Chapter 213: The Competition Begins
Honghuang’s group of three took a closer look.
It was the group with eagles embroidered on their clothes.
’Well now, aren’t these people from the Fierce Eagle Sect?’
Honghuang glanced at them. "Yes, we are. What can we do for you?"
’He couldn’t afford to provoke anyone from the Sea View Sect for now.’
’But the Fierce Eagle Sect? Who did they think they were!’
The Fierce Eagle Sect disciple who had spoken made a gesture at Honghuang. "Just you wait. During the competition, I’ll personally send you Feique Sect members packing!"
Honghuang sighed. "Bro, you know guys like you don’t survive past the second episode in a TV show, right?"
The disciple frowned. "What’s a TV show?"
He had a feeling Honghuang was mocking him, which was, in fact, true.
An Xiu shot a look at the two of them, then tugged on Honghuang’s sleeve, signaling for him to go inside to talk.
The Sea View Sect had arranged accommodations for everyone for a short rest, with four people to a room.
Since four people had come from the Feique Sect, they were assigned to a room together.
When the guy from the Fierce Eagle Sect saw An Xiu and the others about to head inside, he looked like he wanted to say something more, but his companion pulled him back and shook his head.
It was best not to cause trouble in the Sea View Sect’s territory.
After Honghuang, An Xiu, and Zhang Sheng went inside, An Xiu said, "Check the discussion group."
Only then did Honghuang divert his attention to check the messages.
It turned out that Han Tian and Mu Qiu had mentioned a place called Dragon Frost Swamp. There were training expeditions in Liu Xian City that you could sign up for, and they had also briefly mentioned the benefits of the swamp.
Honghuang immediately understood what An Xiu was getting at. "You want to go, don’t you?"
An Xiu nodded.
But Honghuang frowned slightly. "It’s too far, and it’s in the Li Yun Sect’s territory. If something happens to us, we don’t have the same confidence as Lord Han. The system really won’t save us if we don’t have points."
System: "Guilt-tripping me won’t work. I’m just a string of cold, hard data."
Honghuang: "..."
An Xiu pressed on, "So many Cultivators go every year, not just us. Fortune favors the bold. If we go, we can stick with Lord Mu Qiu. It’ll be safer if we team up."
Honghuang was still hesitant. "But this is a bit *too* much fortune to favor..."
The two of them then turned to Zhang Sheng, who was standing beside them, and briefly explained the situation.
"Do you want to go?"
Zhang Sheng hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.
The account was too important to him. In the game, he could experience the joy of speaking slowly.
He didn’t want to lose that chance.
Since Zhang Sheng wasn’t going, Honghuang and An Xiu didn’t press him.
But those two were thick as thieves. If An Xiu really wanted to go, it meant Honghuang would have to go with him.
Honghuang gritted his teeth. "If we go, we’re really risking losing our accounts."
An Xiu said, "When you play a game, you’re supposed to maximize your gains. Dragon Frost Swamp, just from the name, sounds like a place full of opportunities. You don’t want to play an Immortal Cultivation Game just to cower in a corner, do you?"
Honghuang waved his hand dismissively. "Get lost. Stop trying to goad me. If we could respawn, I’d go clubbing in the Li Yun Sect’s territory without a second thought. We’re not even out of the tutorial zone yet, and you already want to challenge a high-level dungeon?"
"How is it a high-level dungeon? The fact that they let Qi Refinement Realm Cultivators in means there must be suitable areas for us. It’s just that we won’t be able to come back for a while. If you really want to come back, just work hard to earn Spirit Stones. We can take the Teleportation Array—it might even be cheaper than the system’s fee."
Honghuang was still hesitating, which meant he was already wavering.
An Xiu said, "I want to go."
As soon as he said that, Honghuang knew he had to go too. "You bastard. You’ve been screwing me over since we were kids. If I lose this account, you’d better be ready to compensate me with a house."
An Xiu: "Fine. I have two houses. I’ll transfer one to you."
Honghuang: "? I was just kidding."
He looked at An Xiu, his eyes wide with alarm.
"Bro, we’ve known each other for so long. Be honest with me, are you... I’m telling you, I’d rather you just stab me in the back twice—"
Before he could finish, An Xiu slapped him.
He said coldly, "There are many demon beasts on the borders of Demon Cave Valley, but for us, it’s just training. The Spiritual Energy isn’t as good as other places, and all the players are concentrated there. Dragon Frost Swamp has more opportunities and more chances to earn Spirit Stones. If I have the chance to go, of course I’m going to try."
Honghuang said reluctantly, "Fine, whatever. Who’s your daddy, right?"
An Xiu slapped him on the head again.
Watching them from the side, Zhang Sheng smiled slowly.
In the afternoon, Han Tian also arrived.
Since the competition hadn’t started yet, Han Tian was taking the day off and wasn’t streaming.
When he learned that An Xiu and Honghuang were going to Dragon Frost Swamp, he was naturally supportive.
’The more people who go, the more rare spirit materials they can discover. When the time comes, if the donation route works out, won’t our Sect have a chance to get rich?’
’Although, it was hard to say who would be the one getting rich.’
Honghuang had been trying to hold back a question, but after thinking about it, he couldn’t resist.
He said mysteriously to Han Tian, "Lord Han, we discovered a secret in the Sea View Sect today."
To prevent the Sea View Sect from having any special surveillance channels, Honghuang had gotten smarter. He sent Han Tian a private message with additional information.
[Honghuang: There’s a player in the Sea View Sect. He’s the Fifth Elder’s Ninth Disciple. I don’t know which batch of players he came in with, and I’ve never seen him before, but he should be very strong.]
The reason he didn’t say it outright in the discussion group was that he didn’t know the player’s situation.
If the player was on a confidential hidden quest, it would be bad if too many other players found out.
Han Tian stared, stunned.
He’d actually had a faint suspicion in the back of his mind.
"Are you sure you saw correctly?"
Honghuang nodded. An Xiu, who probably knew what Honghuang had told Han Tian, also nodded.
Han Tian grew thoughtful, then said to them, "Forget it. Just pretend you didn’t see anything."
’Usually, players with hidden quests announce them, and the system never stops them.’
’In this case, it’s better not to say anything, to avoid affecting that player’s status in the Sea View Sect.’
’Anyway, with the system monitoring everything, it’s impossible for a player to cause any real trouble.’
’Besides, the Sect Master has long had his heart set on infiltrating other Sects.’
Han Tian also had a mission.
’The Sect Master had him open up trade routes as a way to establish footholds in other Sects. He probably plans to send players to infiltrate them.’
’After all, if you wanted to avoid a direct conflict, this was the most suitable method of invasion.’
’Just like with the Feique Sect right now.’
’Those at the Foundation Establishment Stage were either in seclusion or out training. Su Huanli had already set off for Demon Cave Valley.’
’Before leaving, she’d told Chen Miaomiao to keep an eye on the Feique Sect, which was basically a tacit approval.’
’Shuitan has already reached Foundation Establishment. What Realm must the Sect Master be at?’
’His intuition told him it had to be at least faster than the players’ progress.’
「The next day.」
Because it had long been announced that the game’s first inter-sect competition would be held, when Han Tian started his stream, a huge crowd of netizens flooded in, even though it was the middle of the night on Blue Star.
The number of online viewers broke fifty thousand in just a few minutes.
For such an ungodly hour, the popularity was terrifying.
The bullet comments were even more torrential.
[Go, Broken Sect!! Crush the Sea View Sect!! Stomp on the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect!]
[Han Tian, my man, I’ve bet all my assets on you! You have to at least make it into the top ten!]
[According to novel tropes, the Longevity Sect will definitely take first place in this situation.]
[If we don’t follow the tropes, the Sea View Sect will most likely try to sabotage the other Sects to keep them from taking first.]
[Huh? Oh, holy crap. To be honest, we at least get to customize our faces when we enter the game. Why are these four faces so plain? Did you guys come into the game to be NPCs or what?]