Chapter 19: Combat System, Online!
“This is actually a game?”
“How could this possibly be a game?”
Zhang Qing Wei looked at everything in the room, her beautiful eyes full of confusion and shock, the tremor in her heart already beyond what words could describe.
Real!
It was just too real!
Whether it was the penetrating chill in the room, or the feedback from her feet stepping on the ground, this kind of virtual engine technology was something she had never seen, even after playing hundreds of virtual games that focused on the five senses.
“Qing Wei, are you all right?”
Luo Wu Shang looked at Zhang Qing Wei, who seemed like a lunatic, hopping up and down and occasionally stomping hard on the floor, and could not help but walk forward, waving her hand in front of Zhang Qing Wei’s face, feeling extremely puzzled.
Zhang Qing Wei counted as someone who had gone on pilgrimage and seen all kinds of storms. It was hard to imagine she would go crazy just because she entered a game. Even if High Martial Arts Descend was a 100% virtual game, she should not be this crazy.
“I’m fine.” Zhang Qing Wei stopped her actions, shook her head, then looked at Luo Wu Shang with excitement. “Wu Shang! I’ve grown a brain, I’ve grown a brain!”
“Mm, I know, I can tell.” Luo Wu Shang nodded.
Who could not see this?
“Is this person crazy?”
“It’s really possible. After all, getting into this game was way too hard. I did not even dare tell the guys in my dorm, afraid of what they might do in the middle of the night.”
“Exactly. After I got the entry qualification, I didn’t even dare speak loudly in the dorm.”
The cold, stern, muscular young man who was doing squats, and the thin young man who had been rubbing against the floor, both stopped, staring at Zhang Qing Wei in surprise. They had not expected someone to be even more excited than they were about entering High Martial Arts Descend.
“Hello, brothers, my name is Twilight of the Gods.” Twilight of the Gods looked at the cold muscular youth and the thin youth with some excitement. “You mentioned a dorm? Are you also university students?”
With only ten quotas for High Martial Arts Descend, it was far too rare to meet the same kind.
“Yeah! I study at university part-time, and my main job is reserve player of the Blue Rose Team. Just call me Saiwai Qiangke.” The cold, stern muscular young man nodded and introduced himself.
“What a coincidence! I also study at university part-time. My main job is official player of the Imperial City Team. You can call me Yi Qiang Ba Jue.” The thin young man gave the muscular youth a surprised look. He had not expected to meet someone like himself.
“A reserve player from the Blue Rose Team and an official player from the Imperial City Team. Has the professional player industry gotten this intense already?” Fang Zhen looked at the two professional youths, both in their early twenties yet still studying at university on the side, and suddenly felt he was already falling behind the times.
In Mecha Continent, the Blue Rose Team were regulars in the national league, consistently holding a spot in the top four. Their most famous figure was Blood Flame Spear Princess Chen Ya, whose personal strength could rank third nationwide, and whose standards for selecting newcomers were among the strictest in the country.
The Imperial City Team were also regulars in the top eight of the Mecha Continent national league. Being able to become an official player meant their strength and technique were beyond question.
“Brother Zhen, I managed to play High Martial Arts Descend this time all thanks to you. I’ve been watching your live streams all along. You could say I grew up watching you stream.” Saiwai Qiangke walked up to Fang Zhen, his face full of excitement. “From now on, I’ll follow you, Brother Zhen.”
“Same here. If I hadn’t been watching Brother Zhen’s live streams every day, I never would have found this game.” Yi Qiang Ba Jue also felt like he had finally found his organization.
“Good! Great! With two brothers helping out, we can build something big in High Martial Arts Descend!” Fang Zhen was struck with sudden realization as he listened, while wild joy surged in his heart.
He was seriously short on manpower. He had an energy land that had been discovered, but painfully lacked the strength to develop it. If he could get two more people to help, the hundred-square-meter energy land would be developed much faster with three people working together.
He would not have to spend every night digging holes alone in silence, which really killed his motivation.
Just as everyone in the basement finished introducing themselves, someone came down the stairs. The whole room instantly quieted, and everyone watched that person walk over. The newcomers in particular looked at him with curiosity.
“This person looks so real!”
“He looks practically real!”
Through their earlier discussion, the newcomers already knew that the NPC before them was the highest authority NPC in charge of them as players. If they disobeyed, or did something bad, the consequences would be very serious.
“Newcomers! Welcome to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. I am your hall master, Lord Lin Qi. According to the rules, if you wish to become honorable martial arts hall disciples, you must prove yourselves.”
Lin Qi swept his gaze over the eager newcomers present and was very satisfied. Although the system’s assessment was clearly a bit of a scam, forcibly pulling in seven players when not a single person had passed the assessment, the result was still good. Each one was young and strong, perfect labor.
Then Lin Qi pointed at a table to the side.
“There is a registration book on that table. Write down your name and age, then choose a small shovel you love. Go out the door, turn right, and head to the small warehouse. You have a time limit of twelve hours. Try to develop as much energy land as possible.”
“The one who develops the most energy land within the time limit can choose one of these two hall protecting martial skills to learn. The one who develops the second most can choose the other one. I look forward to your performance.”
After speaking, Lin Qi took two books out of his pocket, the Crushing Stone Fist and Leopard Shadow Steps, each split into upper and lower parts.
As for why they were divided into two, it was entirely because these martial skills could only be divided into two parts. Otherwise, Lin Qi would have liked to split them into nine or eighteen.
Apprentice-level martial skills generally had two realms. Crushing Stone Fist was split into the Stump Crushing Realm and the Stone Crushing Realm. Leopard Shadow Steps was split into the Wind Chasing Realm and the Hunting Shadow Realm.
For these two martial skills, each higher realm had stronger explosive power and was harder to master than the one before.
And Lin Qi was willing to take out two martial skills at once as rewards for the newcomers’ development.
First, it was to prevent the newcomers from exploiting bugs to leech rewards. Only competition could bring efficiency.
Second, it was to promote martial skills so that all players could learn them and improve quickly.
Once a martial skill was learned by one player, it essentially meant that all players could learn it, with only a difference in timing. After all, he could not restrict players from sharing it. It was completely unlike people in the High Martial Arts World, who, without a dedicated teacher, might accidentally cripple themselves if they practiced wrong, and whose teachers would check their purchase records; without a purchase record, they would not teach.
Players, however, had no fear of crippling themselves. At worst, they just died a few more times.
“Damn!”
“Is this the opening of a combat profession system?”
“I knew it. Bringing in so many newcomers at once had to mean a big move. I didn’t expect the officials to play it like this.”
Everyone present stared at the two martial skills in Lin Qi’s hands, their eyes going wide, especially Fang Zhen, Luo Wu Shang, and Twilight of the Gods, who had arrived a few days earlier. Their eyes were practically glued to the books.
Although the underground sandbox gameplay for development was good, in High Martial Arts Descend with 100% virtual degree, who would not want to experience a superhuman feeling?
Especially since the three of them had personally witnessed the battle between Qin Mu and Hou Fei. That had been like watching two great monsters brawling.
The viewers in the live stream room outside were also completely blown up when they saw this scene.
“Oh my god! This is too unfair! Why do they get to start becoming superhuman while we can’t even get into the game?”
“No, brother, it’s not just that we can’t get into the game. We can’t even pass the test assessment. All we can do is watch them play.”
“I saw someone say a professional game boosting service only costs I’ll pay twenty thousand, as long as they can pass!”
“You mean that booster? I seriously doubt he’ll live long enough to earn that twenty thousand.”
As the people in the live stream room heatedly discussed, more and more people began trying to challenge the test assessment again, especially players who loved combat.
Previously, everyone had thought the battle between Qin Mu and Hou Fei was just the game manufacturer putting on a show. After all, once players entered High Martial Arts Descend, aside from digging earth every day and occasionally cultivating the Startling Spirit Breathing Technique, there was nothing else to do.
But now, seeing the two martial skills in Lin Qi’s hands, everyone understood that the battle that looked like a blockbuster movie was not performed for them. It was a kind of battle players could truly achieve.
