The developers still haven't forgiven the players.

In the open space of the tribe, the three were doing their own things.

Lao Kuai and Keyun lay on the ground doing push-ups, while Peng Zhi ran laps around the open space.

As for the kid, he seemed to have other ideas. Using the excuse that he was embarrassed to exercise in front of the three of them, he went to work on the other side of the tribe by himself.

According to the system's translated instructions, the first step in cultivation is to exhaust oneself in order to experience the flow of blood and energy.

Although practicing in a game sounds silly, since the method has been given, I should at least give it a try.

……

"The question is, does doing this actually work?"

Ke Yun was covered in sweat, and when she bent over, her arms trembled like butterfly wings.

Fortunately, the game character has very strong basic physical attributes, otherwise he would not have been able to persevere at all.

Old Kuai struggled to sit up: "The production team has set up an upgrade path; they can't be messing with us, can they?"

"No, I can't do it anymore, I feel like both my hands are going to be useless."

Ke Yun rolled over and lay flat on her back on the floor: "I don't even have the strength to get up. Is this game developer crazy? Why didn't they just use the traditional monster-slaying leveling system? What the hell did they change?"

In fact, for most people, it is very difficult to push their bodies to their limits without external encouragement.

Peng Zhi was still running laps around the open space and did not participate in the conversation between the two.

However, given his unsteady appearance, no one would be surprised if he collapsed on the spot.

He was indeed nearing his limit, panting heavily, his legs feeling incredibly heavy, and his body as if filled with lead.

The reason he persisted was mainly because he figured that he was the one who found the "Tiger Demon Skill," and if he were to give it up, he should be the last one to do so.

Hang in there a little longer...

Exhausted to the extreme, only this one thought remained in his mind.

Thump~ Thump~

As time went on, his heart pounded harder and harder.

When he noticed, he could even clearly hear his own heartbeat.

A surge of new energy welled up from somewhere within his weary body, coursing through his limbs and relieving the exhaustion he had been feeling.

"They're here!"

He didn't understand how the game had managed to do that, but he didn't hesitate. He quickly stopped, sat down cross-legged, and focused his attention on the inexplicable power, as described.

His face lit up with joy: "It really can be controlled!"

Controlling this power, starting from the heart, it travels throughout the body strictly according to the route provided by the "Tiger Fiend Technique," finally returning to the heart.

In fact, he went astray twice during the process, and it was clear that the new force had shrunk a bit. If he had made a few more mistakes, he probably wouldn't have been able to complete a full circle.

【Ding! 】

[Successfully learned the "Tiger Demon Skill". Player "What's the Principle?" level increased to level 1. Experience bar currently at -87%]

This feeling...

Peng Zhi was deeply shaken.

Although the game did not show what improvements he gained after the upgrade, he could clearly feel the changes in himself.

Even without personally testing it, he could tell that his strength, speed, and defense attributes had all received substantial increases, rather than just adjustments to game data.

He found this experience fascinating and it was hard not to look forward to the changes that would come with his subsequent improvement in strength.

He opened his eyes with delight, only to be startled and jump.

"Holy crap! Why are you two so close together?"

Lao Kuai and Keyun were both squatting in front of him, staring intently at him.

"We saw you suddenly sit down while running, and we were worried that something might have happened to you."

Ke Yun blinked and asked two questions out of the blue: "How is it? Isn't it?"

Peng Zhi understood what Ke Yun wanted to ask and nodded firmly: "It's not fake, this game really does allow you to cultivate."

Before the two could ask any further questions, he added, "I suggest you try it again. All I can say is, it's incredibly awesome!"

He probably felt that verbal descriptions weren't intuitive enough, and he was also quite interested in seeing how much the improvement actually went.

He simply stood up and said, "Watch."

He bent over like a boiled shrimp, and then suddenly exerted force with his legs.

Using the reaction force transmitted from the ground, he leaped into the air, reaching a position more than two meters off the ground, where he remained suspended in the air for a full one and a half seconds before falling back down.

Upon seeing this scene, both Lao Kuai and Keyun showed expressions of shock.

"Holy crap, that's awesome! Have you taken the wrong medicine?!"

"This isn't some kind of qinggong (lightness skill), you can say whatever you want about it."

Old Kuai snapped out of his daze, his eyes practically green with envy: "You've only just mastered it and you're already this exaggerated? Later on, won't you be able to fly?"

Human beings' yearning for the sky is ingrained in their very being.

Even the games he used to play in front of a screen, where controlling a character to fly was exciting, let alone a completely immersive game like this, he couldn't even imagine how awesome it would be.

Without saying a word, Lao Kuai turned around and started doing push-ups like crazy on the ground.

Ke Yun followed suit, her eyes resolute, showing no trace of her previous complaints.

Young people their age often don't give up easily because they can't see a reason to persevere, but because they can't see a reason to keep going.

Now that they've discovered it's actually possible, they don't mind putting in even more effort.

"By the way, hold on a minute, I have something to remind you..."

Peng Zhi briefly described his experience and concluded: "...So try not to make any mistakes. I am currently level 1 with 87% experience. If I don't make any mistakes along the way, my experience bar should be even higher, and I might be able to level up to level 2 directly."

Old Kuai originally wanted to do push-ups while talking, but found it wasn't feasible, so he had to stop for the time being.

"If that's the case, given this game's extreme emphasis on immersion, could we go even further with our ideas? Look, tapping into power from within the body—theoretically, wouldn't that take individual differences into account?"

The more he thought about it, the more he realized it made sense: "We're both exercising, we're doing push-ups and you're running. In the same amount of time, our exercise intensity is definitely much higher than yours, but you're the one who reached the critical point first."

Ke Yun sighed, "Yeah, we've all been watching. Your pace isn't fast, and we're all starving after all this time, and you still haven't shown any signs of improvement. I should have run with you."

Now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel a bit hungry too.

Old Kuai naturally picked up the conversation, but immediately realized something was wrong.

Holy crap, aren't we in a game?! This game is supposed to be all about immersion, isn't it?!

Gollum~

Peng Zhi's stomach promptly protested, clearly indicating that he was the hungriest of the three.

After his initial excitement subsided, he felt so hungry he could eat a whole cow.

Old Kuai: "What should we do?"

Peng Zhi turned to look at the mountains and forests behind him: "Let's go hunting, we definitely won't starve to death."