Chapter 50: Team System Unlocked?

Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, Training Ground.

Although it was already the deep of night, the training ground was still surrounded by a large number of players. With excited expressions, they were discussing today's main storyline combat raid, showing no signs of wanting to sleep or rest.

"I wonder how many rewards we'll get from this combat mission."

"Since it's a main storyline quest, it should be quite substantial. However, storyline quests usually depend on the completion rate; generally, the higher the completion rate, the better the subsequent reward settlement."

"The combat system of this high-martial arts descent is simply too realistic! I got hit by several arrows during the earlier fight and almost passed out from the pain. But it seems the game system has some kind of protection—the pain from the later arrows I took felt significantly reduced. Could it be that getting hit by arrows so many times has increased my pain resistance?"

"Now that you mention it, it really does feel that way. After hurting for a while, I actually got used to it. I suppose my pain resistance must have increased. Otherwise, a coward like me who is so afraid of pain should have been screaming bloody murder when pierced by a spear, but it just felt so-so, not even as painful as practicing breathing techniques for the first time."

Although quite a few players present had participated in massive battles in other virtual games, taking part in this high-martial arts descent raid gave them an unprecedented sense of realism, something never experienced in any other virtual game.

Especially during combat, the enemy's terror, reluctance, and desperate last stand—the transmission of those wills and emotions was clearly experienced through the fight.

It felt as if their very souls had truly participated in a grand battle, leaving an impression so vivid and unforgettable that they still couldn't get over it.

Then there was the battle between Luo Wushang and the others against the BOSS. It was practically like a tiny monster fighting a giant monster. Because of their clash, the shipping containers in the base were riddled with thousands of holes. It was beyond exhilarating.

And this was merely a fight against an intermediate apprentice; one couldn't even imagine what it would be like in the future fighting peak apprentices or even true martial artists.

"Yiye, you really knocked it out of the park this time, taking the BOSS's first blood directly. Your settlement rewards are bound to be extraordinarily generous," Fang Zhen said, looking at A Slice of Floating Cloud with a hint of envy.

Although their mecha squad had eliminated quite a few members of the White Feather Gang this time, how could ordinary mobs compare to a BOSS? Unfortunately, the BOSS was wearing protective gear and had extremely fast reflexes, rendering arrows virtually useless.

On the other hand, A Slice of Floating Cloud used a spiral demonic spear technique. Although he ended up wrecking himself in the process, he took the BOSS down with him—it was nothing short of a divine move.

"Not bad, I just got lucky and managed to recreate a martial artist-grade martial art ahead of time. Once the rest of you recreate powerful martial arts as well, I won't have any advantage left," A Slice of Floating Cloud said with great modesty, though the joy in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Through this battle, A Slice of Floating Cloud felt he had found a path to surpass professional experts. Although his true strength might not match monsters like Luo Wushang, by relying on explosive and powerful martial arts techniques, he could completely trade kills one-for-one.

It could be said that as long as the martial arts he created in the future were strong enough, he could trade 1-for-1 with anyone. In future BOSS fights, their free-player team might not necessarily lose to professional expert teams like Luo Wushang's.

"What a pity," Zhang Qingwei glanced at the overjoyed A Slice of Floating Cloud and sighed softly. "If my Raging Wave Saber technique could have advanced by another level, the BOSS's first blood would have been ours."

"It's already pretty good that we managed to accumulate a lot of combat experience against a BOSS," Luo Wushang didn't mind and analyzed in a low voice, "Through this battle, I realized how important weapons and protective gear are in this game—far, far more important than in any other virtual game."

"Indeed," Zhao Hu, standing nearby, agreed deeply and took the initiative to say, "Back in Pilgrimage, a pair of iron fists was all I needed. Even if someone wielded a divine weapon, I could block it with my bare hands; at most, the opponent's attack power was a bit higher. As for equipment, as long as it was worn on the body, the damage inflicted by the opponent was the same no matter where they hit, aside from maybe causing some movement penalties."

"However, this game is completely different—or rather, it's too realistic. When I smashed my Crushing Stone Fist against those captains' armor, forget about injuring them; they didn't even bother to actively defend. Conversely, I had to dodge those captains' attacks; if I got stabbed or grazed, it would immediately result in severe injuries."

"It seems that in future battles, we must purchase some defensive gear first. Otherwise, fighting like this puts us at too much of a disadvantage," Zhang Qingwei nodded as well.

Zhang Qingwei probably had the deepest appreciation for protective gear. When she slashed down with her Raging Wave Saber, hitting the enemy's armor only inflicted moderate injuries. Meanwhile, whenever her opponent couldn't block her numerous ordinary attacks, they would use their armor to parry, leaving her with very few opportunities to truly hurt the enemy.

Conversely, the situation was completely reversed when she was attacked; once she failed to parry, it meant severe injury or even death.

Just as the players on the training ground were discussing and reflecting, Lin Qi walked over to the notice board holding a sheet of A4 paper and pinned it up.

"Everyone performed exceptionally well in this subjugation mission. All disciples who participated in the mission will be rewarded with a flat one hundred contribution points and three thousand merit points. Additional rewards for disciples who made significant contributions have been posted on the notice board, and you can check them yourselves." Lin Qi paused as he looked at the expectant crowd, then added, "Furthermore, this master has decided to open up the quotas for Inner Sect Disciples and Elite Disciples as rewards for outstanding performance. I hope you will all continue to bring more glory to the martial arts hall in the future!"

With Lin Qi's words, the players present instantly boiled over.

"What's going on?"

"Are the rewards for this mission really this generous?"

"Inner Sect Disciples? Elite Disciples? Does that mean we can unlock more permissions within the martial arts hall?"

"The game is finally unlocking system permissions! I wonder what privileges Inner Sect Disciples and Elite Disciples get. I hope we can leave the martial arts hall on a daily basis. If we can roam freely outside the hall, that would be awesome."

"Probably not. If we could really leave the martial arts hall freely, that would mean opening up completely free gameplay. If those permissions really unlock, I'll grind myself to the bone just to become an Elite Disciple!"

Looking at the mission rewards, everyone felt that Lin Qi was extraordinarily generous. Leaving aside how many special missions were required to earn one hundred contribution points, just accumulating three thousand merit points would require a solid month of hard grinding. Such rewards could only be described as lavish.

Shortly after, the crowd swarmed toward the notice board to check the details of the system rewards and the new identity privileges.

"Yiye! You really made a killing this time! Your contribution points were directly rewarded by three hundred, and your merit points are even five thousand higher. The others who participated in the siege and killed the captains only got an extra hundred contribution and two thousand points!"

"Inner Sect Disciples require three thousand contribution points, and Elite Disciples require ten thousand. The contribution requirements are so high!"

"But Inner Sect and Elite Disciples are awesome too! Look at the privileges of an Inner Sect Disciple: not only do contribution costs get a 5% discount in the future, but you can also lead up to twenty disciples to take on Inner Sect Disciple missions! This is a proper raid team system!"

"Indeed! This system update is way too awesome! Inner Sect Disciples can directly rent a large three-wheeler. Doesn't that mean team leaders can lead squads to accept mine transport missions? The earning speed will definitely be much faster."

"Not just that, look! Inner Sect Disciples can also learn the first volume of martial artist-grade palm techniques, and Elite Disciples can learn the second volume."

"Oh my god! Martial artist-grade palm techniques! I remember earlier A Slice of Floating Cloud used a half-finished martial artist-grade skill to one-shot the BOSS with a single spear thrust. Can such overpowered stuff be learned directly now?"

"Quick, look at the Elite Disciple privileges! Are they trying to reach the heavens? Elite Disciples get independent, completely private rooms where others are not allowed to enter without permission. Is this amazing or what?!"

Faced with the information suddenly announced by Lin Qi, every single player present drew a sharp breath.

Although they had long known that this game developer had immense ambitions, they hadn't expected them to play for stakes this large.

Especially many of the expert players present; as they looked at the description of the Thunder Light Palm Technique—a martial artist-grade martial art that only Inner Sect Disciples were qualified to learn—their eyes practically went straight.