Meditation

Seeing Miao Wanwan's expression, Chen Yuanyang hurriedly asked:

"Wanwan, do you know this master? So, which Power Clan is he from? Li is such a rare surname among the Power Clans around us."

Miao Wanwan shook her head. "We were assigned to the same squad, so I suppose we know each other."

She did not explicitly say he was from The Humble Clan.

Because she did not know how Chen Yuanyang would react if she revealed that fact.

She also knew perfectly well why Chen Yuanyang, the direct granddaughter of a mid-ranking Power Clan, was willing to associate with her as an equal.

It was not because she was Ding Xu's cousin, but because she was the fiancée of the genius Ding Xu.

Chen Yuanyang would not necessarily be so friendly toward anyone else.

"The same squad? Then he must be from either Base 31 or Base 21?"

Chen Yuanyang tilted her head, revealing a somewhat innocent smile. "Then, Wanwan, you must introduce me to this rookie king when you get the chance."

Time reached the sixteenth hour.

Many people were looking for safe places to rest.

Li Yi, meanwhile, headed for the Tree Shed District on the outskirts of Base 11.

Having lived in Base 31 for six years, no one understood the Tree Shed District better than he did.

Though both were virtual reality environments, the tree sheds were essentially artificial plants created to transform Mars's ecology, provide outer defenses for the bases, and offer living areas for The Humble Clan population. The environments they produced were more or less the same.

Thus, while everyone else was still on edge, worried about attacks from other teams,

Li Yi was already sleeping soundly.

And whenever Evergreen Fairy AI's livestream encountered people engaging in activities unsuitable for public viewing, it would tactfully turn off the camera.

By then, the people in the stands following Li Yi had no choice but to shift their attention elsewhere.

In fact, after Li Yi defeated Lin Qin's team,

he did not encounter another large group like that.

Though his points continued to rise steadily, the increase was ultimately nowhere near what he had gained from taking down Lin Qin's team.

"This is virtual reality. Falling asleep carries risks, so I'll use meditation instead of rest."

The Primary Meditation Li Yi had mastered had also come only after many memories had gradually settled over time.

For now, its main effects were clearing his mind and allowing him to rest quickly.

He had not yet developed any other uses for it.

But it was perfectly suited to the current situation.

He took a deep breath, half-closed his eyes, and sat within a concealed tree shed. His presence gradually faded.

The virtual reality environment had also completely sunk into darkness.

All was silent.

Before the electronic display board at Base 11, a group quietly appeared and examined the rankings.

"Tan Jiantong, that guy from The Humble Clan in our squad who rejected you last time was called Li Yi, right?"

"Yes, Boss Liang."

"According to our intel, Li Yi is the only lone wolf in the top ten right now. It seems he really did have both the courage and the qualifications to reject me back then."

Liang Xing looked at Tan Jiantong and revealed a meaningful smile.

"Tan Jiantong, sorry about that. I nearly made you look like a clown."

Tan Jiantong felt uncomfortable inside, but his expression remained unchanged.

"It was my fault, Boss Liang. If I had brought him into your team, he would have been like a tiger with wings. Reaching the top ten would have been effortless."

On the surface, Liang Xing appeared to be a delicate-looking young man who spoke softly and gently.

But after interacting with Liang Xing several times, Tan Jiantong knew deep down that he was a formidable man with a calculating mind, and the activation rate of his Inherited Skill was no worse than his older cousin's.

Incidentally, Liang Xing's cousin was Liang Shaocong, who currently ranked second.

Aside from several members earning some points at the beginning, Liang Xing's team had laid out their plans and spent the rest of the time recuperating somewhere, waiting at leisure for exhausted prey.

And now, it was time for them to hunt.

"We'll start with the person in tenth place to warm up. Before tonight ends, we'll take down Li Yi and rise straight to first place."

"Yes, Boss Liang."

Quite a few people had already logged out of the livestream area.

But there was still a group that continued watching.

For some people, this counted as a holiday celebration in the depths of space.

"My god, the team with the tenth- and eighth-ranked fighters was wiped out in one go, and most of the points went to one person."

"How did he find his targets so precisely? Did anyone see what he did beforehand?"

"Liang Xing is pretty impressive. His Inherited Skill seems to have been developed even further."

"He's from a collateral branch of the Liang family, but judging from the strength and Inherited Skill he's displayed, he seems even stronger than Liang Shaocong."

"Damn, is this a comeback by a collateral branch descendant? This year's rookie battle is amazing. First Li Yi, then Liang Xing."

"Liang Shaocong might not be worse than Liang Xing. Don't forget, Liang Shaocong has yet to fight at full strength."

"In half an hour, fourth place changed hands."

"Liang Xing has risen to third!"

As the night neared its end, Liang Xing somehow kept finding his targets with uncanny precision, and every ambush succeeded.

Before long, he had soared to third place, only three points behind Liang Shaocong.

Then, as Liang Xing's team headed toward the Tree Shed District where Li Yi was hiding,

the audience's hearts rose into their throats.

Were the top three powerhouses about to clash once more?

Li Yi was still meditating.

Since awakening his talent six years ago, this was the first time he had not fallen asleep to capture memory fragments.

And this was also the first time Li Yi had meditated for more than four hours.

No, it was even the first time he had meditated for more than one hour.

In the past, he either digested memories in his sleep, or got up to train, using his body to enact the skills from those memories so it could gradually adapt and improve.

At that moment,

he unexpectedly discovered that he was actually quite good at meditating.

Moreover, after meditating for more than four hours, he could clearly feel that his "soul" had become lighter.

It was like finally digesting food after being bloated, or suddenly having diarrhea after years of constipation.

In short, he felt completely unblocked.

His "soul" had clearly become more agile.

Though this "soul" was merely a feeling and did not truly exist,

his perception of it was real, after all, because he had absorbed parallel memory fragments for so long.

After a long while, Li Yi opened his eyes and felt the brand-new changes in both body and mind.

"Looks like I had been using it wrong. Alternating meditation with memory absorption is the most effective way to improve."

Though he had no precise testing equipment,

Li Yi could feel that his mind was turning noticeably faster.

"If I had continued absorbing memory fragments in that simple, crude way, then after enough time, my 'soul' might have suddenly overloaded and collapsed."

Thinking of that, Li Yi was glad he had entered this virtual reality environment.

Otherwise, without this opportunity, he had no idea how long it would have taken him to discover that prolonged meditation could lighten the burden on his "soul."

Just then, the handmade warning bells he had set around himself suddenly rang.

"Someone's intruding?"

Li Yi sprang up, easily climbed to the treetop like an ape, and used the faint starlight to observe the movements beyond the perimeter.