Chapter Summaries

Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei impressed Lin Qi by demonstrating Quasi-Martial Artist-level techniques, while Instructor Number One revealed that players could use it to refine their own martial skills. The chapter ended with One Leaf Floating Cloud creating a partially executed Martial Artist-level technique, triggering a system reward and a hidden mission for Lin Qi.

• Lin Qi explained how to test techniques with Instructor Number One, and Luo Wu Shang chose a rubber longsword to demonstrate Point Star.
• Instructor Number One rated Point Star Quasi-Martial Artist level, and Luo Wu Shang realized its feedback could help her improve the technique.
• Twilight of the Gods and Fang Zhen's livestream audience recognized the game’s martial-skill creation feature, prompting more players to buy the game and retry the assessment.
• Zhang Qingwei tested Surging Wave Blade and earned a Quasi-Martial Artist-level result.
• Lin Qi returned after a crash to find One Leaf Floating Cloud had lost an arm and Instructor Number One recording Spiral Demon Spear Kill as a partially executed Martial Artist-level technique.
• The system rewarded Lin Qi with 20 additional introduction slots and triggered a hidden mission requiring players to create three Martial Artist-level techniques or training methods.

One Leaf Floating Cloud recreated a weakened version of Spiral Demon Spear Kill, earning a five-stage martial artist evaluation and helping the martial arts hall gain twenty recruitment slots. Lin Qi took players to City of Light Chasing to unload ore and buy supplies, where he learned Luo Qi had been captured by the White Feather Gang and faced a ransom of three hundred thousand bits.

• One Leaf Floating Cloud used Spiral Demon Spear Kill, badly injuring himself but earning a five-stage martial artist evaluation and celebrating his breakthrough with the other players.
• Lin Qi saw that the martial arts hall's recruitment limit had risen from ten to thirty and considered the cost of preparing for the approaching winter.
• Lin Qi brought Outlander Gunslinger and Peerless One Shot to the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop to unload ore and purchase supplies for the new recruits.
• An employee told Lin Qi that Luo Qi had been captured by the White Feather Gang after the Green Sparrow Gang's escort was killed, and that neither gang nor the weapon shop would pay to free her.
• Lin Qi demanded to know the ransom, and the employee told him it was three hundred thousand bits.

Lin Qi prepared to rescue Luo Qi from the White Feather Gang by mobilizing players and selling his Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros meat. He left the Phosphor Fire Trading Market with a deal for the meat and a choice of signal jamming devices to consider.

• Lin Qi told Kro to arrange a hand-to-hand ransom exchange in three days, then ordered Outlander Gunslinger and Peerless One Shot to help move ore.
• Kro agreed to contact the White Feather Gang, and Lin Qi sold ore for 600 bits before spending nearly all his remaining money on supplies.
• Lin Qi filled all twenty player slots, causing a frenzy in the High Martial Descent review section, where Li Ranxing decided to try the game.
• Lin Qi brought Luo Wu Shang and five other Quasi-Apprentice-level players to the Phosphor Fire Trading Market and offered Xia Ling 1,282.6 kilograms of Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros meat.
• Xia Ling offered 860,000 bits for the meat and quoted prices for signal jamming devices after Lin Qi asked to buy one.

Lin Qi purchased three-kilometer signal-jamming equipment and a photocopier, while Xia Ling decided the Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros meat would help her become a Quasi-Martial Artist. Back at Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, he welcomed twenty new players and set them a twelve-hour test to learn the Soul Shocking Breathing Technique.

• Lin Qi bought three-kilometer jamming equipment and a photocopier from Xia Ling at Phosphor Fire Trading Market, then left with Fang Zhen and the others.
• Xia Ling declined to pursue Lin Qi's group and planned to use the Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros meat to break through to Quasi-Martial Artist.
• Fang Zhen and the other veterans discussed the upcoming combat instance and the arrival of twenty new player slots.
• The new players awakened in the underground confinement room, explored their surroundings, and greeted Fang Zhen and Lin Qi.
• Lin Qi told the newcomers to register, choose shovels, and reach beginner proficiency in the Soul Shocking Breathing Technique within twelve hours; the best performer would earn the Star Explosion Meditation Technique.

Lin Qi prepared the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall players for a combat mission against the White Feather Gang by teaching newcomers the Soul Shocking Breathing Technique. After three days of intensive training, he issued a rescue mission for players who met the Quasi-Apprentice physical fitness requirement, and the players eagerly prepared for what looked like a large team dungeon.

• Lin Qi arranged for newcomers to learn the Soul Shocking Breathing Technique, while Zhao Hu joined the game and Li Ranxing joined the Mecha Squad.
• Zhao Hu and Li Ranxing focused on training, and veterans and newcomers alike practiced martial arts for three days to raise their physical fitness.
• Lin Qi became an elementary Martial Apprentice, while Zhao Hu, Li Ranxing, and several veteran players reached or surpassed Quasi-Apprentice strength.
• Lin Qi posted a temporary extermination mission to rescue an Obsidian Martial Arts Hall companion kidnapped by the White Feather Gang.
• The players discovered the mission required Quasi-Apprentice fitness and began forming teams for the combat mission.

Lin Qi brought Luo Qi’s ransom to the White Feather Gang’s planting base, where Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei launched the planned ambush. Their martial skills struck Lante and Maiti before the rest of the attack began.

• Lante and the other White Feather Gang captains discussed ransoming Luo Qi and considered demanding more money or A6 Grade Armor.
• Lin Qi arrived with Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei to exchange three hundred thousand bits for Luo Qi, while players hid nearby awaiting the signal to attack.
• Lante ordered Maiti to release Luo Qi, and Lin Qi’s group began the ransom exchange.
• As Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei approached Lante and Maiti with the metal cases, they drew Black Steel Arrows and attacked with their martial skills.
• Luo Wu Shang’s attack damaged Lante’s armor and forced him back, while Zhang Qingwei’s attack caved in Maiti’s armor and left him badly injured.

Lin Qi’s group launched a planned assault on the White Feather Gang plantation base, while Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei battled Lante. One Leaf Floating Cloud killed Lante and claimed the boss’s first blood as the Gray Robe Gang overwhelmed the defenders.

• Lante rallied the White Feather Gang members and ordered them to attack Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei as archers aimed at Lin Qi and Luo Qi.
• Lin Qi signaled an ambush, killing four gang members with concealed projectiles as more than twenty Gray Robe Gang members charged from the deadwood forest.
• Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei fought Lante and the captains, treating the battle like a game and pushing Lante to use Mountain Breaker on Zhang Qingwei.
• The Gray Robe Gang’s reckless fighters and archers routed the White Feather Gang, while Fang Zhen and the others shot down its members.
• One Leaf Floating Cloud struck down Lante with Spiral Demon Spear Kill, losing an arm and suffering mortal wounds as he celebrated taking first blood.

Lin Qi and the Gray Robe Gang destroyed the White Feather Gang’s plantation base, then returned to Obsidian Martial Arts Hall with its supplies. News of the base’s complete destruction spread across the abandoned zones, setting the stage for the White Feather Gang’s response.

• After Lante died, the White Feather Gang’s four captains ordered their members to flee, but the players chased them and Luo Wu Shang and the others killed the captains.
• Luo Qi learned that Lin Qi had helped bring the Gray Robe Gang to fight and offered to repay him; Lin Qi asked her to forge weapons for the gang instead.
• Lin Qi assessed the players’ injuries and their need for better weapons, then had them clear out the plantation base and take or burn everything there.
• Lin Qi led the players and their loaded vehicles back to Obsidian Martial Arts Hall under cover of night.
• News that the White Feather Gang’s plantation base had been wiped out and left without survivors spread across the human abandoned zone and beyond.

After the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall destroyed a White Feather Gang base, Lin Qi tallied the spoils and planned how to use them to grow the gang and reward players. He discovered a Martial Artist Level Palm Technique in the seized goods, while the White Feather Gang began searching for the force responsible.

• A Crystal Race woman told Hou Fei that a White Feather Gang base had been wiped out, and Hou Fei warned her not to rush to claim the gang’s reward for information.
• Qin Mu cautioned Lin Qi that the White Feather Gang’s investigation could trigger a major wilderness battle, while Lin Qi assured him the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would stay out of it.
• Qin Mu praised the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s rapid growth and offered to introduce Lin Qi to better transport work once the gang became stronger.
• Lin Qi counted the seized cash, vehicles, weapons, armor, generators, and Blood Essence Rice, then planned to sell supplies and use contribution ranks to encourage players.
• Lin Qi found a Martial Artist Level Palm Technique among the White Feather Gang’s seized goods and was astonished that the gang had possessed one.

After the extermination mission, Lin Qi rewarded the participating players and announced Inner Disciple and Elite Disciple ranks with new permissions. The players celebrated their generous rewards and studied the powerful benefits, including team missions, Martial Artist-level techniques, and private rooms.

• The players discussed the realism of the battle, One Leaf Floating Cloud’s BOSS kill, and the importance of weapons and protective gear.
• Lin Qi announced that each participating disciple would receive one hundred Contribution Points and three thousand Points, with extra rewards for major contributions.
• Lin Qi opened Inner Disciple and Elite Disciple slots as rewards for outstanding disciples, exciting the players with the prospect of new permissions.
• The players checked the notice board and learned that One Leaf Floating Cloud had earned three hundred Contribution Points and five thousand extra Points.
• The players discovered that Inner Disciples could lead teams, rent a Big Three-Wheeler, and learn a Martial Artist-level palm technique, while Elite Disciples could learn its second volume and own private rooms.

Players rushed to earn Contribution Points after Lightning Palm and Elite Disciple benefits were announced. On the third day, three members of the Green Sparrow Gang arrived at Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to meet its leaders, believing the players had destroyed a White Feather Gang base.

• Players praised Lightning Palm’s combat power and discussed buying it and reaching Elite Disciple status to obtain private rooms.
• Luo Wu Shang told the Heavenly Might members to pool points and run mine missions, while other teams also gathered points to rent Big Three-Wheelers.
• Lin Qi rented vehicles to three teams, and players crowded the training ground to form teams and pursue missions.
• On the third day, Twilight of the Gods told Lin Qi that Winged Race visitors had arrived, and Lin Qi invited them in after learning they belonged to the rival Green Sparrow Gang.
• Flo, a Peak Apprentice, entered with two Advanced Apprentice companions; a Winged Race woman questioned whether the players could have destroyed the White Feather Gang base, while Flo affirmed it and players hurried to alert those who had logged off.

Lin Qi heard the Green Sparrow Gang’s proposal to join its fight against the White Feather Gang for control of Crimson Moon Mountain. Flo offered the Gray Robe Gang 5% ownership of the mine in exchange for ten Apprentice-level fighters, and Lin Qi had not yet accepted.

• Luo Wu Shang learned that three Green Sparrow Gang members had arrived to discuss cooperation and hurried the Heavenly Might members back to the martial arts hall.
• Flo assessed the Gray Robe Gang’s strength as Lin Qi arrived, then introduced himself as the Green Sparrow Gang’s vice leader.
• Flo assured Lin Qi that the Green Sparrow Gang would conceal the Gray Robe Gang’s role in attacking the White Feather Gang and had claimed it paid Luo Qi’s ransom.
• Flo explained that the Green Sparrow Gang and White Feather Gang would send fifty Apprentice-level experts each to fight over Crimson Moon Mountain in twelve days.
• Flo offered the Gray Robe Gang 5% ownership of the mine for sending ten Apprentice-level experts and presented a binding contract.

Flo proposed that the Gray Robe Gang provide fighters for a death battle over an Energy Vein, but Lin Qi rejected his terms and demanded a larger share. Lin Qi challenged Flo’s two experts to a pair of short matches to demonstrate the gang’s strength.

• Twilight of the Gods and Luo Wu Shang discussed competing with the other squads for the ten dungeon slots Flo had offered.
• Lin Qi rejected Flo’s contract, leaving the players and Green Sparrow Gang representatives confused.
• Lin Qi countered by offering twenty fighters in exchange for 20% of the Energy Vein’s ownership.
• Flo offered 10% instead, arguing that the Gray Robe Gang’s fighters were weaker than those of other supporting gangs.
• Lin Qi proposed two matches against Flo’s experts, with each contest decided within three moves.

Lin Qi arranged two three-move matches to negotiate better terms for the Gray Robe Gang, while encouraging his players to fight for the contract’s slots. One Leaf Floating Cloud volunteered for the first match against Fischer, and their life-or-death duel began.

• Flo agreed to two matches, with the contract subject to reconsideration if his companions won within three moves.
• Lin Qi told the players that the contract depended on their performance and promised an additional reward to any victor.
• One Leaf Floating Cloud volunteered to fight Fischer, and the others accepted his choice because of his improved strength and powerful spear technique.
• Fischer noticed that One Leaf Floating Cloud had no protective gear, but he declared he would fight without holding back.
• Fischer put aside her contempt and agreed to fight seriously as Lin Qi started the match.

One Leaf Floating Cloud’s desperate duel with Fischer won the Gray Robe Gang a larger share of the Crimson Moon Mountain Energy Vein in exchange for sending thirty Apprentice-level fighters. Lin Qi accepted the deal and rewarded One Leaf Floating Cloud, then offered automatic Inner Disciple status to disciples who reached the fifth skill stage, prompting Luo Wu Shang to notice she was already close.

• Fischer attacked One Leaf Floating Cloud with Burning Moon, and he countered with Spiral Demon Spear Kill; both were badly hurt, but he stood ready to fight again.
• Flo stopped the match and offered the Gray Robe Gang twenty percent ownership of the Energy Vein if it sent thirty Apprentice-level experts, or twelve percent if it sent twenty.
• Lin Qi agreed to send thirty people, signed Flo’s contract, and watched Flo, Fischer, and Papp leave Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
• The players celebrated the expanded mission slots, while Lin Qi worried that sending thirty fighters would leave the martial arts hall unguarded.
• Lin Qi rewarded One Leaf Floating Cloud with 1,000 Contribution and 10,000 Points, and announced that disciples reaching the fifth skill stage could become Inner Disciples directly.
• Luo Wu Shang checked her recorded Point Star data and saw that her skill was at the fourth stage, 89%.

Flo and Fischer left Obsidian Martial Arts Hall after discussing the Gray Robe Gang’s strength and the danger posed by its skilled fighters. Back at the hall, players celebrated the benefits of becoming Inner Disciples until a player brought Lin Qi a valuable discovery from deep underground.

• Flo told Fischer that recruiting thirty Beginner Apprentices from the Gray Robe Gang could help the Green Sparrow Gang win a battle, while Fischer regretted that One Leaf Floating Cloud might not survive.
• Flo warned that the Gray Robe Gang could threaten the Green Sparrow Gang if it had many Intermediate Apprentices skilled in Quasi-Martial Artist-level martial skills, though Fischer doubted it.
• After Flo and the others left, players gathered at Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to seek guidance and celebrated the chance to become Inner Disciples and receive Blood Essence Rice.
• One Leaf Floating Cloud discussed the taste and benefits of Blood Essence Rice, and Lin Qi quoted high prices for cooking oil and salt while refusing to provide eggs.
• A dark-skinned player brought Lin Qi a fist-sized piece of Bronze Ore that he had dug up more than five hundred meters underground and asked whether it could be exchanged for points.

Lin Qi learned that I'm a Professional Hole-Digger had found valuable Bronze Ore in a vast underground maze beneath the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, where Unicorn Gold-Eating Rats roamed. Fang Zhen and One Leaf Floating Cloud tried to recruit him to explore the maze, and the group concluded it might be an expansion-type dungeon before Fang Zhen asked if he had seen any treasure chests.

• Lin Qi examined I'm a Professional Hole-Digger's exceptional martial arts progress and offered rewards for Bronze Ore and information about the underground site.
• I'm a Professional Hole-Digger said he had found scattered Bronze Ore in a maze-like tunnel more than five hundred meters underground, where radiation limited his stay and Unicorn Gold-Eating Rats appeared occasionally.
• Fang Zhen and One Leaf Floating Cloud competed to recruit I'm a Professional Hole-Digger, offering shares of the profits and other benefits.
• I'm a Professional Hole-Digger explained that the maze was vast, required players to dig out the ore, and was too dangerous for those with low physical attributes to explore for long.
• One Leaf Floating Cloud and Fang Zhen reasoned that the scattered rats made the maze an expansion-type dungeon that players might explore gradually.
• Fang Zhen asked I'm a Professional Hole-Digger whether he had seen any treasure chests in the maze.

Fang Zhen and One Leaf Floating Cloud concluded that Lightning Palm could penetrate the Unicorn Gold-Eating Rats’ tough hides and help them clear the maze, while Lin Qi realized the players had misunderstood his reward and planned to pursue the dungeon anyway. The next morning, Lin Qi brought ore to the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop and showed Luo Qi several chunks of Bronze Ore.

• Fang Zhen proposed that the maze dungeon was designed for Inner Disciples who could use Lightning Palm to kill the Unicorn Gold-Eating Rats.
• One Leaf Floating Cloud and Digging Holes Is My Profession agreed to pool resources with Fang Zhen, learn Lightning Palm, and secretly explore the dungeon.
• Lin Qi realized the players had misread his ten-thousand-point reward and accepted that they would pursue their supposed dungeon treasure hunt.
• Lin Qi delivered ore to the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop, where new players unloaded it eagerly for him.
• Lin Qi visited Luo Qi in her workshop and showed her six chunks of Bronze Ore, which she recognized with surprise.

Lin Qi commissioned two B2 Grade Weapons from Luo Qi and adjusted the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s rewards and recruitment. As Fang Zhen and One Leaf Floating Cloud’s skills rapidly improved, Lin Qi extracted their gains and reached the Perfection Realm in Crushing Pile.

• Lin Qi paid Luo Qi to forge two standard-issue B2 Grade Weapons and bought two polished A6 Grade Weapons.
• Lin Qi ordered the transport workers to run back as training, then announced new weapon exchanges and recruited a warehouse administrator.
• Luo Wu Shang urged Zhang Qingwei to apply for the administrator position, and Lin Qi selected her from the applicants.
• Lin Qi checked the players’ progress and found Fang Zhen and One Leaf Floating Cloud had rapidly improved their skills.
• Lin Qi extracted their gains, raising Chasing Wind to 97% proficiency and bringing Crushing Pile to the Perfection Realm.

Lin Qi discovered that reaching the Perfection Realm with a martial skill increased his normal punching power by 10%, then used player extractions to try to advance his Leopard Shadow Steps. Meanwhile, Fang Zhen and the others killed the Unicorn Gold-Eating Rat after three days of relentless attacks.

• Lin Qi found that his perfected first-level Crushing Stone Fist boosted his normal punching strength by 10%.
• Lin Qi extracted Li Ranxing, Luo Wu Shang, and Zhang Qingwei to improve his Leopard Shadow Steps, but the latter two extractions produced no progress.
• Lin Qi considered selling his mature Blood Essence Rice to fund the martial arts hall repairs and the vagrants' wages.
• Fang Zhen directed the players as they continued harassing the Unicorn Gold-Eating Rat beneath the martial arts hall, using Lightning Palms to weaken it.
• Li Ranxing and One Leaf Floating Cloud struck the rat's right flank while the others blocked its escape, and the Unicorn Gold-Eating Rat collapsed and died.