.5 - It looks like I'll need to beat up more and more rivals in the future

"You are of a fox lineage has charm deeply embedded in their bones. No matter who it is, as long as they meet you, they will all love you." The trees on the mountain were evergreens, the person in front of him was dressed in white with his long hair tied up, and as he walked, his feet did not touch the ground. His entire being seemed like that of an otherworldly immortal separated from everyone. "This is both a good thing and a bad thing."

Xue Ling followed his new cheap master. At first, he had an inexplicable aversion to this man, but when he changed back to that untouchable immortal look, that aversion disappeared. When he learned that this man held the highest status in Ten Thousand Swords Sect and was the strongest sword cultivator, Xue Ling reluctantly recognized this cheap man as his master, but his heart was filled with all kinds of discontent.

Because having a higher position in the game would make things more convenient for him, he had to tolerate the big iceberg in front of him.

Wasn't it just a competition to see who could be a better snow lotus or iceberg? No problem!

"When the nine-tailed fox is born into the world, the world will inevitably be chaotic. Your master does not know what your future holds, but I can help you avoid those storms." Han Wuzheng brought Xue Ling all the way to his pavilion as he continued, "When one has strength and power, one would naturally have nothing to fear. As sword cultivators, we bring our swords with us as we travel all over the world, fearlessly fighting with heaven and earth by virtue of our absolute strength."

Xue Ling could not muster up the energy to show his contempt towards his words, and only kept his mouth shut as he silently nodded.

"Chijian Peak is your master's mountain peak, and there are no other people here. You can first live in the Tingyu Pavilion."

Xue Ling felt that the name of this pavilion was familiar, and tried hard to recall it before realizing that the name of this pavilion coincided with the protagonist shou's name. His name was Xiaoqiao Tingyu, which meant 'listening to the rain on a small bridge', and this was the Tingyu Pavilion, which almost seemed to have been prepared for him. Xue Ling frowned a little unhappily.

"Your master lives in the Purple Sword Pavilion on the mountain peak. You can find me there if you need anything."

"Mm." Although this man looked like an iceberg, he was still very conscientious as a teacher, not becoming angry even though he spoke so much and only received a single sound of affirmation from Xue Ling in return. Rather, he calmly continued to speak.

"As a sword cultivator, it is absolutely necessary to have a sword. Go to the valley and pick up a spiritual stone. After you return, I will teach you sword stances and abilities."

"Yes."

His words caused a quest to emerge. Xue Ling silently accepted the quest and headed towards the valley behind the Ten Thousand Swords Sect to select a spiritual stone. He walked briskly, and did not notice that the man's gaze was pinned to his back as he left.

It no longer held the initial iciness, but rather had an over-the-top obsessiveness. Currently, Han Wuzheng no longer held any resemblance to an iceberg, but he still looked discontented as he sighed deeply and turned to enter the little pavilion, preparing to fix it up for Xue Ling. Who would've thought that as soon as he turned, a dense black cloud of devilish energy descended from the sky. Han Wuzheng's expression changed, his hand extended and a ray of bright light shot out, but it still failed to block the devilish energy.

The small pavilion collapsed, having been completely corroded by the black energy.

Han Wuzheng's face was dark. He wanted to catch the culprit, but every time, his opponent slipped away very quickly and left no traces behind. Han Wuzheng silently shaped a name, his eyes fierce, but he quickly recovered and called for a disciple to find another pavilion artifact to place here so that his disciple would have a place to live in when he returned.

The disciple who had been called over acknowledged the order, descended Chijian Peak, and arrived at the sect's Treasure Pavilion. He requested for a pavilion artifact as per to his martial-uncle's instructions.

The newly arrived outer disciple chose an artifact for him to take away according to his request. He watched as the disciple once again ascended Chijian Peak, then showed a sly smile.That person was his, and even the place that he lived in needed to be a building that he had created. He would not agree to that person living in Han Wuzheng or the Ten Thousand Sword Sect's pavilions.

Even if he had entered the righteous path, he could make him sever relations and change sides.

But, he needed to take it slowly. It appeared that that person would not feel any goodwill towards people who approached him with hidden motives. For example, the anxious Han Wuzheng who had made his move a bit too quickly. Han Wuzheng could not sense it, but the Sealed Devil seemed to be able to sense that person's feelings. From just a frown, he was already able discern multiple meanings.

"He really deserves to be a nine-tailed fox." The Devil King propped his chin on his hand and felt somewhat helpless. "The ability to charm others' hearts is really not a joke. It looks like I'll need to beat up more and more rivals in the future, hm?" Listening to his tone, it was as though he had already placed this person within his grasp, and had no intention of letting him go.

Xue Ling had no idea what kind of strange people had popped out of nowhere. Regarding the spiritual stones required for sword cultivation, there were no particularly good or bad ones. Any type of spiritual stone would still be able to make a sword and count as sword cultivation.

Fortunately, because it was a game and the developers did not want to waste players' time, the years of sword meditation were directly skipped over, and as soon as players picked up a piece of spiritual stone, they would have a very good understanding of it.

The crafting of weapons and artifacts depended on talent. A good sword cultivator would naturally be able to craft their sword and know a little about crafting other things. A less skilled sword cultivator would also be stuck with their own sword for the rest of their life.

Xue Ling followed the quest requirements and returned to Chijian Peak with his spiritual stone. He discovered that the original Tingyu Pavilion had disappeared, and a small, two-storied house had replaced it. Its shape was somewhat at odds with the mountain, but he found it especially to his liking.

The disciple that had purposely stayed behind to clarify matters for him bowed slightly and said, "Martial-uncle, grand martial-uncle noticed that you did not like Tingyu Pavilion, so he ordered me to find a different artifact. This is Xuexing Hall."

Xue Ling wrinkled his brows but did not show any unhappiness this time. He nodded and stepped into the two storied little house in a good mood. After putting down the spiritual stone in his hand, Xue Ling opened up his game interface panel.

Because it was a game, the Ten Thousand Sword Sect's skills would appear on the interface panel. Only, all the skills were grey; he would not be able to use them before his master taught him how to use them.

These skills were not fixed. The game encouraged players to dig deep, and work hard in addition to these basic skills in order to improve their abilities. These skills could be clicked on to be released, or they could be used the way an NPC would use skills, through a series of movements that could be learned from one's master or teacher in the game. The second way was more difficult, but the effects of a skill that was released through practice was absolutely superior.

Using skills that way had no cooldown period; as long as the player had enough inner or spiritual strength, they could be used continually. So, although it was harder, many people in the later stages still struggled to practice their skills.

Xue Ling was just studying the attack power of each skill when Han Wuzheng once again entered his room. He fixed his gaze on him, and began to speak.

"I still haven't introduced the sect to you yet. Come with me, I'll teach you sword tricks while we talk."

Xue Ling made a sound of acknowledgement and went up with his spiritual stone in his arms. Han Wuzheng glanced at his stone and nodded, signalling the completion of the quest. The next quest was to clarify the intricate relationship between the disciples within the sect.

"You are my disciple. Following the general naming tradition, your master will give you the dao name of Xing Dong."

Xue Ling kept his mouth shut. He did not want to comment this name that would follow him for a long time, and perhaps even for his entire stay in this world. "Then, my dao name…"

"Your master does not care how you address each other in the secular world, but in Ten Thousand Swords Sect, you will only be known as Xing Dong.""Yes." Xue Ling pouted. He was becoming more and more unhappy with this man.

"You've already met the current sect leader. He is my martial-brother's true disciple, and is a disciple of the same generation as you. You can call him martial-brother when you meet him." They arrived at the top of the mountain, where apart from the Han Wuzheng's residence, there was also a wide field suitable for sword practice. "You are my only disciple; you are also the youngest disciple of your generation. If there's anything you want, or anything you want to do, just go ahead and do it."

Xue Ling mentally interpreted his words. The meaning behind it was that his background was strong, and he could work hard on whatever he wanted without worrying about having no support.

Well, in that case, it was very useful.

"My master is an immortal, and spends all his time in closed door cultivation. Most likely, you will not meet him, but I will recommend you to him when he emerges. You also have a few other martial-brothers from the same generation. I won't say much about them as the recruitment fair will begin in a few days and you should be able to meet them then."

"To cultivate is to take the step towards becoming an immortal. You have already reached the earth realm even before entering the sect; your talent is bound to be good. There is not much difference between cultivations for the demon race and humans, but having gained heaven's favour, demons will have an easier time raising their strength, and lightning tribulations will be less harsh."

Xue Ling thought of the novices who were still struggling to learn how to walk on four legs in the novice village, and wondered if they would immediately rejoice that they had chosen the demon race when they learned that their tribulation lightning would not strike them as vigorously. Although they were players, and the lightning could not truly strike them to death, the scene of being split apart by thunder was too intense, and they would not want to have to bear it if they had a choice.

This world's cultivation realms was similar to those in cultivation novels. The cultivation realms that the NPCs spoke about corresponded to the levels in the game. In general, every five to ten levels was one realm. Xue Ling was now level 15, which equated to the earth realm that Han Wuzheng spoke about. This system was too complicated; to the players, it was just another name for their levels, and speaking more about it would be unnecessarily tiring, so Han Wuzheng automatically assumed that Xue Ling understood the system and did not explain further.

This was also the biggest difference between players and NPCs. As long as players worked hard and gradually levelled up, regardless of how quickly or slowly they went, they would eventually rise to a level that the NPCs could not reach. Only, the game had currently set a level cap, and players could only reach level 80 regardless of how much they trained.

Even so, with this game's ridiculously slow levelling speed, it was expected that many people would not be able to reach the max level. One had to remember that any slight carelessness could cause them to drop in levels, and the reasons for the drop were strange - remember that player who had developed an inner demon during meditation, and then had to start over?

It was precisely because of the uncertainties in this game that it had become popular, thus forming an era where it dominated online games and became the only game that everyone played. This was also the main reason why it could successfully replace the real world and become the second 'real' world.

After the real world disappeared, the existence in the main computer would lose the authority to manage the game, and the advantages that players previously had would disappear. At that time, it would all depend on how much effort the players had placed on their character beforehand. For those who had become devils, and had an infinite lifespan as well as powerful attack ability, this kind of outcome was the best.

It was also the best situation for Xue Ling. After all, he was a string of data, not human. Even after players lost their authority over the main computer, he would still be able to modify the game's data. This was the biggest golden finger, and only a fool would expose itself in front of the main computer and get directly erased.

Of course, because of such settings, there was large-scale turmoil after players lost their privileges. NPCs and players separated into two camps; for the NPCs, these players were like bugs who had invaded their homes, and regardless of whether they could get rid of them or not, it was still better to kill more of them. By then, dying meant true death, with no option to resurrect.

Although Han Wuzheng wanted to spend more time with Xue Ling, some people just refused to let him do as he wished. After sensing that errors had begun to crop up in the system again, Han Wuzheng could only helplessly stop teaching Xue Ling after instructing him to practice and spar by himself, and hurry off to fix the errors.

During this period, a certain somebody seemed to be more and more presumptuous. It was unclear what it was that had aroused his interest, waking him up from his slumber, but he was tearing up data all day and destroying all kinds of central systems, forcing Han Wuzheng to have no time to worry about the situation around Xue Ling.

Xue Ling on the other hand, did not really care what that cheap master of his got up to. After his skills were fully lit up, he decided to start the quests for refining his sword. In order to begin, he needed to collect some materials so that he could craft his sword into the shape that he wanted to achieve.

He wanted to leave, but was ultimately caught up in the sect's recruitment fair. A large number of players had emerged from the novice village and began to flock to all large sects, and although Xue Ling was a new disciple, because of his high status as well as the fact that other than Han Wuzheng, Chijian Peak only had him, and his cheap master had suddenly disappeared, he was made to go along and show his face as decoration.

Unable to escape, Xue Ling decided to stay and meet the cute new players. He could also conveniently establish an awareness of his existence amongst them.

The recruitment fair was not a simple matter that only involved the Ten Thousand Sword Sect. It was a grand affair that included all the sects, because the selection of apprentices and disciples was centralized in this world.

Xue Ling calculated the time. By now, the game had already been open for a month, and at this moment the protagonist shou should have just joined the game and arrived at the novice village, and the protagonist gong would form his initial team during this recruitment event.

Although he did not plan to join their team, Xue Ling still needed to meet them. After all, in the future, they would be partners.

Right?

editors: alamerysl & BlueBug

i love where you guys have gone with this 'guessing who the ML is' thing, haha. i never even made that connection to the double personality arc in QWTFOD ^^;