Yun Che stood up, gave himself a quick wash, and walked over to the mirror to examine himself.
To his surprise, Yun Che, the Yun Family's second young master, not only looked exactly like him, but even had the same age and hairstyle.
For a moment, Yun Che could not tell whether only his soul had traveled to this world, or whether his body had come along too.
"What's going on?" Yun Che was full of questions.
According to the official introduction for Divine Martial, the virtual online game had a setting similar to medieval Europe.
As such, not all male characters wore their hair long. Quite a few preferred short hairstyles.
He tried mentally calling up the game panel, and a translucent virtual panel actually appeared.
Player: Yun Che Identity: live-in son-in-law of the Qin Prince's Residence Cultivation: early Acquired Realm Talent: SSS-rank · Divine Hand (unique) Martial Root: low-grade Profession: none Race: human Reputation: 0 Strength: 104 (1 strength = 1 attack) Agility: 41 (affects speed, critical hits, and evasion) Stamina: 26 (1 stamina = 1 defense) Constitution: 13 (1 constitution = 10 health) Spirit: 20 (1 spirit = 5 spiritual energy) Attack: 104 Defense: 26 Health: 130 Spiritual energy: 100 Cultivation manual: Soul Secret Manual · high-grade Movement technique: none Combat skills: none Experience: 1143/5000 Money: 0 gold, 0 silver, 0 copper
"A scholar really is good for nothing. He's already broken through to the Acquired Realm, yet his endurance and constitution are still this pathetic."
Yun Che shook his head lightly and left the secluded cultivation chamber. The bright sunlight took some getting used to. Once his vision gradually cleared, he noticed a petite, cute maid standing by the door.
Upon seeing Yun Che, she said, "This servant is Xiao Yu. Greetings, young master. The young lady instructed me to take you to wash up and eat as soon as you woke."
Yun Che nodded slightly and followed the little maid. Then he reached back and grabbed at thin air, swiftly drawing a wisp of white light from her body.
Ding! Grab successful. Congratulations, you gained 1 experience point.
"Huh? I can grab experience too!"
Delighted, Yun Che reached out for another grab, but caught nothing.
Ding! Notice: Divine Hand can only be used once per person per day.
The notification left Yun Che a little disappointed, but he did not dwell on it.
Once it is, then. If there's one thing the Qin Prince's Residence-and the entire Great Yuan Empire-has no shortage of, it's people.
As he walked along, Yun Che secretly took a grab at every servant he encountered. Some of his gains were good, and others less so.
Ding! Grab successful. Congratulations, you gained 1 constitution point. Ding! Grab successful. Congratulations, you gained 5 copper coins. Ding! Grab successful. Congratulations, you gained one osmanthus pastry. Ding! Grab successful. Congratulations, you gained 2 experience points.
Overall, Divine Hand never left him empty-handed, but that also meant he occasionally obtained embarrassing items, such as a maid's undergarment.
Fortunately, the game inventory meant these items appeared directly inside it, unnoticed by anyone. Otherwise, he would surely have been mistaken for a pervert and thrown out of the Qin Prince's Residence.
Seizing an opportunity, Yun Che casually tossed the undergarment, which still retained a trace of warmth, behind an ornamental rock formation.
He noticed something: virtual items obtained with Divine Hand were copied, but physical objects were stolen outright.
Just moments earlier, the unfortunate little maid whose undergarment he had taken had suddenly stiffened. After discreetly feeling around her body, her expression had changed in shock.
Before long, Yun Che followed Xiao Yu into the dining hall.
As soon as he entered, he saw a stern-looking middle-aged man seated at the head of the table. This was Qin Xiao, King Qin, a renowned King Realm expert of the Great Yuan Empire.
Beside Qin Xiao sat a breathtakingly beautiful woman. She was none other than Qin Keyi, with whom he had spent a wild night.
"Greetings, King Qin. Greetings, young lady."
Although he had married into the family, Yun Che did not dare address them as his relatives. He believed Prince Qin probably would not want to hear him call him Father either.
Qin Keyi looked at Yun Che with mixed feelings. She had originally planned to leave the residence after breaking through to the Innate Realm and pursue the pinnacle of swordsmanship. Now she inexplicably had a husband. Fate really did play cruel tricks.
Qin Xiao nodded lightly, his gaze sweeping over Yun Che. With the game panel concealing Yun Che's condition, he failed to notice that Yun Che was no longer the ordinary mortal he had been, and still regarded him as an incompetent weakling with little martial prowess.
As a member of a martial family, Qin Xiao naturally disapproved. He said coldly, "Since you have become a live-in son-in-law of the Qin Prince's Residence, you must abide by its rules."
"Yes. Your son-in-law will keep that firmly in mind."
Seeing Yun Che's respectful attitude, Qin Xiao softened his tone somewhat. "According to Ke Yi, you are not Yun Jin, but his younger brother, Yun Che!"
Yun Che's expression stiffened. He could only steel himself and reply, "You are correct, King Qin. I am indeed Yun Che."
Qin Xiao snorted. "Hmph! If not for the fact that you truly helped Ke Yi break through to the Innate Realm, I would have killed you with a single palm strike."
"And that arrogant elder brother of yours! He dared deceive me just because he has a little talent for martial arts. If Ke Yi hadn't made you a promise, I would never have let him off so easily."
Yun Che humbly admitted his fault on the surface, but inwardly thought, You'd better not let him off.
That dear elder brother of his was a ruthless man who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. In the future, he even became a formidable enemy of the Qin Prince's Residence.
He claimed he was avenging his own younger brother, but in truth, he coveted Qin Keyi, who was known as the greatest beauty in the Great Yuan Empire.
As a closed-beta player, Yun Che naturally knew certain secrets that others did not.
Although he only knew parts of the early storyline, he still knew about several major events and the locations of some tremendous opportunities.
If he could claim all those opportunities, his combat strength would undoubtedly surpass that of his peers by several levels.
"I hear you are well learned. In that case, I will arrange a position for you at Falling Moon Academy."
"Report to Falling Moon Academy in a few days!"
Yun Che accepted humbly, but inwardly he had already cursed King Qin up and down. The man clearly had no intention of letting him take it easy!
Does a lucky player with a unique SSS-rank talent need a job? Of course not!
Still, he vaguely remembered that Falling Moon Academy also seemed to contain a tremendous opportunity. This would be the perfect chance to claim it.
Yun Che felt uncomfortable throughout the meal. Fortunately, everyone would be occupied with their own duties from now on and probably would not share a table again. That let him breathe a sigh of relief.
As King Qin and Qin Keyi left, Yun Che took a forceful grab at each of them, hoping to get something good.
Ding! Grab successful. Congratulations, you gained 100 experience points. Ding! Congratulations, you triggered Divine Fortune's Turn. You gained an opportunity to choose an item yourself. [Target: Qin Xiao.] [Available items: Superior Martial Root, Top-Grade Technique Ice Moon Heavenly Frost Art, high-grade combat skill Frost Heaven Severing Sword, high-grade movement technique Drifting Willow-Step, 100 strength points, 80 agility points, 50 Stamina points, 120 constitution points, 30 spirit points, pills, gold coins...] [Number of selections: 1.]
Yun Che was stunned. He had never expected Divine Hand to have a hidden mechanic like this. What a delightful surprise!
After a long hesitation, he finally chose the high-grade movement technique, Drifting Willow-Step.
After all, he was still far too weak. He needed a way to stay alive before anything else.
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