I Can Only Cultivate In A Game
Chapter 211 - 211: Day One Comes To An End

The rocks below were uneven, cracked from ancient heat, and small pockets of fire burst from the ground like traps.

One misstep, and the whole structure of your balance went into a tango with gravity.

"Why do my legs feel like they're doing yoga in hell?" Victor growled, wobbling dangerously before correcting his core.

Some of the students were faring better—especially those who had put more points into agility. But even the best looked nervous as they neared the summit and finally saw a single black line stretching between death and destination.

The rope swayed gently in the high-altitude wind.

Below it was a flaming river, roaring with blistering heat that rose in pulsing waves.

Victor narrowed his eyes. "Oh, that's great. Just the perfect motivational setting."

Reed had already made it to the start of the rope, balancing like a tightrope walker who'd done this since birth. He waved. "Come on, slowpoke!"

"I hope a fire vulture picks you up and uses you as a chew toy!" Victor shouted, half-stumbling his way to the top.

The moment his foot reached the start of the rope, a loud screech echoed above.

> SKREEEEEE!!

Everyone froze.

Dozens of skyborne beasts swooped down from the upper layers of the valley airspace.

Some were feathered with flame, others with translucent wings and venom-dripping beaks. They were magical beasts ranging from level 3 to 7.

"Here comes the fun part," Victor muttered while drawing his sword with careful balance. "Let's try not to die."

Victor placed his first step onto the rope.

It quivered and his bamboo stilts bent slightly under the strain.

He focused hard while channeling qi to steady himself with occasional circulation of wind.

> "Breathe. Step. Shift weight. Don't wobble."

He inched forward with his gaze locked dead ahead.

The heat rose in waves. Sweat rolled down his back. All around, students were trying to inch their way across as screeches echoed again.

SLAASH!

A beast dove toward one of the students to the far left.

The student swung his sword too hard and successfully hit the beast but los his own balance.

He tumbled and fell off the rope.

Just before he hit the river of fire, a flash of blue light whisked him away.

Disqualified.

Victor winced. "One down."

He kept taking very slow steps with his sword outstretched.

The wind blew harder the farther he moved.

Suddenly—

SHRIEEEE!!

A Flame-Tipped Magpie, a Level 4 magical bird, shot toward him with claws glowing orange.

Victor paused movement and waited.

Just as it closed in, he twisted slightly and sliced upward.

CLANG!

His sword sliced its left wing off, causing the creature to spiral off-course as blood drizzled from it while the beast screehed in agony.

It slammed into the side of the cliff and slid downward.

Victor resumed movement.

"Just fifty more feet," he muttered.

Then, he spotted a bigger and meaner looking Level 6 beast incoming with crystal talons.

Victor's jaw clenched.

But before it could get close—

"AIIIIIE-YAAHHHH!!"

Reed somersaulted mid-rope and smacked the beast with the flat of his blade. It screeched and tumbled.

"Did you just scream like a kung fu movie extra?" Victor gasped.

Reed winked. "Aesthetic flair."

Minutes passed like hours.

More students fell.

Some fell to the flame and got teleported which meant disqualification.

Some had their bamboo stilts crack mid-walk.

Victor and Reed were among the few still navigating the treacherous course. Each step on the bamboo slits required balance, timing, and the constant threat of being knocked off by the sharp-winged beasts diving from above made it even more harrowing.

"We're almost there," Reed grunted while swinging his sword in a clean arc and cleaving through a blue-feathered beast with glowing red eyes.

Victor nodded ahead. "Just ten more meters. Don't let up."

The crowd roared from the distant platforms where spectators watched through holographic projections.

Cheers, gasps, and claps echoed from every direction.

Suddenly, the sky dimmed for a heartbeat.

A massive shadow loomed overhead.

*SCREEEEE—!!*

A blinding blur descended from the sky at impossible speed. The sound barrier cracked as a massive Level 10 magical beast appeared.

It had bat-like wings, taloned claws, and a crown of lightning etched horns.

It swooped toward the roped path.

Everyone barely had time to register it since no one had expected a level 10 flying magical beast to show up.

*Whoosh!*

Victor ducked instinctively.

The beast snatched Reed mid-step and missed Victor by inches.

The force of the grab ripped Reed from the rope bridge before he could react.

His sword slipped from his grasp and tumbled into the flaming river below.

"REED!" Victor yelled as the beast swept over his head while carrying Reed away.

The crowd screamed in panic.

Reed thrashed in the creature's grip while swinging his fists and activating a weak mana shield that fizzled under the pressure. "Damn it—!" he roared while struggling.

Due to not having a sword, he couldn't even attack the beast.

Victor swiftly turned around, planted one foot firmly on the rope, and gathered a massive influx of qi.

A swirling invisible essence flooded around him as his aura rose with intensity.

He arched his blade behind him and yelled—

"Shadow Crescent Strike!"

Upon swinging his blade forward, the crescent slash burst through thin air like a thunderclap.

The beast twisted mid-flight, evading it at the last possible moment with unnatural agility.

Reed screamed again as they ascended higher.

Victor's pupils narrowed. "I have to get closer..."

With a burst of qi underfoot, he leapt over ninety feet into the air, shocking even the high-ranking instructors watching from elevated booths.

His body turned into a black blur in the sky as his blade trailed across the air with a crescent of deep violet light.

The beast screeched and opened its mouth to unleash a spiraling green magical blast.

Victor narrowed his gaze in mid air.

He sliced through the magical projectile mid-air with a single swing, scattering it into harmless energy particles.

"YAHHH!!"

His body twisted as he shot towards the creature with undeterred speed and thrust his sword into the beast's left eye, burying it up to the hilt.

*CRREEEAAAAARRGH!!!*

The beast convulsed wildly while shaking mid-air in pain. It dropped altitude rapidly...

Victor refused to let go. He pulled himself up the blade, climbed onto the beast's head, and summoned another wave of qi.

"...Shadow Crescent Strike!"

His blade was coated in darkness as he swung his sword down with force.

CRACK—!!!

The blade tore through the creature's skull and decapitated it instantly.

The severed head spiraled downward with a fountain of blood gushing out while the body began to drop.

Reed was released from its grip and began falling.

Victor caught him with one arm.

He twisted mid-air, landed on the beast's decapitated body as a mid-air platform and activated his wind arts.

A translucent gust burst from his boots, propelling him in an upward arc.

"Hold on, Reed…"

With refined footwork and impeccable trajectory, Victor landed back on the rope bridge with Reed slung over his shoulder.

The crowd… lost their minds.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"HE SAVED HIM!"

"HOW THE HELL DID HE DO THAT?!"

Even the instructors stood to their feet.

Selene and Danny were on their feet, shouting.

"Attaboy!"

Victor gently lowered Reed onto the bamboo slit, who groaned with a motion sick look. "You good?"

"...I think I peed a little," Reed muttered.

Victor laughed breathlessly.

"Just hold on, we're finishing this."

And together, the two continued to the end of the course.

The horn finally sounded...

> [PHASE THREE COMPLETE]

Survivors: 51

...

...

The artificial sun had begun to dip beneath the mountainous horizon, casting golden-red hues across the sky like spilled fire.

After the chaos, near-deaths, and absurd balance trials of the day, the announcement that the competition would pause at its third phase for the evening was met with collective sighs of relief.

The valley gradually emptied as the crowd dispersed, buzzing with energy.

Conversations everywhere revolved around the trials—about who almost fell, who landed the cleanest strikes, and who still remained in the race for a legacy weapon.

One name kept popping up across groups: Victor Revenant.

Near one of the Academy's garden plazas, a large gathering had formed around him.

Victor stood in the middle of it like a reluctant celebrity with his bamboo footwear now off and hanging from his shoulder like some kind of war trophy.

"Bro! That slice you did on the flaming magpie? That was insane!" Danny was practically vibrating with energy.

Aria gave him a light punch on the arm. "You almost gave me a heart attack when you leapt to save that loud mouthed idiot."

"Almost gave yourself one too," Victor quipped while flashing a tired grin. "It looked like you were screaming louder than the beasts."

Aria scowled. "I was not."

"You were. My ears still hurt," Danny added with a snicker.

Suddenly, Selene launched herself at Victor without warning. "VIC!"

He instinctively caught her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him tightly, nearly knocking him off balance again.

"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered.

Victor was a little surprised at how tight she was holding on. "Hey, I'm not that fragile, y'know."

"I'm serious," Selene pulled back to glare at him. "If anything had happened to you... I would've killed everyone."

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