Is This Really a Tie

Half an hour later,

Lu Xiaobai let out a satisfied burp and murmured,

"That was really comfortable..."

"Time to move around after a full meal!"

He stretched, got up, and walked towards his bedroom.

Next to the bed in the bedroom sat a pure white, exquisitely crafted tech-pod, resembling a bathtub, covered with various buttons, exuding a mysterious sense of technology.

This was one of humanity's pinnacle technologies—the Virtual Space Pod!

Although it didn't look overly complex, the market price of this thing was ten million Alliance Credits, far beyond what an ordinary family could afford.

However, as a direct descendant of the Lu family, this was mere pocket change for Lu Xiaobai...

He climbed into the space pod, closed his eyes, and simultaneously pressed the start button beside him.

In an instant,

his vision was no longer darkness; he arrived at a vast grassland covered in green grass.

This was the Full-Immersion Virtual Space, hailed as one of the greatest inventions of the century!

Lu Xiaobai knew, however, that this wasn't solely a product of technology; it also incorporated the power of ancient civilizations. As for the specifics, he wasn't clear.

"Master, welcome back!"

A miniature girl with transparent wings, like a little fairy sprite, seeing Lu Xiaobai's arrival, greeted him with a beaming smile.

Lu Xiaobai patted the girl's head and then said,

"Xiao Ling, start the strength test for me!"

"Right away, Master!"

Instantly,

a huge punching bag materialized on the empty ground ahead. Above the bag, a virtual screen displayed the tester's strength intensity.

Lu Xiaobai did some simple warm-up exercises.

Although his current body was simulated, it was no different from his real flesh and blood, so he felt completely at ease.

Soon,

Lu Xiaobai stood before the punching bag, took a deep breath, bent his knees slightly, pushed off with his right foot, twisted his torso, clenched his right hand into a fist, and threw a powerful punch at the bag!

"220 kilograms!"

"Still no improvement..."

Lu Xiaobai shook his head and muttered to himself,

"If I were in an ordinary middle school in ancient times, my physique would definitely be top-notch. Too bad at Starlight Academy, I can only be a straggler..."

"Let's test speed next!"

Immediately, a hundred-meter track appeared in front of him.

As the virtual AI Xiao Ling gave the starting signal, Lu Xiaobai's figure shot out like an arrow from a bow, instantly sprinting past the finish line.

"9.3 meters per second!"

"A slight improvement."

Lu Xiaobai didn't pay it much mind and instead said,

"Xiao Ling, start the neural reaction speed test."

In a flash,

a virtual screen appeared before him.

The neural reaction test was similar to the ancient "Whack-a-Mole" game, but instead of holding a mallet, one simply used a finger to touch the virtual screen. It sounded simpler, but this was a Star Warrior's neural reaction speed test—naturally, it wasn't that easy.

Lu Xiaobai's finger lightly tapped the little groundhogs on the virtual screen, not only swiftly but also with precision, looking completely at ease!

However, as time passed, the groundhogs appeared faster and faster, often in the blink of an eye. Even more challenging, some holes would occasionally spawn black groundhogs; tapping the wrong one would deduct a large number of points.

In less than two minutes, he had finished the test, and the results were displayed in real-time:

"Level 1.6!"

This meant his neural reaction speed corresponded to the intensity of Level 1.6 Vitality.

At this moment, Xiao Ling spoke up:

"Master, your comprehensive Vitality Level is: 1.5!"

A Star Warrior's Vitality Level is composed of three components: strength, speed, and neural reaction speed.

Lu Xiaobai's neural reaction speed was quite good; it was just a pity his strength was slightly lacking, so his comprehensive Vitality Level naturally remained at only 1.5.

"Stagnant."

Lu Xiaobai curled his lip, showing no surprise at all, as the panel on his "golden finger" had long shown his Vitality Level.

Xiao Ling, beside him, comforted him:

"I believe Master will make a breakthrough soon."

"You're absolutely right about that!"

Lu Xiaobai chuckled.

His Body Tempering Art had skyrocketed in level. Given some time, his Vitality Level would quickly rise.

"Xiao Xing, connect to the Cosmic Network, activate Battle Mode, and intelligently match me with an opponent of similar Vitality Level!"

"Yes, Master!"

Under Xiao Xing's delicate fingers, a huge dialog box instantly appeared above the grassland:

[Matching in progress. Current time: 00:01]

[Match successful...]

[Battlefield: Oceanic Desert Island. Enter?]

"Enter!"

Lu Xiaobai directly confirmed.

This was the true purpose of the Full-Immersion Virtual Space—allowing people to engage in practical combat anytime to improve their combat experience...

Of course, because Virtual Space Pods were excessively expensive, this was an enhancement method only available to those with some family wealth!

For commoners, going to a social Star Martial Arts Gym and sparring with human trainers was a cheaper alternative. However, in reality, people tended to hold back, and trainers' abilities varied greatly, naturally falling short of the Virtual Space.

Now,

Lu Xiaobai's vision shifted, and he instantly found himself on a weed-covered desert island.

Several dozen meters away from him stood a little girl with twin ponytails, looking only about ten years old.

"Huh? Vitality Level only 1.3?"

Lu Xiaobai saw his opponent's strength and wore a wicked grin.

"Hehe, little sister, matching with a peerless expert like me just means your luck is bad..."

"Idiot!"

The little girl curled her lip and instantly spread open her fair, tender palm.

A flash of golden lightning suddenly surged forth, arriving before him in the blink of an eye!

"Holy crap, a Talent-Bearer?!"

Lu Xiaobai's reaction speed was extremely fast. The moment he saw the lightning about to strike him, he vanished without a trace.

"Huh? He quit directly?"

The little girl was slightly stunned and muttered to herself,

"Ran away pretty fast..."

At this moment, Lu Xiaobai had already returned to his own domain, complaining,

"What rotten luck, actually matching with a Lightning Talent-Bearer. But having a talent is useless if you can't even scratch me. Let's call it a draw, I guess."

"..."

The AI entity Xiao Ling beside him opened its mouth slightly, utterly bewildered.

Was that really a draw?

"Xiao Ling, keep matching for me!"

Lu Xiaobai, however, paid no mind to its thoughts.

In his heart, since both sides were completely unscathed, wasn't that a draw...