Chapter 9: The Beginning of a New Storyline?

Page (1/3)

“Nomads from other clans want to occupy our abandoned zone?” Upon hearing this, Lin Qi’s expression grew considerably serious; he hadn’t expected such conflicts to arise even in the abandoned district.

The City of Chasing Light was jointly managed by multiple clans, making the urban center relatively peaceful. However, the outskirts were a different story—dominated by various gangs, frequent violent clashes erupted.

Gang fights were notoriously brutal. Lin Qi once witnessed a gang battle on his way to the Cangjing Weapon Shop—over a hundred people engaged in combat until one side was completely wiped out. The horrific scene remained vivid in his memory.

Due to these intense gang conflicts, few were willing to join a gang unless they were desperate or seeking a future. After all, gangs controlled substantial resources and were generous to their members. Those who survived within gangs often lived better than ordinary city dwellers.

“Don’t worry too much,” the one-eyed middle-aged man noticed Lin Qi’s concern, stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and smiled. “Even if it comes to fighting, we won’t be reckless like those gangs. After all, this is the abandoned zone—a place for daily rest—not worth risking our lives over. Our presence is more about showing strength.”

“...” Hearing the one-eyed man’s reassurance only deepened Lin Qi’s worries.

The nomads living in this abandoned zone might leave, but how was he supposed to leave?

Run with the martial arts hall on his back?

“Alright, let’s hurry over,” the one-eyed man said, puzzled at Lin Qi’s worsening expression, then quickly added, “If things go south, we’ll just retreat. Though we’re different clans, we’re all nomads; we won’t cause each other excessive harm.”

“You go ahead,” Lin Qi said, not waiting for a reply, turning sharply toward the martial arts hall’s basement to fetch his bow and arrows.

Meanwhile, as Lin Qi rushed to the resting room, Fang Zhen and the others emerged from the basement due to the commotion. Each carried an alloy shovel, their eyes scanning the street filled with gathering nomads, wary of missing anyone.

“My goodness! This game actually has so many NPCs!” Fang Zhen’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he watched more and more nomads congregate on the dilapidated street. “If we could get quests from them, that would be amazing.”

“The NPCs are so realistic!” Twilight of the Gods was equally thrilled. “Look at them—not only do they wear different clothes, but their facial expressions are so genuine. The game developers really put a lot of effort into this.”

“With so many NPCs gathering, something big must be about to happen. Let’s go check it out. Maybe we can trigger a special quest,” Fang Zhen suggested.

Page (2/3)

“Zhen, don’t forget, the hall master forbade us from leaving the martial arts hall’s vicinity. Do you remember what happens if we step outside?” Twilight of the Gods reminded him.

“True,” Fang Zhen said, a bit disappointed.

Currently, the arrival of advanced martial arts was still in the test phase. Their activity range was limited to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. Previously, Twilight of the Gods tried to sneak beyond ten meters outside the hall to explore the outside world.

But before he could get far, he collapsed as if soulless, trembling uncontrollably—a clear sign of contact failure.

Afterward, Hall Master Lin Qi dragged Twilight of the Gods back and ordered them not to leave the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. Outside was dangerous, and any consequences from leaving were at their own risk.

Because of this, Twilight of the Gods had become more obedient and focused on underground work, no longer attempting to test the system’s limits.

“We can’t go over there, but we can watch from here,” Wuzhuang, holding her shovel, rolled her eyes at the two. She thought their vision was a bit narrow. “Since the game is still in development, the NPC gathering is likely a test by the developers. As internal testers, if we can’t participate, we can at least find a way to observe.”

“Observe?” Fang Zhen was surprised. How could they watch when night was falling?

“Stand higher to see farther. We can climb up,” Wuzhuang pointed to the roof of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.

“Right! Let’s run up and have a look,” Twilight of the Gods suddenly realized.

The entire Obsidian Martial Arts Hall covered over 80,000 square meters, resembling a gigantic gymnasium. Its roof stood more than thirty meters high. From there, they could get a decent view since the NPC gathering wasn’t far away.

“You three, come with me,” Lin Qi said as he emerged from the resting room carrying a compound bow and nine black steel arrows, giving direct orders.

Though Fang Zhen and the others were still weak—Wuzhuang was only a junior high student and couldn’t compare to seasoned nomads in the advanced martial arts world—like the one-eyed man said, every extra person added strength and could intimidate the opposition.

“Hall master, may we come along?” Fang Zhen trembled slightly and asked Lin Qi.

Page (3/3)

“I knew it—the system just updated, and now so many NPCs are gathering. The developers must be planning something big,” Twilight of the Gods clenched his fist excitedly. “Good thing I don’t have classes tomorrow; I can stay up all night!”

“Hall master, is something important happening outside?” Wuzhuang, as the vice president of Tianwei, was usually calm but directly asked the key question.

“Nothing much. A group of nomads wants to claim this area. We’re going over to fight them,” Lin Qi didn’t hide the truth.

“I knew it!” Twilight of the Gods’ face showed fanatic excitement. “A new storyline is starting! And they’re testing the combat system!”

“Faction conflicts?” Fang Zhen smiled broadly. “I always said, what’s the point of this game ‘Advanced Martial Arts Arrival’ making us dig and farm all day? Now they’re finally testing the combat system.”

Wuzhuang, silent until now, showed some changes in expression, her grip tightening on her shovel.

“Let’s see how the combat system holds up. If it can match the Pilgrimage game, then we can report back to the guild leader.”

Wuzhuang was nervous. Tianwei was a large and powerful family. If the transition to this game went poorly, it could be a serious setback.

Although the simulation in Advanced Martial Arts Arrival surpassed any virtual game on the market, if the combat system was subpar, Tianwei would hesitate to adopt it since they specialized in martial arts games and focused on combat training within their guild.

“Stop dazing off. Follow me quickly!” Lin Qi looked at the three, who were frozen and excited, and ordered sharply.

“Yes!” The three snapped out of their trance and hurriedly followed Lin Qi toward another street outside the martial arts hall.