"Long Saber Herald"
"Stat Bonuses: Health +5, Spirit +2, Agility +5"
"Sharpness (White Trait): When the weapon is a long saber, damage dealt +1."
"Bloodthirsty (Blue Trait): When using a saber-type token, there is a 15% chance to inflict 3 points of bleeding damage per second on the enemy. This bleeding damage can stack with other bleeding damage."
"Wandering Herald"
"Stat Bonuses: Health +3, Spirit +3, Agility +6"
"Mind's Eye (White Trait): The judgment window for Perfect Dodge is increased by 2 frames."
"Viper's Kiss (Blue Trait): Attacks after a Perfect Dodge ignore 50% of defense."
"Woodland Herald"
"Stat Bonuses: Health +4, Spirit +4, Agility +4"
"Woodland Kin (Blue Trait): When you are in the Wandering Star Forest, your comprehension temporarily increases by 50."
"Wandering Star Blessing (Gold Trait): When settling the rewards from a chest in the Wandering Star Forest, you gain one additional choice."
After an afternoon of idling and practical training, Jiang Shi's Basic Footwork had reached Level 7. Combined with her Level 5 Basic Fist Technique and Level 8 Basic Saber Technique, she had finally accumulated enough experience to reach Level 10 and trigger her class advancement.
Yan Qing had thought the three available classes would be derived from saber techniques, fist techniques, and footwork. He had not expected an unforeseen class to appear: Woodland Herald.
He guessed that as long as a player had entered the Wandering Star Forest and advanced their class during the event's three-day duration, this class would inevitably appear. The advantages and disadvantages of Woodland Herald were both obvious. It existed entirely to serve the Wandering Star Forest dungeon. Once the dungeon ended, the class would become completely useless, and the Wandering Star Forest seemed to be an annual event. If each class advancement was equivalent to visiting a different all-you-can-eat restaurant, then Jiang Shi's advancement to Woodland Herald meant that she could eat her fill for only the next two days. Until she reached Level 20, she would have to go hungry.
A class with such an extreme disadvantage naturally offered extremely generous rewards.
Comprehension +50 might, numerically speaking, simply mean a 50% increase in experience gained, but the two were actually different during gameplay because "heralds" possessed a hidden mechanic.
Comprehending martial arts manuals and creating one's own martial arts.
These two functions looked extremely advanced, but in reality, aside from the top players who pioneered new content, most ordinary players would never touch them. It was not that ordinary players could not experience such high-end game functions, but that they had a better option.
Buying advanced martial arts manuals directly.
If they could buy them, why comprehend them themselves?
Only when a new version had just launched, and top players had encountered new content but failed to obtain any martial arts manuals, would the game system use a player's comprehension, commonly used tokens, and usual fighting style to let them directly comprehend a martial art perfectly suited to them. Comprehension directly affected the probability of success.
Though it was called comprehending martial arts, it was essentially a pity mechanic for those with terrible luck. Someone else might get a drop from one dungeon run, while you could run the dungeon ten times without getting one. Seeing how pitiful you were, the system would reward you with it.
As the version progressed, top players would obtain many martial arts manuals they had no use for, and those manuals would naturally flow into the market. Players in the second and third tiers who caught up later no longer had to struggle miserably to comprehend martial arts like the pioneers did. They could simply buy them from the market.
But in this world, things had changed.
Martial arts manuals had become strategic resources. They were basically consumed internally by factions and never circulated outside them. As a result, Yan Qing encountered a situation he had never anticipated: his alt had hit a bottleneck.
The game did have progression bottlenecks, but they only appeared after the fourth class advancement. Yet his highest-level alt, Night Four, had already encountered one. He had only comprehended one Advanced Blade Technique, and without two advanced martial arts, he could not obtain enough experience to reach Level 20.
As long as he failed to obtain a second advanced martial art, Night Four would remain stuck at Level 18.
As for when he could comprehend his second advanced martial art... He had started with zero comprehension!
That was why Woodland Herald's "+50 comprehension while in the Wandering Star Forest" trait held an unimaginable significance in this world. As long as Jiang Shi could comprehend two or three advanced martial arts over the next two days, she would inevitably break through the Level 20 threshold in the future, surpassing Night Four to become his strongest alt!
Breaking through the Level 20 threshold...
The more Yan Qing thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. A level that could be crossed in as little as one minute or as much as half an hour in the game had become a difficult hurdle in this world, one that he had to plan for seriously in order to overcome.
However, the greatest value of Woodland Herald was undoubtedly the gold trait, "Wandering Star Blessing," which allowed a player one additional choice when settling the rewards from the Wandering Star Forest event. Even though Yan Qing knew nothing about the Wandering Star Forest's settlement rewards, this trait alone was enough to tell him that the rewards from this once-a-year limited-time dungeon should be quite impressive.
Woodland Herald would never qualify for a place in any build, but in this world, at this point in time when Yan Qing had no alt above Level 20, it was unquestionably the optimal choice.
"Congratulations, player. You have advanced to the class 'Woodland Herald.'"
"You have gained Health +4, Spirit +4, Agility +4!"
"You have unlocked Spirit Energy Value. Current Spirit Energy Value: 0/20."
At this moment, Jiang Shi and Qian Gongyu were resting after their spar. The momentum of Jiang Shi's class advancement was so conspicuous that Qian Gongyu, who was nearby, noticed it immediately.
"Did you advance your class?"
"Mm."
"Then do we not have to spar anymore?" There was both ingratiation and hope in Qian Gongyu's smile, like a puppy exhausted from being taken for a walk. "Since you've already advanced—"
"Even after advancing, we still need to keep improving. Sparring is more effective than training alone no matter what. Now that I've advanced, we can use tokens for practical sparring in the future. Young Miss, don't you want to improve?"
"...I do."
At that moment, a commotion arose outside. Many people had gathered at the camp entrance, seemingly to welcome an important person.
More than a dozen carriages from Scholar Clans had arrived at the camp that afternoon. Some had originally planned to come but had been delayed on the road, while others had rushed over after receiving the news. The two groups were easy to distinguish: the former were mostly weak noble youths with heavy traces of cosmetics, while the latter were generally middle-aged men who kept their weapons close at hand.
People had continually wanted to speak with Jiang Shi and Qian Gongyu, but after leaving the Wandering Star Forest, Jie Yuanshao and Shang Xin Lei had immediately rearranged the camp's carriage formation. Two Noble Colors-class double-decker carriages stood on either side, sandwiching the Qian Family's inconspicuous prestigious-family carriage between them, while numerous guards watched outside.
Such an obvious attitude naturally meant that no one dared cross the two major families to approach anyone from the Qian Family. Thanks to that, the Qian Family enjoyed a peaceful afternoon.
But monopolizing the feast could not last forever.
A servant walked over. Although the Jie Family and Shang Family guards went up to stop him, after a brief exchange, they still stepped aside and let the servant approach the Qian Family's carriage.
"Family Head Qian Gongyu, Guard Jiang Shi, tonight's banquet is about to begin. All the major families sincerely invite you both to spare the time to attend."
"Thank you, but we already have plans," Qian Gongyu said immediately. "Tonight, we're having dinner with Fourth Young Miss Shang."
"We'll be there."
Everyone turned their heads and saw Shang Xin Lei step out of the carriage. Although she had accepted the invitation, there was not the slightest smile on her face. She waved her hand as if shooing away a fly. "Go back and tell Qun Yushu that we'll all attend."
Only after the servant had left did Qian Gongyu belatedly ask, "Qun Yushu? Could it be..."
"A cripple who smiles without meaning it, an ugly freak who ruins your appetite," Shang Xin Lei said irritably. "But unfortunately, he's the face of the Qun Family's generation, so we can't deny him the courtesy."
"And it isn't only Qun Yushu. Chen Family Elder Chen Lincuan has also arrived, along with various other prestigious families... Even I and the Jie Family can't keep them outside forever."
"The Qun Family and the Chen Family!"
Qian Gongyu showed no awareness that she herself was one of the "various other" families. She said excitedly, "This camp has actually gathered four of the Seven Great Noble Families!"
"The Seven Great Noble Families?"
"The Purple Ribbon Three Clans and the Vermillion Gate Four Surnames. The Qun Family is one of the Purple Ribbon noble families, with a long history like the Jie Family. The Chen Family is a Vermillion Gate Scholar Clan like the Shang Family, and has guarded the Guangling military garrison and defended the border for generations." As she spoke, Qian Gongyu finally seemed to realize something. Her legs went weak, and her voice trembled. "They're all purple-robed noble families who could crush the Qian Family just by casually extending a pinky finger..."
"Xin Lei, can we not go to the banquet!?" Qian Gongyu pleaded incoherently. "People of our status don't belong in a place like that..."
"Xiao Yu, you're so brave," Shang Xin Lei said, clapping her hands. "You accepted their invitation and then refused to go, deliberately standing them up in front of so many prestigious families and harshly humiliating important figures from two noble clans. Even I wouldn't have the nerve to do that."
"What? Then what do we do, what do we do!?" Qian Gongyu was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan. She clung tightly to Shang Xin Lei's arm like a koala. "Xin Lei, save me!"
"Relax, relax." Shang Xin Lei stroked Qian Gongyu's head. "With me here, they won't be able to do anything to you. Besides, don't forget that Jie Yuanshao and Jie Zilong are on our side too. The Qun and Chen Families naturally have to show us some respect, but the Shang and Jie Families aren't pushovers either. Hurry back and change, then we'll go together."
Qian Gongyu nodded repeatedly, then called out to Jiang Shi, who was still practicing her saber technique in the open space. "Jiang Shi, stop practicing. It's time to change!"
Jiang Shi stopped swinging her saber and slowly turned around.
The sun was about to set. Two-thirds of the sky had already turned deep blue, steadily consuming the remaining third, which was fiery red.
Jiang Shi stood on the boundary between light and darkness, with only half her face illuminated by the setting sun.
Beautiful. Cold.
Even though they had fought alongside her and shared hardships with her, Qian Gongyu and Shang Xin Lei still could not see the slightest trace of intimacy in her eyes.
"I'm not going. I have food, so I don't need to attend the banquet."
Qian Gongyu opened and closed her mouth, stammering, "But, but the people who invited us are the Qun and Chen Families. They're noble clans. We can't afford to offend them. Even Xin Lei..."
Under Jiang Shi's gaze, Qian Gongyu's voice grew softer and softer until it was barely audible.
"I'm not stopping you from going. I'm simply not going."
"I know you can't afford to offend them. Shang Xin Lei can't afford to offend them either."
"But why do you think..."
Night completely swallowed the last traces of sunset, and the world grew dim. Bonfires sprang to life throughout the camp. Jiang Shi stood bathed in the night, her eyes shining like a leopard's in the jungle. The White Iron Straight Blade clenched in her hand gleamed with a biting chill.
She had only just advanced to become a first-turn herald, while Shang Xin Lei was clearly the stronger one. Yet for some reason... Shang Xin Lei did not dare meet her gaze.
"That I don't dare offend them?"
The chapter should go up this month. Here's an extra chapter—please vote for monthly tickets! The two regular updates will be posted today as usual!
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