CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 34: THE HALL MASTER’S MERCY

The sun had completely set, and the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was beginning a new day.

"Any new announcements today?"

Fang Zhen, who had just logged in, yawned and curiously asked as he looked at the crowd gathered in front of the bulletin board.

The time in the game "Descent of High Martial" was almost the same as real-time, which forced Fang Zhen to train intensively during the day and live stream his gameplay at night, running almost 24 hours nonstop every day.

One could say even the donkeys in the production brigade weren’t as hardworking as he was.

The only consolation was that playing "Descent of High Martial" allowed his real-life body some rest, as long as he didn’t abruptly die and go offline, there was no real mental fatigue.

Even so, Fang Zhen still felt extremely busy, almost like he was on fire.

If it weren’t for seeing the rising popularity of his live stream every day, with the reservation numbers for "Descent of High Martial" rising from over thirty thousand to fifty thousand, and more and more viewers asking him to drop the game so they could play instead.

Fang Zhen might have chosen to slack off in "Descent of High Martial", maybe by following the Hall Master around to see if he could coax some quest hints from him.

"There’s not really any new announcements, but there is a new cultivation technique." The Outer Gunman, who arrived first, said with some excitement.

"New cultivation technique? What kind of technique?"

Fang Zhen was even more curious and stepped forward to check it out.

Currently, the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall offered only three cultivation techniques, but each one was incredibly useful.

Learning the Shocking God Breathing Technique enhanced physical qualities, greatly increasing work efficiency.

Learning the Shattering Stone Fist boosted explosive strength, greatly increasing work efficiency.

Learning the Leopard Shadow Step increased movement speed, greatly increasing work efficiency.

That’s right, every cultivation technique taught by the Hall Master could hugely improve work efficiency, speeding up their point acquisition significantly.

With a new technique now available, it undoubtedly would also greatly boost work efficiency, bringing him closer to his new weapon.

The Fixed Star Explosion Visualization Technique, the top Martial Artist Level contemplation technique, involves visualizing stellar explosions to make one’s spirit explode like a star, thus honing mental willpower and fortifying the mind. (Costs 1000 Martial Arts Hall Points for exchange)

"Gunman, are my eyes deceiving me?" Fang Zhen looked at the big words "Martial Artist Level", with no separate volumes and priced at only a thousand points, deeply suspecting it was a hallucination, "Could it be the Hall Master’s pity, or did the Hall Master make a mistake?"

The previous three techniques weren’t of high level, all being at Apprentice Level, but to learn them all would require tens of thousands of points, something not to be dreamed of without them.

Now a Martial Artist Level contemplation technique is available for just one thousand points. Say it isn’t a bug, and no one would believe it.

"I don’t know, but I think it’s best to exchange quickly. If the system gets fixed, obtaining it again might be tough." The Outer Gunman shook his head slightly, feeling a bit disheartened, "But a thousand points is still a lot. Unless we allocate a portion of the points earned from everyone’s last dungeon run, otherwise we’d need a few more days of effort to exchange it."

"Plans can be delayed; if you miss this chance, there won’t be another." Fang Zhen unhesitatingly walked towards Lin Qi, intending to exchange the Fixed Star Explosion Visualization Technique at once.

The others looked at each other and agreed with Fang Zhen’s reasoning.

A thousand points, you can’t go wrong buying it.

A Martial Artist Level technique, which had never been available before, and it tempers the spirit. Even if we don’t know its in-game utility, practicing it can’t hurt.

"Finally, it’s here."

Lin Qi felt quite pleased seeing the approaching players.

Previously, these players gained over twenty thousand points from him, but now part of it would be returned.

As for why he didn’t sell the Fixed Star Explosion Visualization Technique in volumes or at a higher price, the reason was simple: it wasn’t possible.

The whole Fixed Star Explosion Visualization Technique was just one big image with a few smaller images, along with some text.

How to divide that?

One word per volume, or one picture per volume?

But attempting to cultivate it could really make your brain explode and turn you into an idiot. This had been clearly stated in the detailed description.

One could say the Fixed Star Explosion Visualization Technique was a kind of wild idea some crazy scientists had a hundred years ago, creating a contemplation technique.

This contemplation technique exists only in theory, and learning it could indeed result in gradual idiocy. If not sold cheaply, when a player does buy it and turns into an idiot, who else would dare to learn it?

Of course, players wouldn’t actually become idiots; they’d just die in-game. But if they couldn’t master it and didn’t know its specific effects, players would still hesitate to exchange it.

Instead of keeping it unsold, it’s better to sell it cheaply to players, allowing them to experience what "fixed star explosion" is all about.

Inside the Martial Arts Hall’s rest room, within no time.

Ten players each received a Fixed Star Explosion Visualization Technique, which consumed ten thousand points, making Lin Qi quite satisfied.

Previously, copying martial arts techniques, even if it was just the first volume, would take a long time and tire his hands from writing.

But this time, copying the Fixed Star Explosion Visualization Technique was wholly different. Even the illustration accompanying it was simply cut and pasted from the guide’s images, along with his added text, taking less than five pages altogether, making it more profitable than copying other martial arts or techniques.

Moreover, the consumption of ten thousand points helped refocus the players on repairing the Martial Arts Hall, given that the daily tasks of patching walls and laying floorboards offered higher points than exploration.

As Lin Qi watched the players leave, his gaze shifted to the bottom of his vision.

System: Task one ’Fully repair the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’, current progress 4.7%.

Over a hundred people worked hard together for a whole day; if it wasn’t for some slacking off, the repair progress could have easily surpassed 5%.

"Should I go trade again and recruit more vagabonds?" Lin Qi quickly shook his head, "No, such trades can’t be too frequent, it’s better to wait a while longer."

The meat of Crocodile-toothed Rhinoceros is rare, and sneaking some every few days is already risky enough. Doing so every one or two days would be openly telling others the meat was stolen, practically inviting others to attack.

Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, training grounds.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, the ten people repairing the Martial Arts Hall’s walls grabbed their heads one by one and fell to the ground, their bodies twitching.

All ten twitching together was quite a spectacle.

"Damn, what kind of contemplation technique is this? It’s ridiculously hard to practice; I’ve died over ten times." The Outer Gunman resurrected and glanced at the visualization image in his hand, suddenly feeling like his wallet had been blown to pieces.

"No wonder it’s a Martial Artist Level technique, the difficulty sure is high." Yiqiang Bajue nodded as well before collapsing to the ground.

"You guys are still better off, only dying ten or so times." Twilight of the Gods looked at the fallen Yiqiang Bajue with a face that couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry, "I’ve died over fifty times tonight, and those in my dorm room suspect I’ve gone mad, waking up and shouting every ten minutes. Now no one dares to come near me anymore."

"Looks like for now, aside from Sister Wu and Sister Qingwei having gotten started, everyone else is lagging far behind." The Outer Gunman glanced at One Leaf Floating Cloud in the distance, only to see him barely brush a wall before collapsing, dying repeatedly, the most of everyone.

"I did it! I did it!"

With a loud shout, everyone turned their attention to the excited Fang Zhen who had stood up.

At this moment, blood streamed from Fang Zhen’s nose and mouth like columns, his limbs seemed disobedient, each moving its own way, as if his limbs and even every cell were alive, having their own will.

Clearly, as the book said, it had been mastered; the control over his body had improved significantly, but it clearly wasn’t something he could sustain for long, being extremely taxing.

"It’s getting late, and I have a mock competition today, so I must leave early. Can’t stay practicing with everyone."

Without another word, Fang Zhen spat blood three feet high and collapsed to the ground, his body slowly disappearing from everyone’s view, the entire process smooth and seamless, without a superfluous move.

The crowd nodded and continued contemplating on stellar explosions.