Chapter 497: Who is More Orthodox After All (Bonus Chapter)

Unlike the Three Saint Sect, which already possessed a teleportation array disk perfectly attuned to Lingzhou, the Morning Star Sea had no such setup.

Consequently, it was impossible for the cultivators of the Morning Star Sea to construct a teleportation array leading to Lingzhou within a short time.

For those who intended to seize this opportunity to visit Lingzhou, the only way was to first reach the continent where the Great Jin Kingdom was situated.

This was by no means a brief or simple journey; even with their current mastery of the sword-riding technique, which allowed them to fly at speeds far exceeding before, it would still take a considerable amount of time to arrive.

Therefore, the cultivators and warriors who planned to make the trip were bound to possess formidable cultivation levels, and having prepared long in advance, they had already set out.

...

Meanwhile, at this very moment.

Inside the Haotian Academy, at the martial arts arena.

Within the Haotian Academy, there were naturally cultivators who studied spells and cultivated their vital qi, but there were also warriors who trained in the martial path.

The martial arts arena was where the martial cultivators of the Haotian Academy honed their techniques, and currently, quite a few academy warriors were practicing there.

The martial cultivators of the Haotian Academy were exceptionally famous throughout the entire Lingzhou continent; after all, a Martial Emperor had once emerged from this very land.

Legends spoke of a supreme sovereign of the martial path whose punches could shatter mountains and rivers, whose kicks could crack the earth, and who could repel an army of ten thousand with a single thought.

It was precisely the existence of such figures that allowed warriors to barely hold their own against cultivators, laying the foundational cornerstone for warriors amidst the brilliant cultivator civilization of the Lingzhou continent.

This was the path yearned for by thousands upon thousands of warriors, which was why the Haotian Academy had become one of the sacred lands for warriors across the Lingzhou continent.

"Gabriel!" an angry voice rang out.

Lei Dazhuang actually had a proper name, Gabriel, being the second son of the Frost Dragon Clan's chief. His strength was considered highly impressive across the entire clan, standing at the sixth tier of the Martial King realm.

For the vast majority of ordinary warriors who spent their entire lives wandering within the Martial Grandmaster tier, stepping into the Martial King realm at such a young age was already astonishingly shocking.

To say nothing of being in the late stages of the Martial King realm; if placed in the Desolate Sea realm, such an age paired with such cultivation would nearly shatter their understanding of reality.

Even in Lingzhou, he would be considered an absolute elite among warriors.

"So, the warriors of Lingzhou only amount to this level of strength?" Resting on his shoulder was a heavy, man-sized greatsword. On the ground before him lay several warriors of the Haotian Academy, one of whom had the bones of his hand twisted into an unnatural angle, sweating profusely from the agonizing pain.

Walking back to the sidelines, Gabriel saw Luo Piaoling approaching with a few youths from the clan. Seeing the slight displeasure on Luo Piaoling's face, Gabriel finally spoke up, "You can't blame me for this!"

Gabriel shrugged and, speaking in broken Lingzhou dialect, sneered, "I saw them practicing martial arts here and just wanted to trade a few blows with them. Who knew they'd be using swords the size of toothpicks, with strength no better than a woman's."

"When Father made me come here for some martial arts exchange, I thought you guys actually had some real skill. Looking at it now, the warriors of Lingzhou are nothing but flashy show-offs. What a waste of my trip!"

"Sister Thea." He turned to the woman beside him, who was clad in silver light armor with curly golden hair, and jeered, "If you ask me, we might as well spend more time strolling around Yuanyang City. It beats loafing around here out of sheer boredom. This so-called sacred land for warriors is utterly unworthy of its reputation!"

"Father said," the blonde woman replied coldly, "that although Lingzhou cannot compare to the martial techniques of our Western Polar Realm, the Haotian Academy is still a sacred ground that once produced a Martial Emperor. Even if they are inferior to us, they must have their own unique merits."

"What unique merits? Not only are these people incompetent themselves, but they also invited some warriors from the Desolate Sea realm for an exchange. What kind of place is the Desolate Sea?!" He was clearly extremely dissatisfied with this. "It's an absolute waste of time."

"An exchange? If you ask me, it's more like a charity lesson. Are we supposed to teach them our powerful martial techniques?"

The disdain on his face grew even more pronounced. "I, Gabriel, don’t have the spare time to teach these substandard students!"

As he spoke these words, the expressions of the other youths from various clans of the Western Polar Realm also began to turn somewhat sour. It wasn't as if they hadn't heard of the Desolate Sea realm—a barren wasteland. What kind of warriors could possibly exist in a place where birds didn't even care to drop their dung?

He felt that he could easily thrash not just the warriors from such a place, but probably even their cultivators.

"Gabriel, didn't they say... that the warriors of the Desolate Sea realm are very formidable? What was it they know..." Behind him, a youth with curly reddish-brown hair, who was quite a bit younger than him, sneered, "They said they know something called... Heavenly Sword? And something called... Holy Spirit Sword Technique? They even supposedly know quite a few sword styles for two-handed greatswords."

"When they themselves are in this pathetic state, do you honestly think that's possible?!" Gabriel said dismissively.

"Hahaha!" A burst of loud laughter instantly erupted from the group behind them.

"Seriously, if you're going to brag, at least say something believable."

"The inheritance of two-handed broadswords and greatsword techniques only exists in our Western Polar Realm. The warriors of Lingzhou can only poke around with embroidery needles the size of toothpicks. If those people from the Desolate Sea can actually bring out a two-handed sword style to face an enemy, I'll chop my own head off!"

"Hahaha!"

Luo Piaoling frowned slightly.

"Do you believe it?" the cold and proud woman named Thea asked.

"Though I don't know why they claim such things..." Luo Piaoling shook his head. "But when it comes to sword arts involving two-handed swords and broadswords that can actually hold their own on a grand stage, they indeed only exist within the inheritance of our Western Polar Realm. Could it be... that such sword techniques have also spread to the Desolate Sea realm?"

"If they truly do exist, all the better." Beneath her golden hair, her well-defined facial features caught the golden sunlight. The softness of a woman blended with the heroic spirit of a warrior, carrying a hint of arrogance. "When the time comes, it will be the perfect chance to show these ignorant people from the desolate realm what true orthodoxy looks like."

...

"Ding! Achievement unlocked: Initial Prosperity."

Expand the Jiuhua City shop to 8,000 slots, the Half City shop to 6,500 slots, and the Yuanyang City shop to over 1,000 slots, while maintaining an occupancy rate of no less than 70% during peak hours to unlock the achievement: Initial Prosperity.

Achievement reward unlocked: Sales rights for Iced Black Tea? Plus one designated movie or game.

Owner Fang had not expected that on the very second day after expanding the shops, the achievement would already be completed.

It was worth noting that the description for the reward of a designated movie or game specified that the power level must be lower than the existing movies or games. In other words, Owner Fang's choices were limited to titles that carried a special, specific significance.

In truth, the movie that Owner Fang had enjoyed the most was still Resident Evil 1. Aside from the content, the most important factor was that after watching it, he had thoroughly and completely mastered combat techniques without missing a single detail.

However, neither Legend of Zu nor The Matrix after that, nor even the television series, had produced such an effect.

Those were types that required the players to research and delve into the material on their own.

So, did the system still contain movies like Resident Evil 1, where watching them would allow one to acquire a massive amount of skill and practical combat experience?

The answer was naturally yes, and it had even appeared right under Owner Fang's nose multiple times—Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

Of course, the effect couldn't possibly be as flawless as when he learned hand-to-hand combat.

Fang Qi took a glance and saw that it happened to be under the fantasy and magic category.

"Should I... give this a try...?"