Upon hearing that he had become a disciple of the Ascension Gate Sect, Zhu Kui wore a peculiar expression. He quickly recovered, puffed out his chest, and flashed Lu Bei a proud look.
That's right. It's me.
Bah, who are you trying to fool?
Lu Bei paused, then returned an admiring smile.
The two brothers knew perfectly well who was who and who wasn't. Lu Bei did not expose him, instead chatting merrily with Zhu Bo, his words filled with admiration for the disciples of the Ascension Gate Sect.
The posture he struck made it seem that, had no one needed to recommend him, he would have joined on the spot.
Before transmigrating, Lu Bei had seen posts about the Ascension Gate Sect on the official forums. He had not paid them much attention, but when Wei Mao mentioned that the Ascension Gate Sect dealt in tomb raiding and underground excavation, he suddenly recalled a few keywords.
Before discussing that post, it was necessary to talk about the player who had made it.
As everyone knew, players were a wondrous species. How they played and what they played did not matter. The most important thing was to have fun.
Most players entered the game to fight monsters, level up, and complete quests. A small minority were exceptions. They did not like fighting monsters and only accepted quests when the mood struck them. Their joy in the game came from exploring the map.
Because the full-dive technology was too lifelike, the Kyushu World quickly attracted a large number of players who loved adventure. They called themselves Life-Skill Players and never tired of exploring the new world.
It was a world brimming with spiritual energy, and every frame was a gorgeous earthly paradise. Any random screenshot could be used as a desktop background, leaving the real world ten winding mountain roads behind—and then adding one more at the starting line.
The Life-Skill Players became hopelessly addicted. After discovering the business opportunity in uploading videos, they combined their hobbies with their work and became a very unusual type of professional player.
Some made travel videos, some cooked, some raised spirit pets, and some specialized in filming beautiful NPCs...
Oh, he had almost forgotten the anglers.
Among them, the channel with the highest click-through rate was the tense and thrilling Ruin Exploration channel.
They called it ruin exploration, but everyone who understood, understood. Ruins were things one could encounter but not seek. Most were controlled by the great sects and powerful factions, which prettily called them "secret realms" and reserved exploration for their own disciples. These players had no resources, so they could only dig up minor "ruins."
Before long, the Ascension Gate Sect, a sect with a less-than-stellar reputation, entered their sights.
Through their own investigations, the players had summed up a shortcut for encountering Ascension Gate Sect NPCs: when creating an account, put archaeology and history down as hobbies, and fill in Hu Bayi, Indiana Jones, and the like as idols. That guaranteed encountering one or two disciples of the Ascension Gate Sect in Novice Village.
In the strictest sense, the Ascension Gate Sect was not an orthodox inheriting sect but a loose alliance. It had no requirements regarding a disciple's background. As long as someone vouched for and recommended you and you paid a membership fee, whether human or demon, you could join.
Inside were countless genuine and counterfeit ruin clues available for purchase. They also bought back artifacts and Cultivation Manuals unearthed from ruins, sold strange books on using Feng Shui Arts to break deadlocks, and rented out professional guides. As long as you paid, you could find an expert to lead you underground.
It was a wondrous alliance, but because its members varied wildly in quality, its reputation grew worse by the day, and mainstream cultivators shunned it.
The post Lu Bei had seen was made by a disciple of the Ascension Gate Sect. That fellow was a professional uploader who went tomb raiding every day and took the suspense route. However, because competition in the field was so fierce, his number of followers was neither among the best nor the worst.
He had become famous through an excavation of a ruin. His luck had exploded, and he had obtained a Top-tier Cultivation Method and an Offensive and Defensive Integrated treasure. His ranking on the Regional Power Ranking had shot into the top fifty, sparking a wave of tomb digging and underground exploration.
Professional players both envied and hated him. They envied his dog-shit luck and cursed him for wasting Heaven's gifts, claiming that he had randomly allocated his points early on, leaving him unable to unleash the true might of the Top-tier Cultivation Method later.
If it had been them instead, then surely...
Here a million words of replies are omitted.
Returning to the matter at hand, this post had been repeatedly dug up for a long time. It had been posted during version 1.0, and could still be found in version 3.0.
Reminded by Wei Mao, Lu Bei dug out the map of Ning Province from the study and quickly pinpointed the general area.
The servers had not even opened yet. Forget version 3.0—even version 1.0 was nowhere in sight. He figured that Heaven's Materials and Earthly Treasures belonged to the virtuous, and this tomb... no, this treasure was meant for him to claim.
Considering his current strength, Lu Bei did not dare take risks, nor did he have any intention of finding partners. He planned to get closer to the Zhu brothers first, then, once the time was ripe, find a few cannon-fodder NPCs to explore with him.
Ideally, the Zhu brothers would help him get recommended into the Ascension Gate Sect. With his aptitude, he could learn a few skills in Feng Shui Reading and breaking formations, making the treasure hunt even safer.
"Brother Lu, you really don't mind the Ascension Gate Sect's bad reputation?"
"Bad reputation? What do you mean? Those prejudices?"
Lu Bei shook his head in surprise. "There is no right or wrong in this world, and therefore there is no such thing as absolute right or wrong. It is nothing more than a difference in standpoint. Other people think the Ascension Gate Sect has done every evil under the sun, but they have never considered the deeper meaning behind the sect's survival to this day."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course."
Lu Bei spoke eloquently. "Ruins are wonderful things. The famous sects and great factions claim to disdain them, but in private, they have shed plenty of blood fighting over them."
This was not nonsense. The National War in version 2.0 had begun because Huangji Sect discovered a ruin outside Wu Zhou's borders. It invaded an enemy nation's territory, only to be pinned down and thoroughly beaten. In the end, the other side invaded its own borders instead.
"The Ascension Gate Sect's reputation is poor simply because it doesn't obtain their permission, along with the fact that some disciples handle matters without honor. The moment they see a tomb mound, they claim it's a ruin. That gave the great sects something to seize on, and after a barrage of verbal attacks, it would be strange if their reputation remained good..."
"Er, I believe in calling a spade a spade. Don't take this the wrong way, but some tomb mounds really shouldn't be disturbed. It ruins one's moral standing."
"Brother Lu is absolutely right. That's exactly what we brothers think as well. Please, continue."
"Besides, even taking the most pessimistic view, the treasures hidden within these ruins have not seen daylight for hundreds or thousands of years. For Treasures Gathering Dust to eventually rot into yellow earth is simply too wasteful."
Lu Bei spoke with heart-wrenching anguish. "The painstaking work of eminent predecessors lies buried underground, unable to shine brightly. Every time I think of it, my heart aches. If those predecessors learned of this from beyond the grave, they would surely be deeply grieved."
"Exactly!"
Zhu Bo applauded enthusiastically, raised his cup, and drained it in one gulp. The atmosphere at the wine table instantly grew lively.
Zhu Kui was different. The atmosphere had nothing to do with him.
All along, Zhu Kui had felt that tomb raiding was too immoral and that one should not disturb predecessors who had slept for countless years. The claim about Treasures Gathering Dust was complete nonsense, merely pleasant-sounding rhetoric. If those people had truly feared regret, they would have taken their Cultivation Manuals and treasures underground as burial objects from the start.
One could not do anything too immoral. If one wanted to live comfortably and eat night grass, a little immorality was enough—such as making a living by passing off inferior goods as superior and profiting from the price difference.
Unfortunately, Zhu Bo brought hidden income to their family business every time, and their uncle Zhu Ting benefited greatly. Since Zhu Kui enjoyed the profits alongside him, he did not dare spout nonsense in front of his elder brother and uncle.
"Brother Lu, since you have the heart for it, I won't hide anything from you. With me as your guarantor, I can recommend you to join the Ascension Gate Sect. What do you say?"
"Brother Bo, you're truly righteous. Your little brother is so grateful that I have no way to repay you, so I'll..."
Lu Bei began to say something, but after "I'll" for half a day, he still could not bring himself to finish. He raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.
There was nothing more to say. It was all in the wine.
Host and guests all enjoyed themselves. Lu Bei saw the two brothers to the door, waving several times as they reluctantly parted.
In the carriage, Zhu Kui sighed. "Elder Brother, this isn't what we agreed on. That brat is our destined jinx. It would be one thing if you didn't drive him away, but how did you end up pulling him into the group?"
"The Ascension Gate Sect has a bad reputation, but I don't care. Uncle, however, can't be involved. If I pull him into the Ascension Gate Sect, do you think I need to fear him smearing his own name?" Zhu Bo said with a laugh.
"I see. But..."
Zhu Kui furrowed his brows. "I still feel that brat has ulterior motives. If you take him tomb raiding, you'd better be careful."
"Relax. How old is he? Even if he can practice excellent saber techniques, could he understand tomb raiding better than me?"
Zhu Bo laughed when he heard this. "When the time comes, I'll decide whether he lives or dies. If he dares to act clever, he'll be like someone carrying a coffin while jumping into a river—bringing about his own destruction."
"That's true."
Before you continue