Online Game: Me, with Unparalleled Comprehension

He guessed that there would be extra rewards for submitting more than the target, but he didn't expect to receive a cultivation technique.

Is the game's hidden setting... designed to encourage players to exceed the required goals?

Or is there a chance to trigger rare rewards only when a certain multiple is reached?

Looking back, the first time I completed a mission to clear out wild beasts, I received ten times the amount of green pills.

This time, the bandit suppression mission exceeded the target by more than ten times, and the martial arts manual was directly awarded to them.

If that's the case, then the initial gameplay of this game will be very interesting—forcing players to compete fiercely on low-level tasks, achieving a completion rate more than ten times higher, in order to gamble on a little bit of rare reward.

It's a bit of a rip-off, but it's also full of opportunities.

For someone with extraordinary talent and terrifying monster-killing efficiency, this mechanism was practically tailor-made for him.

"This breathing technique was passed down from my ancestors. It's not anything profound, but its strength lies in its balanced and peaceful nature, making it perfect for building a solid foundation."

The village chief stroked his beard, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes, "It would be a waste for me to keep it here. Today I'm giving it to you. I hope you will study it well and not go astray."

"Thank you very much, sir." Wu Changfeng thanked him sincerely and put the booklet back into his package.

The first cultivation manual I acquired, though it was only the most basic white quality, was of great significance.

This means he can begin cultivating true qi and unlocking the internal energy system.

"Young man, you are exceptionally capable and of excellent character." The village chief's tone became solemn. "The bandits of Black Wind Pass have suffered such a heavy blow, and their leader, Black-Faced Tiger, will certainly not let this go easily. According to what the villagers learned the day before yesterday, the bandits seem to have stockpiled a batch of stolen food and supplies in an abandoned mountain god temple deep in Black Wind Pass, as if they intend to occupy the area for a long time."

The village chief looked at Wu Changfeng, his eyes filled with expectation: "I originally intended to wait a while, gather more brave warriors, and then try to resolve this matter. But seeing what you did today, perhaps... would you be willing to investigate further? If you can ascertain the true nature of that mountain god temple, the number and deployment of the bandits, or... if you can seize the opportunity to burn that batch of grain, cutting off their foundation, it would rid the village of a great scourge!"

[System Prompt: Accept the quest "Into the Tiger's Den"? Venture deep into Black Wind Pass to investigate the bandit stronghold at the abandoned mountain temple and burn any remaining supplies the bandits have. Difficulty: Hard. Recommended Level: Level 8 or higher; team play is strongly recommended. Note: This quest is the second part of the "Cleanse the Black Wind Bandits" quest chain.]

The difficulty level is high; team play is recommended.

But looking at the "Chain Quest" prompt, Wu Changfeng knew that this was probably an important branch of the main storyline in the beginner village.

The rewards will be substantial, and there is a high chance they will trigger further events.

Wu Changfeng nodded to indicate that he understood. He was about to take his leave to go to the threshing ground to learn the remaining basic staff and spear techniques from Wang Hu when several white lights suddenly flashed in succession on the open ground next to him.

Four or five players respawned almost simultaneously, each with a grim expression.

One of the tall, burly men, barely regaining his footing, cursed, "Damn it! What kind of monster is that bandit leader in Black Wind Pass?! He almost killed me in one hit! Five of us couldn't even last twenty seconds!"

His voice was loud, filled with frustration and anger.

A thin player nearby seemed to suddenly realize something and cried out in horror, "My level! How did my level drop? I was clearly level 5, how did I become level 1?!"

"What?" The tall man was stunned, quickly pulled up his experience panel, and his face turned ashen. "Damn it! Me too! Level 5 down to level 1! My experience bar is empty!"

"It's not just the level!" another female player cried, "My basic swordsmanship... I finally reached the proficiency level, and now it's dropped back to 'beginner'! My proficiency is only a dozen points left!"

"My martial arts skills too! They've dropped in level!"

"This death penalty is too harsh! Level reset to zero? And martial arts realm reduced too?"

The group immediately erupted in chaos, with complaints and groans mingling together.

The few players who were passing by stopped and turned pale as they listened.

Wu Changfeng paused, a chill running through him.

Is the punishment of death really this severe?

Level reset means all basic attribute points gained from leveling up are lost. Although each level only adds 1 point, 5 levels is 5 points, which is a painful loss for the average player.

Even more fatal is the drop in martial arts skill level!

He immediately thought of his four fully-developed external martial arts techniques. If he died once, he would lose a level in any one of them…

Falling from Great Perfection to Perfection means losing a few points of attribute or other attribute bonuses!

Moreover, to train a Perfected state back to Great Perfection, you need a full 10,000 points of proficiency.

At his current rate, killing one bandit gives 105 proficiency points, and he would need to kill more than 95 bandits to make up for it!

Although he can kill bandits very quickly now, it will still take time to kill 95 of them.

Not to mention ordinary players, killing a monster might only increase their proficiency by a few points, but if they drop a level, it might take several days to level up back up.

This punishment was indeed so severe it sent chills down my spine.

Wu Changfeng secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, he had played it safe and hadn't recklessly ventured into the depths of Black Wind Ravine just because his attributes had skyrocketed.

That leader is probably at least an elite monster, with a level and attributes far exceeding those of the outer scouts. With the help of other bandits, it's indeed easy for them to fail.

"Looks like I need to be more careful in the future," he told himself. "I only have one life... well, at least in this role, the cost of death is too high."

The players left together, cursing and swearing, probably preparing to team up and go to a safer place to level up and catch up.

Wu Changfeng didn't linger and turned to walk quickly towards the threshing ground.

Wang Hu was packing his things when he saw Wu Changfeng approaching. He raised an eyebrow and said, "It's you again. What's wrong? Haven't you learned enough?"

"I want to learn staff fighting and spear fighting," Wu Changfeng said directly.

Wang Hu was somewhat surprised: "You kid... you've learned quite a few things. You've learned fist techniques, palm techniques, and sword techniques, and now you want to learn staff and spear? You can't bite off more than you can chew, haven't you heard of that?"

"I want to see for myself." Wu Changfeng didn't explain further and asked directly, "Is the tuition still one hundred coins per subject?"

"The rules haven't changed," Wang Hu said, arms crossed. "But I have to remind you, you'll have to make your own weapons. I don't have any extra sticks or guns for you."

"clear."

After paying two hundred coins, Wang Hu readily agreed and walked to the center of the threshing ground. He picked up a long stick made of white ash wood and a long spear with an iron-tipped wooden shaft, and demonstrated several core stances of basic stick and spear techniques.

The stick technique emphasizes sweeping, thrusting, chopping, and parrying, with powerful and heavy movements covering a wide range.

The spear technique emphasizes thrusting, stabbing, picking, and circling; every inch longer is more powerful, requiring higher levels of skill and arm strength.

[System notification: Instructor Wang Hu is teaching you "Basic Staff Techniques" (low-level). Do you wish to learn?]

[System notification: Instructor Wang Hu is teaching you "Basic Marksmanship" (a low-level skill). Do you wish to learn?]

"study."

Two faint warm currents. Two more "Beginner 0/100" skills have been added to the skill bar.

At this point, Wang Hu had mastered all six basic external martial arts techniques available here—sword, fist, palm, knife, staff, and spear.

Next, it's all about relentlessly grinding monsters, pushing them all to their maximum potential, and squeezing out every last bit of attribute bonus.

After leaving the threshing ground, Wu Changfeng went straight to the general store.

He dumped all the junk equipment from his bag. Torn coarse cloth clothes, rusty short knives, inferior wooden sticks... all dropped by bandits. Their stats were even worse than the standard white equipment sold in the blacksmith's shop, but they could still be exchanged for some money.

The old man at the general store squinted as he finished counting the items and gave a price that offered no surprises: a total of one hundred and eighty-five coins.

Even a mosquito's leg is meat. Wu Changfeng accepted the money, and the total number of copper coins in the package returned to over four thousand four hundred coins.