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

Chapter 143: Chapter 143: Energy Pool Enhancement

At first, the Feique Sect was reluctant to use them.

Because once a Magic Treasure broke, it was well and truly broken.

Magic Treasures were exceptionally precious even to disciples of the Artifact Refining Sect, let alone them.

It wasn’t easy to gather enough materials to make one.

However, seeing the Longevity Sect disciples frantically chugging Elixir Pills to hold on, and with Third-stage Demon Beasts now appearing, it was no longer appropriate for the Feique Sect disciples to be so frugal.

To top it all off, under these circumstances, Zhou Xiao felt that she was about to have a breakthrough.

During a breakthrough, a Cultivator would experience a momentary lapse in concentration. In this state, they were extremely vulnerable and could be attacked by anyone.

So Zhou Xiao immediately returned to Wang’an County, sat down on the spot, and began to meditate. Feeling the Spiritual Energy churning within her, she guided it to assault her Spirit Root, preparing to break through.

When the Feique Sect disciples saw what she was doing, they were dumbfounded.

"She’s having a breakthrough? How is that possible?!"

The Feique Sect disciples were completely floored.

For them, every single step forward in cultivation was an arduous journey.

The fact that most of them were still in the Early or Mid-stage of Qi Refinement after so many years was a testament to this difficulty.

How long had Zhou Xiao even been here?

And she was already about to break through to the Late-stage Qi Refining realm!

What kind of terrifying talent was this?

’Is it because she’s been fighting so often?’

’No, that can’t be right.’

’We’ve been here for so many years and have fought our fair share of demon beasts, but we’ve never seen anyone just break through in the middle of a battle!’

But the battle was too urgent to spare any thought for such things. The Feique Sect only had one feeling: the Longevity Sect was starting to seem a bit mysterious.

An elusive Sect Master, a mysterious disciple who loved to hang out with mortals yet whose cultivation progressed at lightning speed...

And the way they gulped down Third-stage Elixir Pills like water.

Their wealth had clearly surpassed that of the Feique Sect!

The disciples of the Feique Sect all brought out their Magic Treasures, and the battle once again fell into a stalemate.

The Fourth-rank Demon Beast, the Yin Sha Deer, was being held up by Song Jiulai. As long as they could hold on until Han Tian and the others arrived, this invasion wouldn’t be a major problem.

The new players were still just watching the show. Of course, when they finally realized the danger, most of them chose to unlock their Spirit Root and log off.

Meanwhile, one of the new players took off his VR headset, unable to contain his excitement.

"Incredible, just incredible! This is a cross-era game, a game that will define a new era!"

Ma Shaojie thought about every blade of grass and every tree in the game, every detail he saw with each breath—it was all so real.

There wasn’t a hint of falseness.

’Is this technology that should even exist in this era?’

Ma Shaojie couldn’t suppress his excitement. With trembling fingers, he posted an article on his Weibo.

[Ma Shaojie V: I managed to get a spot in the open beta for Broken Sect. I have to say, I’ve been completely humbled. I used to think Han Tian’s streams were fake, and I was determined to expose his scheme. But I had people investigate and they couldn’t find the company behind this game. It is mysterious, so mysterious that it defies common sense.

So, with that goal in mind, I got a spot in Broken Sect tonight, and my entire worldview has collapsed.

It’s hard to imagine that at a time like this, when VR technology is just in its infancy, a cross-era, true full-dive virtual reality game has just appeared out of nowhere, catching everyone completely off guard! The moment I went online, I saw a real, vast, and authentic world. It was as if I had truly crossed over to another world to start a second life.

I can swear on my reputation that everything Han Tian has streamed is real. I also want to apologize for my previous statements calling Broken Sect a malicious marketing stunt. If possible, I would like to apply for streaming rights. Please, @Starting with a broken sect, give me this opportunity.]

The moment Ma Shaojie’s Weibo post went live, it truly caused the entire internet to crash.

Who was Ma Shaojie?

A legendary figure.

A once-famous and prominent second-generation heir.

His legendary status came from inheriting his parents’ ten-billion-dollar fortune. His family had once been incredibly powerful; his parents were famous entrepreneurs in Huaxia.

But a tragic car accident claimed both their lives.

Ma Shaojie was still young at the time. Even though he inherited his parents’ ten-billion-dollar fortune, he was powerless to manage the family business.

He later made an unexpected decision: he sold all his shares and assets to the other shareholders at the time, completely divesting himself from the company.

He then donated his entire ten-billion-dollar fortune to charitable organizations, leaving only a small portion for himself to live on.

He had suffered from depression for a long time. He traveled to many places and liked to post his thoughts online.

His favorite thing to do was stream and chat with his followers because he said it was the only way he felt like he was still alive.

He never accepted donations or stirred up drama during his streams; he just chatted.

But his influence was far greater than Han Tian’s.

The incident all those years ago had shocked the whole of Huaxia. Everyone thought the rich heir who donated his ten-billion-dollar fortune was crazy.

But they also genuinely admired him.

So, many netizens followed him. For so many years, Ma Shaojie had never used his fame to cause trouble. His last Weibo post had been six months ago.

The shock from this new post was even greater than the one from Han Tian.

People could dismiss Han Tian’s as a marketing stunt.

But what did Ma Shaojie have to gain from this?

If he wanted to start over, the government itself would give him the opportunity. There was no need for him to collude with a game for a publicity stunt.

Broken Sect simply couldn’t afford to hire someone of his stature.

So, this game... was actually real?

A cross-era, full-dive game?

The buzz around Broken Sect, which had been gradually fading, was now reignited in a new and unexpected way, exploding onto the top of all trending lists.

With Ma Shaojie’s endorsement, even netizens who had never heard of the game started searching for Han Tian’s videos.

At this moment, Han Tian was still streaming. Millions of viewers flooded his channel in an instant. Under normal circumstances, the streaming site would have crashed long ago.

But his stream was completely unaffected.

Han Tian was still on "horseback"—running on his own two legs back to the Sect.

When he saw the explosive jump in his viewer count, Han Tian was stunned for a moment. Then he saw Ma Shaojie’s name and cursed.

"Holy shit, even Ma got into the game? What luck!"

For him to get a spot among so many people, wasn’t that the definition of good luck?

Getting into Broken Sect was incredibly difficult now.

Meanwhile, engaged in a world-shaking guerilla battle with the Yin Sha Deer, Song Jiulai once again heard a heavenly sound.

[Ding! A massive influx of energy has been detected. The Sect’s Energy Pool has exceeded its limit. Congratulations.]

[Energy Pool display has been revised. Current Sect Energy Pool reserve: 587/1000.]

[Energy Pool is measured based on: Sect wealth, total player cultivation value, scope of the Sect’s influence, and a small portion of new emotional energy influx.]

[A system internal voice channel has now been opened. The Sect Master may set the rules for player voice communication.]

[The Sect warehouse area has been expanded. The Sect Master’s cultivation can now be systematically hidden or altered. This may only be done once per year.]

[Appropriate publicity may galvanize the vitality of two worlds. We should support such methods. Five player streaming licenses are now available. The Sect Master may select the players to whom they are issued.]