Weakness

Molten Empire, Molten Emperor Star.

In a spacious, luxurious conference room, more than a dozen figures sat on either side of the table. All of them were Universe Level Eight or Nine powerhouses!

The conference room was brightly lit, yet the atmosphere was oppressive. These Universe Level Eight and Nine powerhouses seemed affected by it, all remaining silent.

At the head of the conference table sat a tall figure shrouded in darkness, his features impossible to make out.

Even the light near him was absorbed and assimilated, as though boundless darkness had always enveloped him. Only his hands, fingers interlocked and elbows braced against the table, were visible in the light.

The man seated at the head of the table was Frank, the person in charge of the Molten Empire's Cultivation Planet Management Department and an eighth-rank Domain Lord.

"Heh! The core of an entire planet was breached by a pack of beasts. What an eye-opener!"

Frank sneered from within the darkness, his deep voice brimming with rage. "Kuka Planet! Which Universe Level was responsible for guarding it?

"A Universe Level couldn't even stop a few Stellar Level beasts! Drag him over..."

A Universe Level hurriedly transmitted, "Teacher, the Universe Level assigned to guard Kuka Planet hasn't taken up his post yet. He applied for ten years of leave, and you personally approved it."

At the reminder, Frank instantly recalled it. Kuka Planet's person in charge indeed had not yet assumed office, and he still had two years of leave remaining.

After a moment of silence, he said, "I just remembered that the person assigned to guard Kuka Planet hasn't taken up his post yet. Have him end his leave immediately and report to Kuka Planet."

After saying that, he viciously added, "All instructors who survived this incident will be sent to mine! They can return home once they have earned enough contributions!"

"More than half the trainees at the training base died, including every outstanding trainee!

"Yet only four Stellar Level instructors chose to fight to the death. If not for a Stellar Level trainee who had comprehended a domain cleaning up their mess, Kuka Planet would have suffered devastating losses!"

Frank paused, fury filling his words. "Just moments ago, Domain Lord Rika was questioning me.

"He said that all the trainees reserved by the training camp under my command had died in battle, while only four of your Stellar Level instructors died.

"What is this? This is a slap in our department's face! A slap in the face of me, its person in charge!"

At this point, Frank's aura surged, crushing the Universe Levels below until they could barely breathe.

"Starting today, assess every instructor on every cultivation planet. Screen them carefully, planet by planet!

"Anyone who fails the assessment will be stripped of their instructor status and benefits. If any violations or embezzlement are uncovered, send them straight to the mines! The Resources Department has been complaining about a shortage of miners anyway.

"If something like this happens again, not only will the Universe Level governors guarding the planets be sent to mine, but you regional managers will join them!"

Finally, Frank shouted, "Did you hear me clearly?"

"Crystal clear!"

The Universe Levels below nodded one after another.

Seeing that his subordinates had all nodded, Frank had no desire to say more and issued his order.

"Meeting adjourned!"

With that, Frank was the first to leave the conference room. He still needed to apologize to an old friend.

Only after their department head had left did the Universe Levels breathe a sigh of relief and begin discussing matters in the conference room.

In the eyes of these Universe Level powerhouses, what happened on Kuka Planet was not an especially serious matter.

Only some Planetary Levels had died. The Molten Empire did not lack such Planetary Levels.

It was just a pity about that little fellow who had comprehended a domain. He clearly could have entered the Stellar Training Camp, yet he died on Kuka Planet because the training base instructors feared battle.

What was truly troublesome was that among the dead youngsters was a scion of a major family with quite an impressive background. It was said that he was the descendant of one of their minister's friends.

That family scion had only gone to Kuka Planet as a formality, to polish his credentials before entering the higher-level Stellar Training Camp. No one had expected him to die there.

In their view, the minister was enraged because his friend's descendant had died on Kuka Planet, compounded by the mockery of Domain Lord Rika, with whom he had never gotten along.

Still, this was not entirely bad. They could use the opportunity to reorganize the cultivation planets and give those planetary governors something to do!

After finishing their discussion, the Universe Levels began leaving the conference room one after another. Soon, the doors to the conference room were shut.

Time passed, and Li Qi had been in Zhaoguang City for three days.

Zhaoguang Academy held entrance assessments once every three months, and only ten days remained until the next one.

Thanks to his experiences from his previous life, he quickly adapted to life in Zhaoguang City and had already become proficient in using all kinds of equipment.

At that moment, Li Qi lay on his bed with a consciousness sensor on his head. His consciousness had already entered the Trial Tower of Zhaoguang Academy in the Virtual Universe.

An endless grassland stretched beneath him. A breeze swept across the emerald sea of grass, raising waves of green.

Li Qi stood on a shield and flew through the air, sixteen Bone Spikes circling around him. In the distant sky, nine Corpse-Eating Birds circled overhead.

Before him was a screen of light bearing words in the Universal Language: "The assessment will begin in ten seconds. Kill nine Apprentice Level Nine Corpse-Eating Birds within ten minutes."

The light screen vanished.

Screech—!

The Corpse-Eating Birds circling in the sky seemed to have spotted prey and flew toward Li Qi.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The sixteen Bone Spikes tore through the air and shot toward the approaching Corpse-Eating Birds.

When the Bone Spikes struck the Corpse-Eating Birds, unless they hit vital points, they could only knock the birds tumbling through the air.

Very soon, Li Qi was surrounded by the nine Corpse-Eating Birds. In barely more than twenty seconds, he was killed in their encirclement.

Whoosh!

Inside a single-person room containing only a sofa, Li Qi sat on the sofa and recalled the battle from earlier.

"On the second day after learning the Basic Body Technique, I cleared the third level of the Trial Tower and killed five Corpse-Eating Birds. That was four more than before I learned the Basic Body Technique. The improvement was obvious."

He frowned slightly. "Without overwhelming Mental Force and Planetary Level Bone Spikes, I still haven't adapted to fighting this way. Those two things have affected me too deeply; it will be difficult to eliminate that influence in a short time.

"Sometimes, I can't help thinking that I can kill a Corpse-Eating Bird with a single Bone Spike. But in reality, with the Mental Force strength and Bone Spikes of a normal Apprentice Level Nine, it is difficult to deal fatal damage to beasts of the same level. Sometimes, it takes ten or twenty attacks to kill one Corpse-Eating Bird."

"If I chose guerrilla tactics, I could kill all nine Corpse-Eating Birds within ten minutes, but that would be meaningless!"

Li Qi knew very clearly where his weakness lay. He could not adapt to battles in the Virtual Universe, and because he was accustomed to crushing his opponents, his Movement Technique was far too weak.

That was why he had constantly fought the beasts head-on in the Trial Tower, using it to train his Movement Technique and adapt himself to battles in the Virtual Universe.

"With bodies and weapons of the same level, fighting solely through skill, experience, awareness, and comprehension of the Laws—that is what makes fighting in the Virtual Universe unique.

"I have to adapt. If I don't, I'm afraid I won't even be able to enter Zhaoguang Academy!"

"Let's try the Trial Tower for the Martial Artist path and see how many levels I can clear this time."

Li Qi slapped the sofa and vanished from the room, entering the Trial Tower once more.

A few minutes later, with another whoosh, he returned to the room and shook his head helplessly.