Rioneed: VRMMORPG

Once Ibro's feet entered that cloud portal, he felt like a thunder hitting him. He didn't feel any pain though. He closed his eyes and opened them to find himself standing in the academy. 

The thing was that the academy had seen a lot of changes. The area he appeared at was the place where the contest was held. This place had become ruins now. 

When he appeared, he had caused some sensation. He came with thunder striking the grounds of the academy.

That drew the attention of everyone. Ibro's appearance was accompanied by the emergence of an exact copy to the cloud back in his manor. He felt his deep connection with this cloud. 

No one was allowed to pass through it except after His permission. That gave him a lot of confidence. The ones gathered in front of him were strange-looking old cultivators.

"You managed to escape safely my kid. Welcome back. What happened there? How did you manage to escape?"

Ibro looked at the grandmaster of the academy. He was his target. He said with a smile:

"Nothing, I just went to a higher world."

Ibro decided to take this approach. Although he didn't know a lot of stuff about this world, he knew some facts while he was talking with Nicole before. 

Cultivators here were trying their best to raise their cultivation bases so they could break the shackles of this world and soar to the higher worlds. 

This, of course, was no easy task and many failed in it including this academy dean. Any failed cultivator would end to death without exception. 

The only way out there for those old fogies was to succeed in their secluded cultivation and breakthrough… or die.

"Did you just say that you went to a higher world?"

That wasn't the interest of the dean, but it was everyone's here as well. Ibro looked at all this crowd while saying with wide smile:

"This is a long story; we should discuss it somewhere else."

Ibro wasn't that rogue cultivator who came to the academy with no cultivation base at all. He was someone who came back from a higher world. 

A higher world was everyone's dearest desire. It was their ticket to live. The dean understood the meaning of Ibro so he said pointing to that portal cloud:

"What about this cloud? Will, it remains here?"

Ibro nodded while replying:

"Yes. This portal cloud is a link between here and that higher world. it will remain permanent…"

Ibro didn't even finish his words while most of the cultivators here moved at once towards this cloud. Ibro didn't stop then though. 

He wanted to know what would happen if someone tried to sneak into this cloud. The result was satisfying though. Thick bands of thunder landed on every cultivator who touched this cloud. 

These snakes of thunder weren't enough to take their lives, but it caused no small injuries to them. Ibro stood in his place motionless watching those cultivators who got burned by thunder. 

Those who remained motionless like the academy dean weren't stupid. Ibro planned to leave this cloud here, so he must have a backhand in this cloud. 

Or else he wouldn't be this calm leaving this precious doorway to the higher world in the open like this. Ibro felt something entering his dantian. 

He closed his eyes for a moment to figure out what was going on. He discovered, to his surprise, that he got energy from this cloud. It seemed that these attacks weren't that simple. 

That cloud absorbed some of the cultivation base to whoever attacked it. That made Ibro regret not putting this cloud outside the walls of the academy. He wouldn't mind getting free energy like this. 

In a few seconds, no one dared to go near this cloud again. Some angry cultivators looked with burning eyes towards Ibro while accusing him:

"You damn brat! Do you dare to play these cheap tricks on us?"

Ibro didn't feel any worry at all as he said in confident tone:

"I don't play tricks with you. You all moved from your own and tried to sneak into my higher world."

"That higher world isn't yours!" another angry cultivator shouted pointing out his finger towards Ibro who just kept his calm while replying:

"I own this portal to the higher world, so technically speaking I own the higher world."

"Then we should kill you right here right now then we can all enter that world," a third angry cultivator expressed his thoughts. Many of the present nodded their heads in agreement while Ibro replied with the same smile:

"You can't because I have my portal which I can activate at any notice. You have seen what happens to anyone trying to attack the portal. This portal is linked with my soul, so If I die this portal will be lost forever."

"We can invite some mind-controlling freaks to control you then. You will have no way to run to by then and will be our puppets."

Ibro looked towards that huge building cultivator and replied shaking his head in regret:

"How unfortunate! I came here expecting you to be grateful for me giving a brand new future to all of you, but all you did was try to kill me. I will go back to the higher world and forget about you."

Ibro then grabbed a market soul in his hand as he faked his leaving. At once, the faces of all the cultivators around him changed color. If this was a normal cultivator, they would never have glanced at him. 

He was very weak, but he had something they all wanted. The dean tried to mediate between the two sides as he interfered after his long silence:

"Ibro, my kid, can you just hold on. People here don't hold any ill intentions to you. In fact, they came here replying to my call for help. They are here to save you."

Ibro knew the intention of the dean. He was playing on the same track with him here, so Ibro stopped in his movements as he asked seriously:

"Were they here to help?"

"Yes, my kid. We are all here to save you," one cultivator tried to help the dean in his effort. Cultivators here weren't stupid. 

They wanted to reach goals in any possible way. As violence was an option, diplomacy was one as well.