The Fourth Calamity: People in High Martial Arts, Gods in Games

Chapter 122 Shop System and the Newbie's Arrival (Long Chapter)

Blue Star, the official forum for the arrival of high-level martial arts.

With the official version update post pinned to the top, players who were previously discussing the Battle of Red Moon Mountain couldn't help but click to check it out.

Version 1.11 Update Announcement.

Update details: Fixed some game bugs, optimized the scenery of the Crimson Moon Mountain map and player entry restrictions, and added new gameplay to attract more users. Details are as follows.

1. The number of new test players has increased by 50.

2. The Shop System will be launched. In three days, Chiyue Mountain will open shop purchase permissions. Players with shops can freely sell various items and hire NPCs for daily management, increasing the chances of attracting NPCs to buy their goods. (Note: Martial Arts Schools only charge a 10% income tax on shops.)

3. Players no longer need to reach the Apprentice level to go to Crimson Moon Mountain; becoming a Prospective Apprentice is sufficient. (Note: Crimson Moon Mountain is a dangerous wilderness map and is not recommended for low-level players.)

……

"This game developer is so diligent! They've updated with new content in just a few days. This is definitely the most hardworking game developer I've ever seen. Give me a spot to play this game, I'm definitely going to play it."

"Damn, they've actually launched a shop system this time. People who like playing business games are in luck, but the 10% income tax is a bit of a rip-off."

"You think a 10% income tax is a rip-off? You probably don't know how high the income tax is for setting up a stall in Chiyue Mountain. You have to pay 20% income tax on any single item you sell. It's simply unbearable."

"This shop is really great, you can hire NPCs to manage it. I wonder if you can hire pretty older women. If you can, I want to hire ten of them and make money while lying down every day."

"Hey bro, wanna get some of those hairy gorilla beauties' weapon and protective gear? I have a lot of them, I can sell them to you cheap."

……

The sudden version update on the official forum sparked a lively discussion among both veteran and new players, especially the new players, who all felt that the new version was absolutely fantastic.

Previously, you needed to become an apprentice to go to the new map, Crimson Moon Mountain, but now you only need to become a prospective apprentice. This will undoubtedly allow new players to earn points faster. In addition, the opening of the shop system will allow new players to buy weapons and equipment at a cheaper price and experience the feeling of using weapons sooner, which will also speed up the improvement of combat power.

The only slightly annoying thing is that now, in order to trade with other players, you need to buy a smart watch first, otherwise you can't trade with other players.

"Sister Wu, everything I said is true. There is a new and powerful force behind that Great Ape Gang. According to that three-eyed female NPC, that force is the Great Gorilla Gang in the suburbs. Their strength is unfathomable, and they have a great influence in the suburbs. Our martial arts school may very well come into conflict with that Great Gorilla Gang." Ragnarok said excitedly.

"Based on the plot you described, this could indeed be a preview of the version that the game developers are subtly hinting at." Luo Wushang nodded, also showing some interest.

"I suspect the game developers are playing a long game, especially with the recent update that introduced the shop system. This will greatly accelerate the leveling up of new players. Game developers never do anything useless, so this is likely to help us players better deal with this new hostile force later," Ragnarok analyzed. "Moreover, the number of players has increased significantly this time. This new hostile force might open high-level, large-scale raid dungeons that will require a considerable number of players to conquer."

"I think so too, otherwise the game developers wouldn't need to update the version so quickly." Zhang Qingwei agreed, "The power of the Martial Artist level BOSS is obvious to all, but according to what that three-eyed female NPC said, this gorilla gang has B-grade armor that can suppress Martial Artists. With such high-level equipment, the dungeon level must be quite high. It's probably a high-difficulty team dungeon prepared for players who have reached the Martial Artist level."

The members of Tianwei present were all excited and eager when they heard about the high-level equipment.

The B-grade armor is clearly high-level equipment designed for martial artists. If you can acquire it the moment you become a martial artist, you will definitely become the top player, instantly widening the gap between you and other forces and enhancing your prestige and status in the High Martial Arts Descent.

When the guild system is launched during the High Martial Arts event, Tianwei will be able to attract more players to join, allowing Tianwei to grow even faster during the High Martial Arts event.

"Furthermore, the Great Ape Gang, backed by the Great Gorilla Gang, is a major gang in the suburbs and wields considerable influence in the City of Light. It's estimated that the Obsidian Martial Arts School will have a hard time doing business in the City of Light. This time, they suddenly launched a shop system, allowing players to buy shops in Crimson Moon Mountain," Ragnarok added. "At this rate of development, the Obsidian Martial Arts School's confrontation with the Great Gorilla Gang could very well turn Crimson Moon Mountain into a town, increasing the school's influence and power. I suggest that when the shops open in three days, we should buy some of the prime locations. As the number of players and NPCs increases, these shops will definitely become more and more valuable."

"Should we build it into the players' first town?" Luo Wushang fell into deep thought. After a few seconds of consideration, she instructed, "If that's the case, we have two things to do now. The first is that we need to advance to the level of martial artist as soon as possible so that we can be the first to attack the Gorilla Gang before other teams."

"The second thing is to set up a stall and sell the spoils of this battle as soon as possible in the next few days. It doesn't matter if the price is a little cheaper. As long as we can buy shops in prime locations, we can make double the money back later."

"Qingwei, your first task is to find a way to transfer more people from the guild headquarters so that more people can enter the High Martial Arts Descent to earn points, and we can have more time to train and improve in the secret realm."

"Gods, you are in charge of the second task. No matter what, you must buy those prime shops before the other teams do."

Knowing that Crimson Moon Mountain would be developed into the first player town, anyone with half a brain would understand that the shops in these central locations would definitely become very valuable in the future.

Buying them now will definitely turn them into a gold mine in the future. However, the prices of these centrally located shops are certainly not cheap. Given the martial arts school's shady business practices, the Tianwei Squad's current financial resources are probably simply not enough to afford them. They need to quickly convert their spoils into cash to raise funds to purchase the shops.

Following Luo Wushang's instructions, the Tianwei members present all sprang into action.

"I hope I can make it in time." Luo Wushang looked at the departing crowd and felt the considerable pressure of being the vice president of Tianwei.

In her eyes, the other two teams that Gaowu is currently facing are not even considered competitors. Once Gaowu is officially launched, Tianwei, with its profound foundation, is simply incomparable to any individual team. The two sides are not even in the same league.

Fang Zhen and Yi Ye Fuyun and the others simply regarded Tianwei as their opponent.

Little did they know that in her eyes, this was just a minor skirmish; Tianwei's real opponent was not Gaowu's arrival at all.

The Pilgrimage is declining day by day. The major guilds that developed the Pilgrimage are also starting to set their sights on new games. If they cannot grow stronger before the arrival of high-level martial arts and are noticed by major guilds, the difficulty of growing stronger later will definitely be ten or even a hundred times greater than it is now.

While the players on Crimson Moon Mountain were caught up in a frenzy of raising money, on Blue Star, in Jiangnan City...

In the city center stands a magnificent 300-story building, towering like a giant on the most bustling street in Jiangnan City, overlooking this megacity with a population of over 30 million. It is also one of the landmark buildings of Jiangnan City.

Paradise Building!

The headquarters of Mythical Paradise, one of the five major guilds, is located here.

Although it was already dark, the building was brightly lit. More than 100,000 members of the Mythical Paradise guild were either conducting their daily special training inside the building or fighting on the front line of the pilgrimage, organizing various management tasks and activities within the pilgrimage, just like a super-large enterprise.

Meanwhile, in the conference hall on the top floor, several core executives of Myth Paradise gathered together.

"Fan Chen, what's the matter that you suddenly summoned us here for this meeting?" A dignified man, nearly sixty years old but looking only in his forties, looked at a young man with a buzz cut in front of the conference table, his words carrying a hint of accusation.

Lu Fanchen!

A super genius of Mythical Paradise, a genius expert who is on par with Luo Wushang of Heavenly Might within the Pilgrimage, and also the youngest elder of Mythical Paradise.

The latest novel is first published here!

If Lu Fanchen hadn't suddenly called this meeting, he, as the chairman, would never have come.

"President, I recently discovered that Tianwei has invested a significant amount of resources in a new game called 'High Martial Arts Descends'," Lu Fanchen explained. "At first, I wasn't very interested in 'High Martial Arts Descends', since the game's advertising claims 100% virtuality, which is hard to believe. However, after experiencing the 'High Martial Arts Descends' assessment test, and seeing Tianwei's Luo Wushang and Zhao Hu join the game, I feel it's necessary for our Mythical Paradise to join 'High Martial Arts Descends' as soon as possible."

"Is this game really that amazing?" Guild leader Kong Yuanhai asked, somewhat surprised. "You should know that we are currently making every effort to prepare for the transition to the Immortal Path of Eternity. You should understand the importance of this game better than I do."

"Guild Leader, I know this is sudden, but High Martial Arts Descends is no ordinary game. Just the testing and assessment of High Martial Arts Descends alone are already on par with Immortal Path Eternal. Moreover, Luo Wushang, the vice president of Tianwei, has brought Elder Zhao Hu to participate. I imagine that the future popularity of High Martial Arts Descends will not be much less than that of Immortal Path Eternal." Lu Fanchen said very firmly. "Now that news of Immortal Path Eternal has leaked, I'm afraid many large guilds and powerful forces have their eyes on Immortal Path Eternal. Once the public beta begins, the competition will definitely surpass that of all other virtual games in the country."

"So instead of putting all our hopes on the Eternal Immortal Path, we should allocate some resources to the Descent of High Martial Arts. That way, even if we don't reach the level of pilgrimage on the Eternal Immortal Path, we'll still have the Descent of High Martial Arts as a safety net."

"Okay, I understand." After thinking for a moment, Chairman Kong Yuanhai took a deep breath and said, "How many people do you need?"

As Lu Fanchen said, now that the news of Immortal Path Eternal has been leaked, many top guilds know about the special features of Immortal Path Eternal. Many popular guilds in the game will probably move into Immortal Path Eternal. Even Myth Paradise doesn't have much confidence that it can become a giant force in Immortal Path Eternal.

"I need at least two elders and 100,000 guild experts. Let's take advantage of today's update to the High Martial Arts Descent version and enter High Martial Arts Descent as soon as possible," Lu Fanchen said without hesitation.

"You're really ruthless, asking for two elders at once." Kong Yuanhai didn't hesitate for long before saying directly, "Fine, I'll have two elders with you. As for 100,000 experts, that's impossible; there's too little time. At most, I can organize 50,000 members for you before 12 o'clock."

"Thank you, Chairman." Lu Fanchen nodded, clearly satisfied with the current outcome.

"Alright, go and get ready." Kong Yuanhai waved his hand, looking rather helpless.

Although Lu Fanchen spoke with great righteousness, Kong Yuanhai knew very well that Lu Fanchen wanted to defeat Luo Wushang. After all, the two were two geniuses of the same era and had never been able to determine who was better. Now that Lu Fanchen knew that Luo Wushang had switched to fighting in the High Martial Arts Tournament, he naturally wanted to have a competition.

Obsidian Martial Arts School, with a full moon hanging high in the sky.

Lin Qi led three medium-sized transport vehicles back to the martial arts school with a new batch of energy ore.

"With these three truckloads of energy ore, converting them into twenty rest areas shouldn't be a problem." Lin Qi glanced at the players carrying the energy ore and sighed that Obsidian Martial Arts Academy was really short-handed.

He is desperately short-staffed right now.

Leaving aside the manpower needed to build various houses and shops on Crimson Moon Mountain, managing Crimson Moon Mountain alone will require at least a hundred people, otherwise it will be impossible to maintain the security of the trading area on Crimson Moon Mountain. In addition, mining energy veins will also require a large number of people. Once players become martial artists in the future, their demand for energy ore will be astonishing, so we must prepare in advance.

Neither of these two tasks can be delegated to outsiders.

The current 110 players are really not enough, even if you split them in half.

At 2 a.m., in the quiet solitary confinement room of the Obsidian Martial Arts School, figures formed in the void, filling several solitary confinement rooms in the blink of an eye.

Another batch of new players has officially launched.

(End of this chapter)