Chapter 34: Yuanhe Realm Cultivator, Want Another Shock?

Because Song Qingfeng and the others had morning classes, they had not yet arrived.

Although Fang Qi did not arrive early today, the crowd gathered in front of his shop was still slightly smaller than usual.

However...

When Liang Shi, Hei Da, Wu Shan, and the others saw Fang Qi, Nalan Mingxue, and Lan Yan walking over together from the outside, their minds instantly went blank.

"What is going on?!"

"No way?"

"Boss, you have failed our expectations!"

"Boss... you..."

They looked at each other, pointing at the pair with stammering voices.

Fang Qi and Nalan Mingxue returning together from the outside so early in the morning was bound to spark some imaginative assumptions.

"Scram, scram, scram! Are you people poisoned or something? I just went out to have breakfast, and you make such a fuss." Fang Qi glanced at them. "A bunch of grown men crowding around a cybercafe entrance every morning waiting to get on a machine—are you primary school students!"

"So you just went for breakfast?" Hei Da grinned, seemingly letting out a sigh of relief.

"Boss, what is a primary school student?!" Liang Shi scratched his head, looking completely bewildered.

"That is a vast and terrifying demographic, featuring the likes of certain Yasuo-feeders, Zed-noobs, Fizz-flops, Malphite-rocks, and so on..."

Everyone was left entirely bewildered.

"Are they more terrifying than zombies?" Lan Yan asked innocently.

"In a way, they are far more terrifying than zombies," Fang Qi said with profound meaning.

"There exists something that terrifying?" Just as she was pondering how frightening the primary school students Fang Qi spoke of truly were, she suddenly noticed, "Eh?! How are there no seats left?!"

Of course there were no seats left! As the independent warrior community centered around Liang Shi steadily expanded, they had likewise formed a player faction that could not be underestimated!

Look at that, a dozen or so people had already arrived early in the morning!

Fang Qi walked next door, using the key given by Lan Yan to unlock the door.

The neighboring shop was originally a blacksmith workshop, quite a bit larger than Fang Qi's store.

It had been abandoned for a considerable time, and every surface was covered in dust.

Fang Qi first cleared out the discarded junk, and then began to sweep and clean the place.

Nalan Mingxue truly deserved her title as the number one genius of this generation at Lingyun Academy; she did not slack in the slightest when playing games.

She could be seen holding a small dagger, weaving through the corridors. Evidently, after becoming familiar with it yesterday, she had already adapted to the game, systematically searching every single location to avoid missing any puzzle clues or supplies.

As the jewel of the Nalan family, even though she was accustomed to all kinds of scheming and infighting within her clan, being entirely alone in such a perilous environment was likely a first in her life!

And this mansion, fraught with hidden dangers, truly allowed her to experience the meaning of desperation and death firsthand!

Furthermore, it was dying to the ingenious mechanical designs of this mansion!

This was something she could completely never experience in the past!

Although yesterday's death was entirely caused by her unfamiliarity as a newcomer, failure, to a favored child of heaven like her, was a luxury even if experienced once!

This was also the first time she tasted the charm of a game!

With experts from her clan secretly protecting her, she would never encounter true danger no matter the time, forever standing on an absolute winning ground to calculate everything—this was not what she wanted!

Playing another role, adventuring in another world, with no one to watch over her, and feeling the constant threat of death, finally allowed a sensation called excitement to spread through her heart!

In her mind, it felt as if a door leading to another world—a new world—had been opened!

The dagger fluttered at her fingertips like a silver butterfly, which also indicated that her mood was different from usual.

"Incredible!"

"She hasn't died even once in such a long time, right?!"

"This kind of puzzle-solving seems completely trivial to her!"

"I heard she only started playing yesterday, and now she's almost finished half the plot! She's about to catch up to Song Qingfeng, isn't she?!"

"Hiss—! So fast!"

Unwittingly, a large crowd of players waiting for available machines had already gathered behind her.

"Yo, not bad." Fang Qi returned to the shop and took a brief glance. "You even passed the plant research lab?"

"But of course!" Lan Yan said proudly. "How could this kind of thing stump Mistress!"

Outside the small shop, several rows of cultivators dressed in white robes and yellow gowns suddenly appeared.

Walking at the very front, besides Xiao Yulv, was a short, fat, middle-aged man wearing a wide golden robe.

This short, fat, middle-aged man had his eyes narrowed almost into slits, yet this did nothing to conceal the cold gleam within them. He kept his hands behind his back, his steps seemingly slow but actually swift. Though he appeared to stroll leisurely, the crowd of cultivators behind him actually had to run with all their might just to avoid being left too far behind!

Very soon, this short, fat, middle-aged man stood before the door. He looked up, glanced around, and asked, "Junior Brother Xiao? Is it this small shop where someone utilized lightning techniques yesterday to injure you and Junior Brother Liu, throwing you out of the shop door?"

"Precisely!" Xiao Yulv's face showed a hint of joy. This short, fat, middle-aged man was named Xu Fuwei. Although they were of the same generation, he had entered the sect very early, and his cultivation had already reached the First Tier Yuan River Realm! Now he even held the position of Grand Deacon within the Flowing Cloud Dao Palace of the Wuwei Daoist Alliance, carrying many powerful Dharma treasures on his person!

Let alone a remote little shop, he could even barge into the City Lord's estate if he wished!

He produced a pale blue bead from a brown pouch at his waist and said, "The cultivator hidden in this shop is adept in lightning techniques, but little do they know that my Lightning-Evasion Bead specializes in countering lightning! Relying on a cultivator for backing, a mere commoner warrior dares to humiliate Junior Brother Xiao to this extent! Once I capture him shortly, he will be at your disposal."

"Good!" Xiao Yulv said fiercely. "Today I must thoroughly vent this foul grievance!"

Immediately after, Xiao Yulv turned his head to the dozen or so cultivators from the Flowing Cloud Dao Palace behind him and said, "Junior brothers, guard the door for me, don't let that brat escape!"

The commotion outside the door quickly drew Fang Qi's attention. He saw a short, fat cultivator pushing open the door to enter, bringing Xiao Yulv and three or four cultivators dressed in white robes and yellow gowns. The short, fat cultivator scanned the people present and barked coldly, "Who is the boss?!"

Fang Qi's brow twitched as he looked at Xiao Yulv behind the man: "Are you here to cause trouble again?"

"Cause trouble again?" The gaze of most people in the cybercafe also shifted over. Seeing such a grand formation outside the door, they were slightly startled in their hearts!

"So many cultivators?!" To ordinary warriors, cultivators stood high above. For so many cultivators to appear at once was truly rare!

"The boss won't suffer a loss, will he?" Liang Shi said with some trepidation.

"Xu Fuwei of the Flowing Cloud Dao Palace, even this guy has come..." The expressions of Song Qingfeng's group also turned somewhat grave. "This is a bit troublesome..."

"Xu Fuwei? Is he a very famous cultivator?" Li Kuan asked in confusion.

"The Grand Deacon of the Flowing Cloud Dao Palace, a Yuan River Realm cultivator, what do you think?"

"Yuan... Yuan River Realm?!" Hearing these three words, everyone present could not help but suck in a breath of cold air. A Yuan River Realm cultivator, when classified by tier, was only equivalent to a Great Martial Master, but in terms of actual strength, they were equal to a Martial Grandmaster among warriors!

In certain aspects, they were even a fraction stronger!

It was precisely because of this that below the rank of Martial Grandmaster, the status of warriors had always been significantly lower than that of cultivators.

"It would be best to teach him a harsh lesson first, and then let Mistress step in..." Lan Yan thought with a heart full of mischief.

Xiao Yulv laughed loudly and said, "Today Senior Brother Xu brought the Lightning-Evasion Bead, which specifically counters the lightning techniques of the cultivator behind you! I want to see how you can still act so arrogant!"

He waved his hand at the five or six cultivators behind him and said, "Beat him up for me!"

"Troublemakers detected, initiating lightning punishment."

The spiritual light had only just begun to surface on the bodies of the several cultivators behind Xiao Yulv, when immediately after, several streaks of white light flashed past!

Crack!

In the blink of an eye, several cultivators were thrown out, their bodies charred black.

"Junior Brother Xiao! Get close to me, I have a lightning-evading—"

Boom!

Before the words could be fully uttered, the two of them were seen flailing frantically as they were blasted backward.

Liang Shi murmured, "...Is this the true strength of the Martial Wu Clan?"

Song Qingfeng stammered, "...What did I just say?"

Lan Yan remained utterly speechless.

"Idiots," Fang Qi cursed under his breath, glaring at the crowd of cultivators gathered outside the door. "Get the hell out of here!"

The cultivators outside the shop instantly scattered in all directions.

"It's nothing, it's nothing!" Fang Qi waved his hand toward the interior of the shop. "Just a minor situation."

"Miss Nalan..." Lan Yan's lips twitched slightly as she whispered, "Xu Fuwei has been driven out."

"Mhm, I see."

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