I Can Only Cultivate In A Game-Chapter 36: Dragon Breath

Victor turned and ran.

His replica followed immediately, matching his speed perfectly.

But Victor wasn't just running blindly.

As he fled, he pulled up his system menu mid-run, quickly opening his inventory.

His eyes locked onto one thing.

[ Dragon Breathing Art – 0% Mastery ]

He hadn't learnt it.

He had only just acquired it from his last treasure chest.

Which meant...

The replica had never seen it.

'If I'm right, it shouldn't be able to replicate something that was never there at the time of its creation...'

Victor gritted his teeth. "Alright, let's see if I can learn this on the go!"

The replica charged at him mid-run, aiming for his back.

Victor rolled across the ground, evading the lunge before trying to execute Dragon Breathing Art.

It failed.

"Shit!"

The replica closed in.

Victor kept running and dodging, all while forcing his body to adjust to the breathing technique.

He inhaled deeply and followed the fragmented instructions in his mind, trying to draw from his inner core like the scroll had explained.

He didn't have time to stop and train.

Didn't have time to figure things out.

He had to learn this technique on the go, or he was going to die.

Victor suddenly felt a surge of energy ignite inside his chest.

"Oh shit... I think I got something!"

---

[ System Notification ]

Dragon Breathing Art – 1% Mastery Unlocked.

-----

A burning sensation filled his throat, coiling like a slumbering beast awakening.

'Oh... Oh, this is gonna be good.'

---

The moment the replica leapt at him again—

Victor stopped running.

He turned, inhaled deeply—

Then, with a powerful exhale,

A stream of scorching flames erupted from his mouth.

The replica's eyes widened—the first time it had shown any reaction.

The replica jerked back with its arms flying up in defence as the fire engulfed its body instantly.

A loud whoosh filled the air, warping the space around them as the inferno raged.

Victor's eyes widened in amazement.

'Holy shit. I just breathed FIRE.'

But the fight wasn't over.

As the flames died down, Victor's stomach twisted.

The replica was still standing.

Its body was singed, but not destroyed.

It snapped its head up as its eyes gleamed with silent fury.

Then, it charged again.

Victor reacted instantly by leaping into the air using Phantom Mirage Step, evading the replica's strike from below.

His body flickered, creating afterimages as he twisted mid-air.

With another deep inhale, he angled downward—

And blasted another wave of fire toward the clone.

The flames coiled like a serpent and descended in a spiraling inferno.

The replica dodged left—then right—but Victor was faster.

With a sudden burst of Shifting Mirage Steps, he adjusted his position mid-air, predicting the clone's next move.

"You can't copy what you can't see coming!"

Another fire blast shot downward, engulfing the replica once more.

It let out an unnatural screech as cracks began spreading across its body.

Victor landed just as the flames dissipated, letting out heavy breaths. This fire breathing technique was expending his qi very quickly.

'Not yet. One more.'

The replica staggered as its body crumbled at the edges, but it was still alive.

Victor clenched his fists, took one final breath, and let the energy build within him.

The Dragon Breathing Art roared to life, coiling like fire in his lungs.

Then—he unleashed it.

His largest burst of flames yet erupted like a pillar of fire so intense that the air crackled around it.

The replica's body broke apart mid-scream, slowly disintegrating into nothingness, as the fire consumed every last piece of it.

A long silence followed.

Then—

---

[ System Notification ]

You have defeated your Reflection.

Rewards Earned:

→ +7,500 wisps of Qi

→ +1 Mid-Tier Spirit Stone

→ +3 Attribute Points

→ New Title: The One Who Faces Himself (Increases resistance to mind-altering techniques.)

---

Victor panted while dropping to one knee.

A slow, triumphant grin spread across his face.

"Holy shit. I actually won."

He checked his status.

His Foundation Establishment progress had increased slightly, and his mastery of Dragon Breathing Art had gone from 1% to 7%.

"Not bad... not bad at all."

He proceeded to sit on the ground in fatigue. He needed a moment to catch his breath.

...

...

Victor spent the next day avoiding death.

He encountered giant serpentine creatures that lunged from rocky ledges, swarms of venomous flying insects, and even territorial spirit beasts that prowled through the canyon, looking for their next meal.

By this point, his clothes were torn, his stamina was drained, and his entire body ached.

But—

He could see the exit.

Just ahead, beyond a narrowing passage, light shone through the canyon walls.

The end of the Dark Canyon.

Victor let out a deep breath.

"Almost there."

---

Victor logged out of Ascendant Realms and blinked at the glow of his bedroom ceiling which replaced the canyon he had been navigating just moments ago.

The first thing he noticed?

The time.

[ 3:07 AM ]

Victor groaned while rubbing his face. "Oh, come on... I played for that long?"

He had planned to log out earlier, but the thrill of progress had kept him hooked. Now, he only had about three hours of sleep before he had to get up for school.

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He sighed before tossing his VR helmet onto his desk and flopping onto his bed.

"Alright. Three hours. If I fall asleep right now, I should be fine."

Within minutes, his eyes shut, and he drifted off into much-needed sleep.

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(( Deep Beyond the City—The Molten Wastes ))

Far past the barrier's recent extension, where human civilization was still reclaiming land from the invaders, a desolate landscape stretched for miles— it was scorched, barren, and hostile.

The air here was filled with heat rising in shimmering waves from the molten-cracked ground. Patches of burning rock glowed an eerie orange-red, radiating a dry, suffocating warmth.

Tall blackened cliffs surrounded the area like the mouth of a beast, enclosing a massive mining site nestled at the base of the terrain.

This place had once belonged to a Drakenar tribe—a race that thrived in volcanic, fire-rich environments. Now, with the Mana Defense Forces having pushed them out, humans had moved in to mine the precious resources buried deep within the earth.

And at the heart of it all, a makeshift mining camp had been set up.

Rows of tents lined the ground, darkened by soot. Lanterns cast flickering blue light, illuminating the camp with an almost ghostly glow. Mining equipment and mana-powered drills were scattered around.

The workers—rough men hardened by labor—were all asleep, resting after another exhausting day of mining.

All except one.

A lone figure moved stealthily between the tents as the orange glow of a torch flickered in his hand.

His boots crunched against the hardened, magma-scorched earth as he approached the entrance to the mine.

He stopped.

He listened.

He Watched.

Something felt... off.

He lifted his torch, shining it deeper into the mineshaft.

The darkness within was impenetrable and the air seemed unnaturally still.

The mine had been quiet ever since they began working here, but tonight...

It felt different.

The man exhaled slowly while tightening his grip on the torch.

Then—

A sudden rustle from behind made him jump.