If many years from now, someone were to ask Jiang Ke’er about the secret to her strength,
“Just keep dying and dying, that’s how you get strong.”
That’s probably what Jiang Ke’er would say.
Of course, assuming she’s still alive at that time.
Bruised and battered, Jiang Ke’er lay face down on the ground, panting heavily as she stared up at the sparring dummy, her face full of unwillingness.
The dummy’s foot was pressed firmly on her neck, looking down at her from above, making it impossible for her to turn over.
Yet, rare as it was, the System Dummy already showed clear signs of fatigue—it looked no better off than Jiang Ke’er herself.
But at that moment, Jiang Ke’er suddenly exploded with energy and broke free!
Her body unleashed a power that completely contradicted her exhausted appearance!
“Haha! Didn’t expect that, did you?”
You thought I was out of strength? Actually, I was faking it all along!
Jiang Ke’er grabbed the dummy’s thigh and rolled, pinning it beneath her!
Then she threw a punch, striking lightning-fast toward the dummy’s temple!
“Thud—”
The dummy tilted its head to dodge, and the fist missed, smashing into the ground.
The dummy chuckled mockingly.
Jiang Ke’er felt a bad omen rising.
“Pft—”
Suddenly, a sharp pain burst through her abdomen as the dummy’s knee, like a cannon being fired, slammed hard into her stomach! Jiang Ke’er was blasted into the air!
“Whoosh—”
Accompanied by a roaring wind, she caught a fleeting glimpse of a shadow streaking past her before a thunderous blow came crashing down, driving her from the sky straight into the ground!
“Boom!”
Dust and debris scattered everywhere, and Jiang Ke’er logged another death count +1.
“Always remember to leave ninety percent of your strength in reserve unless absolutely necessary.”
The System Dummy said coldly before refreshing and vanishing.
Surprised? You thought I was out of strength? Actually, I was just faking~
And I still had ninety percent left~
I only used ten percent and blew you up~
“…”
Feeling wronged.
After respawning, Jiang Ke’er’s nose twitched and her eyes reddened.
She began to doubt her own intelligence—how else could she have fought so long without clearing this challenge? A normal person would have died over ten thousand times by now and should have passed!
This time, she had finally tricked the dummy out of its dagger and engaged in close-quarters combat to wear it down… but in the end, her bones felt like they were about to shatter, and she was still thoroughly crushed.
As a Four Symbols Phase cultivator, she couldn’t even defeat a Three Talents Realm Simulation Ability Dummy with Two Millionths Computing Power—how dumb was she? How utterly useless?
“Uh… maybe I should lower the difficulty,” the faint figure of the Protagonist System’s little girl appeared beside Jiang Ke’er, avoiding eye contact.
—Am I going too far?
—Maybe I should secretly switch the difficulty back to a normal Three Talents Realm Simulation Ability Dummy with Two Millionths Computing Power. The current Four Symbols Phase dummy with Five Millionths Computing Power seems a bit too much for the host…
—I’m not trying to trick the host! I just don’t want the host to fall into the Villain System’s path! It’s all to keep her here consuming value points constantly! It’s for the host’s own good!
—Exactly! I must be firm! Only by doing so can I compete with that ruthless ancient god woman!
—Difficulty can’t go down! Once the host passes this level, it must be doubled again! She must never leave the Star Cluster Cultivation Field.
The host belongs to me! Muahaha… mine, mine alone! That villainous woman shall never set foot in the ancient god’s domain!
“…What are you giggling about?” Jiang Ke’er pouted and glanced at the Protagonist System’s little girl with a look of grievance.
“Nothing.” The little girl vanished like smoke, leaving Jiang Ke’er alone in the Training Ground, still facing the nightmare she could never overcome.
Jiang Ke’er sat on the ground with disheveled hair, legs spread in an M shape, sniffling and doubting life.
“Again!” After a while, Jiang Ke’er clenched her teeth and shouted angrily.
The wind blew fiercely, tears rolling down her cheeks as she charged forward once more, the drops falling onto the grass like pear blossoms in the rain.
She challenged the System Dummy again with a mix of tears and determination.
She had long since lost count of how many times she had failed, crying and fighting all at once—she had grown used to it.
A flash of white light, respawn.
“Again!”
It was so miserable that the Protagonist System could no longer watch in silence.
Yet, what Jiang Ke’er didn’t notice was that somewhere in the sky above the Star Cluster Cultivation Field, a tiny crack had appeared without anyone realizing it.
Through that crack, an eye was quietly observing the scene. Once the owner made out the details, the corners of their mouth slowly curled upward.
—Behind the crack was the Villain System.
“Just a petty Star System and you want to fight me?” the Villain System chuckled and muttered,
“Sorry, host, but I’ve secretly multiplied your opponent’s strength several times again, changing it to a Five Elements Realm Simulation Ability Dummy with One Hundred Thousandths Computing Power was necessary…’
‘You are the last hope of the ancient god! Once this broken dummy breaks your spirit and leaves you unable to take care of yourself, you’ll come looking for me… Oh ho ho ho, you belong to me! I came first; no one else can take you away! Oh ho ho ho ho…”
Of course, Jiang Ke’er had no idea that the System Dummy she was facing had already been secretly boosted multiple times.
Each side had its own agenda, and in the end, Jiang Ke’er was the only one left in the dark, blindly facing a dummy whose realm had long since crushed her—still thinking she was fighting a lower-level Three Talents Realm dummy, falling into endless self-doubt.
Though in this high-pressure environment, Jiang Ke’er felt each death was a metamorphosis, and the dummy’s ever-changing tactics and novel fighting concepts benefited her greatly… but it was truly agonizing!
Tears streamed uncontrollably.
“Waaah, I’m too weak, I’m a complete failure, waahhhh—”
Jiang Ke’er wailed as she charged forward.
Unfortunately, after 240 cumulative hours of training that night, Jiang Ke’er still couldn’t defeat this “Three Talents Realm Simulation Ability Dummy with Two Millionths Computing Power.”
She left the System space carrying a heart full of negative energy.
During morning class, Yiqin Shifu was teaching her the Musical Art of the Xiao.
The more Yiqin Shifu listened, the more she felt something was off.
“What the heck!”
Hearing the tune Jiang Ke’er played, Yiqin Shifu was chilled to the bone: “It’s the same scale, yet what should have been a lyrical and bold melody sounds like a midnight horror!”
“Ha… haha…”
Jiang Ke’er gave a silly laugh, tilting her head, a faint white soul drifting from her mouth.
“Hey hey! Your spirit’s coming out!”
Yiqin Shifu hurriedly grabbed the Xiao and shoved the soul back in: “Are you alright? What happened?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine, Shifu,” Jiang Ke’er forced a tragic smile, “It’s just that I feel way too weak, like mud that can’t be propped up, no talent, and my intelligence is chicken-level… You still want to teach someone like me? You’re too kind.”
The disciples of Lingyin Valley collectively fell silent.
Weak?
If even the little junior sister thought she was weak, then perhaps the rest of them should voluntarily jump into the trash bin.
While they were still proud of scoring 85 points, the top students were disappointed for not getting 150 points… out of a maximum of 100.
Suddenly, the entire Lingyin Valley sank into despair.
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