Chapter 10

"However, I have a question to ask you," the gatekeeper said hesitantly.

"Master, I will answer whatever you ask," Afly replied without hesitation, certain that there was something fishy going on.

"You have met the conditions for another task of mine. I have a martial arts skill to pass on to you. Do you want to learn it?" the gatekeeper said mysteriously, revealing the hidden agenda.

"Learn it, of course I want to learn it!" Afly was overjoyed, feeling as if he had been hit by a pile of gold. He never thought that he, who had never won more than 10 yuan in a lottery, would encounter such legendary luck. Afly wasn't new to games; he just hadn't found one that particularly interested him recently. But playing games was all about luck—hitting a game bug, getting a bunch of invincible equipment and ultimate skills, and becoming unbeatable... The thought was exhilarating.

"Since you have agreed so readily, consider this task accepted," the gatekeeper was delighted. As soon as the conditions were met, he immediately placed his hand on Afly's head, giving him no chance to speak.

"You have left the Huashan Sect!"

"Leaving the Huashan Sect during the novice period is considered a betrayal. You are now a Huashan traitor and cannot rejoin Huashan for one year. Huashan disciples have the right to eliminate traitors."

"Your reputation has decreased by 40. You are now a bandit in the江湖 (jianghu), and the cost of shopping in stores will double."

"You have joined the Changqiang Sect of the Moshan Sect!"

"You have learned the auxiliary skill 'Fengguang Cuoying' (Light and Shadow Divergence)!"

...

Afly stared in shock at the long string of system notifications, his mind a blank. He couldn't react for a moment, muttering, "I left the Huashan Sect and became a traitor?"

The gatekeeper smiled, "That's right. To learn my martial arts, you must be a member of the Changqiang Sect. So you had to leave the Huashan Sect first. Congratulations, you are now a disciple of the Moshan Sect, belonging to the Changqiang Sect."

"I became a bandit?"

"Don't panic, young man. Who hasn't been reckless in their youth? I used to be a notorious bandit. Don't worry, just do more tasks and you'll be back! It's just that you'll have to pay double for items now."

Afly was stunned for a while, then suddenly let out a scream of rage, grabbing the old man by the collar and shouting, "Old man, who told you to put me in the Changqiang Sect? What about my reputation? I wanted to see the Huashan Sect's Dugu Nine Swords! Now it's all over. I didn't even learn any Huashan sword techniques and I'm already a Huashan traitor."

The gatekeeper remained calm, "You agreed, so I acted."

"Phew, you didn't tell me I had to betray the sect!" Afly continued to spit.

The gatekeeper wiped his face and continued calmly, "It's okay, young man. If you wish, I can change it back."

Afly was taken aback, "Can it be changed back?"

The gatekeeper smiled, "Of course. I keep my word. As a cultured NPC, I can guarantee that. Do you want to change it back?"

Afly hurriedly nodded, "Change it back, of course. I can't be a bandit... Wait, if I change it back, do I have to betray the sect again?"

The gatekeeper gave him an appreciative look, praising, "I didn't expect your experience in the江湖 (jianghu) to increase so quickly, young man... young bandit. Yes, you will have to betray the Moshan Sect first, then rejoin Huashan. Of course, you can only join Huashan after one year."

"Will my reputation decrease by another 40?" Afly's heart trembled, glad he had asked.

"Indeed. You will become a notorious bandit, and the cost of buying items will increase tenfold. The difficulty of learning orthodox martial arts... well, it's equivalent to challenging the sect leader. Of course, you can do evil sect tasks," the gatekeeper said with a smile.

Afly spat out a mouthful of blood, slowly releasing the gatekeeper's collar and smoothing out the wrinkles. The old man seemed satisfied with Afly's performance, took a sip of monkey wine, and said slowly, "Young man, don't be disappointed. The Moshan Sect and the Huashan Sect are both among the top ten sects, so you haven't lost anything. Besides, you learned a skill for free."

The unfortunate Afly finally shifted his attention to the skill. He spent ten minutes deciding to accept his fate. If the game was too much, he could just stop playing and treat it as a brief visit. After reading the system notifications for a long time, he asked in confusion, "An auxiliary skill? Why doesn't it specify if it's advanced or ultimate?"

The gatekeeper smiled, "Martial arts skills are ranked, but auxiliary skills are not. It's like herbalism or trap-making, which are auxiliary skills. Your skill is also an auxiliary skill and requires a supporting technique to use."

Afly understood somewhat, but he didn't know the use of auxiliary skills. He cursed the old man in his heart, thinking that he had made such a big sacrifice for just an auxiliary skill? The old man seemed to understand the new player's thoughts and advised, "I have no choice. You met one of my task conditions, but this task wasn't designed for new players like you. Sigh, I was waiting for someone who had been bullied by Huashan sect members, lost all their martial arts, and become disheartened. When they came to me, I would nullify their Huashan martial arts, then increase their skills in other sects by one level, and bring them to the Moshan Sect. Unfortunately, you met the conditions early, without any martial arts, unwilling to relearn... This is how the designers set it up, and I can't change it."

"…You must be a pimp for the Changqiang Sect," Afly finally concluded.

The gatekeeper chuckled, "I am an elder of the Changqiang Sect, responsible for reviewing the qualifications of new disciples."

Afly: "…"

－－－－－－<Red Tassel Record>－－－－－－

Fengguang Cuoying is an auxiliary skill that works in conjunction with martial arts skills. It consumes a certain amount of internal energy and can create a duplicate of the same skill when a martial arts skill is used, randomly attacking surrounding targets. It is limited to spear techniques. Currently at level 1, it consumes double the internal energy and creates one additional skill.

According to the gatekeeper's explanation, this auxiliary skill is quite simple. When used with spear techniques, it can create an additional attack. If there are targets around, the additional attack will automatically target one of them. For example, if someone uses the spear technique "Thrust," with Fengguang Cuoying, they can perform an additional thrust in another direction. The final effect depends on the level of Fengguang Cuoying. At Afly's current level, it can only create one additional skill, with the power roughly 80% of the original skill.

Afly wasn't completely ignorant of online games. After reading the description, he understood the skill's main use: leveling up and group battles. With the same skill, while others attack one target, he can attack two, though the power is slightly different. In group battles, he can handle two enemies, provided they are within his attack range.

Of course, the skill has many drawbacks. First, it doubles the internal energy consumption, and second, it is limited to spear techniques, not applicable to other martial arts like sword techniques, fist techniques, or light body techniques. It's easy to imagine the result if you used a light body technique with Fengguang Cuoying—would you sprout an extra foot?

As for other uses of the skill, Afly thought for a long time and sadly realized there were none. In a one-on-one fight, it was useless. If there was only one opponent, the additional skill created by Fengguang Cuoying would still only attack one person, as the directions of the two skills would be different... In other words, in a one-on-one fight, Fengguang Cuoying would be of no use.

"It seems I can only use a spear," Afly sighed after a while.

"What spear? Who are you going to rob?" Luorui, who had just walked out of the cave, interjected. Afly turned around and saw that the three of them had returned. Afly knew they had completed their task, as he could see the smiles of success on their faces. The gatekeeper was right; they had received a reward for discovering the valley, and it was a significant reward because the valley was the site of a major task.

"What did you get?"

"We'll tell you when we get back!" Luorui and the others said goodbye to the gatekeeper and dragged Afly away, not even giving him a chance to say goodbye. After walking for a while, once they were sure the gatekeeper couldn't see them, Luorui suddenly turned serious, grabbed Afly's novice robe, and shouted, "Huashan traitor?"