"We can become Cultivators in the real world...?" Meixiu mumbled in a dazed voice, feeling a little awkward saying something so unbelievable out loud.
"I repeat, cultivation is real! You can become a cultivator if you use the cultivation techniques from the popular video game ’Cultivation Online’!" The news anchor said in a loud and excited voice.
"However, do keep in mind that while cultivation exists, not everyone can become a Cultivator! It could also take you days, weeks, or even months to become a Cultivator depending on your talents— exactly like Cultivation Online!"
"Furthermore, the higher grade your cultivation technique is, the higher chance you have at becoming a Cultivator!"
After talking for a few minutes, the news anchor said, "We will have a special guest in just a few minutes, and he is a player in Cultivation Online who’d successfully managed to become a Cultivator! In fact, he is the person who made the topic about cultivation being real— the first one who made this world-changing discovery!"
"..."
"Yu Rou... What do you think is going to happen to our world now?" Meixiu asked her.
"I don’t know... This might be a good thing, or it could turn disastrous. Only time will tell." Yu Rou sighed.
Sometime later, Meixiu said, "I have to tell Yuan about this..."
"Oh, right. Is he awake yet?"
"I will go check."
"Hehe... Brother will be so surprised..." Yu Rou said.
A few moments later, Meixiu knocked on Yuan’s door.
"Yuan, are you awake?"
"Yes, I am."
"We have an emergency..." Meixiu said.
"What happened?"
"Listen to the news, brother." Yu Rou said.
"Yu Rou?" Yuan was surprised to hear Yu Rou’s voice as well.
Meixiu proceeded to grab her laptop and replayed the news to Yuan.
"Cultivation is real! As long as we use the cultivation techniques in Cultivation Online, we can become Cultivators in this world as well!" The news anchor shouted in excitement.
"..."
Yuan was stunned after hearing the news.
’So the world has finally learned about it as well, huh? I guess cultivation is real...’ Yuan sighed inwardly.
Even though he has been cultivating for a while now, it felt so surreal that he didn’t fully believe that he was actually doing cultivation.
Unbeknownst to Yuan, some players have long learned that cultivation in the real world was possible shortly after the game launched. The only reason it hasn’t been announced until today was simply because these people wanted to keep this secret to themselves so that they could get ahead of everyone else when the news eventually spread around the world.
After all, there are bound to be a few people who would try cultivation in the real world after they play Cultivation Online. It was akin to children trying to mimic their superheroes’ signature attacks while they watched the television even if they knew superpowers don’t exist in the real world.
It was their curiosity that made this discovery.
Yu Rou’s voice suddenly resounded, "Meixiu, quickly go back to the live news! It’s the person who discovered that cultivation works in the real world!"
Meixiu stopped the replay and switched it back to live news, and sure enough, there was a young man sitting beside the news anchor.
"Can you please introduce yourself to the audience?" The news anchor asked the young man.
He nodded and spoke in a clear voice, "Hello, my name is Fu Xi, I am 24 years old, and my in-game name is Thousand Blades. I am also the creator of the post ’Cultivation in the real world is possible’ that has over a hundred million views now on the forums."
"Thank you for coming here on such short notice, Fu Xi. Can you tell us more about how you made that discovery? And what does it feel like to be a Cultivator? How is it any different from Cultivation Online?" The news anchor asked him.
Fu Xi nodded and said, "After playing Cultivation Online for a few days, I quickly became addicted to the world of cultivation, and I suddenly had a thought— what if I can become a Cultivator in the real world as well?"
"I knew it was ridiculous of me to have such thoughts. After all, there’s no way something in a video game could possibly work in the real world as well. However, my curiosity would not calm down until I actually tried it. It was at that point that I tried to cultivate in the real world using the cultivation technique I’d learned in Cultivation Online."
"Although it didn’t work at first and I gave up for a few days, my instincts told me to try again, and so I did— until I managed to breakthrough and become a Cultivator."
"That’s amazing," said the news anchor, and he continued, "If you don’t mind, can you share with the audience the name of your cultivation technique and how you obtained it?"
Fu Xi nodded and said, "I don’t mind. It’s just an ordinary cultivation technique available to every disciple at the Nine Saber Mountain, and it’s called Spirit Mountain Scripture."
"I know there are many people out there who do not believe in cultivation. Do you have any way to prove to them that it truly exists?"
"Well... I just became a Cultivator, so I cannot do anything crazy. However, my strength has increased tremendously since then. I can easily lift 100 pounds with a single hand despite my skinny physique."
"Indeed, you certainly don’t look like you can lift even half of that much weight, much less all of it."
A few moments later, someone brought a 100-pound barbell onto the stage for Fu Xi.
After taking a deep breath, Fu Xi grabbed the center of the barbell with his stick-like arm and lifted it above his head with ease, shocking the news anchor and the audience.
"My god! What a performance! I thought you were joking!" The news anchor said, as he didn’t believe for a second that Fu Xi would be able to lift something so heavy with his thin arms that clearly lacked the muscles.
"Well, this is the best I can do at my current level. Perhaps I will be able to use the other techniques from Cultivation Online if I increase my cultivation." Fu Xi said with a proud look on his face.
Fu Xi and the news anchor continued to talk to each other about cultivation and whatnot.
Meanwhile, the other channels also had their own special guests, and all of them claim to have succeeded in cultivation.
"What do you think, brother? Do you think they’re really Cultivators? Can we really cultivate in this world?" Yu Rou asked him through the phone.
"We can," Yuan answered quickly without hesitation, taking Yu Rou and Meixiu by surprise.
"Why do you sound so confident?" Yu Rou couldn’t help but ask.
After a moment of silence, Yuan responded in a calm voice, "I am confident cultivation exists because... because I have also succeeded in becoming a Cultivator. In fact, I have been cultivating for a while now."
"Y-You what?" Yu Rou’s dumbfounded voice resounded.
"Yuan..." Meixiu stared at him with her eyes wide with disbelief, almost as though she couldn’t believe her ears.