join the White Tiger Sect as an outer disciple or not.¡± The cultivator sighed loudly, as if all of this was just a tiresome chore he¡¯d been forced to do.

    ¡°If you¡¯re accepted, wait over there.¡± The cultivator gestured carelessly at a part of the raised platform with his sleeve. ¡°If you aren¡¯t accepted¡­¡± The cultivator¡¯s eyes hardened. ¡°You are to remove yourself from the recruitment platform immediately. Any retardation will be dealt with promptly.¡±

    For a second, a deafening silence blanketed the area.

    ¡°Now, form a line of two, starting at the bottom of the stairs.¡±

    My eyes widened. As luck would have it, I was already standing in the general vicinity of the platform¡¯s stairs; after a quick squeeze, I had guaranteed myself a place in line.

    Next to me stood a young boy with an excited grin on his face. The shorter boy reminded me of Atom, although his hair matched Dark¡¯s.

    Glancing backwards at the chaotic line behind me, I saw neither a hint of Atom nor his older brother.

    ¡°They are both online, so if they made it, they should be around here somewhere¡­¡± Thankfully, since the recruitment was about to begin, all I had to do was wait for them to appear.

    After nearly five minutes of shouting, cussing, and scrambling, the semblance of a line was formed starting at the platform ahead of me before slithering all the way to the crab cake shop where a curious-looking, old grandma leaned over a counter, observing the event.

    Although she didn¡¯t seem to see me, she did wave to a couple of the teenagers standing in line behind me.

    Two pairs waited in front of me, surprisingly including Lilac, the other woman from earlier, Percival, and a stranger who looked somewhat familiar.

    ¡°Probably another member of their group.¡±

    Then, with another grating clap that defied expectations, the white-robed cultivator, whose name I had yet to learn, spoke loudly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡±

    ¡­

 Chapter 06 - Aptitude and Affinities

    <h2>Chapter 06 - Aptitude and Affinities</h2>

    First up the platform was Percival and his friend, both of whom appeared to be in their late teens. While Percival''s character looked handsome, his friend''s looked rugged, with a lot of facial hairs hiding his youthful features.

    ¡°Name and age?¡± Inner Disciple Xiang asked, holding a scroll and a quiver in his hands.

    ¡°Percival, 18.¡± ¡°Nathan, 18.¡± The two players answered simultaneously.

    Nodding, the Inner Disciple jotted down their details in his scroll before abruptly producing a crystal from out of nowhere.

    ¡°A spatial ring?¡± Instantly, my interest was piqued as I stretched my neck to see what was unfolding on the platform.

    Then, the two players were each told to touch their respective aptitude crystal.

    Their hands touched the crystals and, subsequently, a luminous light manifested in them. With the two crystals right next to each other, it was easy to tell the difference between the two. Percival¡¯s was brighter, albeit barely.

    ¡°11-star talent, nature and wood affinity.¡± Inner Disciple Xiang said disappointedly, looking at the crystal in front of the rugged player.

    ¡°12-star talent, ice and spear affinity.¡± The lead cultivator said with a smirk, shooting a quick victorious grin at his peer.

    ¡°They¡­¡± I quickly realized what they were doing. ¡°They are competing over who gets the most eligible disciples.¡±

    ¡°Fail. But I''m sure the Verdant Spring Sect would accept you.¡± Inner Disciple Xiang said to Nathan, whose face immediately paled as blood was drained from it

    ¡°Pass. Wait over there.¡± The lead cultivator said simply, batting Percival away like a fly. His eyes were already searching for the next pair of aspirants.

    ¡°Next!¡±

    As the leftmost aspirant, Lilac went to Inner Disciple Xiang, while her female friend went to the lead cultivator.

    Noticing the pattern, a weight accumulated in my stomach.

    ¡°I''m going to the lead cultivator.¡± I realized.

    ¡°13-star talent, water affinity.¡± Inner Disciple Xiang exclaimed, a happy look on his face. ¡°Pass.¡± He announced triumphantly as Lilac was directed to stand with Percival.

    ¡°12-star talent, wood and¡­ harp affinity.¡± The lead cultivator¡¯s face soured before ultimately shaking his head.

    ¡°Fail.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The red-hair exclaimed, looking over at Percival who also has a 12-star talent. ¡°Why do I fail?! I have a 12-star talent, don''t I?¡±

    Frowning the lead cultivator was about to retort when Inner Disciple Xiang beat him to the punch.

    ¡°You are talented enough to join the White Tiger Sect, that is true.¡± Inner Disciple Xiang sighed. ¡°But your affinities are non-combat oriented.¡±

    ¡°So?!¡± The redhead¡¯s face matched her hair colour.

    ¡°So, you''re dismissed.¡± The lead cultivator¡¯s expression brokered no objection.

    ¡°But-¡±

    ¡°Jinx. Enough.¡± Even Inner Disciple Xiang¡¯s face darkened. ¡°If you think you have been unjustly assessed, compete in the inter-sect tournaments and prove you belong in the White Tiger Sect. Until then, you are dismissed.¡±

    The redhead, whose name was apparently Jinx, nearly continued retorting until she spotted the scared look on her friend''s Lilac¡¯s face.

    ¡°Fine.¡± She spat as she removed herself from the exam. ¡°Wait for me Lilac, I''ll join you soon, okay? And Percival, you better take good fucking care of her, you hear me?! I''ll fucking kill you if you don''t!¡±

    ¡°Next!¡±

    Under the attention of dozens if not hundreds of players, I advanced up onto the platform.

    ¡°Was it always this large?¡± I thought as I approached the lead cultivator who suddenly seemed a lot larger than he actually was.

    ¡°Name and age?¡±

    ¡°Bishop, 15¡±, ¡°Raven, 14¡± The black-haired teen and I said simultaneously. Like he''d done with the others, Inner Disciple Xiang scribbled down our names on his scroll.

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± The lead cultivator said emotionlessly, gesturing to the crystal embedded between us.

    ¡°Man I haven''t been this nervous since Emma was born¡­¡± Nevertheless, I stubbornly tried to remain stoic.

    As soon as the bright light manifested, I released a pent up breath of relief.

    ¡°14 star talent.¡± The lead cultivator said with just a touch of surprise evident in his voice. ¡°Water and¡­¡± A dark expression appeared on the cultivator¡¯s face as he looked up from the crystal to look me in the eyes. ¡°Sword.¡±

    [¡°Through the usage of a 1-rank aptitude artifact, you have unlocked 1-rank access to the cultivation tab. Open the cultivation tab to check the progress of your cultivation.¡±]

    [¡°Notice! Your proficiency tab has been subsumed by your 1-rank cultivation tab.¡±]

    An awkward silence ensued as the lead cultivator continued to stare me in the face.

    ¡°-and darkness affinity.¡± Inner Disciple Xiang finished his assessment with a smile before turning to look at his colleague.

    ¡°Anything wrong?¡± He asked when he noticed the awkward atmosphere.

    ¡°That''s what I want to know!¡± I screamed inwardly but did my best to remain unperturbed outwardly.

    ¡°Pass.¡± The lead cultivator gritted his teeth and proclaimed, but he definitely didn''t seem happy about it.

    Or me for that matter.

    Not knowing what I had done to deserve the cultivator''s ire, I didn''t notice the jealous looks Raven and Percival were giving me as I joined them on the platform.

    ¡­

    While the recruitment tests resumed in the background, I took the opportunity to scrutinize my new cultivation tab.

    [Cultivation]

    [Name: Bishop]

    [Age: 15]

    [Cultivation Aptitude: 14 ¡ï]

    [Affinities: Water, Sword]

    [Affiliation: White Tiger Sect (Rank 4)]

    [Rank: Provisional Outer Disciple]

    [Cultivation Stage: Mortal]

    [Cultivation Method: N/A]

    [Qi: N/A]

    [Proficiencies]

    [Swordsmanship - Beginner Lv. 5]

    [Meditation - Beginner Lv. 1]

    Ultimately, as I finished reading through the cultivation tab, I realized it hadn¡¯t actually revealed any new information. Instead, it merely compiled and organized what I already knew.

    ¡°Still, pretty neat.¡± I allowed myself to reveal a faint smile. This was the first official prompt that contained both my name and the word ¡°cultivation¡±. Slowly but surely, I was becoming a cultivator.

    As for my affinities, I couldn¡¯t have been happier. Sure, there were many other compelling affinities I probably could¡¯ve gotten. For example, since spatial rings existed, it was safe to assume that the spatial affinity also existed. And if the spatial affinity existed, one could argue that the time affinity had to exist as well. Furthermore, with there being affinities for tools such as the sword and the harp, the number of available affinities could potentially be limitless.

    Thus, I felt like I really had lucked out with two useful affinities.

    Satisfied, I directed my attention to the ongoing recruitment.

    So far, including Percival, Lilac, Raven, and me, six had passed the initial examination. Yet, similarly, over a dozen had been asked to leave, albeit with recommendations to subsidiary sects.

    Interestingly, everyone who failed either displayed indignant anger, or morose sadness. There was no in-between. Yet, even the angriest player had wisely chosen to retreat when faced with the lead cultivator¡¯s impatient gaze.

    ¡°5-star talent.¡± The lead cultivator scoffed, not even bothering to read the person¡¯s affinities out loud before dismissing him. Not surprisingly, the teenager left with tears in his eyes.

    That was another discovery I had made. So far, the assessed players had unanimously possessed aptitudes ranging between 10 and 14 stars, while the native NPCs (easily distinguishable with their Chinese names) often possessed worse.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s reasonable¡­¡± I mused to myself. ¡°No one would want to play a cultivation game if they couldn¡¯t cultivate.¡±

    Nevertheless, I couldn¡¯t figure out what had led the developers to decide that different players would have different innate aptitude levels. And who decided which aptitude a player should have? Was it really all arbitrary?

    ¡°Then again¡­¡± I thought about Pok¨¦mon IV¡¯s and other instances where luck dictated the player¡¯s success. ¡°If one isn¡¯t satisfied with their innate aptitude, one can just re-roll their character.¡±

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Still, it sure wasn''t easy to ignore the hateful looks I received by those who failed the exam. But since I was powerless to help them, I did my best to look unperturbed.

    ¡°10-star talent, lightning affinity. Fail.¡±

    ¡°11-star talent, sun and fire affinity. Fail.¡±

    ¡°12-star talent, metal and earth affinity. Pass.¡±

    ¡°11-star talent¡­ Fail.¡±

    ¡°13-star talent¡­ Pass.¡±

    ¡°8-star talent¡­ Fail.¡±

    Then, as the next pair stepped up to receive their assessment, something shocking happened.

    ¡°12-star talent, wind affinity.¡± The lead cultivator smirked maliciously. ¡°Fail.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The smile on the player¡¯s face froze. Until now, every single 12 star talent had passed as long as they hadn¡¯t possessed what was now widely considered a ¡°useless¡± affinity.

    ¡°Why?¡± The player asked with clenched teeth. ¡°I have a wind affinity, surely it¡¯s-¡±

    ¡°I told you in the beginning didn¡¯t I?¡± Suddenly, I remembered where I had seen his expression before. It was the revengeful expression I had seen on the lead cultivator¡¯s face when some random player had interrupted his introduction. ¡°The White Tiger Sect does not accept garbage.¡±

    ¡°What a vindictive bastard¡­¡± I thought to myself. Sure, the player had admittedly acted immaturely. But to block his entrance to the sect¡­

    Shaking his head, the player stood his ground. ¡°No, you can¡¯t. I got both the talent and the affinity.¡± The player looked at Inner Disciple Xiang for support. ¡°He can¡¯t fail me, right?¡±

    Inner Disciple Xiang shook his head remorsefully.

    ¡°Are you refusing to remove yourself?¡± The lead cultivator asked, an impassive expression on his face. Though I could swear I saw a hint of malicious glee flash in his countenance.

    After a brief moment of hesitation, the player spat. ¡°Yes I am. I obviously passed your useless little test. Fucking bastard NPC should just-¡±

    A flash of light and, subsequently, a beheaded corpse keeled to the ground. Two seconds later, the body dematerialized into crystalline pixels. The only trace left of the player was a shabby-looking sword laying on the ground.

    The fact that the player¡¯s severed head had landed at my feet was just a coincidence, right? When I glanced at the lead cultivator, I wasn¡¯t so sure it was.

    After a quick pause, the recruitment exams proceeded.

    ¡°11-star talent, hammer and lightning affinity. Fail.¡±

    ¡°13-star talent, fire and earth affinity. Pass.¡±

    ¡°9-star talent¡­ Fail.¡±

    ¡°11-star talent¡­ Fail.¡±

    ¡°Fail.¡±

    ¡°Fail.¡±

    ¡°Fail.¡±

    ¡­

    At least half an hour passed before an assessment sparked another boisterous reaction from the crowd.

    ¡°14 star talent, blood and poison affinity. Pass.¡± Inner Disciple Xiang said with a satisfied smirk.

    Envious sighs escaped the spectators as they watched the most recent aspirant join our exalted group of provisional disciples. Standing where we did, the arbitrary unfairness of the recruitment test was really hammered into us. In this world, you were either a winner or a loser, the deciding factor? Luck.

    ¡°Then again, is the real world really all that different?¡±

    Including myself, this man was the second person to pass with a 14 star talent, accruing even more jealousy and hatred than I did.

    ¡°Blood and poison huh¡­¡± With an aptitude and affinities like those, this person should just log out and buy a lottery ticket already.

    ¡°But who am I to complain¡­¡± I smiled mirthlessly. The elation I had felt in the beginning of the exam had slowly been whittled down after suddenly being transformed into public enemy number one. Even the lead cultivator hadn¡¯t stopped sending dark looks my way. Nevertheless, an indelible sense of malicious satisfaction slithered in the pit of my stomach.

    ¡°And with that auspicious sign, we shall end the first recruitment session of today.¡±

    Groans and complaints erupted from the line of players and NPC natives, but they were quickly stifled when the lead cultivator scoffed irritatedly.

    ¡°The next recruitment session will start an hour after noon. Note that this will be the last recruitment session. Don¡¯t be late.¡±

    And so, the remaining players began to scatter.

    On the platform, excluding the two white-clad cultivators, 31 provisional disciples remained. Out of over a hundred aspirants, 31 passed.

    ¡°Less than a third passed.¡± I remarked inwardly. Even if the majority of the people who hadn¡¯t passed would find success in other sects, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like the process had left a bad taste in my mouth.

    Out of the fortunate ones who did pass¡­

    2 were 14-star talents.

    8 were 13-star talents.

    And 21 were 12-star talents with combat-oriented affinities.

    ¡°In the end, neither Atom or Dark showed up.¡± Luna had, but she''d unfortunately failed the evaluation. Moreover, the look she had given me after failing could''ve made a grown man cry. She acted as if it was somehow my fault that she only had an 11-star aptitude.

    ¡°Congratulations.¡± The lead cultivator said as he looked at us: the arbitrary winners of the first recruitment session today. ¡°You have proven that you have the potential to be marginally better than garbage.¡±

    Someone murmured softly.

    Yet, the lead cultivator surprisingly chuckled. ¡°Oh? I can see that some of you disagree with my assessment.¡±

    Immediately, the ones who¡¯d unconsciously displayed their disapproval paled in fear of retribution.

    ¡°No, no, as provisional outer disciples, I understand your need to reassure yourselves.¡± When the lead cultivator said the words ¡®provisional outer disciples¡¯, I imagined he used the same tone and intonation as a Nazi talking about Jews.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m feeling particularly generous today, allow me to share something with you all.¡± The impassive expression returned to his face. ¡°The average aptitude rating of an inner sect disciple of a rank 4 sect is sixteen. To me and other inner sect disciples like myself, you might as well be rats, barely a notch above insects.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± For some reason, the lead cultivator¡¯s gaze singled me out in the crowd. ¡°For those of you feeling proud of your so-called talent, know that you are trash that we graciously picked from the side of the road.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you pass us?¡± A 13-star talent whose name I could not remember bravely - or foolishly - interjected. ¡°If we are so worthless, why bother with us at all?¡±

    When the lead cultivator didn¡¯t respond, Inner Disciple Xiang took over.

    ¡°Albeit difficult, aptitude can change.¡± Inner Disciple Xiang¡¯s response had an immediate and bombastic effect on the group. The majority of which were 12-star talents and often looked enviously at me and the other 14-star talent.

    ¡°Also, every sect needs servants.¡± The lead cultivator frowned at his fellow disciple.

    ¡°There is that too.¡± Inner Disciple Xiang said with a laugh.

    ¡­

 Chapter 07 - The Trial

    <h2>Chapter 07 - The Trial

    </h2>

    I wish I could say that what followed was a constructive forum in which we got to ask the two inner disciples about cultivation or the sect. Instead, the lead cultivator decided to hold a long monologue.

    ¡°Since I might see some of you in the sect later, I think it¡¯s time for some introductions.¡± The lead cultivator started. ¡°My name is Zhou Qing, direct disciple under Inner Elder Zhan, and if you become an official outer disciple, you may refer to me as Senior Brother Zhou or Inner Disciple Zhou, take your pick, I don¡¯t actually care.¡±

    ¡°This,¡± He gestured at the smiling inner disciple next to him. ¡°Is Inner Disciple Xiang, a talisman prodigy whose generous nature you have to thank for the informative presentation you¡¯re about to receive.¡±

    Taking a deep breath, Zhou Qing continued. ¡°Since the majority of you won¡¯t pass this next trial, I don¡¯t see any point in having you all introduce yourself yet. And so, we¡¯ll skip that part.¡±

    ¡°Like I said in the beginning of the evaluation, the White Tiger Sect is one of the principal powers governing the eastern continent, as such, you can imagine the scope under which it operates.¡±

    Zhou Qing frowned as he detected the confusion on our faces.

    ¡°Or you can¡¯t.¡± He sighed tiredly, muttering something about having to deal with uneducated peasants. ¡°Even if the eastern continent doesn¡¯t cover as much surface as the other continents out there, it is still the host to over two hundred mortal kingdoms, and more than five billion mortals. Moreover, as the third strongest sect on this continent, the White Tiger Sect naturally controls a large portion of this metaphorical pie.¡±

    Seemingly satisfied with the level of awe on our faces, Zhou Qing continued his monologue.

    ¡°And every year, the sect recruits new outer disciples, some of whom flourish and even manage to become inner disciples, while others fade away into obscurity.¡±

    ¡°Or die.¡± Inner Disciple Xiang added.

    ¡°Same thing.¡± Zhou Qing shrugged before carrying on. ¡°As a combat-oriented sect, we value strength, endurance, and perseverance above all else, even talent. Which is why we are the only 4th rank sect on the eastern continent to accept 12-star talents in our midst.¡±

    Many of the players gawked at Zhou Qing¡¯s revelation. In other words, if they had spawned elsewhere in the world, the majority of the players gathered in our group wouldn¡¯t even be eligible to enter a 4th rank sect.

    ¡°So naturally, in order to not waste resources on those who are unworthy, the White Tiger Sect¡¯s entrance exam is a bit unorthodox compared to the other sects on our continent.¡±

    Inner Disciple Xiang started handing out talismans with the Chinese character for ¡°Outer¡± on them. Below the character, the number 224 and our names were imprinted in bold letters.

    ¡°There are currently 31 provisional outer disciples gathered here. And in a couple of hours, I figure a similar amount will be assessed.¡± Zhou Qing glanced at the bustling town, his eyes narrowing when he saw how many players were observing us. ¡°A sizable amount, at least when compared to previous years.¡± Then, Zhou Qing¡¯s eyes roamed as he looked over all of us. Yet, for some reason, when his eyes landed on me, he stopped.

    ¡°Becoming an outer disciple of the White Tiger Sect is surprisingly simple. All you need to do is arrive at the White Tiger Sect¡¯s outer courtyard at dusk in three days carrying at least two outer talismans with you.¡±

    A malicious smile crept up on Zhou QIng¡¯s face as realization dawned on our faces. This second trial wasn¡¯t a friendly competition.

    ¡°But why stop at two?¡± Zhou Qing¡¯s smile widened even further. ¡°For each additional talisman you bring with you to the outer courtyard, one sect point will be awarded.¡±

    ¡°Oh, and you should know that each sect point has approximately the same value as a gold sovereign.¡± Zhou Qing theatrically flipped a yellow gold coin in the air before grasping it tightly. ¡°But then again, they are very rarely exchanged for mortal money.¡±

    Mistrust and suspicion spread in the group as everyone unconsciously began distancing themself from the people standing closest to them. At this point of the game, possessing a gold sovereign was simply unheard of. And now, every competitor had a target on themself.

    ¡°And so begins the second test.¡± Zhou Qing smiled at us. ¡°If you didn¡¯t know already, the White Tiger Sect is located on Mount Longhu in the adjacent Omowen Dynasty. Even for a mortal travelling without a horse, it shouldn¡¯t take longer than two, maximum three days to arrive if you hurry. And it goes without saying, but if you¡¯re late, it doesn¡¯t matter how many talismans you¡¯ve amassed.¡±

    ¡°Any questions?¡± Zhou Qing smirked as a number of hands shot into the air. ¡°No? Then you¡¯re dismissed."

    Flapping his sleeve, Zhou Qing walked away without looking back. Giving us a quick, apologetic look, Inner Disciple Xiang scrambled to follow.

    Left to our own devices, a heavy silence weighed on the group. Just as I was about to walk away to recompose myself, however, Percival suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence.

    ¡°Stop.¡± Percival said to the ones who had started moving. Sighing, he combed his fingers through his hair. ¡°Just¡­ stop for a minute.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Another player questioned, looking wary and on guard.

    Before Percival could continue, a third person interjected.

    ¡°I''m willing to buy your talismans for 100 bucks a pop.¡± Said a young woman, her eyes cold as she looked at the rest of the group. ¡°I don''t even mind going through a third party to legitimize the deal.¡±

    Initially, when they''d heard her offer, people had seemed sceptical, but after mentioning the third party, a few actually looked like they were willing to consider it.

    ¡°People will do anything for money.¡± I shook my head, unwilling to even consider her deal. Moreover, I reckoned that our talismans were worth a hell of a lot more than $100 this early in the game.

    Then again, $100 wasn''t a negligent amount of money either, especially for young people.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Still, that''s not how I wanna play this game.¡± I decided.

    Standing up I was about to leave before I remembered something.

    ¡°Should I?¡± I hesitated as I glanced at the wary expressions on my competitors.

    ¡°Whatever, I''ll just count this as my one good deed for today.¡± It definitely didn''t have anything to do with the fact that I still felt sort of bad after all the nasty looks I''d been on the receiving end of lately.

    ¡°I have reasons to believe¡­¡± I started, channeling my inner project supervisor. ¡°There were players who participated in yesterday''s recruitment.¡±

    ¡°So?¡± One of the 12-star talents was quick to quip.

    Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, not all of my competitors were dull-witted.

    ¡°You''re saying that there might be an ambush waiting for us?¡± The other 14-star talent, Grim, frowned as he considered my warning.

    His words, however, had an immediate effect on the group. Suddenly, with a potential mutual enemy, there was a reason for us to band together.

    I nodded in affirmation.

    ¡°So what if there''s an ambush?¡± A familiar voice scoffed. Glancing at the owner, I recognized him as the thug from yesterday. Though it seemed he''d temporarily lost his gang of rejects. ¡°All we have to do is cut them down first, no?¡±

    Surprisingly, I found myself agreeing with him. If I was right about the ambush, offense was most likely our best defense. After all, I strongly doubted that yesterday''s recruitment had overseen as many participants as today¡¯s. It wouldn''t have made any sense.

    ¡°What about the next batch?¡± One of the 13-star talents questioned. ¡°Are we ambushing them too?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Percival answered a bit too quickly in my opinion. Though I ultimately agreed with him, I still thought it was a plan worth discussing. This was a game after all; it wasn''t like we would actually be killing people. ¡°We''re not savages.¡± Percival added with a sneer.

    ¡°Villains, you mean?¡± The thug quipped with a smirk.

    Realizing that there was much to discuss, I glanced at the sun blazing in the sky. Time was being wasted just standing around here.

    ¡°I move that we postpone this discussion until after we''ve procured some provisions.¡± I said calmly. Figuring that I wasn¡¯t the only one who had to stock up on some bread before our journey.

    Some nodded in agreement, while others looked ready to start running straight away.

    ¡°Meet up at the town hall in 30 min?¡± Grim gestured at the largest building in town, one that we could all see from the platform. Some nodded and voiced their agreement, while others remained impassive. Thus, the group dispersed, at least for now.

    ¡­

    I had just finished exchanging my three remaining copper coins for four loaves of bread when a strange feeling hit me. After turning a corner, I kept my eyes peeled and confirmed my suspicions.

    ¡°I¡¯m being followed.¡± I frowned. I tried to catch a better glimpse of my stalker without overly revealing that I had caught on to what he was doing, but it¡¯s not like I was proficient in the art of counter-spying.

    ¡°One person?¡± I picked up my pace and turned another corner. ¡°No, two.¡± I couldn¡¯t recognize either of them. And based on the angry looks they were throwing at me, they knew that the gig was up.

    Fortunately, the streets were getting crowded with players and NPCs frolicking around, and after a few more corners, I was pretty sure I had lost my tail.

    ¡°Troublesome.¡± I frowned as I made my way towards the town hall, keeping my eyes peeled for any potential ambushes. ¡°Fortunately, there are plenty of guards patrolling around, especially near the town hall.¡±

    As soon as I saw the town hall, Grim¡¯s searching gaze found me.

    ¡°Perceptive fellow.¡± I smiled at him as I approached. Yet, before I made it all the way, a scream reverberated across the street.

    With my hand on the hilt of my sword, I readied myself for an attack.

    Instead, I saw one of the 12-star talents from earlier dematerialize into pixels, a look of pain and surprise evident on his face.

    ¡°A PK inside a town.¡± I frowned while searching to no avail for the culprit. Whoever the assassin was, he¡¯d immediately blended with the crowd, probably a talisman richer.

    ¡°An attendee from yesterday¡¯s recruitment?¡± My eyes narrowed as the possibilities multiplied. ¡°Or one from today? Heck, it could even have been a disgruntled player who wanted to vent after failing.¡±

    Either way, one thing became abundantly clear as the crystalline pixels vanished. The town wasn¡¯t safe for any of the trial participants, not any more. And as one of the two people assessed as a 14-star talent, the target on my back was most likely bigger as well.

    I gave Grim and the gathering by the town hall a final look, before ultimately deciding that it wasn¡¯t worth extending my trust to them; not now anyhow.

    And so, with four loaves, a talisman, and a sword, I set off towards the gate.

    ¡­

    ¡°Mount Longhu?¡± The young guard asked with a surprised expression. ¡°Are you a cho-¡±

    ¡°Yes I am.¡± I hissed, not exactly happy with him revealing my identity as a provisional outer disciple to any Tom, Dick, or Harry who might overhear our conversation.

    Fortunately, the guard didn¡¯t take any offense as his eyes widened, promptly realizing the predicament I was in. Apparently, as a native NPC living in Durnatel, the second part of the recruitment was well-known to him.

    ¡°To get to Mount Longhu¡­¡± The young guard whispered and leaned closer, aggravatingly making us look even more conspicuous to any potential spectator. ¡°You need to go north-east, without a horse it shouldn¡¯t take more than three or four days to get there. If you leave immediately, tomorrow, when you pass Lingxin¡¯s Pass, you should be able to spot it if you look towards the north-eastern horizon.¡± The young guard shook his head wistfully. ¡°It¡¯s very hard to miss.¡±

    Clasping my hands in gratitude, I bobbed my head towards the helpful young guard before we exchanged our farewells.

    Thus, I began walking north-east, unaware of the two players following me from a distance.

    ¡­

 Chapter 08 - Lilacéˆ¥æªš Languish

    <h2>Chapter 08 - Lilac¡¯s Languish</h2>

    Lilac¡¯s point of view

    ¡°God I¡¯m shaking¡­¡± I could feel my face burn as I stepped up onto the platform, fully aware of all the attention I was receiving. Somehow, it felt even worse now that the evaluation ground was quiet.

    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t the evaluation have been in private.¡± I lamented. Matilda had reassured me that everyone would be too busy worrying about their own evaluation to pay any attention to mine. But now that it was actually happening, it felt like there was a spotlight following me around and an announcer reporting my every movement.

    ¡°Thank god.¡± I nearly sighed in relief when I realized that the person called Xiang would be my examiner.

    ¡°Name and age?¡±

    ¡°Lilac, 16.¡±, ¡°Jinx, 16.¡± Matilda and I answered immediately. Unable to help myself, I thought about when, in the beginning of class, teachers would call out my name to take attendance.

    After Xiang had finished recording our information on one of those rolly scrolls, it was time.

    ¡°Put your hand on the artifact.¡± Xiang¡¯s voice was gentle and kind, unlike his comrade. Somehow, under his encouraging gaze, I found it difficult to think of him as an NPC.

    After sneaking a brief glance at Matilda, who was already bravely extending her hand towards her own crystal, I nodded.

    As soon as the gentle light appeared I instinctively knew I was fine; suddenly, all my worries melted away, like snow in the sun.

    ¡°So this is qi¡­¡± I marvelled inwardly. A notification prompt appeared, telling me something about gaining access to a cultivation tab, but I was too dazed to read it properly.

    ¡°13-star talent, water affinity.¡± Xiang announced the results of my exam with a pleased look on his face. ¡°Pass.¡± He smiled at me.

    Registering that singular word, it was like a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was elated beyond belief.

    Yet, the euphoria turned out to be short-lived, as I heard the sociopath sneer to the right of me.

    ¡°[...] and harp affinity.¡± The sociopath shook his head before dismissing my friend impassively. ¡°Fail.¡±

    ¡°No...¡± My heart sank as I noticed Matilda¡¯s face shift from surprise to fury.

    ¡°What?!¡± Matilda cried out, her eyes shifting to look at me and Percival. I winced as I realized what was about to happen.

    ¡°Why do I fail?!¡± Matilda screamed in shock and anger, but as someone who knew her in the real world, I recognized the tell-tale signs of hurt and sadness. ¡°I have a 12-star talent, don¡¯t I?¡±

    Surprisingly, my examiner was one to answer her.

    ¡°You are talented enough to join the White Tiger Sect, that is true. But your affinities are non-combat oriented.¡± He explained patiently.

    ¡°So?¡± Matilda echoed my thoughts exactly.

    Examiner Xiang looked like he was about to elaborate when his aloof comrade rudely interrupted him.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re dismissed.¡±

    ¡°But-¡± Now, even a stranger could tell that Matilda was on the verge of tears. Unfortunately, her pleading fell on deaf ears, as it was wasted on the cultivators.

    ¡°Jinx. Enough.¡± Examiner Xiang furrowed his brows as he glared at my best friend. ¡°If you think you have been unjustly assessed, compete in the inter-sect tournaments and prove you belong in the White Tiger Sect. Until then, you¡¯re dismissed.¡±

    The way Xiang emphasized the word ¡®dismissed'' seemed to be a warning to not overplay her hand.

    Thus, when I saw that my stupid friend was about to ignore it, I pleaded for her to calm down, doing my best to grab her attention with my gaze.

    Fortunately, Matilda saw me before it was too late. We¡¯d both seen what happened to players whose actions irritated the cultivators. And neither one of us looked forward to experiencing death, even a virtual one.

    ¡°Fine.¡± My best friend clicked her tongue in poorly veiled annoyance. Subsequently, she turned to look me in the eyes.

    ¡°Wait for me Lilac, I¡¯ll join you soon, okay? And Percival,¡± Matilda looked at the man we¡¯d recently gotten acquainted with. ¡°You better take good fucking care of her, you hear me? I¡¯ll fucking kill you if you don¡¯t!¡±

    With those embarrassing words reverberating through the area for everyone to hear, Matilda removed herself from the platform.

    I tried to follow her with my eyes, but her fiery red hair quickly disappeared in the sea of spectators.

    ¡°Congrats.¡± Percival whispered as I joined him on the stage.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I muttered back, unsure if I had deserved it or not. What I did know was that I would have preferred it if Matilda had passed the evaluation as well.

    ¡°Next!¡±

    Unconsciously, my eyes wandered to the next pair of attendees.

    As he stepped up the stairs, Percival¡¯s young-looking friend Raven advanced with his head held up high. Although he''d claimed yesterday that he''d tried to make his character look roguish, both Matilda and I agreed that he just looked cute instead.

    Yet, with each step, Raven¡¯s confidence faltered. Consequently, his brave smile froze as his face turned paler and paler. When he finally reached Xiang, Raven looked like he''d seen a ghost.

    ¡°That''s how I must''ve looked like.¡± I winced at the fresh memory.

    ¡°Look, it''s the meditator.¡± Percival whispered while gesturing at the second attendee. A surprisingly mundane-looking player with dark brown hair and pale blue eyes.

    Immediately, I recognized him as the teenager who''d earnestly spent nearly half the night in meditation yesterday.

    At first, neither Percival¡¯s group nor Matilda and I had spotted him, hiding as he was on the opposite end of the platform. It wasn''t until Raven had started exploring that the player¡¯s existence had been brought to their attention.

    Furthermore, apart from the sheathed sword tied to his waist, the player hadn''t really stood out that much compared to other players. After all, finding a player pretending to ¡®cultivate¡¯ wasn''t exactly difficult in CO.

    Yet their initial impression had slowly changed when the player hadn''t stopped meditating for five straight hours.

    Many argued that he must''ve fallen asleep sitting up. Moreover, if it wasn''t for Percival holding some of them back, I was certain that at least one of his friends would¡¯ve tried to nick the sword from the oblivious-looking player.

    But as it turned out, he hadn''t been asleep.

    Furthermore, perhaps even more impressively, when he finally did stop meditating, he actually looked pleased with himself.

    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    Imagine that! Pleased! No one looked pleased after trying and failing to cultivate for five hours.

    Either, the group argued, the man had been successful in creating his own original cultivation method, or, he was a miserable masochist.

    Both alternatives undoubtedly made him a special player.

    Unfortunately for them, the player had run off and disappeared before any of them had been able to ask him about it.

    ¡°Bishop, 15.¡± He said, revealing his name and age. Or at least, his character¡¯s name and age. Unlike the pale-faced Raven, Bishop actually managed to look unperturbed in the face of the two cultivators. His stoicism seemed to indicate that he wasn''t actually fifteen.

    And as it turned out, it wasn''t all bravado.

    ¡°14-star talent, water and¡­ sword.¡± The sociopath announced, actually seeming a bit jealous.

    ¡°I knew he wasn''t sleeping!¡± My eyes widened as I gazed unblinkingly at the radiant crystal in front of him.

    However, it wouldn¡¯t be until much later that anyone truly understood how rare a 14-star talent actually was.

    ¡­

    Returning to Bishop''s point of view

    As it turns out, travelling on my own came with certain benefits. First, I didn¡¯t have to adapt my pace to a slow moving carriage, which was definitely a welcome change since I liked to walk quickly. Second, I could take breaks whenever I wanted. And third, I didn¡¯t have to feed any horses or set up any camps.

    Furthermore, now that I could move on my own schedule, I took the time to truly appreciate the sublime virtual world around me.

    For example, not even an hour after I had left Durnatel, I spotted a green squirrel with two fluffy tails scurrying up a tree. Heck, even the beetles that I had mostly dismissed as background critters yesterday were scrutinized more closely. And although I was far from an entomologist, I couldn¡¯t think of any insect with horns resembling a crown.

    Again and again, my mind continued to be blown away by the incredible feature of engineering that was Cultivation Online. Ignoring the life-like NPCs for a second, even the insects¡¯ AI wasn¡¯t easily predicted. How the creators of Cultivation Online had accomplished this was so beyond my comprehension that it might as well be magic.

    Naturally, I wasn¡¯t the only person to traverse the road leading towards the¡­

    ¡°What was it again¡­¡± I frowned, trying to remember the name of the dynasty that Zhou Qing had mentioned.

    ¡°Omowa? Omoi? Whatever, it was definitely the Omo-something Dynasty.¡± I tasted the words to myself, unable to think of the right combination of syllables.

    Excluding myself, the majority of the travelers I stumbled upon on the road were definitely NPCs. Even without indicators, it was easy to tell them apart since they weren¡¯t wearing dirty grayish-white tunics or brown cloth pants.

    They weren¡¯t always teenagers either.

    Or, at least, most of the travelers I came across were NPCs. Even out here, well outside the illusory safety that city and town walls provided, players were frolicking around. Always in a hurry or a goal in mind.

    Most players, I found, were equipped with crude spears fashioned out of whatever they could forage; but occasionally, I would spot a player carrying a cheap-looking axe or a sword.

    So far, I was proud of the fact that I hadn¡¯t come across a single player with a quality sword like mine.

    ¡°I really did luck out with that overconfident Huan fellow.¡± I smiled to myself, caressing the hilt of my beautiful sword.

    Objectively, I was pretty sure my sword was perfectly ordinary. Sure, it had a nice heft to it, and it was sharpened effectively, but it wasn¡¯t by any means a masterpiece of swordsmithing. Nevertheless, in my mind¡¯s eye, my sword was so much more than just a cheap piece of metal found in any old blacksmith.

    In my mind, my sword represented both strength and freedom. Its heavy weight symbolized the heavy responsibility to dictate my own fate. Thus, my sword was more than just a tool for wanton slaughter, it was an extension of my will and the dispenser of my desires.

    As these thoughts manifested and solidified inside of me, a faint tingling sensation suddenly spread through my limbs.

    However, when no prompt materialized, I manually had to open my cultivation tab to check for any updates.

    [Cultivation]

    [Name: Bishop]

    [Age: 15]

    [Cultivation Aptitude: 14 ¡ï]

    [Affinities: Sword, Water]

    [Affiliation: White Tiger Sect (Rank 4)]

    [Rank: Provisional Outer Disciple]

    [Cultivation Stage: Mortal]

    [Cultivation Method: N/A]

    [Qi: N/A]

    [Proficiencies]

    [Swordsmanship - Beginner Lv. 5]

    [Meditation - Beginner Lv. 1]

    At first, when reading through my status, I didn¡¯t find any changes. But then, my second time around, I spotted a minor alteration.

    ¡°My affinities have switched places¡­¡± Prior to the tingling, I was pretty confident that water had been the first affinity on my affinity list.

    ¡°Is it an error?¡± I wondered before quickly dismissing the idea. A company capable of creating a world like this wouldn¡¯t be so careless. No, this wasn¡¯t an error.

    ¡°Then¡­¡± My brows furrowed. ¡°Did my affinity increase?¡± So far, I had encountered no information saying it was possible. But similarly, I hadn¡¯t heard that it was impossible either.

    ¡°But how?¡± I thought about my actions. Apart from walking in a straight line, I hadn¡¯t done anything. Heck, I hadn¡¯t even been touching my sword when the tingling sensation had occurred. ¡°And why?¡±

    Then it hit me.

    ¡°My thoughts!¡± My eyes widened at the implications of my supposition. ¡°The game read my thoughts!¡±

    I tried to explain what had happened from different angles. To adopt other perspectives on why my sword affinity would change all of sudden. But even after several minutes of rumination, no plausible answer emerged.

    Suddenly, as I gazed at the beautiful world around me, an insidious shiver traveled down my spine.

    ¡°I need a break.¡± Before my thoughts could betray me more than they already had, I logged out in the middle of the street.

    ¡­

 Chapter 09 - Pandoras Box

    Chapter 09 - Pandora¡¯s Box

    Alone with my thoughts, I stared up listlessly at the rotating ceiling fan and the bland, egg-white colored ceiling that sustained it. Adjacent to me, my VR HeadGear was nestled on an oversized pillow. If one studied the sleek device, one would notice that a light was blinking, indicating that it was charging remotely.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way, right?¡± My thoughts returned to what I had just experienced.

    Virtual reality games have been around for decades. But they never really took off until the release of a new VR technology: The Mind Dive.

    Five years ago, when the new ground-breaking mind dive technology was released, it was immediately faced with a lot of criticism and controversy originating from both consumers and politicians; mostly, the controversy centered around the users¡¯ right to privacy and mental wellbeing. Back then, manufacturing companies and self-proclaimed tech experts repeatedly reassured the public that although extremely advanced, even with the state-of-the-art mind dive technology equipped, VR devices were simply incapable of reading a user¡¯s thoughts.

    That just wasn¡¯t how the technology worked, they had claimed.

    And although I wasn¡¯t an expert on the subject, five years ago, when I had discussed the subject with some of my more knowledgeable co-workers at work, I had believed them.

    The reason was simple. At the end of the day, a technology capable of actively deciphering and interpreting someone¡¯s mind was too improbable and incredulous. It was science fiction.

    Or maybe, after I experienced first-hand the awesome wonders that the mind dive technology was capable of, I hadn¡¯t wanted to believe it was possible.

    Either way, now more than ever, I felt like I had to know the truth.

    Sliding off the bed, I hopped on my computer.

    My brows furrowed as I found nothing.

    On all the forums, reviews, video comments, and websites, not a single Cultivation Online player had posted anything remotely similar to a concern about the game reading their mind.

    ¡°Am I just being paranoid?¡± The less I found on the internet, the more paranoid I felt.

    After all, according to the game¡¯s main website, despite being less than three days old, the game already has over 10,000,000 active players.

    Out of all these people, what were the odds that I would be the only person to discover this feature?

    And based on public perception, the game was only going to grow bigger. Heck, to begin with, the only reason why the game wasn¡¯t more popular already was because of the scarce marketing that had led up to the game¡¯s sudden release.

    Furthermore, the game¡¯s genre did have a niche target audience, at least in western society.

    Having said that, with the game¡¯s perfect VR rate, I reckoned that the game could center around teletubbies and it would still break records. No, based purely on my own experiences in-game, I was absolutely certain that as more people learnt about Cultivation Online, the more it would grow. The game¡¯s success was inevitable.

    ¡°Unless people learn of its mind-reading capabilities¡­¡± Nevermind the controversial features like NPCs slaughtering players in towns, if people learnt that their minds and private thoughts were being invaded and impinged on, how would they react?

    They wouldn''t be happy, that''s for sure.

    Subsequently, the question elicited was: should I say something?

    If I did, would anyone listen to me?

    And perhaps most importantly, did I want to say anything?

    Like it or not, the simple truth was that I couldn¡¯t remember feeling more alive than I had felt during these three days of gameplay. Ever since my family was separated, I had been moving through life mechanically. I had been going through the motions, but hadn¡¯t truly been living. Not for a very long time at least.

    Was I ready to give this new lease on life up just to protect the sanctity of my own and others¡¯ privacy?

    Honestly, the fact that I didn¡¯t know the answer to that question scared me a hell of a lot more than the potential mind-reading capabilities themself.

    And what did that say about me as a person?

    ¡­

    For the first time in quite some time, probably since I started my extended leave from work, I went out to eat.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Walking down the road leading to one of my favourite pizza parlours, I frowned as I sniffed the air.

    ¡°Smells like gasoline and depression.¡± I sighed. Compared to the crisp air I had breathed in Cultivation Online, the contrast was discouragingly obvious.

    Unsurprisingly, I had dealt with the problem like I often did: by postponing my decision until later. The fact was I didn¡¯t know what to do. I definitely didn¡¯t like the idea of my children playing a game where their thoughts were impinged on.

    If thoughts could be deciphered, who knows what other dangers the game represented.

    Could memories be manipulated? Personalities changed?

    By playing this game, did we unknowingly sign away our soul?

    In a sense, discovering the mind reading capabilities of the game was like opening Pandora''s box. Once opened, it couldn¡¯t be closed again.

    Thus, without knowing what to do, I postponed my decision. Before her passing, my late mother had always told me to not make important decisions on an empty stomach. I''d been living by these words religiously for as long as I could remember, and I definitely wasn''t going to call it quits now. Additionally, like my children are intimately aware, I''m not embarrassed about using the phrase myself when I see fit.

    The doorbell rang as I stepped into the pizza parlour called Mama Barbara¡¯s Pizza, where foreign music was being played in old, laggy speakers.

    Fortunately, I wasn''t here for the music.

    As I approached the register, a movement in the corner of my eye snatched my attention. On the wall, a small TV screen was surprisingly displaying gameplay from Cultivation Online.

    ¡°Shit, that looks painful.¡± I winced as I watched a player be impaled by a horned dinosaur-looking creature which proceeded to release an earth-shattering roar. The guards in the caravan had mentioned that there were monsters, but this was my first time seeing one. ¡°Note to self: Don''t stray too far off the road.¡± Even with my sword, I doubted I could inflict much damage on a monster like that.

    ¡°The newest VRMMO taking the world by storm: Cultivation Online! The dark horse of the century or a flop waiting to happen?¡± The subtitles read before a panel interview proceeded.

    ¡°Ready to order?¡± The man behind the register asked impatiently, reminding me of where I was. Beside him, the pizza guy looked at me with his hairy arms crossed, also waiting for my order.

    Embarrassed and more than a little chagrined, I ordered one of my all-time favorites: a barbeque chicken, California-style pizza.

    Sliding my card, I declined the receipt before grabbing some utensils on my way to a nearby table.

    My attention, however, was utterly fixated on the tiny TV screen.

    ¡°[...] perfect virtual reality rate! An accomplishment so incredulous that it has left scientists and experts absolutely gobsmacked!¡±

    ¡°That is certainly one of Cultivation Online¡¯s biggest advantages.¡± A man nodded in agreement. ¡°Until now, it has been presumed that a perfect virtual rendition of the real world, one capable of masterfully copying all of the five human senses, wouldn''t be feasible until at least another century of development. For a hitherto unheard of game development company to suddenly appear and prove otherwise is simply too unbelievable.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about Heaven.¡± The anchorwoman tilted her head cutesly. ¡°Right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The man smirked. ¡°A¡­ lofty name for a game development company for sure, especially for one with no other titles to boast of.¡±

    ¡°Yet, with virtual reality designers capable of engineering a world like Cultivation Online, they seem to possess the skill necessary to back up their pomposity.¡±

    ¡°In my opinion, that remains to be seen.¡± The man shook his head. ¡°The game is still in its introduction phase, after all.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately¡­¡± The anchorwoman shook her head. ¡°Heaven has declined our invitation for an interview, seemingly determined to maintain their appearance of obscurity.¡±

    ¡°But!¡± The anchorwoman¡¯s disappointment quickly transformed into happiness. ¡°With us in the studio we have another very special guest. Join us in welcoming the renowned VRMMO streamer, the Vanquisher of Ar¡¯gometh, and the Guildleader of the Tainted, Cyberwolf!¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± I asked, ¡°Do you think you can increase the volume a bit?¡±

    Since there were no other diners present at the moment, the owner shrugged before acquiescing my request.

    ¡°[...] for having me.¡± The young man, Cyberwolf, smiled as he sat down on the empty seat in the panel. Behind him, the name of the programme ¡°Virtual Reality Today¡± was emphasized in futuristic-looking font.

    ¡°First, before we start talking about your experiences and thoughts on the latest VRMMO Cultivation Online, I have to say: your guild¡¯s recent crusade against the High Demon Ar¡¯gometh in Asura¡¯s Descent was hands down one of the most thrilling VR confrontation that I¡¯ve ever gotten the pleasure of witnessing. And let me tell you, that moment when your sword pierced Ar¡¯gometh¡¯s heart¡­ it¡¯s no wonder you were dubbed the Vanquisher of Ar¡¯gometh afterward.¡±

    Cyberwolf smiled a confident smile, clearly used to receiving praise.

    ¡°Thank you. But, I have to clarify something. While I might¡¯ve been the one to deal the final blow to the boss, it was a team effort that wouldn¡¯t have been possible without the hard-earned efforts of my fellow guildmates.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± The anchorwoman added with a pleased look on her face. ¡°But enough about Asura, let us talk a bit about Cultivation Online. You¡¯ve played the game, I¡¯m sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Cyberwolf¡¯s smile turned serious. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if I would call it a game.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The anchorwoman lifted an eyebrow. Even the man looked confused.

    ¡°As far as I can tell, Cultivation Online far exceeds the limited confines of a game.¡± Cyberwolf elaborated. ¡°Not only are the NPCs nearly indistinguishable from actual human beings, but more than once, while playing the so-called game, I forgot that I was in a virtual world.¡±

    I unconsciously nodded in agreement.

    ¡°So even the fabled Cyberwolf is impressed by the graphics?¡±

    ¡°That would be an understatement.¡± Cyberwolf quickly responded. ¡°The level of details that Heaven has been able to reproduce is quite frankly inconceivable. What we are talking about isn¡¯t a virtual reality game, but a fully-functional, highly-tuned virtual world, basically indistinguishable from our own.¡±

    The two hosts looked at each other in evident surprise.

    ¡°So, I take it you like this gam- I mean Cultivation Online?¡±

    Again, Cyberwolf smiled confidently. ¡°Indeed I do, in fact, I¡¯ve already informed my guild that I¡¯m switching to Cultivation Online full-time.¡±

    Now, this statement induced shock in the studio.

    ¡°Cyberwolf is switching games?¡± The anchorwoman¡¯s eyes resembled a pair of saucers. ¡°After meticulously constructing a persona and a lore for five years in Asura¡¯s Descent, the Cyberwolf is switching games?¡±

    Nodding seriously, Cyberwolf explained.

    ¡°Yes, and of course, I didn¡¯t make this decision lightly. After all, it¡¯s my career we¡¯re talking about here.¡± Cyberwolf shook his head mirthlessly. ¡°Nevertheless, I really think that Cultivation Online is destined to surpass Asura¡¯s Descent and claim the spot as the world¡¯s most popular VR game. And so far, the numbers agree with me.¡±

    ¡°They sure do.¡± The male anchor agreed. ¡°10,000,000 active players in less than three days? That¡¯s an outright ludicrous number.¡±

    ¡°So¡­¡± The anchorwoman leaned forward in wide-eyed curiosity, unintentionally revealing her well-endowed cleavage to the audience. ¡°What advice do you have for our audience who have yet to start playing Cultivation Online? Apart from recklessly attacking elite monsters in the forests, that is?¡±

    Smiling, Cyberwolf turned to look at the camera.

    ¡°Firstly, I¡¯ll give you the same advice as I gave my guildmates, do not treat the NPCs carelessly. Although just a theory for now, it is well established that NPCs treat players differently based on their approach and behavior. An invisible amity system.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a good one!¡± The male anchor interjected before Cyberwolf continued.

    ¡°Secondly, if you¡¯re unfamiliar with eastern cultivation as a whole, I strongly suggest you read up on the Chinese Xianxia genre and Daoism philosophy. Even if you do not decide to become a cultivator, I¡¯ve found that the world¡¯s culture is intricately connected to the genre.¡±

    ¡°Thirdly, though possible, don¡¯t waste your time trying to create an original cultivation method. Plenty of my friends have wasted hours trying to create one. In my opinion, your time is much better spent learning and developing your proficiencies for example. Which, as far as I can tell, is the name for passive skills in CO.¡±

    ¡°Finally, if you see a cultivator¡­¡± Cyberwolf smirked at the camera. ¡°Lower your head or hide. Because unlike in normal ¡®games¡¯, players are not the protagonists of the world; cultivators are. My advice? Join a sect and start cultivating as if your life depends on it; in the Cultivation Online, the only rule that matters is that the strong do what they want, and the weak suffer what they must.¡±

    As I continued watching the interview unfold, I listened to Cyberwolf animatedly explain how he was in the process of joining a sect whose name he didn¡¯t want to reveal yet. He talked about the friends he¡¯d made, both players and NPCs, and he described the thrill of advancing his proficiencies to the next level. And while I didn¡¯t understand his obsessive fascination with alchemy, I did recognize the excitement on his face.

    How couldn¡¯t I when it was the same look I¡¯d started seeing in the mirror lately?

    ¡°...¡± Suddenly, I remembered the time limit until the end of the provisional outer disciple trial.

    ¡°What am I doing?¡±

    ¡­

 Chapter 10 - Killing Intent

    <h2>Chapter 10 - Killing Intent</h2>

    After cramming the pizza down my throat, I returned to my apartment in a hurry.

    Screw privacy, if the game wanted to read my mind, be my guest. It¡¯s not like there was much going on in there to begin with.

    I snickered to myself.

    As for my children, I at least found solace in the fact that they were both adults. Although I wanted what was best for them, the reality was that it had been a long time since I played any meaningful role in either of their lives. If I contacted them now telling them to stop playing Cultivation Online, odds were it would just blow up spectacularly in my face. Ultimately, they¡¯d wind up resenting me more than they already did.

    Moreover, my ex-wife might be many things, but I could honestly say that an absentee parent wasn¡¯t one of them. She¡¯d notice immediately if our children started acting off.

    And though I didn¡¯t always like to admit it, her new husband James didn¡¯t seem like a complete imbecile either.

    In the corner of my mind, I wondered whether my decision to return was all the crafty result of some form of insidious manipulation. But if it was, I was already duly compromised.

    ¡°Worstcase scenario, I can just sue them.¡± I smiled at the thought. I¡¯d never sued anyone before but I reckoned this was ground for a pretty lucrative lawsuit.

    Thus, worried I''d wasted too much time already, I re-entered the exhilarating world of Cultivation Online.

    ¡­

    I was already starting to become familiar with the login procedure. Shapes and colors manifested as the darkness-

    ¡°Fucking finally.¡±

    Before I could wrap my head around what was happening, a sharp pain suddenly blossomed in my left shoulder.

    ¡°Shit.¡± I keeled on one knee, clutching my aching shoulder. ¡°Is that blood?¡±

    ¡°Man, spawn camping feels a bit¡­¡± A second voice said, sounding remorseful.

    ¡°Meh,¡± The player who I now recognized as one of the 12-star talents from my evaluation shrugged. ¡°In this world, ya¡¯ do what ya¡¯ hafta to survive.¡±

    My attacker looked me in the eyes. ¡°Ya¡¯ agree, don''t ya¡¯, Mister-Blessed-by-the-Heavens?¡±

    Just as I was about to open my mouth to respond, the spear lodged in my shoulder twisted agonizingly.

    ¡°It was a rhetorical question, ya¡¯ fucking imbecile.¡± The player snarled with hatred. ¡°But I guess Heaven does not give with both hands, huh?¡±

    ¡°Bart¡­¡± I recognized the second person as another 12-star talent from the evaluation. ¡°Let''s just get on with it, alright? No need to prolong this more than we have to.¡±

    Another spike of pain erupted as Bart twisted the handle of his makeshift spear

    [¡°Warning! An act fulfilling the stipulated criteria for torture has been flagged. Would you like to immediately terminate this session? Note: Death penalties will be applied.¡±]

    Unconsciously, I dismissed the prompt in anger and contempt.

    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t we?¡± My attacker asked angrily as he turned towards his friend. ¡°Aren''t ya¡¯ angry that morons like this guy get-¡±

    Realizing that my attacker was momentarily distracted, my body acted before my mind did.

    Maybe it was due to all the practice I had carried out, but I successfully drew my sword in one singular motion, and to great effect I might add.

    My attacker didn''t even have enough time to react before his dismembered body fell to the ground.

    ¡°Aaaarrrghhhh my arm!!! Ya¡¯ will fucking regret that you piece of-¡±

    [¡°You have kille-¡±]

    ¡°Later.¡± I decided; focus shifting to my second attacker. Yet, before I knew it, a cloud of crystalline pixels blocked my line of sight.

    ¡°Shit, I forgot about that!¡±

    Fortunately for me, my second attacker was too paralyzed in shock to even think about taking advantage of this opportune window.

    With a wince, I pulled out the spear from my shoulder. Noting half-heartedly that I was bleeding.

    ¡°Even the blood disintegrates into tiny pixels huh.¡± That was a detail I hadn¡¯t known about before.

    ¡°You killed him.¡± My opponent suddenly mumbled. His eyes moved from where his friend had turned into pixels onto me. ¡°You¡¯re so dead.¡±

    When he attacked, my body moved instinctively. First, I knocked aside the spear with my left arm, which hurt since my shoulder was still bleeding. Fortunately, however, his ¡®spear¡¯ was more of a sharpened stick. Then, before either of us realized what had happened, my sword had dug deeply into his neck.

    Shocked eyes stared into mine before they turned into pixels.

    [¡°You have killed a mortal human with a sword. Swordsmanship proficiency has increased significantly.¡±][¡°You have killed a mortal human with a sword. Swordsmanship proficiency has increased moderately.¡±]

    [¡°Results: +1 Swordsmanship Lv. (Beginner 5 > 6). A nascent killing intent is starting to manifest.¡±]

    Although a surprisingly anti-climatic ending, when I discovered that my two attackers were both dead, my body collapsed like a castle made out of cards.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the game alleviating my pain receptors, I¡¯d be dead right now.¡± I winced at the realization.

    In reality, however, there were many factors that had contributed to my triumph. If the first attacker, Bart, hadn¡¯t been so intent on torturing me. If the second attacker had been a bit more experienced in combat. If it had been my right shoulder instead of my left that had been wounded¡­

    The if¡¯s were way too many.

    ¡°Lesson learnt.¡± I pushed against the wound on my shoulder. ¡°Do not log out where it¡¯s not safe.¡±

    Moving on, I felt an eyebrow rise when I read through the notifications prompts.

    ¡°Swordsmanship levelled up¡­¡± My eyes widened even further when I saw the second result. ¡°Killing intent?¡±

    I dismissed the prompts while thinking about the implications of the last prompt.

    ¡°So the more I kill, the stronger my killing intent will become?¡± Naturally, I couldn¡¯t help but to think about all the PK enthusiasts who would rejoice at this discovery.

    ¡°This really isn¡¯t a world for the light-hearted¡­¡± I sighed to myself.

    ¡°And speaking of a cruel world¡­¡± I muttered as I picked up two talismans and four copper off the ground.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    [¡°Barthololol¡¯s Provisional Outer Disciple Talisman (White Tiger Sect, Trial #224).¡±][¡°Deznut¡¯s Provisional Outer Disciple Talisman (White Tiger Sect, Trial #224).¡±]

    Just as I was about to pocket the two talismans, bringing my total up to three, a familiar voice resounded through the area.

    ¡°Bishop?¡±

    Down the road, two dirty teenagers stared back at me. Their eyes widened as they noticed my bleeding shoulder and the two makeshift spears lying on the ground.

    ¡°Atom, Dark.¡± I smiled. ¡°Long time no see.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°So you passed the first part of the recruitment?¡± Dark didn¡¯t hide his envy as he bandaged my shoulder with a strip of cloth I had torn from my tunic.

    Apparently, since I last saw him, he¡¯d unlocked the ¡°First Aid¡± proficiency. Evidently, I wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d gone through a rough time lately.

    Nodding, I answered truthfully. ¡°Yes, the first part of the recruitment is an aptitude evaluation, similar to the one we theorized earlier. They check your talent and affinities to see if you match their criteria. You need to be either a 12-star talent with combat-oriented affinities, or 13 stars plus. However, even if you pass the first test, you still have to make it to the sect with at least two talismans to become a real disciple.¡±

    I watched as Atom stopped fiddling with the two spears next to us.

    ¡°I hope we¡¯re talented enough¡­¡± Atom muttered softly. Seeing his expression, I decided to wait before I revealed my own talent for now. For some reason, I really didn¡¯t want Atom and Dark to give me the same look as the ones I¡¯d received back during the evaluation.

    ¡°If only we hadn¡¯t gotten lost.¡± Dark groaned with an exasperated expression. ¡°Can you imagine? We actually wound up in the wrong town! You should¡¯ve seen the look on the guard NPCs when I asked him if we¡¯d arrived in Durnatel.¡±

    ¡°But you have to admit¡­¡± Atom added with a smirk. ¡°It was pretty funny when that racoon creature attacked. Bishop, do you know what the racoon did to my older brother, it totally-¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Dark glared daggers at his younger brother. ¡°I thought we agreed on keeping that private?¡±

    ¡°But Bishop¡¯s a friend, surely we can-¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Dark stood his ground.

    Listening to the two bickering brothers, the stress of the ambush and the proceeding battle slowly started to dissipate.

    I felt like I was recovering in more ways than one.

    ¡°So?¡± I decided to interrupt the two brothers before a brawl erupted. ¡°Are you still heading to Durnatel?¡±

    The two brothers exchanged a look before nodding simultaneously.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°In that case¡­¡± I looked up at the sun. Was it noon already? ¡°I¡¯d suggest hurrying, the cultivators did say they¡¯d start the second recruitment an hour after noon.¡±

    ¡°Oh shit.¡± Dark¡¯s eyes widened in realization. ¡°You¡¯re right, come on Atom, we gotta hurry.¡±

    I looked at Dark¡¯s younger brother. Sometimes, it was hard not associating the person with the age of their character.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll meet each other again at the sect.¡± Internally, I debated whether I should wait for them, but ultimately I decided not to risk it. They were nice people, that¡¯s for sure, but were they nice enough to risk failing the trial?

    Thus, after giving the brothers some final warnings about what they could expect from the trial, we exchanged our goodbyes.

    ¡­

    When the sun started setting on the horizon, I decided it was time to take a break that lasted longer than a few minutes.

    Over the last several hours of walking, I had only encountered a single wild boar courageous enough to attack me. The rest of the animals I¡¯d witnessed smartly remained in the forest.

    Regrettably, the fight against the boar hadn¡¯t lasted long before I had skewered it with my sword. And apart from a prompt telling me that I¡¯d killed a mortal boar and a notification telling me that my swordsmanship proficiency had increased minutely, I¡¯d found no other loot. Nevertheless, the fight did reaffirm a supposition I¡¯d had since the fight against the two 12-star talents.

    Ever since my sword affinity increased, I have felt like my combat instincts have heightened. Or more specifically, my instincts now included how to maneuver the sword properly in different situations whereas before my instincts only centered around my body. It was a minute and elusive feeling that took some time getting used to, but one that ultimately wasn¡¯t adverse in nature. It was kind of like fighting with an instinctive autoaim on.

    Admittedly, my proficiency with the sword still wasn¡¯t on the same level as Hou Wen. Yet, with my heightened instincts ready at hand, I still felt more confident in my ability to survive an altercation.

    And now that I had spent over six hours just walking, occasionally asking a passing NPC for directions, I found myself actually looking forward to another ambush and the opportunity to develop my so-called nascent killing intent.

    During my journey so far, I¡¯d had a lot of time to think. With three talismans I was now guaranteed a spot as an outer disciple. As long as nothing unexpected happened and I arrived at the outer courtyard on time, that is.

    However, lately, my inner goblin has started emerging. So far, my impression of the other aspirants wasn¡¯t exactly stellar. With the exception of maybe Grim, I was confident in my ability to take on any of the other aspirants one-on-one. Even against Grim, although I wasn¡¯t sure of my victory, I was sure I would not lose.

    Thus, I was now put in the lucrative position where I could theoretically extend my lead even further. All I had to do was kill some more of the opposition and steal their talismans.

    I was under no illusion that it wasn¡¯t a cruel and despicable thing to do. With every talisman I collected, I was basically throwing someone into the gutter. Every player killed was another player who would lose their chance to become an outer disciple of the White Tiger Sect.

    I knew all of this¡­ so then why did I find the prospect of being the hunter so exhilarating? In the end, I realized I wasn¡¯t like Percival, someone whose moral compass dictated their actions.

    No, I was more pragmatic than that.

    ¡°If I¡¯m going to do this, I need to establish some ground rules.¡± I thought as I leaned against a tree, my body hidden from anyone passing by on the road.

    ¡°First, I¡¯m not going to attack any NPCs.¡± Killing a fellow player was one thing, they¡¯d respawn and have another shot at a lesser sect after waiting out the death penalty. But the notion of permanently killing an NPC when they acted so¡­ human¡­ instinctively left a bad taste in my mouth.

    ¡°Second, I should pick my battles wisely. No fighting multiple players at the same time if I can help it.¡± When one mistake was all it took to lose everything, I wasn¡¯t going to take any exaggerated risks.

    ¡°Third¡­¡± Although despicable, this rule was warranted if I was going to do this. ¡°No leaving any witnesses behind.¡± After all, any potential witness could have a negative effect on my standing in the sect later on. If I could help it, I didn¡¯t want my reputation to be that of a deranged killer.

    ¡°Four, I¡¯m not going to attack any of the players who participated in the same recruitment as I did¡­ If they don¡¯t attack me first, that is.¡± The crab cake grandma¡¯s words echoed through my head: Durnatel wasn¡¯t the only town hosting a White Tiger Sect recruitment. And odds were that the closer I would get to the sect, the more provisional sect members I would stumble upon.

    ¡°Finally, I should focus on making some serious headway before wasting time trying to off my competition.¡± I didn''t want to take any unnecessary risks until my arrival at the sect was guaranteed. Moreover, I was certain that I wasn¡¯t far away from Lingxin¡¯s Pass, I could feel it in my bones.

    And so, after a quick break to satiate my hunger and slake my thirst in-game and in real life, I returned to the road and continued my journey.

    ¡­

 Chapter 11 - An Unfortunate Tragedy

    <h2>Chapter 11 - An Unfortunate Tragedy</h2>

    [¡°Bishop¡¯s Kendo Drills executed. Performance rating 40%.¡±]

    [¡°Results: Swordsmanship proficiency has increased moderately; upper body strength, breathing, and endurance have improved marginally.¡±]

    ¡°No level this time¡­¡± Breathlessly, I dismissed the notifications that promptly materialized after I¡¯d finished my nightly routine.

    I found that there was just something inherently different about doing my kendo drills when night had fallen. I loved how the movements of my blade would occasionally reflect beams of moonlight and how the scent of crisp air and wet moss pervaded everything. Additionally, again and again, I found myself forgetting about the fact that I was in a virtual world.

    Thus, even without receiving another level-up to my Swordsmanship proficiency, I was in an uncharacteristically good mood.

    And finally, through the gaps in the undergrowth hiding the little glade I was in, I saw what gladdened me the most.

    In a valley surrounded by dark hills and shadowy forest, Longxin¡¯s Pass shone like a jewel in the dark. The town bordered the Omowen Dynasty and marked a major milestone in my journey towards Mount Longhu. Compared to Durnatel, the town was both smaller and surrounded by a wooden barrier instead of a stone wall.

    It looked cosy.

    ¡°A great place for a pitstop.¡± Although it was quite possible that I could log out safely in the forest, my prior experience was too fresh to risk it.

    Turning towards the road with the ambition to descend to Longxin¡¯s Pass, I froze as - suddenly - an unexpected sound cut through the air, like a hot knife through butter.

    ¡°Huff¡­ huff¡­ huff¡­¡±

    Turning around, my eyes widened immediately. Illuminated by a stray moonbeam piercing through the canopy, two large, yellow-green eyes peered at me from the darkness of the dense thicket.

    A sense of coldness spread through my fingers as a low, predatory growl reverberated through the forest. The sound was the stuff of nightmares.

    ¡°Shit.¡± Scared out of my mind, I bolted as soon as I heard the first leaf rustle. Navigating nimbly through the trees, the dangling sword slapped against my leg, reminding me of its existence.

    Yet, even with the constant reminder, fighting was the furthest thing from my mind. Every step I took sent a series of bone-chilling shivers down my spine; and worse: the primal fear only intensified when the sound of the yellow-eyed beast following me reached my ears.

    Breaking through the shrubs, I threw myself onto the moonlit road. My heart pounded in my ears and I breathed erratically. Cursorily, I glanced over my shoulder, and the glimpse of the beast reassured me that I was right to run.

    Crashing through the undergrowth, shrubs, and thicket, like a car with no breaks, a rabid brown bear chased after me.

    A random group of travelers, players, appeared before me as I sprinted down the road.

    ¡°Stop! What do you think you-¡± The female player¡¯s eyes widened into saucers when she spotted the frenzied silhouette behind me.

    ¡°Fuck! RUN!¡±

    What followed was a flurry of hysteria that could only be described as chaotic. Already in full sprint, I passed the panicking group in a blur. At the moment, running fast was all I thought about. Unfortunately for the frightened players, the rumbling creature close on my heels had also built up a momentum that was now working in its favor.

    Evidently, the bear didn¡¯t discriminate between targets. A human was human; the details didn¡¯t matter.

    Before I knew it, horrible cracks resounded as bones were shattered under the significant weight of the enraged beast. Yet, I barely got any time to register the sound before it was muffled by the heart-wrenching screams that ensued.

    When I realized I was no longer a prioritized target, I hid behind the first cover I could find, which was naturally a shrub on the side of the road.

    Crouching behind my hiding spot, I gawked as the slaughter I was indirectly the cause of escalated. Some of the players who didn¡¯t immediately run tried to put up a token effort, but their weapons were no match against the livid beast whose natural weapons and defense turned it into an unstoppable meat grinder.

    Before long, the crystalline pixels disintegrated, leaving the heaving beast snarling angrily at the lack of corpses for it to feast upon. On the other side of the road, I discovered two more players hiding behind the thicket, much like what I was doing.

    The beast sniffed the air a couple of times, stalked around the area for a minute, before ultimately deciding to retreat back into the forest.

    ¡°That was a close call¡­¡± I unconsciously released a breath of relief. I wasn''t embarrassed to admit that I''d never been chased by a bear before. Nevertheless, for some reason, I doubted real bears were even half as crazed or frenzied as this one had been.

    Dusting off the dirt from my pants, I snuck a glance at the two players whispering on the other side of the road; a man and a woman. A part of me felt bad about what I¡¯d inadvertently done to their group, but it wasn''t like I''d done it on purpose.

    It was a life or death situation, and I wasn''t going to prioritize strangers¡¯ lives above my own. And while I''d feel worse if they''d been NPCs, I wouldn¡¯t have done anything differently.

    ¡°What do I do now¡­¡± I mused as I moved towards the road.

    ¡°Three players died.¡± I counted internally. ¡°How many were there in the group originally?¡± Try as I might, I couldn''t remember.

    When I reached the spot where the carnage had unfolded, all that was left were some scattered copper coins, a couple of shabby weapons, and four familiar-looking slips of paper.

    [¡°DerpDad¡¯s Provisional Outer Disciple Talisman (White Tiger Sect, Trial #214).¡±]

    [¡°Chromo¡¯s Provisional Outer Disciple Talisman (White Tiger Sect, Trial #214).¡±]

    [¡°Florensence¡¯s Provisional Outer Disciple Talisman (White Tiger Sect, Trial #214).¡±]

    Including the three talismans already in my pocket, I was now up to six.

    ¡°That''s not yours.¡± A voice suddenly said. Turning around I saw the two remaining players staring at me angrily, their eyes fixated on the talismans in my hand.

    ¡°Only one weapon¡­¡± I noted.

    ¡°They aren''t yours either.¡± I retorted while shamelessly pocketing the talismans. ¡°But since this whole tragedy was partly my fault, I don''t mind leaving you the copper.¡±

    ¡°You don''t mind?!¡± The unarmed woman yelled in a mixture of disbelief, surprise and hatred. ¡°You! You!¡±

    She took a deep breath.

    ¡°First you intentionally lead that ferocious beast to us, effectively killing half our god damn party; then you steal our team members¡¯ talismans, and then you have the audacity to say you don''t mind leaving us the money? As if you''re doing us some kind of favor? Who the fuc-!¡±

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°I already admitted I was partly to blame, okay?¡± I raised my hands in a universal sign of peace. ¡°As for stealing the talismans¡­¡± I tried to figure out a way for me to spin this in my favor.

    When I couldn''t think of something plausible, I went with the first idea that popped into my head.

    ¡°Since they aren''t exactly yours either, I say first come, first serve.¡± I nodded, somewhat pleased with my quick wit.

    ¡°First come, first serve?!¡± The woman¡¯s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her skull in anger. ¡°What are you, like twelve years old?!¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± She stopped to scrutinize my avatar with a sudden look of suspicion on her face. ¡°This isn¡¯t your actual appearance, is it?¡±

    Surprisingly, her guess was actually half-right. In the character customization, I had tried my best to base my avatar on my real life appearance, albeit from when I was fifteen and not forty-five. It''d been a fun little project, and I was pretty pleased with the results. Apart from some minor alterations, such as the unblemished skin, I definitely recognized myself in my avatar.

    ¡°Lana¡­¡± The male player muttered softly, nudging his comrade to focus. ¡°The talismans¡­"

    ¡°Right!¡± The female player, Lana, was mindful enough to throw a wary glance at my sword.

    ¡°At least leave us with two of the talismans¡­¡± She negotiated. ¡°You only need one anyway, right?¡±

    Now, in her defense, Lana''s willingness and readiness to negotiate did speak well about her character. And if I thought I''d be getting two trustworthy allies by giving them the talismans, I probably would have. All else aside, the truth was, I had been partly responsible for the death of her teammates, even if I hadn''t planned it. So if she was truly willing to let bygones be bygones by exchanging some talismans, I would probably acquiesce to her request in an effort to mend bridges.

    But based on her gritted teeth and the fiery look she was throwing me, I doubted that that was the case here.

    Still, now that I''d talked to her, and even knew her name and respected her a little, killing her was no longer an option.

    ¡°What a conundrum¡­¡± I frowned as I reflected on my options. The more I thought about it, the more I really didn''t want to kill her.

    ¡°Oh?¡± My inner musing was interrupted by the appearance of another stranger. Turning a corner, a new group of players appeared, the leader of which was walking towards us with a confident stride, a well maintained scabbard hanging on his waist.

    ¡°What do we have here?¡± He asked, seemingly amused by the appearance of our stand-off.

    ¡°Carlos!¡± Lana''s male companion exclaimed, evidently recognizing the approaching player. ¡°This guy just killed half our team, he''s got at least four talismans on him!¡±

    Seeing the looks of surprise and greed appear on the new group¡¯s faces, I knew it was time for me to run.

    And so, without even attempting to defend myself, I bolted.

    *****

    LanaekilI¡¯s point of view

    Watching the arrogant, pale-eyed thief scramble away as if his pants were on fire, I glared at my new friend.

    ¡°Neo, you moron!¡± I suppressed the urge to slap the back of his stupid head; for all that he reminds me of my little brother, Neo was not him.

    But at least the guy possessed the decency to look suitably chagrined.

    Some of Carlos¡¯ guys looked like they were ready to give chase, but since their leader raised a hand, they remained rooted.

    ¡°Like the good dogs they are.¡± I mused to myself.

    ¡°We meet again, Lana.¡± Carlos said with a confident grin, one that had helped him secure a leader role back at the evaluation.

    ¡°Did he really kill half your team, including the Derpman?¡± Carlos asked me as he moved closer.

    ¡°A bit too close.¡± I frowned as I took a step backwards.

    Carlos noticed it and stopped advancing towards us, still smiling his moronic grin.

    At first I hesitated on how much I should reveal to the guy. Carlos and his goons might''ve been a part of the same evaluation as us, but we weren''t allies.

    However, with only unreliable Neo left, I decided that the truth was my best option. Derpman wasn''t here and without him and the others, we stood no chance if Carlos decided to attack.

    ¡°Yeah, or well, not exactly.¡± I frowned as I remembered the angry beast that had single-handedly slaughtered three of my friends. What had the pale-eyed thief done to enrage a bear that much? Kicked one of its cubs?

    Realizing that the bear might still be present, my eyes shifted towards the dark treeline where the beast had disappeared.

    ¡°A ferocious bear appeared.¡± I explained before Neo could run his stupid mouth off again. ¡°One that was strong enough to easily slaughter our party. It killed Derpman, Chromo and Florens without taking any meaningful kind of damage.¡±

    Shock and surprise became evident on Carlos'' group''s faces.

    ¡°And?¡± Carlos pressed. ¡°Did you two kill it? Or did that guy?¡±

    ¡°Neither.¡± I answered. ¡°We hid.¡±

    ¡°It went back into the forest.¡± Neo elaborated, gesturing towards the treeline.

    Shock and surprise quickly morphed into fear as the group turned their attention towards the dark forest. Suddenly, as we stared into the shadows, it seemed almost as if black tendrils manifested and transformed into a variety of shapes and objects.

    But surely, it was just a figment of our overstimulated imagination.

    ¡°Anyhow.¡± Carlos¡¯ voice awakened everyone from their daze. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Lana, he won¡¯t get away with it. We¡¯ll avenge Derpman and the others.¡±

    ¡°And take their talismans for yourself you mean¡­¡± I kept my thoughts to myself.

    Clapping, he turned to the rest of his gang.

    ¡°This is what we¡¯ll do.¡± Carlos announced. ¡°Since we lost Jakesi and Snufkin in that skirmish earlier, Lana and Neo here will take their spots as our new teammates.¡±

    Without waiting for anyone¡¯s input or thoughts on the matter, Carlos continued.

    ¡°And since the bear might still be lurking around the area, I think it¡¯s best if we don¡¯t linger for too long.¡± Carlos turned to me. ¡°You agree, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Without a choice, I nodded. If I declined his invitation, I was afraid he¡¯d just kill me.

    ¡°Great.¡± Carlos¡¯ smile widened. ¡°Then let¡¯s keep moving.¡±

    I pointedly picked up Derpman¡¯s sword when we reached the site of the slaughter. Carlos looked like he was about to say something, but after glaring at him for a second, he wisely shut his stupid mouth again.

    <h2>¡­</h2>

 Chapter 12 - Ye Feng

    <h2>Chapter 12 - Ye Feng</h2>

    After I started running I didn¡¯t stop until I passed the gates leading into Longxin¡¯s Pass. At first I had fled to survive, but after realizing that no one was pursuing me, I ran because I could. It was a liberating sensation, feeling the wind push against your face as you sprinted as fast as your legs could carry you.

    It definitely didn''t have anything to do with the fact that the shadows in the dark forest scared the crap out of me.

    Using the copper coins I¡¯d looted from my aggressors, I procured a room in the first inn I stumbled across. It was a small and shabby establishment, and the brawny innkeeper looked like he did some side-hustle as either a bodyguard or a bouncer.

    It was expensive, but well worth the money.

    With the door locked behind me, I collapsed on the hard but comfortable bed.

    ¡°What a day¡­¡± I sighed. After going through the sect evaluation and a ten hour-long trek on foot, I had not only completed my swordsmanship drills but also escaped from a rabid bear. And to top it all off, I had to tactfully retreat when even more players had crawled up out of the woodwork.

    ¡°Probably more competitors¡­¡± I sighed internally. The two groups of players had seemed to be acquaintances. Evidently, it hadn¡¯t taken me long before I started leaving witnesses behind my little escapades.

    Though, to be fair, I hadn¡¯t exactly foreseen the whole bear fiasco. For ten whole hours I had walked along the forest line, and apart from an overzealous boar and a failed ambush attempt, I hadn¡¯t had a single accident. Thus, after several hours with no incidents, I had naturally been lulled into a false sense of safety.

    However, in hindsight, it probably couldn¡¯t have unfolded more serendipitously than it did. Not only did I survive without a scratch despite nearly literally poking the bear, but I had gotten away with three more talismans, bringing my total up to six.

    Admittedly, I didn¡¯t feel great about what had happened to the group, but I wasn¡¯t overly hung up on it either. In a couple of hours they¡¯d respawn again, far wiser after this valuable learning experience.

    And so, feeling significantly safer in my rented accommodation, I logged out for the night.

    ¡­

    The next morning arrived without much fanfare and after a quick morning coffee, I returned to the exciting world of Cultivation Online.

    Back inside the inn, I greeted the rising sun outside my window with a faint smile on my lips. A quick check confirmed that both Dark and Atom were already online, hopefully also on their way to the White Tiger Sect, having passed their evaluation. The friendship feature was handy to check whether someone was online, but it would¡¯ve been even handier if you could send private messages through it too.

    Stretching my limbs, I opened the door to the 2nd floor hallway, ready to continue my journey. I had until dusk to make it to Mount Longhu, and if the young guard from Durnatel was right, I would be able to spot the mountain in the north-eastern horizon by now.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡± My face blanched as I accidentally locked eyes with the person exiting the room adjacent to mine.

    ¡°Thief?¡± The young woman from yesterday, Lana, questioned with a sleepy look on her face. Her faculties obviously weren''t firing on all cylinders yet.

    Consequently, I did what any sane person would do in my situation, I stepped back into my room and closed the door in her confused face. Naturally, the door was locked as well.

    ¡°Not good.¡± In retrospect, I¡¯d been too careless.

    Again.

    As fatigued and sleep-deprived as I had been yesterday, I hadn¡¯t considered anything else apart from logging out in a place where I wouldn¡¯t be ambushed immediately.

    ¡°Only to wind up making the same mistake again.¡± On reflection, it didn¡¯t require a genius to figure out that the players would take a rest in Longxin¡¯s Pass.

    Bang! Bang!

    ¡°Open up!¡± Lana¡¯s scream reverberated through the entire inn. ¡°Open the door you fucking moron!¡±

    After a quick survey, I hurried over to the only alternate exit: the window. Poking my head out I eyeballed the height.

    ¡°I can make that.¡± Thus, before I started second guessing myself, I squeezed myself out of the second floor window.

    ¡°This is gonna hurt.¡± I thought before letting go of the windowsill.

    ¡°Ouch.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but wince as my butt landed on the ground. Fortunately, no debilitating injury hindered my movements.

    And so, for the third time in less than twelve hours, I fled the scene.

    ¡­

    After filling my water canteen and exchanging my final copper coin for two pieces of stale bread, I expediently exited the town, leaving its angry occupant behind me.

    Moreover, like the young guard had claimed, in the distant north-eastern horizon, I saw it.

    A massive mountain piercing the clouds. Even from so far away, I could feel the immense presence it emitted.

    Mount Longhu was finally in sight.

    ¡­

    Two hours later, I stopped on the side of the road to take what I felt was a well-deserved breather. In an effort to save time, I had defaulted to jogging towards the mountain that was still looming in the distance. Shockingly, despite two whole hours of jogging, when I looked at the colossal presence, it felt like I hadn¡¯t moved an inch.

    Thus, I made it a point to not look at the mountain as I moved closer.

    Interestingly, on this side of Longxin¡¯s Pass, the landscape was a lot more mountainous, with rolling hills stitched closely together. It kind of reminded me of that one time I visited San Francisco, only with a lot more greenery and a lot less people.

    The resemblance only increased when you took the morning fog into consideration.

    Furthermore, unlike yesterday, I no longer felt the same level of dread when I peered into the thickets of the forest. Despite the fog somewhat hindering my vision, it was still much clearer than it had been during the night.

    I realized it was never the darkness that frightened me, it was what it shrouded.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Still, my encounter with the bear had provided me with a new and significant sense of respect towards the forest and all of its mysterious inhabitants.

    Thus, I reacted nearly instantaneously when a blurry silhouette jumped at me from the treeline.

    Still, despite my reaction time, I winced as the edge of a blade cut across my chest, leaving a thin line of blood in its wake.

    I expected a beast, so my eyes widened when I noticed it was a young man who¡¯d attacked me.

    Taking two steps backwards, I drew my sword in one motion. With its reassuring weight in my hands, an inexplicably profound calmness found me.

    ¡°Come on then you piece of shit.¡± I cursed the actions of my dishonorable opponent, completely ignoring the fact that I easily could¡¯ve done the same thing if I was in their shoes.

    When the realization that I wasn¡¯t dead yet sunk into my opponent, a wary look manifested on his asian face.

    ¡°He kinda looks like a-¡± My careless contemplation nearly cost me my life.

    Thankfully, my body reacted before my mind did.

    Metal clashed against metal, and I realized we were approximately of the same strength.

    Unlike me, however, my opponent was neither distracted nor hesitant to inflict injury.

    Hence, I blanched when my opponent¡¯s fist hit me in the face.

    ¡°Fuck that hurt.¡± I spit out a mouthful of blood as I retreated backwards. Yet, my opponent wasn''t having it.

    Blocking another swing that easily would¡¯ve decapitated me if I didn¡¯t react on time, I observed my opponent flex his shoulder in a familiar way. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t.¡±

    Unwilling to feel the taste of another suckerpunch, I dodged downwards like I was in the ring of a boxing match.

    My opponent¡¯s choreographed punch missed by mere millimeters and suddenly, his frame was wide-open. Following my screaming instincts, I utilized the advantage, maneuvered my sword, and stabbed forward.

    Honestly, it shocked me how easily the sword pierced through my opponent¡¯s chest.

    A look of unrestrained horror blossomed in my opponent¡¯s countenance as his raspy voice gasped for air. Additionally, since I was currently inside his guard, I was close enough to smell his breath as it puffed against my face.

    Withdrawing my bloodied sword, my opponent collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. Soon thereafter, blood started to pool around him, saturating the ground crimson red.

    [¡°You have killed a mortal human with a sword. Swordsmanship proficiency has increased significantly.¡±]

    [¡°Results: +1 Swordsmanship Lv. (Beginner 6 > 7). Your nascent killing intent has developed immensely and is starting to show signs of fruition.¡±]

    It took me a few seconds before I realized what was wrong.

    The corpse wasn¡¯t turning into pixels.

    Breathing erratically I looked at my bloodied hands; the scent of blood was overpowering. Suddenly and unrestrainedly, the NPCs'' horrified look flashed before my inward eye. His raspy gasp echoing through my mind.

    I felt like vomiting.

    Without caring about anything else, I logged out on the spot.

    ¡­

    Even after emptying the contents of my stomach while kneeling in the bathroom, the NPC¡¯s horrified face remained stubbornly imprinted on my mind. Try as I might, I couldn¡¯t seem to erase it.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I told myself repeatedly. ¡°It was just an NPC.¡± I thought over and over again.

    Still, the horrified look remained, haunting me. And his raspy gasp, taunting me.

    ¡°You did what you had to.¡± I repeated again, like a mantra. ¡°He attacked me first. I only defended myself.¡±

    Inadvertently, I remembered the distinct smell of the NPC¡¯s final breath.

    It was the scent of a human.

    I proceeded to retch until I stopped producing any more vomit.

    ¡­

    Nearly thirty minutes passed before I had gathered enough willpower to pull myself together again. Realizing I positively reeked of sweat and vomit, I silently entered the shower.

    To think that just yesterday, I had marvelled endlessly about the game¡¯s ability to perfectly replicate the human senses. The vivid realism of the game had enraptured me entirely.

    Now, remembering how easily my sword had pierced through the NPC¡¯s chest, I couldn¡¯t help but to feel somewhat disillusioned. There was no doubt in my mind that the game was incredible; I just didn¡¯t know if it was unreservedly a good thing.

    Once I was clean, I returned to my bedroom wearing the tattered old bathrobe I¡¯d received from my children on my thirtieth birthday.

    On my bedsheets, my VR HeadGear rested innocently, unaware or uncaring of my inner turmoil.

    After a minute of reflection, I put the device on and re-entered Cultivation Online.

    ¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re still here huh¡­¡± I thought as I stared down at the corpse below me. ¡°Of course you are.¡±

    Closing my eyes, I steeled my resolve.

    After a lot of emotionless patting, I quickly removed myself from the pale-faced corpse carrying three additional, bloodstained talismans clenched in my hands. And whilst the discovery of the talismans had provided me with a motive for the young man¡¯s attack, it had done very little to comfort me.

    [¡°Chen Delan¡¯s Provisional Outer Disciple Talisman (White Tiger Sect, Trial #177).¡±]

    [¡°Sun Hui¡¯s Provisional Outer Disciple Talisman (White Tiger Sect, Trial #178).¡±]

    [¡°Ye Feng¡¯s Provisional Outer Disciple Talisman (White Tiger Sect, Trial #223).¡±]

    When I read the name on the last talismans, I had proceeded to study the corpse with a morbid obsession.

    The conclusion of my findings was that the NPC I had killed possessed an oval-shaped face and a defined chin that, on a closer look, was somewhat reminiscent of the grandma who¡¯d helped me back in Easton.

    I chucked mirthlessly at the cruel twist of fate.

    ¡°...¡± Not knowing what to say or do, I did the first thing that came to my head.

    I pulled the corpse into the bushes.

    ¡°I¡¯d bury you if I had more time.¡± I proclaimed softly, but If the words were meant for Ye Feng or for me, I did not know.

    And so, with a grand total of nine talismans folded in my pocket, I carried on with my journey.

    Maybe it was just a coincidence, but when I glanced at the horizon, Mount Longhu appeared to be a lot closer all of a sudden.

    ¡­

 Chapter 13 - The Real Challenge Begins

    <h2>Chapter 13 - The Real Challenge Begins</h2>

    After the whole Ye Feng incident, I couldn¡¯t help but to feel like some of the novelty of the trial had lost its original appeal. At this moment, all I wanted was to be done with it.

    Sure, I could most likely accumulate a few more talismans if I played my cards right, but at this point, I just wanted to finish the trials and start cultivating in peace.

    Unfortunately, however, my wish turned out to be a pipe dream as the closer I got to Mount Longhu, the more the roads converged, subsequently increasing the number of provisional disciples roaming around.

    At this point, I couldn¡¯t trust anyone who even resembled a teenager.

    Of course, I did my best to sneak around the ones on my path, but I knew in my heart that it was only a question of time before someone found me.

    And once they did, another deathmatch would undoubtedly erupt. Moreover, though it pained me to admit, I still wasn¡¯t ready to surrender, not after everything that had happened already.

    Killing Ye Feng had undisputedly affected me greatly, but I honestly didn¡¯t know if I would¡¯ve done anything differently if I had to go through it again. The closer I got to Mount Longhu, the clearer it became to me that I was willing to do next to everything to reach it.

    Maybe it was the game manipulating me, but for some reason, I didn¡¯t think so.

    No, Mount Lonhu and the correlated sect had turned into something more than merely a destination. The looming mountain had transformed into a purpose. One that I had sorely lacked for a long time.

    And now that I was so close to attaining it, I couldn¡¯t find it in me to give it up.

    Thus, I turned into a shadow, skulking behind trees and shrubs as I advanced towards the distant mountain, hiding from both man and beast alike. Though it slowed down my journey immensely, my efforts did not go unrewarded.

    [¡°By successfully sneaking past five potential enemies without arousing suspicion, you have unlocked the proficiency ¡°Stealth¡±. You can check the progress of your proficiencies under the cultivation tab.¡±]

    Even without a cultivation method, my progress was coming along nicely.

    [Cultivation]

    [Name: Bishop]

    [Age: 15]

    [Cultivation Aptitude: 14 ¡ï]

    [Affinities: Sword, Water]

    [Affiliation: White Tiger Sect (Rank 4)]

    [Rank: Provisional Outer Disciple]

    [Cultivation Stage: Mortal]

    [Cultivation Method: N/A]

    [Qi: N/A]

    [Proficiencies]

    [Swordsmanship - Beginner Lv. 7]

    [Meditation - Beginner Lv. 1]

    [Stealth - Beginner Lv.1]

    Evidently, it was clear that my swordsmanship was both head and shoulders ahead of my other proficiencies. The reason, I reckoned, was multifaceted. Naturally, the progress of my swordsmanship proficiency could be attributed to experience. I¡¯d simply participated in a lot more combat scenarios than I had meditated lately. However, I also surmised that it was intricately connected to my sword affinity

    I suspected that my affinities partly acted as passive experience multipliers for any related proficiency. Although still a conjecture, I was pretty confident in my hypothesis.

    Finally, I couldn¡¯t dismiss the role that my basic swordsmanship exercise ¡°Bishop¡¯s Kendo Drills¡± played in the development of my proficiency.

    Not that I¡¯d had much opportunity to exercise lately.

    Skulking behind the thickets, I kept a close eye out for wild beasts, and another eye out for provisional disciple competitors. The closer I got to Mount Longhu, the fewer players I detected and the more NPCs appeared. I speculated that this was the real challenge for any player who aspired to join a rank 4 sect.

    You had to make it through this proverbial ocean of talisman-hungry aspirants in one piece somehow.

    More and more it looked like I¡¯d made the wrong decision to go about this single-handedly. Undoubtedly, there was strength in numbers and if I¡¯d stayed with Percival, Lilac, Raven, and Grim, I probably wouldn¡¯t have had to sneak through the bushes like some kind of animal.

    Additionally, I was readily aware of the fact that what I was doing wasn¡¯t sustainable. At any moment, a beast could appear and the gig would be up. Neither was I foolish enough to rely on lady luck rescuing me twice in a row this close in succession.

    No, it was clear that, whilst I didn¡¯t know when, I would have to wet my sword again and carve out my own path to Mount Longhu. And this time, I wouldn¡¯t be allowed to show even a hint of mercy or remorse as any hesitance could easily spell my doom.

    The time for second guessing myself was over.

    Finally, just as I was starting to grow tired of traversing the undergrowth, it happened. After following the road whilst maintaining a carefully measured distance into the forest, a ravine appeared in my path.

    Moreover, in order to cross the ravine, one would have to follow a narrow road snaking its way down the canyon before once again ascending a steep slope on the other side. During the walk down the ravine and the subsequent ascent, one would essentially be a sitting duck for both ambushes and ranged weaponry.

    Although I hadn¡¯t personally encountered anyone with a bow yet, I was willing to bet a thumb and a pinky that the native NPCs were much better equipped than players at this point of the game. Even Ye Feng had wielded a proper sword. A far cry from the sharpened twigs my original ambushers had attacked me with.

    While considering my options, a part of me wanted to try circling around the ravine. But with the sun blazing overhead, I wasn¡¯t sure if gambling on there being another way across was the right way to go. Albeit unlikely, this could quite possibly be the only way across for miles to come.

    And so, unwilling to commit to either alternative, I postponed the decision while taking a break to catch my breath.

    ¡­

    Fortunately, the wait paid off as in less than half an hour, a familiar group of players appeared, trudging on the road.

    ¡°We meet again, Lana.¡± I thought as I sneakily observed them from behind some bushes. Slowly but surely, they approached the ravine. Furthermore, I could easily tell by their rough appearances and measured stride that they hadn¡¯t gotten here unmolested.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    They were also noticeably fewer than they¡¯d been originally, from seven they were down to four.

    Apart from Lana and her male companion, there were two other players. One of whom was clearly the leader of the group: a surprisingly muscular man with facial hair. If I didn¡¯t know for a fact that all players had to choose an age between thirteen and eighteen, I never would¡¯ve guessed he was a teenager. I remembered him as the person whom Lana¡¯s male companion had called Carlos.

    The second stranger was clearly the most perceptive out of the bunch, since he nearly spotted me hiding behind the thicket..

    They reached the ravine quickly enough before pausing to have an animated conversation. Unfortunately, I was too far away to hear what they were talking about, and I didn¡¯t dare to approach any closer with how annoyingly perceptive they were.

    Nevertheless, a pleased smile spread on my lips when I noticed that they¡¯d made their decision.

    They were entering the ravine.

    *****

    LanaekilI¡¯s point of view

    Today had started off bad, before taking a nosedive to become way worse.

    To begin, the arrogant thief who¡¯d run off with our talismans had actually had the audacity to stay in the same inn as us! We¡¯d all assumed he¡¯d skipped town entirely before logging out somewhere in the endless forest. But no, the crazy bastard had rented the room right next to mine!

    ¡°Before jumping out of the window¡­¡± I thought about the nature of his escape. Try as I might, I couldn¡¯t suppress the faint smirk that his actions elicited from me. Was I really that scary? For him to choose to jump out of a second floor window instead of risking a confrontation¡­ I had to be, right?

    Naturally, I¡¯d told Carlos¡¯ party about my discovery, but after hearing about the thief¡¯s escape, the bastard hadn¡¯t even bothered rising from his chair.

    That was when I decided to ditch them the first chance I got.

    Neo, that two-faced idiot, had also shown his true colors now that he couldn¡¯t brown-nose Derpman anymore.

    Unreliable morons, the whole lot of them.

    And they sure did their best to live up to my low expectations when, after a needlessly long breakfast, they picked a fight with every critter, player, and NPC we came across.

    The critters died easily enough. But the players either ran off before we could finish them, or they took one of the morons down with them.

    It was when Carlos and his goons started killing NPCs randomly that I started to feel a bit queasy about my new albeit temporary party. During breakfast, we¡¯d all bonded over how amazing the NPCs were in this game, how life-like and animated their AI¡¯s were.

    I¡¯d even seen NPC children running around playing hide-and-seek in town. To my eyes, they were virtually indistinguishable from real humans.

    So, when Carlos and his goons started killing them without hesitation, I immediately felt uncomfortable in the pit of my stomach. Admittedly, it was hard to argue against their claim that all they were doing was farming a bunch of ones and zeroes. But when mimicry of life becomes indistinguishable from real life, is it still just a bunch of ones and zeroes?

    Personally, I didn¡¯t know the answer to that question. But I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t laugh as I cut a limb off of an NPC all while listening to them scream in pain.

    And worse, albeit after a brief moment of hesitation, even Neo had joined our new teammates in the slaughter.

    That was when I realized I¡¯d truly lost the spineless, brown-nosing suck-up.

    Thus, I wasn¡¯t overly disheartened when the group began to decrease, one member at a time. Disturbingly, however, Carlos didn¡¯t seem to mind either, as he smilingly pocketed his former teammates'' talismans.

    Several hours after we left Lonxin¡¯s Pass, we reached a ravine; and almost immediately, a quarrel erupted as to whether we should cross it or go around it.

    Surprisingly, Carlos¡¯ right-hand man Deus agreed with me that entering the ravine would be a foolhardy idea. However, neither Carlos nor Neo liked the idea of having to search for another way across. Hence, to my growing exasperation, we opted to risk it.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong.¡± Deus warned us again and again but to diminishing avail. Apparently, his tracking proficiency was acting up and telling him all sorts of things. Yet the group took his warnings with a grain of salt since they hadn¡¯t always been the most accurate throughout our journey. If we¡¯d stopped every time he¡¯d told us too, we would probably still be in Longxin¡¯s Pass.

    Still, as we descended the cliff, my hand was firmly grasping the hilt of Derpman¡¯s sword.

    We made it all the way down into the ravine without raising any death flags. Sure, Neo had slipped on some pebbles and nearly fallen to his death at some point, but he¡¯d recovered quickly enough.

    Needless to say, just as we were about to cross the bottom of the ravine, a group of Asian youths emerged from the shadows behind the boulders scattered around the area.

    The teenagers, who were obviously provisional disciples from the looks of it, were equipped with better weaponry and skill. Even worse? They outnumbered us, five to four.

    ¡°Can we win?¡± I glanced back at the snaking slope behind us. ¡°Can we retreat?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t mind sparing your lives if you hand over all of your talismans.¡± The leader of our ambushers announced with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, one that rivalled Carlos¡¯ ugly mutt.

    ¡°Oh?¡± To his credit, Carlos managed to look completely unperturbed, as if he¡¯d been expecting the ambush from the very beginning. Unpocketting a couple of talismans, he waved them in the air. ¡°Are you talking about these? Why should I?¡±

    The Asian youth clearly wasn¡¯t a fan of Carlos¡¯ lackadaisical approach.

    ¡°On second thought.¡± The Asian teenager stopped smiling. ¡°I think we¡¯ll just take them from your mutilated corpse instead.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Carlos¡¯s eyes shined as the rest of us prepared for the inevitable clash. ¡°An NPC will definitely be mutilated today.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell who it was that initiated the fray, but suddenly, the sound of metal clashing against metal was all that was heard.

    ¡°That fucking moron.¡± I gritted my teeth as I defended myself against a sword-swinging adolescent. The determination and confidence in his eyes trumped my own as I retreated backwards step-by-step.

    ¡­

 Chapter 14 - The First Supremacy

    <h2>Chapter 14 - The First Supremacy</h2>

    I wasn¡¯t overly surprised when I saw Lana¡¯s group being ambushed by a gang of NPCs at the bottom of the ravine. Despite the antagonistic nature of the trial, many aspirants had evidently deemed it necessary to group up in order to increase their odds of survival. It was a good strategy, but I doubted even childhood friends felt much trust towards each other at this moment.

    Although solitary players were the minority and in disadvantage, I still preferred it over having to leave my back open to unreliable allies.

    That was just a quick way to get backstabbed.

    I didn¡¯t leave my hiding spot until the skirmish began. From a glance, it was clear that the NPCs had this fight in the bag.

    ¡°Though admittedly, Carlos is doing a surprisingly good job keeping two fighters at bay single-handedly.¡±

    Unlike Carlos who was clearly not unused to swordsmanship, Lana was swinging hers around like a baseball bat.

    Skulking along the edges of the ravine, I kept to the shadows while the fighting escalated.

    Lana¡¯s male companion was surprisingly the first one to fall, but now without leaving a gaping wound on his killer, functionally taking him out of the action.

    Additionally, despite her feral combat style, Lana was clearly struggling as she kept retreating backwards. With each step, she was brought closer to the wall of the ravine and thereupon, her death.

    ¡°Should I?¡± I hesitated on what to do. With the two groups occupied, I believed in my ability to sneak past the whole skirmish relatively undetected. Moreover, even if someone did catch sight of me, I suspected they wouldn¡¯t prioritize me over the person swinging a sword in their face.

    ¡°Urgh¡­¡± I gritted my teeth in frustration. I had told myself I was done fighting in this trial, but here I was, itching to join the fray anyway.

    Ultimately, my decision boiled down to the simple fact that I kind of liked Lana¡¯s spunk. For all the irritation she¡¯d caused me, I didn¡¯t want her journey to end like this. Not when I could easily change it.

    ¡°With this¡­¡± I thought as I snuck up to where Lana and her opponent were battling. ¡°I will have made amends for the bear incident. There¡¯s no way she would ask for the talismans back if I saved her life.¡±

    [¡°You have successfully launched-¡±]

    [¡°Result: +1 Stealth Lv.¡±]

    Ignoring the prompts, I took advantage of Lana¡¯s opponent¡¯s singular focus and attacked from the side.

    The poor teenager didn¡¯t even have time to register my blade before it was over.

    I pointedly didn¡¯t look away as his decapitated head bounced and splattered against the ground, leaving disgusting bloodstains in its trail. The realism of the game once again crept up on me.

    ¡°You made this decision.¡± I squashed the nausea like a bug before it could fully emerge. ¡°He was just an NPC.¡± I repeated my mantra but to little effect. Nevertheless, it dawned on me that killing this teenager didn¡¯t affect me as much as Ye Feng¡¯s death had.

    A feral looking Lana seemed like she was ready to attack me before her eyes suddenly widened in realization of who I was. Nevertheless, despite recognizing me as a fellow player, she didn¡¯t lower her sword.

    ¡°Smart.¡± I approved inwardly, my eyes unconsciously drifting to the numerous prompts that had manifested before me.

    [¡°You have killed a mortal human with a sword. Swordsmanship proficiency has increased marginally.¡±]

    [¡°By repeatedly wetting your sword in the blood of your enemies, you have shown little hesitation in your intent to kill other human beings. Though the guilt weighs on you heavily afterwards, you willingly bear the burden while continuing to dispense your personal form of justice. You have hereby unlocked the supremacy ¡°Killing Intent¡±. You can follow the progression of your supremacies under the cultivation tab.¡±]

    [¡°Congratulations! You are the 5th player to unlock a supremacy. Would you like to announce your achievement in a world-wide announcement?¡±]

    Postponing the prompts for now, I picked up the two talismans that the headless adolescent had dropped, bringing my total up to eleven.

    Just as I was about to leave, however, Lana whispered harshly.

    ¡°Wait!¡± She slowly lowered her sword, huffing and puffing from exertion. ¡°Why¡¯d you help me?¡± She hissed at me with a suspicious look. Her eyes were clearly scrutinizing my expression.

    However, this was neither the place or time for a conversation.

    Shaking my head, I gestured towards the ongoing skirmish. Carlos was slowly losing ground against his two opponents while their final teammate looked like he was ready to pass out with a number of wounds riddling his physique.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to help them?¡± I asked, trying to avert her attention from me. With her, they¡¯d be three versus three.

    However, to my surprise, she shook her head.

    ¡°No, those morons can eat a sword for all I care.¡± She frowned at the two players who I¡¯d assumed were her teammates. Shaking her head, she looked at me with a hesitant look.

    ¡°You wanna gang up?¡± She asked suddenly, catching me off guard.

    ¡°To ask that here of all places.¡± I smiled mirthlessly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind having this conversation later.¡± I expertly postponed my answer.

    Unfortunately, the furrowed eyebrows on Lana¡¯s face indicated that she¡¯d picked up on what I was doing. Nevertheless, she must¡¯ve partly agreed since she nodded in response.

    ¡°Lana!¡± Carlos yelled as he deflected a sword. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡±

    Pausing on her way towards the slope, Lana scoffed as she looked at her former teammate.

    ¡°You two seem like you got this.¡± She answered him. ¡°They are just NPCs after all.¡± Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

    Gesturing her to follow, Lana nodded while she shouted over her shoulder.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯ll be going ahead!¡±

    ¡°You bitch!¡± Carlos cursed loudly as he swung at his opponent. ¡°I¡¯ll fucking get you for this!¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    Shaking my head at their bickering, I wisely chose to stay out of it. My objective was complete. Not only had I advanced across the ravine, but I was two talismans richer as well.

    ¡°So¡­¡± Lana followed me with a pleased skip to her step. I didn¡¯t know their story, but it was obvious that there was no love lost between her and her former party. Not that I was going to stick my nose where it didn¡¯t belong. ¡°Since we¡¯re sort of allies now, I can¡¯t keep referring to you as the thief now, can I?¡±

    Shaking my head at her roundabout way of asking me for my name, I continued walking. The slope was steep, but it didn¡¯t take long before we left the ravine behind us.

    ¡°My name¡¯s Bishop.¡± I answered once we had ascended the slope.

    ¡°Like the chesspiece?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°So you like chess?¡±

    ¡°No, not really.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you name your character-¡±

    Turning around, I looked Lana in the eyes.

    I admit, her spunky attitude wasn¡¯t the only reason I¡¯d saved her, she was quite pretty too. Nevertheless, despite deceiving appearances, I wasn¡¯t actually a hormonal teenager who¡¯d let his decisions be dictated by every cute girl that crossed his path.

    I might¡¯ve been, at one point in my life, but I liked to believe that I had learnt from my mistakes. People liked to say that wisdom comes with age, but in reality, it was more apt to say that it came from committing mistakes and self-reflecting enough to learn from them.

    And I knew for a fact that I liked reflecting on things. Which helped me a lot in situations such as these.

    The simple truth was that I¡¯d helped her because I hadn¡¯t wanted her to die. That was it. It wasn¡¯t because of some misbegotten hero complex nor was it because I wanted a tag-along to ask me twenty questions for the remainder of my journey

    ¡°Then again¡­¡± I frowned at her confused countenance. ¡°I have recently discovered the disadvantages of being a solo player¡­¡±

    Furthermore, maybe it was time for me to start cultivating some beneficial relationships with future sect members.

    When all was said and done, I only had one issue with partying up with Lana.

    ¡°Can I trust you?¡± I asked bluntly. Albeit spunky and cute, Lana had also shown a proclivity to abandon her teammates in the thick of things. It wasn¡¯t exactly an attractive trait in a potential ally.

    Lana looked at me dumbfoundedly. Yet, after a brief moment, she shook her head mirthlessly.

    ¡°Would you trust me even if I said yes?¡± She sighed in defeat.

    Honestly, after thinking about it, I found that I probably preferred her answer over an immediate and thoughtless affirmation.

    ¡°I have eleven talismans.¡± I revealed suddenly, scrutinizing her reaction closely. If she attacked, I was confident in my ability to defeat her. Killing another player wouldn¡¯t  faze me at this point.

    There was shock and surprise, but no conspicuous signs of jealousy or greed blossoming on her countenance.

    ¡°She¡¯s either an excellent actress¡­¡± I thought. ¡°Or a surprisingly good person.¡±

    Although I liked to believe that the latter was true, I wasn¡¯t willing to extend my trust to her just yet.

    Nevertheless, I had made my decision. And before I could start second guessing myself, I sent her a friend request.

    Lana¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as an invisible prompt supposedly appeared before her.

    [¡°New friend ¡®LanaekilI¡¯ registered.¡±]

    And so, my once empty friendlist got its third occupant.

    ¡­

    Once we had gotten suitably acquainted with each other, I directed my attention to the prompts I¡¯d ignored up until now.

    [Cultivation]

    [Name: Bishop]

    [Age: 15]

    [Cultivation Aptitude: 14 ¡ï]

    [Affinities: Sword, Water]

    [Affiliation: White Tiger Sect (Rank 4)]

    [Rank: Provisional Outer Disciple]

    [Cultivation Stage: Mortal]

    [Cultivation Method: N/A]

    [Qi: N/A]

    [Proficiencies]

    [Swordsmanship - Beginner Lv. 7]

    [Stealth - Beginner Lv.2]

    [Meditation - Beginner Lv. 1]

    [Supremacies]

    [Killing Intent - Beginner Lv.1]

    My stealth had levelled up, inadvertently pushing my meditation proficiency down to last place. Hopefully, this was something I could remedy once I got accepted into the sect.

    Then, there was the new supremacy that had been added to the bottom of my cultivation tab.

    After a moment of deliberation, I decided that it was in my best interests not to announce my new trump card to the rest of the playerbase. My reasoning was probably the same as the four other players who¡¯d learnt their supremacy before me.

    Nevertheless, it was surprisingly difficult to dismiss my useless sense of vanity.

    ¡°Still¡­¡± My brows furrowed as I thought about my new ability. ¡°With 10,000,000 active players, shouldn¡¯t more people have unlocked Killing Intent by now?¡±

    Compared to my scanty four kills, there were undoubtedly plenty of players who¡¯d killed a lot more players and NPCs than I had during these past four days. Consequently, I couldn¡¯t figure out why there weren¡¯t more supremacies circling around already.

    ¡°There must be some kind of hidden criteria that I¡¯m not seeing¡­¡±

    I was so deep in thought that I didn¡¯t notice the weird looks Lana was shooting at me.

    ¡°Bishop?¡± Lana questioned, jolting me from my daze with an unimpressed expression on her face. ¡°This really isn¡¯t the time to be walking around in a daze.¡±

    A bit chagrined, I nodded. She was right after all.

    We advanced in a comfortable silence for a while before Lana felt the need to ruin it.

    ¡°Bishop.¡± She began, sounding a bit hesitant. ¡°I was wondering¡­ what is your stand on killing NPCs?¡±

    Hopefully, she didn¡¯t notice me flinching after hearing her question. But based on how needlessly perceptive the woman was, I doubted she¡¯d missed it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it¡­¡± Unlike her other inane questions, this one felt like it deserved a proper answer.  ¡°I¡¯ve only killed two NPCs so far, and I can¡¯t say either of them was a pleasant experience¡­ I know they are NPCs, of course, but with how realistic the game can be¡­¡± I left the rest unsaid.

    When Lana remained quiet, I continued.

    ¡°But,¡± I looked towards the distant mountain. ¡°Recently, I decided that I would do what I have to do in the world. Not only to survive, but to flourish. And if that means I have to slaughter NPCs, then I¡¯ll just have to bear the burden.¡±

    ¡°Definitely not his real appearance¡­¡± I heard Lana mutter softly before shaking her head with a faint smile on her lips.

    ¡°I get what you¡¯re saying.¡± She responded. ¡°Since my first session, I haven¡¯t been able to get over how lifelike the NPCs in this world can be.¡±

    I nodded silently; I felt the same.

    ¡°So¡­¡± A dark expression appeared on Lana¡¯s face as she continued. ¡°When Carlos, Deus, and the others started killing and taking joy in hurting the NPC we stumbled across¡­¡±

    Surprise turned into anger when I realized what she was saying.

    ¡°They tortured NPCs?¡± I asked for clarification.

    Seeing her nod I immediately regretted not taking the opportunity to kill Carlos and his friend down in the ravine. I had considered it of course, but ultimately I had decided not to risk it with how many they were.

    Maybe it was hypocritical of me to hate him for it seeming as I wasn¡¯t exactly innocent myself. But the thought of someone taking joy in murdering NPCs sent a wave of repulsion through my stomach.

    With neither of us in any mood to continue the conversation after that, the silence returned.

    Furthermore, as we advanced towards Mount Longhu, the landscape continued to change. The persistent mountainous terrain that had accompanied us until now eventually became flatter and flatter as wide-open plains and cultivated fields replaced the thickets and trees.

    The only thing that remained ubiquitous was the looming presence in the distance. And now that we were closer, the sheer scope of the mountain became harder and harder to ignore.

    It was like we were walking towards the world border, tall enough to pierce the heavens.

    The open fields also meant that it became increasingly easier to spot our fellow contenders. If there ever was a time to be wary, it was now.

    Having said that, it seemed like most aspirants who¡¯d reached this point weren¡¯t eager to risk dying.

    Thus, keeping a steady eye out for any potential ambushes, Lana and I entered the final phase of our journey.

    ¡­

 Chapter 15 - Vigilance

    <h2>Chapter 15 - Vigilance</h2>

    The last stretch to the mountain quickly proved to be the most perilous part of our journey. Most of it was spent laboring under constant vigilance. Since there were only two of us, Lana and I had to exhaust every possible countermeasure to prevent being ganged up on by a larger group or sandwiched between two parties of aspirants.

    Thus, we carefully maintained our distance to our competitors, slowing down and increasing our pace when we felt the need to. When we didn¡¯t have any other choice, we calmly retreated until the coast looked clear again. Hiding would be impossible with the scant number of trees and boulders scattered haphazardly around the plains.

    No, if we were attacked, it was clear to me that we either had to flee or kill our enemies promptly. Any prolonged confrontation would spell disaster for all participants in an open area like this.

    It was fortunate then that Lana and I weren¡¯t the only ones who¡¯d realized that their lives were in jeopardy. And since no one was prepared to die here, actual altercation between aspirants was surprisingly rare outside of smaller scuffles.

    The sun was beginning to set, heralding the end of the trial. However, with the progress we¡¯d made already, I was confident we would make it on time.

    ¡°Ten o¡¯clock.¡± Lana suddenly said, warning me about a group of aspirants approaching from a converging road.

    Nodding, I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly. Like I had done to the previous groups, I locked eyes with the teen whom I assumed was the leader. Once I felt like we had a good understanding of each other, I retained eye-contact until they passed us by, similarly heading in the direction of the mountain.

    Whenever an aspirant displayed even a hint of aggression towards either me or Lana, I swiftly visualized myself murdering them, typically by piercing their heart with my sword. I discovered that doing so came disturbingly easy to me since the memory of Ye Feng¡¯s death was still fresh in my head.

    Thankfully, under the oppressive potency of my killing intent, most aspirants paled before opting to leave us be, preferring to pick on what they presumed were easier targets.

    It had taken me a good hour to learn how to use the supremacy, which unlike proficiencies was an active ability. But the trick I quickly learnt lay in the name: Intent.

    Threatening to hurt or even kill someone simply wasn¡¯t enough to activate the bashful ability; I had to literally intend on killing them. And since I unfortunately wasn¡¯t a murderous maniac, I did this by relying on a heavy dose of visualization.

    The difference between threatening to kill and meaning to kill might be small in semantics, but in Cultivation Online it had drastically different outcomes.

    The only downside was that the supremacy turned out to be incredibly draining on my mental stamina. In spite of using it fairly sparsely, I still felt like my head was beginning to implode.

    The fear that someone would discover how weak we actually were was constantly keeping me on edge. There wasn¡¯t a question in mind that If anyone saw us for the paper tigers we actually were, we would immediately be done for.

    Luckily, since the skirmish at the ravine, Lana had proven herself to be more than an ally of convenience. Once she realized I wasn¡¯t in the mood to chitchat and the perilousness of our situation became clear, she adopted a much more professional demeanor that I appreciated considering the circumstances.

    She¡¯d also revealed to me that in other VR games, she defaulted to the sorcerer archetype, explaining why she wasn¡¯t used to handling herself in physical brawls. Thus, it went unsaid that it fell on me to act as the primary combatant if a fight erupted. But with my debilitating headache, I wasn¡¯t becoming less and less of a fan of our chances.

    Thus, we tried our best to appear as menacing and confident as possible, all while keeping our distance from our competitors. It was a balancing act that required an incredible amount of finesse. One that I wasn¡¯t sure I could¡¯ve handled if it wasn¡¯t for Lana¡¯s perceptiveness.

    Time passed as we made our way towards our destination. The sky was now turning increasingly yellow, orange, and red, like a canvas that was beginning to be set on fire.

    [¡°Through the use of weaponized bloodlust and potent visualization, you have successfully discouraged ten potential enemies from assailing you or your partner.¡±]

    [¡°Results: +1 Killing Intent Lv.]

    Mercifully, just as I was starting to worry, a gigantic gate adorned with crawling tigers appeared like a misty mirage in the distance. Next to the gate stood two white-clad silhouettes, cultivators, impassively looking down on the virtual stream of provisional outer disciples scrambling to enter the sect.

    Lana and I shared a quick look before suddenly increasing our pace.

    The last five hundred meters were littered with corpses and stained almost exclusively in red. Yet, no one seemed to mind the severed limbs and gore as everyone stepped over it with the undying intention to reach the gate.

    When I heard the squishy sound of my feet tramping on bloodstained soil, I knew immediately that this experience would come back to haunt me. Nevertheless, like all the other aspirants, I did not stop.

    I wish I could say that I walked through the sea of blood in a daze, but that would be a lie. It took an incredible feat of willpower to force my body forward.

    Nearby, a scuffle erupted between several armed parties of aspirants, but Lana and I ignored it by giving the altercation a wide berth. Although it meant delaying our arrival by a couple of minutes, both Lana and I considered it a small price to pay if we could avoid another tussle.

    Personally, I felt neither physically nor mentally prepared to engage in another fight. Even though it had been inside of a game, I¡¯d basically been travelling non-stop for four whole days. Despite the paradoxical sense of excitement coursing through my limbs, I also felt tired, cranky, and traumatized by what I had gone through.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    In my heart, however, I knew that I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill anyone who blocked my way, and in extension, Lana¡¯s way.

    Thankfully, through a combination of sheer luck and meticulous distance-keeping, we made it all the way to the gate without having to fight anybody. The disgusted look on the cultivators¡¯ faces indicated that they¡¯d seen how we¡¯d gone about entering and didn¡¯t approve of our actions.

    But neither one of them moved to stop us.

    When we passed through the gate, I couldn¡¯t help but to release a long sigh of relief. Passing through the gate was like entering a different world. On this side, no one dared to fight anyone; all provisional outer disciples were afraid that such actions would unwittingly offend one of the cultivators standing guard.

    And unlike the majority of the playerbase, native NPC teenagers knew how to behave around cultivators.

    ¡°We made it¡­¡± Lana gasped in-between breaths. ¡°We actually made it.¡± She repeated as if she was in a dream.

    I knew how she felt. And based on the number of whimpering teens scattered around the area, I wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d been traumatized by this ordeal.

    ¡­

    The base of Mount Longhu turned out to be a city in its own right. Following the stream of provisional outer disciples, we passed market districts, auction houses, workshops, inns, and plenty of occupied residences. There were no guards patrolling the streets here. Instead, every now and then, the occasional cultivator could be seen strolling around, which seemed to be a sufficient deterrence for any potential criminals.

    My final discovery was the distinct lack of players.

    At this point, I¡¯d become accustomed to seeing teenage players scrambling around the streets of each town I¡¯d visited. This was the first time I entered a town almost exclusively consisting of NPCs.

    I admit that it was a welcome change. Without all the goofy players ruining the ambience, it truly felt like I was in another world.

    The stream of provisional outer disciples sparked a guarded interest from the inhabitants of the city. A few children were ushered in-doors, but apart from that, the citizens looked more curious than afraid.

    ¡°I guess this is an annual occurrence for these people¡­¡± I noted inwardly, wondering if these were the people who would be tasked with cleaning up the meatgrinder outside.

    Remembering the bloodshed outside was like pouring a bucket of cold water over my head.

    In the wake of our shared experience, Lana and I continued to keep close to each other, and despite the illusion of safety that the city provided, we carefully maintained our distance from the other provisional disciples. Even if one of our fellow aspirants attacked us, I felt reasonably confident that I would be able to react on time if they did.

    Just as we were about to step onto the cobblestone stairs leading up the mountain, a faintly familiar voice called out my name from the crowd of spectators.

    ¡°Bishop!¡±

    Turning around, my eyes widened as a familiar group of guards smiled back at me, although one of them seemed more interested in the sword hanging from my waist.

    ¡°I knew he¡¯d make it.¡± Hou Wen laughed as he looked at his subordinates with an indelible mark of pride evident on his face. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? I knew the little sword savant would make it!¡±

    The guard captain¡¯s boisterous laughter attracted a lot of attention from the passing provisional disciples.

    Removing myself from the train of aspirants, I respectfully clasped my hands in greeting.

    ¡°Nice to see you again Hou Wen.¡± I smiled at the guard captain who¡¯d helped me advance my swordsmanship. ¡°And you too Huan.¡± I nodded at the young man politely, not expecting him to begrudgingly return the favor.

    ¡°Well done Bishop.¡± Hou Wen¡¯s hand patted me on my shoulder, an almost paternalistic smile on the older swordsman¡¯s face. ¡°These gloom-ridden bastards didn¡¯t believe you would make it, but I never doubted you for a second.¡±

    The other guards tried to protest Hou Wen¡¯s claim, but he dismissed them with a wave.

    ¡°And I see you found a new companion.¡± Hou Wen raised an eyebrow in surprise.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I subsequently introduced Lana to the group, who for some reason seemed uncharacteristically aloof as she nodded to the guard detail.

    ¡°Or maybe it¡¯s not that weird after all¡­¡± The truth was, despite cooperating for several hours, I still didn¡¯t really know that much about my new ally.

    ¡°But what are you doing here?¡± I was finally able to ask the question that had been nagging me since I saw them. For all that they could swing a sword around, none of them was eligible to join the sect.

    When Hou Wen hesitated to answer my question, one of the guards interjected with a groan.

    ¡°Come on captain.¡± The young guard pushed. ¡°Job¡¯s done already, and it¡¯s not like we were paid to keep quiet indefinitely.¡±

    Hou Wen sighed before nodding his head in agreement.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, of course.¡± Hou Wen smiled with a hint of contrition present on his face. ¡°I guess you¡¯re already aware of how we were the guard detail escorting this rich merchant¡¯s daughter?¡±

    I frowned in response. I had known they were guarding one of the more affluent caravan merchants, but I had no clue there was a young woman involved.

    ¡°Anyhow¡­¡± Hou Wen hesitated slightly before continuing. ¡°The truth is, we were entrusted with escorting a young noblewoman to the White Tiger Sect. I wish I could¡¯ve told you earlier, but telling you the truth would-¡±

    I raised my hand to interrupt him.

    ¡°You have nothing to apologize for Captain Hou.¡± I shook my head softly, indicating that I wasn¡¯t holding a grudge over something so minor. ¡°I completely understand.¡±

    Ultimately, though I liked to believe that we¡¯d bonded during our time spent in the caravan, Hou Wen, the guard detail, and I were fundamentally strangers, maybe acquaintances at best. Obviously, I wouldn¡¯t have expected him to share his secrets with me. Especially any work-related ones.

    ¡°You¡¯re a good lad.¡± Hou Wen smiled proudly as he patted my shoulder again. It felt weird being complimented like this by a man who for all intents and purposes appeared younger than me.

    Nevertheless, to my surprise, I found that I didn¡¯t dislike the feeling.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re about to join the illustrious ranks of cultivators.¡± Hou Wen sighed. ¡°The offer to join my little crew probably pales in comparison. But know that you are welcome if fate permits it. You can always find us in Gangsan.

    I nodded politely despite being pretty confident that I wouldn¡¯t take him up on his offer. Still, it was nice knowing where I could find them in the future.

    ¡°Oh and do us all a favor will you?¡± Hou Wen added just as Lana and I were about to leave. ¡°Keep an eye out for Meng Ai, will you? There is no doubt in my mind that the young lady is as capable as they come, but I cannot help but feel that she lacks a certain¡­ pragmatism that will prove to be invaluable among the immortals. But, I assure you, she is a good lass.¡±

    I nodded slowly, unwilling to verbally commit to anything that could hamper my progress in the sect. And from what Hou Wen was saying, this Meng Ai character wouldn¡¯t be easy to deal with.

    Hou Wen must¡¯ve understood that a silent nod was all he was getting from me as he ushered me to head on.

    And so, after ascending a long flight of stairs, Lana and I found ourselves in the outer courtyard.

    ...

 Chapter 16 - The Courtyard Purge

    <h2>Chapter 16 - The Courtyard Purge

    </h2>

    The outer courtyard was simple but massive. From a glance, I surmised it was approximately the same size as a football field, only covered in smoothly cut stones of preposterous sizes. Around the courtyard, ornate pillars were erected supporting a roofed wall of Asian aesthetics. Beyond the pillars, numerous buildings of various sizes loomed.

    The size, cleanliness, and attention to every minute detail made the starting plaza in Easton look like a construction zone in comparison.

    Additionally, it came as no surprise that the courtyard was absolutely riddled with teenagers. The majority of whom were male and NPCs of Asian descent. Yet, for every dozen NPCs, I counted one player observing the crowd warily.

    The white-clad cultivators stationed around the courtyard had naturally not escaped my or anyone else¡¯s notice either. Thus, despite the crowdedness, the courtyard remained as silent as the grave as more and more provisional disciples amassed.

    Evidently, Lana and I were neither the first nor last players who would arrive here tonight. Nevertheless, with the sky becoming increasingly darker with each passing minute, I surmised that dusk would descend in at most an hour or so.

    Until then, I decided it was time to take a well-deserved breather. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t take long before Lana and I had found a nice, semi-secluded spot on the outskirts a bit farther away where we could relax without having to be constantly pestered by new arrivals.

    ¡°There are so many people¡­¡± Lana whispered as she observed the crowd with interest. ¡°Can you see the bastard anywhere?¡±

    I shook my head in denial. ¡°The bastard¡±, I¡¯d learned, was how Lana preferred addressing Carlos.

    In fact, there were plenty of players missing from the gathering. Even after several minutes of searching, I hadn¡¯t been able to spot either Percival or the others. Neither had I seen a trace of Atom or Dark, both of whom I knew were online thanks to their appearance on my friendlist.

    Still, despite my acquaintances¡¯ absence, I reckoned there were nearly three hundred provisional disciples present.

    ¡°Hopefully they¡¯ll make it¡­¡± I sighed softly.

    And so, an hour passed in silence as more and more people found their way to the courtyard.

    ¡­

    ¡°So they made it after all.¡± I smiled faintly when I caught sight of a ragged-looking Percival, Grim, and Lilac entering the courtyard. Based solely on their appearances, it was safe to assume that they hadn¡¯t passed the trial unmolested.

    Notably, Raven and the other aspirants from Durnatel were nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Including me, only four people from Durnatel have passed the trial so far¡­¡± I frowned as I watched the trio settle down on the opposite side of the courtyard. A part of me wanted to walk over and congratulate them but, after some deliberation I refrained.

    There would be time for celebration later.

    Finally, as the last rays of sunshine vanished from the sky, the sunset made room for dusk.

    By now, adorned lanterns had been lit along the pillars around the courtyard, making the contestants¡¯ shadows dance on the smooth stone floor.

    Yet, just as a cultivator was about to shut the gate leading into the courtyard, a final group of aspirants made it through in the nick of time.

    ¡°That was close...¡± I released a breath of relief as Atom and Dark scrambled into the courtyard, breathing erratically along with a group of strangers whom I did not recognize. Yet, my smile couldn¡¯t help but freeze when I noticed Dark¡¯s striking appearance.

    ¡°He¡¯s crippled?¡± Though I¡¯d seen a number of NPCs arrive with grievous wounds, Dark was the first player to arrive with a missing arm.

    ¡°What happened? I didn¡¯t even know you could lose limbs in this game.¡± I mused at the discovery, curious on how one could go about regrowing a limb without having to commit suicide and respawn. Maybe there were potions or pills available?

    Thereafter, the gates to the outer courtyard were closed with a loud boom that reverberated through the area, symbolizing the end of the trial¡¯s deadline. Based on the sound that the gate had made, I doubted even a dozen mortals could open it.

    Thus, a deafening silence spread around the courtyard. Yet, just as I was wondering if they¡¯d forgotten about us, a single cultivator dropped from the sky.

    Clad in an ornate white-and-black robe, the flying cultivator gracefully landed on a pedestal before his sharp eyes swept over the attentive crowd. Unlike the younger-looking cultivators standing guard around the courtyard, this cultivator was obviously of higher rank and standing. If that wasn¡¯t clear by his embellished clothes, the commanding presence he emitted certainly underscored it.

    ¡°Welcome mortals.¡± The cultivator¡¯s voice echoed like a crack of thunder. ¡°To the prestigious White Tiger Sect Outer Courtyard.¡±

    ¡°For many of you, whilst you progress in your cultivation, this will serve as both a gathering place and a home. Nevertheless, before I may begin my introduction in earnest, we have two minor issues to address.¡±

    The crowd listened to his words attentively, me included.

    ¡°You, you, you and you.¡± The cultivator arbitrarily singled out four teenagers in the crowd. Despite being unable to see them all, the one person who I did catch a glimpse of looked completely frozen, like a deer caught in headlights.

    ¡°You do not have the required amount of talismans and are thus summarily eliminated.¡± The cultivator¡¯s verdict was swift and brokered no disobedience.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    The crowd watched on silently as younger cultivators appeared to escort the four teenagers off the premises.

    At least I hoped that that was what they were doing.

    ¡°Now that the first issue has been sorted out¡­¡± The cultivator¡¯s impassive eyes swept over the rest of us.

    ¡°For the first time since our sect¡¯s founding nearly two-thousand years ago, over five-hundred trial-takers have successfully managed to pass the induction trials.¡± A hushed celebratory reaction spread throughout the crowd. ¡°Yet, as all aspiring cultivators are aware, the road to immortality is arduous and the resources both scarce and precious; it is my firm belief that they cannot and must not be wasted on mongrels, halfwits and recreants pretending to cultivate.¡±

    Smiles were replaced by expressions of worry as the cultivator kept on speaking.

    ¡°Listen closely because if it was up to me, every pathetic 12-star talent would immediately be dismissed.¡± The cultivator scoffed. ¡°But that would be against the long-established tradition of the ferocious White Tiger Sect.¡±

    I grabbed the hilt of my sword tightly as I picked up on where this was going.

    ¡°Fortunately for the majority of you, I am not in charge of the induction trial.¡± The cultivator scoffed. ¡°No, the elders have decided that another purge is in order: Your acceptance into the sect is therefore delayed until three-hundred provisional disciples remain.¡±

    I felt my face drain of blood as I realized what was going to ensue momentarily. After taking a glance at Lana, I confirmed that she¡¯d caught on by now as well.

    ¡°There will be no running.¡± The cultivator sneered as he looked at the cultivators guarding the exits. ¡°The White Tiger Sect will not sully its prestigious halls with the presence of cowards.¡±

    Gesturing with his sleeve, the cultivator finished his monologue.

    ¡°You have an incense stick¡¯s worth of time.¡± He declared before elaborating. ¡°If you are unwilling or incapable of sorting this issue out amongst yourselves, this year¡¯s three-hundred disciples will be selected by me personally.¡±

    ¡°Now begin.¡±

    Immediately, the first thing I did was grab a hold of Lana¡¯s arm. Pulling her along with me, I retreated towards the edge of the courtyard, which fortunately for us wasn¡¯t far away.

    With our backs against one of the pillars, I observed the chaos that unfolded before us.

    Some teens took this opportunity to throw their previous companions under the bus, others were sandwiched between multiple groups who didn¡¯t mind collaborating temporarily.

    Heart-wrenching screams filled with pain, anger, and fear echoed throughout the courtyard. And on the pedestal, the cultivator observed it all impassively.

    ¡°Sorry Hou Wen¡­¡± I readied my sword when four teens suddenly began to approach me and Lana; I read both murder and determination in their eyes. ¡°Meng Ai will have to take care of herself.¡±

    Without waiting for my enemies to coordinate their attack, I seized control of the tempo by attacking the one closest to me.

    To his credit, he reacted swiftly, blocking my sword with his own. Sadly for him, he underestimated the strength I had put behind the swing.

    Utilizing the momentary opening created from his lapse of judgement, I allowed my newfound instincts to take control of my body and, in extension, my sword.

    ¡°That¡¯s one.¡± I counted as a severed head flew through the air, dismissing the pop-up prompt with a flick of my wrist.

    Unluckily, my opponents weren¡¯t waiting for me to recollect myself.

    Two teens attacked me, both wielding swords of their own. The last one focused on Lana.

    ¡°Good luck.¡± I wished my ally before forcefully forgetting about her. If I was to survive this, I couldn¡¯t afford any distractions.

    The first attack came from my left.

    Despite a successful parry, I winced as my second assailant landed a critical hit against my ribs.

    ¡°Fuck you.¡± I cursed the bastard while fanning the flames of anger higher, hoping it would muffle the pain.

    I found that it helped a little.

    Moving swiftly, I narrowly managed to land a nasty gash on one of the teen¡¯s thighs before hurriedly evading the retribution by awkwardly fumbling backwards.

    ¡°That was close.¡± I thought as I felt blood gush from my wound. I was operating under a time limit.

    With one of my opponents clutching his bleeding leg in anguish, I could momentarily focus on the other.

    When he parried my swing with his sword, I leaned in and headbutted him.

    It was super-effective, but the recoil was absolutely dreadful.

    Disoriented by my attack, I ignored the pain and renewed my assault only to discover that my second opponent had chosen to shrug off his wounded leg and pounce at me.

    Clicking my tongue I awkwardly abandoned the attack, unwilling to commit to mutual destruction. After all, my goal wasn¡¯t to kill my opponents, it was to pass the trial.

    ¡°If I don¡¯t bleed out by then¡­¡± I thought as I clutched the bleeding wound on my ribs. By this point, my tunic was so tattered that I might as well go shirtless.

    I heard Lana release a scream but I ignored her.

    Repositioning myself, I attacked my opponents from a new direction.

    Thankfully, with one of my opponents suffering from a mild concussion and the other from a wounded leg, they were just slow enough for me to adjust my angle of attack so that their bodies hindered each other from responding properly.

    I prioritized the one with the wounded leg. One swift strike turned into two, then three, and then, unable to keep up with my swordsmanship, his stomach was slashed open.

    ¡°Entrails, really?¡± I suppressed the sudden urge to vomit. What was even the point in making a game this realistic?

    A prompt appeared saying-

    Moving on instinct, I reflectively blocked my second opponent''s swing before taking a nasty punch to the face.

    ¡°That¡¯s going to leave a mark.¡± I thought as I humourlessly spit out a mouthful of blood. The prompt could wait until after I¡¯d liberated this guy¡¯s head from his shoulders.

    Utilizing the bloodlust, I briefly activated my Killing Intent.

    For less than a second, my opponent¡¯s eyes widened in fear, his movements suddenly slow and sluggish.

    Needless to say I took advantage of the opportunity to follow up on my promise.

    Another head subsequently sailed through the air.

    Breathing erratically, I turned around to help Lana, only to curse at what I saw.

    ¡°You disgusting bastard.¡± I clenched my teeth in anger, all my fatigue forgotten as I discover Lana struggle against the man pressing down on her, attempting to strip her of her clothes.

    Before I knew it, my sword had pierced through his chest, subsequently turning Lana¡¯s assailant into crystalline pixels before vanishing.

    ¡°A player.¡± I gnashed my teeth in anger. The one person I¡¯d actually wanted to kill wasn¡¯t actually dead.

    ...

 Chapter 17 - Outer Disciple Bishop

    Chapter 17 - Outer Disciple Bishop

    Removing my tattered, sweaty, and bloodstained tunic, I used it to cover what the assailant had exposed of Lana¡¯s modesty. During my awkward fumbling, Lana seemingly went through a variety of emotions, all of whom were too short-lived for me to properly detect.

    Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t look okay.

    ¡°Lana¡­¡± I said as softly as I could, trying to not aggravate her. ¡°Maybe you should log out?¡± I couldn¡¯t pretend to understand the turmoil she was currently going through, but I imagined that - virtual reality or not - what she¡¯d experienced would be traumatic for any woman.

    The expression on Lana¡¯s face contained a mixture of emotions. There was gratitude, fear, anger, and sadness. But what overshadowed them all was a growing sense of defiance.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not logging out you moron.¡± She decided, but I honestly couldn¡¯t tell if she was talking to me or to herself. Her cheeks were still stained with tears when she got back up on her feet.

    I remained silent in response. Lana had proven herself to be a capable and mature young woman, albeit with a proclivity of verbal violence, she was more than capable of making her own decision.

    The courtyard was in shambles: a state of utter disarray as the slaughter continued. The once spotless stone flooring was now stained in freshly spilt blood and the previously quiet atmosphere was suddenly nowhere to be seen.

    Maybe it was the three corpses in front of us, two of whom were missing their heads, but for some reason, no one else turned their attention to us.

    With Lana back on her feet, both metaphorically and literally, I looted our enemies.

    From my three kills, I collected eight more talismans; which brought my new total up to nineteen.

    Lana¡¯s assailant had been the richest out of the bunch and had netted her another four talismans, bringing her new total up to six. Apparently, she¡¯d been given one by her previous teammates.

    The ones whose journey had unfortunately been cut short by the abrupt appearance of a rampant bear.

    Yeah, I tried my best not to remind her of that particular accident, nor the talismans I had procured from it.

    Now, a lesser person might have argued that I could lay my claim on some of the talismans Lana had obtained since I was the one who killed the bastard. But unlike her frisky assailant, I wasn¡¯t a piece of human garbage. Even someone as addicted to this game as I was knew that there were more important things than virtual currency.

    And though it might be a figment of my imagination, I was sure Lana appreciated the act.

    ¡°But still¡­¡± I frowned. Being able to disembowel someone, although repulsive, was one thing. However, the possibility that a player could be sexually assaulted in-game brought a whole new avenue of potential legal ramifications to this game.

    How could the game developers and the sponsors be fine with all of this? Weren¡¯t they afraid of the legal liabilities that would undoubtedly ensue as more and more people were exposed to these elements?

    It just didn¡¯t make any sense.

    Nevertheless, when I carefully probed her about it, Lana had reluctantly confirmed that she¡¯d indeed received a prompt saying something about sexual assault that would¡¯ve allowed her to commit instantaneous suicide.

    She¡¯d just been too panicky to accept it at that moment. And as someone who¡¯d seen the assault happen, I didn¡¯t question the legitimacy of her claim.

    Thus, with my hand resting on my sword, I astutely observed the final phase of the courtyard purge. A number of smaller groups had joined hands and created a temporary coalition that proceeded to annihilate anyone in their path. It was brutally efficient since even a skilled combatant would struggle to fight multiple opponents whereas a group of unskilled teens could win through sheer strength in numbers.

    Quantity was a quality all on its own. I knew that from first-hand experience.

    However, once again, luck was on our side as the coalition was slaughtering the masses on the opposite side of the courtyard.

    Of course, before the window of opportunity elapsed, I had weighed my alternatives carefully. With my swordsmanship and killing intent, I was reasonably confident that I could win against all but the most gifted of teens scattered around the courtyard. The issue lay in the injuries and fatigue that I had accumulated like stamps throughout the trial.

    Though mostly healed, my shoulder was still bandaged from yesterday. In recent news, my ribs were bleeding and my head was hurting due to an overreliance on my new supremacy and the improvised headbutt from earlier.

    Also, I had a nosebleed from the suckerpunch.

    Evidently, I was in no condition to foolishly take any more needless risks. Even if I could carve out another victory or two, who was to say that the next one to die wouldn¡¯t be me? I was not superhuman (not yet anyway), and I was as prone to make mistakes as the next guy.

    Finally, I didn¡¯t really feel like leaving Lana alone at the moment. She put up a confident facade, but I recognized it for what it was: a mask.

    And so, the purge ended similarly to how it began: abruptly and with the cultivator¡¯s voice booming through the courtyard.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡±

    The cultivator gracefully gave everyone half a minute to regain their composure before he continued his introduction. The man didn¡¯t even bat an eye at the hundreds of corpses scattered around the courtyard.

    Elder Fang¡¯s eyes dimmed as he continued impassively. Simultaneously, white-robed cultivators began handing out black tokens with the word ¡°outer¡± on one side, and an emblem illustrating a white tiger on the opposite. The piece of metal felt cool and heavy in my hand.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Congratulations mortals.¡± His voice did not sound congratulatory at all as he continued; in fact, it sounded like he was regurgitating words from a script. ¡°¡°My name is Fang Shi, but you will henceforth address me as Outer Elder Fang, or Elder Fang. From this day forth, you have earned the prestigious right to call yourselves outer disciples of the White Tiger Sect.¡±

    [¡°Congratulations! You have officially become an outer disciple of the rank 4 faction: White Tiger Sect. Your affiliation rank has thus changed from provisional outer disciple to outer disciple.¡±]

    [¡°The new feature ¡®Sect Points¡¯ has been added to your cultivation tab.¡±]

    ¡°From this day forth¡­¡± The cultivator¡¯s eyes sharpened as he glared at the gathering. ¡°You will conduct yourself with composure and dignity worthy of your new title. Beware that you now represent an institution with over two thousand years of rich history and irreproachable reputation. If discovered that you do anything to besmirch this reputation, you will summarily be stripped of both your rank and the mortal shell you call a body.¡±

    Elder Fang took the time to look us in the eyes.

    ¡°Know that I¡¯ll make sure of that¡­ personally.¡± Nevermind the NPCs, even some of the players gulped at his words.

    ¡°Outer disciples are not entitled to a monthly stipend. Instead, you are expected to complete a specific number of tasks and missions to contribute to the sect. If done successfully, you will be rewarded with sect points. If you fail, you will lose points. Every quarter, a promotion tournament will be held with the ultimate reward being promotion to the inner sect. However, note that any outer disciple unable to progress to the Foundation Establishment by the age of twenty-five will be renounced from the sect regardless of their participation in the promotion tournaments.¡±

    ¡°Before withdrawing for the night, collect your outer disciple robes and a copy of the sect rulebook from the Administrative Building.¡± Elder Fang gestured towards one of the buildings looming outside the outer courtyard. ¡°Note that ignorance is not an acceptable excuse for any rulebreaking.¡±

    ¡°To your right.¡± Elder Fang gestured at another massive building, one that was partly carved into the mountain face itself and stretched along the wall. ¡°You will find the outer sect dormitory. The first month is free for all new disciples. But starting next month, you¡¯re expected to pay for the privilege of staying in the dormitory. You will find a separate section in the rulebook related to your accommodations.¡±

    Elder Fang took a deep breath before finishing his welcome speech.

    ¡°Tomorrow at dawn, all new outer disciples are cordially invited to participate in an introductory symposium hosted by Inner Elder Mao, who has generously decided to share his insights and discourse on the fundamentals of cultivation. Typically, a symposium like this costs sect points to attend, however, a special exception has been made for all new outer disciples. Nevertheless, attendance is optional and not enforced.¡±

    ¡°Curfew starts in one hour. Welcome to the White Tiger Sect.¡±

    And so, without waiting for any bothersome questions, Elder Fang took off similarly to how he arrived. Envious and determined eyes followed his departing form as he took to the darkened skies before vanishing.

    Almost immediately following his departure, chatter covered the courtyard. In spite of the bloodied battlegrounds beneath us, most had seemingly forgotten the slaughter that had taken place only minutes prior.

    Surprisingly, I found that the ones who appeared the most affected were the few remaining players scattered across the courtyard. The NPCs were already adapting to their new circumstances like fish in a new body of water.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll fetch my new robe and rulebook before logging out.¡± To call myself tired would be an understatement. Though the game helped by reducing the pain radiating from my wounds, they were noticeable enough to keep me awake and alert.

    ¡°What?¡± Lana turned around to glare at me. ¡°Are you just going to stand there or what?¡±

    Shaking my head at her grumpiness, I followed her as we navigated through the proverbial islands of corpses.

    We nearly reached the exit before a sound stopped us in our tracks.

    ¡°Bishop!¡± Percival¡¯s unmistakable voice cut through the chatter. Turning around, I saw my previous group heading towards me, spearheaded by a ragged-looking Percival who somehow, despite his filth, still managed to look the part of a heroic knight.

    Behind him, Lilac and Grim followed.

    ¡°Man, I can¡¯t believe you made it.¡± Percival¡¯s smile seemed genuine as he caught up to me. ¡°When you never showed at the town hall, I thought for sure that the ambushers got to you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, about that¡­¡± I hid the embarrassment I felt. After all, I¡¯d been the one to suggest to the others to meet up at the town hall to begin with, only to abandon them when it really mattered.

    ¡°Two aspirants, presumably from the evaluation before ours, followed me when I was procuring provisions in Durnatel. When I finally managed to lose the tail, the assassination by the town hall occurred.¡± I shook my head, unwilling to reveal that I¡¯d left due to a lack of trust.

    Fortunately, Percival didn¡¯t press me on the details as he sighed sadly.

    ¡°Maybe it was good that you didn¡¯t come, the fight out of Durnatel was a massacre. Most of the players from our evaluation didn¡¯t make it.¡± Percival shot an appreciative glance at Grim. ¡°Honestly, we probably wouldn¡¯t have made it out if it wasn¡¯t for Grim¡¯s resourcefulness.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow as I looked at the man in question. Yet, Grim met my gaze impassively before looking away with a sneer.

    ¡°Coward.¡± He muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear him.

    I froze in response. It hadn¡¯t been my intention at the time; I had merely prioritized my own safety, but looking back on my actions, I really had abandoned them, hadn¡¯t I?

    For the first time in a while, I didn¡¯t know how to respond. I blamed my tiredness.

    ¡°What¡¯d you say, you ugly bastard?¡± Surprisingly, Lana was quick on the gun, jumping to my defense with an angry sneer on her face. ¡°Didn¡¯t your mother ever teach you to speak up if you have something on your mind. You¡¯re a man, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Lana scrutinized Grim¡¯s incredulous-looking face carefully before shaking her head in faux disappointment

    ¡°Or maybe you¡¯re not.¡±

    ¡°Why you-¡± An arm blocked Grim¡¯s advance. Percival shook his head pointedly before giving Lana and me an apologetic look.

    ¡°I think tensions might still be a bit high from the trial.¡± He tried to defuse the conflict before it could escalate out of control. ¡°Maybe we should continue this in the morning?¡±

    Looking down, I was shocked to realize that my hand had somehow found its way to the hilt of my sword without me noticing.

    ¡°Would I really have attacked them?¡± I remembered how Grim¡¯s violent advance. ¡°I probably would¡¯ve.¡±

    Needless to say Lana merely scoffed in response to Percival¡¯s olive branch; and I was too flabbergasted by my own actions to make an utterance. Still, I reckoned Percival was right. Everyone was undoubtedly highly strung from the ordeal we¡¯d been through.

    ¡°If you knew half the things Bishop has done¡­¡± Lana muttered so quietly that I nearly missed it while Percival and Lilac nodded at me in goodbye.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I heard myself say whilst following Percival, Grim, and Lilac walk away with my eyes.

    Lana scoffed. ¡°What are you thanking me for? Allies have each others¡¯ backs, don¡¯t they? Or are you perhaps trying to imply that you¡¯re ditching me now that the trial is over?¡±

    I shook my head quickly, trying to hide the faint smile that appeared on my lips. Perceptive as always, Lana must¡¯ve noticed it since she looked away in a hurry

    ¡°G-Good.¡± Lana muttered something incoherently. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get our things before curfew starts.¡±

    ...

 Chapter 18 - The Five Superpowers

    <h2>Chapter 18 - The Five Superpowers</h2>

    The administrative building was a multi-story building made out of material that looked like limestone. The roof was tiled and slanted in a way that resembled traditional east-Asian architecture.

    Even with three-hundred outer disciples clustering the entrance, the atrium remained remarkably spacious. On the walls, massive windows decorated with wooden patterns revealed the darkening sky outside.

    My bare chest earned me a couple of strange and disapproving looks from both disciples and personnel, but I was far from the only one in desperate need of new attire. Thus, it seemed like I was given some temporary slack.

    Needless to say, it helped that everyone would soon receive new robes.

    I tried to locate Dark and Atom in the crowd, but to no avail. I hadn¡¯t laid my eyes on them since before the courtyard purge and was starting to fear that they¡¯d been killed. Checking my friendlist, I discovered the reason for their absence, their names were both grayed out.

    ¡°So, they either got killed or they logged out.¡± I remarked inwardly. The likelihood of them logging out immediately after passing the trial was low, but not impossible.

    With Dark¡¯s injury, the likelihood of them being a part of the two-hundred people who¡¯d been purged wasn¡¯t negligible either.

    ¡°If they passed, I¡¯ll see them tomorrow during the introduction symposium.¡± I thought to myself.

    While waiting in line, I took the opportunity to go through the prompts I had dismissed before. Despite my lacklustre performance, it seemed I had made some progress.

    [¡°You have killed a mortal human with a sword. Swordsmanship proficiency has increased moderately.¡±]

    [¡°You have killed a mortal human with a sword. Swordsmanship proficiency has increased moderately.¡±]

    [¡°You have killed a mortal human with a sword and by expertly weaponizing your killing intent mid-battle to throw off your opponent. Swordsmanship proficiency has increased significantly. Killing Intent supremacy has advanced immensely.¡±]

    [¡°You have killed a mortal human with a sword. Swordsmanship proficiency has increased minutely.¡±]

    [¡°Results: +1 Swordsmanship Lv. (Beginner 7 > 8). +1 Killing Intent Lv. (Beginner 2 > 3).]

    Not bothering to hide the satisfied smirk on my lips, I opened up my new and improved cultivation tab.

    [Cultivation]

    [Name: Bishop]

    [Age: 15]

    [Cultivation Aptitude: 14 ¡ï]

    [Affinities: Sword, Water]

    [Affiliation: White Tiger Sect (Rank 4)]

    [Rank: Outer Disciple]

    [Sect Point(s): 0]

    [Cultivation Stage: Mortal]

    [Cultivation Method: N/A]

    [Qi: N/A]

    [Proficiencies]

    [Swordsmanship - Beginner Lv. 8]

    [Stealth - Beginner Lv.2]

    [Meditation - Beginner Lv. 1]

    [Supremacies]

    [Killing Intent - Beginner Lv.3]

    Minute at first, in the last fight, I was definitely beginning to feel the effects of my upgraded proficiencies. My sword swings were faster, more coordinated, and more lethal. It was a holistic improvement that covered everything from my grip to my stance. Contrastingly, my killing intent was becoming easier and easier to evoke even without having to overly rely on excruciating visualization.

    Fine, maybe that last progress wasn¡¯t as positive.

    ¡°Am I becoming more murderous?¡± I frowned as I thought about the intense reaction I¡¯d had when I discovered Lana on the ground, a player pressed on top of her. At that moment, I hadn¡¯t thought about anything else other than murder and the desire to inflict pain. And though I didn¡¯t want to admit it, a part of me had even forgotten that I was attacking a character in a game.

    ¡°Would I have reacted as violently before I started playing this game?¡± Honestly, I didn¡¯t know the answer to that question. I wanted to say yes, but now that societal rules and norms weren¡¯t holding me back any more, I found that it was easier and easier to default to violence. Each time my sword severed a head, I felt like the next kill got a little bit easier and a little less nauseating.

    ¡°I bet we¡¯ll see an uptake in the amount of batteries and assaults in the near future¡­¡± As more and more players become accustomed to killing and hurting others in-game, I conjectured that some of the behaviour was bound to bleed over into the real world. Killing someone in an ultra-realistic virtual reality environment was drastically different from killing someone with a click of a button, after all.

    Ultimately, and fortunately for me, none of these ramifications was my problem. I was neither a politician nor a law-enforcer.

    ¡°Your name, badge, and your talismans.¡± A young clerk requested with a no-bullshit attitude. The woman somewhere in her late teens or early twenties was wearing black and white robes similar to the ones I¡¯d seen other outer disciples carry. Unlike the robes worn by inner disciples such as Inner Disciple Xiang or Inner Disciple Zhao, the outer disciple robe consisted of a lot more black fabric and significantly less whiteness.

    Personally, I preferred the aesthetics of the outer disciple robes. Functionally, I surmised it was easier to keep clean too.

    ¡°Bishop.¡± I answered curtly while handing over my nineteen talismans. The clerk raised a single eyebrow at the number of talismans in my hand, some of which were stained in blood, but otherwise showed no outward reaction.

    Based on my own observations, I reckoned nineteen talismans were above average, but not a crazy amount. A more reckless and versed killer probably could¡¯ve amassed double the amount.

    The clerk proceeded to fiddle with my badge, scribbled something down in a ledger, before handing my badge back to me.

    [¡°+19 Sect Points.¡±] A small prompt popped up when the badge returned to my possession.

    ¡°Your disciple badge is a lesser artifact identifying you as a disciple of the White Tiger Sect. It stores basic information about your sect contributions and points. I suggest you smear some blood on it to bind it to yourself. Replacing a badge is not only costly, but a great shame that will not reflect well on your ability as a cultivator.¡±

    I nodded to show I understood.

    ¡°You look like a size seven.¡± The clerk scrutinized my build before nodding to herself. A moment later she handed me a folded robe with a color scheme that resembled her own. ¡°Although not an artifact, the outer disciple robe is far more precious than most mortals seem to realize. The cost to buy a new one is set to ten sect points.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    I gulped at the clerk¡¯s warning. Ten sect points represented ten lives or ten gold sovereigns. It wasn¡¯t a sum anyone could cough up.

    Finally she handed me a nameless black binder.

    ¡°And this is the newest edition of the sect rulebook. I suggest you study it at your earliest convenience.¡± The clerk nodded at me before focusing on the person behind me. ¡°Next!¡±

    Shuffling out of the building I met up with Lana who was impatiently waiting for me by the exit.

    ¡°You took your sweet time.¡± She declared.

    I chose not to refute her despite being reasonably confident that my procession hadn¡¯t taken any longer than the average person.

    Our stroll to the outer disciple dormitory was spent gawking over the scenery. I couldn¡¯t wait until I got the opportunity to explore the premises.

    Like the administrative building, the dormitory was visually daunting. Yet, it wasn¡¯t until we stepped inside that we realized that what we¡¯d thought was the building was merely the tip of the iceberg.

    Eight floors with a mind-boggling amount of corridors leading into the mountain spanned before our eyes.

    After talking to one of the managers, who was similarly dressed in outer disciple robes, I got assigned to room #20841.

    The manager told me to head to the second floor, corridor number eight, room number forty-one.

    Lana was assigned to room #81002.

    After agreeing to meet up by the dormitory entrance at 6 am tomorrow morning, we said our goodbyes.

    Before I logged out, I went to my room.

    Maybe it was wrong of me to feel surprised by the orderliness of the dormitory, but I couldn¡¯t help myself. Typically one would expect a dormitory with hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of adolescent teenagers to be messy and noisy. In this world, however, even outside the purview of the elders, the outer disciples remained on their best behavior.

    Although I conjectured that at least part of the reason why they were on their best behaviour was due to them still being new disciples, like myself. Everyone wanted to make a good first impression whilst avoiding trouble, at least in the beginning.

    It took me nearly ten minutes to find my room. But I suspected the trip would be much shorter the next time now that I knew the way.

    My neighbors'' rooms were closed and, despite listening closely, I heard no movement from either of them. I wondered if the owners of the rooms were older outer disciples or new arrivals like myself.

    There was no manual lock on my door, instead, it opened when I pressed my badge against it.

    ¡°That¡¯s neat.¡± It seemed sufficiently advanced artificing could imitate modern features and electricity.

    The interior of my room was nothing to brag about. In fact, it resembled what I thought a prison cell during the middle age would look like. Stone floor, stone walls, and a stone bed without any sheets or amenities. Naturally, being as deep into the mountain as I was, there were no windows either.

    Spending any prolonged period of time here would be a daunting and harrowing experience for most people.

    Thus, it was fortunate that I was accustomed to living in dark, gloomy, and confined spaces. My apartment wasn¡¯t exactly a haven of sunlight and spaciousness. Nevertheless, with the lack of amenities, I didn¡¯t see myself loafing around here in my spare time.

    ¡°There¡¯s no toilet either.¡± Fortunately, the developers hadn¡¯t seen the need to include that particular feature of life in the game.

    ¡°I wonder where the NPCs go to relieve themselves?¡± There probably was a communal bathroom somewhere in the building.

    Closing the stone door to my new room, I noted how the distant sound of people chattering and moving around vanished entirely.

    ¡°Some kind of noise cancellation formation?¡± Or maybe one wasn¡¯t needed with how thick the walls were.

    In the real world, I would¡¯ve worried about oxygen and air quality if I found myself confined to a dark room like this. But since I wasn¡¯t, I just propped myself up on the stone bed and logged out.

    ¡­

    Returning to the real world felt disorienting and discombobulating. Suddenly, I was surrounded by modern amenities, electronics, and the faint sound of vehicles passing on the overpass above my apartment.

    Then there was the disappointment that was my body. I wasn¡¯t overweight per say, but neither could I call myself athletic. Unlike the adolescent physique I had in game, my real body was riddled with work-related injuries and my hands were rough and covered in scars.

    The only feature I was even remotely proud of - my pale blue eyes - was the product of good genetics and luck.

    Back in the real world, the first thing I did was visit the bathroom. I had spent the entire day in virtual reality, and my bladder wasn¡¯t exactly thanking me for it.

    After an uplifting shower, I slowly began to feel like myself again.

    For good and for worse.

    Interestingly, despite being an avid VR user for several years now, this disorienting disconnect between reality and virtuality was new to me. While the issue was not unheard of, even when using mind dive VR, I¡¯d never had any issues with differentiating between what was real and artificial.

    ¡°Escapism at its finest¡­¡± I smiled mirthlessly as I slumped on my couch, a pastrami sandwich in one hand and my phone in the other.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see here¡­¡± I muttered to myself.

    Two new messages. Neither of which was from my family.

    ¡°Oh, Chris responded?¡± My eyebrows rose as I read the message.

    ¡°Chris is playing CO? And he already got accepted into a rank 3 sect? The Silver Sea Sect?¡± I furrowed my eyebrows before hurriedly looking up the sect online.

    While Heaven, the game company behind Cultivation Online, refused to reveal any information about the game, the same could not be said about other forums.

    Consequently, before long, I found a subforum with information about the Silver Sea Sect.

    ¡°Silver Sea Sect¡­ a rank 3 sect under the rank 4 superpower Glistering Ocean Sect¡­ located in the South of the Western Continent.¡±

    Realizing the plethora of information I had missed out on, I looked up the five rank 4 superpowers governing the western continent.

    The Wang Clan.

    The Glistering Ocean Sect.

    The White Tiger Sect.

    The Radiant Flame Palace.

    And finally, the Black Heart Sect.

    Not much was known about any of these mysterious overlords of the western continent, but their hegemony was undisputed and their strength was supposedly uncontested.

    Needless to say, the superpower that piqued my interest the most was the White Tiger Sect.

    ¡°Arrogant assholes¡­¡± I skipped the generic bits that universally applied to all rank 4 superpowers. ¡°Ah! here we go!¡±

    The White Tiger Sect is a combat-oriented sect renowned for their aggressive martial arts, righteous disposition, and¡­ sword cultivators.

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± My eyes widened. Suddenly, I realized the reason why Inner Disciple Zhou had held such a grudge towards me. ¡°He must¡¯ve been jealous¡­¡±

    Still, the fact that the White Tiger Sect was a prominent and reputable sect that prioritized sword art only benefitted me.

    When I read up on the other superpowers, however, I quickly realized that I hadn¡¯t been as lucky as I thought.

    ¡°Out of the five superpowers¡­¡± I smiled while shaking my head. ¡°Three are known for their sword arts¡­¡± The other two being the Wang Clan and the Radiant Flame Palace.

    No wonder the sword is called ¡°the king of short weapons¡±; it certainly was a popular choice for cultivators.

    ¡­