Chapter 299 - - 297 Familiar Faces in the Competition_1

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Having cut off contact with Nan Youlong, Duge tentatively gave up on cultivating the “Supreme Pure Scripture.”

He indeed had to change his way of thinking and adapt to his own identity.

Why risk himself when there was no need to take personal risks?

After all,

there is only one life in reality—lose it, and it’s truly gone. Wasn’t it Sheng Wenhua in the simulation who also went mad with his practice and died as a result?

Nan Youlong acted quickly and sent a group of people to Duge that very day.

Among them were Skill Experimentalists, doctors, and skill verification personnel, all top-tier talents.

It had to be said,

with the rise of Duge’s status, more and more people were being assigned to work with him.

In the words of Nan Youlong, these people would be his crew from now on.

The day the new members arrived, Duge forcefully changed their names using phrases that were auspicious for fish, effectively turning everyone into his private property, and he issued them orders to maintain secrecy.

Skills should be used when necessary; it’s not wise to hide them forever.

…

After making them his private property, Duge taught them the “Supreme Pure Scripture” he had comprehended from the simulations, to verify the possibilities of the cultivation technique.

The Skill Experimentalists were specially trained by Qiyuan Star, being very familiar with meridians and acupoints, possessing excellent talent and comprehension.

They entered the state quickly.

In just a few hours, they had a precise answer: the “Supreme Pure Scripture” was a complete cultivation technique that could improve physical constitution, enhance spiritual power, and cause no harm to the body.

However, to reach the Integral Dan Realm within the simulation was overwhelmingly unlikely.

Or rather, even if it were indeed possible to cultivate an Integral Dan, it would take a vast amount of time.

The trade-off was not worth it.

Having verified the safety of the cultivation technique, Duge then dismissed everyone to begin his own cultivation.

For safety’s sake, he used an oversized bathtub, practicing in water, for his Sea God’s Power meant that water could aid in his recovery, nourish his Divine Soul, and assist in his cultivation.

After starting the cultivation, Duge felt the difference from the simulation.

Without the attribute boosts from keywords, the cultivation speed was terribly slow.

The consultants sent by Nan Youlong were right; at this rate of cultivation, to reach the Integral Dan Realm would be an eternity away.

For the first time, Duge experienced the difficulty of the natives’ cultivation in the simulation, but the technique wasn’t without its benefits. After starting his practice, Duge could clearly feel the improvement in his physical condition and the solidifying of his Divine Soul.

Compared to just relying on spiritual power to enhance his body, the speed had at least doubled.

However,

it was just that the experts hadn’t tested Duge’s cultivation speed. If they had, they would never have come to their earlier conclusion; in cultivating the same skill, Duge’s speed was at least thirty times that of those skillful Skill Experimentalists.

With Duge’s rate of cultivation, forming an Integral Dan could perhaps take just twenty to thirty years.

…

In the following time,

Duge spent most of it cultivating.

When tired from practicing, he would watch replay videos from the Alien Battlefield to acquaint himself with the customs of that other world.

His strength was gradually improving, and his Backstab skill was becoming faster, having caught up with the speed from his first simulation.

During this period,

Nan Youlong invited him to watch a simulation selection to see if he could identify any suitable prospects.

Duge gave it a glance and then gave up.

Due to national propaganda, most of the candidates in the simulation were following his combat pattern.

If by chance they randomly obtained a fitting keyword skill, they would soon achieve overwhelming victories, forcing others to resort back to the tactics of the Gou Path to survive.

Normally, as soon as one person grew stronger, the rest had no chance.

On the rare occasions when there was a match of equals, there wouldn’t be a mutually damaging fight; once one side consumed the other, their strength would swell even more, leaving even less opportunity for the others.

This was also related to the short duration of the simulation.

In just over two months, those who played it safe had a slim chance at survival, let alone development.

Those who distinguished themselves in the simulation owed a lot to luck.

…

Before he knew it, two months had passed.

Duge’s strength had further improved, and the additional simulation he initiated had ended.

Qiyuan Star had selected three hundred Alien Warriors, brought them together for a final pre-war rally to get acquainted, and to make last-minute adjustments.

Previously,

before Qiyuan Star’s Alien Warriors went to battle, this step did not exist.

Now that the rules of battle had changed and no one knew what would happen on the battlefield, the earlier rules of not arranging secret signals or pre-battle meetups were all discarded.

…

The simulation newly created for Duge also served as a sort of pre-war exercise.

Just like Duge, the staff group from Qiyuan Star was unable to extract effective tactics from the situation; they only saw chaos and crushing defeats.

After all, the environment of the simulation field is too different from that of the alien battlefield. With only two months’ time, they could only hold one simulation, which was insufficient for them to collect and study tactics.

In a way, this additional match in the alien battlefield was left up to fate.

No one knew what would happen on the battlefield.

The only confidence that the higher-ups of Qiyuan Star had was in Duge; he was the progenitor who created these tactics. And thus far, he had maintained an undefeated record.

At the pre-war mobilization meeting.

Duge and Rami, as warriors who had survived the previous battlefield, stood at the podium to inspire the new recruits as representatives.

Rami was in a bad mood.

In the last simulation, as a warrior from an alien battlefield, he had randomly received a “protruding” keyword and had no idea how to utilize it. Even after giving it his all, he couldn’t stand out and was eventually eliminated…

Compared to Duge, who had dominated the whole field with the “friendship” keyword and secured first place, Rami felt ashamed.

Just thinking about possibly getting another useless keyword on the alien battlefield, and facing lunatics like Duge, Rami’s spirits plummeted to rock bottom.

Unfortunately, he had no choice but to enter the alien battlefield.

After all, he was a warrior chosen through the “rotational examination system,” destined to fight in four battles there.

No.

Now it had become five battles.

The chances of survival were too slim.

The eliminated Rami tossed and turned, scrutinizing all of Duge’s video footage, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out how Duge always managed to secure first place in each round. Moreover, every round looked so smooth and effortless, as if he was unaffected by the keywords.

Sitting on the podium, looking at the excited examinees below, Rami’s only thought was to identify the real Duge amidst those madmen, cling to his coattails, and perhaps that would be his only chance to survive the alien battlefield.

Duge was unaware of Rami’s thoughts beside him; he gazed at the faces below, youthful yet fervent, his brow furrowed slightly.

He saw several familiar faces among them.

Yin Erchuan (Feng Zhong), Yu Xia (Wang San), Gao Ming, Xu Sheng (Feng Jiu), Wang Yunwei (Yao Tong), Wen Fei…

All the acquaintances he had encountered were there.

When Yin Erchuan and the others saw Duge, they excitedly waved and greeted him.

But Duge’s expression was grim.

He quickly understood why the higher-ups at Qiyuan Star had done this: cramming these people in here was probably to prevent him from sharing resources with people from other stars again, right?

Were they warning him?

These politicians were too scheming.

Nan Youlong, sitting next to Duge, saw through his thoughts and explained in a subdued voice, “Duge, they were among the first to follow you, and their performance in the simulation was not bad. The staff department thinks that you have better synergy, and on the alien battlefield, they might be able to support you. That’s why they were added.”

“Can we remove them?” Duge asked. “You said before that I could form my own team and send them to my estate.”

Although he claimed to have little connection with Gao Ming and others, upon seeing them in person, he realized that he might not be able to disregard their lives. However, commitments on the battlefield would inevitably restrict his actions. It would be best if they didn’t have to fight.

“No,” Nan Youlong said. “The roster is set, and we can’t find suitable replacements at this stage. Besides, they each carry their own honor. Eliminating them just before heading into battle is probably not what they would want either.

Duge, don’t always look on the bleak side. If you can cooperate with one or two of your own people on the alien battlefield, our chances of winning are higher. After all, the keywords are too random, and you can’t ensure that every keyword you get will suit you.”

“Hmm.”

Duge nodded, saying no more.

He could vividly sense several gazes upon him while talking with Nan Youlong, but his Rear Eye didn’t see anyone, proving that on this planet, many were stronger than him.

Which was normal.

After all.

Skills from the alien battlefield could possibly be brought back.

With two hundred years of time, Qiyuan Star had certainly found more techniques to enhance themselves; otherwise, Nan Youlong wouldn’t have demonstrated the art of Sound Transmission at Twenty-Four.

With over a billion people on Qiyuan Star participating in the alien battlefield for 200 years, luck couldn’t be exclusive to him alone.

Besides, just surviving the alien battlefield once doesn’t guarantee survival in subsequent battles!

He still didn’t have enough influence to sway the decisions of Qiyuan Star’s higher-ups.

…

The pre-war mobilization meeting was just a string of pompous platitudes.

Afterwards, the politicians of Qiyuan Star left one after another, handing over the conference to a group of warriors from the alien battlefield to interact with each other.

As soon as the meeting concluded.

Gao Ming and others immediately surrounded Duge, chattering about their admiration for him. They shared their experiences in the simulation, dreaming of continuing to make a name with Duge on the alien battlefield, sweeping all before them…

Duge responded with smiles, showing no signs of alienation from them.

Nan Youlong was right, after all; on the battlefield, it’s clearly more reliable to cooperate with one’s own people than with strangers.

Moreover.

The reason he distributed resources last time was that he had Doctor’s Benevolence, which could boost favorability. Who knows what keyword he will get this time!

Dividing his resources again would be foolish.

He was not the saint that Qiyuan Star’s higher-ups thought he was; every decision he made was a calculated move, always in his best interest.

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