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

Chapter 252 The brand-new merit system and NPCs are used to reverse-engineer the system?
Obsidian Martial Arts School, training ground.

As Lin Qi posted the new announcement on the bulletin board and official forum, the players who received the news were all incredibly excited.

"This update is amazing! Two cities have actually started a war, and there are no level restrictions. Even newbies can participate. This year's newbies are having a blast."

"It's more than just awesome! This event even features a merit system. As long as you use your spoils to exchange for merits at the martial arts hall before the battle ends, these merits are really valuable. I feel they're even more useful than martial arts hall contributions. Just accumulating 100 merits will make you a third-class soldier, granting you a permanent 20% discount on the first floor of the Cultivation Tower in Crimson Moon Town. I've heard that the Cultivation Tower in Crimson Moon Town is a real gem, built entirely from energy ore, so your cultivation speed inside will be incredibly fast."

"These merits are really impressive. I just looked at the newly released merits, which are divided into six major levels: soldier, sergeant, lieutenant, colonel, general, and marshal. Currently, the game only opens up to the lieutenant level. Soldier level can enjoy some discounts on town buildings, while sergeant level is even more amazing. Not only can they buy a team training room in the martial arts hall, but it also comes with a basic gravity room. They won't have to compete with others for gravity rooms for training anymore."

"The most powerful are the lieutenants. They can form their own garrison regiment, buy land in Red Moon Town, and build their own guild bases at will. The land they can buy is much larger than that of private residences, and there are no restrictions on construction. They can use any materials to build, which is true freedom of construction."

"Being a lieutenant is indeed good. It's said that you can form your own garrison regiment, which is basically just having the authority to start a guild. Unfortunately, the merit required is too high. Even just becoming a corporal this time requires 10,000 merits, and becoming a warrant officer requires 100,000 merits. To become a true lieutenant, you need to reach the Bone Forging Realm and become a second lieutenant, who has the authority to purchase garrison land in Red Moon Town. It's simply impossible for an ordinary person to reach the lieutenant rank in this one version event."

While players are interested in the large-scale battles in this suddenly released version of the game, they are even more interested in the merit system, especially the various privileges that merit brings, which has many players excited.

Many newcomers, nouveau riche, and super-rich individuals, in particular, were dazzled by the sight.

For these players, what they fear most is not that the game is too difficult, but that the game is unwilling to grant them access permissions.

Previously, even though they had acquired a lot of martial arts school points, getting a basic gravity room to cultivate in still depended on luck, since there were far more monks than porridge.

Not to mention that with the 100% virtual value of the game, there is no shortage of rich and powerful players, and a large number of large game guilds have also moved in. The financial resources of those large guilds are extraordinary.

It can be said that as long as the major guild passes the resolution, their financial resources will be far beyond what these local tycoons and super-rich players can match. Competing for cultivation resources will be extremely difficult, since everyone who enters the game knows that the higher the level, the more benefits one can obtain in the game in the future.

The known world of High Martial Arts is vast, with over forty cities and hundreds of towns in the Misty Mountain region alone, covering an area of ​​over ten million square kilometers. The game has only opened up the City of Light and its surrounding map so far, and its future potential is immeasurable. It is definitely the largest and most realistic game they have ever seen.

This shows that the game developers have huge ambitions. They intend to make High Martial Arts Descent a second world for humanity. Anyone who isn't stupid can understand how valuable this game is.

The game's introduction of a merit system is a godsend for them.

Even if I don't become a lieutenant, just becoming a corporal before the end of this event would be incredibly awesome. I'd have my own private basic gravity chamber, and I could use it however I wanted without having to wait in line, experiencing the feeling of being a VIP.

Blue Star, inside a skyscraper with over a hundred floors.

"Boss, the documents you asked me to distribute have already been sent to all the employees." A female secretary in a short skirt walked into the office, looking at the young boss who had only recently taken over the company with a puzzled expression.

This young CEO, who clearly has assets worth tens of billions, doesn't spend money on food, drinks, and entertainment. Instead, he proactively pays for his employees to play games, and those games are incredibly expensive. Pre-registration costs 4999, and reviving after dying in the game costs another 648. It's not a game that ordinary people can afford.

But no one knows what's gotten into her young boss, who's so obsessed with this game that he's already spent hundreds of millions on it.

With so much money, she could live a life of luxury, experience the good life, and even travel to space to see the scenery of other planets. But her boss chose virtual games.

What's even more astonishing now is that if any of the company's employees can get into that game, the boss will offer them a monthly salary of 100,000 yuan, allowing them to work in the game and receive commissions. Contracts have already been signed with all employees for a period of ten years.

The world of the rich was something she simply couldn't understand.

She was in a terrible situation. Not only did she have to work for her boss during the day, but because she was chosen by the game, she would also have to work for him at night. Life was simply unbearable.

“Very good, but the company still has too few employees. Tell HR to recruit more people, preferably professional game developers.” The young boss nodded.

"Boss, how many do you plan to hire?" the female secretary asked.

The young boss thought for a moment and said, "Let's start with five thousand people. I plan to set up a new department called the High Martial Arts Strategy Department. All these people will join this new department. As long as someone can get into the game, their treatment will be the same as I said before."

"Yes." The female secretary didn't ask any further questions and went straight to the HR office.

As the female secretary left the office, the young boss lay back down in the virtual gaming pod next to him.

"This version event is rare, I must gather as many people as possible before the war starts, and then strive to become a soldier, making those guys green with envy." The young boss couldn't help but smirk.

As one of the top spenders in the game "High Martial Arts Descends," he recognized its immense potential as soon as he entered the game and thus began planning his strategy early on.

Because the game is opening up 100 slots every day during this period, several of his employees have already been selected. As the number of slots opened up in the game increases, he will have an increasingly advantageous position in the game.

While many wealthy and powerful individuals were secretly making preparations, several large teams operating in the Dead Mountain Range were also shocked by this news.

"Version events, merit system, no, we have to go back quickly!" Fang Zhen looked at the messages reported by his team members and couldn't help but feel anxious. "If we go back too late, we might not even get a taste of the battle."

"Brother Zhen, are we going back now?" the Frontier Gunner asked in surprise. "What about the temporary stronghold of the Smiling Skull that we discovered?"

After so many days of hard work, they finally found a hidden outpost of the Smiling Skull, a rare opportunity indeed.

The last time the Smiling Skull's temporary stronghold caused several of them to lose money. If they went back now and were discovered by other teams, they would have nowhere to turn to cry.

Fang Zhen thought about it and felt that giving up would indeed be a pity, so he suggested, "In that case, how about we go to that stronghold first, rob a bunch of people, and run away?"

“That’s a good idea.” Li Ranxing nodded in agreement. “Moreover, I think it would be best to seize a batch of energy potions of type II or higher. This will not only help us break through, but also replenish our energy consumption during wartime.”

“Alright, I’ll hold off the stronghold’s leader while you guys take the opportunity to grab more,” Chen Ya said.

"Captain Chen, are you sure you're okay on your own? That's a Blood Condensation Realm BOSS." Fang Zhen asked with some concern, looking at Chen Ya who was actively blocking the BOSS. Last time, when their several teams attacked the Smiling Skull's temporary stronghold, that battle was definitely one of the hardest for them. They were wiped out more than ten times before the leader was slightly injured and finally escaped.

Now, thanks to the replenishment of resources, they have all improved their strength considerably by taking drugs like crazy. In fact, Li Ranxing and Chen Ya have just reached 100% proficiency in their training methods and are ready to break through to the Bone Forging Realm.

However, they were ultimately only at the Refining Organs Realm, and the gap between them and the Blood Condensation Realm was too great. Even after activating their transformation, the gap between them and the Blood Condensation Realm warriors was still considerable. Even when more than a dozen of them attacked together, they were no match for the Blood Condensation Realm warriors. The level suppression was extraordinary.

"I can do it by myself. I want to try out a martial arts technique I learned from an NPC," Chen Ya said confidently.

"You mean that female NPC who can create clones?" Fang Zhen couldn't help but think of Precia, who had fled in the Mountain of the Dead. That female NPC was exceptionally strong. Despite being seriously injured, she could still fight a group of people by herself. Her footwork was truly amazing.

If he could learn, he would definitely become her apprentice. Unfortunately, that female NPC never appeared again, so there was nowhere for him to learn.

“Yes, I recorded her battle video and then used a quantum supercomputer to perform trillions of simulations. I also incorporated my Eight Leaves One Blade Style into it. It’s perfect for testing on the stronghold’s leader. After all, each transformation consumes a huge amount of energy potion, and this martial art can only be used with difficulty after transformation. It would be a shame not to test it on the stronghold’s leader.” Chen Ya nodded.

"Can a quantum supercomputer be used like this?" Fang Zhen was also surprised after hearing this.

Although he already knew that quantum supercomputer simulations were powerful, he never expected it could be used in this way, directly to reverse engineer the martial arts skills of NPCs.

"This is entirely because the virtuality of 'High Martial Arts Descends' is 100%, which makes reverse engineering possible. It would be impossible in other virtual games, since I wouldn't know any of the data in the game. But in a completely real environment, I only need to input real-world data directly," Chen Ya said with a smile. "At first, I also thought it was unlikely. After all, 'High Martial Arts Descends' is only advertised as 100% virtual. If I were to input real-world data, any deviation would render the reverse-engineered martial arts unusable. Not to mention, the martial arts used by NPCs, besides issues like movements and muscle exertion, also present a huge problem with the circulation of energy or force, which I would have to experiment with myself."

"If the actual data is even slightly off, all my attempts will be in vain. Fortunately, the publicity for the arrival of high martial arts is indeed not exaggerated. After experimenting for these days, I have finally gotten the hang of it. Next, I will test the results."

"In that case, can we reverse-engineer the martial arts technique of that Blood Condensation Realm leader?" Fang Zhen's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

That leader of the Blood Condensation Realm is not just strong, he is strong in every aspect!
Neither the extraordinary martial arts techniques used by Luo Wushang nor those used by Lu Fanchen were of any use against the leader of the Blood Condensation Realm.

The reason is that leaders in the Blood Coagulation Realm also possess extraordinary martial arts skills, and some even have a more impressive background.

They even mocked them for showing off their limited skills before an expert, thinking they could deal with Blood Condensation Realm cultivators just because they used extraordinary martial arts techniques. They had no idea that any Blood Condensation Realm expert must have mastered at least two extraordinary martial arts techniques, otherwise they would never have been able to reach the Blood Condensation Realm.

The leader of the Blood Coagulation Realm even boasted that the extraordinary martial arts he used were extraordinary, that they were ranked among the highest levels of extraordinary martial arts, and that they were not comparable to ordinary extraordinary martial arts.

As for the final outcome of the battle, just as the leader of the smiling skull said, the dozen or so of them were no match for each other. They fought desperately to the death more than ten times, but they only managed to find a weakness that they had finally discovered and inflicted some minor injuries.

In Fang Zhen's view, the extraordinary martial arts used by the Blood Condensation Realm leader should be an exclusive martial arts skill given to NPCs in the game. To put it bluntly, it is an enhanced version of the extraordinary martial arts skill. Ordinary players have no chance to learn it. It belongs to NPCs exclusively, which is why NPC BOSSes are so strong.

If they can reverse engineer it using a quantum supercomputer, they'll be incredibly awesome.

He remembered how powerful the Sequence Martial Technique used by the Blood Condensation Realm leader was. That technique was neither a weapon-type martial technique nor a fist and foot martial technique, but rather it transformed the force into a physical form, turning it into a huge golden lion. With just one strike, all of them died on the spot, and even a mountain peak was flattened.

As for the name of the martial art, he remembered it very clearly: Golden Roar.

If he can learn it, then neither Luo Wushang nor Lu Fanchen and others will be his match, and he can return to his peak.

“This is something we can give a try.” Chen Ya’s beautiful eyes lit up as well.

She had only thought about how to win over friendly NPCs, completely forgetting that she could also win over hostile NPCs.

"In that case, you two can take turns delaying and recording, while I and the others will go raid the warehouse." Li Ranxing looked at the two who were very interested in reversing the NPC's actions, but he didn't get involved. He only had one goal now, which was to break through to the Bone Forging Realm as soon as possible and become the first person to descend to the High Martial Realm.

Previously in Mech Continent, his only goal was to reach the top four teams in the country. But after playing High Martial Arts, he discovered that there were a lot of experts in this game, and quite a few who could rival him in talent.

To stand out and widen the gap, the only way is to break through to the Bone Forging Realm as soon as possible. As for martial arts, he thinks it can be put aside for now.

After saying that, Fang Zhen and Chen Ya split up with Li Ranxing and the others. Fang Zhen and Chen Ya ran towards the Smiling Skull's stronghold to distract people, while Li Ranxing and the others sneaked in, grabbed the loot, and ran away.

While Fang Zhen and his group were acting, inside a cave in the Dead Mountain Range...

Suddenly, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from the cave, causing the Gods of Twilight and the others resting outside to feel a sudden heaviness in their bodies, almost causing them to collapse to the ground.

However, this surge of energy dissipated quickly after a few seconds, allowing the pressure on Ragnarok and the others to ease.

"Sister Wu, have you broken through to the Bone Forging Realm?" Ragnarok couldn't help but look at Luo Wushang, who had just emerged from the cave, his eyes filled with surprise.

At this moment, Zhang Qingwei and Zhao Hu also looked at Luo Wushang in surprise.

Compared to before, Luo Wushang's qi and blood have undergone a qualitative change. In fact, the impact of the qi and blood of both sides dissipating is as fragile as an egg hitting a rock in the face of Luo Wushang's qi and blood.

The strength of this blood and qi is clearly not something a high-level martial artist could achieve.

Luo Wushang shook her head and chuckled, "What are you thinking? I haven't even learned the third level of the training method, how could I possibly have reached the Bone Forging Realm?"

"Then how come your blood and qi are so strong, Sister Wu?" Ragnarok asked in bewilderment. "I feel that your blood and qi are much stronger than those of a high-level martial artist."

"I have made a breakthrough," Luo Wushang said with a smile. "Just now, the second level of my training method reached perfection. By the way, why are you all gathered here? Is another transport convoy coming from the mountains?"

“There is indeed something, Sister Wu, you can see for yourself.” Ragnarok nodded and sent Luo Wushang a copy of the martial arts school’s latest announcement.

(End of this chapter)