Cultivation Online

”Anything else?” Yuan asked a moment later.

After a brief moment of silence. Mei Feng spoke, ”Now that you’ve acquired the authorization to enter the Red Zone, are you going there for your next mission?”

”Of course.”

”What kind?”

”Gathering Unknown Ores, as there are no other options for a mere corporal like me.”

”A mere corporal?” Mei Feng raised an eyebrow at his remark. ”If you somehow didn’t figure it out already, you’re already allowed access to missions typically assigned to Sergeants, such as the one we just mentioned.”

”I was aware,” Yuan admitted. ”But when do I get access to missions within the Purple Zone?”

”Let’s slow down a little and take one step at a time. You’ve just passed the exam for the Red Zone, after all.”

”I wouldn’t call that a test... at least not from my perspective. Hell, it barely qualifies as a warm-up. When it comes to Void Manipulation—or Void Control, as you call it—I wouldn’t be surprised if no one in this world can wield it better than I do,” Yuan said.

Despite his seemingly arrogant declaration, there wasn’t the slightest trace of arrogance in his eyes.

”Even if your Void Control is unmatched in this world, there are things beyond the Red Zone—dangerous entities that defy comprehension, especially for someone who came from another world,” Mei Feng said, shaking her head.

”There’s no need to be impatient. You’re already progressing several times faster than other geniuses. If you continue at this pace, you’ll definitely be able to enter the Purple Zone within a few years.”

”A few years, huh?” Yuan mumbled.

He wouldn’t be this impatient if he had concrete evidence that this world was merely an illusion or a dream. The same applied if he knew whether time here flowed faster or slower than in the Nine Heavens, as it did in the Demonic Realm.

Of course, he was still leaning toward this world being an illusion of sorts, hence why he wasn’t too panicked.

’I have seen and experienced plenty of realistic illusions throughout my lives, and this one... although it is the most realistic one I’ve experienced so far, my gut tells me this world is fake...’

Despite those thoughts, Yuan still couldn’t completely dismiss the minuscule possibility that this world was real.

”By the way, how’s your daughter? Is she doing okay in boot camp?” Yuan suddenly asked about Mei Xiaoyun.

”What makes you think that I would be keeping an eye on her?” Mei Feng asked with a slight frown.

”You don’t have to pretend to hate her since I am not your daughter,” Yuan shook his head. ”There’s a reason you asked me to bring her into the military, after all.”

”...”

After a moment of silence, Mei Feng sighed, ”She’s doing fine. A few had tried to recruit her, but they were all immediately shut down by her.”

”Oh? Does that mean she’s already decided to join one of your divisions?” Yuan smiled.

”Who knows?” Mei Feng suddenly spun her chair around so Yuan couldn’t see her face.

”If there’s nothing else, I am going to prepare for my mission in the Red Zone,” Yuan then said.

”Go.”

After leaving Mei Feng’s office, Yuan returned home to rest for the day since the examiners said it would take at least a day for his status to be updated.

The following day, Yuan was escorted to the mission hall by Sergeant Quang.

”I heard about the exam from Sergeant Bing. You’re one crazy bastard,” he said with a bittersweet smile on his face.

”It’s because I had an amazing teacher,” Yuan laughed out loud.

”Yeah... sure...”

Of course, Sergeant Quang didn’t believe for a moment that Wu Wang possessed such teaching ability. Instead, he suspected that Yuan had already learned Void Control before joining the military and was merely putting on an act.

However, since Yuan had been personally recruited by General Mei, Sergeant Quang chose not to question him, deciding it would only create unnecessary trouble.

[Mission Details: Enter the Red Zone and gather Unknown Ores]

[Rank Requirement: Sergeant]

[Squad Requirement: 6]

[Mission Details: Enter the Red Zone and gather Unknown Crystals]

[Rank Requirement: Sergeant]

[Squad Requirement: 6]

However, when Yuan saw the missions available, his eyes stopped at the second mission.

’Unknown Crystals... If I recall correctly, Unknown Crystals are much rarer than Unknown Ores, so logically, they should contain even more Eternal Essence!’

Although Yuan had planned on searching for Unknown Ores, he changed his mind and decided to look for Unknown Crystals instead.

Moreover, there was a good chance that they would pick up any Unknown Ores along the way—at least it was a logical assumption.

Just like usual, his request was accepted almost instantly after it was sent.

[Mission Details: Gather Unknown Crystals in the Red Zone. Meet at the Eastern Gate at 0700 in 42 hours]

After accepting the mission, Yuan went home to cultivate.

Meanwhile, in a facility somewhere within the military base—

”Senior! We’ve detected abnormalities with some of the Unknown Ores.” A young woman called out to her supervisor while holding an Unknown Ore in her grasp.

”What sort of abnormalities?” The senior inquired for more information.

”Well, we noticed that we were receiving less Limitless than usual during extraction, and after a thorough examination, we discovered that some of the Unknown Ores had already been extracted of their energy.”

”Are you sure someone didn’t accidentally mix the old ones in with the new batch? It happens from time to time.”

”No, we’re certain that wasn’t the case. These Unknown Ores had only just been delivered. Moreover, they retained their glowing appearance despite containing no energy, whereas the ones we extract always darken and turn into ordinary rocks.”

The senior frowned upon hearing this and fixed her gaze on the Unknown Ore in the young woman’s hand.

”Is that...?”

”Yes. This is one of them,” the young woman replied as she handed it to the senior.