Chapter Fifty-Three: Passing the Virtual Training

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“Congratulations to the freshmen for passing the second level of the ancient ruins,” Arya’s voice echoed through the empty burial chamber.

As Arya’s voice sounded, a red light swept across the entire chamber, scanning every corner. Everything destroyed in the tomb—such as the golden coffin and the terracotta figurines obliterated in battle—was instantly restored to its original state. From the outside, one could see the entire space being scanned by the red light, and wherever it passed, all was returned to how it had been.

Ye Bai leaned weakly against the wall, blood foaming at his lips. Blood flowed copiously from his arm and the side of his chest, his consciousness growing dim. Streams of green data flickered across his body, and when his senses finally cleared, he found himself lying in bed.

“Ye Bai, you did it! Yes, we finally passed a virtual training assessment!” Yao Ling, who had been eliminated earlier, was waiting by the beds with Cao Xiaoseng. Not long after, Cao Xiaoseng was also eliminated and emerged, giving Yao Ling a bitter smile.

Cao Xiaoseng sat on his bed to steady himself. Though he’d ‘died’ several times in the past two weeks, the realism of Arya’s virtual training chamber was so intense that each time, he truly believed his life was over.

This was a rite of passage for every new student. The academy spared no expense to create a highly realistic environment for training. For instance, the first level of the simulation required only ten crystals of each attribute, but the second level demanded much more: fifty crystals of each attribute and one core from a master-level mutated beast. Although the Arya system covered every major city, the academy itself had to bear the cost of these resources.

Such immersive simulation gave pampered heirs of the main city their first taste of death’s terror. Some, upon dying in Arya’s virtual space, even lost control of their bodies from fear.

To ensure freshmen achieved good results in their first monthly assessment, each group was granted free access to the virtual training chamber once every three days during the first month. After that, each entry would cost credits.

Ye Bai sat on his bed to recover, still reeling from the perilous moment when he gambled his life against the Pharaoh. Had he not accidentally gained some insight into the synergy between water and wood elements at the last moment, it was impossible to say who would have survived.

Seeing the joy on Yao Ling’s face, Ye Bai smiled. “Yes, we did it this time.”

Yao Ling grabbed the hands of Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng, grinning from ear to ear. “We won, we won!” As she spoke, tears slid down her cheeks and fell to the floor.

A soft chime sounded from the wrist devices of all three. Their AI brains had received a new message.

“Freshmen Ye Bai, Yao Ling, and Cao Xiaoseng: For passing the second level of the virtual training chamber within the first month of assessment, each of you is awarded one credit.”

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“There’s a credit reward!” Yao Ling leapt up with excitement. In the first-year assessments, even the top student won only ten credits.

And this was just for passing the second level. What about the third? The thought made Yao Ling’s eyes sparkle with hope.

Ye Bai, seeing this, knew exactly what she was thinking. He tapped her lightly on the head. “Little one, don’t get ahead of yourself. The third level is beyond our reach for now.”

“If we can manage the third level in our second year, we’ll have done well. For our first year, the first and second levels are enough for us to hone our skills. Besides, there’s still much left unexplored in these virtual environments.”

Yao Ling wrinkled her nose at him. “I know, the third level isn’t something we should worry about yet. First, we build our foundation.”

She looked like a scolded child, head slightly bowed, hands clasped and fidgeting, but her tone was nonetheless proud.

Neither Ye Bai nor Cao Xiaoseng said anything further. They preferred to let the youngest in their group enjoy her happiness. Yao Ling was the only girl among them, and both boys tended to indulge and protect her, especially in combat.

“All right. Let’s save the celebrations for tonight. For now, everyone should rest.”

The Arya space, once accessible only to those at the growth level, was truly taxing. They had barely spent any time inside, yet already felt mentally drained.

“Okay,” Yao Ling replied softly. Her earlier elation had faded. Having been eliminated early, she hadn’t felt much exhaustion, but Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng, after their fierce battle with the Pharaoh, were both worn out.

Yao Ling went off to her quarters, planning to use the time to prepare for the evening’s celebration.

Cao Xiaoseng and Ye Bai exchanged a glance, sharing a smile. In that moment, trust passed silently between them. Ye Bai had gone from rejecting Cao Xiaoseng to relying on him; Cao Xiaoseng, once taciturn, now spoke a little more.

No words were needed. Brotherhood wasn’t something to be declared daily, but proven in moments when only one could survive, by giving your own chance at life to your brother.

…

Ye Bai sat on his bed, unable to sleep, pondering the dual water-wood elemental blade he had wielded in the final battle.

At the brink of death, he had acted entirely on instinct, not consciously thinking about how to combine the two elements. He only recalled, at the last moment, that the power of water seemed to merge into the wood element, causing the wood’s strength to swell suddenly, carrying a vibrational force.

But now, back in his room, no matter how many times he tried, he couldn’t conjure the water-wood blade again. Forcing the two elements together felt clumsy, nothing like the seamless flow he’d experienced before.

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“Mu’er, replay and analyze the battle video.”

The AI brain’s greatest function wasn’t just to communicate or to flaunt one’s status. It recorded every battle, along with detailed analyses of elemental attributes.

During a fight, there was no time to review such data, but afterward, the videos and analyses could lay bare all the issues and moments of insight, even highlighting and marking any significant interplay of elemental forces.

A blue light screen appeared before Ye Bai, replaying every move he and his teammates had made in the ruins.

“Fast-forward.”

Though less than two hours had passed in the real world, time flowed differently in the Arya space—just as in the entrance exam, when one day outside equated to a month in the icy world within. This time, a day had nearly passed inside while only two hours ticked by outside. He couldn’t afford to watch it all in real time.

The scenes flickered by: chased by mummies, battling sand scorpions, until Ye Bai unleashed the Crimson Lotus Flame to burn the monsters in the pyramid—his expression shifted slightly at the memory.

Speaking of the Crimson Lotus Flame, it was Ye Bai’s greatest find since entering Purple Star Academy. Following the notes of senior Zhang Jian, he had learned to mold the flame: first constructing the lotus shape in his mind, then compressing his fire element energy within his body, channeling it through special meridians. Once released, it burned with twice the power of ordinary fire, but its greatest flaw was its slow release.

Next to the video, the AI Mu’er displayed a fluctuating bar chart of fire element levels, rising and falling with each surge, until, when Ye Bai exhausted his fire energy, the chart dropped to zero.

The footage continued, showing Ye Bai and his companions entering the Pharaoh’s tomb: the white pearl, the shifting golden coffin, Yao Ling being the first eliminated, and Cao Xiaoseng clutching the Pharaoh’s blade with both hands.

At last, after the Pharaoh eliminated Cao Xiaoseng, the video reached its most critical moment.

In the attribute analysis, Ye Bai’s elemental energy was less than a tenth of usual, with fire completely depleted—showing zero on the display.

Earth, water, and wood were barely present. Yet, seeing Cao Xiaoseng eliminated seemed to trigger something in Ye Bai; his wood element surged, followed by a sympathetic increase in water. Then, inexplicably, the wood element returned to its prior level.

It was then that Ye Bai kicked the Pharaoh aside, and the dual-element water-wood blade slowly formed in his hand.