"So strong!"

Lin Fan looked on as Er Ha made his move, his pupils shrinking sharply, "So this is... the Divine Power spell, isn't it? It's a pity it's only a game..."

He stepped out of the novice valley and came to a deserted wilderness, setting up his stance and practicing alone.

The ancient martial arts Lin Fan had learned belonged to the lineage of the Eight Trigrams, named 'Eight Diagrams Wandering Body Palm'!

This palm technique, combined with the Eight Trigrams Step, demanded at least three hours of practice every day to become an instinctive bodily reaction.

In the world of ancient martial arts, this was known as 'martial prowess becoming second nature'!

"Ha… hah!"

He loosened his shoulders, sank his elbows, firmed his abdomen, expanded his chest, and stepped through the Eight Trigrams, twisting and turning. Throughout the field, his figure seemed to float and fly, perfectly embodying the concept of wandering movement of the Eight Diagrams.

As he practiced, Lin Fan suddenly felt a jolt, sensing his Qi-Blood to be incredibly lively, and his condition improved to an unparalleled level!

'This feeling... it seems a bit different!'

Lin Fan stopped his palm technique and muttered in disbelief.

He had a premonition that the bottleneck that had always troubled him in the real world might be broken through right here!

This made Lin Fan feel an overwhelming urge to cry.

Practitioners of ancient martial arts do not fear hardship, fatigue, or even death, but what they truly dread is losing sight of hope for progress!

In reality, he had lost sight of the path ahead, but now... he saw it once again!

"Are you Lin Fan? You actually got into the game... a 0.1% chance, huh! Or are you just someone who buys accounts?"

At that moment, someone nearby started clapping, "That palm technique is really impressive..."

Lin Fan halted his steps, looking towards Jiang Shang who had suddenly appeared, his brows furrowing tightly.

The tradition of ancient martial arts emphasizes inheritance and etiquette.

Someone like Jiang Shang, who casually watched others' martial displays and spoke so brazenly, would have risked sparking bloodshed in the ancient times of reality.

Even in modern times, the prejudices between martial schools still exist, making him quite uncomfortable.

Alas... Jiang Shang was not an ancient martial arts successor at all; he was just a newbie, completely ignorant of the rules here.

"Are you looking for me?"

Lin Fan frowned; he hated being disturbed while training.

"Yes... I can see, Brother Lin, that you have an extraordinary physique and are skilled in fighting. You'll surely be a fierce general in the future, so why not join my 'Snow Viewing Tower'?" Jiang Shang spoke earnestly.

He knew his own limitations; he was a 'baptized' expert, who even after desperately grinding experience to advance his Black Tiger Fist to the Great Achievement Realm and becoming a ninth-rank martial artist, was still inferior among martial artists!

Techniques and experience he could teach, but the reactive instincts against an enemy, and even more so, the will and mindset of a martial artist, were all areas where he fell short.

He could handle ordinary folks just fine, but against any peer, he would likely be defeated.

But Lin Fan was different!

Someone who trained ancient martial arts in reality to the point of having an instinctual bodily response out of fear was definitely a genius!

Such a genius, given the right environment, would surely thrive and become the ace fighter for the 'Snow Viewing Tower'!

In the future, when fighting bosses and drawing aggro as a tank, everything would depend on him!

Therefore, Jiang Shang's expression was very sincere.

"You want me to join you?"

Lin Fan's lips curved into a slight smile, "Sure, as long as you beat me!"

Before he finished speaking, he made a misstep as if he were a dragon-shaped monkey, with the might of a tiger sitting and an eagle flipping. In the blink of an eye, he had arrived in front of Jiang Shang!

"Black Tiger Heart Stealing!"

Without a second thought, Jiang Shang threw a punch forward, the force of the punch fierce, but it only hit a shadow.

Lin Fan directly moved to his side and struck his waist with a palm, "You've lost!"

But the moment his meaty palm touched Jiang, Lin Fan's expression slightly changed. Although he had hit his target, it felt as though he had struck a piece of tough, thick leather that had suddenly tensed up!

A ninth-rank martial artist was reputedly at the Copper Skin Realm, having trained their skin to greatly enhance their defensive capabilities!

He wanted to dodge again, but it was already too late.

Jiang Shang turned around, and delivered another "Black Tiger Heart Stealing"!

Lin Fan raised his hand to form a palm, attempting to block the punch head on.

Crack!

The next instant, he was sent flying, and a crisp sound came from his elbow joint, seemingly fractured.

Lin Fan landed on the ground, his expression somewhat dazed, "I've lost!"

The immense strength of the blow and the hardness and thickness of the opponent's fist were completely beyond his imagination, almost inhuman.

Or rather, beyond the limits of a human!

"In this world, there are martial artists of the ninth grade who can ascend to heaven with each step. I am only at the Copper Skin Realm of the ninth grade, and my whole body is like wearing a leather armor, greatly enhancing my defense... Brother, if you think you can train martial arts on your own here, you're on the wrong track. Learning skills from NPCs is the way to go!"

Jiang Shang spoke with deep significance.

"What fist technique do you practice?" Lin Fan was a martial arts fanatic, concerned with nothing else, even ignoring the injury on his hand, he simply asked.

Jiang Shang replied solemnly, "Black Tiger Fist! If you join the Snow Viewing Tower, I can give you the manual, and even introduce you to a martial arts gym where you can directly learn from an old boxing master!"

He had just been about to talk about some real-world benefits, like setting up a studio and paying salaries to the members, when he heard Lin Fan's response:

"Alright, I agree."

"This..." Jiang Shang was somewhat baffled, but then he felt a respect well up within him.

This was a true ancient martial arts seeker!

...

Three days later.

Novices' Valley.

Jiang Shang looked at the players in front of him like 'Righteous Female Hero', 'Merciful Mother Keeps to the Middle', 'Wild Spirit of Ten Thousand', 'Lingling the Foodie', 'Love Coke Cat', 'Dora Mi', 'Faint Light of the Stars', and spread out the map on the table, "Everybody... after some time exploring, we have a rough understanding of our location and the game's background."

"Our ancient country is called Daqian... but never mind that, as Daqian has been a fallen nation for over a thousand years... After the fall of the Daqian Dynasty, Jiuzhou was thrown into chaos, with sects governing themselves, the larger ones occupying a whole state, the smaller ones occupying a mountain or city, warring against each other..."

"Currently, the area of Three Elements City where Woniuzhai is located is under the jurisdiction of Cangyuan County, and the dominant sect of Cangyuan County named 'Tianyuan Sect' commands three thousand elite Red-Ear Army, holding sway over the region..."

Jiang Shang slapped the map forcefully, "We need to farm and develop while interacting with the outside world. At the same time, we need a legal name and identity. My suggestion is to continue supporting Pu Dongyun of 'Yiqi Alliance', using him as the Puppet Alliance Leader to rally the forces in Three Elements City to form the 'Yiqi Alliance', with players officially joining under the name of Woniuzhai... aiming to earn the silent consent and recognition of Tianyuan Sect."

"Hold on!"

An old player with the ID 'Hammy' raised his hand, "Why make Pu Dongyun the Alliance Leader? Might as well call it the Pu Family Alliance..."

"Because we lack Pu Dongyun's fame, prestige, and connections!" Jiang Shang coughed, "There's no helping it... The ancient people were very xenophobic. And currently, we players are not strong enough..."

"I have no objections to the plan, but I do have objections to the name!"

'If you're not dead, keep riding the waves' shouted, "Just call it the 'Pu Your Mother Alliance', much more imposing!"

"Throw him out!"

Jiang Shang, expressionless, had 'If you're not dead, keep riding the waves' tossed out of the meeting, then turned with a smile, "Let's continue..."