Tang San's First Death

"Gods... exist in this world?"

When Tang San's voice came through the screen, the internet café fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Wu had already been clutching the hem of her clothes. Hearing that, her expression tightened further.

She did not know what Tang San had seen in that game world, but he rarely spoke in that tone. It was not panic, but the instinctive gravity he showed when faced with something he could not judge.

Hu Liena, standing nearby, also changed expression.

When she had first entered the game, she had been too busy getting chased around miserably by little monsters to spare any thought for the level of this world. Tang San had only just gone in, yet he was already judging the world itself.

Yan muttered in a low voice, "What are you acting so profound for? Isn't it still just a monkey?"

Xie Yue did not respond. He simply stared at the screen.

On the screen, the furry-faced monkey Tang San had become stood beside the mountain path. Clouds churned in the distance, and that towering figure soon vanished, leaving only the wind passing through the forest.

Tang San did not rush onward.

He first lowered his head to inspect his hands, then tried to circulate the Mysterious Heaven Skill within his body.

There was no response.

Blue Silver Grass would not appear, and the Clear Sky Hammer seemed to have been sealed even deeper by the world itself. Even the hidden weapon techniques he knew best had become awkward due to the differences in this body's bones, muscles, and finger length.

The only thing that remained somewhat usable was the habit of observation he had developed through years of training.

That only made Tang San's heart sink further.

If this were merely an ordinary illusion, the system could have copied his body and Martial Soul exactly. But even his finger length, the way his shoulders and back exerted force, and where his feet landed had changed. That meant this world had never intended to let players charge through it with their original abilities.

It wanted them to adapt anew.

And adaptation was precisely what Tang San lacked least.

Purple Demon Eyes could not truly operate, but they still made his vision slightly clearer than that of ordinary players.

"Cultivation techniques are suppressed, Martial Souls cannot be used, and this body isn't even mine."

Tang San murmured to himself.

Xiao Wu's heart clenched. "Brother, if it really doesn't work, then stop playing."

Tang San seemed able to hear the voices outside, yet he also seemed to merely shake his head instinctively.

"No. That's what makes it interesting."

Before Xiao Wu could say anything, Hu Liena raised an eyebrow.

She suddenly understood why she had felt uncomfortable the first time she met Tang San.

He was just like her—the kind of person who refused to back down the more difficult the challenge became.

Lin Chuan leaned against the counter without offering further explanation.

Nor did he remind Tang San where monsters might be.

Lin Chuan was not a babysitter. What customers paid for was not a smooth road, but an opportunity to expose their weaknesses.

Besides, if he warned someone like Tang San too early, Tang San might not take it seriously.

Actually getting cut and feeling the pain once was more useful than hearing ten warnings from someone else.

Lin Chuan knew that someone like Tang San would not quit the game after one or two deaths. On the contrary, once Tang San confirmed that this was not an ordinary illusion, he would want more than anyone else to figure out all its rules.

On the screen, Tang San finally moved.

He walked forward along the mountain road, every step cautious. When he saw the first blade-wielding little monster leap out from behind a tree, he did not attack immediately. Instead, he sidestepped, trying to circle behind it with the Tang Sect's footwork.

His movements looked far better than Hu Liena's had during her first time at the machine.

The little monster's slash missed, and Tang San seized the chance to swing his staff into its shoulder.

After a dull thud, the little monster staggered back a step. Yet instead of falling, it became even more ferocious and swung its blade horizontally at him.

Tang San's pupils contracted.

He wanted to retreat using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, but this monkey body had a much lower center of gravity than the body he knew. The instant he pushed off the ground, his rhythm slowed by half a beat.

The blade grazed his chest, and his health bar instantly dropped by a chunk.

Yan immediately perked up outside. "See? I told you this thing wasn't that simple!"

Xiao Wu glared at him.

Yan promptly coughed and swallowed the rest of his words.

Tang San was not thrown into confusion by the blow. Instead, he used the sensation of being wounded to reassess the distance.

He began abandoning the bodily instincts of his original Tang Sect training, retaining only the habits of "observe, avoid danger, counterattack." Gradually, his movements became smoother.

When the second little monster pounced, he even spotted the dip in its shoulder ahead of time. He flipped aside to evade it, then smashed his staff into the back of its neck.

"Beautiful."

Hu Liena could not help murmuring.

She did not like Shrek, but she had to admit that Tang San's combat judgment was formidable.

Tang San advanced steadily rather than quickly, but he was far more stable than the previous new players. He did not rush to attack, and whenever he encountered a fork in the road, he first observed the terrain. He even used trees to block the monsters' line of sight.

Lin Chuan watched with some emotion.

As expected of Tang San.

Even though the system had suppressed most of his advantages, that habit of breaking down rules amid danger remained.

But the game would not go easy on him just because he was Tang San.

Upon reaching a narrow bridge, Tang San saw a mangled skeleton lying beside it. Next to the skeleton was a small point of light, seemingly an item that could be picked up.

Tang San did not approach immediately.

He first observed his surroundings.

The forest was too quiet.

Quiet in a way that was not normal.

Tang San's gaze sharpened. Just as he was about to retreat, a black shadow suddenly shot up from beneath the bridge.

This little monster was much faster than the previous ones. Its longsword swept upward, the angle tricky enough to seem as though it had been waiting specifically for him to reveal an opening.

Tang San immediately sidestepped.

But his movement was still too slow. The blade sliced across his abdomen, and his health bar plummeted once more.

Immediately afterward, another little monster lunged from behind, sealing off his retreat.

He was trapped between them.

Tang San's eyes darkened. He rolled to the left, trying to slip between the two little monsters.

If it had been his own body, he absolutely would have made it.

But this monkey body had just been injured, and its movements stalled for an instant.

In that instant, the second slash from the little monster beneath the bridge had already fallen.

The screen abruptly darkened, and the two words "Death" slowly emerged.

Xiao Wu practically sprang from her seat and cried out, "Brother!"

She instinctively tried to rush to Tang San's machine, but a gentle force blocked her.

It did not hurt her, but it was like an invisible wall, firmly stopping her outside.

Lin Chuan said, "Don't panic. Death in the game won't harm the real body."

Xiao Wu continued staring fixedly at the screen.

She knew it was only a game, yet the instant the screen went dark, she still felt as though something had gripped her chest.

Tang San was far too dependable in reality—so dependable that she often nearly forgot that unfamiliar rules could force even him into such a miserable state.

A moment later, Tang San's character reappeared beside the Land Shrine.

He opened his eyes, first looking down at his body before touching the spot where he had just been cut.

In reality, a soft exhale also came from Tang San's helmet.

"So that's how it is."

Xiao Wu hurriedly asked, "Brother, are you alright?"

Tang San fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

It was not a relaxed smile, but the excitement of someone who had found a whetstone.

"I'm fine."

He looked at the mountain path that had lit up again, his voice steadier than before.

"This place really can train people."

Hu Liena narrowed her eyes.

She understood what Tang San meant.

For ordinary people, death was a setback.

But for someone like Tang San, a death without real consequences was practically the most expensive and realistic kind of combat review.

Xiao Wu had wanted to say that he was being too reckless, but she swallowed the words before they came out.

She understood Tang San's nature better than anyone.

If someone hurt him in reality, she would certainly be the first to rush forward. But this was different. Here, death had become a mistake that could be retried, and pain had become a lesson that could be remembered.

She did not like seeing Tang San get hurt.

But she wanted even less to be the one who dragged Tang San away from the whetstone.

Tang San gripped the wooden staff once more, his gaze falling on the narrow bridge where he had just died.

"Again."

After saying that, he suddenly paused.

"But this time, I want to check the other path first."

The corner of Lin Chuan's mouth twitched slightly.

This man truly was not here just to play.

He had already begun searching for hidden routes in the game.