Level: 10
HP: 2300
Cultivation: Mortal (Increases percentage damage against lower cultivation levels)
Next Level: Transcendence (Requires 1000 Spirit Qi)
Spirit Qi: 130
Xiangyi: 0
Gongfa: Xiangyi Art (Level 1)
Skills: Chunfeng Yin, Tianxiang: Rain Bath Radiance, Tianxiang: Returning Wind Umbrella
Equipment: Tianxiang Sect Starter Gear (No attribute bonuses)
As Chen Xiaoyan stepped out of the Town Demon Tower, she looked at her character interface and happily took a deep breath.
Finally, level ten.
The higher the level, the less experience gained from monsters in the Town Demon Tower.
At level ten, each mutated dog grants only 0.5 experience points.
To reach level eleven, she had to kill five thousand mutated dogs.
While she could choose multiple puppet teammates, more was not always better.
If even one puppet died, the challenge would fail.
Since, apart from Returning Wind Umbrella which was an AoE heal, all other heals were single-target, having too many puppets meant her skills couldn’t keep up.
Throughout the day, Chen Xiaoyan not only gained a lot of experience in the Town Demon Tower but also improved her mastery of the Tianxiang skills significantly.
One more thing to note: casting skills consumes Xiangyi, and Xiangyi doesn’t regenerate automatically.
She had to meditate and run Xiangyi Art to recover it.
It took about a minute to fully restore.
However, taking damage while running Xiangyi Art would interrupt the recovery.
After summarizing her experience, Chen Xiaoyan logged off to rest, replenished her energy, ate well, and then logged back in.
She opened her friends list.
“I’m Destiny’s Master” was already level eight.
She wasn’t sure what stage her own level corresponded to.
This game was great in every aspect except it lacked any practical social features, making it feel like a single-player experience.
The Skill Library
At level five, her skill slots had increased to four, but the fifth slot required level fifteen.
She decided to learn a movement skill to travel faster.
In the Town Demon Tower, monsters didn’t always just attack the puppets.
On the tenth wave, an elite mutated dog leader appeared at level ten.
Elite monsters had intelligence and would direct mutated dogs to prioritize attacking her, the healer.
If it hadn’t been for timely puppet reinforcements from the Shen Ce Mansion, she probably would have been wiped out.
But because the Shen Ce Mansion’s tank puppet lagged behind, the Shu Mountain puppets were swarmed, leading to failure on the tenth wave.
She had to learn a movement skill; otherwise, if her backline was cut off, she wouldn’t even be able to escape.
On the first floor of the Skill Library, Chen Xiaoyan flipped through many skills, mostly support types, with very few movement ones.
She found a skill called “Moonshadow Step.”
Nice—it was a gongfa, not just a skill.
Gongfa could be leveled up, unlike skills.
Moonshadow Step was a passive skill; at level ten, it allowed one to be as light as a swallow, stepping on water without leaving a trace.
“Learn.”
[Congratulations, player has successfully learned “Moonshadow Step”]
[Movement Speed +50]
[Acquired passive trait: Light as a Swallow]
A warm sensation spread through her limbs as Chen Xiaoyan felt her body growing much lighter.
Setting down the gongfa imprint book, she couldn’t wait to go outside and test it.
Back mountain, Peach Blossom Forest.
Chen Xiaoyan returned to this place that once embarrassed her.
She raised her foot and kicked a peach tree a few times, shouting, “Die, rabbits! Your daddy’s here!”
“Chirp chirp?”
A group of pink-furred rabbits poked their heads out from the grass. Seeing it was the annoying human from yesterday, they instantly charged out.
“Chirp chirp chirp!!!”
Chen Xiaoyan grabbed the Chunfeng Umbrella and stabbed one to death, then turned and ran.
Light as a swallow.
With a gentle leap, she soared more than three meters high, her speed now several times faster than before.
Bounding along the branches between the peach blossoms, she moved swiftly like a gust of wind. The pink rabbits couldn’t catch up at all.
“That all you’ve got?” Chen Xiaoyan glanced back, seeing the pink rabbits lagging far behind, and sneered.
Crossing her arms, she taunted, “Dead rabbits, want me to wait for you?”
“Chirp chirp (`皿´)”
“Oh, getting impatient? Going berserk already?”
Seeing the rabbits’ red eyes, she laughed even more mockingly.
“Weren’t you all pretty fast yesterday? What’s wrong now?”
The pink rabbits: “…………”
After playing for a while, Chen Xiaoyan grew bored.
She wasn’t sure why, but yesterday she hated these rabbits, and now she found the soft little creatures somewhat cute.
Maybe because they were so weak and small, everything they did seemed adorable.
“Alright, I’m off. I’ll play with you another day.”
Chen Xiaoyan waved at the group of exhausted pink rabbits lying on the ground, then turned and dashed downhill.
She really enjoyed this feeling of leaping with the wind.
Who didn’t have a wuxia dream?
Scaling rooftops, running on the wind—that had always been a childhood fantasy.
She never expected to fulfill it one day within a game.
[Your friend “I’m Destiny’s Master” has requested a private chat]
“Accept.”
[I’m Destiny’s Master: Not bad, Yanzi, you’re even higher level than me now.]
[Chen Xiaoyan: What do you want? If it’s to ask me to set you up with a girl, don’t bother.]
[I’m Destiny’s Master: Damn! Why didn’t I get matched with Tianxiang Sect? The heavens are unjust!]
[Chen Xiaoyan: Alright, alright, you pervert, can you focus on improving your strength instead?]
[I’m Destiny’s Master: Easy for you to say, surrounded by female players. Look at Shu Mountain—over ten thousand players but only a few dozen girls.]
[Chen Xiaoyan: Really? What’s the highest level in Shu Mountain?]
[I’m Destiny’s Master: Level 12, and only one female player—Mu Qingxue. Super cold.]
[Chen Xiaoyan: Bro, believe me, usually the cold ones are secretly wild. Go ahead, make your move.]
[I’m Destiny’s Master: No way, I don’t want to get beaten by her fanboys.]
She cut off the private chat with a serious expression.
Somebody was already level twelve. Looks like she had to work harder.
Having learned Moonshadow Step, it was time to test the second floor of the Town Demon Tower.
“Set a small goal: this time, no way out without level fifteen.”
***
Three days later
Chen Xiaoyan dragged her weary body out of the Town Demon Tower, her face haggard.
The higher the level, the more experience was needed.
She had farmed for three full days to reach level fifteen.
Though it was a game, her body wasn’t fatigued, but her spirit was exhausted.
“Xiaoyan.”
Outside the tower’s loft, Shen Qingqing stood on the steps, smiling at her.
“Sister Shen?”
Chen Xiaoyan instantly perked up and lightly landed before her.
Seeing her graceful, swallow-like posture, Shen Qingqing immediately understood the movement skill she had learned.
“Moonshadow Step is indeed a good choice for you early on.”
“Hehe, Sister Shen, did you come to give me a task?”
Shen Qingqing nodded.
“I’ve noticed some new disciples slacking in their cultivation these past few days.”
Chen Xiaoyan scratched her cheek.
These Tianxiang players weren’t focused on improving strength but on you, Sister Shen.
“Except for you and a few others, most are like this. Sigh—this won’t do.”
A faint worry crossed Shen Qingqing’s brow.
“So, what do you want me to do? Persuade them to train harder?”
Shen Qingqing didn’t deny it and smiled, “Exactly.”
A strange smile appeared on Chen Xiaoyan’s face.
“Sister Shen, I think it’s better if you handle this yourself.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
Chen Xiaoyan leaned close to Shen Qingqing’s ear and whispered, “If you trust me, gather them all and set a goal for them.”
“Of course, rewards can’t be left out—your autograph and personal encouragement.”
Shen Qingqing eyed her doubtfully. “Xiaoyan, will that really work?”
“Hey, it definitely will. The fan communities thrive on this.”
“Fan communities?”
Chen Xiaoyan shook her head and quickly changed the subject.
“Never mind, Sister Shen, just try it. If it doesn’t work, come back to me.”
“That’s the best we can do,” Shen Qingqing sighed.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
Chen Xiaoyan waved and turned to go.
Level fifteen unlocked the fifth skill slot.
She was eager to check the second floor of the Skill Library for some game-changing skills.
“Wait, Xiaoyan.”
“Hm?” Chen Xiaoyan turned around, puzzled.
Shen Qingqing opened her palm, suddenly producing a book and handing it to her.
“Besides coming here today, I have one more thing for you.”
“What’s this?”
Chen Xiaoyan took the book and saw it was a skill manual.
Tianxiang: Umbrella Dance Heal: Within a certain radius, restores (Spirit Power × Skill Level × 2) HP per second to yourself and teammates for ten seconds. Cooldown: fifteen seconds. Note: This skill requires equipping the Tianxiang main weapon.
Reading the description, Chen Xiaoyan’s eyes went wide.
Ten seconds of healing, with only a fifteen-second cooldown?
A five-second window to use again?
Isn’t that absurd?
She already had four healing skills.
Looks like she was destined to become a full-time healer.
Despite feeling dejected, Chen Xiaoyan still studied it.
No choice—she was the healer after all; more healing couldn’t hurt.
“Thank you, Sister Shen. I can always learn skills at the Skill Library, so no need to trouble you.”
Shen Qingqing smiled slightly.
“The Skill Library doesn’t have this one.”
Chen Xiaoyan was taken aback.
“It doesn’t?”
Sister Shen didn’t answer and instead patted her head.
“Xiaoyan, you’re already level fifteen—you can go down the mountain to train now.”
“Sister Shen, how do I do the training?”
“The sect will assign a task. Completing it means the training is successful.”
Chen Xiaoyan smiled—so it was just a mission. Simple enough.
“After going down the mountain, if you encounter any evil sects, don’t act rashly. Run if you can and look for help from the Xianjie Alliance. The Tianxiang Sect isn’t strong in battle; you won’t be able to defeat them.”
Evil sects!
These were sects operating outside the Xianjie Alliance, with no rules or morals, doing whatever they pleased.
“Understood.”
“Don’t make the training harder than it is. It’s meant for disciples to become familiar with other sects in the Alliance and form their own teams.”
“Oh, and in twenty-five days, there’s the sect tournament. Don’t forget.”
Chen Xiaoyan patted her chest.
“Don’t worry, Sister Shen. Even if I forget myself, I won’t forget the sect tournament.”
“Good. If you get bullied going down the mountain, come tell me. That girl Fufeng will definitely be happy.”
“Uh…” Chen Xiaoyan was stunned.
“Alright, I have things to do. I’ll go now.”
With that, Shen Qingqing turned and left.
Chen Xiaoyan quietly watched her retreating figure, a question suddenly surfacing in her mind.
“Is this really a game?”
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