Chapter 94 - 90: The 1st Player

Chapter 94: Chapter 90: The 1st Player

Back in the Divine Mansion.

"Recruiting people? Isn’t that simple? I just need to go out and shout, and all the cultivators will flock over, won’t they? This is a game developed in the Void God Realm that can even help them increase their cultivation. I refuse to believe no one would be interested," the Fat Monk said confidently, patting his chest.

"This kind of promotion... isn’t exactly impossible... but it lacks a certain flavor. It’s missing a hunger marketing strategy. The Void God Realm has always been unmanaged. If you just jump out and announce it now, it will feel abrupt. People might even suspect a conspiracy or a trap!" Su Tan said.

"So what are you suggesting?" the Monk asked.

"We’ll stay behind the scenes and lay low. We’ll split up, hide our tracks, and intentionally leak the discovery of the Marching Battlefield in secret. But we have to make it seem like... you struck it rich but wanted to keep it all to yourself, hiding the news from everyone else. However, due to various reasons... it accidentally slipped out... Let the players discover it themselves," Su Tan said.

"That’s a brilliant move! People are naturally curious. They always want to know what you hide from them, and they always want to go where you forbid them from going!" the Monk said.

"Then that’s the plan. We split up," Su Tan said.

The Monk nodded. Afterward, the two left the Divine Mansion and entered the Void God Realm to spread rumors.

...

"Master, I have a secret to tell you. I heard... aside from the nine regions in the Void God Realm, there’s a hidden paradise with endless fortuitous encounters. As long as you kill a Yin Demon, you can gain a point of cultivation. If you continuously kill Yin Demons up to a certain amount, you can even get mysterious rewards!" A young man ran to tell his master excitedly.

"Don’t listen to those nonsensical rumors outside!"

"You shouldn’t doubt it! I went through untold hardships to pry this information from the enemy. Rumor has it... there was a cultivator with mediocre cultivation who was hunted by his enemies until he had nowhere left to run. He logged into the Void God Realm, intending to find a powerful Cultivation Technique to practice so he could seek revenge once he achieved Great Success. Who knew that instead of finding a Cultivation Technique, he stumbled into that region by mistake? Through a stroke of luck, his cultivation skyrocketed. After coming out, he slaughtered his enemies with his own hands, which was incredibly satisfying.

"People didn’t know why his cultivation suddenly spiked, and he wanted to keep making a fortune in silence, so he never said anything. It wasn’t until later... when he got drunk and forced himself on a female cultivator, that he accidentally let it slip. The female cultivator entered the Void God Realm half in doubt and found the Marching Battlefield. After undergoing some trials, her cultivation also advanced by leaps and bounds..."

"The Void God Realm is a Virtual World," his master argued. "Here, people won’t die, and everything is an illusion. How can it increase cultivation?"

"You might not know this, but that is the miraculous part of the Marching Battlefield," the young man replied. "The rewards and cultivation you get from completing quests inside can be directly transferred to your physical body in the real world."

Although the young man spoke with absolute certainty, his master remained unconvinced. Later, however, the master felt that everyone he met was acting strange. They all seemed to be secretly discussing this matter.

"That place is the military training ground of the Ancient Imperial Court, the place where Celestial Soldiers and Generals were trained."

"I killed ten Yin Demons in the Marching Battlefield, and my cultivation increased by twenty points."

"I’m only telling you this secret because we’re close friends. You absolutely must not tell a third person..." a fat monk solemnly instructed.

"Don’t worry, brother. Don’t you know what kind of person I am? You know my credibility..." Turning his head, the man immediately told his paramour this secret.

"The Yin Demons in the Void God Realm are fake. They look terrifying, but they are actually all virtual constructs. When we fight inside, it doesn’t matter even if we die. Just like when we are here, we are merely forced to log out. Our bodies in the real world are completely fine, but the cultivation we obtain is real!" the Monk continued spreading the secret.

"It’s much better than cultivating outside. When cultivating and fighting outside, you still have to worry about dying. In the Marching Battlefield, you don’t have to worry about this problem at all. Your cultivation will increase, and it’s safe. Isn’t that great?

"You must keep this secret for me. Don’t let anyone else know. I only told you because I trust you."

...

Rumors flew everywhere. People began itching to try, searching for the Array to log into the Marching Battlefield.

Under Su Tan and the Fat Monk’s deliberate guidance, the Teleportation Array was not difficult to find. Seeing that the time was right, Su Tan and the fatty withdrew from the cultivators’ lively discussions and returned to the Divine Mansion to wait for things to ferment. The Divine Mansion was essentially the management room of the Void God Realm.

The world was never short of smart people. Not long after, someone unraveled the secret of the Array.

At this moment, the first player entered the Marching Battlefield!

"If I find out that this place isn’t actually that miraculous, I’ll definitely kill that damn blind man who sold me the map," Fu Jian cursed under his breath.

DING!

"Welcome to the Marching Battlefield!" A voice exploded in Fu Jian’s ears. It was ancient and deep.

Looking around, the surrounding environment was incredibly dim, with rolling black clouds. Beneath his feet was an endless expanse of skeletons, looking much like a Chaotic Scene. It seemed to be recounting a... tragic battle from the past. Between the dark clouds, dense raindrops fell, evoking a profound sense of desolation.

"When heaven and earth first opened, the Ten Thousand Races coexisted. They lived in peace, each finding their own Dao. However, the Yin Demons were born. These brutal and bloodthirsty Yin Demons brought immeasurable harm to the Ten Thousand Races. As the only hope of the Ten Thousand Races and the sole inheritor of the Celestial Emperor, you have decided to shoulder the heavy responsibility of saving the entire world, eliminating the Yin Demons, and restoring peace to the Ten Thousand Races!" the ancient voice spoke again.

At the same time, the ancient bloody battle was visualized within the dark clouds in the sky, accompanied by a sorrowful soundtrack...

He was amazed that such a thing actually existed. It was Fu Jian’s first time seeing a CG cinematic. While he was shocked, those words... made Fu Jian’s blood boil with excitement.

The only hope of the Ten Thousand Races, the sole inheritor of the Celestial Emperor! It was the first time someone had placed him in such a position. What an incredibly badass identity.

"Inheritor who is one in ten thousand, please uphold the will of the Celestial Emperor! Eliminate the Yin Demons, save the world, and become the greatest hero! The world... needs you!!!"

In the sky, the visual representation of those words gradually faded, and the imagery disappeared right after the old man’s voice fell.

"Next, the Assistant Elf will guide you for a stretch of the journey and teach you how to survive faster in this cruel world. Go forth, young man! I have faith in you!"

He wondered what an Assistant Elf was.

DING!

"Please follow the Assistant Elf. She will teach you how to survive in this world!"

Just as his doubts arose, Fu Jian heard a sweet, childlike girl’s voice ring in his ear. Following that, he saw a petite elf, about a meter and a half tall, materialize beside him.

...

This little thing had no combat power; its purpose was merely to help players quickly understand the game. Commonly known as an NPC! A newbie guide! The chief of the Newbie Village!

"Powerful inheritor, please follow me. I will guide you on how to proceed. You can ask me anything you don’t understand."

"You are??" Fu Jian was puzzled.

"You can call me Qing. I am an NPC in the game..."

She was a beginner’s guide NPC.

"What is an NPC?"

"An NPC is a virtual character designed within the game to help you understand the Marching Battlefield and understand Divine War..." Qing answered everything she knew without reservation.

She told him how to kill monsters, how to use Experience Value to level up in the Marching Battlefield, what yin coins were, and so on.

After a few minutes of introduction and step-by-step instruction, Fu Jian already knew how to play this game called Divine War. Main quests. Dungeons. Bosses. The store. Yin coins. Points. The NPC elf. Experience Value, and so forth. He understood all of it.

"That’s wonderful! You truly are worthy of being the only hope of the Ten Thousand Races and the sole inheritor chosen by the Celestial Emperor. In such a short time, you have already learned how to survive in the dangerous Marching Battlefield. You really are the master this little elf worships the most," the little girl said, staring at Fu Jian with an infatuated expression.

Even though he knew this little creature was an NPC and not a real person, and that her praises shouldn’t be taken seriously, every flattering word still made him feel incredibly comfortable.

"We’ve arrived here," she said.

DING!

"Received newbie quest: Kill ten Yin Demons. Reward: 10 yin coins, 10 points of Experience Value, and a special lottery ticket from the newbie gift pack. The lottery ticket will have a certain probability of drawing a Celestial Emperor’s Divine Artifact. This Divine Artifact is not a virtual item of the Marching Battlefield, but a genuine Celestial Emperor’s Magical Artifact that can also be manifested in the real world!"

"Huh??? I can actually get a genuine Celestial Emperor’s Magical Artifact? Really!" Fu Jian’s pupils shrank, unable to conceal his excitement.

"Really! Qing wouldn’t lie."

"This place is too awesome! I’m going to complete the quest! I’m going to do the lottery draw!" Fu Jian declared, filled with absolute confidence.

He probably hadn’t suffered the brutal reality of Tencent-style lottery draws before.

Su Tan definitely didn’t have any Celestial Emperor’s Divine Artifacts, but Su Tan didn’t mind adding it to the lottery interface because... it was impossible for anyone to actually draw it!