Chapter 2

In 2050, the technology linking human brains to the internet had matured, allowing human consciousness to freely enter and exit the virtual world and interact with machines, causing a huge sensation.

With the continuous iteration of information processing technologies such as supercomputers, optical computers, and quantum computers, a large number of military technologies were declassified and became civilian technologies. The holographic virtual reality games, which had been popular for a long time, experienced a boom with this wave of support.

At that time, major countries, to demonstrate their national strength and promote their cultures, focused on the gaming industry, one after another, launching new holographic games, dazzling the public.

"Nine States World" was born in this context, a super map evolved from parameters, a series of exquisite scenes that do not exist in reality, and most importantly, the realistic experience of flying and moving through the air, made this completely open holographic game quickly become popular.

Initially, due to cultural reasons, the game was only popular in the Asian circle. It gradually expanded to other continents with massive publicity, the involvement of countless guilds, the establishment of professional leagues, and the lure of equipment trading, bonuses, and medals.

The main reason "Nine States World" could stand out, surpass other games, and win the hearts of a wide range of players, can be summed up in two words—realism.

Due to its extreme realism, many players firmly believed that this world truly existed, not just a string of virtual parameters.

Lu Beifei, a professional player from an ordinary family, was deterred by the high price of the game pod and could not afford to include the holographic game as a personal hobby.

However, his boss, an amateur player with a passion for the game, was often defeated by other players but stubbornly claimed it was not due to poor skills but being distracted by his busy career, which slowed his reaction time.

After a brief substitute play, the boss realized that Lu Beifei's talent was hindered by his poverty and gladly handed over his account, asking him to complete the story missions.

Thus, Lu Beifei spent half of his workday in the game pod.

Actually, he had a general interest in the game. No matter how realistic it was, the internet was not reality, and the gap between virtual strength and real-life helplessness was too great. Over time, it could lead to mental health issues and make it hard for people to find their place.

This was not good.

However, the boss offered a significant raise and a doubled year-end bonus, so Lu Beifei chose to endure.

On this day, he went to the boss's office as usual, under the envious and jealous gazes of his colleagues, skillfully opened the game pod, and entered "Nine States World" in story mode. Then...

There was nothing. When he closed his eyes and opened them again, the world in front of him was even more real.

The boss's account was nowhere to be found, and he logged into a stranger's account, an NPC template.

Unable to log out, he tried to seek help externally but found the forum gray and lifeless, with no official posts, as if it were under maintenance.

After talking to another NPC, Lu Beifei confirmed that he had been transported to another world.

In the 824th year of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, Ningzhou, Dongyang County, Langyu County.

824 was the time when "Nine States World" entered public beta testing. When Lu Beifei started playing for his boss, he was doing missions in the capital of the Wu Zhou Dynasty, and the game had already been updated to version 3.0.

In other words, he had not only been transported to another world but also to another time.

Although the time in the Nine States did not sync with the real world, this was not the main issue. The main issue was that Lu Beifei discovered he was being followed by an old Taoist priest.

The lecherous eyes staring at him, scanning him up and down, made him shudder and instantly snap out of his confusion.

"Young man, I see you have a unique bone structure, a good material for cultivation. I happen to need a disciple. How about we make a deal?"

"In your dreams."

The lecherous old Taoist, rubbing his hands together, was rejected firmly by Lu Beifei, who considered both physical and mental safety.

This was Lu Beifei's first meeting with Mo Buxiu, and it did not go well. Mo Buxiu forcibly took him up the mountain and made him his disciple.

...

"Headache, so hungry, can I go back?"

Lu Beifei, closing his eyes to check the information panel, frowned and muttered to himself: "If I can't, what should I do? Is this panel serious? Can players really enter the game... This is terrible, I didn't agree, and I'm so hungry."

With his hunger unresolved, Lu Beifei began to worry about his future life, sighing repeatedly as he focused on the information panel again.

After players enter the game, they have options like story mode, battle mode, and dungeon mode. NPCs have none, so there was no need to consider them.

Additionally, the information panels for players and NPCs were slightly different, simpler, and looked quite clean at first glance.

The first-level interface of the information panel was divided into four areas. Lu Beifei opened them one by one. Apart from the character interface, the remaining areas for skills, wealth, and factions were all blank.

"This shouldn't be. I can understand the skills being blank, but why are wealth and factions blank?"

Lu Beifei found it hard to understand. Mo Buxiu had passed the position of the head of the Yu Hua Sect to him, so logically, the wealth interface should have at least a land deed, and the faction should have shown a default change.

"Could it be because of my inner resistance, I inherited his legacy but not completely?"

Confused, Lu Beifei turned to study the character interface. After a few lines, ignoring the last line of evaluation, he had a rough idea.

First, the attributes were not much different from those of players. To put it bluntly, they almost followed the same set of game attributes.

The equipment and skill standards were not mentioned, but strength determined basic attack power, speed determined basic movement and evasion, spirit and endurance determined basic cultivation and health, with a ratio of 1:10.

Of course, there were some finer details. For example, spirit affected willpower, judgment, and insight, while endurance affected defense and stamina, and also interacted with skills.

As for charm, it did not equate to looks but affected interactions with NPCs and had a significant role in factions.

Of course, if someone was so handsome that everyone ignored other factors, comparing looks to charm, Lu Beifei had nothing to say.

Next, luck. Lu Beifei never understood this. For example, the same account doing the same mission, everything was the same, but the probability of getting good equipment was higher for his boss.

What did this mean?

Was his boss a non-Euclidean?

On one hand, it was true, but on the other hand, the final say on what equipment could be obtained was up to the game developers.

After checking the 233333 attributes, Lu Beifei glanced at the level, experience, and cultivation. It was not surprising that they were not starting from zero. The official forum had explained that the Nine States World was rich in spiritual energy, and as long as one was breathing, even a pig would have some cultivation over time.

With good luck, it could even gain intelligence and become a monster.

However, having cultivation was one thing. It was a natural phenomenon of spiritual energy accumulating in the body without systematic cultivation. A pig with cultivation would only taste better.

This also explained why Lu Beifei had cultivation but could not open the spatial bag. Compared to a pig, he might even taste worse.

"Primary profession: none. I need a guide, and if everything goes as expected, it will be my senior sister."

A moment later, Lu Beifei opened his eyes and casually plucked a blade of grass to chew on: "I wonder what my senior sister's primary profession is. Lingxiao Sword Sect sounds like a Daoist cultivator, but it's not certain. Many demon cultivators also practice swordsmanship... Hey, this grass tastes good, is it because of the spiritual energy?"

...

By noon, the sun was high in the sky, and the cool mountain breeze brought a slight restlessness.

After continuously chewing on the grass, Lu Beifei's health recovered somewhat. He marveled at the wonders of the world, where spiritual energy allowed one to do anything. Since he did not know when his senior sister would arrive or if she would come at all, he decided to try going down the mountain while it was still early.

Whether it succeeded or not was not important; exploring the path was good.

Just as he reached the front courtyard, which might be the gate or the wall, a pine tree welcomed him, and the birds in the forest suddenly chirped. Lu Beifei heard the wind behind him and turned to look.

In his line of sight was a woman in a white, waist-tied, flowing dress, with a light blue sash around her waist. Her black hair cascaded to her waist, with no hair accessories, only a white ribbon.

She had fair skin, a bright and beautiful face, and a delicate appearance.

A fox spirit? So soon?

Lu Beifei frowned and took a step back.

Facts and logic aside, the girl looked younger than him. If this was the senior sister Mo Buxiu mentioned, who had won the title of the top disciple of the Lingxiao Sword Sect thirty years ago, then...

He was determined to cultivate!

No one could change his mind!

Seeing Lu Beifei's caution, the woman's cold expression softened slightly. She introduced herself: "I am Bai Jin, sent by Senior Uncle Mo. Are you the junior brother?"

"Senior sister, you look so white. I'm Lu Beifei."

"What?"

"I mean... Senior Sister Bai, I'm Lu Beifei."

After a brief exchange, confirming that the girl was indeed his senior sister and not a fox spirit, Lu Beifei awkwardly shook his head. Despite experiencing the wonders of the Nine States World, he still could not shake off his preconceived notions.

It seemed he needed more time to adapt.

Inside the room, Bai Jin looked at the wooden box on the table in silence. After a long while, she asked, "Junior Brother Lu, Senior Uncle Mo's message was rushed. Did he have any last words for me?"

"Senior... He said that my cultivation matters should be entrusted to you." Lu Beifei thought for a moment and replied.

"Nothing else?"

"Anything else?"

Lu Beifei remained calm, thinking that one should always be cautious. He changed the subject: "He passed away too quickly, even before he could say, 'I will pass my lifetime cultivation to you.' There was nothing else."

Bai Jin was silent. Lu Beifei's personality was more unpredictable than she had imagined, and his cultivation path would likely be more difficult than others. As for Mo Buxiu...

"Junior Brother Lu, tell me honestly, did Senior Uncle Mo mention my master in his last moments?"

"???"

Looking at Bai Jin's sincere face, Lu Beifei was puzzled and probed, "He did mention the Lingxiao Sword Sect but only said that if he hadn't been seriously injured by his senior master, he would have gone back to see him before dying."

"So he did mention it." Bai Jin nodded and then shook her head.

"Senior Sister Bai, I have a question, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate to ask."

"Go ahead."

Since she was the top disciple of the Lingxiao Sword Sect thirty years ago, how old are you, and how long have you been cultivating?

Lu Beifei really wanted to ask this, but considering it might damage their relationship, and mainly his physical well-being, he decided to hold back and cautiously asked, "Senior Sister Bai, the injured master, could it be your master?"

"No, that was my senior master, and there was a misunderstanding between him and Senior Uncle Mo."

Bai Jin turned her head, "As for my master... she is the wife of the sect master."

Lu Beifei: "..."

Got it, the relationship is not complicated.

Additionally, with this connection, his plan to gain experience at the Lingxiao Sword Sect was out of the question.