Dream Cultivation Environment

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

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

Naturally, Xiao Yu had no objection. The magic core embedded in the sword alone was worth more than 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 gave a slight nod, then took out his gold card and handed it to Wan Cheng. After paying, Xiao Yu left the blacksmith shop directly. Looking at the longsword in his hand, he thought for a moment before murmuring, "From now on, I'll call you Mo Scale!"

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

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Xiao Yu began cultivating. This had been his habit for years. After forming the cultivation hand seals, the Dou Qi energy contained in the air slowly flowed into every pore of Xiao Yu's body. After completing a great cycle within him, the Dou Qi energy flowed toward the Qi Sea in his Dantian. Xiao Yu's Dantian no longer contained a Qi Cyclone, but had become a Qi Sea, allowing it to hold far more Dou Qi. Though he was currently only an Eight-Star Dou Practitioner, if they truly fought, with the support of an Earth Rank Dou Technique, he could still draw with a Two-Star Dou Master. He could even contend with a Three-Star Dou Master, of course, only if he went all out!

Previously, because he had lacked a suitable weapon, Xiao Yu had never cultivated the Heavenly Flame Sword Manual. Now that he had Mo Scale, he could practice the sword manual in the Monster Beast Mountain Range tomorrow and use those magical beasts to sharpen his skills!

Just as Xiao Yu settled down to cultivate, the system's voice sounded again. "Congratulations, Host, for arriving at the Monster Beast Mountain Range. Hidden reward triggered: 'Dream Cultivation Environment!'"

Xiao Yu's eyes snapped open. "What is the Dream Cultivation Environment?" He communicated with the system in his mind. This sudden Dream Cultivation Environment had left him deeply confused.

"The Dream Cultivation Environment is designed to help the Host improve practical combat experience. 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 enter Dream Cultivation, while the time between reality and the dream is one second! A reminder, Host: danger exists within the dream. Once you die in the dream, Dream Cultivation will end until your next entry!" The system explained 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 challenge mode!

Yet Xiao Yu's face still filled with wild delight. This was a free opportunity to cultivate! One second in the real world equaled two hours of Dream Cultivation. That was terrifying! He gained two extra hours out of thin air every day. Xiao Yu would definitely use them to practice Dou Techniques. It was perfect—he could cultivate the Heavenly Flame Sword Manual right now!

"Can I activate the Dream Cultivation Environment now?" Xiao Yu asked impatiently.

"Yes," the system replied.

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

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

After hearing that, 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 surveyed his surroundings. The environment here was a perfect simulation of reality. He even pinched himself, only to find that he could still feel pain!

Fortunately, Mo Scale was still on his back. He could not cultivate the Heavenly Flame Sword Manual without a sword. Just as he was about to take Mo Scale down to practice, a burst of wolf howls rang out. Turning around, Xiao Yu saw several snow-white wolves that had appeared atop the small hill behind him at some unknown time. Green glimmers flashed in their eyes, while their snow-white fur stood upright like steel needles. The leading wolf was clearly more than twice the size of the others. It had to be the wolf king!

"First-Class Demon Beasts, Blizzard Demon Wolves. Looks like this wolf king is Second-Class. This is going to be troublesome!" Xiao Yu's expression darkened as his right hand slowly gripped Mo Scale. Having only just memorized the Heavenly Flame Sword Manual, he was already being thrown into actual combat!

Awoo!

The lead wolf howled toward the sky, signaling the attack. The other Blizzard Demon Wolves on the hill bared their fangs and charged at Xiao Yu, savage light flashing in their eyes. Xiao Yu did not retreat. He stomped his right foot hard into the snow, his body moving as he shot toward the wolves!

Dou Qi surged into Mo Scale, and the magic core at the hilt flashed red. Xiao Yu darted through the Blizzard Demon Wolves like a phantom. Though the Blizzard Demon Wolves were extremely fast, they were still slightly slower than Xiao Yu. Mo Scale swept toward their necks, but their bodies were unexpectedly tough. It left only shallow marks across their necks!

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

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

The frigid aura made even Xiao Yu's Dou Qi-wrapped 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 a strange angle. With a swing of Mo Scale, a scorching red Sword Qi surged forth, streaking toward one demon wolf's eye!

It seemed that while the demon wolves' bodies were tough, their eyes might be their only weakness. Against these thick-skinned demon beasts, he had to strike their weak points in a single blow.

Clang!

The scorching Sword Qi tore through the air with a violent boom.

Splurt!

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 Qi, leaving it a bloody mess. The scorching Sword Qi roasted its flesh, filling the air with the smell of cooked meat!

Xiao Yu did not stop. The remaining demon wolves had already surrounded him. During the gap in Xiao Yu's attack, they had encircled him. One demon wolf spewed out a stream of icy energy that directly enveloped Xiao Yu's left leg. The freezing energy instantly caused Xiao Yu to lose his left leg!

Although he had the support of the Heavenly Flame Sword Manual, Xiao Yu lacked actual combat experience. 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, as if he had truly been bitten to death. Xiao Yu sighed. His strength was indeed still too weak. Otherwise, he would have killed them all with one sword strike each. As it was, the wolf king had not even made a move before he died. The two-hour dream had ended in less than twenty minutes!

Although he had cultivated in a dream, Xiao Yu still felt somewhat exhausted. Rather than continuing to cultivate, he lay directly on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.