Dream Cultivation Environment

Xiao Yu chuckled softly. "Looks like this sword and I are quite fated. I'll take it!"

The burly man nodded directly. "In all my years, this is the first time I've seen someone pick up this sword so easily. How about this? It was originally priced at thirty thousand Gold Coins, but I'll sell it to you for twenty thousand. What do you say?"

Naturally, Xiao Yu had no objections. The magic core embedded in the sword alone was worth over ten thousand Gold Coins. Buying such a satisfactory weapon for twenty thousand Gold Coins was well worth it!

The burly man smiled honestly. "My name is Wan Cheng. If you need anything in the future, feel free to come find me here!"

Xiao Yu nodded slightly, then took out a gold card and handed it to Wan Cheng. After paying, Xiao Yu walked straight out of the blacksmith shop. Looking at the longsword in his hand, he pondered for a moment before murmuring, "From now on, I'll call you Black Scale!"

Xiao Yu was quite pleased with the name. He put Black Scale away, then casually found an inn on the street and checked in, planning to rest for the night before entering the Monster Mountain Range tomorrow.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Xiao Yu began cultivating. This had been his habit for years. After forming the cultivation seals with his hands, the Dou Qi energy contained within the air slowly flowed into every pore of Xiao Yan's body. After completing a full cycle within Xiao Yu's body, the Dou Qi energy flowed toward the Qi Sea in his dantian. Xiao Yu's dantian was no longer a Qi vortex but had become a Qi Sea, capable of holding far more Dou Qi. Although he was currently only an Eight-star Dou Zhe, if he truly fought and added the enhancement of an Earth-tier Dou Technique, he could still draw with a two-star Dou Master. He could even contend with a three-star Dou Master—of course, that was only if he used every trump card he had!

Previously, Xiao Yu had never cultivated the Heaven Burning Sword Art because he lacked a suitable weapon. Now that he had Black Scale, he could practice the sword art in the Monster Mountain Range tomorrow and use those magical beasts for sparring!

Just as Xiao Yu settled down to cultivate, the system's voice rang out again. "Congratulations to the host for arriving at the Monster Mountain Range and triggering the hidden reward: 'Dream Cultivation Environment!'"

Xiao Yu's eyes snapped open. "What is the Dream Cultivation Environment?" He communicated with the system in his mind, deeply puzzled by this suddenly appearing Dream Cultivation Environment.

"The Dream Cultivation Environment is intended to help the host improve practical combat ability. When Dream Cultivation is activated, it will provide the host with a designated cultivation environment. Each dream lasts two hours. The host may choose any time to conduct Dream Cultivation, while only one second passes between reality and the dream! A reminder to the host: danger exists within dreams. Once you die in a dream, Dream Cultivation will end until your next entry!" The system introduced the Dream Cultivation Environment.

Xiao Yu seemed to understand what the system meant. In other words, the system now had a dream that simulated a real-world environment. Xiao Yu could cultivate within it for two hours, and it was somewhat like the trial mode!

However, Xiao Yu's face still lit up with wild joy. This was a free opportunity to cultivate! One second in the real world for two hours of Dream Cultivation—this was terrifying. He would gain two extra hours out of thin air every day. Xiao Yu would definitely use them to practice Dou Techniques, and he could now practice the Heaven Burning Sword Art!

"Can the Dream Cultivation Environment be activated now?" Xiao Yu asked impatiently.

"It can," the system replied.

"Good. Then how do I activate it?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Close your eyes and activate the dream," the system said.

Xiao Yu immediately closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself in a forest. Wind and snow raged around him, and Xiao Yu shivered from the cold.

Xiao Yu could not help cursing under his breath. "Damn system, isn't this environment a little too realistic? I'm freezing to death!"

Hugging himself, Xiao Yu looked around. The environment here was a one-hundred-percent simulation of reality. He even tried pinching himself and actually felt pain!

Fortunately, Black Scale was still on his back. He could not cultivate the Heaven Burning Sword Art without a sword. Just as he was about to remove Black Scale and begin practicing, a wolf's howl rang out. Xiao Yu turned around and saw several snow-white wolves that had appeared on the small hill behind him at some unknown time. Their eyes glimmered with eerie green light, and their snow-white fur stood erect like steel needles. The leading wolf was clearly more than twice the size of the others. It had to be the wolf king!

"First-tier magical beasts, Blizzard Demon Wolves. That wolf king looks to be second-tier. This will be troublesome!" Xiao Yu's expression darkened slightly as his right hand slowly gripped Black Scale. After memorizing the Heaven Burning Sword Art, Xiao Yu was immediately thrown into actual combat!

Awoo!

The lead wolf raised its head and howled at the sky. It was the signal to attack. The other Blizzard Demon Wolves on the hill bared their fangs and charged at Xiao Yu, brutality flashing in their eyes. Xiao Yu did not retreat either. He slammed his right foot into the snow, his body flashing as he shot toward the wolves!

Dou Qi poured into Black Scale, and the magic core at its hilt flashed with red light. Xiao Yu swept through the pack of Blizzard Demon Wolves like a phantom. The Blizzard Demon Wolves were incredibly fast, but they were still slightly slower than Xiao Yu. Black Scale slashed toward their throats, yet their bodies were unexpectedly tough. Black Scale only left shallow marks across their necks!

"Damn, they're this tough?" Xiao Yu exclaimed in surprise as he quickly retreated.

Xiao Yu's attack successfully stirred their feral nature. One of the demon wolves let out a roar, opened its bloody maw, and immediately spewed a stream of icy breath.

The freezing aura made even Xiao Yu's Dou Qi-covered skin sting. He lightly tapped the tip of his foot against a rock and instantly leaped to the other side. Then, using another rock, he twisted through the air at an odd angle and swung Black Scale. A scorching red sword aura surged out, shooting toward one of the demon wolf's eyes!

The demon wolves' bodies seemed to be incredibly tough, so their eyes might be their only weakness. Against such thick-skinned magical beasts, he had to strike their weak point in a single blow.

Clang!

The scorching sword aura sliced through the air with an explosive roar.

Psh!

A stream of foul-smelling blood sprayed from the demon wolf's eye, followed by its miserable howl. One of the demon wolves had been struck in the eye by the sword aura, leaving it a bloody mess. The scorching sword aura roasted its flesh, releasing the smell of cooked meat!

Xiao Yu did not stop. The remaining demon wolves had already surrounded him. During the gap between Xiao Yu's attacks, they had encircled him. One demon wolf spewed an icy breath that directly wrapped around Xiao Yu's left leg. The freezing energy instantly caused Xiao Yu to lose his left leg!

Although he had the enhancement of the Heaven Burning Sword Art, Xiao Yu's actual combat experience was severely lacking. He struggled to deal with the demon wolves and was ultimately bitten in the throat and killed by one of them!

The first Dream Cultivation ended. Xiao Yu opened his eyes, his forehead drenched in cold sweat. The dream had been too realistic. It felt as though he had truly been bitten to death. Xiao Yu sighed. His strength really was too weak. Otherwise, he could have killed them all with a single sword strike each. As it was, the wolf king had not even made a move before he died. The two hours had ended in less than twenty minutes!

Although he had cultivated within a dream, Xiao Yu still felt somewhat exhausted. Rather than continue cultivating, he lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.