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

Chapter 323 Players should do the most hardcore tasks and hunt down the strongest NPCs.
City of Light, underground of the Obsidian Martial Arts Academy.

Inside the vast space completely enveloped by an unknown metal, Lu Fanchen, Lin Xinyao, and Li Tianxing all breathed a deep sigh of relief as they watched the three-meter-tall mechanical humanoid man stop moving and stand motionless.

"Finally, we've exhausted this robot's energy." Lu Fanchen glanced at the thousands of people lying all over the field and couldn't help but wipe his sweat.

He originally thought that with their current strength, even if they were no match for the mechanical man, they should be able to put up a good fight. But after actually fighting the mechanical man, he realized that he had been thinking too much.

When they were still martial artists, the mechanical human's attacks weren't very powerful. But after they reached the mid-stage of the Bone Forging Realm, the mechanical human was practically possessed by a war god. His greatsword had no cooldown, and he could continuously use extraordinary martial arts techniques at least at the sequence level.

Even when the three of them used their extraordinary abilities, they were killed in no time; they were no match for them at all.

Fortunately, they had the experience of dealing with the guard robots in the Fog Mountain Prison. They joined forces to deplete the energy of the robot men. After all, in such a realistic high-level martial arts world, the energy of the robot men must be limited. As long as they could keep the robot men consuming large amounts of energy without replenishment, they would eventually exhaust them.

However, the ferocity of this war of attrition far exceeded his expectations.

The mechanical man's sequence of extraordinary martial arts seemed inexhaustible. Even after thousands of players had died several times, it was only then that the mechanical man's energy was finally depleted, and the three of them almost died again.

"Vice President, let's hurry up. I feel that this robot is currently charging. If we wait until it's fully charged before it moves, all our efforts will be wasted." Li Tianxing glanced at the robot man and urged him repeatedly.

In order to secure the capture of the mechanical human, Mythical Paradise mobilized its entire force and spent a great deal of money hiring thousands of players to create an opportunity for them. Otherwise, the three of them would not have survived until now.

"it is good."

Lu Fanchen didn't even have time to rest. He immediately led Li Tianxing and Lin Xinyao to the tightly closed metal door on the other side, not daring to waste even half a second.

In order to deplete the mechanical man's resources, the players they hired—all at the Refining Viscera Realm with 10,000 points each, and all at the Bone Forging Realm with 50,000 points each—offered that these players could freely collect the Molten Crystals within the space after the mechanical man was depleted. This cost Mythical Paradise over 100 million points in one fell swoop.

Even outside of version events, it would take Mythic Paradise a long time to accumulate hundreds of millions of points. After all, B-grade and Tier 2 armors, as well as many Tier 1 and 2 weapons, are now readily available everywhere. The exchange price for them with martial arts schools is much lower than before. They can only earn contribution points, which is not as profitable as mining energy veins or hunting monsters of lord level or higher.

And these players' daily expenses have not decreased but increased, leaving them with very few points.

They wouldn't have spent so many points if it weren't for the blue-quality weapon from the epic quest.

As the three arrived at the twenty-meter-high metal gate, the previously locked gate seemed to have been unlocked as the mechanical man lost his power.

After Lu Fanchen and his two companions pushed open the metal door, the view behind it left them speechless.

"What's going on?"

"Shouldn't this be a place that produces primary ores of grade C or higher?"

Lu Fanchen and his two companions gazed at the gate, where one side was a volcanic hell engulfed in flames, and the other a frigid, icy space. Although they were hundreds of meters apart, they could still clearly feel the scorching heat of the volcanic hell and the icy cold of the icy space. This heat and cold were not just physical temperatures; the three of them could clearly feel the scorching heat and the icy coldness in their souls.

In this vast underground world of magma and ice, at its center floats a translucent crystal with a radius of 100 meters, and within the crystal, a gigantic figure can be vaguely seen.

The figure was a woman over fifty meters tall, dressed in strange, snow-white clothing. She had a human-like appearance, but with four arms. Her eyes were closed, and she lay quietly inside, her breathing faintly audible. This sent a chill down the spines of Lu Fanchen and his companions, who couldn't fathom what level of NPC this was.

Danger!

death!

This instinctive warning from their brains almost made Lu Fanchen and the other two want to close the door, but a sudden system notification stopped them from doing so.

System: Congratulations, player, for triggering the epic quest 'Collection of Leyline Essence'. Collect 100,000 units of Leyline Essence and hand them over to the Pavilion Master, and report the relevant situation of the collection area. Reward: Three natural days of rental qualification for the third floor training room of the Training Tower. For every additional 10,000 units of Leyline Essence collected, an additional reward of 500,000 points and 2,000 contribution points will be given, along with a three-hour rental qualification for the third floor training room of the Training Tower.

"Vice President, should we do this mission?" Lin Xinyao, pale-faced, looked at Lu Fanchen hesitantly.

Although she only caught a glimpse of the woman inside the semi-transparent crystal, she could sense that the woman was the most terrifying being she had ever encountered in the game, especially the sense of death she felt, which was something she had never experienced in the game, even after dying hundreds of times in front of that mechanical man.

But she felt it on the woman, and it was incredibly strong.

I feel like if that woman attacks me, I might really die!
"Fortune favors the bold." Lu Fanchen glanced at the stunningly beautiful woman with her eyes closed in the crystal in the distance and said through gritted teeth, "It's precisely because that woman is terrifying that the reward for this mission is so high. Three days of cultivation in the third-level training room is enough for us to break through to the high-level of the Bone Forging Realm. Not to mention, the more we collect, the more rental time we can get. This is our best chance to surpass Tianwei."

He was no less afraid of the woman in the crystal than Lin Xinyao, but the training room on the third floor of the cultivation tower was simply irresistible.

The effects of one day of training inside, combined with the three types of energy potions, are comparable to several days of training outside. Three days is equivalent to more than ten days of training for others. If you miss this opportunity, it will be very difficult to encounter such an opportunity again.

“I agree.” Li Tianxing nodded, still terrified as he looked at the woman. He said in a low voice, “I think she’s probably asleep. As long as we don’t wake her when we’re looking for the earth vein essence, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

"Alright, then let's be quieter in a bit," Lin Xinyao said, giving a reminder to the two who were determined.

The three then searched for something resembling an earth vein essence in a place far away from the crystal woman.

Fortunately, the world behind the door was a world of ice and fire, with no other metal ores. The only things they could find were deep purple crystals, and nothing else that resembled ley line essence. This allowed the three of them to confirm that these deep purple crystals were indeed the ley line essence for the mission.

The three of them endured the scorching heat and chill of this world of ice and fire, collecting the essence of the earth veins as gently as possible, for fear of disturbing the woman inside the crystal.

However, just as Lu Fanchen and his two companions were collecting earth vein essence for more than six hours, becoming increasingly excited and forced to approach the crystal woman, Li Tianxing suddenly gestured to Lu Fanchen and Lin Xinyao, signaling them to come over.

"Tianxing, what's going on here? I've discovered quite a few earth vein essences over there," Lin Xinyao complained slightly.

According to her estimate, she has collected nearly 100,000 units of earth vein essence. Adding the large amount of earth vein essence from the small area she just discovered, she has enough to gather 100,000 units to qualify for a three-day rental of the third-floor cultivation room in the cultivation tower. This is far better than having to go through the weekly PK competition to get those few hours.

Lu Fanchen also looked at Li Tianxing curiously, not understanding why Li Tianxing had suddenly summoned the two of them over.

"Look at this!"

Li Tianxing carefully took out a fist-sized piece of earth vein essence, which had a drop of golden liquid on it.

"Is it liquid gold? What's the use of this?" Lu Fanchen looked at the golden liquid on the earth vein essence with a puzzled expression, not understanding why Li Tianxing was being so mysterious.

He sensed absolutely nothing special about the pale golden liquid; there was no rich energy, no vibrant life force. It was like gold melted into liquid—utterly unremarkable. "Take a look over there," Li Tianxing said, pointing to the woman in the crystal in the distance. "Isn't there a tiny scratch on her outer arm? Look at that scratch!"

As Li Tianxing pointed it out, the two who had been hesitant to look closely followed suit.

"How could this be! Could this be..." Lu Fanchen was shocked when he saw a small scratch on the woman's outer arm.

On the small scratches on the woman's outer arm, there were traces of golden liquid, clearly the woman's blood, exactly the same as the one in Li Tianxing's hand, only with a huge difference in quantity.

"Do you think that if you consume the blood of an NPC, the effects will be better than those of monster blood?" Li Tianxing said with a smile.

Back when they hunted the boss monsters in the wilderness, they made a fortune, using the blood of that two-horned cheetah to make rapid progress in a short period of time.

Now, there's a terrifying NPC who's many levels stronger than the Two-Horned Cheetah. You can imagine that the NPC's blood is incredibly valuable, possibly even more so than the rewards from this epic quest.

"Tianxing, you're amazing! You even managed to find this thing." Lin Xinyao was also very excited.

The female NPC in front of me is clearly much stronger than the legendary Celestial Realm warrior. She is even stronger than the NPCs in the game version. If I could get even a little bit of something from such an NPC, I could probably run rampant in the current 2.0 version.

Lu Fanchen, his breathing rapid, ordered, "Quick! Since the blood could drip onto one earth vein essence, there must be many other places where it dripped!"

The three then searched for golden blood and collected earth vein essences. After spending most of the day carefully searching around the Crystal Woman and collecting a total of twelve drops of golden blood, they reluctantly left behind a resurrection device in this world of ice and fire.

After the three of them bound themselves to the respawn point, one of them carried a storage box the size of a person and quickly retreated, without engaging in any further conflict with the fully charged robot man at the entrance, and left at lightning speed.

Red Moon Town, Obsidian Martial Arts School, Advanced Training Room.

"You three did a great job, exceeding expectations and discovering the secret beneath the martial arts school." Lin Qi praised after listening to Lu Fanchen and the other two's report. "You three will receive an additional 50% bonus on this mission!"

"Thank you, Master. This is what we disciples should do." Lu Fanchen and the other two were overjoyed at first, and then responded very respectfully.

The mission reward has increased by 50%, which means that the original three days of reward time has now become four and a half days. In addition, every additional 10,000 units of ley line essence will also be converted into four and a half hours of reward time. It can be said that this mission is incredibly profitable.

With such a long rental period, they even have the opportunity to reach the high-level limit of the Bone Forging Realm in a short time and become one of the first players to attempt to break through to the Blood Coagulation Realm.

"I knew it. That female NPC was indeed prepared by the game for the next version." Li Tianxing sighed softly. "This game is really well-made and meticulous. Even though we don't know how long it will be before the next version, they have already filled in some details and plot of the next version. I really don't know how big this game is going to be. Just the existing map is probably enough for billions of people to play for several years."

“I estimate that this game’s ambitions are not limited to the domestic market.” Lu Fanchen nodded in agreement. “Maybe it will also launch overseas closed beta tests. It’s very likely that High Martial Arts Descends will be developed into a global version of Second World. With the game’s current technical capabilities, it’s entirely possible.”

"Do players all over the world play it?" Lin Xinyao couldn't help but get excited after hearing this.

If High Martial Arts is truly developed into a global game, its value will undoubtedly be elevated to several levels, potentially even completely changing the current virtual gaming industry and the real world. Players will be the first to reap the benefits.

After Lu Fanchen and the other two left the advanced training room while chatting, Lin Qi's expression became somewhat serious.

"A woman who has surpassed the Celestial Realm?"

Lin Qi felt a chill run down his spine when he thought that such a woman was hidden beneath the martial arts school.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened during the development of Obsidian Martial Arts School.

Otherwise, if such a terrifying woman were accidentally awakened by the battle's fluctuations, the entire Obsidian Martial Arts School would probably be reduced to ashes in an instant. Although he has now moved to Crimson Moon Town, it cannot be said to be safe. After all, such a being could probably wipe out a city with a flick of the wrist, let alone destroy Crimson Moon Town, which is a hundred kilometers away.

However, there is one thing that is comforting.

According to Lu Fanchen and his companions' description, there should be plenty of ley line essences there to modify the beginner-level spirit tower. This way, they won't have to worry about the beginner-level spirit tower anymore, especially since the three of them brought back a total of over 630,000 units of ley line essences.

Creating a basic spirit tower is quite simple. It only requires creating a three-story tower that is twelve meters tall using energy ore and spending 30,000 units of earth vein essence to create it.

The 630,000 units of earth vein essence are enough to transform into 21 primary spirit towers.

These basic spirit towers not only boost spirit, but also halve the resurrection time for players within a 20-kilometer radius, which is incredibly powerful for players.

The stronger a player is, the longer it takes to revive. Currently, it takes about 70 minutes for a Bone Forging Realm warrior to revive. If the revival time were halved, the player's combat power in the wild would more than double.

“Those players complain about the long respawn time every day, so now's the perfect opportunity for you.” Lin Qi looked at the basic spirit tower that he could already modify and couldn't help but smile as he opened the system menu.

Asking him to provide this basic spirit tower with half the resurrection time for free is clearly impossible. As a mature player, one should at least learn to build their own tower, defend their own tower, and conquer the world on their own.

Lin Qi then informed all players that the martial arts school had now opened the exchange permission for the beginner-level Spirit Tower. Any core disciple of the martial arts school could exchange it for 300 million points and 100,000 contribution points. Players only needed to make the tower's appearance according to the requirements.

Meanwhile, in the martial arts gym's lounge on the other side.

Lu Fanchen and the other two gathered together, but instead of rushing to the cultivation tower, they took out the golden blood they had obtained from the Ice and Fire World.

"We don't know how effective this golden blood will be yet. Which of the three of us should try it?" Lu Fanchen asked the other two.

Without knowing the effects of the female NPC's blood, in order to ensure that it can achieve the maximum effect later, one person needs to try it first. Such an attempt will undoubtedly waste a drop of golden blood, since only twelve drops have been collected in total, four drops for each person, and every drop used is one less drop.

"How about I do it?" Lin Xinyao volunteered. "My head has already exploded four times, so my mental state is probably the highest among the three of us. Even if I waste energy, I'll waste the least."

“Alright, then it’s up to you, Xinyao.” Lu Fanchen said, taking out a drop of golden blood and giving it to Lin Xinyao, adding, “If we can find more golden blood next time we go there, we’ll give you a drop first.”

Li Tianxing nodded in agreement, feeling that this was the best option at present.

"Then I'll begin!"

Lin Xinyao took the golden blood, took a deep breath, and drank it down in one gulp.

(End of this chapter)