Chapter 4

The first stop when entering the martial world(Jianghu): Luoyang City.  

Xie Mengyun, dressed in gear that clearly marked her as a new player, hopped down from the carriage. The Novice village’s carriage service was impressively efficient, dropping players right in the central district of the main city, making it convenient for both trading and questing.  

Every major city had a Martial Alliance office, where a mandatory tutorial quest awaited all new players. The main purpose was to introduce the general state of the martial arts world. The responsible NPC wouldn’t care whether you’d already gathered plenty of information from forums or friends, they’d dutifully recite their script word for word.  

PS: This is a full-immersion VR game, and no skipping dialogue with ESC.

Xie Mengyun stood before an NPC named Rong Qi, who was dressed in a wide-sleeved, dark cyan robe, exuding an unhurried grace, like a gentleman of refined jade.  

The game designers must have deliberately made long-winded NPCs this good-looking just to test players’ patience (-ω-`).  

Rong Qi began by introducing the Ten Great Sects of the martial world: Shaolin, Wudang, Huashan, Emei, Beggar’s Sect, Jixia Academy, Medicine King Valley, Blood Shadow Cult, Southern Sea Pavilion, and Kunxu Palace. The first seven were orthodox sects, while Blood Shadow Cult and Southern Sea Pavilion were considered evil factions, with Kunxu Palace remaining neutral. Eighteen years ago, Murong Burong, the leader of the Blood Shadow Cult, joined forces with the Southern Sea Pavilion to wage war against the major sects. The conflict raged for years, resulting in heavy casualties, with some mid-sized and smaller sects completely wiped from the martial world. Eventually, the leaders realized that continuing this feud was unsustainable, and for the sake of their legacies, they had no choice but to make peace.  

At this point, Xie Mengyun’s mind was practically screaming ‘What the hell, so what was even the point of fighting all this time?!’

Rong Qi remained oblivious to Xie Mengyun’s inner turmoil and continued his introduction. After the first great clash between the righteous and evil factions, the martial world regained its peace. Players were free to choose which sect to join, though each had its own unique recruitment trials. Among the Ten Great Sects, the first nine had extremely strict entry requirements, with only one in a hundred aspirants would succeed. Meanwhile, Kunxu Palace, having long maintained neutrality, did not openly accept disciples. Instead, it oversaw martial world affairs, handling tasks like issuing bounty missions and presiding over grand martial arts tournaments.  

Rong Qi himself belonged to Kunxu Palace.  

Xie Mengyun had heard most of this before. The game’s sects could generally be divided into three tiers. The nine major sects naturally occupied the first tier, each possessing their own supreme martial arts. More remote factions, like the Tianshan Sect and Snow Mountain Sect, belonged to the second tier. Then there were third-tier sects like the Haisha Gang and Hundred Blades Sect, which taught lower-grade martial arts but had much lower entry barriers. As for the legendary hidden sects. So far, they remained just rumors

Sese Hong had once given her a piece of advice: if she couldn’t immediately join one of the major sects she wanted, she could start with a smaller sect to learn martial arts. ‘Riding through the Jianghu(Cè Mǎ Jiānghú)’ had a unique mechanic, aside from the nine major sects, players who met the graduation criteria of minor or mid-sized sects could leave their master’s tutelage without repercussions. Afterward, their previous sect affiliation wouldn’t affect future apprenticeship opportunities.  

Xie Mengyun stood before Rong Qi for a full twenty minutes before he finally finished his introduction. He then activated her warehouse, mailbox, and martial world ranking permissions, and expanded her inventory slots to sixty-four.  

After completing the beginner quest, she made a special trip to the appraiser. She presented her jade hairpin, but the appraiser shook his head, admitting he couldn’t decipher the secrets hidden within it.

【Guild】Liushui Raoshazhou: I’ve arrived in Luoyang.  

【Guild】 Liushui Raoshazhou: How do I get to the guild headquarters?  

When leaving the Novice village, choosing Luoyang was mainly because the guild’s base was established here.  

【Guild】 Wu Yue Shan Qing: You’re still in the city center, right?

【Guild】Liushui Raoshazhou: Yes.

【Guild】 Wu Yue Shan Qing: Head out, to the South Gate.

【Guild】 Liushui Raoshazhou: …Our guild is outside the city walls?  

I thought guilds could only be established inside city limits?  

【Guild】Yangfan Jicanghai: It is inside.  

【Guild】Sese Hong: Right against the city walls though.  

【Guild】 Yangfan Jicanghai: The closer to the center, the more expensive the land. I can’t afford it TAT

【Guild】 Liushui Raoshazhou: Sigh, it seems that no matter the era, buying a house is always important ==.

Xie Mengyun sprinted the entire way using qinggong, depleting her inner energy several times before finally making it from Luoyang’s city center to the southern gate. There, she found a small courtyard with a plaque reading “One Zero is not Ten” hanging by the entrance.  

If she hadn’t been intimately familiar with Yangfan Jicanghai’s handwriting in real life, Xie Mengyun was certain she would’ve missed the place entirely.  

“Why is our guild’s signboard so tiny?” Xie Mengyun asked.  

“Because the game authorities charge ‘urban beautification fees’ based on the size of guild plaques. After making us pay for the property itself, the game company still finds ways to squeeze extra money out of us, sob…” Yangfan Jicanghai, who had been waiting at the entrance to welcome guild members, wore an expression of profound grief.  

Xie Mengyun’s lips twitched, silently conceding defeat to this particular monetization scheme.  

“Xiaoqing and Sese are at their sects, and Bixuan is off doing quests. I’m the only one here today,” Yangfan Jicanghai explained as he led Xie Mengyun inside.  

From the outside, the courtyard appeared to be a narrow siheyuan (quadrangle courtyard), but the interior was surprisingly spacious. After all, this was a game, where impossible spatial expansions were commonplace.

Yangfan Ji Canghai happily promoted Xie Mengyun to ‘Elder’: “Don’t worry, anyone joining the guild at this stage will be a core member. When we expand in the future, what’s mine will be yours—”  

“This speech sounds so familiar,” Xie Mengyun mused, eyeing him sideways “Someone said the same thing when they were graduating and trying to start a business.”

Said someone suddenly found the sky very interesting to look at.  

“Besides the Elder and Guild Leader, do we actually have any other members?” Xie Mengyun pressed on.  

“Well…the Vice Leader position is still open. Nobody wanted it,” Yangfan Jicanghai replied, eyeing Xie Mengyun with tentative hope. “Maybe you’d like to—”  

“No.”  

“Oh T_T”  

Yangfan Jicanghai gave Xie Mengyun a brief tour of the guild base. Beyond the main hall, there was an alchemy room, training grounds, a dining hall, storage, and member dormitories.  

“One Zero is not Ten” was still a beginner-level guild with a maximum capacity of fifty members. To expand, they’d need to complete guild upgrade quests, though that wouldn’t be an issue anytime soon, given their current…membership situation.  

Yangfan Jicanghai led Xie Mengyun to the guild storage area. “With so few of us, there’s no need for access restrictions, take whatever you need,” he said, pulling out a set of Blue robes and Black ankle boots. “For level 15 and above. I saved these for you.”

Xie Mengyun didn’t stand on ceremony, equipping them immediately. “Sese picked the style, didn’t she?”

“Sharp as ever, Lady Heroine!” Yangfan Jicanghai gave his buddy a thumbs-up. “No headpiece here beats your hairpin, but feel free to pick any of the stat-less necklaces or bracelets.”

“There are quite a lot of medicinal herbs in the warehouse,” Xie Mengyun said casually.

The moment the words left her mouth, a pained look flashed across Yangfan Jicanghai’s face. “There’s…a story behind that.”

Sensing drama, Xie Mengyun casually fished out a pack of melon seeds from the warehouse and began cracking them open, waiting for the tale to unfold.  

“The game doesn’t impose limits on life skills, most players dabble in one or two, and that’s all they can manage. Mastering a life skill requires insane amounts of effort,” Yangfan Jicanghai explained. “And materials.”  

Xie Mengyun instantly connected the dots. “So who picked medicine?”  

“Xiaoqing. But while others choose it as a side skill, he has no choice, he’s a Medicine King Valley disciple. His martial arts progression depends on his medical training,” Yangfan Jicanghai said. “If you ever find herbs in the game later, try saving some for him. He’ll need them to level up.”  

The physician class profession is awesome in the late game but a pain in the early stages. Most people pour their hearts into it only to collapse during the difficult phase. It’s said that most of the life skill posts on the game forum are from them, “Those Years We Blew Up Alchemy Furnaces Together,” “My Herbalist Journal: A Love-Hate Saga”, “Life’s Little Torments: How Peeling Xanthium Spines Boosts Alchemy Success Rates”…

Xie Mengyun nodded curiously, “So Xiaoqing is from Medicine King Valley. What about the others?”  

“Sese is with the Snow Mountain Sect, Bixuan graduated from the Haisha Gang, and I’m currently with the Kunlun Sect,” Yangfanjicanghai replied. “If I can complete my training and graduate, I’d like to try joining Jixia Academy.”

The guild warehouse was very close to the dormitories, which were divided into single and multi-person rooms. Because internal energy in “Riding through the Jianghu” didn’t level up automatically but required players to cultivate it themselves, meditating in the guild dormitory wasn’t just safe but also provided a cultivation bonus.  

After leading Xie Mengyun to the dormitory, Yangfan Jicanghai retreated to his own room to cultivate. Since “One Zero Is Not Ten” had so few members, there was no issue of fighting over rooms. Xie Mengyun happily chose a single room for herself and hung up her nameplate.

The room was rectangular, divided in the middle by a wooden lattice partition. Aside from a simple wooden bed at the far end, there were no other furnishings.  

Xie Mengyun’s inner energy was still the basic ‘Beginner’s Inner Skill’ taught by the novice village chief, which had reached Level 4 through skirmishes with minor mobs. It could store a maximum of 300 internal energy points, so there was basically no need to cultivate it further. Aside from that, only other decent skill was the third-tier Qinggong technique, “Sparrow Step.”

Practicing qinggong techniques in such a cramped room would be pure torture.  

After a short rest, Xie Mengyun planned to go find a life skill profession. Just as she reached the door, she paused, turned back, and grabbed a martial arts manual from the guild storage warehouse to learn, figuring she could use the extra attack power.  

Basic Swordplay: A common beginner’s sword technique in the Jianghu.  

From the text description, you could feel the designers’ lack of effort =_=

The South Gate was quite a distance from the life skill instructors. By the time Xie Mengyun jogged for fifteen minutes to reach her destination, she fully grasped why property prices were higher closer to the center.

I wish I had money QAQ.

There were five life skills in “Riding through the Jianghu”: Blacksmithing, Medicine, Cooking, Tailoring, and Appraisal. For new players eager to dive into these professions, the NPC instructors wouldn’t give them a hard time. Instead, they’d greet them with impeccable warmth, welcoming them to embark on this… questionable path—ahem, no, this glorious career full of bright prospects.  

Xie Mengyun went door to door, selecting every life skill she could take on. Since she had already learned Herb Gathering skill in the Novice Village, the entry for madder root in her herbal journal was already unlocked.  

Author’s Note: Finally out of the Novice village!