Chapter Forty-Six: The Thrill of Battle

“The flame saber’s special effects are so cool; I want to learn the flame saber too and show off some moves.”

“If you say that, won’t Cabbage get mad? (dog head)”

“Cabbage is so scary, unlike me—I can only use the flame saber to spiral skyward.”

“Cabbage doesn’t have time to watch the chat now. Great opportunity, let’s go—”

“You’re really hungry.”

“Hahahahaha…”

The live stream was filled with laughter and cheer.

Although Xiao Zhi was initially stunned by Cabbage’s incredible maneuvering, the gap in skill and martial cultivation was just too great. Persistently wielding the flame saber, Xiao Zhi defeated and subdued Cabbage within fifty moves.

This was already Cabbage’s best performance; previous attempts had ended with a few moves and immediate defeat.

Ming Wang was still reluctant to deliver a killing blow—otherwise, with his flame saber skills, victory would have come even faster.

“This young lord should hand over the Six Meridian Sword Technique. I wish to head to the Murong Clan of Gusu and burn it with an old friend.”

Cabbage never faced death upon defeat; Xiao Zhi always held back.

However, once subdued by Xiao Zhi, bad luck could easily cause months of wasted time, as Xiao Zhi would relentlessly push ahead, skipping through time and missing many quests. Most players would simply reload their save files in such cases.

“Young lord, though young, your martial skills are impressive. From whom do you learn? What sword technique do you practice?”

Seeing Lin Pingzhi silent, Xiao Zhi asked again.

Everyone in the live chat who had watched Heavenly Dragon understood Xiao Zhi’s intentions.

He was after the “Evil-Dispelling Sword Technique.”

The chat lit up—

“Xiao Zhi is quite polite; Cabbage suddenly pops up to snatch the secret manual and even calls him ‘young lord.’”

“Cabbage’s politeness is even greater; he calls himself ‘Young Lord Cabbage’ and calls Xiao Zhi ‘Daddy.’”

“Actually, he should be called ‘Lord Eunuch.’”

“Cabbage should just hand over the Evil-Dispelling Sword Technique and see if Xiao Zhi will practice it.”

“You must have just joined; Cabbage already handed it over earlier.”

“Did he practice it?”

“No, he didn’t. Xiao Zhi still can’t understand a mere mortal shell and gave up the celestial path. What a pity.”

“Cabbage is missing a mother, what a pity.”

“Bang—!!!”

Cabbage was slapping the table again.

“Try again, try again! I want to sneak attack Daddy Xiao Zhi!”

“This time is better than before; we’ve lasted this long. Next time, I will definitely win!”

Ming Wang had an imposing presence, and since he always held back, Cabbage initially thought he was a good guy, not knowing the storyline.

After watching the chat for a while, it seemed he was a bad guy who wasn’t too bad.

Anyway, he was Daddy for now.

“Cabbage should look at the guide and level up.”

“Beiming, Beiming—if Cabbage had Beiming, it would be better for him to give up.”

“The protagonist is gifted, but absorbing skills to level up may not always be good. In the late game, he might still be outclassed.”

“But compared to Evil-Dispelling, Beiming is the true path.”

“There’s no such thing as right or wrong paths. The strongest is the orthodox, the weak are just offshoots. My Evil-Dispelling Sect is the orthodox of the world!”

“Can only show off early on; what’s the use? Xiao Zhi beats him easily.”

“Don’t resist stubbornly. In the martial world, unlike player battles, attributes aren’t restricted. Xiao Zhi’s stats are far superior. Leveling up against NPCs is often more effective than refining skills.”

“But if you miss this storyline, the Six Meridian Sword Technique is lost.”

“There’s also Duan Yu’s place. Maybe you can get it there. Though no player has succeeded in obtaining the Six Meridian Sword Technique from Duan Yu, this game feels like it has many solutions.”

“Feels like Cabbage just stubbornly wants to beat Xiao Zhi. Even if she gets the Six Meridian Sword Technique, she probably won’t practice it.”

“True, she’s devoted to Evil-Dispelling for a hundred years without wavering, hahaha.”

The chat was full of debate as Cabbage restarted the game again.

This time, she didn’t rush in. The game offered many solutions, and equipping the protagonist with different martial arts skills created new variations. Cabbage needed to fine-tune her gear’s martial arts.

The protagonist possessed a heavenly book in the story, not an ordinary person.

Choosing a time-traveling origin meant being an otherworldly demon from a foreign realm; choosing a local origin meant being a destined person granted heavenly opportunity.

After all, they could traverse time and space (dungeons) and revive after death (save/load).

Theoretically, the protagonist could learn thousands of fixed martial arts and countless system-derived skills, though one could only operate a limited number at once; learning too many was meaningless.

“Ahhh, this time Cabbage will definitely win!”

Cabbage was still reluctant to give up the Evil-Dispelling Sword Technique she was getting the hang of, but its current level was falling behind the meta. So she tried equipping the Dugu Nine Swords alongside it, hoping to use this divine skill to overcome stronger opponents despite being weaker.

One had to admit, this game was extremely addictive.

Those who hadn’t played might not feel it, but once engaged in combat, the endless freshness was palpable.

Even facing a strong enemy like Xiao Zhi, whom she couldn’t defeat, was still fascinating.

Each situation changed, and Xiao Zhi could be caught off-guard in the first few moves, giving an edge.

Like the Five Greats of the Condor Heroes hiding non-divine new moves in their arsenals, the first strike often had surprising effects—the Western Venom loved doing this.

Sometimes, Cabbage stumbled upon a good start and gained the upper hand within a few moves due to Xiao Zhi’s mistakes, which was quite normal. But she wasn’t a master player and couldn’t convert advantage into victory.

Both were merely martial artists; victory or defeat wasn’t hopeless unless the gap was too large.

Cabbage’s current stats were those of a top expert with specialties. If replaced by a truly skilled player after several deaths and familiarity, the Evil-Dispelling Sword Technique might surpass Xiao Zhi.

Then it would be a one-versus-twenty-eight showdown with the player dominating, and Xiao Zhi utterly defeated.

Players had many lives: one win meant eternal victory.

Even in auto mode, endlessly swapping martial arts combinations with minimal operation, following the protagonist’s perspective to execute better moves each time—the dazzling effects and fierce actions were breathtaking.

Moreover, after countless restarts, players could feel themselves growing stronger.

Not an illusion—the protagonist’s auto-move selection and fine control improvements upon defeat gradually enhanced.

Outside the Heavenly Dragon Temple, a familiar stranger appeared,

Each move blazing with fire, crits breaking through like a monster,

Exhausting all strength but unable to triumph…

Sometimes, facing weaker opponents, some players deliberately equipped clumsy skills like the Ancestral Long Fist to suppress themselves, wanting to experience the thrill of the weak overcoming the strong, repeatedly reversing outcomes.

Thus was born the battle maniac and martial arts fanatic.

Continuously combining martial arts moves, increasingly splendid effects, and ever more exquisite techniques gave the game’s combat a powerful positive feedback loop, appealing both to casual nurturing players and those focused on skillful action.

No wonder ancient times had people who devoted themselves entirely to martial arts, avoiding romantic distractions.

The allure was truly captivating.

Random combinations of martial arts and body techniques had strengths and weaknesses. Generally, a set of robust, fierce internal and external skills was straightforward and effective.

But if the enemy excelled at countering strong moves, equipping a few subtle, “yin” moves could often achieve unexpected results.

Of course, it was random. The combat system’s AI skill tree derivations, system and chest rewards, and martial arts variations were full of uncertainty and fun.

The dopamine released in battles continuously stimulated the cerebral cortex, making it addictive!

Cabbage also began truly getting hooked, speaking less and focusing entirely on defeating Xiao Zhi.

After switching to the Dugu Nine Swords, sometimes ineffective, sometimes extremely useful, she managed to put Xiao Zhi on the back foot.

The live chat was ablaze:

“Damn, Cabbage might actually beat Xiao Zhi!”

“I don’t think so; the Dugu Nine Swords proficiency is too low, and the Evil-Dispelling Sword Technique hasn’t reached that very demanding supreme level. Difficult.”

“Getting this far is already impressive.”

“Cabbage is talented.”

“Honestly, if I restricted both of us to the same sword attribute in a 1v1 manual match, I might not beat her.”

“Be confident; remove the ‘might.’ I’ve tried with friends; if it looks like you won’t win, you really won’t!”

“You can tell who knows their stuff—everyone’s a Wang Yuyan, all talk, no skill.”

“New body is so useful, no wonder she’s three years old!”

“I used to think Cabbage might be an old lady; now she seems like she’s in her twenties (dog head).”

…