Chapter 79: Check Out the New Game

Fang Qi, diligent in his daily cultivation, already had his sleeping hours compressed into a tiny window, which gave him a rather terrible morning temper; thus, disturbing his slumber never boded well for anyone.

There was absolutely no doubt about that.

The young girl, Jiang Xiaoyue, had not slept well either, so Fang Qi had sent her upstairs early to bed.

Fang Qi slept for a brief while first, restoring his vitality.

Once sufficiently rested, he sat cross-legged upon his bed, calming his mind to practice the art of object manipulation.

Right at that moment, a new quest appeared before him:

God-Tier Game Skills: Train ten in-game skills to proficiency or higher (2/10), and raise the Sword Control Technique in the game to master level.

System Reward: Sword Flight (Proficient).

Reward Description: All thanks to the mighty System.

"Holy crap..." Fang Qi had felt a surge of excitement upon reading the first half, but when his eyes fell on the reward description, he nearly coughed out a mouthful of blood, "System, could you be a little more modest?"

The system remained utterly silent.

Fang Qi said, "...Are you too embarrassed to speak?"

The system continued its silence.

However, this quest from the system did save Fang Qi a great deal of trouble; with the cheat-like cultivation speed of the game's protagonist, let alone himself, not even Nalan Mingxue could compare.

Li Xiaoyao could master the foundational mantra of the Sword Control Technique after just a single glance—who else could possess such a talent?

Moreover, slaying monsters in the Legend of Sword and Fairy also granted a massive amount of skill experience, much like Diablo II where skill points directly increased skill levels; as long as the skill points and levels were sufficient, never mind proficiency, reaching grandmaster in an instant was no trouble at all!

Therefore, training ten proficient skills by playing the game was indeed far more rapid than practicing in reality.

Otherwise, Fang Qi would not have already possessed two proficient skills just as the quest began.

With the quest in hand, Fang Qi began to rise even earlier; after all, looking at the situation, there was no doubt he would make his fortune by relying on these games.

He stayed up until seven in the morning, waking Jiang Xiaoyue along the way to clean the premises together.

Today, quite obviously, no one came to disturb him; the doors opened at eight o'clock, and as the internet cafe gradually filled with people, he finally spotted An Cheng, Ouyang Cheng, and Bu Che arriving with massive panda-like dark circles under their eyes.

"Young lads, is smoky makeup the fashion today?"

"..." The faces of the group twitched on the spot; remembering how they had lost several hours of playtime the previous night and had been jointly "severely punished" by Nalan Hongwu and the others, they felt like spitting blood and hurriedly went to log into their machines.

Not long after, Fang Qi saw Song Qingfeng and his companions walk through the door, likewise sporting pairs of panda eyes.

"Boss, what do you think is wrong with them today?" Not only was Fang Qi utterly bewildered, but Jiang Xiaoyue also watched them with complete mystification.

"Uh... today... we are suffering from a lack of sleep!" Meeting the staring gazes of Fang Qi and Jiang Xiaoyue, Song Qingfeng spoke with immense embarrassment.

"..." Fang Qi did not care to bother with them, logging into the game first to work on his quest.

Fang Qi’s only two proficient skills were the dagger and firearms techniques that he had practiced arduously for a long time in Resident Evil; of course, their actual levels had already surpassed proficiency by far, and though the game did not display it explicitly, they were at least above grandmaster level.

Though he did not know how many levels were required to reach proficiency for the skills in Diablo, Fang Qi guessed that a dozen or so levels should suffice; although he was still a bit short now, once the third act opened, a few proficient skills should emerge.

Thus, the remaining ones would have to come from the proficient skills in the Legend of Sword and Fairy.

Because it was no longer a turn-based system, all skills within the Legend of Sword and Fairy were essentially no different from reality, and higher attainments could unleash even greater power!

The game progression had only just begun, so Fang Qi had not learned many skills in the Legend of Sword and Fairy, but basically, he only needed to use the most fundamental Sword Control Technique to face his enemies.

...

By the time they finished playing today, the plot had essentially progressed to the aftermath of the martial arts marriage contest.

"The protagonist actually picked up another valiant and martial prospective wife?!"

"Ling'er is actually a snake demon?!"

While harboring infinite envy, jealousy, and hatred toward Li Xiaoyao, everyone also felt extreme anguish and pity for Ling'er: "How could Ling'er be a snake demon?!"

"Even if Ling'er is a snake demon, she is a very good snake demon, right?" The crowd hurriedly gathered by Fang Qi’s side to watch the subsequent plot!

Although the world background similarly featured cultivators and martial artists, the never-before-seen Sword Control Technique, the peerlessly untamed Wine Sword Immortal, and the various novel sights along the journey gradually allowed everyone to appreciate the charm of the entire story.

The fact that it shared minor differences yet major similarities with their own worldview did not become a reason for them to grow weary of it; on the contrary, it gave them an even clearer sense of immersion!

This point was entirely different from the existing biographical novels, which could not help but leave them clicking their tongues in amazement.

As a lover of storylines, Shen Qingqing could be said to adore this tale immensely; compared to other games, this game was more like a narrator spinning a tale for the players, a story containing laughter, loss, sweetness, and sorrow, resembling a colorful scroll where every character leaped off the page, even making one wonder if they truly lived in some unknown corner of this world!

Inadvertently, it even gave them a feeling that "somewhere in this world, there is a young man named Li Xiaoyao who is currently escorting Ling'er to Nanzhao."

Even Nalan Hongwu, who had experienced most of his life and possessed rich worldly experience, gradually felt as though he had returned to the passionate and hot-blooded years of his youth, roaming the world alongside this story; the youth in the tale was at that finest age, filled to the brim with memories!

If Nalan Hongwu had originally paid attention to this game because of sword techniques, now he too began to gradually experience the charm of the entire game.

As the story progressed, they came to realize that this game was different from others; this was not a legend that belonged to them, but rather, somewhere in the world, there was a young man named Li Xiaoyao, and what they were watching and experiencing was his life.

Yet they would not feel dissatisfied because of this, for there were many aspects of such a life that were precisely what they yearned for; just as many people live a mundane life, it does not prevent them from desiring a touch of the color that is missing from their existence.

It was as though they were following Li Xiaoyao, experiencing everything he experienced!

Their emotions rose and fell with it; at the General's Tomb, they would be filled with anxiety and dread over the plight of the characters, and when Ling'er willingly left with Elder Shi to save them, they would also worry for her safety; it had to be said that this game, whether watched or played, possessed a unique and wonderful flavor!

Unwittingly, not only the players who originally loved watching Fang Qi play, but even some players who were originally playing Resident Evil, as well as some who had entered the shop without much interaction with Fang Qi and simply played by themselves under the guidance of friends, all crowded around.

Chen Yang was a disciple of the Heaven House of Lingyun Academy, and also a player who had been brought by a friend to play Resident Evil.

With so many people in the internet cafe, the fifty-odd machines were nearly full the entire time, and the number of players throughout the day had reached over one hundred and fifty.

Essentially, Fang Qi would not teach every single one of them; a new player like Chen Yang was taught the basic operations by the friend who brought him, having no intersection with Fang Qi whatsoever.

But today, just as Chen Yang finished his game, he saw more people than ever before gathered behind Fang Qi, and unlike the loud shouting of the past, it appeared quite peaceful today.

"What are you all watching?" Chen Yang asked aloud.

"The Legend of Sword and Fairy," someone answered casually.

"The twenty-crystals game?" Chen Yang believed that Resident Evil was already fun enough, so why bother spending extra money to activate a game that required twenty crystals?

Today was different, however, because he had just beaten Resident Evil.

Therefore, he paused his steps, intending to see what kind of special features this newly released game possessed to actually be worth twenty crystals.

"Old Yang, not leaving?" The remaining few were also students of the Heaven House, evidently having arrived later and possessing rather unfamiliar faces.

"Yeah, taking a look at the new game," Chen Yang nodded.