Chapter 7. Watching movies makes your mind harder

Cold wind blew in the morning as Wang Kai ran through the streets of Mist City. Icy hair touched his skin and made him shudder but after running for a bit, it felt better. His body was getting used to it.

Being someone who was the prime example of being a lazy guy, Kai didn't like waking up in the morning. This was one of the things that both the predecessor in the body and he shared.

Strangely, today was a bit different.

He had woken up early in the morning and had started running. It wasn't because he had taken up a new year resolution to exercise more. It was because of the reward he had gotten from the system.

'I do feel lighter. Almost like I have lost a couple of pounds. My body feels stronger too.'

He finally understood why people in the world were so crazy about cultivation and magic. The feeling of becoming stronger was an addiction only a few can ignore.

Kai had originally been stuck at the first stage of his cultivation path. It has been three years since he began, but there was no progress. And he also wasn't serious about it.

As he was talentless and had no patience, he had given up on it.

Yesterday, when he had gotten his reward from the system, a new hope had emerged.

[You have been rewarded with experience points.]

[You have levelled up to 'Qi Condensation - Level 3'. You are close to your breakthrough.]

Qi Condensation was the first stage of cultivation and there were three levels in each stage. Until now, Kai was stuck at the first level, not moving up to the second.

Yesterday, when he had gotten experience points, they were converted into Qi and entered his body which made him level up instantly. He had directly passed the second level and was now on the third one.

It had taken no training or hours of meditation. Just being a good business owner.

"This is a cheat code."

Kai said as he took a leap in the air and landed on top of a boulder, nearly falling due to imbalance. Power was brimming in his body and he felt so refreshed.

When he closed his eyes, he could see that his inner core — The dantian — was coming up nicely and soon, he would be able to make a breakthrough.

'I need to complete more quests.'

If he could complete more quests, then he might even get techniques out of his system. Running on water or flying in the air was a dream for Kai since he had watched <Kung fu Hustle>.

"I wonder what would be the reactions of the natives if they watched that movie."

He wondered and chuckled as he looked at the second reward he had gotten and an additional quest to complete.

[You have acquired a copy of the movie <Annabelle>. You could find it in your inventory.]

It was a copy of <Annabelle> — The spinoff of <The Conjuring>. If Kai was being honest, he was a bit disappointed since he had expected something better.

Maybe a new genre.

He didn't want to be a theatre shop with only horror movies, but there was no other way.

'The next quest will be a bit hard to do.'

[Quest: You have opened up your shop but this is just the beginning. A theatre shop without a lot of customers feels hollow. The true essence of movies only comes when a lot of people are watching it at the same time. You would be given rewards after the completion of the quest.

Get 15 people to watch one of the movies at the same time.]

Kai had accepted the quest as soon as he had gotten it, but he wasn't sure on how he was going to finish it. After Tang Yan and Fang Qiyan, no customers came to his shop as it was still relatively unknown and the rumours of people losing their money was spreading.

He knew that he needed to do something and get new customers.

The starting days of the business were the hardest, but after a point, he would have a good stream of customers.

He thought and thought before an idea finally clicked his mind.

'It seems like I need to reveal the secret now.'

***

Fang Qiyan passed out after Tang Yan had dragged him away and he woke up in the middle of the night with screams as he saw the evil spirit in his nightmares.

Just like Tang Yan, he had become a victim of horror movies and wasn't able to sleep after that.

After recalling what had happened, he had felt a lot of anger, both towards Tang Yan and Kai. Though, his anger was on himself the most.

He prided himself to be a talented cultivator and he wasn't able to handle an illusion. He had even passed out like a pussy. All this brought great shame to him.

The next day, he had decided to find Tang Yan and take revenge, knowing that he had trapped him in a scheme. But when he reached the academy grounds, he was informed that their master was going to take a surprise test by sending all the students into the Resilience Chamber.

The academy grounds were very big and there were all sorts of things to help the students get better in their cultivation. One of these things was a 'Mental Resilience Chamber'.

It was designed to give pressure to the student's mind to make them accustomed to mind attacks. It wasn't easy to stay inside the chamber for long and even Fang Qiyan had only been able to make a record of 22 minutes before he passed out.

Tang Yan had a similar record with 21 minutes inside the chamber.

Standing outside the chamber, both of them looked at each other, dark circles cast on their faces. Some of the students whispered around them, wondering what they were doing that made both of them look sleep deprived.

Rumours were going to spread pretty fast.

"If not for this test, you would be dead on the ground." Fang Qiyan said, giving a glare.

"Oh really? Like you were yesterday." Tang Yan smirked, not scared of him.

"I was just trapped in your scheme. I would take my revenge on you."

"You can certainly try that. I doubt you can even spend 10 minutes inside the chamber."

Tang Yan said, taking a good look at his dishevelled appearance. Fang Qiyan also understood that he wasn't in his best condition, but he still shot back.

"Let's see who is going to pass out first in the chamber."

The doors to the chamber opened then and the students walked in, feeling nervous and hoping that they would be able to beat their previous records. Their master put a lot of importance on mental toughness, so doing well in this test was the best way to impress him.

Everyone took their seats as the door closed. A heavy pressure suddenly mounted on them as they closed their eyes, trying to endure.

They felt like someone was beating their heads with a stick, trying to break their skulls. Though, it was just an illusion and soon, the beating changed to objects of fear that everyone has.

It was like something was trying to enter their mind, giving them a very uncomfortable feeling.

In reality, this was just the job of a magical artifact which was just trying to project something similar to a mind attack of a mage.

Slowly, some of the students started to pass out. Others somehow endured with their backs drenched with sweat and head heavy.

But 10 minutes into the chamber, over half of the students have either walked out or passed out. It wasn't easy to endure for even the most elite of students.

15 minutes in, only a few students were left. One could count them on their fingers. Of them, one of the girls suddenly fell on the floor, holding her head, screaming.

Two assistants of their master quickly took her away before closing the door.

The chamber has started to show them illusions of death and more messed up things, increasing the intensity.

It was like a heavy pounding on their head and at the same time, they were seeing their worst fears projected in front of their eyes. It was like a torture to the remaining students who felt like the seconds have turned into hours.

By the 20th minute, only two people remained in the chambers.

Those two were Tang Yan and Fang Qiyan, the two top students.

Everyone expected them to do good, but soon, everyone realised that both of them have passed their record timings. They were now slowly going towards the 25 minute mark which was unprecedented.

"What's going on? How are the two of them still inside?"

"They have broken their own records and are heading towards the 30 minute mark."

"How can it be? Both of them looked so haggard these days."

"Hey, what's the top record for a second year student?"

"It's 46 minutes."

"Ah, my head is hurting."

Students outside whispered like that and waited and waited for the two of them to come out. But even after the 30 minute mark, both of them were still inside the chamber.

"Are they cheating? How are they able to endure the chamber?"

One of the students who had left at the 20 minute mark asked as he looked at the chamber, his expression complicated.

Inside the chamber, both Tang Yan and Fang Qiyan were barely able to endure the mental ailments that the chamber was giving them.

They hadn't even realised that they had passed the 30 minute mark which was way more than their previous records. Their heads felt like it would burst out and in front of their eyes, they were seeing scenes straight out of a nightmare.

It felt like they were very close to death, but something in their mind was keeping them sane, telling them that it was all an illusion.

Their bodies were already shaking. Still, they carried on as they bit their lips.

After all, no matter what, it wasn't as scary as the movie they had seen. Compared to the evil spirit which had gripped their hearts, this was still endurable.

Seconds turned into minutes like that as they sat.

"I can't take it anymore…"

Finally, one of them nearly fell over, holding his head. It was Tang Yan.

"Me too. It's unbearable."

Fang Qiyan soon followed suit, cursing something under his breath. Both of them dragged themselves out of the chamber with whatever strength was left in their body.

They hadn't realised that no one else was left in the chamber.

When they came out, their bodies collapsed and it took a few minutes before they regained some semblance of consciousness. Their heads still hurt a bit, but it was way better than before.

They opened their eyes and saw that everyone was looking at them.

"Why is everyone looking at us?" Tang Yan asked, feeling like something was not right.

"Did something happen?" Fang Qiyan also looked a bit concerned.

It was then that one of the assistants came forward and opened his mouth.

"Both of you managed to reach the 37 minute mark. Fang Qiyan, you nearly missed out on the 38 minute mark. The person on the third rank barely reached the 21 minute mark."

Hearing that, both their eyes widened.

37 minute mark!

They had never even reached the 25 minute mark! How could they make such a large jump suddenly?

Both of them looked at each other in confusion, not understanding how this had happened. Their cultivation level hasn't gone up either, so this was very strange.

Getting better at handling the Resilience chamber was common, but no one had ever made such a big jump before. It was simply unprecedented!

"Both of you haven't cheated right? Or used some kind of an artifact?"

The assistant asked, just in case. Though he knew that if they had cheated, the chamber would have thrown them out due to the detection enchantment on it.

Still, it made Tang Yan understand what had happened. He looked at Fang Qiyan who was still in confusion and muttered.

"The artifact at the shop. That TV and <The Conjuring>."

Hearing that, Fang Qiyan made a face of realisation.

They suddenly understood.

This was an effect of watching that movie!