Chapter 8: System Update

“Excellent! After digging all day and carving out so many tunnels, we’ve finally found an uncontaminated area. If we can develop this land ahead, it’s sure to bring immense wealth!”

In the narrow tunnels barely wide enough for one person, Twilight of the Gods stroked the pure, untainted soil with excitement, as if caressing gold itself, eager to press his whole body against it.

“According to previous scans, this uncontaminated zone is vast—at least five hundred square meters of energy-rich land. Each square meter yields one point; five hundred points can be exchanged for a hundred Blood Essence Rice seeds.”

“These Blood Essence Rice seeds mature in ten days, producing two pounds of Blood Essence Rice worth two thousand points. After deducting the rental fee for four hundred square meters of land over ten days and providing our own water, the net profit is sixteen hundred points.”

“With sixteen hundred points, we can redeem 320 seeds. If we manage to develop enough energy land during the first ten days of the initial Blood Essence Rice crop, the next harvest will earn us 5,120 points. Within just one month, we can exchange for the intermediate volume of the Astonishing Spirit Breathing Technique.”

“One month?” Wu Chang glanced at Twilight of the Gods, who was lying in the tunnel analyzing data, and frowned slightly. “Isn’t that a bit slow?”

Having experienced a day in the arrival of High Martial Arts, she was personally very optimistic about it.

High Martial Arts’ level of virtual immersion far surpassed that of “Pilgrimage,” an established game running for seven years. Despite Pilgrimage’s popularity, its 70% immersion rate made it vulnerable to replacement by newer titles.

As one of the five major guilds in Pilgrimage, Tianwei’s fate was tied to the game’s survival. If Pilgrimage collapsed, Tianwei would perish with it. Therefore, Tianwei had been actively searching for Pilgrimage’s successor.

High Martial Arts was currently the most suitable candidate. Though it leaned toward a technological theme, it shared Pilgrimage’s martial focus, making it a fitting replacement.

Launching any large-scale virtual game requires rapid progress from the start; falling behind early means paying exponentially higher costs to catch up later.

As one of Tianwei’s earliest pioneers, Wu Chang naturally sought to lay a strong foundation for the guild’s future. After all, Tianwei was not the only powerhouse guild in Pilgrimage; others, including guilds from various fighting games, would inevitably discover High Martial Arts. It was only a matter of time before they moved on to it.

“Wu Jie, it’s not slow at all,” Twilight of the Gods said, adjusting his nonexistent glasses. “By my estimation, High Martial Arts is still in the initial testing phase. The next expansion of player slots will likely take over a month. Once we have the intermediate volume of the Astonishing Spirit Breathing Technique, we’ll be far ahead of newcomers.”

“Alright. You and Fang Zhen go develop this area. I’ll look for new uncontaminated zones,” Wu Chang nodded, understanding that speed was hard to come by in such matters.

Blood Essence Rice took ten days to mature, and excavating land required considerable manpower. This wasn’t something achievable in just a couple of weeks. To accelerate progress, they would need to find more uncontaminated land underground.

With that, Wu Chang closed her eyes, centering herself to sense the radiation of pollution and locate areas where it weakened.

“Hm?”

Just a few steps out, she was interrupted by the system’s notification sound in her mind.

System: High Martial Arts system update. Players can now open their personal interface to view their data.

System: Due to an overwhelming number of pre-registered players, testing spots are limited. To maintain testing professionalism, all pre-purchasers may participate in the High Martial Arts assessment test. Players who pass will have a higher chance of entering the game.

“Damn! How did this game update so fast?” Twilight of the Gods cursed upon seeing the notification.

He had just said the next increase in player slots would be at least a month away. Now, the system updated prematurely, making it clear the next expansion might come far sooner.

“Passing the assessment gives a higher chance to enter the game?” Wu Chang relaxed her brow slightly, a plan forming in her mind. “Professional testing—that’s actually a good opportunity. I’ll have all the idle guild members try it today. If they pass and get into the game, that’s a big win.”

A martial arts-centered game requiring professional testing naturally favored combat experts. For Tianwei, a guild that revered martial prowess, this was a golden chance to get many members into High Martial Arts.

“So digging tunnels can improve attributes too?”

Fang Zhen, just entering the cavern, stared at his attribute panel in astonishment, suddenly more motivated about daily tasks.

Player: Fang Zhen
Martial Arts Level: Apprentice Candidate
Strength: 77.4 kg (+1.4)
Speed: 7.4 m/s (+0.1)
Training Method: Astonishing Spirit Breathing Technique (not yet learned)

Previously, Fang Zhen had reservations about High Martial Arts’ progression system. It seemed ill-suited for a professional like him, as earning points through login time alone consumed much effort, and studying training methods required significant time to master. The game’s realism was overwhelming.

With limited daily login time, he feared falling behind players who spent all day online, and the gap would only widen.

However, now he felt less anxious. Even without learning the training method, he could still improve attributes—a huge relief for someone with little time to study techniques.

As for the risk of poisoning and death from prolonged underground excavation, it was just a costly inconvenience. Considering his goal to become a top pro, it wasn’t a major problem.

Resurrection fees were simply initial investments, and continuous land development would also earn plenty of martial arts school points.

It was truly a win-win situation!

Fang Zhen’s livestream chat exploded with excitement.

“What’s going on? I just took a nap, and the game’s already updated? How much did I miss?”

“Looks like this game is really going to blow up, with so many pre-registrations.”

“Damn! What kind of pay-to-test scheme is this? I paid money, yet I still have to pass an assessment. What’s the point of paying?”

“This game is as arrogant as ever. Before, you paid 4999 to play; now, you pay 4999 to take the test to play. Brothers, listen to me — refund now while you still can.”

“Screw that! Don’t think you can trick me into quitting the queue. I paid up, so let me in! I’m a digging pro; if you let me in, I’ll dig us an ancient Babylon.”

As players read High Martial Arts’ announcement, the chat buzzed with all kinds of comments, yet no one chose to quit. Paid reservations even increased. Everyone watching Fang Zhen dig clearly saw the incredible immersion: every shovel stroke showed sweat dripping and heard the crisp clang of stones. The realism was undeniable—this was a masterpiece, the future of gaming.

Boom!
Boom!
Boom!

While Fang Zhen dug furiously in the cavern, a thunderous drumming erupted outside. The sudden noise startled Lin Qi, training in the hall.

“What’s going on?”

This was the first time Lin Qi had heard such a roar.

Outside the Obsidian Martial School, on a dilapidated street, a growing crowd had gathered. Wearing ragged clothes, they looked like vagrant outcasts, faces tense, clutching various weapons, rushing purposefully toward a spot. The atmosphere was palpably grave.

“Little brother inside the school, why aren’t you going?” A one-eyed middle-aged man passing by saw Lin Qi still standing inside and asked in surprise. “If you don’t hurry, it’ll be too late!”

“Too late? Brother, what’s happening over there?” Lin Qi asked curiously.

“You’re new in this area, right?” The one-eyed man appraised Lin Qi.

“Yes, I’ve only lived here for a couple of weeks,” Lin Qi nodded honestly, unable to conceal the truth since he didn’t understand the noise.

“Got it,” the man said without surprise. “Then grab whatever weapons you can and come with me. If we’re late, it’s over. Some other clan’s outcasts have come here, trying to seize our territory. If we can’t hold them off, we’ll all have to relocate.”