**Chapter 417: Just Finished the Newbie Tutorial, Now Facing the Final Boss**
“Should I be able to leave now?”
Bai Feng already spotted the edge of the forest. Just like he guessed, the way out was to harness the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to manipulate this ‘virtual forest’ and open a path.
During this process, his understanding of spiritual energy had undoubtedly deepened quite a bit.
**Little Assistant:** Congratulations on passing the first trial! The second trial content is—defeat them!
Bai Feng raised his head and at the edge of the forest stood a bunch of blurry phantoms, each radiating a strong sense of pressure.
“Who are these people?”
**Little Assistant:** They are the Immortal’s Phantoms.
“…Wait a second, why are there Immortal’s Phantoms here?”
Is this trial really passable? By the way, two of these immortals kind of look familiar—like he’s seen them before. Could they be the spiritual consciousness or remnants absorbed by the system?
**Little Assistant:** Rest assured! The trial doesn’t require you to fight them; instead, it’s a special contest.
“Sounds pretty much the same to me,” Bai Feng muttered.
**Little Assistant:** Since that’s the case, here’s some good news! During the contest, even if you lose, they will pause to demonstrate, giving you time to think, so defeating them isn’t impossible!
“Thanks a lot!”
A smirk crept onto Bai Feng’s face. He could feel that this was going to be a tough battle, like he just finished the newbie tutorial and was now staring down the final boss.
He took a look at the contest details—basically, it was still about manipulating spiritual energy for competition, but it seemed a lot more complicated than just calling on it in the forest.
“Never mind, let’s get started.”
Bai Feng took a slow breath, lifted his head, and walked toward one of the phantoms.
……
Yun Yue Yao slowly opened her eyes and sighed lightly. She hadn’t reached the Void Refinement in her previous life, so arriving here felt like stepping into the unknown; her earlier memories were useless.
Now, while she sensed that she was on the brink of breaking through, she was still missing that last little push—like needing a sudden epiphany.
Stealing a glance at White Feng and Bai Yu Mo, who were still meditating, she cautiously moved a little closer to Bai Feng. She didn’t intend to disturb their practice; she just wanted to be near him. Maybe by watching a bit longer, the breakthrough opportunity would present itself.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Yun Yue Yao felt a jolt of clarity in her thoughts.
Could it be…
She tiptoed a tiny bit closer to Bai Feng, and just as she suspected, the closer she got, the clearer her mind became.
What’s going on?
After pondering for a few seconds, she recalled some tales she’d read about—apparently, some people during their enlightenment could affect their surroundings. There were even stories of immortals who, while in deep thought, influenced the people around them. Rumor had it that a hunter once stumbled upon an enlightening immortal, and when he returned after the encounter, he discovered decades had passed.
Could Bai Feng be experiencing something similar?
After a few moments of contemplation, Yun Yue Yao decided to meditate as well. Even though getting closer seemed beneficial, she worried about interrupting Bai Feng’s epiphany, so she just settled for a little buff from the periphery.
Just as she sat down, she remembered something and carefully moved to Bai Yu Mo’s side. “Wake up.”
A few seconds later, Bai Yu Mo opened her eyes, clearly realizing, like Yun Yue Yao, that she was oh-so-close to breaking through to the Void Refinement.
“What’s up?”
“Darling is having an epiphany! Let’s move over a bit for a training boost.”
She hadn’t meant to call Bai Yu Mo, but she had to admit Bai Yu Mo’s prowess surpassed hers. After Bai Yu Mo’s breakthrough, it would certainly help Bai Feng, so she held her nose and woke Bai Yu Mo to join the training buff.
“Huh? Training boost?”
Bai Yu Mo looked a bit confused. What on earth was Yun Yue Yao talking about?
But in the next second, she was dragged over to Bai Feng’s vicinity, and her expression subtly shifted, as if she finally remembered something.
“Won’t this disturb Bai Feng?” Bai Yu Mo hesitated to start her training, her worry palpable.
“Um, I’m not sure. The book said those nearby are influenced instead,” Yun Yue Yao scratched her chin. “Should we move back a bit?”
At that moment, Bai Feng, who was still recovering after being severely beaten, caught sight of them and sent them a message:
“Don’t worry. Just keep your distance, and you’ll be fine.”
Yun Yue Yao and Bai Yu Mo glanced in unison at the meditating Bai Feng—wasn’t he supposed to be in his epiphany? How could he still talk?
“Truly our darling, his enlightenment is anything but ordinary!” Yun Yue Yao couldn’t help but marvel.
This ability to observe the outside world during an epiphany, even converse with it? She had never seen or even heard of that!
However, neither Yun Yue Yao nor Bai Yu Mo delved deeper. They cautiously moved a step closer, saw that Bai Feng was unaffected, and inched closer until they were about a meter away from him before stopping.
“Let’s practice here for now,” Yun Yue Yao transmitted to Bai Yu Mo.
“Okay.”
Bai Yu Mo nodded, and the two of them crossed their legs and began their cultivation.
Meanwhile,
Bai Feng retracted his observant gaze, surprised that while going through the Void Refinement trial, he could also grant cultivation buffs to those around him.
**Little Assistant:** This is because your understanding of spiritual energy is continuously deepening. Consider it a state of epiphany. Moreover, your divine consciousness is remarkably strong, which unintentionally influences the surroundings during your insight. It’s similar to certain cultivators who affect their environment and others during their enlightenment. It’s even rumored that some immortals, just before becoming one, can cause those nearby to reach enlightenment as well—a classic case of “one attains the Dao, and even the chickens and dogs ascend.”
Bai Feng nodded thoughtfully and then turned his attention back to the Immortal Phantoms ahead.
Time to continue the contest with them.
……
“The winner of this contest is—Bai Chu Chu!”
The girl wearing a black eye mask sheathed her sword and bowed to the defeated opponent on the ground.
The elder on the stage couldn’t help but stroke his beard, envy all over his face. “The White Family is so fortunate! First, they have a genius sword cultivator like Bai Yu Mo, and now, with Bai Yu Mo’s sister back in cultivation, she’s also a swordsmanship genius!”
“Indeed! Plus, she possesses the Celestial Eye. But I heard that power is quite overwhelming; that’s why she usually covers her eyes,” another elder nodded in agreement.
“But why have we never heard of the Celestial Eye before? This isn’t a trivial matter!”
At that moment, another elder quickly interjected, “Shh! Don’t pry into such matters. I can only say that those in the know understand; for those who don’t, I won’t elaborate further. There’s a lot of depth to this.”
“You old fool, back to your riddles again!” One elder who was hoping for some gossip snapped back.
Unbeknownst to Chu Chu, she had no idea what the elders were discussing. After finishing her contest, she didn’t take a break and continued toward the Simulation Secret Realm. Even though she had already broken through to Yuan Ying, a speed that would make anyone gasp in admiration, she was dissatisfied—partly because she wanted revenge sooner and partly because she wanted to keep up with her sister and his pace.
