Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

A man and a woman stood by the round building, sizing up Zhan Sheng.

The woman stood in front. Her aura was distant and serene, and though her face was young, it carried a sense of age.

The young man beside her was complaining, but the woman said, "Let it go. A Metal Spirit Root isn’t common. At least he made the effort to send her our way."

"But the problem is that *he’s* the one who recommended her, Master..." The man paused. "You don’t plan on telling the Sect Master, do you?"

The woman’s gaze shifted away from Zhan Sheng. "A new batch of disciples was admitted a few days ago. Add her to that group, then register her under my name."

The man asked, "What if we’re found out?"

"So what? A Metal Spirit Root is rare. Even though she’s a bit old, once she starts cultivating, she’ll progress much faster than others. Have Chu Qi take her to get familiar with the Sect’s affairs first. After a while, bring her back to Green Bamboo Ridge. If the Sect Master really does find out, I’ll be the one to explain."

The man sighed softly. "Yes, Master."

Below, Zhan Sheng had already been led into the round building by Chu Qi. Master Lü Zhu gazed at the valley scenery and sighed softly. "Yi’an, Yunzhou is unstable these days. The prophecy of people from beyond the heavens descending still hangs over our heads. It was already an unexpected move for the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect to hold its first-ever disciple selection. All eyes are on the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect now, so the Sect Master probably can’t be distracted by such trivial matters. His grudge with Zhai Xiaotian... just how many years old is that feud?"

Fan Yi’an nodded. "I understand."

Meanwhile, Zhan Sheng entered the round building. Chu Qi took out a Magic Treasure used for testing Spirit Roots and had Zhan Sheng use it.

’At least this thing looks more advanced than the one the Longevity Sect used for testing Spirit Roots.’

It was a palm-sized disc. With just a little Spiritual Energy infused, a distinct golden aura flowed out.

Chu Qi nodded. "It really is a Metal Spirit Root. It’s a shame you’re starting so late."

Zhan Sheng lowered her gaze to look at her. "Senior Sister, what do you mean by that?"

Chu Qi explained, "The gold appears as an aura, which means your Spirit Root isn’t pure. On the Yunzhou Continent, the younger you are when your Spirit Root is discovered, the better. A child’s Spirit Root is the purest, which is why I said it’s a shame."

Zhan Sheng nodded.

’From this, it was clear that while her Metal Spirit Root was rare, it probably wasn’t considered exceptionally precious in the Taixue Sect.’

’At least, Zhan Sheng could tell as much from Chu Qi’s attitude.’

’As a Major Sect, and the second-ranked Beast Taming Sect under the Li Yun Sect, shouldn’t there be quite a few people with Metal Spirit Roots who joined?’

Chu Qi spoke again, "It’s such a pity. If you’d been discovered as a child, our Sect Elders would have surely fought over you."

She had said it was a pity twice in a row. Seeming to realize something, she looked up and saw that Zhan Sheng’s expression hadn’t changed much. She then added comfortingly, "But it’s okay. Even if you’re starting late, your cultivation will be faster than ours. I’m sure you’ll reach Foundation Establishment soon."

The Spiritual Energy in the Taixue Sect was dense. Just by standing there, Zhan Sheng could feel a refreshing comfort completely different from Wang’an County.

’It really is true that the bigger the Sect, the denser the Spiritual Energy. In an environment like this, it’s no wonder the good Sects just get better and better, while small sects find it hard to make a comeback.’

’And the Longevity Sect’s goal is to become the number one Sect.’

’What a lofty ambition.’

Zhan Sheng smiled faintly, her lips pursed. "Thank you for your high regard, Senior Sister."

Chu Qi waved her hand. "Come on. Master told me that for the next few days, I’ll be showing you around the Sect, what you need to do..."

She spoke as she led Zhan Sheng away, explaining the situation in the valley in detail.

The Inner Sect Disciples of the Taixue Sect mostly resided in the Cloud Palace. This Snow Valley was where the Outer Disciples lived.

Furthermore, some of the smaller spiritual beasts were raised in the Snow Valley. As for the high-level spiritual beasts, they were cultivated in special environments.

Chu Qi didn’t mention whether Zhan Sheng would be considered an Inner Sect Disciple or an Outer Disciple now that she was here. In any case, whatever she said, Zhan Sheng would just follow along.

Meanwhile, back in Wang’an County, no one had noticed that a player had inexplicably gone missing. After all, hardly any other players knew her.

Even if someone did happen to think of her, they would just assume she’d gone out to fight demon beasts.

Honghuang, An Xiu, and Han Tian had registered with Su Huanli.

The three of them had already reached the Late-stage of Qi Refining and were all qualified to participate in the competition.

There was another player as well, named Zhang Sheng.

Honghuang and An Xiu were both players from the second batch, so they had some impression of this Zhang Sheng. He was from the first batch of players.

He had always been a loner, never teaming up with others to fight demon beasts. Perhaps because they hadn’t interacted much, Honghuang and An Xiu had no idea what his combat strength was like.

This guy had also bought a Little Flower Beast from Fan Guzhou to raise.

Since they were supposed to set out together, Honghuang, An Xiu, and Zhang Sheng met up in advance at a tavern. They still had to wait for Han Tian before they all headed to the Sea View Sect.

When the three met, Zhang Sheng didn’t take the initiative to speak. Honghuang was more of a people person and was the first to greet him. "Hey, I’m Honghuang. I’m one of the second-batch players."

Zhang Sheng nodded. "Mm, Zhang... Zhang Sheng."

An Xiu also gave a simple introduction. "I’m An Xiu."

He and Honghuang were friends in real life. The two of them had been lucky enough to snag testing slots for the Broken Sect.

Then they entered this game together.

Honghuang smiled and said, "We’ve been in the game for so long, and now we’re finally going to see what disciples from a real Major Sect are like."

Zhang Sheng: "Mm."

An Xiu said, "We’ll compete against the disciples of Sea View Sect, and then in Liu Xian City, we’ll have to face disciples from other sects. People will probably come from all the nearby sects, like Liuyun Sect, Fierce Eagle Sect, and Netherworld Sect. Fan Guzhou said the Feique Sect probably isn’t sending anyone this time."

Last time they fought demon beasts, many disciples from the Feique Sect also paid a heavy price.

They weren’t as stacked as the Longevity Sect and still needed to recover. Plus, with the situation over at First Mountain, since the Longevity Sect had already sent people, the Feique Sect wouldn’t send any more.

Honghuang glanced at his Jiezidai. "We’re planning to go to Liu Xian City to see if we can find a suitable Xuan-grade Magical Treasure. After fighting demon beasts for so long, plus the points we’ve saved up, if we grit our teeth, we should be able to afford a Xuan-grade Attack Magical Treasure. What about you, Zhang?"

Ever since they started the game, there hadn’t been a single day that Honghuang and An Xiu weren’t fighting.

They had piled up a ton of materials and points. Aside from Palm Thunder, they hadn’t exchanged their extra resources for anything. Converted into Spirit Stones, they would have several dozen Mid Grade ones.

This was their entire fortune. Buying one Xuan-grade Magical Treasure would wipe them out completely.

And what they needed most was a Magic Treasure.

Zhang Sheng just shook his head. "Not enough."

"Then it’ll be a bit iffy trying to fight the Sea View Sect disciples with just your own strength."

It’s unlikely those disciples don’t have Magic Treasures.

He and An Xiu then discussed some arrangements for their trip to Liu Xian City. Although An Xiu didn’t talk much, he at least responded to everything.

Zhang Sheng was much quieter. Even when he did answer, he was incredibly terse.

Honghuang asked Zhang Sheng what his plans were after they got to Liu Xian City, and Zhang Sheng just said, "I’ll follow your lead."

Honghuang was getting a little annoyed. "Hey, Zhang Sheng, this is a game, and we don’t know each other in real life. I’ve been talking this whole time, can’t you at least give some input?"

Zhang Sheng opened his mouth, then said slowly, "S-sorry... I... in real life... I’m... I’m mute... I... I only just learned... how to talk..."

Honghuang: "..."

An Xiu: "Well, someone’s going to be jumping off a building tonight."