The Second Batch of Newbies

"Secretary Zhang, didn't you participate in the test assessment?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hu jolted up in the virtual game pod, completely stunned.

"No, I've been very busy, I haven't had time to participate in that test assessment," Zhang Qingwei replied, sounding a bit puzzled. "Do you have to pass that test assessment to enter this game?"

"..." Zhao Hu found himself speechless for a moment.

The official High Martial Descent hadn't explicitly stated that passing the test assessment was mandatory to enter the game. It only mentioned that passing the assessment increased the probability of entering, not that failing to participate meant you wouldn't be selected.

This meant he, who had died hundreds of times during the test assessment and spent over twenty thousand, was worse off than Zhang Qingwei, who had done nothing.

"Elder Zhao, is there anything else you need me to relay?" Zhang Qingwei asked politely, seeing Zhao Hu's prolonged silence. She felt it wouldn't be good to further discourage him.

"No, that's all," Zhao Hu replied after a long silence. Then, he suddenly asked, "Qingwei, what do you think of the Liya Villa I'm living in?"

"It's very nice. Those are high-level villas specially built by the guild for its meritorious members. There aren't any better villas in the entire Huxin City," Zhang Qingwei nodded.

"Well, you see, I want to use this Liya Villa to exchange for your High Martial Descent slot," Zhao Hu gritted out. "If you agree, this Liya Villa will be yours today!"

"Elder Zhao, are you joking?" Zhang Qingwei felt her brain couldn't quite process this.

The Tianyage Residential Area was in the city center of Huxin City, where any villa easily sold for over a hundred million. Not to mention Zhao Hu's Liya Villa, which was a mansion that many wealthy individuals in Huxin City dreamed of owning, and a luxury home she, as his secretary, could never afford in her lifetime.

The fact that Zhao Hu was willing to trade such a mansion for a game slot was something that, if spoken aloud, the entire world would likely find unbelievable.

"I'm not joking. If you agree, I can transfer it electronically right now," Zhao Hu said, as if he had made up his mind, without any hesitation.

Although he had only experienced the test assessment for High Martial Descent, Zhao Hu understood its immense potential. Other virtual games would struggle to compete, and even Pilgrimage, which had been popular for several years, was far inferior.

If he could enter High Martial Descent first, it would undoubtedly be a huge advantage for his future development.

"This..." Zhang Qingwei was completely bewildered.

At this moment, she felt either Zhao Hu had gone mad, or she had. Or perhaps Zhao Hu's mental state had become abnormal after playing the High Martial Descent test assessment.

"You're still unwilling, aren't you?" Zhao Hu sighed, seeing Zhang Qingwei's lack of reaction. "I understand. If it were me, I probably wouldn't agree either. In any case, tell Vice President Luo that I'll catch up soon."

After speaking, Zhao Hu didn't wait for Zhang Qingwei's reply. He hung up the phone, lay back down in the virtual game pod, and directly clicked on the test assessment.

Although the seven slots were gone, based on the official statements, more slots would surely be opened later. Therefore, passing the test assessment was essential to compete for those future slots.

"Is this what dying feels like? My villa, just like that, gone?" Zhang Qingwei looked at her silent phone, a sense of regret immediately washing over her. She regretted her slow reaction.

If it were before her car accident, she could have definitely made Zhao Hu regret it so much he'd call for his mother.

Despite her regret, Zhang Qingwei's gaze shifted to the virtual game pod beside her.

"I have morning duty tomorrow and must arrive at the venue before the guild leader and Blade Saint Su Wuming's recruitment talks. Should I play, or not?" Zhang Qingwei hesitated.

However, Zhang Qingwei's body was honest, and she directly lay down into the pod.

"I already promised Elder Zhao that I would relay a message to Wu Shang. A person should keep their word. Playing for a bit and then leaving shouldn't affect my work tomorrow."

As Zhang Qingwei clicked the High Martial Descent icon, her vision abruptly shifted.

A dimly lit small room, flickering lights, a chilling wind blowing from the corridor, and six people wearing dark grey t-shirts and long robes. The expressions and actions of these six individuals varied.

One person was inexplicably rubbing their face on the ground, becoming more excited the more they rubbed.

Another was frantically touching themselves from head to toe, not missing a single spot, giggling foolishly while exclaiming, "This is real, this is real."

However, the most frenzied among them was a stern-faced youth who was continuously doing squats, shouting, "It's coming, it's coming, I feel it coming!" as he squatted.

"I've really been influenced by Elder Zhao. My mental state isn't normal anymore," Zhang Qingwei thought, looking at the room full of people who seemed like lunatics. She felt her own mental state must be problematic. "Could it be that I haven't been resting well recently? It must be. I only slept ten hours yesterday, and the doctor told me to rest more. It must be a problem now."

As Zhang Qingwei fell into self-doubt, a discussion directly reached everyone's ears.

"Why do the newcomers this year seem not very bright?"

"I think there are still some smart ones. Look at that one, how smart he is. He's already doing squats; he'll definitely have a bright future!"

"Indeed, there's still one smart person. I wonder if he's 'feeling it' yet."

As the two voices spoke, everyone within the iron bars looked over. They saw two men: one was a somewhat shy college student, and the other was a scruffy-looking uncle.

The way they looked at everyone was as if they were gazing at beautiful women, especially when they saw the stern-faced youth still doing squats. Their gazes were so intense they seemed about to overflow.

"How can you two say that? Who says he's the only smart one?" the thin youth rubbing his face on the ground said indignantly. "How can the feeling of doing squats compare to me getting close to the ground? Give me an hour at most, and I'll definitely 'feel it'!"

"You make a good point! Why didn't I think of that before!" the scruffy-looking uncle said, stroking his chin, a look of sudden enlightenment on his face. "Little brother, let's be friends. I love making friends with smart people the most."

"I miscalculated! I didn't anticipate this earlier," the shy college student also couldn't help but adjust his non-existent glasses, looking deeply affected. "If I had done this earlier, maybe I would be 'feeling it' now too."

"Am I locked up in a mental asylum?"

Zhang Qingwei looked at the two people outside the iron bars and suddenly felt she was beyond saving. Her mind even felt sharper, allowing her to clearly perceive all the actions of the eight people present. It felt like her brain was about to evolve.

"Alright, everyone is new to High Martial Descent. With time, you'll all eventually 'feel it'," at this moment, an imposing woman with shoulder-length hair, carrying a shovel on her shoulder, strode forward and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Wu Shang. I'm the Vice President of the Heavenly Might Guild. If any of you have questions, you can ask me later."

"High Martial Descent?" Zhang Qingwei looked at Luo Wu Shang in front of her, completely stunned. "This is a game?"