"Jingyi, howâs your cultivation going? Have you become a Cultivator yet?"
"By the sound of your voice, I can tell that youâve already become a Cultivator. Congratulations, Sister Rou. Unfortunately, I am still trying to breakthrough." Xia Jingyiâs voice resounded from the phone.
"Donât worry, Iâm sure youâll breakthrough soon."
"What about you? Has anything changed now that youâre a Cultivator? Have you gotten stronger like they say you would?" Xia Jingyi asked.
"Yes! You wonât believe this, but I could lift my desk with a single arm! It was really surprising!" Yu Rou said.
"That crazy?! Iâm going to continue my cultivation now! Even if I have to skip tonightâs sleep, I am going to do it!" Xia Jingyi said.
"Me, too! I may already be a Cultivator but I still want to continue improving! Iâll see you tomorrow at school!" Yu Rou said her goodbyes before closing the phone.
And for the rest of the night, Yu Rou would sit on her bed in the lotus position, slowly improving her cultivation.
The following morning, despite missing a night of sleep, Yu Rou felt incredibly refreshed and full of energy.
"Unlike Cultivation Online, cultivation is much slower in the real world, which isnât really that surprising. And with a lack of treasures to assist us, weâll be even slower." Yu Rou mumbled.
Cultivation Online was filled with rich resources that could help boost oneâs cultivation within seconds, but in the real world, no such resources exist and Cultivators must rely on their own talents and patience to improve their cultivation.
"I guess this is also good. It would be bad if people can simply buy their cultivation levels like they do in Cultivation Online, becoming Spirit Warriors in just a few weeks." Yu Rou mumbled.
In Cultivation Online, there are plenty of rich people who would buy treasures using real money to boost their cultivation base, bypassing the earlier levels. Of course, the higher their cultivation, the more expensive each level got.
Once one reaches Spirit Warrior, the amount one would need to spend to increase a level was so high that only the richest people in the world would dare to spend that much.
Now that one cannot simply buy their way to the top, everyoneâ regardless of their status or wealthâ will have a chance to become a top Cultivator in the real world!
"Meanwhile, Brother is already nearing Spirit Master... If he could move his body, how powerful would he be in this world?" Yu Rou wondered to herself as she prepared for school.
Sometime later, Yu Rou arrived at school, and to her surprise, the place looked even more empty than usual.
"Where is everybody?" Xia Jingyi asked the teacher.
The teacher showed a bittersweet smile and said, "Because of the cultivation craze, everybody is staying home to cultivate."
Yu Rou and the other few students in the classroom were left dumbfounded by the teacherâs words.
Everybody was skipping school to cultivate? As crazy as that sounded, it wasnât that surprising!
"Itâs not just the students." The teacher continued.
"A couple of the teachers here have also resigned this morning, so weâre also understaffed at this moment."
"Whatâs going to happen to our classes now?" Yu Rou then asked.
"The principal has issued a gathering later today, so weâll probably know about it at that time. In the meantime, you can do whatever."
The students looked at each other silently.
Sometime later, the students there gathered in a circle and began talking to each other about cultivation.
"Have any of you tried cultivating now?"
"I have, but I couldnât make any breakthroughs."
"Me too. It feels like thereâs something blocking me and I cannot move forward."
"I have that feeling as well!"
"I actually managed to have a breakthrough this morning right before school." Xia Jingyi said with a smile on her face.
"Whoa! So youâre a Cultivator now, right?! Show us what you can do!" The other students immediately looked at her with admiration.
"Haha... compared to Sister Rou, I am nothing. She became a Cultivator last night." Xia Jingyi said.
"As expected of Miss Yu! Youâre not only talented in music but even in cultivation!"
Yu Rou showed a stiff smile.
If only they knew what her brother was capable of.
A few moments later, Yu Rou and Xia Jingyi showed off to the other students their new profound strength by lifting desks and chairs and treating them as though theyâre weightless.
"My god! I have been skeptical this entire time, but after seeing it with my own eyes, I cannot do anything but believe it!"
About an hour later, Yu Rou and the others in her class went to the auditorium where the principal, teachers, and other students in the school were gathered.
"Ahem. Thank you for coming here. As most of you, if not all of you already know by now, weâre missing more than just a few students, and this is all because of the cultivation craze since yesterday. After speaking with your parents, we have agreed to close the school even earlier than anticipated."
Although the place was dead silent, all of the students were filled with excitement and had an urge to start screaming.
The principal continued, "While I donât know when weâll reopen, it probably wonât be anytime soon, and depending on how this cultivation thing changes our world, we might never open again."
"I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you, and if you plan on becoming a Cultivator, I wish you the best of luck. Do any of you have questions? This is your last chance to ask them."
After spending a couple of minutes answering the studentsâ and teachersâ questions, the principal dismissed everyone.
"What are you going to do now, Sister Rou?" Xia Jingyi asked her once they left the school.
"I am going to focus on improving my cultivation," she said.
"What about Cultivation Online? Are you going to continue playing?"
"Of course!" Yu Rou quickly responded.
And she continued, "I will play Cultivation Online in the morning and cultivate at night. A perfect balance if I say so myself."