Chapter 44: The Third Batch of Newcomers

"Are the costs of robbery in this world really this high?"

Lin Qi could not help but click his tongue in astonishment after hearing Xia Ling's quotation.

Although he had long known that signal-shielding equipment was expensive, he had not expected it to be quite this exorbitant.

Even the most basic shielding device cost two hundred thousand bits. If he were to farm blood-spirit rice, it would probably take half a year just to afford one. Moreover, a one-kilometer shielding device was practically useless; ordinary people could run out of its range in a matter of minutes. It needed to cover at least a three-kilometer radius.

Five hundred thousand bits!

Such a price was something ordinary people could never even dream of in their entire lives.

That's right, ordinary people could work hard for a lifetime and still not even qualify to be bandits...

"Let's go with the three-kilometer shielding device. Oh, and I also need a second-hand simple copier."

"A copier? Alright, I'll have someone get it ready. The simple copier will be free of charge. Do you need anything else? Leaving aside other places, right here in the suburbs, there are very few trading markets with a wider inventory than ours."

"Nothing else for now. If I have needs in the future, I will come back."

"In that case, thirty-six thousand bits—will you still settle in cash?"

"Yes, all in cash. It gives me peace of mind."

Seeing that Lin Qi genuinely had nothing more to buy, Xia Ling could only helplessly clap her hands and instruct the Half-Scale guards at the door to prepare the shielding equipment and cash.

Before long, the Half-Scale guard clad in A6-tier battle armor returned carrying two metal cases, one large and one small. Lin Qi motioned for Fang Zhen and the others to load the two metal cases onto the large tricycle, having no intention of lingering in the trading market.

As Lin Qi drove the large tricycle away from the Phosphor Trading Market, Xia Ling cast one more glance at the departing group, her pitch-black tail gently flicking against the ground.

"Miss, these people are all very weak. The one with the strongest physical constitution is still several years away from reaching the level of an apprentice," reported the elderly Half-Scale guard in a low voice, holding a testing instrument. "Their attire is also the first time I've seen it. They are most likely a newly established gang in the wilderness."

"Interesting, a small wilderness gang?" Xia Ling glanced back at the large metal case and let out a sigh. "What a pity. It seems that was all of their Alligator-Tusk Rhinoceros meat."

"Miss, do you need me to keep an eye on them? Since they are a small gang, they must have stumbled upon the carcass of an Alligator-Tusk Rhinoceros. Presumably, they should have kept some of the meat to train their subordinates," the Half-Scale guard said respectfully.

"No need. There's no point in offending a bunch of lunatics who roam the wilderness year-round just for a little bit of Alligator-Tusk Rhinoceros meat," Xia Ling shook her head. "Besides, with this much Alligator-Tusk Rhinoceros meat this time, it should be enough for me to break through and become a quasi-martial artist."

"Congratulations, Miss! With this, you'll be able to dominate the entire junior year at Chasing Light City next semester!" Hearing this, the Half-Scale guard became even more respectful.

Xia Ling nodded and walked toward the large metal case with a hint of excitement.

"I wonder what flavor to eat today..."

...

At Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, night had completely fallen.

However, the basement of the martial arts hall was buzzing with heat.

"Before you said the suburbs felt like a futuristic city, Outlying Lands, and I didn't quite believe it. But now, I truly do," Fang Zhen recalled the scenes inside the Phosphor Market with great excitement. "Those weapons! That equipment! Simply too cool! I just wonder when we'll be able to buy them."

"Brother Zhen, that's not the main point," Outlying Lands Gunman said speechlessly. "Didn't I mention it earlier? We triggered a combat dungeon storyline out in the suburbs—that's a combat dungeon storyline! Today, when we went to that trading market, you saw it too: Master Pavilion Master is clearly planning to make a move against the White Feather Gang."

"I really didn't expect the combat dungeon to arrive so soon. It seems the game's development progress truly depends on Master Pavilion Master," Twilight of the Gods said with a hint of regret. "I didn't prepare much this time. I've been frantically digging tunnels all this time and haven't really focused on improving my breathing technique. My physical fitness is still barely at the quasi-apprentice level. I wonder if I'll even be able to get a quest."

"Probably. Judging by this storyline, the enemy's numbers should be quite large; they surely won't just send a few people," Fang Zhen analyzed. "And wasn't the game specially updated to add twenty slots just for this mission? These slots are most likely meant for testing the upcoming team dungeon battles, otherwise, there would be no reason to release twenty at once."

"I guess so too," Absolute Gunfire nodded in agreement, smiling as he said, "At least we're finally getting newbies. I won't be in the weakest tier anymore."

Among the ten current players, those in the first tier were undoubtedly Luo Wushang, Zhang Qingwei, and A Leaf Floating Cloud, whose physical fitness had reached the quasi-apprentice level and who had each created martial skills of the fourth stage or higher.

As for the second tier, it was Fang Zhen, whose Stellar Explosion Meditation Idea had entered the threshold; combined with his quasi-apprentice physical fitness, he was leagues ahead of players whose meditation ideas hadn't even reached the threshold.

The third tier consisted of those whose physical fitness had reached the quasi-apprentice level, but who hadn't created any powerful martial skills or mastered a meditation idea.

Meanwhile, the three players following A Leaf Floating Cloud were clearly casual gamers. Although their strength wasn't weak, compared to professional players like them, they noticeably lagged behind in reflexes and combat, but fundamentally they belonged to the same third tier.

"I wonder if there will be any good prospects among the new recruits this time," Fang Zhen looked toward the underground confinement room with anticipation. "If our squad can recruit a few good seedlings, maybe we can catch up to Luo Wushang's squad."

Among the three current squads, the strongest by far was Luo Wushang's squad, boasting two first-tier experts that the other squads simply couldn't compete with.

Just as Fang Zhen and the other veterans were chatting away, an official announcement for *The Descent of High Martial Arts* popped up with a new message.

"This batch of slots has been fully distributed. The next round of slot distribution will be announced in the official notice as soon as possible."

"It's over just like that? Where are my slots? Why couldn't I find them?"

"Distributed already? What's going on? I just got off work—what on earth did I miss?"

"Anyone willing to share their slot? I'm willing to pay one hundred thousand! Twenty-four hours of grinding and I'll definitely stay ahead of everyone else!"

"This brother is a beast, grinding an account for 24 hours straight. Too bad the game developers anticipated that; it seems the accounts are brainwave-linked, so switching to someone else makes it completely impossible to log in."

"Hahaha! I got picked! I got picked! All of you can go be jealous!"

"Damn it! Another one lost his mind."

The official review section was once again sent into a frenzy by the system announcement, filled with lingering resentment from the players who failed to secure a slot.

Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, Underground Confinement Room.

"Aah! This technology! How on earth did they manage this virtual engine?"

"Holy crap! This game is actually real? I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"This wall is genuinely solid—it actually withstood my twenty years' worth of cultivation packed into a single punch!"

"The texture of this metal feels just like what I touch in real life! And the dust on the floor, every single grain is so crystal clear. Exactly what resolution level are they using?"

...

One after another, the newly awakened players were filled with curiosity about everything inside the confinement room, with quite a few doing foolish things that left the veterans standing outside the door watching in awkward embarrassment.

"This new batch feels like they might not be quite up to par," Twilight of the Gods remarked with a hint of worry as he looked at the newbies, none of whom seemed entirely normal, wondering if they would be able to recruit enough reliable manpower.

"Fang Zhen!"

As an exclamation echoed from inside the confinement room, Fang Zhen immediately looked toward the man who had cried out.

"Team Li? What brings you here?" Fang Zhen's expression turned to one of shock as he looked at the familiar figure.

He remembered that the number of purchases for *The Descent of High Martial Arts* was fast approaching one hundred thousand, yet not a single person had passed the test assessment so far. This meant that everyone who managed to get in had done so purely by luck.

A two-in-ten-thousand chance!

What kind of luck was that?

Just as Fang Zhen was marveling at Li Ranxing's luck, another figure emerged from the stairway. Clad in pitch-black martial robes with a resolute gaze, the figure walked in quite casually, yet caused all the veteran players present to instinctively clear a path.

Seeing this, the other newbies quickly halted their bizarre antics and turned their attention in unison toward the approaching man.

Although the newbies didn't know much about *The Descent of High Martial Arts*, they had learned from Fang Zhen's livestream that the man before them was Lin Qi, the master of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.

He was an NPC who held absolute dominion over player permissions. If he were displeased, he could banish someone from the martial arts hall in a split second. If that happened, they wouldn't even be able to play and would have to watch others happily dig tunnels just like before—which would be absolute torture.

"The test is finally here! It wasn't in vain that I bought a shovel online and practiced at home every single day."

"You newbies are all going to lose. The top rookie this time will definitely be me! To better learn tunnel-digging, I even studied quite a bit of educational material online and went so far as to practice in the public park."

"You call that anything? When I saw the first stage of this game was digging tunnels, I excavated a two-story basement right under my own house."

Many newbies gazed at the approaching Lin Qi, brimming with absolute confidence regarding the trial he was about to announce.

"Newbies! Welcome to Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. I am your pavilion master, Lord Lin Qi. According to the rules, if you wish to become proud disciples of the martial arts hall, you must prove yourselves."

Lin Qi looked at the eager newbies with deep satisfaction. This batch of recruits was very young, full of fighting spirit, and clearly well-prepared to become qualified leeks.

"There is a registration ledger on the table. Write down your names and ages, then go over there and pick out a favorite little shovel of yours. Turn right out the door, head upstairs, and in the training ground, the hall's supreme treasure—the Soul-Aweing Breathing Technique—has already been prepared for you. You must master it within twelve hours."

"Within twelve hours, the person with the highest proficiency upon entry will receive the hall's other supreme treasure, the Stellar Explosion Meditation Idea. I hope you won't let me down. You may begin now!"