Cultivating in Online Games

Chapter 94 - Physical Examination

A post appeared on the “Nine Heavens” player communication forum—

Title: I want to ask, did anyone pass the retest for the Wushuang Sect’s disciple recruitment ceremony? Our team was wiped out.

Poster: So, I had decent luck. In the first round, when a thousand were selected from forty-nine, I was fortunate to be chosen by a handsome guy from a painting [attached picture]. In the second round, I dodged the Yew Tree Demon’s paint attack.

The elder in the final round, Elder Ye, seemed like a very nice person, and his horse was also very handsome [attached picture]. I thought I could succeed this time, but then suddenly a self-proclaimed master appeared and drove away the second senior brother, killing all of us and telling us there was not a single qualified one. He shook his head as if saying, “This batch of players is no good.”

But the master is really handsome [attached pictures], so I want to ask, did anyone manage to pass?

Comment 1: I haven’t logged in lately. What’s the Wushuang Sect?

Comment 2: I got eliminated in the first round. I guess I’m not fated to be with the guy from the painting. I suspect the poster is just showing off.

Comment 3: To Comment 1, the Wushuang Sect is the first figure company in “Nine Heavens.” Let me show you my white tiger figure [attached pictures].

Comment 4: Ah, the master really is a big handsome guy. But why did everyone get eliminated?

Comment 5: Because the master completely doesn’t want to take in disciples and beats players to death when he catches them.

Due to the large number of people attending the recruitment ceremony today, those who failed felt somewhat unwilling and logged off to browse related posts on the forum. This thread quickly became a hot topic.

Comment 236: The eighth round of players is about to enter the arena. Do the seniors above have any suggestions?

Comment 237: First, share a koi to boost your luck.

Comment 238: Bring all items, talismans, and potions that can boost speed. You’ll need them for the second and third rounds.

Comment 239: Bring healing items! Buy plenty of potions that can heal 400 health, and take them before the master uses his final group attack!

……

Comment 278: Why are so many people discussing the disciple recruitment ceremony? Is it a new dungeon?

……

Comment 573: I’m the eighth-round player from Comment 236. I failed, but one person in our team passed!

Comment 574: Is there really anyone who can qualify in that terrible event?

Comment 575: It’s true! Just before we were all knocked down to 9% by the master, a snake suddenly appeared on that guy’s chest and bit Elder Ye, sucking 20% of his health. Elder Ye’s health dropped to 80%, and he didn’t fall below 10%. He qualified!

Comment 576: What happened next?

Comment 577: Then the master picked him up and beat him up for a while until his health dropped to 1%. The master called over a healing spiritual practitioner to heal him and then beat him up again. I don’t know how many times he got beat; I went down the mountain to buy a white tiger figure after the second time.

Comment 578: That sounds tragic.

……

Comment 1263: The last batch has come out today. Dugu Zhuo said that too few people passed the assessment, so the retest was canceled. The only qualified one is the foreign player who bit Elder Ye in the eighth round.

Comment 1264: Wow! They actually admitted someone. I thought no one would pass this event in the end.

Comment 1265: Truly a one-in-a-million lucky person!

At 11 PM on Sunday night, it was prime time for game players. The hot topic of the day was definitely the Wushuang Sect’s disciple recruitment ceremony, and this post reached the top of the forum’s trending list, with countless people discussing and sharing pictures.

The main questions people focused on were how much money the Wushuang Sect spent to build such a grand sect. Was it a gift from the system?

The master is indeed a big handsome guy, but is there something going on between him and Elder Ye? Why were they exchanging glances during the assessment? Every time they came together, the so-called chief disciple player would rush out, saying the master couldn’t participate in the assessment, and within ten seconds, he would be taken away by a big tiger by the neck.

In short, the Wushuang Sect is an interesting faction. If there are more events like this, I must buy tickets in advance to visit. Everyone is very curious about the winning player, considering him a lucky guy.

In post 10988, a player commented, “Lucky my ass,” but by that time, people were no longer satisfied with just discussion; they began to flood the thread with pictures, and that reply was drowned in countless images of the white tiger and Dugu Zhuo.

Many players even filmed videos and posted them on various short video platforms, spontaneously promoting “Nine Heavens.”

The game company was very pleased, as this saved them a lot on marketing expenses. They immediately sent a sect construction gift package to the Wushuang Sect, citing the first player-constructed sect in the entire server as the reason. The package was filled with construction materials and included a jade stone ten meters high and five meters wide.

Dugu Zhuo received this jade stone at midnight that night, while the exhausted Ye Zhou had already logged off, and other players collectively ran to the forum to participate in the picture-sharing contest, leaving only Dugu Zhuo and the white tiger in the sect.

Upon seeing the jade stone, the white tiger let out a roar, which sounded somewhat hoarse.

Today, the white tiger’s task was to guard Ye Jian while also showcasing the majesty of the king of beasts in front of the players.

However, Ye Jian was far too lazy. Unlike Dugu Zhuo, who was full of energy and could absorb spiritual energy to transform into true energy at any time, Ye Jian would run out of spiritual energy after using a few skills. He told the white tiger that he was going to enter the painting to cultivate.

In less than three minutes in the painting, he would run out to organize the previous activities and check on Dugu Zhuo and Ye Zhou’s proximity, which made the white tiger unable to endure anymore and brought him back by the neck.

To supervise Ye Jian, the white tiger had been roaring at him, and now his voice was hoarse.

The white tiger shrank a little and lay on the jade stone, letting out a few loud roars at Dugu Zhuo.

Dugu Zhuo said, “I understand what you mean, but I’ve already passed on the Sculpture Tiger Sword Technique to the sect’s main disciple, which you saw with your own eyes. To carve this jade stone well, we still need the main disciple to do it personally.”

“Roar.” The white tiger expressed his understanding.

The process of Dugu Zhuo mastering this carving skill was witnessed by the white tiger.

At that time, Dugu Zhuo fell in love with Ye Zhou. The longer he stayed in the sect, the more painful it became, and he feared that one day his inner demons would arise and he would offend Ye Zhou.

Dugu Zhuo naturally could not force Ye Zhou at that time, but if he made this feeling clear, he would probably be kicked off the Star-Extending Peak by Ye Zhou and would have no chance to be with him in the future.

So, Dugu Zhuo used descending the mountain to travel as an excuse, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage before going down, and he only returned to the Qingtian Sword Sect after reaching the Great Ascension stage.

He wandered the mortal world for a hundred years, occasionally checking on the white tiger, cutting down a few trees on the White Tiger Mountain, and carefully sculpting Ye Zhou’s appearance with sword energy.

At first, the things he sculpted had no relation to Ye Zhou, but as he got more skilled, the wood carvings began to resemble Ye Zhou more and more.

Dugu Zhuo would immerse himself in the state of forgetting himself while sculpting, completely unaware of what was happening outside, and was easily ambushed. Therefore, he only dared to carve with his full concentration in front of the white tiger.

His skill was something the white tiger witnessed grow gradually, from shapeless carvings to lifelike wood sculptures, which took him about ten years to master this sword technique.

Now that he passed it to Ye Jian, Dugu Zhuo lost his proficiency. To regain his initial skill would take at least three to five years.

The white tiger could not wait that long and could only continue to push Ye Jian.

This jade stone was extremely hard, and with Ye Jian’s strength, it would probably take half a day to grind out a small piece. To completely sculpt it would likely take a month. During that month, every time Ye Jian logged in, he would be forced to work by the white tiger. His method of squeezing workers and players was ineffective against the pure-hearted spiritual practitioner like the white tiger; he couldn’t afford to be lazy at all.

During this time, if he could shake off Ye Jian, he and Ye Zhou might be able to enjoy a more comfortable life.

Seeing the relaxed smile on Dugu Zhuo’s face, the white tiger thought of Ye Jian, who had learned the Sculpture Tiger Sword Technique, and couldn’t help but ask, “You seem to have let go of a lot of things?”

“Hmm?” Dugu Zhuo looked at the white tiger with confusion, not understanding why he said that.

The White Tiger said, “In your past life, your obsession turned into a demon, and you clung to the wooden sculpture without letting go. In this life, you can actually pass this skill on to others, which shows you’ve let go, right?”

“Let go?” Dugu Zhuo spread his hands, the moonlight spilling into his palms like water, “In my past life, Ye Zhou and I were played by so-called destiny and had to separate, so I could only reminisce by looking at objects. In this life, Ye Zhou is right by my side. Why should I use a statue to alleviate my longing? It’s better to let him do something to occupy himself so he won’t disturb us.”

The White Tiger tilted his head, “But Ye Zhou doesn’t log in often. Tomorrow, he has to go to some… hospital for a routine check-up and can’t come to keep you company.”

Ye Zhou had to undergo health checks periodically, and tonight he had specially agreed with Dugu Zhuo that he wouldn’t be able to come tomorrow, and they reluctantly parted ways.

“No, Ye Zhou is with me; he’s right here,” Dugu Zhuo said.

Dugu Zhuo gently clenched his fist, and moonlight spilled through his fingers. He curled his fingers slightly, and the escaping moonlight quietly wrapped around his fingers.

Ye Zhou accompanied him in the game, in this world, there is nowhere that isn’t you—

Ye Zhou had a dream all night where their fingers were intertwined. The dream felt so real that when he woke up, he could still feel the touch at his fingertips.

Having many dreams could leave him mentally exhausted, but today Ye Zhou felt great; he even had the sensation that Dugu Zhuo was beside him as he fell asleep.

Yesterday’s disciple recruitment event was quite successful. His cousin had stayed up until three in the morning to tally the profits. This morning, Ye Zhou received a message from Ye Jian, who reported that they had earned over twenty million taels of silver and more than ten thousand spirit stones from this event, so there were no worries about the future construction of the sect.

Thinking about finally being able to start renovating the mountain peak that he shared with Dugu Zhuo, Ye Zhou was very happy; his efforts during this time hadn’t been in vain.

The day was filled with tests, and although he was exhausted, the results were unexpectedly good.

Ye Zhou had multiple organ failures, especially severe liver and kidney dysfunction. His kidneys were damaged, preventing normal detoxification. He had to undergo blood dialysis roughly once a month, where blood was drawn out, harmful substances were artificially separated using a dialysis machine, and the cleansed blood was returned to his body.

He had been receiving this treatment for seven or eight years. At first, he only needed it once a year, then it became semi-annual, and now it was once a month. After his last dialysis, the doctor mentioned that his health was not very good, and he might have to switch to twice a month.

Long-term dialysis had caused low blood pressure and anemia, leaving Ye Zhou’s body extremely weak.

Even though he could move above his waist, his life was still heading toward its end.

It might be five or ten years, or perhaps just one or two, or maybe even tomorrow he would succumb to heart failure.

Ye Zhou liked Dugu Zhuo, but Dugu Zhuo could only act in the game. If Ye Zhou were just paralyzed, he could accompany Dugu Zhuo in the game for the rest of his life. Even if the number of players in “Nine Heavens” dwindled over time, he could use all his wealth to acquire “Nine Heavens” and maintain its operation, providing Dugu Zhuo with a space to survive.

But he was not only unable to walk; each health check told him, “Your time is short; how long you can live is left to fate.” Ye Zhou didn’t even have time to be together with Dugu Zhuo in the game.

He didn’t know what to do, hesitating and cowardly, never daring to take that step.

After finishing the check-up and receiving part of the test results, Ye Zhou froze for a moment. He pointed to the kidney function blood test and asked the doctor, “Kidney function is normal?”

He hadn’t undergone dialysis in over twenty days, so the toxins in his blood should have accumulated significantly. How could it possibly be normal? Even right after dialysis, his blood test results would still show elevated levels.

His attending doctor frowned and said, “It’s normal, indeed. Also, the results from the liver and kidney ultrasound have come in; your liver, gallbladder, spleen, and kidneys show no issues.”

Ye Zhou’s father interjected, “His kidneys are failing; last time the ultrasound showed they were smaller than normal size. Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”

The attending doctor replied, “I suspected I misread the results too, so I did it again, and they are still normal size.”

Ye Zhou’s father was also stunned. He worried that one day Ye Zhou would need an organ transplant and had even gone with his wife to get tested for a match, but unfortunately, there were no successful matches in their family, although he was actively searching.

But now, Ye Zhou had recovered?

Ye Zhou and his father exchanged glances, and both thought of the immersive online game “Nine Heavens.”

Both felt that the idea was too absurd, but there was no other explanation.

“Do I need to undergo dialysis this month?” Ye Zhou asked.

The attending doctor replied, “Let’s hold off for a month; come back next month for another blood test and kidney ultrasound.”

The attending doctor was also perplexed; the kidneys are non-regenerative organs, and any damage is irreversible. How could they have naturally healed?

Ye Zhou’s father suppressed his swirling thoughts and said sternly to the attending doctor, “I want complete confidentiality regarding Ye Zhou’s health condition. No one else is to know.”

The attending doctor, of course, adhered to the confidentiality principle, marking Ye Zhou’s information as confidential, which others were not authorized to view.

The father and son returned home as if in a dream. Due to the check-up, Ye Zhou was very hungry and ended up eating a lot for dinner, feeling particularly good.

Ye Zhou’s father noticed that Ye Zhou’s complexion was rosy, a stark contrast to his usual pale and haggard appearance.

As his health continued to improve, Ye Zhou was also growing more handsome; even in his weakened state, he was more attractive than many who looked obviously healthy.

After dinner, Ye Zhou sat nervously in his wheelchair, fiddling with his fingers while his father observed him from across the table.

“Did you encounter any immortal in the game who gave you miraculous medicine?” his father asked seriously.

“Dad, have you been reading a lot of fantasy novels lately?” Ye Zhou replied.

His father leaned back in his chair, straightening up, “I just wanted to learn about the game you play. Much of it relates to legends and novels, nothing worth referencing.”

Ye Zhou said, “There are no immortals or miraculous medicines.”

But there was a Dugu Zhuo, who acted like a doctor, checking his pulse as soon as he logged in every day.

At that thought, Ye Zhou’s mind sparked with realization. Could it be? Was Dugu Zhuo helping him heal all this time?

This wasn’t a baseless guess; the fact that Dugu Zhuo couldn’t log off was already unscientific. Plus, he always appeared like a transcendent figure. Could it be that he really was cultivating immortality?

It was now 7 PM, and Ye Zhou was itching to log into the game to find Dugu Zhuo.

“Dad, do you have anything else to do?” Ye Zhou blinked at his father.

His father thought for a moment and said, “…Are you eager to play the game?”

“Isn’t it too early to sleep now? I’m not tired,” Ye Zhou replied.

His father seemed to have made a decision, nodding, “Go ahead and play; if you like it, enjoy it for a while. Just make sure you get enough sleep, and the rest of the time, you can play freely.”

Ye Zhou exclaimed, “!!”

He dropped a quick “Thanks, Dad,” adjusted his automatic wheelchair to the fastest speed, and raced back to his room to play the game.

Ye Zhou’s father frowned for a moment, then took out his phone and called Ye Jian: “Tomorrow, I want to see all the information about the game ‘Nine Heavens.’ Prepare a proposal and look into the possibility of acquiring this game company.”

The author has something to say: Ye Zhou’s father: If this game is really so miraculous, I’ll buy it to treat my son.

Ye Zhou: The game company has been bought; from now on, no matter how Dugu Zhuo hacks the game, he won’t be banned by the game administrators!