Chapter Forty-Nine: The Mummy of the Sand People

The first time, the second time… it was only after several attempts that Ye Bai and his teammates gradually figured out how to resist the seemingly endless waves of virtual beasts. While virtual training appeared to be a hopeless trial, there was always a sliver of survival hidden within the silent stalemate. Moreover, the Arya system was never designed to create insoluble scenarios.

The virtual training room was often the most frequented place for freshmen. For the next four years, these three-person teams would fight side by side; it would be unthinkable to hone their coordination only in real combat, for in that case, nearly eighty percent of new students would likely perish in their first battle. Each year, the four great academies selected the most outstanding among humanity’s youth—their hope for the future. Neither the Three Kings nor the human race could bear such sacrifices. The idea for the virtual training room was first proposed by a venerable professor from Purple Star Academy.

He and his team developed the prototype, and in the main city of Fury Sea, the Arya system was integrated into it—thus, the virtual training room was born.

“Cao Xiaosen, you take the left. This time, the virtual beasts should be of the earth element—use water element power to clear a path toward the pyramid.”

Cao Xiaosen had learned a technique called Earth Spirit Thrust from who knows where. It allowed him to concentrate elemental power into a single point, then unleash it for tremendous destructive force. Having grown up under his father’s tutelage, he was intimately familiar with human anatomy and the structure of common mutant beasts.

Through his own experimentation, he merged Earth Spirit Thrust with the pressure-point technique from traditional medicine and had his father craft ten finger guards for him. Normally invisible, these would appear in battle. During the entrance exams, he had used this move to strike the vital points of the snow wolves, channeling earth power through the guards into the acupoints before detonating them utterly—a method that left each wolf dead within moments.

Cao Xiaosen had since integrated Earth Spirit Thrust with the water element as well. With a sweep of his hands, crystal droplets fell from his fingers into the sand.

“Ling’er, how far off are those things?” Ye Bai asked, his wood element power darting through the sand below like a spirit snake before vanishing, leaving the ground as it was before.

“They’re very close now. Little Mu has already collected the data,” Yao Ling replied, raising her arm. A beam shot from her watch, forming a display in front of the trio.

Sand Mummies—once corpses. In ancient Egypt, bodies were embalmed with aromatic spices and, over time, shriveled into mummies. The Egyptians believed the soul did not perish with death but lingered with the body or statues; thus, pharaohs and nobles were mummified as a hope and remembrance for eternal life.

But these mummies were once the common laborers who built the pyramids for the pharaohs and aristocrats. Millions died under harsh taxation and forced labor before ever seeing the pyramids completed. No one embalmed their bodies. Their souls, unwilling and vengeful, sought retribution.

It was then that Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, offered them immortality in exchange for their flesh. The desert sands are eternal; their souls undying, neither truly alive nor dead.

Not far off, the sand swirled as bodies formed from grains, deathless and voiceless, their silent screams echoing their discontent.

“Run—head for the pyramid!” As soon as Ye Bai saw the words “undying and immortal,” he knew this battle would be a race against time and speed.

The three of them spun around and sprinted, the sand men in pursuit. Underground, the elemental power was triggered—a crystal transformed into a jet of water that shot upward, scattering a mummy and leaving only a puddle.

On another front, Ye Bai’s wood trap was set off—a swarm of green snakes rooted themselves in the mummies, which then crumbled back into sand.

The sea of sand was endless; deathless immortality reigned. Where each mummy fell, a large yellow grain glimmered, and the sand reformed into another sand man, the mummy once more chasing Ye Bai and his friends.

Now, before Ye Bai, three to five dozen mummies surged forward in a yellow mass, eager to tear apart the intruders who had disturbed their rest.

Wood overcomes earth—such is one of the destructive interactions in the Five Yin Elements. Ye Bai gathered wood power in both hands, shaping it into twin long blades. Drawing breath into his core, channeling beginner-level power from his legs, surging through his arms—at this moment, Ye Bai felt that with one slash he could shatter meters of concrete. He relished the force, enjoyed seeking his weaknesses in battle, and thrived on improvement through combat.

He charged into the mummies. With the boost from elemental power, those with slow eyes could only glimpse afterimages.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The green blades cut through the mummies’ necks; their bodies shattered and returned to sand.

Yao Ling had once told Ye Bai that wood power was not only for attack and killing but also gave rise to various derivative abilities. She’d demonstrated by clasping his injured finger; with a shimmer of wood power, the burn healed in moments—a healing trait derived from the wood element.

She also mentioned an elder in the Yao family whose innate power was different: though wood-aligned, when she was less skilled during her awakening, she’d accidentally melted medicinal arrows in her hands.

Ye Bai recalled the mutant saber-toothed tiger he’d slain in Snow City—it seemed he’d also activated a derivative trait of the wood element then, though his was devouring.

The wood blades that had just felled the mummies also devoured—after cutting in, they absorbed the scant earth power from the mummies’ bodies.

“Go!” Ye Bai called to Yao Ling and Cao Xiaosen, running toward the pyramid. In an instant, the dozens of mummies reverted to sand, leaving only dim sand cores to be reabsorbed by the desert, biding their time for resurrection.

The newly revived mummies could already be glimpsed behind; the three did not hesitate, sprinting toward the pyramid.

“Ye Bai, new virtual beasts ahead!” Yao Ling said, checking her watch, which displayed new red dots along their route.

“It’s sand scorpions, about a meter long. Weapons: stinger and pincers. If you’re stung and injected with venom, you’re eliminated. Their backs are armored with rattle-shell, impervious to blades, guns, and even elemental power…” she recited.

“No need to go on.” Ye Bai cut her off, as he could already see the swarm of sand scorpions closing in—pincers, rattle-shells, and venomous tails all too clear.

He felt troubled; Yao Ling had just said that the rattle-shells were immune to elemental power, and most of their weapons were forged from it—rendering them useless.

“I’ll take care of it.” For the first time since entering the virtual training room, Cao Xiaosen spoke, his words few but weighty.

Cao Xiaosen’s hands became claws, golden finger guards glinting sharply at the tips.

“You two only need to handle any that slip past—I’ll deal with the rest.”

Cao Xiaosen’s demeanor was entirely different from when he slept. In repose, nothing concerned him, his indifference plain; but in seriousness, the laziness in his eyes turned steely, his voice resonant with magnetism.

Yao Ling had once teased him, saying, “If you could always be this focused and speak in that magnetic tone, I might consider being your girlfriend.”

The remark had made Cao Xiaosen blush fiercely, while Yao Ling burst out laughing.

Once again, Cao Xiaosen displayed his uncanny footwork, weaving through the scorpion swarm with nothing but skill and strength—no elemental power at all—striking hard at their joints.

The sand scorpions felt a heavy blow to their heads or limbs, only for the assailant to move on, repeating the pattern deeper into the swarm.

Some scorpions turned on Cao Xiaosen; others, unable to resist the lure of fresh flesh, charged at Ye Bai and Yao Ling.

Ye Bai shielded Yao Ling with one arm, thinking something was amiss. He’d seen Cao Xiaosen’s pressure-point strikes before—usually, his targets dropped quickly, yet these scorpions were nearly upon them and still alive. What was going on?

Ye Bai raised his fist, preparing to face the incoming scorpions in a desperate fight. Without elemental power, breaking the scorpions’ defenses would be tough, but with Yao Ling nearby, stamina was no concern.

Just as he readied his attack, the scorpions before him collapsed. The few that slipped through were dispatched by Ye Bai and Yao Ling together.

Cao Xiaosen’s battle was also concluding; not a single scorpion had managed to brush even his hem.

Ye Bai had once asked him how he’d mastered such movement. Cao Xiaosen had simply replied, “By sleeping,” which had left Ye Bai astonished, though his earnest expression left no room for doubt.

No sooner had the scorpions been dealt with than the mummies caught up again, and the three took off once more toward the pyramid.