Online Game: Me, with Unparalleled Comprehension

The game pod makes a slight vacuum suction sound when it closes.

The darkness lasted for about three seconds, followed by a sudden burst of overly bright light.

Wu Feng squinted. He stood in a void of pure white space, the ground beneath his feet feeling like warm, smooth jade, yet the horizon seemed endless.

Directly ahead, a semi-transparent phantom of a woman in ancient costume appeared, her dress fluttering without wind, her voice ethereal and devoid of any worldly concerns: "Welcome to the [Jianghu Dream]. Hero, please shape your mortal form."

The same old routine. Wu Feng muttered to himself, but his hands moved quickly. A creation interface popped up in front of him. Apart from the usual minor adjustments to his appearance—which he was too lazy to do and just left it as default, retaining about 80% of his real appearance, except that his skin was a bit better and his eyes were a bit brighter—the most eye-catching feature was the five constantly rotating bronze boxes in the center.

"Each hero has five chances to draw a destiny attribute. After five draws, one can choose one to bestow upon themselves," the woman in ancient costume explained.

The glossary system. Wu Feng perked up. He was familiar with this thing; he had seen it many times in various games. They were nothing more than white or green quality bonuses like "Super Strength (Strength +5)" or "Strong Bones (Constitution +5)". Good blue and purple ones were rare.

Gold? The promotional video mentioned that the odds were comparable to winning the lottery jackpot in real life.

As expected, the first four draws brought no surprises.

The first time, white light, [Basic proficiency in fist and foot techniques (gain +10% in basic fist and palm skills)].

The second time, green light, [Light as a swallow (Agility +3)].

The third time, white light, [Durable (HP +50)].

The fourth time, green light, [Long Inner Breath (True Qi Limit +30)].

Wu Feng curled his lip. As expected of a "professional locust," his luck was as consistent as ever. He chose the fourth time without hesitation. At least it was green, which would be useful in the early stages of the game for increasing his true qi limit.

One last time. He rubbed his non-existent virtual palm, silently chanting, "Blue will do, I dare not even think about purple," and clicked on the last rotating bronze box.

The box trembled violently, its edges bursting with dazzling golden light, illuminating the pure white space with brilliance! The intense light caused Wu Feng to subconsciously tilt his head. The ethereal voice of the woman in ancient costume seemed to have gained a slight tremor: "Congratulations, hero! You are blessed with great fortune and have been granted the mandate of heaven."

The golden light faded, the box opened, and the floating characters inside seemed to be cast from molten gold:

[Exceptional Talent] (Golden Only)

—Comprehension +200

—Martial arts training efficiency +500%

Wu Feng's heart pounded heavily against his chest inside the game pod in the real world.

My breath hitched for a split second. Comprehension? Martial arts efficiency?

He quickly did the mental calculations: his base comprehension should be 10 points, so adding 200 would give him 210 points. According to the formulas in most games, comprehension directly affects the speed at which skill proficiency is gained… 210 points of comprehension, even if divided by 10, would still result in a 21-fold increase in proficiency gain speed? Add to that the 500% training efficiency… his mind was racing.

"Please choose your entry, hero," the woman reminded him.

Is there even a need to choose? Wu Feng immediately confirmed and locked in [Exceptional Talent].

The golden text transformed into a stream of light and entered the space between his virtual body's eyebrows, bringing a slightly cool sensation.

Please name the character.

"Wu Changfeng." He used his usual ID from the game.

"Character creation complete. May your journey in the martial world be long and prosperous."

The white light completely engulfed my vision. After a slight dizziness, I felt a solid sensation under my feet, mixed with the smells of soil, grass, and a faint trace of animal manure.

Suddenly, a cacophony of voices filled my ears: roosters crowing, dogs barking, children playing, the clanging of metal from the blacksmith's shop, and the drawn-out shouts of a peddler in the distance.

Wu Changfeng opened his eyes.

He stood at the entrance of a typical ancient village, the dirt road beneath his feet firmly trodden, flanked by crooked fences and earthen houses with thatched roofs.

Flashes of white light appeared around them, and one by one, players dressed in rough beginner clothes appeared, their faces showing similar excitement and confusion, chattering and looking around.

The air was humid, the wind felt slightly cool on my face, and the sunlight felt warm on my coarse cloth clothes.

It lives up to its name as a 100% motion simulation.

He immediately brought up his character panel. A semi-transparent screen unfolded before his eyes, displaying flowing data:

Wu Changfeng

[Level: 1]

【Life: 100/100】

[True Qi: 0/0]

[Level of expertise: Unprofessional]

[Destiny Affix: Innate Talent (Comprehension +200, Martial Arts Training Efficiency +500%)]

[Identity: None]

[Arm Strength: 10] (1 point corresponds to 1 point of external attack damage)

[Constitution: 10] (1 point corresponds to 0.3 external defense and 10 health)

[Agility: 10] (1 point corresponds to 0.1% attack speed and 0.1% movement speed)

[Internal Strength: 0] (1 point corresponds to 0.5 points of internal damage and 0.1 points of internal defense)

Special attributes:

[Comprehension: 210] (Affects proficiency gain; proficiency gain = comprehension / 10.)

[Fortune: 10] (Affects the probability of random events such as encounters and drops)

[Charm: 10] (Affects NPC's initial attitude and some interactions)

Martial Arts: None

External Skills: None

[Internal Skill: None]

[Lightness Skill: None]

[Weapons and Equipment: None]

Comprehension 210. Proficiency gained 21 times. Plus that 500% martial arts training efficiency... Wu Changfeng closed the panel, took a deep breath of the virtual village air, and suppressed the pounding in his heart.

He knew what this meant. Time is money. Especially during the golden period of the first few days after the server opens.

Without further delay, he scanned the village and quickly locked onto an old man sitting under the old locust tree at the village entrance, wearing a slightly neat gray short jacket and puffing on a pipe.

Two pale yellow characters floated above the old man's head: [Village Chief].

Several players had already gathered around, chattering amongst themselves.

Wu Changfeng squeezed through the crowd and waited for the person in front of him to finish asking before speaking, "Sir, I'm new to your area. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The village chief raised his eyelids, sized him up, and said slowly, "Oh, a young man from out of town. The village has been rather unsettled lately. The wild dogs and rabbits in the woods behind the village have gone mad for some reason, constantly running into the fields and damaging the crops. If you have nothing to do, why don't you go and help the villagers clean them up? Take this certificate and go find Instructor Wang in the village; he'll teach you some self-defense techniques."

[System notification: Accepted the beginner's guide quest "The Village Chief's Entrustment". Obtained the quest item [Village Chief's Certificate].]

Wu Changfeng accepted the rough wooden plaque, thanked him, and turned to leave.

According to the usual game logic, you can learn your first martial arts skill from the instructor.

He strode through the village and found a burly man with a bare upper body and bulging muscles—[Instructor Wang Hu]—by the grain drying ground at the west end of the village.

Players lined up in front of Wang Hu, handing over their credentials one by one. They then selected a basic weapon from the weapon rack behind him. Wang Hu would then demonstrate a set of extremely simple movements. After the players did these movements a few times, they were considered to have "learned" the basic martial arts.

It was Wu Changfeng's turn. He handed over the wooden plaque.

"Hmm." Wang Hu took it and casually tossed it into the basket at his feet. "What do you want to learn? Fist, palm, knife, sword, staff—the forms are all over there. Pick one yourself."