Boundless Illusion Steps II

Bai Jingshen once again stood in the red ring. His Qi circulated slowly, as he prepared for the final run. After training his Boundless illusion Steps for a month, the young man was sure he would reach the first-step-stage this time. In order to achieve his goal, he had to be able to use his movement technique perfectly at will. If he managed to do this, he would certainly be able to clear the first level. Therefore, he perfectly concentrated, forgetting everything around him.

Tension was permeating the air, as a countdown sounded in the training grounds. As soon as it hit zero, Bai Jingshen began to sprint. He didn't use his movement technique right at the beginning, saving it for critical moments. Although the turrets fired in random intervals, Bai Jingshen was still used to the rhythm of this first level by now. Therefore, he was able to easily breeze through the earlier waves. Suddenly the experienced veteran's senses once again perceived the turrets behind him readying themselves for fire.

It was one of the disadvantages of his Boundless Illusion Steps that they gave very little advantage in actually dodging attacks. Therefore, the user had to be highly perceptive of their surroundings. In order to take advantage of the movement technique's strengths you often had to activate it before your opponent even attacked. This was especially true for ranged attacks. This weakness was something only cultivators well versed in the White Illusion Arts could counter effectively, as they had some of the strongest Sea Of Consciousness. On top of that a skilled usage of the Boundless Illusion Steps demanded very little Qi consumption, making it suitable to be paired with other movement arts.

Unfortunately, Bai Jingshen only had the Boundless Illusion Steps right now, so he had to activate them before those turrets even shot. For the former emperor however, this wasn't too difficult. His feet calmly fell into the perfect pattern, as his illusionary core spun and his Qi raced through his meridians. The turrets aiming at him quickly fired their shots, only for their bullets to hit other turrets, damaging them in the process. This was a something Bai Jingshen found out during this month. If those turrets hit each other, they took some damage, deliberately waiting a few seconds before their self-repairing kicked in.

Bai Jingshen conveniently used this tactic multiple times. He got further and further in this training, steadily closing in on the wall opposite him. The young man inwardly grew slightly anxious, not sure if he would achieve his breakthrough this way. By now he simply was too used to this corridor, with nothing being able to surprise him. However he knew those thoughts would only hinder his breakthrough more, so he quickly suppressed them. Bai Jingshen concentrated fully on the last few meters in front of him.

What Bai Jingshen didn't know however, was that the elite program of Thobar Bionics was actually quiet famous. The program and its training grounds were design by Elena's parents, who were both genius scholars. As soon as they arrived in the New World they took advantage of Elena's father's Sacred Fate Body, discovering multiple secret realms and gaining a pile of knowledge. They had multiple scriptures about how different races trained their talented youths and took the most suitable methods out of all of them. They naturally knew that a training which could easily be memorized wouldn't challenge young elites enough. Therefore, the real surprise awaited Bai Jingshen at the end.

The former emperor was only a short distance away from the wall signaling the finish line. He continuously used his Boundless Illusion Steps to confuse the turrets aiming at him. Since he still had a lot of strength left, he was already certain he could beat this level. However, where did this uneasy feeling come from then? Bai Jingshen maintained his alertness as he got closer and closer to the finishing line.

Suddenly the tension erupted. Bai Jingshen's instinct screamed danger as he used the Boundless Illusion Steps at full power. Any moment later and he would have been dealt a heavy blow. His quick reaction saved Bai Jingshen form the rocket that now raced past him. It crushed into the wall before him, weirdly shattering it to dust. The young man realized that this trial still went on. At the same time as he dodged the rocket just now, Bai Jingshen felt his bottleneck loosen, prompting him to continue towards the newly appearing glass corridor in front of him.

He only had one second to marvel at the scenery revealed beyond the glass, as the corridor suddenly broke into countless larger pieces. If he had more time he might have noticed that those pieces were all supported by thin metallic frames, but Bai Jingshen was to preoccupied by the sudden situation he found himself in. His brain went into overdrive and blood began to boil as he quickly found his way out. A few floors below him he noticed a metallic balcony.

Feeling bullets and rockets still closing in on his position, Bai Jingshen hurriedly jumped from the glass panel he stood on. He aimed to land on another one slightly below himself. The former emperor noticed that all those panels were falling slower than himself, so he continued to use those to break his fall, expertly jumping from one panel to another.

It only took a short time until Bai Jingshen finally felt elated. Using his White Illusion Arts perfectly to confuse the projectiles aiming at him had helped him to push his Boundless Illusion Steps to the first-step-stage at last. Freely using it in the air and on those panels, Bai Jingshen could casually watch as those shots aimed at him spread through the whole area.

With the danger of those rockets out of the way, the young man could fully concentrate on safely reaching the bottom. After a few minutes Bai Jingshen managed to land on the balcony below. As soon as Bai Jingshen's foot landed safely, a green light lit up before him. He watched in amazement as the falling panels stopped in midair before slowly flying back up, rearranging themselves into a glass corridor.

Bai Jingshen felt gratified as he stood on this balcony and looked down the mountain. He took in a deep breath as he admired the beautiful scenery before him. This side of the mountain wasn't observable from the city. Only this world's magnificent nature could be seen here.

The young man savored this moment in a great mood, unaware of all the Thobar Bionics employees admiring him from some lower balconies. They discussed in hushed whispers which young elite manage to beat the famous shattering glass. Since mostly lower-leveled cultivators had the leisure time to relax on the mountain side, no one clearly saw Bai Jingshen's appearance. They could only imagine a valiant young elite and hope to one day be in their place.

After a short while Bai Jingshen calmed down again. With a light smile still on his mouth he looked at his bracelet, asking his AI about the notification it just sent him. Listening to General Mao, the young man was pleasantly surprised. He just realized that clearing the 'Bullet Avoidance' training had granted him a prize of one hundred contribution points.

At the same time, he suddenly shot into the top 50 of a list called 'Rising Genius Ranking'. From the name alone this lists' purpose was obvious. It recorded the achievements of the young elites at the Qi Gathering Realm, granting additional rewards to the top geniuses. Bai Jingshen was familiar with this concept, which should motivate the young elites while also giving better nurturing to the top geniuses. However, the former emperor wasn't too interested in those standings, as he planned to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm in a few months at most.

Only the increase of his monthly points to 500 could slightly help him, as he had decided to train a few more martial arts before searching for a mission which would allow him to hunt some beasts again.

Although Bai Jingshen wasn't interested in the Rising Genius List, the same couldn't be said for the other young elites. In a lounge connecting multiple training grounds a group of young men and women were just looking at a big screen. All the available missions were displayed on it, as this group discussed which task to take on.

"No, I think we can handle hunting a high-grade beast. Brother Boiling Destruction has just reached the 7th stage. He could probably win alone. It is our luck that he takes us with him."

The man who just spoke turned his eyes towards a big, muscular man carrying a great sword on his back. The obviously flattering looks made this red-haired man stick out his chest in pride. Just as he wanted to reassure his friends of his strength, he noticed the eyes of one of them suddenly widening. He threw his friend a confused look, as a sudden exclamation reached his ear:

"Look! Something happened on the Rising genius Rankings. Someone took over the 46th place."

Boiling Destruction's body went stiff as he turned his head to the side in disbelieve. His teammate gulped as he said hesitantly:

"B… Brother… someone… kicked you out of the top 50!"