"Ding!"
System prompt: You have obtained an immortal-grade talent and will be broadcast server-wide. Do you wish to conceal your name?
Did he even need to ask?
Lin Zhao pondered for a moment, then said, "Conceal it!"
"Yes!"
The next second, an announcement covering the entire Huaxia server echoed through the air—
"Ding!"
System Announcement: Congratulations to player 【**】 for obtaining the immortal-grade top-tier talent 【God Slaying Blood Drink】!
...
For a moment, the entire server was shocked!
Leng Yan, who had just spawned in the beginner village, suddenly turned back, a frown on his face. Who was this? How could they be so lucky to get an immortal-grade talent? Was there any justice left in the world?
In a neighboring beginner village, Shen Xingchen, who had just walked out of the beginner village with a short staff, also looked up at the sky, frowning. An ultimate talent? Who could this person be?
...
"Damn it!"
Outside the game pod, Zhang Jun's indignant voice could be heard: "I wonder which son of a bitch is so lucky to have randomly gotten the top-tier talent. May heaven curse him to never find a girlfriend in this life, dammit!"
Ding Chi chuckled.
Lin Zhao took a deep breath, feeling refreshed. With an immortal-grade top-tier talent in hand, there was no such thing as an uncertain future. His future was one of absolute dominance!
"A Zhao!?"
Ding Chi's voice came from outside: "Are you done creating your character? Once you're done, choose a beginner village. Players who log in from the same IP address will definitely be in the same beginner village. Da Jun and I are already there, in Luoxia Village. We're just waiting for you!"
"Oh~~~"
Lin Zhao looked at his character again, completely satisfied, and said with a smile, "Coming, coming!"
The next moment, he confirmed entry into the game.
"Whoosh~~~"
His vision blurred, and as the earth seemed to sink, he saw vast armies of demons, devils, and ghosts swarming across the landscape. In the air, phantom figures roamed, and in the distance, ten gruesome towers of heads stood tall. The armies of the Northern Four Clans were crushing a mountain.
This scene was all too familiar.
Lin Zhao's heart stirred as he looked at the snow-covered mountain, Xueyu Tianchi, his half-home. It was now being submerged by the endless armies of the Northern Four Clans. Then, a voice with a deep resonance spoke—
"In the 234th year of the Shang Dynasty, the battle of Xueyu Tianchi was earth-shattering. A human army of over two million, led by heroic figures such as Lin Zhao, Chen Wanli, Shao Shiyu, and Chu Huaixi, laid a trap at Xueyu Tianchi to resist the invasion of the Northern Four Clans. During the fierce battle, these self-sacrificing heroes fell one after another. Ultimately, the demonic and evil legions of the Northern Four Clans broke through the holy land of Xueyu Tianchi and surged into the southern territories of the human race."
"However, the strategic plan of Lin Zhao, the supreme commander of the human forces, officially began to unfold. This grand design, like a celestial furnace, started to operate, continuously devouring and annihilating the armies of demons, devils, and ghosts. The fierce struggle lasted for nearly half a year, and in the end, the human race emerged victorious with the glorious achievement of slaying over eight million enemy soldiers."
"The forces of the demon and devil races suffered heavy losses, remaining dormant for nearly a century. This war also granted humanity a precious century of peace. During this century, humans recuperated and prospered, the southern continent becoming increasingly powerful, with academies and sects flourishing, and talented individuals emerging in large numbers. However, after a hundred years, the Northern Four Clans also recovered a significant portion of their population and began to stir once more."
"Young hero, welcome to this world, a time of both war and glory. Defend the dignity of the human race and resist the foreign races from the north. This is your mission!"
A white light flashed, and Lin Zhao found himself in a beginner village, Luoxia Village.
"100% realism, this feels so good..."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath of air. He could feel that he had returned. The past and the present were finally beginning to intertwine. This world was his future battlefield, and this time, Lin Zhao's identity was different.
He looked down. A pair of shorts, a cloth shirt, and a peach wood sword with an attack of 1-2. This was the starting gear for a level 1 sword master. Opening his status panel, he found it even more meager—
【White Robe】 (Apprentice Sword Master)
Level: 1
Attack: 2-6
Defense: 3
Health: 100
Crit: 0
Life Steal: 0
Comprehension: 99
Charisma: 0
Combat Power: 5
...
His attack power was considerable, 2-6 wasn't bad. As for defense, it was like a piece of thin paper. As for combat power, it was a truly comforting five-unit scrub!
However, what surprised Lin Zhao was his comprehension, which was as high as 99. If the maximum was 100, then he was almost there?
"Ding Chi, Da Jun, what's your comprehension?" Lin Zhao asked.
"Let me see..."
Ding Chi said, "90 points, not bad, right?"
Zhang Jun said, "I have 81 points. Is that a bit low? I just heard a guy next to me say his comprehension was only 27. Did he make a mistake? I don't think so, that guy looks like an idiot!"
Ding Chi: "A Zhao, what about yours?"
"99 points."
"Ah!?"
Ding Chi and Zhang Jun were shocked.
"Alright!"
Lin Zhao said, "Where are you two? I'll come find you and give you something."
"We're at the north gate of the village, preparing to go out and kill chickens."
"Tsk tsk, amazing!"
Lin Zhao jogged to the north gate of Luoxia Village and found that running consumed stamina, so he couldn't run indefinitely. The stamina bar couldn't keep up. When he reached the north gate, two level 1 rookies wearing nothing but shorts and crude cloth shirts were standing there dumbfoundedly, waving at him. They were Ding Chi and Zhang Jun.
"Add friends first."
Lin Zhao walked up and added both of them as friends. Then, he initiated a trade with Ding Chi and gave him all his remaining gold coins, a total of 330 gold coins.
"Holy cow!"
Ding Chi was greatly surprised: "You... how do you have so much gold as a level 1 beginner? Damn, how many people in the beginner village have even a single copper coin right now, and you already have gold..."
"Shh!"
Lin Zhao smiled with a hint of apprehension: "Maybe I glitched the system. Ding Chi, take this money and go to the blacksmith next to the village chief to buy equipment. I checked earlier; the equipment suitable for level 1 sword masters includes the beginner iron sword, rusty armor, and rusty leg guards. Wearing them will significantly increase your defense. Also, buy the level 5 sword master equipment and keep it in your inventory. Bring plenty of potions too. We have money, so don't worry about it when leveling up early. Da Jun, it's the same for you. With this equipment, you two can team up to fight monsters, and your leveling speed won't be slow."
"Ah?"
Ding Chi was stunned: "Aren't you leveling up with us?"
"No."
Lin Zhao shook his head and looked north, saying, "I want to try to break through the map zone and go to Xueyu Tianchi immediately. I left so many connections there; I have to go see it."
Zhang Jun frowned: "I think I get it. That introductory cinematic when we entered the game, the human commander Lin Zhao mentioned in the narration, that must be you, right?"
"Shh!"
Lin Zhao winked: "Damn it, keep a low profile!"
Ding Chi rolled his eyes: "Alright, alright. I don't object to you going to Xueyu Tianchi, but the problem is, how are you going to get there?"
"I'll die my way there, running back from the corpse."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "I don't believe I can't reach Xueyu Tianchi. Anyway, with you two experts holding down the fort for the Scarlet Moon Knights early on, I don't have any worries and can be a little reckless."
Zhang Jun's blood boiled: "Hearing you say that, am I an expert?"
"Otherwise?"
Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow.
"That's all I need to hear. Hurry up and get out of here!"
"Okay, I'm off."
...
Thus, they split into two paths. Ding Chi and Zhang Jun returned to the beginner village to resupply, sharpening their tools before cutting their wood. Lin Zhao, on the other hand, went out the north gate. Opening the large map, he could only see a very short distance, but he knew he had to keep heading north. Outside the Nine Provinces would be the Fusang Great Wall. Beyond the Fusang Great Wall, heading north, they should reach the Xi Jian River, and then a short distance further north should bring them to Xueyu Tianchi.
Outside the beginner village, the crowd was dense. The online player count for this game, touted as a "national" game, was terrifying, with an online rate of over 70%. The number of online players in the Huaxia server was close to 300 million!
Outside the village, level 1 wild chickens were constantly spawning, but there were too many players. Seven or eight people were camped at each chicken spawn point. When a poor wild chicken spawned, before it could even open its eyes to see the world, it was smashed to death by various wooden swords, short staves, and wooden bows. The meager one copper coin it dropped even triggered PK among level 1 players, a truly tragic sight.
Lin Zhao bypassed the wild chicken spawn area and headed straight into the forest. Higher-level monsters had begun to spawn in the forest ahead—level 3 wild dogs. As Lin Zhao passed, a large pack of wild dogs followed him.
"Swish!"
Suddenly, a wild dog darted out from the woods beside him and bit Lin Zhao's neck. The wild dogs behind him rushed forward one after another, and in no time, they had bitten Lin Zhao to death.
First death, felt refreshing!
"Whoosh~~~"
A white light flashed, and Lin Zhao appeared as a soul in the nearby graveyard. He wasn't far from his corpse, so he immediately ran over. Then, he cautiously approached his corpse from the north. Within about 20 yards of his corpse, he could confirm his revival. The moment he revived, his corpse disappeared, and he stood up with half health from his soul's location. This was called corpse running. Each time, the soul revival could be 20 yards away from the corpse, so no matter how strong the monster was, it could eventually be escaped.
After dying a few times, he left the wild dog spawn area.
Continuing north, he entered a forest where level 7 praying mantises spawned. These two-sworded mantises abruptly descended, and the moment Lin Zhao stepped into the forest, they gave him a welcoming gift, their blades directly cutting him off his horse.
Another round of corpse running, and it took nearly twenty minutes to leave the mantis spawn area. Further ahead was the spawn area for level 10-15 monsters. Lin Zhao proceeded with caution but still died several times. Not long after, he entered an area with level 20 monsters. In a valley forest, he even found a wolf king coiled on a giant rock. The wolf king had a tuft of golden fur on its head, looking exceptionally elegant.
Lin Zhao dared not provoke it and left immediately.
Further ahead was the map zone, which was what Lin Zhao had been worried about. If players couldn't leave the beginner village boundary due to insufficient level, then everything would be in vain, and he would have to obediently return to the beginner village to level up from scratch.
However, as Lin Zhao stepped across, the map zone clearly showed barrier rules flashing with lightning, but it seemed unable to impede Lin Zhao's progress. The moment he lifted his foot, his entire body was enveloped in golden text patterns, like some kind of heavenly decree, protecting him as he forcefully broke through the map boundary.