Xu Tao, finally, heard someone speaking for the first time.
It was a strange language he hadn't heard before, but after using his Divine Sense—a technique to trace another person's thoughts—he instantly grasped their meaning and vocabulary.
He glanced toward the people who were arguing, about three blocks away, and listened in on their conversation.
"Bastard! I was a newbie, alright?! How would I know anything about cultivation?!"
A smaller man shouted in anger, clearly offended by the other's heckling.
"Don't you read manuals? Don't you watch Yuubute tutorials?!" the other man, whose head was styled like a rooster's crown, cackled mockingly. "Then you're less than a noob—you're trash!"
"You…!"
The smaller man couldn't hold it in anymore and launched a punch… a flimsy punch that wouldn't even scare a butterfly.
'Poor posture, poor angle, poor speed, poor everything…' Xu Tao instantly evaluated, like a disappointed teacher about to scold a hopeless student.
But his surprise didn't end there.
"Ugh! You fucking…!" the rooster-head man grunted, not even bothering to dodge.
He just took the weak punch straight to the nose, causing it to bleed. In anger, he raised his leg and executed a front kick—a poorly executed one, at that.
Xu Tao grimaced, unable to keep watching such a pathetic exchange. Just observing it made him feel like his IQ was dropping.
To make matters worse, neither of the two even attempted to circulate the miniscule Qi in their bodies.
"Aren't they cultivators? What are they doing, fighting like babies stuck in the same crib?"
He shook his head, lamenting the tragic state of martial arts. If this was the future, and those two were what counted as "martial artists" now… then Xu Tao might just destroy this world out of secondhand shame.
Although he lost interest in the fight, he was still curious about one thing:
Internal Energy.
About 99% of the people he had passed by were non-cultivators. Not even a drop of Qi was present in their Dantian—heck, it wasn't even open in the first place. It was like no one had even conceived of opening their Dantian after birth.
So it was surprising to see someone who had internal energy—even more disappointing to see how they used it.
"No doubt, they're not cultivators. Not with those random baby punches."
But the question remained: how did they gain internal energy?
The answer seemed to lie in the building behind them.
Curious, Xu Tao walked over, crossing the distance in a single step. The two men still didn't notice him, too busy slapping each other like toddlers.
Xu Tao looked up at the large signboard above the door.
Happy Lucky VR Cabin Cafe
It was a weird name, with even weirder, unfamiliar words.
"What is VR?" Xu Tao asked himself. "Is this… how they gained Internal Energy?"
Using Long Sense to peer inside the building, he observed rows of strange glass coffins lined up in neat intervals. Hundreds of them, spread across three floors.
But only the third floor had people with Internal Energy. The other two floors were filled with regular civilians.
"They're truly cultivating… inside a glass coffin?"
Xu Tao wasn't sure if he should be horrified or impressed. But it was true—those on the third floor were genuinely cultivating. Their internal energy circulated properly, guided by various cultivation techniques, though messy and mixed.
But what shocked him the most wasn't that.
It was that, on the third floor—
"I can feel a trace of True Heavenly Qi…!"
True Heavenly Qi was rare. It couldn't even be compared to True Qi in terms of quality. Cultivators would literally scratch their throats for a chance to obtain even a hint of it.
"What a fortuitous encounter!" Xu Tao felt the heavens smiling on him.
Without delay, he burst through the café's front door, grinning as he made his way toward the stairs—or at least, he tried.
"Mr. Customer?! You can't go in without paying!"
A man standing behind the counter shouted at Xu Tao like he was scolding an ignorant hillbilly.
"Are you talking to me, you mannerless brat?" Xu Tao narrowed his eyes.
No one had dared disrespect him like this in 10,000 years.
He felt his rage surge… but quickly suppressed it. The opponent didn't even have a cultivation base. Just releasing a hint of his Qi made the man's face turn pale.
"S-Sorry, man… but store policies… I didn't make those…" the clerk stammered, trembling.
"…No, I should be sorry." Xu Tao nodded, though he didn't bow. "I was too blinded by the opportunity to gain True Heavenly Qi. I failed to recognize I don't own this establishment."
"So, how much do I owe you?"
Seeing Xu Tao's tone shift to something more polite, the clerk finally relaxed.
"Ah! It's 100 yuan per hour for the First Floor VR Cabins, 500 yuan for the Second Floor Advanced Cabins, and 2,000 yuan per hour for the Premium VR Pods on the Third Floor!"
He explained quickly, words flowing like a seasoned salesman.
"I recommend the Premium Pods! They've got full realism—you'll feel everything as if it's real!" He leaned forward, winking. "And since it's private, you can play those kinds of games without worry~!"
Xu Tao didn't understand half of what the man just said, but nodded anyway.
"Then I'll take the third-floor pods."
"Great!" the clerk grinned. "How long? I suggest five hours—you'll get 10% off! That's 9,000 yuan total!"
"Then that—"
"Thanks for the patronage~!" the clerk cheered. "Will you be paying by cash or card?"
Xu Tao paused, then shook his head.
"I don't have cash. I spent it all buying farewell gifts for my sect disciples."
"…?" The clerk's smile twitched slightly. He's not right in the head, he noted internally.
"Then by card? Debit or credit, both work!"
"I don't have that either…"
Xu Tao looked genuinely troubled. Then he remembered something.
He reached into his pouch and pulled out a golden Power Ring overflowing with Qi. A rare treasure by any standard.
"How about this as payment? Keep the change," Xu Tao said with a smile.
"…Huh?"
The clerk blinked, confused. Then, from under the counter, he pulled out a strange black device—a glowing mirror with a beeping sensor. He scanned the ring.
A few seconds passed.
"A-A 12-karat diamond ring with real gold?!" the man gasped, reading the display.
The result of the scanner in his hand returned VVS1, E-F Color, and an excellent cut that shines in every angle. Even without a GIA certification, or taking into considering the gold ring it comes with, it could easily fetch 20 Million Yuan!
That moment, his expression flipped into one of glee.
"Play as long as you want, sir customer~! Would you like food? Drinks? A massage? I give good ones!"
Xu Tao raised an eyebrow, confused by the man's sudden 180-degree shift.
"No need. Just teach me how to use this… Vee Arr Pod you speak of."
"Ah, of course! First time, huh? Please, follow me! I'll guide you through everything~!"
And with an overly enthusiastic employee leading the way, the confused but determined Godly Cultivator stepped into the elevator… ready to explore this mysterious new "VR world."