344: Reenter the cloud cabin

Ever since participating in the Cloud Challenge Competition back in Fengyang, Long Yuan hadn't paid much attention to it for a while. However, he remained well-informed about the competition because the Heavenly Eye collected all sorts of information every second, which naturally included updates on the Cloud Challenge Competition.

Long Yuan had instructed Zhu Huan to set up a cloud cabin area within the Sinkhole Base so that his subordinates could participate and stay connected with the outside world. Now, taking advantage of a bit of free time over these two days, he wanted to enter a cloud cabin himself to take a look and experience it personally.

Every suite in the hotel apartments of Nanyue Academy was equipped with a cloud cabin. He could enter as long as he had his student ID or personal ID. Thus, after checking in and tidying up a bit, Long Yuan impatiently headed to the cloud cabin. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that this cloud cabin had been upgraded; it had a much stronger sense of technology, with a cool exterior and quite intelligent features that even ordinary people could use easily. With his powerful Divine Sense, he barely had to lift a finger; he could easily control it just by lying inside.

“Very well, let's see how far the current cloud cabin Challenge has developed...” Long Yuan took out his student ID and swiped it. The lights inside the cabin flickered briefly, and a sweet female voice spoke: “Name: Long Yuan; Affiliated Institution: Fengyang No. 1 High School; Cultivation Realm: Late-stage Martial Master...”

Long Yuan's current Realm was actually the Early-stage Martial King, but the information on his student ID was frozen at the time he left Fengyang. Back then, the cultivation he displayed to the world was the Late-stage Martial Master Realm, so the cloud cabin broadcasted his Realm from that time.

Hearing this, Long Yuan couldn't help but give a bitter smile; this was practically bullying. However, he still felt his progress was too slow, so he didn't care much. Once the cabin door opened automatically, Long Yuan lay down and found the position quite comfortable. Soon, a helmet-like device descended onto his head. In reality, this helmet was the core component of the cloud cabin.

Recently, a mode using helmets to connect directly to the network had appeared in the outside world, which was more convenient and faster. However, the cost of such helmets was higher, and they weren't something ordinary people could afford; only the noble children from great families and powerful forces could use them. After all, every use of the cloud cabin required a certain amount of xuan stones, which ordinary people simply couldn't afford. They could only queue up for online access through public cloud cabins in academies or various organizations. Furthermore, many online opportunities in academies and organizations, aside from unified arrangements, required points or welfare vouchers to exchange... Naturally, such problems didn't exist for Long Yuan. To him, xuan stones were now just a string of numbers. After depositing one hundred low-grade xuan stones, he quickly entered the virtual space under the guidance of the intelligent voice.

With a "swish," he found himself in a small space. A soft and sweet female voice said: “Welcome to the Great Ming First Genius Virtual Challenge Space! Based on your information, an opponent is being automatically matched for you... Since this is your first time entering the space today, here are some instructions regarding this competition. Please listen carefully and understand. Thank you for your cooperation! If you are already aware, you may choose to skip...”

Long Yuan naturally chose to skip... “May I ask if you understand the competition rules?” the intelligent voice asked.

“I understand!” Long Yuan replied.

“Thank you for your cooperation! Are you ready to begin the Martial Master Realm competition?”

“Ready!”

“Very well! Your current rank is 4,876,543. Matching your first opponent now... I wish you victory in your first battle!”

As the intelligent voice finished, Long Yuan's figure appeared atop a mountain. The surroundings were filled with dense forests and jagged rocks, with occasional roars of beasts and chirping of birds... While he was observing, his heart suddenly stirred. He looked up at a huge rock ahead. The air rippled, and a figure slowly appeared there. It was a tall woman with a ponytail, wearing a playful expression. She wasn't old and looked like a student from an academy. She looked around, and when her eyes landed on Long Yuan, they brightened. She smiled and said, “Oh, it's a handsome guy! I'm Fang Siyu, from the Shuntian Academy Elite Class...”

“Long Yuan!”

Long Yuan simply cupped his fists in response, leaped forward, and threw a punch!

“You?!” Fang Siyu's face showed an expression of disbelief. She cried out in surprise and hurriedly raised her palm to parry, but her reaction was a step too slow. Struck by Long Yuan's punch, Fang Siyu felt a massive force rushing at her, and a sense of powerlessness welled up in her heart. She screamed as her entire body was blasted into a blur, quickly vanishing from the space!

“Long Yuan wins! Congratulations, Long Yuan. Your current rank is 3,765,432. Would you like to continue the challenge?” the intelligent voice chimed in at the right moment.

“Continue!” Long Yuan replied. He felt a small sense of excitement. He hadn't expected his rank to jump by a million places after defeating just one opponent. The rankings in the Martial Master Realm were truly inflated! Of course, it was also possible that the opponent's strength was actually decent and her rank was high, so defeating her meant he took over her position.

“Alright, please wait a moment...”

At that moment, inside a luxury mansion somewhere in Shuntian Prefecture of the Northern Capital, a feminine curse suddenly rang out in a room: “Hateful! So hateful!!! Long Yuan, you are too unreasonable!!!” The one shouting was Fang Siyu, who had just been defeated in a single move.

“Xiaoyu, why did you come out so quickly this time? Did you run into an expert?” her best friend Tang Yinghui asked curiously from the side.

“No! You have no idea how shameless that Long Yuan is. After I went in, I was still introducing myself to him, but he launched a sneak attack. I didn't have time to parry before...”

“You were still introducing yourself?! Isn't there an optical projection of our information next to us when we enter? The opponent can see it at a glance...”

“That... I just wanted to get used to the new environment...” Fang Siyu's face turned a bit embarrassed upon hearing this, and she quickly defended herself.

Tang Yinghui stared at her intently, a look of realization appearing on her face. She giggled and said, “I see. That Long Yuan must be a handsome guy, right? You must have been charmed by him and wanted to get close to him!”

“That's not it at all! I am the little princess of the prestigious Fang Family, how could I be charmed by some handsome guy?”

“Listen to that! I hit the nail right on the head, didn't I? Quick, tell me what that Long Yuan looks like. How could he leave our beautiful Princess Fang so infatuated? Wait, Long Yuan? Why does that name sound familiar?” Tang Yinghui suddenly fell into thought.

Fang Siyu also had a realization. She thought back carefully: “Long Yuan, Fengyang No. 1 High School, Late-stage Martial Master... Heavens, I didn't just run into that big star Long Yuan, did I?!!!”