Chapter 13: 13

Chapter 13 Battle Network

The class followed Mu Xiao to the virtual arena, which was much larger than Xiang Ning had imagined. One simulation capsule took up two to three square meters of space, and there were more than a hundred capsules here, each of them one meter apart from the rest. The students were astonished at the sheer size of the place. 

“Alright, please enter the capsules and place your student card in the slot,” Mu Xiao instructed. Xiang Ning entered a capsule and lay down. 

He watched the glass cover slowly close down on him. The moment it snapped shut, he was still wondering how to operate it, though in the next second it turned dark and he entered virtual reality. Strings of data he didn’t understand appeared before him, then a selection interface. He realized there were two options, one for the school network and another for the public network. 

The school network was a battle platform belonging to Qiling Academy, where students appeared as their true physical selves with their real names. The public network connected them to the rest of the battle platforms across the world, though he didn’t have access to it at the moment. 

Name: Xiang Ning 

Height: 1.71 meters

Weight: 56 kg

Identity: Student, Class 8, first year, upper secondary

Automatic physical test results: Physical Tempering, stage nine

“Welcome to the Battle Network!” a melodious female voice announced. Xiang Ning looked at the simple interface, almost mistaking it for the system in his brain. He looked at the time. He had more than three hours, meaning he had two and a half hours to choose a weapon and cultivate a basic martial skill. Qiling Academy’s resources were stellar! 

He had once passed a dojo that also contained a virtual arena that was open to the public. However, the fees were eight hundred dollars per hour of use, plus two thousand as a deposit. That was way over what Xiang Ning could afford. Two and a half hours here was thus worth almost three thousand dollars; there was no time to waste. He immediately tapped into the weapon selection interface. 

“Please select your weapon.” An array of weapons, some that he knew and some that he couldn’t recognize, appeared before him. But that was unimportant—he immediately chose a sword. 

“Iridium Sword.” Xiang Ning didn’t know what the sword was made of, but all the weapons he saw had the term ‘iridium’ in front, so perhaps it was a beginner’s weapon. 

Xiang Ning casually waved it around. It was heavy, precisely the same as holding the real thing. There was no difference between virtual and reality in how the sword handled. He sighed at the impressive technology, then tapped into the skill library. 

The library was a public space, meaning he could see other students. 

“Xiang Ning!” Fatty Wang ran over with heavy footsteps, a spear in his hand. It was much longer than him, about two meters in total. 

“You chose a spear?” Xiang Ning smiled. He thought it was a peculiar combination for Fatty Wang to choose a spear. The spear was tall and thin, and while Wang Zhe wasn’t short, his rotund figure was definitely a juxtaposition. 

“Hehe, look at that. A fat man with a skinny spear.” 

“Why does it look so hilarious, hahaha.” 

“Can he even properly wield it? He can barely turn his own body! Hahaha.” 

Xiang Ning and Wang Zhe ignored them, but the conversations grew louder. Wang Zhe had his back to them, so he didn’t know who was speaking, but Xiang Ning could see him. It was Li Minghao, the guy he had beat up at the canteen. He looked normal here, but this was natural in the virtual world. How could a broken nose heal so quickly? 

Fury Points +48 

Xiang Ning squinted, amused. He turned to Wang Zhe. “Did you hear something like an animal?” 

“Yeah, I think it was a barking dog.” 

“Oh, a dog. Right, it’s late. We should pick out a skill,” Xiang Ning and Wang Zhe sarcastically chorused, then entered the library. 

Fury Points +34 

Fury Points +33

…

Li Minghao’s rage hit the roof and he gritted his teeth as he glared at Xiang Ning. “YOU STAY WHERE YOU ARE!”

Fury Points +66 

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Li Minghao was prepared to humiliate Xiang Ning in the last half hour—people who rarely came into contact with these simulation capsules didn’t know there was a live stream function. 

Xiang Ning’s body continued to absorb spiritual qi in the simulation cabins, continuously strengthening his muscles and nourishing his meridians so he was energized with life force. 

1000 Fury Points Accumulated. Level advancement requirements fulfilled.

Strings of information poured into Xiang Ning’s brain. He was now officially a martial artist. In a short time, he had shot from being the last-ranked person in class to a tier one martial artist, overtaking everyone. He still couldn’t believe it, even as he felt his body changing within the virtual reality capsule.

Although he had a wild urge to sprint like a madman, he forced himself to stay still; he must explore the capsule’s functions! 

“Let’s split up here,” Wang Zhe said with a grin. The two of them had chosen different weapons, so their skills were naturally in different parts of the library. 

Xiang Ning nodded and they bade their farewells. He walked to the swordsmanship section of the library. This place was no different than an ordinary library in real life, though when one stood before a bookshelf, it instead projected information for them to pick a skill. 

He didn’t overthink things in the face of the abundance of available skills. He picked a common martial skill: Mountain-Splitting Slash. When mastered, it would be enough to split a mountain in half. Due to it being a vigorous technique, cultivators had to cultivate the skill in virtual reality until the Intermediate level, as improperly using it could result in hurting them. 

Xiang Ning took a look at the other skills. While they were good, none were amazing nor did they come with warnings like the one he had chosen. That meant they weren’t as cool as they seemed. He smirked, thinking about the warning. He had Fury Points, which could be spent to increase his mastery of a skill. Mastery of skill, based on what he read, was divided into five levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Assimilation, Awakened, and Peak Mastery. Zhang Cheng was considered a genius for having achieved Assimilation in one martial skill at his age. 

Although Mountain-Splitting Slash was cool, it was still a common martial skill. 

100 Fury Points - Mountain-Splitting Slash (Beginner). 

Xiang Ning was ecstatic to find that only a hundred Fury Points were needed to level up to Beginner. Gripping his sword, he was itching for a fight. He excitedly opened the battle interface. 

Two modes were available: combat or hunting. Combat mode involved two cultivators battling each other, while hunting mode naturally meant cultivator vs beast. 

He chose hunting mode without hesitation and his vision started to distort. In a moment, he appeared within a rainforest, his surroundings so real they looked exactly like a real forest. He sighed in admiration. 

Huff. Puff. Huff. Puff. 

Before he could react, a boar-like beast hurled itself toward Xiang Ning, sending him flying through the air. He shrieked in surprise, then everything turned black and white. He realized what that meant—he was dead. 

Xiang Ning looked at the boar-like beast in his black-and-white vision. That was abrupt! However, he started reflecting on the situation and agreed that if it had been a true battlefield, he would have died. 

The black and white effect only lasted for three seconds. He stood up once again, while the beast naturally didn’t care that he could still stand. Its instinct was to kill humans! 

Xiang Ning recognized this beast as the Boulder Boar from class. Its weakest spot was behind its ears! 

Due to the significant advancement in his cultivation abilities within such a short time, Xiang Ning was still unfamiliar with his own body. His current body had surpassed the abilities of a regular human, but with a lack of understanding, he died several more times before he barely got used to it. 

Watching the Boulder Boar charge toward him, he quickly dodged and realized his reaction time was already much faster than before, his speed exceeding a regular human’s limits. He must be moving at fourteen or fifteen meters per second now. 

Yet he still couldn’t relax. 

“Mountain-Splitting Slash!” roared Xiang Ning, raising his iridium sword and slashing it down behind the boar’s ears. While the theory was correct, the boar was more intelligent than he expected and a layer of boulder rocks instantly covered its body. 

With a crisp clang, the sword cracked the rocks, but caused no damage. 

“Let’s turn it up a notch.” After some thought, Xiang Ning spent three hundred Fury Points on a skill level-up. 

Mountain-Splitting Slash (Intermediate). 

He felt his mastery of the technique increase. Watching the Boulder Boar charging toward him once more, he didn’t aim for the back of its ears, but toward the body part with the strongest defenses instead. Fiery sparks flew in every direction as the Boulder Boar roared, seemingly in pain. 

“It worked!” Xiang Ning exclaimed in surprise. Seeing that leveling up the Mountain-Splitting Slash only required another six hundred Fury Points, which was the perfect number for him, he tapped it without hesitation. 

Mountain-Splitting Slash (Assimilation).

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