43: Chapter 43 Selection Ends, Soul Treasure

Among the many geniuses in the Dou Xing Forest, some chose to leave, while others chose to continue fighting.

"Let's keep going; we'll fight until the very last moment!"

In a mountain forest, Zhou Bai spoke to Shen Ninger.

Points could be exchanged for eighth-generation red marrow potion. For Zhou Bai, this was a fantastic opportunity to accumulate resources, and he naturally wouldn't miss it.

"Okay, Brother Zhou Bai, I'll listen to whatever you say!"

Shen Ninger didn't refuse and continued to help Zhou Bai search for ferocious beasts to slaughter in battle.

Zhou Bai's points also soared continuously amidst the constant slaughter.

Qin Hao, who was originally in first place, was also slowly overtaken by the geniuses behind him.

Just like that, three days later, only nine martial arts geniuses remained in the Dou Xing Forest.

"The Dou Xing Forest will close shortly. All contestants, please take note!"

Once the number of people was insufficient, the host's voice rang out in the Dou Xing Forest once again.

"Brother Zhou Bai, goodbye!"

Shen Ninger waved to Zhou Bai, a sweet smile on her face.

"Yeah, goodbye!"

Zhou Bai also waved goodbye to Shen Ninger.

Then, a burst of brilliant spiritual light appeared in the sky, enveloping all the remaining martial arts geniuses within it.

...

When Zhou Bai opened his eyes again, he found that the hatch of the virtual reality pod had already opened.

The warm sunlight from the sky fell upon Zhou Bai, making him feel a faint warmth.

The mountain-shaking, sea-tsunami-like shouts from the surroundings made Zhou Bai feel as if the slaughter in the Dou Xing Forest over these past few days was just a dream.

"Hmm? It seems my mental strength has improved quite a bit?"

At this moment, Zhou Bai seemed to sense something and raised an eyebrow.

"Junior Brother Zhou Bai, you were too fierce! You made it into the knockout round, and your points ranking reached fifth..."

Just as Zhou Bai was about to check his status, a crisp and pleasant voice rang out, and a pure and moving young girl pulled Zhou Bai directly into her embrace.

"Senior Sister Shiyu, don't you already know whether I'm fierce or not?"

Zhou Bai leaned into the girl's ear and whispered softly.

Zhao Shiyu let out a soft hmph, feeling her body soften slightly.

"The intense and exciting nine-day selection round has ended! In half a month, we will continue the much-anticipated knockout round here. At that time, the strongest genius of our Battle of the Dawn will be decided. Please look forward to the ultimate battle of the Battle of the Dawn!"

"As for the geniuses who have entered the knockout round, you can use these two weeks to enrich yourselves and ensure you show your strongest side in the knockout round..."

At this moment, the host's incredibly excited voice echoed through the Magic Cube Martial Arts Arena.

The audience in the martial arts arena also let out enthusiastic cheers, full of anticipation for the knockout round in half a month.

"Zhou Bai, you're too amazing! You actually made it into the knockout round, and your points ranking is so high!"

A short while later, Chen Jianghe also came to Zhou Bai's side from the spectator stands, his face filled with excitement.

Previously, he had thought Zhou Bai might enter the knockout round, but when Zhou Bai actually did, it still felt somewhat surreal to Chen Jianghe.

Especially with the strength Zhou Bai had displayed, he had a hope of competing for the top ten of the Battle of the Dawn, which made Chen Jianghe's heart surge with emotion.

Their Azure Bird Academy was about to create new history.

"It was also a stroke of luck!"

Zhou Bai said slowly.

Entering the knockout round was within Zhou Bai's expectations, but these points were truly hard-won.

Zhou Bai's final score was as high as 14,202, which was a very staggering amount. It could be exchanged for 52 vials of eighth-generation red marrow potion.

If it weren't for the Battle of the Dawn, the wealth required to purchase them elsewhere would be unimaginable.

Zhou Bai also knew that much of this was thanks to Shen Ninger.

Her pills allowed him to recover his state quickly, and she could also scout the surroundings, helping him choose suitable areas to hunt ferocious beasts.

Without these, Zhou Bai felt his points total would not have been able to break into the top ten.

His accumulation was still too shallow...

Moreover, his preparations weren't as thorough as others'.

"In the next half month, I will do everything in my power to help you improve your strength and let you push for an even higher ranking!"

Chen Jianghe then said to Zhou Bai in a deep voice, his eyes flashing with burning ambition.

Clearly, Chen Jianghe also cared very much about Zhou Bai's final ranking in the Battle of the Dawn.

Zhou Bai nodded.

"By the way, Uncle Chen, does this virtual reality pod have other effects? I feel like my mental strength has improved quite a bit!"

Then, Zhou Bai seemed to think of something and spoke to Chen Jianghe.

[Name]: Zhou Bai

[Level]: Third-Rank Martial Artist

[Talent]: Dutian Divine Thunder (SS), Psychic Power (S)

[Blood Qi]: 1,060 Cal (+)

[Spirit]: 210 Hz (+)

[Skills]: Nine Heavens Thunder Saber (Advanced), Phantom Sky Travel (Intermediate), Thunder-Breaking Saber Technique (Consummate), Mountain Splitting Fist (Consummate), Shadow Step (Consummate)

[learning points]: 1,486

[Items]: energy fruit * 62, skill upgrade card * 1

During these nine days, Zhou Bai had been in the virtual reality pod and hadn't cultivated his mental strength, yet his spirit had grown from 120 Hz to 210 Hz.

Moreover, his learning points had also grown from over a hundred to nearly 1,500.

In other words, this virtual reality pod was very likely also a type of cultivation secret realm, which could allow him to improve his mental strength and automatically increase his learning points along the way.

"Zhou Bai, your feeling is correct. This virtual reality pod is also a powerful soul secret treasure. Performing real-world simulation training inside the virtual reality pod also has significant effects!"

Chen Jianghe then said slowly.

"A soul secret treasure? Then this virtual reality pod is a good thing!"

Hearing Chen Jianghe's words, Zhou Bai's eyes lit up.

Cultivating inside could improve mental strength and increase learning points; although the learning points weren't many, it was still a decent cultivation treasure.

"It is indeed a good thing, but the consumption of this virtual reality pod is also very high. It requires soul crystals for power and needs to connect to the Martial Artist Alliance's dedicated network. The cost is extremely expensive. If the higher-ups of the Xia Country hadn't wanted to promote this virtual reality pod, they wouldn't have brought it out for the Battle of the Dawn at all!"

Chen Jianghe obviously knew more of the inside story as he spoke.

Zhou Bai's eyes shimmered with light. Just being able to perform real-world simulations was already quite heaven-defying, not to mention it could also improve mental strength.

I wonder if studying inside the virtual reality pod would add more learning points.

A thought surfaced in the depths of Zhou Bai's heart.

Unfortunately, Zhou Bai had no way to experiment now.

"Now that the virtual reality pod technology has matured, combined with the hype of the Battle of the Dawn, I estimate that corresponding commercial products will be released soon..."

"Furthermore, if you perform excellently in the Battle of the Dawn, it's not impossible to obtain one from the Martial Artist Alliance. After all, the Martial Artist Alliance is very generous toward exceptionally outstanding top geniuses and does not stint on investment..."

Chen Jianghe continued.

Zhou Bai nodded, having some thoughts in his mind.

However, Zhou Bai also knew that now was not the time to think about these things; he had to truly achieve results in the Battle of the Dawn first.

"Let's go. I'll take you to exchange for the eighth-generation red marrow potion first, and then I'll draw up a cultivation plan for you for these two weeks, so that you can compete in the knockout round in your strongest state half a month from now!"

Chen Jianghe patted Zhou Bai's shoulder and said firmly.

...