Chapter 222: This Game Is Not Normal
“Five against one, all on me?”
Yi Ye Fu Yun stared in astonishment at the five tall bodyguards in front of him, then could not help looking toward his older sister at the side, feeling she had to be joking.
She had not even told him about such a rule. Did she really think he was a superhero?
He was very clear on his own limits. His current physical fitness was indeed much better than before, but compared with his sister, there was still a big gap.
If it were just five ordinary people, he believed he could handle it, but these bodyguards were true trained fighters. After many battles in High Martial Arts Descend, he knew very well these bodyguards had gone through real life-and-death struggles, completely different from ordinary people.
“First you train courage, then your fists. How many times have I told you that?” Ye Qinglu rolled her eyes at Yi Ye Fu Yun. “You are not afraid when facing those monsters. What are you afraid of now? Go all out. Just don’t beat them to death.”
In High Martial Arts Descend, when Yi Ye Fu Yun faced battles of thousands, he killed like a madman. Even against lord monsters over twenty meters tall, that could smash a high-rise with one claw, he would charge in with a roar.
And High Martial Arts Descend had a virtual degree of 100%. It was no different from real combat, aside from higher physical stats.
Now he was only facing five people and actually felt afraid. She truly did not understand how Yi Ye Fu Yun’s brain worked.
After hearing this, Yi Ye Fu Yun thought it over and found it made sense. He was not afraid of those monsters in High Martial Arts Descend, so why should he be afraid now of ordinary people whose physical fitness was not even at apprentice level?
Yi Ye Fu Yun pointed at the six bodyguards and said with great swagger, “All of you, come at me together!”
As soon as he spoke, the six serious-faced bodyguards in the room burst into smiles. Yi Ye Fu Yun was clearly a pampered young master who had never been tempered. Let alone all five of them; he probably could not handle any single one of them. Yet now he dared to say they should all go at him together. It had been a long time since they had seen such an adorable young master.
But mindful of their status, the six bodyguards did not laugh out loud. They all looked toward the burly man sitting on the sofa, waiting for his response.
“Truly the student surpasses the master.” The burly man glanced at Ye Qinglu and said with a smile, “I remember back then you could only barely hold out ten seconds against these five. Are you sure your brother will be fine?”
Ye Qinglu had been arrogant back then, and he was long used to it. After all, her talent was truly high, and she had the capital to be arrogant.
He had not expected her brother to be even more arrogant: frightened one moment, then challenging six people the next. He wondered how Ye Qinglu had brainwashed him.
“Six it is.” Ye Qinglu unexpectedly agreed with Yi Ye Fu Yun’s idea.
“Since you say so, the six of them will go together. You should know the gap between the strength of all six and just five. If your brother gets beaten into tears, I will not take the blame,” the burly man said with a laugh, shaking his head slightly at the consenting Ye Qinglu, feeling a bit sorry for Yi Ye Fu Yun and suspecting she had never told him these six bodyguards had been personally trained by him.
The six coordinated as if they were one. With their cooperation, they could easily fight off a dozen or twenty people.
Even Ye Qinglu herself would be beaten senseless if she faced these six bodyguards now.
As he spoke, the burly man snapped his fingers, and a beautiful woman of about twenty-three or twenty-four walked in from outside.
“Arrange a sparring room,” the burly man said casually.
“Yes.” Hearing this, the woman immediately went to make arrangements.
Soon, the receptionist arranged a very spacious sparring room. It covered more than two hundred square meters, enough for over a dozen people to spar without feeling crowded.
“Xiao Ye, are you really sure this is fine?” The burly man looked at both sides preparing in the center of the room and could not help advising, “My six bodyguards never hold back in battle. You know this very well. If your brother ends up in the hospital for a few months, don’t blame me then.”
“Relax, I know what I am doing.” Ye Qinglu nodded, then added seriously, “Recently I’ve been playing a game. I want to borrow your Thousand Sword Diagram to study it.”
“Borrow my Thousand Sword Diagram? You are interested in formations now?” The burly man asked in surprise.
Having been with the Azure Travelers for many years, he knew Ye Qinglu almost always focused only on improving her personal level and had no interest in the team’s overall strength.
But he could understand. She was young and had not yet seen her own limits, while he felt he had already reached his, and to break through he could only work from the team angle. That was why he studied formations that allowed many to cooperate perfectly and unleash combat power far beyond themselves.
The Thousand Sword Diagram was his masterpiece. Once the sword formation was activated, it could easily contend with enemies possessing several times, even dozens of times, their power.
This was also one of the trump cards he planned to use in Immortal Road Eternal.
But although the Thousand Sword Diagram combined many ancient formations and was derived through trillions of deductions by a super AI, it still had a huge flaw.
A formation of three to five swords was manageable. With long-term training, they could cooperate tacitly. But formations of more than ten, even more than a hundred swords were too hard to master, let alone the thousand-sword formation of the Thousand Sword Diagram.
“I do have some interest.” Ye Qinglu did not hide it and said slowly, “I’ve been studying the martial skills in that game recently, so I need some formation references. You are the one in our team best at formations, so naturally I thought of your Thousand Sword Diagram.”
“Alright, I’ll send it to you later. Even if you did not ask, I was going to suggest to the leader that everyone learn it.” The burly man did not mind at all. Instead, he asked curiously, “But I am curious. With Immortal Road Eternal’s public beta coming, you are not preparing for it and are absorbed in another game. Is that game really that good?”
Among the Azure Travelers, Ye Qinglu cared about Immortal Road Eternal the most. It was hard to imagine that with server launch imminent, instead of preparing, she was playing another game.
Especially since everyone in the Azure Travelers knew what Immortal Road Eternal truly meant: it was the road toward becoming a Cosmic Pioneer.
A doubled lifespan and eternal youth. It was something no one could refuse.
“Yeah, it’s very fun, and you should have heard of it.” Ye Qinglu nodded. “It’s High Martial Arts Descend, one of this year’s top ten hottest new games.”
“You mean that High Martial Arts Descend that claims 100% virtual degree in its promotion?” The burly man looked at her in surprise. “Why are you playing that? That 100% virtual degree is obviously hype. Even Immortal Road Eternal cannot reach that. How could High Martial Arts Descend possibly do it? If they had that tech, they’d already be number one in the world.”
“No, I don’t know if that game is actually 100% virtual degree.” Ye Qinglu shook her head and said seriously, “But I am sure its virtual degree is far above Immortal Road Eternal. And that game is not ordinary. I am even thinking of suggesting to the leader that we shift the team’s focus to High Martial Arts Descend.”
“Its virtual degree is above Immortal Road Eternal, and it’s not ordinary?” The burly man was slightly surprised. He had not expected her evaluation of High Martial Arts Descend to be so high. But he quickly advised, “I don’t know if High Martial Arts Descend is really better than Immortal Road Eternal, but I am certain that if you don’t play Immortal Road Eternal, your chances of becoming a Cosmic Pioneer will be very slim. You’d better not spend too much effort on High Martial Arts Descend.”
“Chances of becoming a Cosmic Pioneer will be slim if I don’t play Immortal Road Eternal? Why is that?” Ye Qinglu looked at the burly man in surprise. This was the first time she had heard this.
She had no reason to doubt his words. His identity was not ordinary. In the virtual game world he was the well-known swordsman Qian Ren E Gui and also one of the elders who founded the Azure Travelers.
Even now she did not know his real name or identity, only that his background was immense, and that bosses of underground black boxing rings everywhere treated him with great respect.
And those bosses of underground black boxing rings were the heads of large groups and enterprises in various regions, far more powerful than Spark Fitness Center.
“I can’t tell you specifics. You just need to know Immortal Road Eternal is a preliminary selection game for Cosmic Pioneers. If you don’t participate, it’s like not even entering the open auditions for Cosmic Pioneers,” Qian Ren E Gui explained. “So once Immortal Road Eternal launches, don’t waste time on High Martial Arts Descend. Of course, if you are not very interested in becoming a Cosmic Pioneer, you can keep playing High Martial Arts Descend.”
“An open audition for Cosmic Pioneers?” Hearing this, Ye Qinglu frowned slightly.
If that was true, she would have to give up High Martial Arts Descend and focus on Immortal Road Eternal, since her goal was to become a Cosmic Pioneer.
While she was troubled over this, Yi Ye Fu Yun began fighting the six bodyguards in the ring.
As Qian Ren E Gui had said, the six bodyguards surrounded Yi Ye Fu Yun from all sides, like one mind sharing thoughts. After one attacked, the other five would strike at Yi Ye Fu Yun’s blind spots while he blocked, each from different angles, leaving no way for two fists to block all blows.
Yet when the first bodyguard threw a punch, Yi Ye Fu Yun did not even think. He instinctively punched straight back.
Reverse Star Hand.
Although he could not multiply his strength by four in reality, it still increased his power far more than the basic Crushing Stone Fist.
Their fists collided.
Boom!
With a single boom, the first bodyguard to punch was blasted back six or seven steps. His fist was bloody, and his whole arm twisted and broken. He could not help but let out a scream.
At that moment, the other five bodyguards all stopped, staring at their comrade who had been sent flying, their eyes full of disbelief.
The six of them had roughly the same physical fitness. They had not reached the peak of human limits, but were not far off. Facing an opponent, forcing one of them back two steps with a punch would already be impressive.
Yet now, against a greenhouse flower like Yi Ye Fu Yun, their comrade had been sent flying, arm broken. What the hell was that?
Not only were the five bodyguards shocked, even Qian Ren E Gui watching on was left gaping.
These six were bodyguards he had carefully selected and trained for years. Each one was strong. Even for him, taking one down would take some effort.
But now, with just one punch, one of them had instantly lost all combat power.
That was not a fist, it was a cannonball.
“Xiao Ye, is your brother born with monstrous strength?” Qian Ren E Gui could not help asking Ye Qinglu.
To knock a two-meter-tall strongman flying with one punch, even he had only seen that in TV dramas. Seeing it in reality was incredible.
“His strength is average, probably similar to your bodyguards.” Ye Qinglu looked at the bodyguard who had been sent flying, her expression not surprised at all. “He just mastered a special power-exerting technique.”
After becoming martial artists, their neural reactions and five senses had greatly improved in reality. The bodyguards’ attacks were not fast to them at all, and they could evade and counter with ease. Even surrounded by six, they could slip out at the first moment, preventing encirclement, then use their sharp reactions to take them down one by one.
Yi Ye Fu Yun, however, showed no mercy and opened directly with Reverse Star Hand. Fortunately he hit only the fist. If it had landed on the body, that man would be dead.
Of course this kind of attack came with a price, since his physical fitness could not keep up with the outburst of Reverse Star Hand. At the very least, Yi Ye Fu Yun’s whole body would ache for days.
“Just mastering a power-exerting technique can create such strength?” Qian Ren E Gui looked at the bodyguard on the ground, feeling she was fooling him. But he also knew she never lied and had no need to lie about such a thing.
“Has he passed?” Ye Qinglu asked.
“Can I say no?” Qian Ren E Gui smiled bitterly. “He knocked a man flying with one punch. If that kind of strength is still not enough, who in the team could possibly qualify?”
“This is not some innate power, just a technique.” Seeing that Qian Ren E Gui still did not quite believe it, Ye Qinglu raised her hand and punched the stone table in front of her.
Crushing Stone Fist.
Boom!
Her jade-like small fist was like a great hammer, smashing the marble table into rubble.
Looking at the pieces at her feet, Ye Qinglu said calmly, “Just like this. Technique, that’s all.”
Everyone present except Yi Ye Fu Yun was stunned.
They looked at the beautiful Ye Qinglu as if she were a monster.
A half-man-tall table made from a single block of marble had been shattered with one punch. Was that something a human could do?
“Since he passed, we’ll be leaving. Don’t forget to send over the Thousand Sword Diagram later.” Seeing that Qian Ren E Gui had not yet recovered, Ye Qinglu did not explain further, simply called Yi Ye Fu Yun and left the Underground Black Boxing Ring.
Not until she had gotten into the luxury sedan parked outside the Underground Black Boxing Ring did Yi Ye Fu Yun, still hesitant, ask, “Sis, are you really going to switch to Immortal Road Eternal?”
He had clearly heard Qian Ren E Gui’s words in the room earlier with his sharp senses.
Right now, Ye Qinglu was one of their team’s main sources of combat power and the only one who had mastered an eighth-segment martial skill. Once she advanced to advanced level martial artist, she would be able to injure beginner lord monsters. If she left, their team would suffer greatly.
“Watching you defeat that bodyguard with one punch helped me figure things out.” As she drove, Ye Qinglu’s face showed a hint of confidence. “Whether or not Immortal Road Eternal is an open audition for Cosmic Pioneers, one’s own strength is fundamental. It is just one audition. I don’t believe that once I display overwhelming power, they could still refuse to let me become a Cosmic Pioneer.”
She had only just become a martial artist and already gained such a huge boost. If she reached the Bone Forging Realm as an expert, the enhancement in reality would be even greater. And Bone Forging Realm was not the end in High Martial Arts Descend.
Night fell over Yunhai City, on the top floor of Spark Fitness Center.
Lying inside a virtual game pod, Ye Qinglu carefully studied the Thousand Sword Diagram Qian Ren E Gui had sent. The more she studied it, the more amazed she felt that he had created such an incredible sword formation.
She had originally wanted to use the Thousand Sword Diagram only as reference. Every time she used Lightning Strike Three Forms her attacks were too monotonous. For martial artist level experts, evading them was not difficult. At best she could catch them off guard once or twice, so she planned to borrow formations to refine her attack pattern.
But after studying it, she found the Thousand Sword Diagram was like another world, opening a new door for her.
The more swords she could control, the greater the power she could unleash. In theory, a thousand swords as one could produce over a hundredfold increase in strength.
“If I could use thousand swords as one now, I could probably kill a high-level lord with a single strike,” Ye Qinglu marveled. “Unfortunately, my spirit can only control forty swords at most right now, and the formation I can manage is a giant sword formation of thirty-six swords, which can only reach eight times power at best.”
Just as she was further refining and improving it, the system update countdown inside the virtual game pod ended.
“Finally done. Time to test it properly.” Seeing that High Martial Arts Descend had finished updating, Ye Qinglu connected at once.
Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
At midnight, five hundred new players suddenly crowded into the Underground Confinement Room of the hall, and the veteran players logged on one after another, making the previously quiet Obsidian Martial Arts Hall lively again.
