The viewers wanted me to slap the dragon statue right in the face. And the poll they created wasn't even close—95% of them voted for me to do it.
There was no way I was going to do it. Who in their right mind would slap a statue of a dragon that had just spoken to them in their mind? There was a high chance the creature would retaliate. Still, the thought of someone actually donating Spiritual Stones if I went through with it… well, I had to do it.
"Alright. I'll do it," I said, "but don't scam me, please."
I slowly walked toward the statue, each step echoing in the stone chamber. The dragon had been hearing me talking this whole time.
"Why are you talking to yourself like that? Did a crazy cultivator stumble on this inheritance? What are the odds…"
Crazy. That's what I was. When I got close enough, I did it. A quick, sharp slap right across the dragon's face.
When my hand touched the cold stone, a burning sensation spread through my palm. The slap had been a lot harder than I intended, but I figured I needed to put on a good show if I wanted them to donate.
The worst part was that the dragon actually felt the slap, but it couldn't do anything about it.
"Damn it, kid. Stop doing this, or I will…"
A pause.
"I'll kill you. Yes, that's what I'll do."
It was obviously a lie. Anyone could see that. The dragon was probably only here to pass on its bloodline. Whatever it could do, killing me wasn't one of those things.
A soul fragment like this could do a few things, but attacking someone was impossible. That might have been different if I were in some kind of trial for the bloodline, but I wasn't. The dragon's words were completely empty.
The viewers watched, and they weren't exactly impressed.
"I thought the statue would do something, I don't know..."
"Me too. At least bro did it."
"Bro is willing to do anything for cash. Respect."
I scanned the comments, but what I really wanted to see was the donation. And there it was.
1000 Spiritual Stones.
The notification appeared, floating right before my eyes. Dopamine. In the end, I hadn't been scammed. Maybe my viewers weren't so bad after all.
Since there was nothing more I could do with the dragon for now, I left the stone chamber and showed my viewers where I really was. The ravine was too high, and there was no way I could climb it with my current strength.
The more of this world the viewers saw, the more curious they became. It was getting to a level of detail that even advanced AI couldn't replicate. For them, the idea that I was actually in a cultivation world was starting to feel more real. A small chance, sure, but a chance nonetheless.
Even though they couldn't know for sure, it seemed like all of them wanted to see my journey continue.
"I have a store where I can buy stuff with the donations you guys give me. Should I check it out?" I asked.
The chat made fun of me.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"Just open it."
I opened the store for them to see. My current balance was right there: 1000 Spiritual Stones.
There were tons of things to buy. Cultivation techniques—everything from meditation to martial arts. Items, ranging from legendary-grade artifacts and pills to common ones.
Everything a cultivator needed to grow stronger was there. But despite the endless options, my funds were very limited.
With the money I had, I couldn't afford any meditation technique. Not that I wanted one at that moment. My talent was so bad it would probably take me years to gather enough Qi to make any real progress.
I decided to try asking for more donations.
"Could you guys donate again? I need it to get out of here or I'll die."
The viewers didn't like me begging.
"You can buy an item to leave this place. No need for more cash."
"Do you really think we'll make your life easy?"
"Check the items page again."
It didn't work. They wanted me to look at the items, so I did. There were a lot of things for sale. I filtered by price, from 1 to 1000 Spiritual Stones.
The only thing I could afford was a low-level pill that would temporarily boost my body's power, but it had a downside.
"Buy the pill, and climb with your bare hands."
"Do it."
I had no choice. The pill cost me 800 Spiritual Stones. Almost all of my money, gone. And it wouldn't even get me out of the ravine without me having to work my ass off for it…
[Low-Level Bodily Pill]
[Improve your body for 5 minutes, allowing you to do things a normal human cannot. Note: You'll feel weak afterward, needing a few days to recover]
A small dimensional portal appeared in front of me, and the pill fell out. It was all so… magical. For the first time, I was sure everything was real. I was actually in a cultivation world.
My viewers clearly felt the same way. I ate the pill without a second thought and then gazed up.
It was a long way up, and I didn't know if the pill's power would be enough to get me out.
A surge of power spread through my body. Lightness. I felt like a feather, my movements more agile than ever. I could even do a backflip—I did it, not sure why, but I did it.
Then, with no time to lose, I jumped and grabbed the rocks, starting to climb the ravine wall.
Even with no climbing experience, it wasn't difficult. With the pill, my body was capable of things far beyond a normal human's.
Not that I was strong. Far from it. A weak first-layer cultivator would probably still wreck me. But to climb this ravine? It was more than enough.
The timer on the pill was running low. The viewers were watching it all, commenting on everything.
"He only has 1 minute left. Will he make it?"
"Come on, bro, you got this! We want to see more of your adventures."
They were actually cheering for me, and obviously loving the suspense, especially the few times I almost fell.
There was one moment my hand slipped, and I was left dangling by a single arm. I honestly thought I was going to fall and die.
When I finally pulled myself over the top, feeling the sunlight hit my face for the first time in this world, I let out a sigh.
"I did it, chat!"
The first task in this new world—escaping the ravine—was complete. But the thought of returning to my clan was… daunting, to say the least.