That's It? Too Fragile

The Iron Palm Sect operates like the river gangs in martial arts novels, colluding with officials and monopolizing water transport—the kind of organization a young hero inevitably raids right out of the newbie village.

Skills like Iron Sand Palm and Eight Steps Chasing Cicada sounded like common street fare as well. Du Ge really couldn't muster much interest in a sect like this.

Just how low was the Feng Family's foundation, to let even such a gang bully them? No wonder they acted so timidly...

Du Ge sighed inwardly but stayed in character, immediately pledging: "Fourth Young Master, rest assured. Feng Qi will spare no effort to wipe out the Iron Palm Sect and protect the Feng Family's interests."

Wipe out the Iron Palm Sect?

Feng Yunlu blinked, suddenly grasping the helplessness the family head must feel.

But recalling Du Ge's theory of extremes, he let it go, comforting himself: Normal, normal. That's just how a Heavenly Demon is. It'd be strange if he didn't say something like this.

Looking at it from another angle—fast recovery from injuries, no scruples in methods—if the Feng Family could raise a squad of such death warriors, how could they fail to rise?

Shaking his head to banish the image of an army of Heavenly Demon death warriors, Feng Yunlu found himself warming to Du Ge: "Seventh Master, we can deal with the Iron Palm Sect gradually. For now, we only need to eliminate Qiu Feibao..."

"Any force that obstructs the Feng Family's interests must be removed—sooner or later." Du Ge smiled and pressed on, "Fourth Young Master, forget these petty gangs. Tell me about the biggest powers in the martial world."

Feng Yunlu said, "Five Sects, Three Schools, Two Gangs, One Family."

Du Ge straightened up, finally interested. "What are they?"

"The Five Sects are Kunlun, Huashan, Taishan, Emei, and the Snow Mountain Sect. The Three Schools are the Blood Sabre School, the Divine Fist School, and the Tianshan School. The Two Gangs are the Beggar's Sect and the Azure Dragon Gang. The One Family is the Qiao Family." Feng Yunlu said.

"Is the Qiao Family that strong?" Du Ge asked. "Why is the Martial Arts Tournament held at their place?"

"The Qiao Family today isn't even as good as the Five Sects." Feng Yunlu shook his head. "They're called the First Family because a hundred years ago, there was Qiao He. Qiao He mastered a hundred schools of martial arts. Even the simplest technique, in his hands, became divine. At twenty-five, his skills were perfected. He left the mountain and challenged everyone, defeating all the experts of the Five Sects and Three Schools. He was universally acknowledged as the world's number one."

Qiao He was the best in the world, but he was chivalrous and loved making friends. Though he defeated many famous masters, he also helped many sects perfect their own arts. For this, the sects jointly honored him as the Martial Saint.

When Qiao He died, he sealed all his life's knowledge into a secret realm—the famous Qiao Family Holy Land."

Speaking of the Martial Saint Qiao He, Feng Yunlu's face glowed with a strange light, as if he were talking about his own ancestor. He sighed softly and continued, "Unfortunately, after the Martial Saint Qiao He, the Qiao Family never produced another genius. The Martial Saint saw this coming. Before he died, he left a wish: that the Qiao Family open the secret realm once every three years, selecting the most outstanding young talents of the martial world to enter and seek his manuals. His goal was to keep his legacy alive and nurture rising stars.

This was a benevolent act for the martial world. Countless sects owed the Martial Saint a debt of gratitude. So they jointly proclaimed the Qiao Family the First Martial Family. You could say the Qiao Family became a symbol of the martial world. If the Qiao Family were in trouble, all other sects had to help. Thus, for a hundred years, no one foolish enough dared to provoke them..."

Feng Yunlu's words cut off abruptly. He glanced awkwardly at Du Ge. Wasn't the very man before him loudly declaring he'd seize the Qiao Family Holy Land?

Saying this felt like slapping him in the face. Feng Yunlu's cheeks reddened as he stammered a defense, "Seventh Master, I don't mean you. You're new here and don't know the Qiao Family's history. Having those thoughts is normal. But don't think about taking the Qiao Family Holy Land. You'll be attacked by everyone."

Du Ge shot him a look, thinking to himself: You just don't understand the tropes of martial arts novels. No matter what kind of holy land, once the protagonist appears, it gets taken and eventually destroyed.

Throughout history, not a single holy land has survived intact to the end.

Besides, this is a Simulation Field. Hundreds of players are eyeing the main storyline, and countless gazes are fixed on that martial holy land. If I don't take it, someone else will...

"Qiao He truly deserves the title of Martial Saint." Feng Jiu, who had been silent for a while, let out a sneer. "A clever scheme. A Martial Arts Feast held once every three years, and it's protected the Qiao Family for a hundred years."

Now that he knew the origin of the First Family, Du Ge picked a relatively familiar one from the Five Sects and Three Schools and asked, "What about the Beggar's Sect? What martial arts do they have?"

"Dog Beating Stick Technique, Mourning Stick Technique, Lotus Palm, and Agile Snake Movement." Feng Yunlu said. "These are all first-rate martial arts, far superior to the Feng Family's Shattered Gold, Broken Jade Hand by countless levels..."

Lotus Palm? Mourning Stick Technique?

Hearing these familiar yet strange names, Du Ge sighed inwardly. This place, after all, wasn't the world he knew.

Still, the Beggar's Sect here was down-to-earth. Their skills were all tied to the daily life of beggars. There was no Dragon Capturing Skill or Subduing Dragon Palm—nothing that sounded lofty and grand.

Du Ge was silently mocking the Beggar's Sect.

Suddenly, he jolted. He felt an enormous change sweep through his entire body.

He could clearly feel every muscle swelling, every cell seeming to store explosive power—as if he could casually punch a cow to death.

His vision was also enhanced. He could clearly see a mosquito flapping its wings three meters away. His rear vision let him observe the subtle changes in Feng Jiu's expression.

His ears picked up a cacophony of sounds: the heartbeats of Feng Yunlu and Feng Jiu, and even faintly, from the Council Hall, Feng Shiren assigning people to search everywhere for the Heavenly Demon...

What the hell?

What just happened?

Du Ge's heartbeat quickened. His physical attributes had suddenly jumped this much. Could it be because the Feng Family had actually put his made-up plan into action?

If that were true, how much would he improve if he pushed the Feng Family to the position of Martial Alliance Leader?

A humanoid Gundam?

So his efforts weren't wasted. As expected of a high-level world game—this was way too fun...

Calming himself, Du Ge opened his hidden personal stats panel.

Sure enough.

His stats had changed:

Name: Du Ge; ID: 48699527; Spirit: 80; Current Rank: 1/813; Round Keyword: Maintain;

Keyword: Backstab;

Advanced Skill:

Sacrifice Oneself for Righteousness: Those you have protected will have their wariness toward you reduced by thirty percent.

Eyes Behind the Head: One who backstabs cannot be backstabbed by others; you possess vision from behind.

Derived Items: None for now.

His mental power value increased by 20, and his personal ranking leaped straight to first place.

Du Ge pressed his lips together. Damn, just like that? Just like that, and I'm first? These guys can't take a hit at all!

But.

The ranking should change at any moment...

Calm down, calm down. Du Ge steadied his emotions. I've already made a good start; keeping first place to the end is what really counts...

Feng Jiu caught Du Ge's small movements and naturally knew he was checking his personal panel. Seeing his delighted expression, it was probably a huge jump in ranking.

Feng Jiu was full of envy and wanted to ask about Du Ge's rank, but with Feng Yunlu still here, it clearly wasn't appropriate.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.

A moment later, Feng Yunjie pushed the door open and looked at Du Ge in the room, saying excitedly, "Seventh Master, Father has approved your plan and has already sent people out to search for other Heavenly Demons."

Feng Jiu held his breath. It's over. The aftermath is here. Once the Feng Family finds other contestants, the Heavenly Demon lie will be exposed in no time. He was too hasty.

"The Family Head is indeed a wise man." Du Ge showed no panic at all. He stood up and asked with a smile, "Since the search for Heavenly Demons has begun, when do we leave?"

"Seventh Master, there's no rush. Father said that Seventh Master and Ninth Master are still weak in strength. Rest a few days in the Feng Family, improve your power, and then it won't be too late to leave." Feng Yunjie said apologetically.

"Third Young Master, do you remember what I said?" Du Ge shook his head and smiled.

You've said a lot of things; how could I remember them all?

Feng Yunjie grumbled inwardly but asked respectfully, "May I ask what the Master is referring to?"

"I am bound to the Feng Family—if one is harmed, both suffer; if one prospers, both thrive." Du Ge puffed out his chest and said proudly, "The moment the Family Head decided to execute the plan I provided, the Feng Family's fate had already changed. Likewise, my strength has also increased..."

As he spoke, he suddenly stepped forward.

Feng Yunjie's vision blurred; Du Ge was already right in front of him, less than three inches from his face, so fast that he hadn't even reacted.

By the time he did and instinctively raised his hand to push Du Ge away, both his wrists had somehow already been seized by Du Ge...

Feng Jiu's eyes bulged wide. "Damn."

"How is this possible?" Feng Yunjie shot to his feet, exclaiming in shock.

Outside the door.

Feng Yunming stood dumbfounded, frozen on the spot.

In truth, Du Ge was also a bit surprised. He had planned to catch Feng Yunjie off guard by grabbing his throat to show off his strength.

He hadn't expected that the sudden increase in power would make his body completely unaccustomed to it, causing him to lunge right up to him. If he hadn't pulled back in time, he might have already knocked Feng Yunjie flying.

This damn game is really realistic—I actually have to get used to the sudden boost in strength and agility...

Fortunately, aside from nearly kissing Feng Yunjie, the effect of showing off was pretty good.

Du Ge released Feng Yunjie's wrists, floated back two steps, and smiled faintly. "Third Young Master, do you believe what I said now? If I had been holding a blade just now, your heart would probably already be pierced..."