It was Zhu Zhuqing's first time seeing such a large Soul Tool, and she wanted to give it a try.
So, following Xiao Yexuan's instructions, she climbed into the Simulation Pod and lay down.
After lying down, she saw darkness flash into white, and then found herself in a room.
It was the same room as before, with Xiao Yexuan standing in front of her, but the Virtual Pod was gone.
She was no longer lying in the Virtual Pod, either.
"What... what's going on?" Zhu Zhuqing was a little bewildered.
"Miss, don't worry. This is a virtual world. To help you get the hang of it quickly, I'll first give you a simple explanation of how to use it."
Xiao Yexuan smiled faintly. With a wave of his hand, the scenery changed, and they were in a forest.
"This is amazing... is this tree real?" Zhu Zhuqing took a dagger from her storage device and slashed the tree a few times. Both the tree's response and what she felt were exactly the same as in reality.
She even began to wonder whether she had been teleported into a forest.
"Miss, you only need to form a thought and say what kind of setting you want, and the virtual machine will simulate it for you."
Xiao Yexuan explained.
Zhu Zhuqing understood, and then said, "Change it to a snowy setting for me."
In a flash, the world became a realm of ice and snow. Zhu Zhuqing even shivered. Not only had it simulated the scenery, but the temperature had also plummeted below freezing.
"Change it to the ocean!"
"Change it to a desert..."
Zhu Zhuqing found it quite fun and switched through several settings in a row.
Then she returned to the matter at hand, changing the setting back to a forest to fight.
"That's simple. Summon a Lone Wolf with one thousand years of cultivation for me."
As Xiao Yexuan spoke, a Lone Wolf with blue-green fur appeared on the spot.
The Lone Wolf remained motionless, as though time had stopped. Zhu Zhuqing circled it and found it so lifelike that it was no different from a real one.
"How do I fight it?" Zhu Zhuqing asked.
"Just say, 'Activate combat mode.'"
"Activate combat mode!"
Zhu Zhuqing said without hesitation.
Then the Lone Wolf moved.
Its figure darted toward her like a shadow.
Zhu Zhuqing had already activated Martial Soul Possession, taking on the appearance of a catgirl.
Her gaze flashed like lightning as she nimbly tangled with the Lone Wolf through the forest.
Only after spending quite some time did she finally slay the Lone Wolf.
After the Lone Wolf died, a Soul Ring appeared, just as it would in reality, but it could not be absorbed.
"Huff... huff..." Zhu Zhuqing panted. Killing a Lone Wolf was no easy task for her, either.
"Whatever you want to fight, you can state its age and Soul Beast name. You can also increase the number, like this."
Xiao Yexuan felt that a live demonstration was better than a verbal explanation.
"Summon one hundred wolf-type Soul Beasts with cultivation ranging from one hundred to two thousand years."
In a succession of flashes, one hundred wolf-shaped Soul Beasts of varying cultivation levels and forms appeared around them.
Wind Wolves, Silver Wolves, One-Horned Flying Wolves, White-Eyed Wolves, Iron-Backed Wolves, and so on...
"So powerful!"
Zhu Zhuqing gasped for breath, her pupils trembling. This scene definitely could not be explained by her having been teleported somewhere.
Had that Simulation Pod really simulated all of this?
Otherwise, how could so many Soul Beasts suddenly appear?
"Miss, you can say, 'Restore stamina,' and you'll return to your peak condition and fight the Soul Beasts again."
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing panting so hard, Xiao Yexuan quickly offered a suggestion.
"It can even do that?" Soul Masters recovered their Soul Power very slowly, which meant they could only engage in Soul Fighting a few times a day.
This greatly limited how much Soul Masters could learn about their own Soul Skills and Martial Souls.
If she could keep unleashing Soul Skills here, she would gladly come even if it cost ten Gold Soul Coins a day, let alone just one!
"Restore stamina!"
Zhu Zhuqing said between soft pants, and the sensation that stunned her really did come.
Her body no longer felt heavy, and she felt relaxed in body and mind.
Her Soul Power and strength had both returned.
"This is incredible." Zhu Zhuqing looked at her own body in disbelief.
Then her eyes shifted, and she said:
"I want to duel myself."
The wolf-type Soul Beasts around them vanished, and someone identical to her appeared opposite her.
Zhu Zhuqing immediately activated combat.
She discovered that this summoned Zhu Zhuqing had even more combat experience than she did.
In just a few moves, she was defeated.
Zhu Zhuqing fought several rounds in succession, but still failed to defeat herself.
Fortunately, she lasted longer each time and benefited greatly.
Just as Zhu Zhuqing was starting another round, the scene disappeared. She opened her eyes and found herself lying inside the Simulation Pod.
Feeling a little displeased, she then climbed out of the Simulation Pod.
She noticed that she had sweated a great deal and felt as though she had been tempered by thousands of hammer blows.
Although she had only trained somewhere like a "dream," her body had undergone tempering too.
This left Zhu Zhuqing yearning for more.
That half hour of exercise alone had already surpassed several days of her previous training.
After all, she really could only use her Soul Skills a few times a day.
In that kind of desperate battle against a powerful enemy, if she were injured in reality, she would need a long rest before she could recover.
Inside the Simulation Pod, however, none of that needed to concern her.
"Hello, miss. This is an energy drink our establishment provides without limit. After you leave the Simulation Pod, it can quickly replenish the substances your body needs."
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing emerge, Xiao Yexuan quickly brought her a drink with a gentle expression.
Zhu Zhuqing was indeed desperately thirsty. She picked it up and gulped down the entire glass.
It had a delicate sweetness and tasted quite good.
As for whether Xiao Yexuan had poisoned the water?
Was there any need?
The Simulation Pod was so precious. Would someone who owned it have any shortage of someone like her?
So Zhu Zhuqing took out her money pouch, handed it to Xiao Yexuan, and said:
"I have over three hundred Gold Soul Coins here. Let me rent for a year first!"
"How generous of you, miss! I'll set up your resident file right away!"
Xiao Yexuan was overjoyed!
How many rewards would a year's rent earn him?
He quickly took Zhu Zhuqing to the front desk to complete the formalities and gave her the room card.
Zhu Zhuqing then hurried eagerly back to her room. Just as she wanted to go back in and enjoy more fighting, she felt something unusual on her body.
While using the Simulation Pod earlier, she had sweated a great deal, and her clothes had gotten dirty too.
Remembering what the washing machine did, she wanted to try it.
So she took off her clothes, took out the clothes she had accumulated earlier, and stuffed them all inside.
But just after she started it, it had only turned a few times when there was a crack...
It gave her a fright.
Zhu Zhuqing wondered what was wrong with the washing machine.
Then she approached for a look and saw a notice stuck to it.
[Please do not put hard weapons inside.]
Only then did Zhu Zhuqing remember that she seemed to have put her dagger in as well.
Panic immediately crossed her face. If she had broken this precious washing machine, would the landlord kick her out?
So she quickly took out the clothes inside.
Sure enough, she saw her dagger stuck at the very back.
"If I take it out... it should be fine, right...?"
Zhu Zhuqing said hopefully.
Then she knelt on the floor and crawled into the washing machine...