Chapter 84: New Mission

Unlike the Resident Evil players with their modern jargon, or the Diablo crowd shouting and rallying comrades, Legend of Sword and Fairy players busied themselves with three daily tasks: practicing sword-kiting, buying tissues, and dragging others into the pit.

Thus, within the internet cafe, the crowd swelled by the day, until even fifty-odd computers could not prevent a line from forming!

Patrons like Shen Qingqing and Xu Zixin went so far as to consciously keep a large pack of tissues on their desks, preparing for any sudden emotional need.

It was precisely at this moment that Fang Qi finally received the long-awaited system mission regarding the next game:

The Heart-Wrenching Legend of Sword and Fairy: Let over 300 people learn about and be moved by the game.

Mission Progress: 40/300

Mission Reward: Counter-Strike Virtual Reality Remastered Edition

Mission Description: None

"..." The sight of a new game had originally sparked excitement in Fang Qi, but upon reading the mission criteria, he let out a strained, agonizing groan!

He was utterly dazed.

At present, the combined occupancy of the entire internet cafe might not even reach two hundred people, yet the system demanded he touch the hearts of over three hundred?!

Was this some kind of joke?!

Moreover, the total number of Legend of Sword and Fairy players hovered at a mere forty or fifty; even adding the sixty or seventy onlookers who stood behind, reluctant to spend their coins, it still fell vastly short!

"Is this not too much?! Where am I supposed to find over three hundred Legend of Sword and Fairy players?!" Fang Qi clicked his tongue. "Unless there is a wholesale price cut!"

Even as Fang Qi grumbled, a line of text materialized at the bottom of the system panel: Please make rational use of the new storefront and new items.

"A new storefront?" Fang Qi rubbed his chin, contemplating. "I have prepared two storefronts, which can accommodate at least a hundred more computers. The growth limit is 100 machines, meaning over 150 computers will be available for use when the time comes."

Yet, even with so many computers, it was impossible to force every single player onto Legend of Sword and Fairy, was it?!

Wait, new items?!

Fang Qi’s eyes suddenly snapped to those two words, a realization striking his heart: "...Could it be... live streaming?!"

...

The Qin Mountain Beast Enclosure.

Pang Rulie sat within the mountain villa, puffing incessantly on his dry pipe until the entire room was thick with swirling clouds of gray smoke.

"Why has there been no news yet?!" Pang Rulie had dispatched his men early on, and the task was supposed to be a simple one, yet now...

So much time had elapsed, and not a single whisper had returned!

Just then, the maidservant in charge of intelligence within the villa came rushing in, her steps hurried and frantic.

Her face was visibly stricken with panic: "Re... Reporting to the Master..."

"Flustered?! What is there to be flustered about?!" Pang Rulie slammed a massive palm onto the table. "What on earth happened?!"

"The 'Blood Net'... while attempting to seize a clerk from that little shop... was completely... wiped out..." the maidservant spoke in a heavy voice. "They have now fallen entirely into the hands of the city guard!"

"..." Pang Rulie sat frozen for a long moment, his mind seemingly unable to untangle the details. "The... Blood Net consists of over a dozen Martial Grandmasters, does it not?! Wiped out, just to capture a petty shop clerk?!"

Over a dozen Martial Grandmasters, laying an ambush for a single clerk from a roadside shop, and the result was total annihilation?!

What kind of preposterous farce was this?!

He stared wide-eyed at the maidservant: "Are you... certain?!"

"Certain!" The maidservant lowered her head and bowed deeply. "According to reports from our informants, they chose to strike the young girl in her early teens, believing her the easiest target, but the result..."

Pang Rulie: "..."

"Where are they now?!"

"All of them are locked away in the dungeons of Jiuhua City!" the maidservant answered respectfully.

"Will they expose us?" Pang Rulie questioned further.

"We acted with the utmost caution!" The maidservant bowed.

Only then did Pang Rulie take a deep drag from his pipe. He slumped back into his chair, casually exhaling a plume of smoke: "It appears that with the strength and background of this shop, brute force will not suffice..."

"Then we..."

Pang Rulie sneered, his voice dropping to a low rumble: "This little shop has gathered so many noble and cultivator patrons in such a short time; the one it has offended is far from just myself."

"If he were merely a solitary martial artist or cultivator, it would be fine, but he insists on competing against me in the arena of commerce?!" Pang Rulie's smile grew increasingly cold. "Let me pen a letter. As long as this matter is orchestrated properly, I guarantee his little shop will not survive!"

...

Meanwhile, far away at the Liuyun Daoist Palace, silence had reigned ever since the incident involving Xiao Yulu and Xu Fuwei.

Firstly, upon investigating the situation, it was not difficult to discover that the matter had been entirely instigated by Xiao Yulu's troublemaking; secondly, they were still probing into the hidden powers backing the shop, choosing not to act rashly.

Yet, the deeper they investigated, the more alarmed they became, for they unearthed no definitive answers; instead, one piece of shocking news after another arrived, forcing them to re-evaluate the strength of this street-side shop time and again!

The instantaneous expulsion of the Nalan family’s Shadow Guards made it abundantly clear that sending people haphazardly would only bring about humiliation!

Elder Tiangang, Xiao Changlong, had been in secluded cultivation for many years. Xiao Yulu had merely suffered a few minor injuries, and Xiao Changlong would naturally not break his years of seclusion for such a trivial matter.

Therefore, at this moment, they could only reduce major issues to minor ones and minor ones to nothing; the Liuyun Daoist Palace was essentially forced to swallow this bitter pill in silence.

However, the past few days were different, because a genius of the previous generation, who had long lived in the mountains and devoted herself solely to cultivation, completely detached from worldly affairs—Su Tianji—had emerged from her seclusion!

Furthermore, upon ending her seclusion, her cultivation had reached the Early Sea of Divinity Realm, elevating her into the topmost ranks of the Liuyun Daoist Palace, and she was bestowed the title of Elder under the moniker of the Tianji Liuyun Immortal!

The Liuyun Daoist Palace was situated amidst the peaks of the Qianyun Mountain Range in the eastern region of the Grand Jin Country, where the mountains were steep and treacherous, almost leveling with the sea of clouds!

Upon the cliffs, the mist drifted ethereally, the mountain rocks piled in intricate layers, and wild birds wheeled through the air.

When Su Tianji was bestowed her eldership, even the Wuwei Daoist Alliance dispatched envoys to offer congratulations, and congratulations from various sects poured in like gathering clouds; cultivators assembled in a grand hall, discussing the Dao for three days within the Tianxu Palace, which could truly be considered a magnificent event in the cultivator world!

And on this fourth day...

Inside the Tianji Palace, pillars of Langya jade stood tall, adorned with carvings of dancing phoenixes and soaring luan birds, while pavilions stood outside the hall amidst a sea of fragrant blossoms.

Carved corridors and painted pillars were laid out among various celestial herbs and spiritual grasses, arranged according to the positions of the constellations, connected from end to end; viewed from high above, it resembled a vast astral map!

This was the place of Su Tianji's cultivation. Xiao Yulu and Xu Fuwei stood respectfully outside the Tianji Palace, having waited for a long time.

"Senior Brother Xiao," Xu Fuwei said in a low voice, "Martial Aunt Su has abstained from worldly affairs for many years, and her return this time is merely for private matters. Can we... truly enlist her aid?"

"What do you mean, enlist her aid or not?!" Xiao Yulu snorted coldly. "Elder Tiangang is my grandfather, and now my aunt has become Elder Tianji! I refuse to believe anyone in this world dares to defy my face!"

"Just a nonsensical little shop, yet it dared to throw me out twice, making a fool of me?!" Xiao Yulu gnashed his teeth and said, "This time, I shall see what he will use to humiliate me!"

"This time, I, Xiao Yulu, shall reclaim every ounce of dignity I have lost!"