Don't try to cultivate immortality; mortals live longer than immortals.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

The instructor stood outside the dormitory building, with a huge holographic screen in front of him.

The sky was still pitch black. It was only a little past 5 a.m., the darkest time of day. The streetlights were off, and only the projection screen flickered with blue light. Although it was a virtual illusion, it was perfectly realistic. Even the details of every blade of grass and every tree were so realistic that it was hard to tell the difference between reality and illusion.

It's a 100% realistic simulation, truly living up to its reputation.

When high technology is combined with cultivation techniques and iterates several times, this technology has reached a state of perfection.

On the screen, the students had already split up and were moving about. Star-like dots marked the coordinates of each person, along with detailed explanations of their actions in real time. You could see almost every detail of each person's movements.

In the blue light, even the students' expressions and demeanor were clearly visible.

Just then, the sound of light footsteps reached the instructor's ears. He turned around and saw the smiling Fairy Yaoguang.

"What's the situation? How many people have been eliminated?"

Zheng Lei sighed: "We only deployed seven simulated Black Rock Centipedes just now, which are at most at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Yet those little guys lost nine of them in one go, not even counting the ones that were injured."

"And they all just stood there stupidly, without any dodging or fighting back, just like ordinary people who perished in the mouths of monsters."

As he continued, Zheng Lei sighed and rubbed his forehead. Every cultivator here was far stronger than the Black Rock Centipede, but in actual combat, especially when faced with sudden changes, their performance was utterly pathetic...

Who can I reason with?

Such a casualty rate, and the shortcomings in their response that they exposed, prove that they are a group of flowers in an ivory tower.

Unfortunately, the timeframe was extremely tight this time. The Immortal Alliance only gave them three days for training, which made Zheng Lei's expression very serious. In his opinion, three days of training was far from enough, and sending them to the Azure Sky Immortal Cultivation World like this was far too hasty.

Although the Immortal Alliance provided excellent logistical support for this mission, even exceeding expectations, and these students were indeed quite strong in terms of ability, their shortcomings were too obvious: a lack of experience, an inability to cope with unexpected events, and a lack of ruthlessness and courage.

This makes them seem to have no chance of winning or being competitive when facing cultivators who live in the classical era, are used to the survival of the fittest, and fight their way up from the bottom.

In short, Zheng Lei had some questions about this mission.

In the past, such special training would have lasted at least 10 days, and sometimes even longer, up to half a month was not uncommon.

In this process, students' naivety will be gradually worn away through realistic simulations and practical exercises, but this time it was obviously too rushed.

"Why is that?"

Fairy Yaoguang sighed: "You ask me? Who can I ask? Like you, I'm just a Golden Core cultivator, in charge of the descent mission. I don't know the specifics, but I've vaguely heard that something seems to have happened in the Azure Sky Cultivation World, which is why this mission seems so urgent..."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Lei turned around abruptly: "You mean they're not participating in an ordinary Crimson Trial this time? Doesn't that mean it will be even more dangerous? Sending such an untrained bunch of kids to their deaths is just sending them to their deaths, isn't it?"

"It's not a matter of suicide, but the danger is indeed much greater than before. The Immortal Alliance isn't acting cold-bloodedly, but rather because the time was too short and it was simply impossible to organize suitable manpower..."

Fairy Yaoguang sighed: "Besides, these are just rumors I've heard, and they may not necessarily be true."

"Can……"

"Enough. This mission was personally arranged and overseen by the three Divine Lords. If Fellow Daoist Zheng raises any further objections, it's as if he doesn't recognize his place."

Zheng Lei's argument came to an abrupt halt, his face turning extremely grim. After a moment, he sighed, "I was just momentarily agitated. Please don't take offense, Fairy."

Although he was still dissatisfied, this matter involved a Nascent Soul cultivator, so how could he, a mere Golden Core cultivator, question it?

If we continue this conversation, we're bound to run into serious trouble.

Putting aside everything else, if I need to apply for a loan next time due to insufficient cultivation resources, I'm afraid I'll be taken advantage of, and even if it's approved in the end, the interest rate will definitely be much higher.

A wise man knows when to yield; since further discussion was pointless, he had no choice but to stop interfering.

But she still felt a little reluctant: "After all, there are several hundred people. This time, the fairy has led the team down, so please do your best."

"Although these guys only have junior college degrees, there are quite a few promising talents among them. Given time, they might just grow into something great."

"Don't worry, I won't slack off."

Jiang Yaoguang's reply was also incredibly straightforward.

"Thank you, fairy."

Zheng Lei was overjoyed and bowed in greeting.

It must be said that this is a monk who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. As an instructor, he is very qualified and a good teacher!

"By the way, could you please pull up the live feed of those two little guys from yesterday?"

"it is good."

Upon hearing Fairy Yaoguang's instructions, Zheng Lei did not hesitate. To be honest, he was also curious that a mere two Qi Refining techniques could actually prompt the higher-ups to use the Knowledge Anchor Pod.

It's outrageous!

This is something that even the most gifted students at Shuiyun Daoyun Academy could not explain.

So what are their backgrounds?

I dare not inquire.

However, this does not prevent us from getting a glimpse of the whole picture through their performance.

Fairy Yaoguang's request was exactly what she wanted.

Zheng Lei reached out and gently tapped the air.

As it moved, the previously continuous panoramic view on the holographic screen froze instantly, and the light spots representing Duan Xuan and Zhou Ran were now clearly marked.

"Which of these two little ones does the fairy intend to look at first?"

"casual."

A glint flashed in Fairy Yaoguang's eyes, but her words were quite calm.

"Okay." Zheng Lei nodded and casually poked at the nearest point of light.

The next second, the panoramic view vanished like a tide, replaced by a point of light representing Duan Xuan that popped out from the center, occupying a full third of the screen area, and was as clear as if it were right next to him.

……

Meanwhile, Duan Xuan was cautiously advancing through the Gobi Desert.

Suddenly, Lingyun's voice, as melodious as a nightingale, echoed in my mind.

"Watch out for the rock wall on your left. There are virtual monsters hiding there. Also... the instructor's screen is locking onto your movement data. Don't use your full strength in a moment."

Duan Xuan nodded calmly, took a breath, and began to mobilize the magical power in his dantian.

"You don't need that much. Just keep the output of your spiritual power at around 20%. With your strength, host, dealing with that virtual monster will be a piece of cake. There's nothing to worry about."