Blade Practice Room

One month after the launch of "Eternal Conflict," its popularity in the cultivation world had spread at a terrifying speed. This was the exact opposite of Lu Ze's previous life.

In his past life, MOBA games like "League of Legends" had dominated the rankings for years. But in the cultivation world, "Eternal Conflict" surpassed "Immortal-Demon War" in popularity within just a month.

There was no helping it.

Whether it was the art style or the gameplay, it was a perfect fit for these cultivators.

Low-level cultivators enjoyed the thrill of competing on equal footing with high-level ones.

As for high-level cultivators like Huang Xiao, the illusionary realm served as an optimized training ground for most of them, especially with the support of Heavenly Dao spiritual energy.

Since cultivation was possible anywhere, why not have some fun while honing their skills in "Eternal Conflict"?

Over time, the number of players in "Eternal Conflict" grew exponentially.

In contrast, the fate of "Heavenly Dao Secret Realm" couldn’t have been worse.

It had almost reached the point of complete obscurity.

Only the Illusory Sword Peak, under Jiang Lingfeng’s control in the Limitless Sword Sect, still forced its disciples to enter this illusionary realm for training.

As for players elsewhere…

Even members of the Illusion Alliance couldn’t be bothered to log in.

No matter how you looked at it, "Heavenly Dao Secret Realm" didn’t seem capable of making a comeback.

Though Jiang Lingfeng and Du Cheng had been tinkering with something, no substantial news had surfaced yet…

……

……

Thunder Lord Peak, Breeze Pavilion.

"I’m creating a room now, everyone get in quick!"

Zhong Yi shouted to his companions before channeling his spiritual sense to enter the illusionary realm.

After a month of exploration, cultivators had tried out every feature of the realm.

Aside from the survival mode, there was another game mode called "Endless Trials."

In terms of gaming terminology from Lu Ze’s past life, it was essentially a free-for-all mode—perfect for honing overall combat skills.

Things like sound-based positioning, quick reflexes, and skill execution…

But cultivators still felt something was missing—a dedicated space to practice blade techniques.

After all, in free-for-all matches, there were always sneaky players lurking around.

Just when you were in the middle of an intense duel, someone would suddenly shout "Vajra Subjugation!" from the side…

And so,

The "Blade Training Room" was born.

Zhong Yi deftly set up the room.

Normally, a group of direct disciples from the Lingxiao Sect, along with other familiar players, would gather in Zhong Yi’s training room to sharpen their skills together.

At this point, players were highly enthusiastic about mastering various techniques.

The combat system in "Eternal Conflict" was divided into "Normal Attacks," "Charged Attacks," and "Blade Parry."

Normal attacks had no super armor and would stagger opponents upon hit, making them weak against charged attacks, which had innate super armor and could knock enemies down.

Charged attacks were countered by blade parries.

But blade parries could be interrupted by normal attacks, leaving the defender helpless.

The three mechanics formed a rock-paper-scissors dynamic, which Zhong Yi aptly called the "Guessing Game" system.

At first, cultivators dismissed it—

If the mechanics were so simple, why not just parry whenever the opponent charged an attack?

Reality proved otherwise.

In the original game from Lu Ze’s past life, two major factors made this difficult:

First, human reaction time.

Second, network latency.

Most of the time, by the time you saw the opponent charging an attack, it was already too late to parry.

Thus, battles in "Eternal Conflict" weren’t just about combos—they were psychological warfare.

For the illusionary realm, Lu Ze decided to preserve this "mind game" aspect of gameplay.

The reason was simple.

There was no network delay in the illusionary realm.

If players could perfectly react to every move, the combat system would spiral into chaos.

For example, charged attacks would become useless—

Because they’d always get parried!

That would render the combat system a failure, stripping away much of the fun.

Lu Ze’s solution was to slightly increase the wind-up time for blade parries.

This was equivalent to introducing a mild network delay from his past life.

It didn’t hinder cultivators’ execution while preserving the strategic depth of combat—a change that was well-received among players.

With this rock-paper-scissors system in place, cultivators began developing all sorts of techniques and playstyles.

Fake combos with longswords, parry into aerial slashes, slide-charged attacks…

Naturally, most of these techniques were pioneered by Zhong Yi himself.

As a result, he earned the nickname "Coach" in the training rooms.

When it came to theorycrafting, Zhong Yi was undoubtedly a prodigy.

But as for actual execution…

Clang! Clang!

Zhong Yi’s longsword spun through the air before clattering to the ground, while his body was torn apart by a greatsword, turning into a wandering soul.

"Senior Brother Zhong, why do you keep using the 'Rookie Combo'?"

Mu Yawen scratched his head with an awkward chuckle.

The "Rookie Combo" referred to spamming three normal attacks in a row—the third hit being a charged strike.

It was a beginner’s go-to move, making it laughably easy to parry, hence the mocking nickname.

"Strange… I was trying to do an uppercut…"

Zhong Yi respawned, his face reddening.

Rather than immediately jumping back into the fight, the two paused to watch an intense duel unfolding at the center of Sunset Temple.

Zhou Yue vs. Li Moran.

By now, a crowd had gathered around them.

Clang! Clang!!

Zhou Yue’s Tang sword was knocked from his hands, leaving him staring in disbelief at his empty palms.

Li Moran coldly thrust her longsword through his chest.

"Junior Sister Li’s talent… Damn! She learned the 'Charge-to-Parry' tech after seeing it just once?"

Zhong Yi sucked in a sharp breath.

The "Charge-to-Parry" technique was something he had recently developed and had only shared with Zhou Yue.

Yet Li Moran had replicated it effortlessly after being hit by it once…

"Old Zhou got wrecked 3-22… Why does Junior Sister Li seem so pissed?"

Zhong Yi muttered to himself, puzzled.

"Senior Brother, you didn’t hear?"

Mu Yawen sighed and explained.

"You weren’t here yesterday—Senior Brother Zhou hosted the room."

"Then Bai Mu joined… and Junior Sister Li got stomped 0-10…"

Zhong Yi’s lips twitched. "Ah, Brother Bai… That explains it."

……

The group continued training for a while longer.

As usual, Zhong Yi’s performance was… less than stellar.

After all, this training room was packed with experts.

"If things keep going like this, how will I even know if I’m improving?"

After yet another respawn, Zhong Yi sighed.

Constantly getting beaten up made it impossible to gauge his progress.

He decided he needed to test his skills against other players.

So, he transferred room ownership to Zhou Yue, excused himself, and left.

By now, training rooms had become wildly popular.

The custom room list was flooded with options.

"'Top-Tier Tang Blades Only'? Sounds intense… Nah."

"'Real Combat Room—Ultimates Banned'? Not what I’m looking for."

"'Experts Only—Noobs GTFO'? Ugh, toxic much?"

Zhong Yi frowned at the chaotic variety of room names.

Just then, a new room popped up.

"'Beginner Blade Room—Newbies Welcome'? Perfect! Let’s give it a shot."

Confidently, Zhong Yi entered the beginner room.

"Ahem, I just want to go in and teach the newcomers how to fight properly, nothing else..." Zhong Yi muttered to himself, trying to reassure himself.

As he entered, the number of people in the room instantly jumped from 1 to 16.

"Looks like there are quite a few beginners! I’ll have to teach them well!" Zhong Yi chuckled to himself.

He selected the "Heavenly Sea Master," picked up his trusty spear, and entered the "Temple of Immortality."

The surroundings were chaotic, with no one speaking—just occasional emotes popping up.

Just as Zhong Yi was puzzled, a "Walnut" player approached him, flashing red light and striking a "Blade Resonance" pose.

After seeing it twice, Zhong Yi finally realized—the other player was challenging him to a duel.

Zhong Yi often browsed forums and knew a thing or two about these customs.

In random blade duels, the voice chat system was usually disabled.

Rumor had it that some ill-mannered cultivators would trash-talk mid-battle to disrupt their opponents' focus...

Eventually, the cultivators came up with a method called "Blade Resonance Signaling."

Using the "Blade Resonance" move to issue a challenge, and responding with the same move meant accepting the duel.

Until the two finished their fight, others who wanted to spar would simply watch from the sidelines.

This practice had even spread to survival mode—especially solo matches.

Using "Blade Resonance" to signal "honorable combat" had become a celebrated tradition.

Zhong Yi responded with his own "Blade Resonance," and the two quickly engaged in a one-on-one duel.

"Hmph, if this guy’s a newbie, he’ll definitely use the 'Three Moves of the Rogue Cultivator'—Holy shit!! Horizontal slash, vertical slash, into an uppercut?!"

"No no, maybe he’s not that new after all. Let me just—"

"What the hell?! A short dodge into a charged attack?!"

"WTF?! How did you even parry that?!"

"You guys are all insane!!!"

...

In just five minutes, Zhong Yi challenged 10 players—and got instantly wrecked 8 times.

The remaining two fights weren’t wins.

Rather, his opponents watched his performance and seemed to take pity on him...

"Damn it!!"

"What kind of 'beginner’s duel room' is this?!"

"Aside from the room being new, what the hell here is actually new?!!"

[Regarding Recent Update Plans.]

Well, it’s been two days without an update—I’ve been feeling a bit drained.

Since May 20th, this book has been cursed, stuck in a silent period with no traffic. I kept telling myself, "Hold on until the 500,000-word book test, and things will turn around."

In May, this book had 300,000 readers. By June, due to the traffic freeze, it dropped to 120,000.

For two whole months, there was no traffic—just waiting for the book test. But then it failed, getting only two days of exposure before going silent again.

And no, don’t say it’s because the book is poorly written. With 120,000 readers, its earnings outperform most books with 200,000 readers—that’s proof of its quality.

Beyond that, the completion rate and follow-up readership are both excellent.

But for some reason, it just doesn’t get the traffic it deserves.

I’m bitter. So damn bitter.

Some people ask why I wrote Zhou Yue’s story so tragically. Have you ever considered that Zhou Yue’s streak of bad luck is actually mine?

The author is the ultimate "African" when it comes to gaming—and writing too.

Two books, both missing that final push—the push of luck.

When I started this book, I had grand ambitions. Yet here we are again, facing the same outcome...

I’m tired.

But I can’t bear to abandon the world I’ve built.

The scheming Lu Ze, the tsundere Heavenly Dao, the perpetually unlucky Zhou Yue, the jinx Zhong Yi...

Sigh!!!

Every day, watching the numbers stagnate while enduring endless criticism...

It’s exhausting. I need a short break, so updates will slow down for now.

This isn’t the end—if I ever drop it, I’ll let you all know.

For now, expect one chapter a day. Sorry, everyone.

I need to clear my mind, reset my state, and find inspiration for what comes next.