Chapter 8

"More than a month ago, we stumbled upon this place and knew there must be something valuable here," Luorui said, drawing his long sword and leading everyone in a certain direction. "We explored for a few days and finally found some traces in one of the valleys. Hey, there aren't many monsters on the way, but you still need to be careful. You have no martial arts skills now, so you can't die here."

Afei glanced sideways at the three people and snorted, clearly still upset about the previous incident: "How do you know this place was discovered by you for the first time, and no one else has been here? Maybe someone else has already found it and completed the quest."

"This is a game!" Luorui reminded him disdainfully. "The system notified me that I discovered a new map, and as the first discoverer, I was rewarded with five reputation points. My current reputation is that of a hero."

Afei was taken aback, his lips twitching. "In real life, you're a ***, and in the game, you're already a hero?"

Shuizhongyue, however, found it amusing and said, "Afei, when you first entered the game, your reputation was zero, just like it is now, making you a new martial artist. I heard you don't play games much. The scenery and atmosphere of this game are quite good. Why don't you join us and play together?"

Afei didn't refuse outright but said, "I'll think about it. I'm not really interested in games, and I've been busy with work."

Shuizhongyue laughed and said, "Ale often says you're busy with work. But games are for entertainment. After work, you can come online to relax and relieve stress. Besides, Ale and I have been together for a long time, and I've always heard about his friends. I've already met Luorui, but I rarely see you. Why don't you come to the game more often? That way, we can all meet and chat."

Ale is the real name of Jingzhongren. Afei smiled but didn't respond.

Shuizhongyue, who had a purpose, continued under Jingzhongren's prompting: "I have several girlfriends who also want to play the game. Why don't you introduce them to each other to add some fun..."

Afei immediately looked miserable, pulling a long face at Shuizhongyue. "Why does that sound like Ale's tone? Did he tell you to say that?"

Shuizhongyue giggled and fell silent. Jingzhongren, hanging nearby, sighed and said in a serious tone, "Brother Fei, you're not young anymore. Look, your friends are getting married and having children, but you and Luorui are still single. But Luorui has a girlfriend, even if he changes them every now and then..."

Before he could finish, Luorui hit him with a hidden weapon. Afei, who had no martial arts skills, couldn't use hidden weapons either, but he raised his middle finger and gestured fiercely. Jingzhongren was helpless; every time they talked, it was the same. It's hard to be a matchmaker, and it's even harder to make someone take good advice. The four of them continued talking and walking, and suddenly Luorui raised his hand. "Stop, be careful!"

The grass in front of them rustled, and a man suddenly appeared. He was tall and strong, holding a large iron hammer, with a big "Thief" written on his chest, clearly marking his identity as a game character, a bandit. This bandit seemed very professional, excited to see the players. He shouted, "Robbery!" and charged at them with his hammer.

At this moment, everyone instinctively shielded Afei, holding their weapons and bravely facing the enemy. After all, Afei had no martial arts skills and no level. He couldn't even help in the fight, and if he was accidentally hit by the hammer, he might be seriously injured or even return to the city as a white light. Luorui charged forward, his long sword already flashing like lightning, colliding with the hammer.

A loud noise echoed, and both of them staggered. Luorui had learned intermediate martial arts and had a special advanced skill, making him one of the best among players. He quickly circled around the bandit, continuously attacking with his sword, the sword light enveloping the bandit. Jingzhongren and Shuizhongyue didn't join the fight but stood nearby watching Luorui. They knew Luorui's skills and the bandit's abilities, so Luorui should be able to handle it alone. Their main job was to prevent any accidents and protect Afei's safety.

After a moment, the bandit's iron hammer was swinging fiercely, but Luorui was too fast to be seen. The sword light enveloped the bandit. Suddenly, Luorui's long sword flashed continuously, drawing a bright line in the air and quickly piercing the bandit's chest. Luorui took advantage of the moment to leap back, and the bandit roared, his body swaying. A moment later, he fell to the ground, turning into a white light, and some items dropped from his body.

"Only a few silver coins, really poor!" Luorui performed a stylish sword flourish and sheathed his sword.

"Your Death-Dealing Three Immortal Swords skill has improved," Jingzhongren praised, walking up with Shuizhongyue and Afei. He turned to Afei, who was staring blankly, and said, "How about that? That's a high-level sword technique from Huashan. It's different to see it in person, isn't it? It's much better than reading a novel. If you work hard, you can learn it too and experience it yourself."

Afei was silent for a long time, then muttered, "For no reason, how can there be a bandit in an uninhabited valley? Who would he rob? He would have starved to death long ago."

Jingzhongren spat out a mouthful of blood and ignored him, giving up on trying to get Afei to join the game. Little did he know that Afei was also amazed by the Death-Dealing Three Immortal Swords, but he didn't want to show it. The game was indeed well-made, bringing the martial arts techniques from novels to life, making them dazzling to watch. The Death-Dealing Three Immortal Swords was a high-level sword technique from Huashan, and he remembered from the novels that it was used by the Sword Sect to kill many people from the Qi Sect during their conflict...

If a high-level technique was this impressive, what about the ultimate techniques? What about the legendary Nine Swords of Dugu? He was momentarily captivated and followed Luorui and the others deeper into the valley. They encountered more bandits and robbers along the way, but Luorui and the others dealt with them one by one. The valley had few players, so there weren't many NPC monsters. During this time, Jingzhongren and Shuizhongyue also joined the fight, using a dual-person martial arts technique, a combination of a sword and a knife, which was quite powerful. Afei asked about the name of their martial arts technique, wondering if it was the legendary "Couple's Knife Technique," but they laughed at him.

"This is a common intermediate technique from the Snow Mountain Sect, called Sword and Knife Combination. When combined, it has the power of a high-level technique," Shuizhongyue explained. "The Couple's Knife Technique is an ultimate technique that appeared in the novel 'Duck and Knife.' We can't learn it. The Snow Mountain Sect doesn't have such ultimate techniques; you need to complete other quests to learn them. If we learned the Couple's Knife Technique, we could dominate the world."

"Learning the Quanzhen Sword Technique and the Jade Maiden Sword Technique would also make us invincible with a dual-sword combination. Unfortunately, we need to join two different sects," Jingzhongren sighed. "We don't want to be separated."

"Go to hell, who said we're a couple?" Shuizhongyue laughed and scolded.

They continued walking and stopping, and finally, they stopped in front of a cliff. The cliff was covered with vines, making it hard to see its true form. Luorui stepped forward and used a beautiful Huashan sword technique to cut through the plants, revealing the true face of the cliff. Afei was speechless, admiring the creativity of the game designers.

On the cliff, there was a cave entrance, clearly the entrance to the hidden valley. Above the entrance, a few simple words were written, filled with profound insights and a sense of returning to simplicity.

The words were "Hidden Valley."

The four of them were stunned. Even though Luorui and the others had seen it before, they still mourned the depth of the designer's thoughts. After a while, Luorui stepped forward and knocked on a stone next to the cave entrance. After a hollow sound, a person poked his head out, looking surprised at the four of them. "It's you guys again?"

This was an old man. He had an ordinary face, wore ordinary clothes, and spoke ordinary NPC dialogue. In short, he looked like an ordinary person, and he had nothing to do with any ultimate martial arts skills, as "Guardian" was written on his chest.

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