Chapter 1

In the Cold Jade Valley, Wei Bin stared intently at the projection in front of him.

"How did you know I am a reborn person?" Wei Bin was utterly shocked; he could hardly believe that he had been identified as a reborn person by someone who shouldn't even exist in the game.

"Hehe, how I found out is not important. What matters is whether you want to know why you can be reborn and what secrets lie behind it!" the person in the projection explained calmly.

"Could it be that you are also..." Wei Bin's voice trembled more and more. Even he, who had experienced many ups and downs, could not hide his excitement. His trembling was not out of fear but out of excitement and anticipation!

"Exactly! I am your predecessor in rebirth!"

...

In the year 2100, a year destined to be recorded in history, under the support of the Fourth Technological Revolution, the holographic online game "Tianlong" was developed over a decade based on the works of the famous writer Jin Yong and jointly developed by the Earth Federation.

With the advent of "Tianlong," the test version of the holographic online game "Shenyu" completed its mission and officially shut down, with a zero-wing unified server. Major corporations and studios shifted their focus to "Tianlong," and hundreds of millions of people around the world focused on the game, which was set to launch at 00:00 on November 11th.

The mainframe of "Tianlong" is named "Hao," with memory and processing speed sufficient to support 6 billion people online simultaneously. From this moment on, "Hao" began autonomous operation. To modify data, representatives from over 50 countries must simultaneously insert their respective national keys into the mainframe's keyholes, making cheating virtually impossible.

The birth of "Tianlong" is an inevitable result of social development. In this era of abundance, it is not primarily for profit but to prevent the common people from being idle, reduce crime rates, alleviate energy crises, and protect the environment. "Tianlong" undoubtedly perfectly addresses the federation's concerns.

On a street that did not match the single night's scenery, an ordinary young man was walking on the asphalt road, laughing loudly while holding a notebook.

"Heaven has given me a second chance, and I will not waste it. I will seize this opportunity to prevent the tragedies of my past from repeating. As for my enemies, hehe..." This young man is named Wang Bin, from a poor family. Although he graduated from a prestigious university, without any background, he could only work for a living, earning a monthly salary of 50,000, which did little to change his dire situation.

Ten years ago, on this single night, he held a bouquet of flowers to confess to his long-pursued goddess. However, just as he reached the goddess's building, he saw her get into a red Rolls-Royce.

He still couldn't forget the look of helplessness in her eyes when she saw him, but he was powerless to do anything.

Wang Bin was deeply affected by this, abandoned his job, and fell into the online game "Tianlong." However, as the saying goes, "A misfortune may turn out to be a blessing." He accidentally discovered his talent for holographic online games, becoming a top-tier player and founding the guild "Zero Wing," which ranked among the top 100 in the Central Continent, with a net worth of over 100 billion. However, due to his upright character, he offended the leader of the super guild "Aoshi," Xiong Ba, leading to a comprehensive crackdown. This caused Wang Bin's family to return to pre-liberation poverty, and his father died from the shock. When Wang Bin sobered up, he found himself reborn to the night before "Tianlong" was launched, ten years ago.

On this reborn single night, Wang Bin walked down the street with high spirits, tightly holding his notebook. This time, his destination was not the goddess's house but the house he rented in the slums. After buying some cheap and filling food from the supermarket, he returned home.

Wei Bin installed a game device, similar to a helmet, on the head of his bed. Since it was not worn on the head, it did not affect his sleeping posture. This was the most basic device distributed for free by the federation, intended for the poor. The rich would buy high-end helmets or even nutrient tanks, which differed in realism, much like the difference between HD and UHD. Although the difference was not significant, it was noticeable, especially for experts. The nutrient tank also solved the player's hunger and nutritional needs.

Wang Bin reviewed the notebook he brought back from his previous life. It was because he refused to hand over this notebook that he offended the "Aoshi" guild, leading to his family's ruin and his father's death. The value of this notebook was evident. It contained the collective efforts of countless people from his previous life, from small details like dungeon strategies and treasure chest refresh patterns to major ones like the methods to unlock divine artifacts, making it an encyclopedia of "Tianlong." The information was originally posted on the official forum by players from his previous life to boost their reputation and prestige, and Wang Bin, with his habit of note-taking from his prestigious university, recorded it all.

With half an hour left until midnight, Wang Bin entered the character creation interface, where a long-haired, sexy, and revealing young woman appeared.

"Hello! I am your assistant, Xiao Li. Welcome to the world of 'Tianlong.' I will now introduce you to 'Tianlong.' Based on your login location, you will default to the Bai Shi City jurisdiction of the Stone Forest Kingdom in the Central Continent, but you can change it. 'Tianlong' is the second world of humanity, and the currency exchange system will be activated one month after the game's launch, allowing the exchange of in-game gold for real-world federal currency. 10,000 federal currency = 1 gold coin = 100 silver coins = 10,000 copper coins. Please name your character!" the young woman said enthusiastically.

Wang Bin used his previous life's ID, Wei Bin, and chose the same appearance to constantly remind himself of his blood feud.

"Tianlong" has no connection with the previous holographic online game "Shenyu" in terms of game background or settings. "Shenyu" was merely a transitional product to help players move from keyboard-based online games to holographic online games, familiarizing them with the latter and laying the groundwork for "Tianlong."

All players start with the same initial attributes: Strength, Spirit, Stamina, Focus, and Agility. Strength affects external attack power, Spirit affects internal attack power, Stamina affects health and external defense, Focus affects energy and internal defense, and Agility affects hit rate, dodge, critical hit, and critical defense.

There are nine major schools in "Tianlong," divided into internal and external attack types:

Internal Attack:

Wudang School: The leader in internal attack power among all schools, with many control skills. The ultimate skill, "Effortless Mastery," significantly enhances Wudang's output and control. Effortless Mastery: Removes all skill cooldowns.

Xiaoyao School: Balanced in all aspects, but the signature skill "Xishan Xinglv" makes Xiaoyao a highly sought-after school. Xishan Xinglv: Increases the target's damage by 100% with a certain probability.

Xingxiu School: The leader in health growth among internal attack schools, with many group attack skills and the ability to poison, making it a powerful force in team battles.

Emei School: The only healing school, with balanced attributes but a significant advantage in support. Without Emei, progress in "Tianlong" is nearly impossible.

Tianlong School: The only school that excels in both internal and external attacks, with balanced Spirit and Strength. Despite this, its dual expertise makes both internal and external attacks effective. Tianlong has high hit rate and the ultimate skill "Hundred Steps Piercing Arrow," which allows it to challenge top-tier players. Hundred Steps Piercing Arrow: Ensures 100% hit rate for all skills during the skill's duration.

External Attack:

Ming School: The leader in external attack power among all schools, with high burst damage and average growth in other areas. The signature skill "Fires of War" pulls the target to the player, and being close to a high-external-attack Ming player is a dangerous situation.

Shaolin School: The leader in Stamina growth, with decent output but low burst damage. It has multiple skills to pull enemies, making it indispensable in both dungeons and boss fights.

Gai School: The leader in Agility growth, with the second-highest Stamina growth. It has high dodge and significant burst damage if skills are used in the right order.

Tianshan School: A natural assassin with high burst damage but heavy reliance on skills. It has good Agility and average Stamina, with multiple stealth skills, making it a scout for allies and a nightmare for enemies.

Generally, internal attack schools are similar to mages and use ranged attacks, while external attack schools use weapons for close combat.

At level 10, players can participate in the school assessment tasks. Passing these tasks allows them to join the school and gain the corresponding school skills.

In addition to these nine major schools, there are two hidden schools that have retreated to the mountains. These schools are highly mysterious, and even in the Central Continent, few know their true strength.

The eleven major schools each have their unique strengths, but there is no strongest school, only the strongest players. Whether to leverage strengths or balance weaknesses is a matter of personal choice, like a thousand people having a thousand different views of Hamlet.

Wang Bin still plans to choose the Tianshan School from his previous life, using his experience and insights to gain an advantage, develop quickly, and seek revenge. As for other aspects, Wang Bin, who was fully devoted to the game in his previous life, didn't even watch the World Cup, let alone stocks. This is the inherent advantage of being a reborn person, and a nobody will eventually have their day, for without "Tianlong," one is nothing!

With 20 minutes left until midnight, Wang Bin entered the game. He knew the federation did not plan to open the game on time. Although the federation was not strictly punctual, no one complained; instead, they were grateful for the early opening, as it was for their benefit. In this game, players cannot overlap, meaning that more than half of the players in the birth temple came from the resurrection temple. Yes, a stampede! This is a story for later.