Chapter 24: Goddess Ah Zhi.
Cheng Jinyang feels something is off.
The so-called virtual platform for brain domain development is too similar to the nightmares he experiences every night: the same immersive feeling, the same endless cycle of death and resurrection, to the point where he almost wanted to roll over as soon as he entered.
Of course, there are differences too: there's no increase in vitality from killing enemies here; and those who are killed don't seem to feel any pain... Li Ang, who was initially surprised when killed, now screams and gets thrashed like a normal gamer.
"Give me a chance!"
"Just one strike!"
"Let me poke with a sword!"
"Don't dodge!"
"You coward, don't dodge!"
"I'll dodge!"
"Darn it, can't dodge!"
"Please spare me, big brother... Ha! Look at my sword!"
This guy employs various tactics, such as rallying cries, distractions, and feigned pleas for mercy, but unfortunately, none of them were effective.
Cheng Jinyang also uses various tactics, such as flanking attacks, pincer movements, and coordinated strikes. Now, he's optimized to take down opponents with just 1-2 strikes, no longer needing the previous 4-strike approach.
The students in the classroom looked somewhat dumbfounded. Although Teacher Cheng Yuexian solemnly promised that as long as they underwent brain domain development, they could unleash power like Cheng Jinyang...
But why is Li Ang, who also underwent brain domain development, being beaten with no chance of fighting back, like a total newbie?
Could the teacher be deceiving us?
"Ahem, brain domain development is certainly necessary. But accepting brain domain development doesn't mean you can just lie down and grow stronger," Cheng Yuexian said with a furrowed brow.
"Everyone here is from prestigious families. You might have brain domain development, but so do others. How can you compare combat power? It still depends on your dedication, diligence, and focus!"
"Aoaoao." So the crowd was once again energized, feeling that it was too early to admit defeat.
[T/N: Are they dogs? Haha.]
As long as they worked hard, they could also rise to the top and crush those myriad rivals under their feet!
College students at this age are indeed easy to deceive.
Meanwhile, Cheng Jinyang dodged again, while reaching out and summoning his flying sword to shoot forward.
On the other side, Li Ang tried to mimic him rolling, only to bump into a long sword inserted into the ground nearby, and then pierced through by Cheng Jinyang's flying sword.
To be honest, battling against supernatural's is completely different from battling against demons and monsters.
Fighting demons is like a mage facing a swordsman.
Either you seize the opportunity to bombard the opponent from a distance, or you get overwhelmed up close and defeated.
Victory or defeat hinges on a split-second reaction; being half a second slower could lead to a completely different outcome.
As for battles involving superpowers, at least for people with Gravity Manipulation ability, it's like a standoff between artillery cannons, purely measuring algorithm efficiency, neural response, and control accuracy.
In these three aspects, Cheng Jinyang outperforms the opponent, resulting in an undefeated record with no suspense whatsoever.
After dying roughly thirty times, Li Ang realized there was a huge gap in combat abilities between them, like a bronze-tier player facing off against a king-tier player.
So, the next time he respawned, he immediately shouted, "Wait, I'm not..."
But before he could finish, he was struck in the face by a flying sword, once again turning into a white light of death.
Then, he respawned in another part of the battlefield.
"I said, I..."
A flying sword pierced through his chest.
"I really..."
Another flying sword severed his neck.
"I surrender..."
Once again effortlessly dispatching his opponent, Cheng Jinyang suddenly paused for a moment.
Wait a minute, did he just say he surrendered?
Li Ang resurrected once more from somewhere, rolling onto the ground as he appeared.
Displaying a level of skill akin to Cheng Jinyang's early days after crossing over, proving that death indeed is the best experience pack.
"Wait!"
Rolling several meters away, Li Ang didn't rush to get up, but continued to roll on the ground without dignity, shouting, "I won't fight anymore! I won't fight anymore!"
"Alright, alright, I heard you," Cheng Jinyang said helplessly. "Stop rolling."
So Li Ang stood up, dusted off his clothes where there was no dust, and said, "Although I can't beat you now, but one day I will defeat you... Listen, I absolutely won't allow you to tarnish Miss Ah Zhi!"
Cheng Jinyang: ???
"Does Xing Yuanzhi know you?" he asked tentatively.
"Are you joking?" Li Ang said incredulously, "Miss Ah Zhi is our goddess! How could a goddess deign to know mere mortals? Your thoughts are truly blasphemous!"
Cheng Jinyang: .....
He didn't know how to evaluate a licking dog for being able to lick it to this extent. He decided to mention this to Ah Zhi later and see how she reacts.
Li Ang, deeply troubled, spoke earnestly to Cheng Jinyang's silence:
"Brother, I understand your feelings. After all, Miss Ah Zhi is so pure and noble. Any normal man would be drawn to her. But you've crossed a line. How could you dare to imagine getting engaged to her? If a divine woman like her is tainted by worldly affairs, would she still be divine?"
"A woman who transcends worldly matters, if forced to marry a mortal, would surely lose her ethereal qualities! She would start interfering in your life, criticizing your lack of hygiene, constantly nagging you to strive harder. How can such a fallen woman be the unique goddess in our hearts?"
"What misunderstanding do you have about Ah Zhi?"
Cheng Jinyang fell silent for a moment, realizing he had nothing to say. The person being praised wasn't Xing Yuanzhi at all, but the "goddess Ah Zhi" Li Ang had imagined.
"Sorry, the real Ah Zhi is pretty much like the 'fallen woman' you described."
"You don't understand, you don't understand!" Li Ang began to angrily shout, "Someone like you, who only knows how to train in supernatural algorithms, shouldn't you be like those protagonists in novels without female leads, just focusing on leveling up and not having any interest in female characters? Why do you try to involve yourself with our Miss Ah Zhi? I'm telling you..."
"Mute."
Cheng Yuexian suddenly appeared beside him, and Li Ang's voice was cut off immediately.
"Everyone!" She clapped her hands and shouted, "As I said before, start imagining yourself in battle, let the program scan and locate your shallow memory area, hurry up!"
The remaining students also gradually refreshed on the top of Shu Mountain, looking around curiously, apparently being led into the brain domain development environment by Cheng Yuexian.
The classmates followed her instructions and stood still, concentrating.
Meanwhile, Li Ang had already walked to the front of Cheng Jinyang and started to curse loudly—except he couldn't make a sound, his expression looked quite amusing.
"You don't think I understand lip reading, do you?" Even though Cheng Jinyang didn't know what he was saying, he figured it wasn't something good.
So, with a slight shift in his thoughts, about six or seven flying swords around him immediately rose from the ground, hovering in the air with a slight tremble.
Their tips extended forward as if poised to strike, intimidating the other party.
Li Ang immediately closed his mouth, revealing a stern and inviolable expression, then walked confidently to the side.
Cheng Jinyang didn't bother him, just kept watching Cheng Yuexian teaching the students, and murmured to himself:
This virtual environment developed in the brain has too many similarities to the nightmares that have troubled me for years.
My intuition suggests that there is a certain connection here.
However, it's taboo to delve too deeply into matters without establishing a proper relationship.
It wouldn't be wise to inquire too much about brain domain development with Cheng Yuexian, lest it raise suspicions.
It's better to go back and ask Ah Zhi and Miss Wang.