31 The Red Door

[Ding!]

"What now?"

[Player understanding of Minor Realm Qi Sensing I has been fulfilled. Qi has overflowed Realm Capacity.

Player Selafia Veritas is forced into a Breakthrough simulation.]

"What?"

A red double-door appeared on one of the plain walls of the room. The doors flew open to a dark space. a strong gale began in the room, dragging Cheng Xiu towards the door.

Cheng Xiu struggled against the current. "System! What is going on!"

[Host is advancing to level two.]

"Oh," Cheng Xiu slacked. "Why is it so-"

She was dragged into the dark space, and the red door closed with a bang.

Everything was dark around her.

Cheng Xiu spun around in circles a few times. "System?"

The black abyss was quiet.

She looked down to see what she was standing on and nearly choked.

Cheng Xiu stood on top of a golden Boulder. If she took one step in the wrong direction, she would fall off into the darkness below.

Cheng Xiu wondered what would happen if she did fall. Nothing good probably.

"System? Where am I? Have I leveled up?"

There was no response.

"System?"

Silence.

"Maya?"

[Yes, Player?]

Cheng Xiu started and almost fell off the edge of the Boulder.

"Why didn't you respond before?"

Cheng Xiu's mind had conjured up all kinds of horrible scenarios. Maybe she failed to Level up and was being punished by the game. Maybe her game pod malfunctioned somehow and she had gone into a coma. Or maybe she had traveled across time and space and now was floati-

[Ding!]

[Breakthrough Simulation begins in

3

2

1

Start!]

A dim light flickered to her left.

Cheng Xiu frowned.

The light flickered again.

Cheng Xiu squinted her eyes, trying to see into the distance.

She didn't know what she had to do to actually level up in the game. If she had to fight a beast or something then walking towards the beast would be the stupidest thing she could do at this moment.

"Is that a fish?" Cheng Xiu asked.

It really was a fish. A glowing fish that created ripples of light as it swam through the black space.

A golden Boulder appeared in front of her.

Cheng Xiu frowned. She looked about and her Phoenix eyes fell on the bloodied sword in her hand. Her grip on its hilt tightened. It was the only weapon that she had and she wouldn't be able to do anything if something comes out of the darkness to get her.

But…

Her eyes fell on the golden step in front of her.

Cheng Xiu gritted her teeth and hurled her sword at the stone. The sword's tip hit on the golden surface with a 'ting' and bounced off.

Cheng Xiu pursed her lips as the sword slid over the golden plane and stopped at the brim of the Boulder.

There was no other reaction. She looked around just to make sure there were no surprise attacks.

Cheng Xiu sighed and then scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Maybe I was a bit too cautious."

Cheng Xiu crouched and jumped over to the new stone.

As soon as one of her feet touched the Boulder, a new one materialized in front of her.

Cheng Xiu picked up her sword and looked at the new stone. She looked down at the sword and then at the stone. She looked at the stone and then at the stone. She repeated it once more. Cheng Xiu pursed her lips and aimed to throw the sword onto the new Boulder but stopped half-way.

Cheng Xiu felt stupid. There was no need to be so weary of things.

She would treat this level up Breakthrough as the one from the other game that she had played five years back.

Though they were different, both were centered around Cultivation, this part should be somewhat similar, despite the black abyss and golden stone steps showing otherwise.

Cheng Xiu jumped over to the new stone. Another one appeared in front of her.

Cheng Xiu sighed.

She looked over at the place where the glowing fish was jumping from one place to another, creating splashes of light.

Though they were far away from each other, Cheng Xiu was sure the stones were leading her towards the fish.

Cheng Xiu jumped off to the new stone. Another one appeared.

This continued on for a long time. At first, Cheng Xiu's moments were clumsy and her steps were unstable. She nearly fell off a few times. But as she progressed further and further, Cheng Xiu's steps became more and more stable.

The stones were not placed at equal distance from each other, but Cheng Xiu found her speed getting faster and faster as the ran towards her destination.

In her virtual body a change began to happen. Her bones strengthened, her blood circulated faster, her breathing evened out, and her movements became smoother. Her skin became more lustrous.

Her fast mind became faster. Her sharp vision became sharper.

Cheng Xiu grinned as she ran towards the distant light.

As her speed increased, and vision cleared, Cheng Xiu realises that the Fish was actually swimming away from her. The more Cheng Xiu increased her speed, the faster the fish became.

Cheng Xiu grinned as she gave chase. She felt like a great predator of the forest. Untamed, powerful and wild. The savage part of her that she had locked away, suppressed a long time back after she had found out she was a Qiless, to be a good girl, to be a model student slipped away from its chains.

Cheng Xiu felt freedom from playing a virtual game. The sense of freedom that she never felt after her Awakening ceremony back then. Three years. It had been three years since she had felt this kind of power.

Her steps became faster and she gained on the Fish.

It was a red Carp.

She ran faster, her mind narrowed. No other thoughts flitted through her mind except to catch the fish.

A glowing red door appeared in front of them, floating in the dark abyss.

Cheng Xiu instinctively knew that she had to reach the Carp before it reached the door.

They got closer and closer.

Cheng Xiu pushed her legs harder and harder.

The Red door flew open to reveal a golden interior.

The Carp made a giant leap towards the door.

Cheng Xiu flung herself over as well, uncaring about whether she would be able to make a safe landing. Her dark Phoenix eyes only had the Red, glowing Carp reflected on it.

Her arms stretched out to hold the fish as her body fell down.

Her thin, pale hands encircled the cool body of the Red Carp that felt less like flesh and more like metal.

"Got you!" Cheng Xiu said with a laugh.

The fish struggled in her grasp as they both fell into the blackness of the abyss but Cheng Xiu's mind was too focused on the Carp to notice.