1402 System Update
Three days have passed since Cultivation Online closed its servers for a system update. Although three days may seem short at a glance, one should consider how many people are addicted to the game. If an alcoholic drinks every day for the past year, it would be an incredible ordeal if they were suddenly forced to stop for three whole days.
Moreover, Cultivation Online wasn't just a mere game for many Players. It was their job—their livelihood.
By selling the money or treasures they had acquired to paying players, many players are able to live a comfortable life. Of course, this would only be possible in a game as popular as Cultivation Online, where countless passionate and wealthy players exist.
In fact, most— if not all Legacy Families have their own gold farming operations, where hundreds or thousands of players solely focus on earning money, whether it be through hunting magical beasts or seeking treasures.
The financial influence wielded by Cultivation Online has outstripped numerous leading global enterprises, firmly embedding it in the world's economic fabric. It's no overstatement to claim that the global economy would teeter on the brink of collapse if Cultivation Online were to suddenly disappear out of thin air.
Many entities, including governmental bodies, closely monitor Cultivation Online due to its profound global impact. Yet, given its elusive nature and mysterious operations, nobody knows where to begin, much less control them.
Cultivation Online was owned and operated by a shell company operated by a fake identity. When people investigated this shell company, they couldn't find any information on it. No digital footprint, nothing. It was almost as if they were created and operated by a ghost.
During these three days, Yuan spent most of his time training with Liya from morning to night. Because Liya wanted to preserve as much strength as possible for her training with Yuan, she halted training with the others and made them self-
train at home instead. Of course, none of them had any complaints about their break.
"Cultivation Online should be returning sometime today, so I will end our training here," Yuan said to Liya sometime past noon.
"Oh, okay." Liya nonchalantly nodded.
Liya could tell that she'd improved drastically from their training. Now that she had someone who could face her at her strongest, she no longer needed to worry about holding back, allowing her talents to shine.
"Unfortunately, you couldn't defeat me even once. Next time, perhaps." Yuan smiled at her.
Liya clenched her fists at his words, but she had no comeback.
Once Yuan left and returned home, Liya approached the Lord and said, "I do not want to lose to him again! Can you train me?"
"Oh? You're asking for my help?" The Lord was surprised, as he'd offered to train her before but was rejected for some reason.
"Yes—but not now. We can do it after he deals with our current situation." Liya nodded.
The Lord smiled and agreed to her request, "Very well."
Upon returning home, Yuan immediately tried to enter Cultivation Online.
His consciousness drifted shortly after wearing the helmet, appearing in a pitch-black room with a countdown in the sky.
[0:09:12]
[0:09:11]
[0:09:10]
There were less than ten minutes before Cultivation Online opened its servers.
Yuan lounged on the invisible surface, eyeing the countdown and silently pondering about the upcoming system update.
A while later, Yuan felt the sudden emergence of another presence nearby, which shouldn't have been possible.
He promptly rose to his feet, fixing his gaze on the direction of the newfound presence. What he initially thought to be a figment of his imagination proved to be true, as he discerned the faint outline of a person in the distant horizon.
"Who are you?!" he shouted towards the enigmatic figure, who seemed to possess more than the usual two arms, with additional appendages extending from their back like wings.
"I don't know how much you remember, but I am here to warn you that the 'others' will soon emerge from their slumber. Once that happens, they will realize that I am the traitor and seal me away."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Yuan asked.
"I don't have much time left here since the system will activate again soon. Hurry up and recover your memories and kill them before your world is consumed. Don't disappoint me now."
The figure disappeared the next moment before Yuan could utter another word. At the same time, the countdown reached its last ten seconds.
"W-what the hell was that about? Who is the 'others'? And why would the world be consumed if I don't kill them?" Yuan pondered with a deep frown on his face as he tried to make sense of what just happened.
However, his thoughts were interrupted by Cultivation Online's notification.
<System Update has concluded. All Players may enter Cultivation Online again>
Yuan's figure vanished from the void and appeared where he last logged off from.
"Welcome back, Brother Yuan."
"Welcome back."
Xiao Hua and Lan Yingying's voice greeted him shortly after his return.
"I'm back…"
"Are you okay, Brother Yuan? You seem a little pale." Xiao Hua noticed his expression and asked.
"Yeah, I am fine." He nodded.
Meixiu and the others logged in shortly after, appearing beside Yuan.
"So, what's changed?" Chu Liuxiang asked out loud as she opened her character status.
"I don't see anything different," she muttered afterward.
"Are they waiting for more people to get online before they make an announcement?" Meixiu wondered out loud.
Yuan also checked his character status.
Name: Yuan
Cultivation: 9th level Spirit King
Legacy: Great One's Legacy
Bloodline: Immortal Monarch's Bloodline
Physique: Heaven Refining Physique, Golden Immortal Physique
Physical Strength: ???
Mental Strength: ???
Soul Strength:???
Physical Defense:???
Mental Defense:???
There were no apparent changes at first glance, and his stats remained unreadable. However, when he looked a little closer, he noticed a new passive skill that wasn't there before the update, and it even had an obnoxious name to it.
[Celestial Emperor's Curse]
[Grade: Celestial]
[Description: The effectiveness of all cultivation resources will be reduced by 99%.]
