Several days passed...
And for once...
Things became quiet.
There were no cultivation tournaments.
No underground races.
No mysterious inheritances appearing in the mountains.
No sudden battles shaking buildings.
No dimensional portals ripping open in the middle of nowhere.
Life...
Returned to something resembling normal.
At least...
As normal as life could possibly be around Shen Tian.
The city continued moving.
Students attended school.
Businesses opened every morning.
Traffic filled the streets.
People went to work.
And across the internet...
Something entirely different was beginning.
Something that had nothing to do with cultivation.
Nothing to do with ancient treasures.
Nothing to do with hidden masters.
At least...
Not in the real world.
Because today...
The most anticipated game in human history was finally launching.
- ETERNAL REALM -
A Full-Dive Virtual Reality MMORPG.
For nearly five years...
The game had been surrounded by mystery.
Its developers had released only carefully selected pieces of information.
An enormous fantasy world.
Hundreds of kingdoms.
Thousands of cities.
Countless villages.
Dungeons.
Raids.
World bosses.
Hidden classes.
Crafting professions.
Player-run businesses.
Guild territories.
Wars involving tens of thousands of players.
A dynamic economy.
NPCs powered by an advanced artificial intelligence system capable of remembering individual players.
Even quests supposedly changed depending on how players interacted with the world.
But none of that was what truly captured everyone’s attention.
It was the scale.
According to the developers...
The playable world was larger than Earth.
Not artificially stretched through empty terrain.
Actually larger.
Entire continents existed that players might not discover for years.
Some regions supposedly couldn’t even be reached at launch.
Players could become warriors.
Mages.
Archers.
Priests.
Assassins.
Merchants.
Blacksmiths.
Alchemists.
Farmers.
Sailors.
Mercenaries.
Guild leaders.
Nobles.
Perhaps even kings.
And unlike traditional VR games...
- Eternal Realm - used the newest generation of full-dive technology.
Players didn’t control characters using controllers.
They became their characters.
Sight.
Sound.
Touch.
Movement.
Balance.
Everything was transmitted directly through the neural interface.
A player could walk through a medieval city...
And genuinely feel as though they were there.
Naturally...
The world went insane.
Preorders broke records.
Gaming companies reorganized entire esports divisions around it.
Professional organizations purchased thousands of capsules.
Sponsors signed contracts before the servers had even launched.
Celebrities announced they would play.
Governments began discussing taxation of virtual assets.
Investment firms purchased enormous quantities of the game’s official currency.
Major corporations established dedicated - Eternal Realm - divisions.
Universities announced studies into its economic and social impact.
And on launch morning...
More than Two billion players were waiting.
Among them...
Was a man whose career had collapsed less than twenty-four hours earlier.
Inside the headquarters of - Titan Esports -
The atmosphere was uncomfortable.
A young man sat alone at the end of a long conference table.
His name was...
Jiang Feng.
Twenty-two years old.
Former professional player.
Former team captain.
Former world champion.
And as of twelve minutes ago...
Former member of Titan Esports.
Jiang Feng stared at the contract lying in front of him.
Across the table...
The team’s general manager adjusted his tie.
"Jiang Feng... I hope you understand."
Jiang Feng didn’t respond.
The manager sighed.
"This isn’t personal."
That finally earned a reaction.
Jiang Feng slowly looked up.
His dark eyes were calm.
Too calm.
"You’re terminating my contract the day before Eternal Realm launches."
The manager shifted slightly.
"...Yes."
"And you’re replacing me with Chen Hao."
Silence.
That silence was enough.
Jiang Feng leaned back.
Chen Hao.
Titan’s newest star.
Nineteen years old.
Fast.
Talented.
Popular.
More importantly...
Marketable.
His livestream numbers were enormous.
His social media following was growing.
Sponsors loved him.
And unlike Jiang Feng...
Chen Hao didn’t question management.
The manager folded his hands.
"The industry is changing."
Jiang Feng smiled faintly.
"So I’ve been told."
"Your performance over the last season declined."
"My wrist was injured."
"We know."
"I played through it because you asked me to."
The manager’s expression stiffened.
Jiang Feng continued.
"I was told surgery could wait until after playoffs."
"I was told the team needed me."
"I was told we’d discuss contract renewal afterward."
The manager looked away.
Jiang Feng laughed quietly.
There was no humor in it.
"So this is the discussion."
"Jiang..."
"It’s fine."
Jiang Feng stood.
The manager blinked.
Jiang Feng picked up the termination agreement.
He read the final page one more time.
Then signed.
The pen touched the table.
Click.
The manager looked surprised.
"You’re not going to negotiate?"
"What would be the point?"
"We could discuss a streaming contract."
Jiang Feng stared at him.
"A streaming contract?"
"You still have name recognition."
Jiang Feng laughed.
This time...
Genuinely.
"You’re kicking me off the competitive roster... And offering me a job reacting to the new captain?"
The manager became embarrassed.
"When you say it like that..."
"How else should I say it?"
Silence.
Jiang Feng picked up his jacket.
He walked toward the door.
The manager called after him.
"Jiang Feng."
He stopped.
"I really am sorry."
Jiang Feng didn’t turn around.
"Don’t be."
The manager looked confused.
Jiang Feng opened the door.
"You’ll regret it more than I will."
Then...
He left.
The hallway outside the conference room was filled with memories.
Team photographs covered the walls.
Tournament trophies rested inside glass displays.
Championship jerseys hung beneath spotlights.
Jiang Feng walked slowly.
Then stopped.
One photograph showed Titan Esports three years earlier.
Five players stood onstage.
Confetti surrounded them.
At the center...
An eighteen-year-old Jiang Feng held the championship trophy above his head.
His teammates screamed around him.
He remembered that night.
He remembered thinking...
’This is only the beginning.’
He had believed Titan would become his home.
He had believed those people were his brothers.
He had believed the organization would stand behind him as long as he gave everything to the team.
He had been young.
Jiang Feng stared at the photograph for several seconds.
Then continued walking.
Near the elevators...
Someone waited.
Chen Hao.
The player replacing him.
Their eyes met.
Chen Hao smiled awkwardly.
(Author’s Note: IMPORTANT!)
SEND POWESTONES!!!
ALL SUPER GIFTS (Magic Castle, Space Ship, Golden Gachapon) = MORE ChapterS!

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