I Can Only Cultivate In A Game

Victor looked up at the moonlight.

"You're only bothered because she called it her father's legacy... She could be talking about something else though..."

Selene knew how sensitive Victor got when anything related to the word 'Father' was brought up. She had heard from Danny that Victor lost his father earlier this year.

Victor turned to her with a questioning look.

"Sometimes… a loss is what someone needs to remember why they fight..." She added.

...

...

The next day arrived wrapped in golden sunlight. It was Friday, but the entire week had been declared lecture-free to give all students time to recover from the intense competitions.

Victor had no plans to waste the rare leisure. After the previous night's celebration with his friends, he had only one goal for today... understand the sword.

Victor sat cross-legged on his bed, shirtless with the long legacy sword resting across his lap.

It gave off a strange subtle energy like it was almost alive. The hilt was cold to the touch, but he could feel currents of heat beneath its surface as faint lightning sparks kept swimming around it.

It radiated a pressure that wasn't hostile, just... powerful and domineering.

Like a slumbering god waiting to be awakened.

"...I know you're more than just a sharp edge," Victor muttered while running his fingers along the strange dark lightning marks embedded into the blade. "You've got something hidden inside you. Something I haven't unlocked yet."

Legacy weapons were known to possess unique boons... hidden abilities bound within the blade, accessible only when their wielder met certain conditions.

Victor had asked around the night before, but nobody had any answers. And despite swinging it around a bunch of times, no special activation had occurred.

He remembered Elyra's scream from the arena.

That one moment had rooted itself in his thoughts—"Father Legacy!"

Perhaps she would have known...

Victor exhaled and strapped the sword to his back.

Its weight was heavy, yet familiar now. He needed to test it more thoroughly. Maybe he'd find a trigger.

Exiting the dorm, Victor made his way toward a public training area... Large simulation grounds scattered across the academy.

However, he decided to visit one that was only accessible only to top-tier students from B rank and upwards.

With the legacy sword in hand, doors opened for him.

He entered a designated stone chamber surrounded by artificial terrain...

Trees, rocks, and even obstacle-ridden ridges meant for combat training were scattered around the place.

Alone in the space, Victor unsheathed the blade.

"Alright, let's see what you're really made of."

He raised the sword gently and moved it close to one of the concrete walls.

Before the blade even made contact, thin slashes etched themselves into the surface. He hadn't even touched it.

"Damn... you're really something," he whispered in awe.

He then turned to face the open clearing ahead.

Taking in a breath, he drew in qi from his core and poured it into the sword. It responded with a low vibration that echoed into his bones.

Victor swung.

A single arc of energy sliced outward, catching three trees in its path.

A second later, they collapsed cleanly in half.

"Okay, that's terrifying."

He leapt forward and began chaining slashes together.

Every swing generated qi trails and bursts of pressure. Each movement cost him a substantial amount of energy, far more than his regular sword.

The blade didn't conserve power... it amplified it and then demanded more.

"Definitely not for the weak…" he muttered between swings.

Next, he activated his Dragon Breathing Art and let a stream of flame crawl along the sword. The blade devoured the fire and crackled with a flame-and-lightning mixture.

Then he added Shadow Crescent Strike. The combined technique caused the entire training field to shake.

When he released it, the ground split apart in a zig-zag pattern for over seventy meters.

Victor grinned. "You're a monster."

The sword was a game-changer. Even if he couldn't bring it into Ascendant Realms, it would serve as his ace in the real world. And perhaps, just perhaps, once he figured out how to awaken its boon, it would become even more devastating.

Meanwhile, across the academy, in a secluded forest clearing drenched in morning dew, Elyra Vorn stood before a stone pillar.

Her hands were wrapped in cloth but soaked with blood.

Her eyes were red with fury.

She had been swinging her sword non-stop. One thousand swings per minute. Her fingers blistered, cracked, and split open again and again.

"I cannot lose again!" she shouted.

Each slash was filled with desperation and determination.

"I will retrieve that sword… because it's the key," she hissed between gritted teeth. "It's the key to finding Father. It holds the clue… I know it."

The legacy sword had belonged to General Stormrend. Her father. The legend.

And now it belonged to someone else. A human. A boy.

She wasn't angry at Victor. In truth, she'd grown to admire him in silence.

But the weight of her burden demanded she reclaim that blade, not just for honor but for answers.

Elyra dropped to her knees with sweat pouring down her temple and blood staining her grip. But her will didn't break.

"I will challenge him again… and this time, I will not fall."

---

Victor stepped back into his dorm, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.

His muscles ached, but his heart raced with excitement. He had barely scratched the surface of what the legacy weapon could do.

He placed the sword on the rack beside his bed and dropped under his sheets.

He put on his helmet and powered on his gaming device.

[ Loging Into Ascendant Realms... ]

The screen flashed as a digital ripple spread across his vision.

He smiled.

Time to return.

And with that, he closed his eyes as his mind slipped into the virtual world.

Victor materialized into Ascendant Realms as yhe familiar feel of the game world surged through him like a fresh breath of life.

The light breeze of Blueflame City swept against his long robes as he stepped out into the wide corridor of the City Lord's palace.

It was quiet for now with the moon hanging high in the artificial sky of the game world.

Friday in reality, but in here, nearly ten days of uninterrupted time stretched ahead.

He could stay in here logged in for over a week without any interruptions from the real world.

He exhaled. "Let's get to work."

Victor made his way toward the inner halls where his sealing and array mentors awaited.

The palace's private chamber for cultivation and training was like a scholar's sanctum.

Scrolls of ancient symbols hung on walls, seals were etched into transparent plates that hovered midair, and spiritual diagrams emitted mythical light.

He'd been spending almost every in-game day here, absorbing knowledge, memorizing formulas, and most importantly trying to create low grade seals.

The masters who were all high-level cultivators in array and seal formations, greeted him with nods. They'd grown used to Victor's intense focus.

"Your last formation was flawed at node six," one of the elderly instructors said while brushing his beard. "But your energy regulation is improving. Try drawing the 'Locking Cross Array' again."

Victor nodded and sat before the hovering spirit tablet. He focused, letting his qi spread through his fingers, and traced the diagram.

Lines lit up with blue and gold as he formed the interconnected structure.

[System Notification]

✔ You have successfully completed the Locking Cross Array.

[+125 Array Experience]

[+1 to Array Mastery Skill Progression]

Victor grinned. "Finally."

He stood while stretching his back.

Outside, the City Lord's daughter, Xuan Qing, appeared at the entrance with hands on her waist, pouting slightly.

"You've been holed up again for hours. Come on, I'm bored."

Victor chuckled. "Some of us are trying to prevent world-ending seal breaches, you know."

She huffed. "And some of us want to take you to the koi gardens to teach you how to cheat at rock skipping."

Against his better judgment, Victor allowed himself a short break.

Xuan Qing dragged him out onto the winding palace bridges that crossed over crystal-clear waters filled with silver-scaled fish.

They skipped stones, snuck into the servants' kitchens for honey-glazed buns, and even lit fire talismans behind the old gardener's back.

By nightfall, Victor returned to training, more refreshed than before.

He meditated, letting the knowledge of arrays and seals root deeper in his mind. He was starting to grasp the flow and not just how to draw arrays, but how they felt.

The subtle interplay between intention and structure.

And amidst all this, he had not forgotten his cultivation.

Victor sat cross-legged in the quietest corner of the training chamber, drawing in qi with practiced rhythm.

The dark violet energy of his Void Emperor bloodline shimmered around his body like flowing ink in water.

[ Bloodline Integration: 60% Achieved ]

[ New Bloodline Ability Unlocked ]

He opened his eyes slowly. "Another one."

"This should be good..."

Just as he wanted to test it out, it hit him... he hadn't checked his sub stats in a while.

He summoned his interface.

[Status Panel]

Name: Fang Chen

Bloodline: Void Emperor (60% Integration)

Cultivation Realm: Nascent Soul Realm (10%)

Martial Sword Techniques:

* Shadow Crescent Strike (Mastery: 70%)

* Phantom Mirage Step (Mastery: 65%)

...( see more )

Cultivation Arts:

* Shifting Winds Arts (Mastery: 71%)

* Dragon Breathing Arts (Mastery: 26%)

…( see more )

Bloodline Abilities:

* Shadow Blink

* Qi Cloak

* Vision Boost

...( see more )

[Attribute Points Available: 420]

He blinked. "No way I forgot I had that many."

Opening his substat panel, he took a deep breath.

\\[Sub-Stats ]

Strength: 78

Agility: 75

Speed: 76

Endurance: 74

Perception: 91

Qi Control: 67

Constitution: 69

"Time to fix that."