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

Chapter 303 What serious player doesn't have some kind of mental perception? (Long Chapter)
"Eight thousand people started right away. Has the game developer finally come to their senses with this update?"

"This game has already been updated to version 2.0, and I'm still digging holes in the test space! /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~"

"Unlocking the maps of the other three regions is such a great update! But when will we newbies be able to explore them? We've been staying within a hundred kilometers of Red Moon Town, and it feels like all the monsters have been killed by veteran players. I spent over a day running around in the wild and didn't manage to catch a single monster. All I got were a bunch of old guys ganging up on a poor crocodile-toothed rhinoceros. I strongly request that more monsters be added to the map."

"I've been updating for 32 hours straight. How am I supposed to survive this time? Please, game planner, let me in. I'd even be willing to mine for free."

Players on the forum saw the first official announcement and left comments below. Some were overjoyed, some were annoyed, and most were surprised that the official update would take thirty-two hours, leaving many players who were able to log into the game feeling helpless.

With players logging in for at least eighteen hours a day, many have already made the arrival of high-level martial arts a major part of their lives, especially their daily training, which is almost unwavering, and they are even more diligent than when they were in school.

Now, one by one, they are suddenly unable to cultivate, and they feel uncomfortable all over their bodies.

However, before everyone could discuss it for long, the update announcement was released, causing everyone still in the discussion to gasp in surprise.

The main updates in version 2.0, the Great Pioneer Era, are as follows.

1. The maximum number of players online has been increased to 8,000, with an additional 500 players added each day thereafter.

2. Unlock free exploration of the Fog Mountain area. All players can freely explore the entire Fog Mountain area upon entering the game without any restrictions.

3. Three new map areas, namely the Tianhe Area, the Huangling Area, and the Bingyuan Area, will be opened. Players can freely explore these areas after reaching the Bone Forging Realm or becoming a core disciple of a martial arts school.

4. Unlock new outfits and new outfits for core disciples. The new outfits have more functions, and players can redeem them in the martial arts hall by spending martial arts hall points and contributions.

5. Enable the hiring of NPCs within towns. Wherever there are shops or garrison posts in Red Moon Town, you can freely recruit NPCs to assist you.

6. Town caravan gameplay unlocked: Any player who has reached the beginner level of martial artist and has a shop in Red Moon Town can register a caravan by spending martial arts points and contribution points. They can freely carry goods and follow the town caravan to various places to buy and sell goods together.

7. Unlock the stronghold hiring function. Submit an application to the martial arts school. Once the stronghold is confirmed to be safe, the martial arts school can send NPCs to the stronghold to assist players in collecting resources.

8. Fixed some bugs and added more weather systems.

……

Fang Zhen: "Could this be a mistake, releasing the public beta map instead? O_o"

Ragnarok: "Not only are there new maps and gameplay, but these new outfits are just too overpowered! They're practically divine artifacts for outdoor cultivation. Each piece of clothing weighs a hundred tons, even someone at the Bone Forging Realm could use them. And the dual attributes are just too amazing. If I could get two moderately increased HP and HP Circulation stats, I'd be invincible! (⊙_⊙;)"

Xiao Yuan was also going crazy: "So many updates at once, I have to redo my strategy guide again O__O"

……

Whether players haven't entered the game yet or have already entered, everyone is practically drooling over the new version's update content.

First, the number of players was increased to eight thousand, and then the number of people allowed to participate each day was increased to five hundred. This undoubtedly makes it easier for players who have made reservations to be selected.

Moreover, the new map and unlocked permissions have moved both new and old players.

Anyone who has followed the game "High Martial Arts Descends" knows that the game's map is huge. Any leveling map can cover hundreds of kilometers in radius. Other games would dare to dream of doing this, as it would be too manpower and resources-intensive.

The Fog Mountain region alone has more than forty cities and thousands of towns, making the game incredibly vast.

Previously, everyone could only freely explore within a hundred kilometers of Red Moon Town. Now that the entire Mist Mountain area has been unlocked, everyone is quite bewildered and overwhelmed.

Previously, the area within a hundred kilometers of Chiyue Town was enough to keep people entertained. Now, the area has increased more than a thousand times, which will surprise and shock anyone who sees it.

Even someone who hasn't played High Martial Arts Descent can understand how magnificent this map is. Just thinking about being able to freely explore such a vast map is enough to send chills down your spine.

"Game designer, I misunderstood you! I'm definitely playing this game!"

"Is this game developer just making empty promises to lure us in? This is too outrageous. Opening up more than forty cities, thousands of towns, and so many wilderness areas all at once. Even if I played for ten years, I probably wouldn't be able to finish it all. If this is true, I'll eat noodles upside down."

"Brother, let alone playing for ten years, I feel like I don't even have enough life to play. What you're talking about is only the Misty Mountain area. This time, three other areas have also been opened, but you need to reach the Bone Forging Realm or become a core disciple to explore them freely."

"What do you mean, 'little brother'? Call her 'pretty big sister'!"

……

The people on the official forum were all shocked and skeptical when they saw the latest version update. They felt that this update was too fake. Even the best games on the market wouldn't dare to boast like "High Martial Arts Arrives". They posted on the forum to question this version update and even gave specific examples to prove it.

I think there is no technology in the world right now that can create such a large virtual map. It's almost the size of an entire planet. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it has created a planet.

In a short time, the number of clicks on various discussion posts alone exceeded tens of millions, and the number of debate posts exceeded one million, leaving the game platform's administrators stunned and curious about what kind of game it was. People who hadn't played the game were all excited and making various arguments that the game map was fake, while those who had played the game were explaining it.

The intensity of the debate between the two sides was even more exaggerated than that of many masterpiece games.

Yunhai City, Xinghuo Fitness Center, top-floor lounge.

"These people are absolutely idiots! They haven't even played High Martial Arts Descent, yet they're already advocating for a boycott." A Leaf of Clouds looked at the players who were proving that High Martial Arts Descent was just empty promises, and was speechless. "These people don't even know what it's like or what it's like inside High Martial Arts Descent, yet they think the map is fake. Don't they even consider whether High Martial Arts Descent needs to make empty promises to attract people?"

With no promotion whatsoever, High Martial Arts has already garnered over nine million pre-registrations, placing it among the top ten new games in China this year. Even now, some major gaming guilds and real estate companies are considering joining High Martial Arts.

It's almost certain that once high-level martial arts are released for public beta, they will become incredibly popular.

Moreover, compared to those who haven't entered the game, any player who has reached the level of a martial artist will more or less feel the special nature of this game. Putting aside the size of the map, this special feature alone is enough to make "High Martial Arts Descend" a game that influences the whole country and even the whole world.

Just as Yiye Fuyun was planning to stay on the forum today, the door was suddenly kicked open.

Ye Qinglu, wearing a navy blue tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt and shorts, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, walked in. She was sweating, clearly having just finished exercising.

"Sis, why don't you ever knock? You've broken my lock so many times." Yi Ye Fu Yun looked at Ye Qing Lu as she walked in, speechless.

"Stop talking nonsense. I came here to tell you to go online first thing tomorrow morning." Ye Qinglu wiped her sweat with a towel and said nonchalantly.

"Going online?" A Leaf of Clouds' eyes lit up. "Sis, do you have a way to enter the High Martial Arts Descent early?"

The update for "High Martial Arts Arrival" has only just started, and it will be at least two days before we can actually enter the game. If we could log in first thing tomorrow morning, that would be amazing, like getting almost a day ahead of time.

"What are you thinking about?" Ye Qinglu rolled her eyes at Yi Ye Fuyun. "The open beta of Immortal Path Eternal will start at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. The guild leader has already sent the message that all members of the Sky Travelers will gather at Immortal Path Eternal at that time."

"Sis, are you still planning to play Immortal Path Eternal?" A Leaf of Clouds asked with slight surprise.

He had previously visited an underground boxing ring and thought Ye Qinglu had given up on Immortal Path Eternal and planned to focus on High Martial Arts Descent. He never expected that Ye Qinglu would want to play Immortal Path Eternal again.

“I definitely won’t play all the time, I’ll just log on occasionally. After all, the Sky Traveler network is very important, and the people in it are all extraordinary,” Ye Qinglu explained. “You should also go and meet them; it might help you get your Pioneer qualification later. If possible, I’d also like to recruit some people into the High Martial Arts Descendant, so that our Sky Guardian Regiment can become even stronger.”

"Should we recruit members from the troupe?" A Leaf of Clouds' eyes lit up.

The Sky Travelers Adventurer Group is a legend in the virtual game world. Although there are only about twenty members in total, each member is extraordinary. If a few of them could be recruited to join their Sky Guardian Group, it wouldn't be impossible for them to surpass Heavenly Might and Mythical Paradise.

"I can only say I'll try my best." Ye Qinglu shook her head. "The Sky Travelers were founded by the leader. Those who can join the group are all like-minded people. With the leader focused on the Eternal Immortal Path, it's difficult to persuade others to play High Martial Descent."

"I understand." Yi Ye Fu Yun also felt a little regretful, but still decided to go and see those people.

The members of the Sky Traveler were all his idols. If it weren't for Gao Wu's arrival corrupting his heart, he might be following in the footsteps of the Sky Traveler now and making great strides on the Immortal Path.

Now that the Great Martial Arts update has arrived, and since I have nothing else to do, it wouldn't hurt to go and see the members of the guild.

The next morning, following the information provided by Ye Qinglu, Yi Ye Fuyun quickly entered the Eternal Immortal Path continent and arrived at a village called Baiye Village.

The game "Immortal Path Eternal" has twelve continents, hundreds of cities, thousands of villages, and hundreds of sects. Players can choose their starting location, or initial village, from the beginning of the game. These villages all belong to various sects.

As a group of people who participated in the closed beta, the Sky Travelers had already chosen the Shenxiao Sect, which had the most opportunities and the highest potential for cultivation techniques. There are 28 villages belonging to the Shenxiao Sect, and among these villages, the village with the most opportunities to join the Shenxiao Sect and become an elder disciple is Baiye Village.

The Sky Travelers knew about this because they encountered a very powerful NPC elder from the Divine Firmament Sect during the closed beta test. In fact, that NPC elder was a character who appeared in several promotional videos for Immortal Path Eternal.

Through this NPC elder, the Sky Travelers had a huge advantage during the open beta, gaining many opportunities. Their strength was among the top tier during the open beta, so the Sky Travelers decided to all come to the Divine Firmament Sect to develop.

As a floating cloud appeared in Baiye Village, the entire village became exceptionally lively.

Baiye Village, which originally had only a few hundred villagers, now has more than 100,000 players. It can be said that the entire Baiye Village is crowded with people, and there are vendors and chatter everywhere. Players are busy looking for quests all over the streets.

"Holy crap! This game is amazing. So many people are playing it, and I haven't experienced any lag. The realism is so much better than other masterpieces. I could play this game for the rest of my life."

"These NPCs are so intelligent; they can even talk to people freely."

"Let's team up to kill pigs in the wild at level 3. We need a few skilled players. The pork can be exchanged for basic skills at the village chief. Those who want to level up in the wild shouldn't miss this opportunity."

……

Looking at the players in Baiye Village and hearing their familiar words, Yiye Fuyun was filled with emotion and even a sense of nostalgia.

"After playing too many hardcore games like Martial Arts Descent, I feel a bit out of place when I play other games."

After wandering around Baiye Village for a while, Yiye Fuyun quickly found Ye Qinglu, who had also participated in the open beta test.

At this moment, Ye Qinglu was dressed in a pure white martial arts robe and carried a Bixia longsword, looking like an ancient female knight-errant. Her level was displayed as level nine, just one level away from stepping into the tenth level and advancing to the Qi Refining Realm.

Beside Ye Qinglu was Thousand Blade Demon, whom she had met once in the underground boxing ring. He was nearly two meters tall, carried eight long swords on his back, and was also level nine.

The sight of the two standing together made the surrounding new players extremely envious, wishing they could rush up and cling to their coattails.

"Let's go, the guild leader is probably getting impatient." Thousand Blade Evil Ghost said as he looked at the Floating Cloud that had joined them. "Now that it's in open beta, the area around the village is no longer suitable for leveling up or doing quests. However, we learned about a quick way to join the Divine Firmament Sect during the closed beta: kill a level 12 demon in the Thousand Needle Forest outside Hundred Leaf Village. If it drops a demon core, you can go to the Divine Firmament Sect and have a chance to become an apprentice of that elder."

"During the previous closed beta test, the time was too short, and the few of us didn't have a chance to deal with that great demon. Now that we've all gathered, we should be able to take down that great demon."

As the Thousand-Blade Demon walked and talked, the three of them arrived deep in the Thousand Needle Forest in just one hour. A commotion came from the forest, along with various metallic clanging sounds.

"Wait, what's that? There's a battle between players over there! Let's go over there!"

Upon hearing this, the Thousand-Blade Demon rushed to the location of the great demon, followed closely by the level one Yi Ye Fu Yun and the level nine Ye Qing Lu.

After passing through a grove of withered trees, the three soon came across a large group of people fighting around a giant serpent with two horns. One side consisted of more than twenty Sky Travelers, while the other side had over a hundred people, all of whom wore clothes with the same guild emblem.

And that symbol is familiar to both the Thousand-Blade Demon and the Floating Cloud.

War God Alliance!
A top-tier, giant guild in the virtual gaming world, with a reputation surpassing even the revered Tianwei and Mythical Paradise, and a guild that has existed for over a century.

"Kill! This snake demon is ours!"

A level nine man, the leader of the War God Alliance, was fighting while directing hundreds of people to besiege the Sky Travelers.

At this time, although the Sky Travelers were of high level, their numbers were too small. In addition, the War God Alliance had many experts, and there were more than a dozen of them whose fame was no less than that of Luo Wushang. For a time, the Sky Travelers were at a disadvantage.

"Let's go up and help!"

Upon seeing this, the Thousand-Blade Demon immediately drew his sword and charged forward.

In the early stages of the Immortal Path, the attribute differences between players are not significant. A level 9 player only has nine more free attribute points than a level 1 player. The basic attributes of level 1 players are around ten, and some can even reach twelve. Leveling up does not increase these attributes. Therefore, even if a level 9 player puts all their points into one attribute, their individual attribute will only be twice that of a level 1 player. If the free attribute points were distributed, the difference would be even smaller.

Even though the Sky Travelers were generally more skilled, they were helpless against sheer numbers in the early stages.

"Another guild?" The leader of the War God Alliance glanced at the three Thousand Blade Evil Ghosts who rushed up, full of disdain. "Ghost Marquis, you go and kill those three."

After the leading man finished speaking, a level 8 man with disheveled hair nodded and led more than ten people to surround the Thousand Blade Demon.

"Brother Qianren, be careful of these people. They are core members of the War God Alliance. Don't let them surround you." A woman under twenty years old, holding a knife in both hands and at level 7, among the Sky Travelers hurriedly reminded him.

As the woman reminded him, the Thousand-Blade Demon also became serious.

The woman's name was Broken Blade Like Snow. Although she was a newcomer to the guild, she was extremely talented and could rank among the top ten in the guild in one-on-one combat. The fact that Broken Blade Like Snow said this was enough to show that the people of the War God Alliance were not simple.

"Is it enough to just be careful with things like this?"

A man named Gui Hou arrived in front of the Thousand-Blade Demon in one step, his spear wielding like a sudden rain, overwhelming the onlookers.

"Should we race?"

The Thousand-Blade Demon couldn't help but laugh, swinging his longswords with incredible speed, like a storm.

After a few dozen exchanges, the Ghost Marquis, who was wielding a gun, quickly found himself at a disadvantage. However, the Ghost Marquis instead laughed.

"Is it appropriate for you to focus so much on dealing with me?" Ghost Marquis glanced at Yi Ye Fuyun and Ye Qinglu behind Thousand Blade Evil Ghost and asked teasingly.

While the two sides were fighting, the dozen or so people he brought went around to the side and rushed straight at Yi Ye Fuyun and Ye Qinglu. With such a large difference in numbers, even the deputy leader Ye Qinglu had difficulty protecting himself, let alone a first-level newcomer of the brigade whom he had never seen before.

"Damn it!"

Thousand Blade Demon glanced behind him and saw five experts from the War God Alliance surrounding and attacking One Leaf Floating Cloud, so he turned around and rushed over as well.

Although he knew that Yi Ye Fuyun had some strength and could deal with his bodyguards at the same time, these were core members of the War God Alliance, whose strength in the game was much stronger than those bodyguards. He was already in a bad situation when surrounded by five people, let alone Yi Ye Fuyun, who was at level one.

Seeing that five experts from the War God Alliance had surrounded Yi Ye Fuyun and were attacking him from all directions, giving Thousand Blade Evil Ghost no chance to come to his aid.

Facing five experts, Yi Ye Fu Yun merely shifted his feet slightly, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, easily dodging the swords and blades of the two experts behind him, letting them brush past the hem of Yi Ye Fu Yun's clothes and bump right into the two experts facing him.

"die!"

A War God Alliance expert, standing to the side and wielding a nine-ringed broadsword, delivered a powerful split-mountain strike to Yi Ye Fuyun, who was completely turned away.

The broadsword cleaved down, creating a whooshing sound.

The nine-ringed broadsword, which was originally capable of cleaving the dodging Yi Ye Fu Yun in two, inexplicably grazed the back of Yi Ye Fu Yun's clothes and landed on the ground, splitting a piece of gravel in two and embedding it three inches into the ground.

"How can this be!"

"How were you able to dodge?!"

The expert wielding the nine-ringed broadsword stared in bewilderment at the falling blade. He had calculated the timing and position perfectly, attacking Yi Ye Fuyun's blind spot. Yet, it was as if Yi Ye Fuyun had an eye in the back of his head, taking a half-step forward at the crucial moment, causing his nine-ringed broadsword to graz his clothes as it fell. It was simply unbelievable.

"Dude, do you never use your mental perception in combat?" Yi Ye Fuyun turned around and said speechlessly, "You're just blatantly attacking me, are you really treating me like a newbie who's never played a game before?"

(End of this chapter)