The Fourth Disaster: People become gods through high martial arts and gaming

Chapter 239 This game finally couldn't resist trying to trick players into spending money!

When they reached a distance of ten meters, Lin Qi took only one small step, and a mental force as powerful as a giant hammer struck his mental domain. Immediately afterward, Lin Qi felt a splitting headache and blood flowing from his seven orifices, and he hurriedly retreated.

"So that's how it is. No wonder high-level martial artists die instantly when they enter." Lin Qi covered his head, staring in shock at the arm inside the transparent container.

Although he had tried to overestimate the arm inside the container, it wasn't until he actually stepped within ten meters that he realized he had underestimated the arm and the capabilities of the Star Energy Civilization.

The Star Energy Civilization uses transparent containers to store the arms, not to isolate the mental impact of the internal arms, but to prevent external observation.

The transparent container isn't actually transparent; rather, it's like a monitor that displays the items inside.

Under his omniscient domain, though only for a moment.

What was inside the crack in the container was indescribable!

The sheer volume of information overwhelmed him almost to the point of bursting his head. On the contrary, the mental shock was nothing to him. However, because of his extraordinary mental speed, he was able to quickly retreat and stop the massive influx of information. Otherwise, he would have died just like the players.

"A ten-meter radius around the arm is a deadly trap. Even someone at the level of a city lord would be instantly killed if they didn't react in time. If the container is completely destroyed, the area within several kilometers will likely become a no-man's land." Lin Qi looked at the severed arm and had many thoughts in his mind.

He then called some players to find tools to move the severed arm from ten meters away to the back of a large transport vehicle. He also loaded all the various instruments and other monster remains from inside the rock wall onto another transport vehicle, preparing to transport them all back to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.

Lin Qi originally intended to hide the arm, preferably in the branch school he was planning to establish. It could also be used as a training room for players and martial arts school guards, since the arm was too valuable and it would be bad if someone else stole it.

But after experiencing the danger of this severed arm, he realized that this danger was also a weapon. If used properly, this severed arm could become the strongest trump card of the Obsidian Martial Arts School.

If Isaac were to reveal the secret to the Smiling Skull, and the Smiling Skull's army were to attack, he could easily flip the table, have the player lure the enemy in, and then destroy the container, giving the Smiling Skull a surprise.

City of Light, basement of Obsidian Martial Arts School.

"This death was really effective." Ragnarok's eyes gleamed as he watched the speed at which his mental techniques improved. "If I die a few more times, it probably won't be difficult for me to reach the first level of proficiency in my mental techniques."

Of the two major secret techniques currently being practiced by players, the one that has the greatest impact on combat power is the Body Strengthening Secret Technique. It can make the body stronger than monsters of the same level, and its recovery ability is astonishing. It has become a must-learn for all players.

Because of the development of body-strengthening techniques, a group of players who love hand-to-hand combat spend their free time looking for monsters in the wild to engage in melee battles and experience the feeling of every punch landing. This has now become the mainstream gameplay for many new players.

Although he wasn't interested in unarmed combat, he would definitely master the body-strengthening techniques as much as he could.

However, the body-strengthening techniques become increasingly difficult to master, requiring ever-higher levels of control over one's strength. To improve one's control over strength, the level of mental techniques is crucial, and mental techniques can even significantly enhance the training methods. Therefore, all expert players are trying to find ways to improve their proficiency in mental techniques.

Unfortunately, the cultivation of spiritual secret techniques is not so easy; it is a slow and gradual process, and it is impossible to speed it up.

Now, dying twice to cultivate mental techniques makes the efficiency more than double. If one dies several more times, it's unimaginable how fast the efficiency of cultivating mental techniques will be.

Fang Zhen and the two gunmen from beyond the Great Wall, who had recently been resurrected, were also extremely excited. Fang Zhen, in particular, was bursting with energy, spitting out a mouthful of blood, but his face was filled with ecstasy.

"Brother Zhen, you've mastered it?" the swordsman from beyond the Great Wall asked in surprise, looking at Fang Zhen's greatly increased power.

He had only ever felt such power from Luo Wushang before, which clearly meant that Fang Zhen had also mastered the second level of the Body Strengthening Secret Technique. If he were to add the level of a high-ranking martial artist, his combat power would definitely rank among the top three in the game.

"This is all thanks to the improvement in my mental cultivation techniques, which has greatly increased my control over my internal energy. Otherwise, it would probably have taken me quite a while to master the second level of this body-strengthening technique." Fang Zhen nodded, his eyes regaining their usual confidence.

Previously, their mecha team had fallen to the second tier due to the presence of Luo Wushang and Ye Qinglu, and was even inferior to the later Mythical Paradise.

The main reason is that no one in their team possesses extraordinary martial arts skills that can rival the power of a Bone Forging Realm BOSS.

Now that he's the leader of the group, he's finally mastered the second level of the Body Strengthening Secret Technique. His physical strength is comparable to that of a high-level monster. Although he can't defeat a Bone Forging Realm BOSS head-on like Luo Wushang and Ye Qinglu, he's at least presentable enough to withstand a few blows head-on.

At this moment, Ragnarok looked at Fang Zhen with some envy. The second level of the Body Strengthening Secret Technique was extremely difficult to master. Once the second level was mastered, combined with the B6-level battle armor, one would have the strength to withstand the Bone Forging Realm directly.

"We've wasted a lot of time, let's hurry up and get there. Such a bargain is rare in the game." Fang Zhen couldn't help but get up, wanting to die a few more times at the White Feather Gang's stronghold. It wouldn't be impossible for his body-strengthening secret technique to surpass Luo Wushang's by then.

Ragnarok and the Frontier Gunner both nodded, feeling somewhat impatient.

Although these people are indeed experts in the current world of martial arts, they also know that this is only the current situation. Compared with experts like Luo Wushang, they are still far behind in terms of talent, which can be understood just by looking at their martial arts skills.

This bug is the best opportunity for ordinary gaming experts like them to catch up.

The three had barely stepped out of the basement when they spotted a transport truck parked outside the martial arts hall courtyard, and Lin Qi getting out. Lin Qi was arranging for martial arts players to quietly move a large box. This box was supported by long alloy pipes, and the martial arts players carrying it maintained a distance of at least ten meters, not allowing anyone to get close. "This bug-fixing speed is too fast! I only got two turns!" Ragnarok was completely dumbfounded as he watched the large box being transported into the martial arts hall.

Even if he were stupid, he could tell that the large box must contain the severed arm; otherwise, there would be no need for such a fuss, and for them to keep a ten-meter distance between them.

“That’s normal. If such a bug isn’t fixed, then everyone would be invincible.” Fang Zhen also said with a wry smile, “But we’re pretty lucky. At least we can progress much faster in the cultivation of mental techniques in the future.”

“This shouldn’t be a bug. I suspect that the speed of cultivating mental techniques is the reward for this random event.” Ragnarok shook his head and sighed, “It’s a pity I was a little slow to react. If only I had died one more time, this is such a loss.”

However, the three of them had only been chatting for a short while when a commotion broke out in front of the notice board at the martial arts training ground, prompting them to walk over and take a look out of curiosity.

At this moment, the notice board was surrounded by players, and it was impossible to squeeze in. One cloud, who managed to squeeze through the notice board, looked excited and couldn't stop smiling.

"Yiye, what's going on? Why are you so happy?" Fang Zhen asked curiously, looking at Yiye Fuyun, who seemed quite excited.

"A new map has been added to the game!" said Yi Ye Fuyun excitedly. "This new map is called the Mountain of the Dead. According to the master, the Mountain of the Dead connects to other areas. Any disciple who has mastered the new secret technique of the martial arts school can freely explore the Mountain of the Dead. The level of the Mountain of the Dead is even higher than that of the Wilderness Area. If you can find the stronghold of the Smiling Skull faction, you can even obtain the right to trade with other areas."

"Connecting to other regions? And gaining trade rights in other regions? Are you sure you didn't misread it?" Fang Zhen looked at Yi Ye Fuyun and felt that the opening of the new map in this game was too exaggerated.

The previous new maps were barely enough for them to explore, but the new maps that have been opened now not only allow free exploration but also grant trade rights to other regions. This game's moves are extraordinary; it's completely designed to overturn the existing game landscape.

Putting aside the fact that you can freely go to the new map once you've mastered the new secret technique, the fact that the new map is a higher level than the wilderness area is a terrifying fortune. After all, the higher the level of the map, the greater the benefits in all aspects, not to mention the trade rights with other regions.

This means players can now do business with NPCs from other areas, which is revolutionary.

Previously, although players could run trade routes, it was more like acting as a bodyguard, simply following NPCs to various places to earn a meager living. Real expert players didn't do it; only some scenery enthusiasts and newbies would take on such trade route missions to earn some contribution points along the way.

But now it is specified that trade rights can be obtained, and the benefits that represent are terrifying.

After all, the game's world is one where monsters roam freely, transportation is inconvenient in various places, and dangers abound. The prices of goods vary from place to place, and there are also many local specialties. If you were to run a business, you would definitely earn far more than simply fighting monsters and doing quests.

"How could I be wrong? I checked it more than a dozen times just now," said Yiye Fuyun excitedly. "I was wondering why this game suddenly opened up so many slots. Turns out we're playing a big game here. Now it's finally the turn of us casual players."

"It's probably not just for casual players. I estimate that the opening of the new map is to make it easier for new players to catch up with us veteran players," Ragnarok said. "In the past, the new maps either had access restrictions or level restrictions, but the new map only requires you to master the new secret technique of the martial arts school. This should give a large number of new players a chance to catch up and put these new players on the same starting line as us veteran players."

“Indeed, to explore the new map, you need to master the new secret technique first. The secret technique is the same for everyone. Whoever masters it first can go to explore the map first. It’s fair for both newbies and us veteran players.” Fang Zhen nodded.

"I can't chat with you guys anymore. I need to hurry up and notify the others to come back and learn the new secret technique. If we're late, those newbies will overtake us." Upon hearing this, Yi Ye Fu Yun also quickly prepared to log off and contact the other members of the team.

While the entire martial arts community was celebrating the opening of the new map, the official forum for the arrival of high-level martial arts was in an uproar.

"This new secret technique is too outrageous! It requires mastering both the Body Strengthening Secret Technique and the Mental Secret Technique before you can even attempt it, and its danger level is even higher than the Stellar Explosion Visualization Technique. Is this really something that we new players can master?"

"The game developers are really not going to put on an act anymore. The difficulty of this cultivation method is so high that it's no wonder they're willing to spend a fortune. When I was cultivating the Stellar Explosion Visualization Technique, I died more than ten times just getting to the beginner level. That was with the guidance of an experienced player. If a complete newbie were to try it on their own, they would die dozens of times. This new secret technique is even more difficult to cultivate, and the number of deaths would probably be even more terrifying."

"I knew it, this game is definitely a pay-to-win game."

"What you're saying is that the manufacturer didn't require you to learn it. The new map isn't a place that players necessarily have to go to. It's just to give all new players a way to catch up with veteran players more quickly."

"This new secret technique, let whoever wants to practice it practice it. I'm not going to practice it. I think it's better to just do quests in the wild and slowly improve my training method. Once I level up, I can just kill everything in the wilderness. This new secret technique is obviously a money-grabbing scam. It doesn't even say what specific effects it has. It just says that it can increase potential. It doesn't even explain what the use of potential is."

"This should be a benefit for whales (high-spending players), ordinary players shouldn't even think about it, just stay here and mine with me."

"Everyone here is a pro, yet you're still talking about whether or not to practice. I'm just a newbie, I don't even have the qualifications to practice. I can't even log into the game yet. Is there anyone willing to give me a spot? As long as you give me a spot, I'm willing to practice any secret technique."

……

The forum was abuzz with discussion as people looked at the newly revealed secret technique. While many newcomers were excited about the new map and the fact that it put both new and veteran players on equal footing, opinions varied on the difficulty of learning the new technique. This led to a surge in the number of people gathering on the forum, making it incredibly popular.

The City of Light, Obsidian Martial Arts School.

"Sis, how's this new secret technique? Is it difficult to learn?" Yi Ye Fuyun asked curiously, looking at Ye Qinglu who had been practicing in the rest room for nearly two days.

“This energy technique is quite difficult to master.” Ye Qinglu took a deep breath and looked at Yi Ye Fuyun. “I’ve died nearly thirty times in the past two days. It is indeed much more difficult than the visualization technique for star explosions. But thankfully, I’ve just gotten the hang of it.”

(End of this chapter)