Chapter 66: Who Cares About Storylines?

"Are the games here really that complicated?" Jong-Kook asked from his counter stool, scratching his cheek.

"Well, no. You can just play and enjoy them for entertainment," Donape replied casually as he stepped out from behind the counter and headed toward his special VR Capsule. "It’s just that, personally, I think it’s a total waste of such technology not to use it to its full potential—specifically, giving myself the power to transcend normal human limits."

With that dropped, Donape slipped inside his pod, leaving the seven remaining customers sitting at the counter and their respective tables at a complete loss for words.

Up until now, every single one of them had visited Origins VR Cafe purely for entertainment—with the exception of Zerke and Jong-Kook, who viewed Counter-Injustice: Global Retaliation as an incredible tactical simulator. For men like them, it offered the thrill of high-stakes modern combat without having to deploy to active war zones overseas.

More importantly, playing inside the VR capsules kept their lives intact in the real world. Even though the sensation of dying inside the game was utterly terrifying and almost identical to a real-life death experience, they always woke up inside the pod completely unharmed.

The food and beverages were undeniably extraordinary as well. Expensive, sure, but there were unique perks to consuming them—anyone who frequented the shop noticed a distinct improvement in their physical stamina and mental well-being over time.

But becoming something beyond human?

That kind of absurd goal had never once crossed their minds, since common sense dictated that fiction was inherently fake.

Even now, despite sitting inside a shop that defied physics by expanding on the inside while its exterior remained completely unchanged, a part of their minds still found the reality incredulous.

A quiet hush fell over the lounge for a moment.

Everyone sat in silence, processing Donape’s revelation and quietly contemplating what they truly wanted out of this place.

"Girls, what about you three?" Zerke asked, turning toward the table where the college students sat. "What are you planning to do?"

"Us? Probably continue as usual," Irene replied with a casual wave of her hand. "Chasing superhuman power and getting involved in violence really isn’t our thing. As the Shopkeeper said, we can enjoy the entertainment side without overcomplicating things. Maybe we’re just not that ambitious? Oh well."

With that settled, the three girls resumed their morning chatter, taking slow sips of their Obsidian Roast Coffee. With so many VR Capsules now available throughout the expanded lounge, there was no need to rush—they could take their time, relax, and work on their college assignments at their own pace.

Meanwhile, Ji-Woong and Kennedy exchanged determined glances before heading toward the pods to boot up The Path of Heavenly Martial Arts, eager to test whether they, too, possessed the drive to reach that level of power.

Left without anyone to talk to, Zerke and Jong-Kook decided it was time to log back into Counter-Injustice: Global Retaliation.

This time, however, they had a clear objective: push for a higher synchronization rate so that their tactical awareness and marksmanship would carry directly over into the real world.

Inside The Path of Heavenly Martial Arts 2—

The dark, weightless void of the VR transition dissolved into a rush of cool mountain air, laden with the scent of pine and ancient stone.

When Donape opened his eyes, he was standing on a sweeping wooden balcony overlooking an endless sea of clouds, pierced only by the sharp, jagged peaks of the Heavenly Cloud Sect.

A crisp notification window expanded in his vision:

{Welcome to ’The Path of Heavenly Martial Arts — Season 2: Rising Waves of Centennial Tournament’}

Current Status: Second-Grade Disciple of the Outer Hall (Heavenly Cloud Sect)

Cultivation Realm: Bone Forging Realm (Peak Stage)

Synchronization Rate: 26.8%

Donape rolled his shoulders, feeling the subtle difference immediately. The physical sensation was crisper, denser, and far more reactive than in Season 1.

When he flexed his fingers, the Qi circulating within his Lower Dantian shifted smoothly through his meridians, flowing like pressurized water along a well-paved riverbed. This heightened control was reflected clearly, even with only 26.8% of the in-game experience currently forged into his real-world body.

’Not bad,’ Donape thought, taking a deep breath of the rich, ethereal aura surrounding the mountain peak. ’The energy density in Season 2 is at least double that of the starting region.’

In the real world, meditating to fill his tiny Dantian to capacity had taken two straight days. Beyond the fact that the real world lacked abundant natural energy, Donape hadn’t utilized a dedicated breathing technique yet.

Even here inside the game, he had intentionally avoided practicing the Heavenly Cloud Sect’s standard Heavenly Breathing Method.

Cultivating a Breathing Technique was the absolute lifeline of a martial artist, requiring extreme caution before commitment. Once chosen, it could never be changed midway—not unless one was willing to destroy their entire foundation, shattering their meridians and dissolving all accumulated Qi within their Dantian.

Switching meant starting over from absolute scratch.

In fact, this rule was far more absolute and unforgiving than the harmony between Qi and Mana.

While those two distinct internal energies might clash, a cultivator who mastered absolute control could still harbor both Qi in the Dantian and Mana in the Heart simultaneously. But holding a dual breathing method? That was fundamentally impossible.

Even with a rare or specialized physique, dual cultivation of breathing methods remained out of reach. Not even grandmasters at the Ascension Realm, Half-Immortals, or legendary Heavenly Monarchs in the True Immortal Realm had ever found a way to implement dual breathing techniques within a single body.

The only known exception to this absolute law was possessors of the mythic God-tier Heavenly Martial Physique.

A legendary physique said to be the direct incarnation of a deity—capable of looking down on all immortals with a single glance. It was an extraordinary gift from the heavens that far surpassed any common high-tier body, leaving renowned structures like the Yin Meridian Cold Physique or the Sun Blazing Physique looking like mere candles before the sun.

Sadly, neither Donape nor his avatar possessed such a legendary physique. Because of that, choosing a breathing method wasn’t something he could afford to handle carelessly.

The main story objective for Season 2 was straightforward: rise to the rank of First-Grade Disciple in order to qualify for the preliminaries of the Centennial Tournament—essentially the regional qualifiers before the grand, world-scale martial arts exchange.

In this region, the Heavenly Cloud Sect anchored the Southern Territory alongside rival heavyweights: the Southern Ridge Sect, Mount Hua Sect, Wudang Sect, and Emei Sect.

To Donape, however, none of that scripted narrative mattered.

Even though the game was titled The Path of Heavenly Martial Arts, he knew high-level VR titles offered immense sandbox freedom—vastly different from the linear constraints of old-school consoles or PC games. While the Heavenly Cloud Sect’s techniques were undeniably powerful, they simply didn’t catch his fancy. That was the sole reason he had refused to practice their Heavenly Breathing Method in Season 1.

The real question now was simple: how exactly was he supposed to pull off a sect defection?

Donape couldn’t care less about remaining loyal to the Heavenly Cloud Sect for the sake of story progression.

Before he could take a single step toward the Outer Hall pavilion, a deep bell echoed across the mountain peaks, its resonant chime signaling the morning martial assembly.

A sharp grin tugged at the corner of Donape’s lips as he turned toward the courtyard.

"Time to see if this morning assembly holds a solution to my dilemma—or if I’ll have to break a few rules to find one."

Stepping onto the vast white-marble training square of the Outer Hall, Donape blended casually into the sea of white-and-blue uniform robes. Hundreds of Second-Grade and Third-Grade disciples were already lined up in rigid formations, their breathing synchronized as they executed basic fist routines under the stern eyes of senior instructors.

Donape took his place toward the rear of the second-grade formation, keeping his posture loose while activating his expanded system UI.

"Hey, Alexander. Long time no see!"

Donape turned his head to see a strikingly beautiful girl smiling brightly up at him, her hands tucked behind her back with cheeks flushed light red.

A wry smile tugged at the corner of Donape’s lips.

Because he had lazily stuck with his real-world name during character creation, his registered identity in this traditional Murim setting was Alexander Donape. A ridiculously out-of-place name for a cultivator, he thought to himself.

Even more exasperating, however, were the antics of the girl standing beside him. She was none other than his avatar’s childhood friend: Cheon So-So, the granddaughter of Elder Cheon Di-Ma of the Heavenly Cloud Sect.

This girl acts so sweet, completely hiding the brute strength she actually packs...

"Did you hear?" So-So asked, leaning in closer to grab his attention. "The sect is hosting disciple promotion trials real soon because of the regional tournament coming up!"

Treating NPCs like deep long-term commitments wasn’t really Donape’s style, so he maintained his usual distant, casual demeanor.

"Makes sense. It’s about time to rank up to First-Grade Disciple, isn’t it?" Donape paused, eyeing her thoughtfully before asking, "By the way... is there any official way for a disciple here to visit another sect and learn their martial arts?"

He knew high-end VR NPCs weren’t rigid, scripted robots like old-school computer games, so he didn’t hesitate to throw out a completely off-script question.

"Huh?" So-So blinked, surprised, before tapping her chin. "I think there’s something like an inter-sect martial exchange? But I don’t really know the full details. Wait... which sect are you planning to go to, Alexander?"

Donape offered her a faint, knowing smirk.

"Secret."