I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

Victor stepped into his dorm to find an unusual sight—Kairo was home, and he wasn't alone. A bunch of guys were sprawled around the room, talking, laughing, and munching on snacks.

The air smelled of salted chips and energy drinks.

"Hey, Victor!" Kairo waved him over casually. "Come meet the crew."

Victor offered a nod and exchanged handshakes and short greetings with the others. One of them, a tall guy with dreadlocks and a permanent smirk, pointed at Victor and said with a laugh, "Oh, so this is the guy who sleeps all the damn time, huh?"

Victor raised a brow. "What the hell? I don't sleep that much."

The room erupted with laughter.

Victor grinned, but inside he was groaning. He had been hoping for peace and quiet so he could log in but now his dorm was a jungle of bodies and banter.

His eyes occasionally flicked toward his bed and the hidden compartment underneath it where he kept the helmet, his phone, and the camera.

One of Kairo's annoyingly clueless friends named Bryson had already picked up Victor's backpack twice.

"Hey, man, what's in here? Looks fancy," Bryson asked while reaching again.

Victor darted across the room and snatched the bag back. "Private stuff. Don't go poking around, alright?"

Bryson shrugged before holding his hands up. "Alright, alright. Damn."

Victor managed to keep the situation under control, but the tension in his shoulders didn't let up. The group stayed for hours. It wasn't until after 9 p.m. that they finally filtered out with loud goodbyes and lingering jokes. Victor flopped on his bed while exhaling deeply.

"Finally," he muttered.

He checked the time. If he logged in now, he'd get around two full days inside Ascendant Realms before needing to log out again. Not much, but maybe enough.

Without wasting another second, Victor retrieved his helmet, settled under his covers, and activated the neural sync.

[ Logging Into Ascendant Realms... ]

---

Victor materialized within the stone-walled interior of their hideout in Ascendant Realms.

He immediately noticed Yuren standing nearby wifh a visibly tensed look.

"Young master, Fang Chen" Yuren began urgently with a tone of worry. "We have a problem."

Victor frowned. "What kind of problem?"

Yuren stepped forward. "Young master, Tarkos has been taken."

Victor's eyes widened. "What?! I told him to stay put until I got back."

"Yes, but... he thought he could finish the job in your absence. He said you had already done too much and that this part was on him. He infiltrated the Emerald Coil Pavilion again. They've been investigating internally, and now they've detained a dozen disciples they suspect are connected to the killings. Young master was among them."

Victor clenched his fists. "Fuck. Don't they know he's not even one of them?"

Yuren looked grave. "That's exactly the problem. If they look too closely—if they examine his cultivation technique or verify his identity—they'll realize he doesn't belong. And once they do..."

Victor exhaled slowly. "They'll kill him."

Yuren nodded and then, unexpectedly, dropped to one knee. "Please, I beg you. Save my young master. He's too important."

Victor stared at him for a moment. Seeing the always-cold, rigid Yuren break formality like this sent a chill down his spine.

"Alright," Victor said finally. "I'll get him out. But I'll need details on where exactly he is being held."

Yuren stood. "Of course. Come this way."

---

Yuren brought out an old map of the Emerald Coil Pavilion's underground structures to show Victor. The place Tarkos was being held was beneath one of the sect's elder former quarters, repurposed as a secret detainment area.

Guards were rotated every four hours, and at least two Nascent Soul cultivators stood watch at all times. It was a trap-laced hellhole.

Victor studied every detail.

"We need a way to get in undetected," he said. "Can we still use the tokens?"

"Yes, but it won't be enough. The detention area has a secondary barrier keyed only to sect elders."

Victor's eyes narrowed. "We'll need Elder Huang."

"I'll bring him," Yuren assured.

"No, don't worry about it. You've played your part... I'll take care of the rest," Victor stated before heading off.

...

...

Victor moved swiftly through the frigid air of Yinfrost City with his jade-colored robes catching the pale moonlight.

He clutched the pentagon token tightly in his hand. It thrummed faintly with energy, reacting to his qi signature as he neared the edge of the Emerald Coil Pavilion.

The invisible barrier glimmered momentarily as he passed through, granting him access without alarm. He was officially back inside enemy territory.

Inside the Pavilion, things were tense. Disciples walked about in small, tight-knit groups.

There was an underlying anxiety in the air, the sort bred from fear of unseen predators.

Victor blended in easily with his yellow dyed hair tucked under a cowl and his facial features partially obscured by a cloth wrap. He quickly made his way to one of the lesser halls, where Elder Huang resided.

"You're back?" Elder Huang whispered with a surprised look. "This is dangerous."

Victor stepped into the room before closing the door behind him. "Tarkos. He's been taken."

Elder Huang's expression turned grim. "I heard. He's being held in the disciple detention cavern—a place where qi is dampened to prevent internal revolts. Even I can't do anything about it. If I so much as request to see who's inside, they'll know something's off. They're already watching me closely."

Victor clenched his fists. "Then it's on me. Give me everything you know."

Despite his unease, Elder Huang retrieved a scroll and unrolled it across the table. "The entrance is here, concealed in this cavern mouth beneath the southern cliff of the Pavilion. It's guarded constantly by a rotating shift of four disciples. No elder is stationed there unless someone's being interrogated. The qi within is suppressed by inscribed seals embedded into the walls and floors. Unless you're prepared, you won't be able to draw on your power."

Victor nodded whime absorbing every word. It was almost the same as Yuren told him but with extra details. He committed the route and guard schedule to memory.

"One last thing," Elder Huang voiced while placing a hand on the scroll. "Don't get caught. If they capture you, I won't be able to protect either of you."

By midnight, the Emerald Coil Pavilion had fallen into a still, icy hush. Victor waited atop a rooftop across from the southern cliff.

His breath puffed softly in the cold, mingling with the wind. Below him, two guards stood idly outside the cavern entrance with fire torches flickering against the rock walls.

Like a wraith, Victor descended. Windless and silent.

One guard didn't even see the blade before it sliced across his neck. The second opened his mouth to shout, but a burst of wind from Victor's palm knocked him into the cavern wall with a sickening crack. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Victor didn't hesitate. He sprinted into the cavern mouth, activating his Void Emperor Bloodline as he passed the threshold. A thin veil of void qi encased his body, shielding him from the suppressive qi-inscription runes woven into the stone.

Within the place, rows of disciples sat in gloom, manacled and slumped against cold walls.

Victor's voice echoed in a sharp whisper. "Tarkos! Tarkos, where are you?!"

No response.

He moved quickly while scanning faces in the dim surrounding. He knelt beside one. "Have you seen someone tall, black tattoos... lots and lots of black tattoos and a sharp tongue?"

The disciple blinked, then nodded wearily. "An elder took him out hours ago... for questioning."

Victor cursed under his breath before bolting back out of the cavern.

Elsewhere within a deep fortified chamber lined with jade and grey etchings, Tarkos sat bound to a cold metal chair.

A circular formation of suppressive talismans surrounded him. Before him stood Elder Ruanzhi—the Pavilion's most formidable Void Tribulation cultivator.

"You're not from our sect," Ruanzhi said simply while folding his arms.

Tarkos met his eyes with defiance. "You think I fear you?"

Ruanzhi let his spiritual pressure swell while stepping forward. The room seemed to shrink.

Tarkos' limbs trembled involuntarily from the extra force that just descended upon the room.

"Where were you four nights ago when Elder Tian vanished? What task were you performing when Zhao Feng died? Where did you obtain your token?"

Tarkos remained silent at first, but his lips eventually parted. "My token was... made by your dead grandma."

Ruanzhi's eyes narrowed. "Foolish words will not help you now. Do you admit it, you're the one behind all this?"

Tarkos pursed his lips.

Ruanzhi straightened and turned toward the exit. "You will be publicly executed at dawn. We'll make an example of you."

Suddenly the doors burst open and standing in the threshold was none other than Elder Huang.

"Hold on," Huang said calmly.

Ruanzhi stopped. "This is a secure area. What are you doing here?"

"I came to verify something," Huang stated while shifting his gaze towards Tarkos.

"Whatever it is, it can wait. I've identified the traitor. He will be executed."