Chapter 14: Good Teacher and Helpful Friend

The three corpses on the ground were depressed!

In fact, if they managed to calm down, they would immediately figure out that the Tangmen in front of them was an expert.

However, the Tangmen’s kitting-style* of targeting their backs and hitting them from behind while they were unable to touch his clothes… How can they not hate it?

* methods of killing mobs or players while staying at a distance

All three of them were hot-blooded players and being killed this way made them angry enough to suffocate. Regardless of whether the Tangmen was an expert or a noob, they absolutely had to spray* back!

* verbal insults similar to trash talking

A smiling expression was sent from the [nearby] channel: “Get up and talk, why did you kill my teammate?”

Seeing this provocative sentence, Nepenthes immediately said: “This isn’t your family’s house. We also want to level up here! Are you a fucking noob? Do you still need me to explain why we rob the monsters?”

Tangmen sent a row of surprised expressions: “Yo, the thieves are so righteous*?”

* term used was 理直气壮 which is an idiom that basically means bold and confident like justice was on their side

Nepenthes angrily said, “None of your fucking business! I can rob whoever I like!”

Liu Chuan couldn’t help but laugh and clicked on his name to send a private message: “You’re so arrogant in online games. Does Captain Xiao know?”

When you receive a private message in the game, a “ding dong” sound will echo. When Nepenthes heard this familiar sound and saw the private message, he instantly remembered their sharp-eyed captain and he felt a chill on his back. He hurriedly typed and said: “What Captain Xiao? Our team is unworthy of Captain Xiao! What nonsense are you talking about!”

Helpless, Liu Chuan said, “XX grass, XX grass*, isn't it from the Seven Star Grass Guild! You think no one would know you if you hide the name of your guild?”

* Mimosa, Nepenthes, and Moon Grass are all types of plants which is the proof that they’re from the seven-star grass guild LOL

Nepenthes jumped about with a guilty conscience: “Fuck! What does killing you have something to do with the guild? I don’t find you pleasing to the eye and I want to kill you. So?”

Liu Chuan smiled: "Since you are here to level up, let's go together.”

Nepenthes was scolding him in his mind. He thought of his script and prepared to send his respects* but unexpectedly, his opponent changed directions and even wanted to level up with him. Nepenthes couldn’t react for a while and gave a blank expression before he snapped out of it: “…what?”

* To make offensive reference to (somebody dear to the person to whom one is speaking such as ‘fuck your sister/mother/uncle, etc.)

Liu Chuan typed: “I said team up together. There are 3 of you, and we are also 3 people. There are exactly 6 people in the group. 3+3=6. Ah, is your math taught by a physical education teacher? Let’s just team up, why is it necessary to rob each other?”

Nepenthes: “…………”

Liu Chuan said, “Well? Team up or not? A team of 6 people will get a 6% experience bonus. If you pull a lot of monsters at a time, the upgrade will be faster.”

Nepenthes: “…………”

Liu Chuan: Come, come! Join the team quickly. You’re a Shaolin so you can help pull monsters while the two Wudangs help us fight the monsters together.”

Nepenthes: “…………”

Nepenthes was hit in a chaotic manner.

This script… is abnormal? Just a moment ago, they killed each other angrily. Shouldn’t the next line be: “Just you wait. I will definitely kill you until you cry and delete your account” or “I’ll hold this grudge in my heart and ask my brothers to kill you…”

Why are we suddenly discussing teaming up with harmony and affection?!

Nepenthes stared at the computer screen with a red face. After a while, he privately messaged his teammates and asked: “The Tangmen chatted with me and said that we should team up and fight together. What do you think?”

Mimosa: “…………”

Moon Grass: “…………”

Both of them didn’t know what to do. The progress of this god-like storyline made the three of them collectively speechless.

Liu Chuan smiled and typed, “You don’t want to? Then you can continue lying down. Don’t regret it!”

Nepenthes: “…………”

The three of them lay on the ground and stared at the Tangmen with wide eyes. After looking at them for a while, they suddenly felt like an idiot, so they silently returned to the main city to resurrect.

***

At that moment, the Seven Star Grass Guild channel exploded. When the three of them died just now, a system prompt popped up on the guild channel--

Guild Member [Nepenthes] was brutally killed by [Immortal] in the stronghold of the bandit captain in the Eastern Suburbs of Chengdu.

Guild Member [Mimosa] was brutally killed by [Immortal] in the stronghold of the bandit captain in the Eastern Suburbs of Chengdu.

Guild Member [Moon Grass] was brutally killed by [Immortal] in the stronghold of the bandit captain in the Eastern Suburbs of Chengdu.

Three consecutive prompts appeared in the channel making the guild members blow up. Some people who didn’t know the truth asked: “Why did so many people in the guild die? Three people died together, were they fighting the boss?”

There were even some foolish novices who were asking: “Which boss is Immortal? What a strange name! How come I haven’t heard of it?!”

Someone who knew the rules of the game back and forth weakly reminded: “This should be a person… a game player.”

Everyone was shocked!

Alone?! One player against three? Not to mention, the three players who were killed just now were guild experts!

Heartbroken Grass, who was the guild leader of the Seven Star Grass Guild, was originally doing tasks with the elite members of the guild. He couldn’t help but frown upon seeing the news and immediately sent a private chat to the protagonist of the incident: “What’s going on? All three of you were wiped out by the same person?”

Nepenthes: “…….”

Heartbroken Grass: “Don’t dawdle! Explain quickly!”

Nepenthes explained bitterly: “Guild Leader, we went up to the stronghold of the Bandit Captain in Chengdu since we didn’t want to do the primary tasks. In the end, that place was already occupied. I wanted to kill them first and ask the other guild members to brush up monsters together…”

Heartbroken Grass frowned: “As a result, you were the one killed instead?”

Nepenthes sent a row of crying expressions: “President, help us seek revenge!”

Heartbroken Grass wondered: “What’s the Tangmen’s origin?”

Nepenthes answered: “I don’t know. Level 27, no guild, playing Concealed Weapon School, and the light work skills are very impressive.” Nepenthes was embarrassed to say that all three of them were killed by such a low-level skill bereavement nail. That was really too embarrassing…

As the guild leader of the Seven Star Grass Guild, Heartbroken Grass was obviously calmer. After thinking about it, he said: “Little Swine*, let me give you a task.”

* part of Nepenthes ID’ in cn; it’s a nickname

Nepenthes’ eyes lit up: “Guild Leader, are you going to take our brothers, destroy that Tangmen, and avenge us?! Great, Guild Leader!

Heartbroken Grass said calmly: “Go and ask him if he wants to join our guild.”

Nepenthes blanked out before he sent a row of horrified expressions: “What?!”

Heartbroken Grass spoke seriously: “He hasn’t joined a guild yet. This kind of master must be won over immediately! Don’t tell me, you want to be killed by him a few more times? Relying on your level?”

“……..” Nepenthes was about to cry.

The guild leader smiled and said: “I’ll leave this arduous task to you. Go, Little Swine. Jiayou*!”

* cheering on

“……..” Nepenthes’ heart is about to break.

***

In Chengdu Bandit Captain Stronghold, Li Xiang began to send a QQ message after seeing the Tangmen kill the three people impressively: “Master, master, I met a Tangmen expert in the game! That man was so amazing, killing three people in one go!”

Liu Chuan smiled, not the very least ashamed: “Really? So impressive?”

Ideal Master: “Yeah! Let me show you a screenshot! His name is Immortal, an expert in the Tangmen Concealed Weapon School. He’s quite good with backstabbing people with poisoned nails! Watching him play Tangmen, I realized that the Tangmen I used to play could soar like this.”

Liu Chuan continued to smile: “It’s good that you know. Concentrate on playing Shaolin in the future.”

Ideal Master: “Got it!”

Liu Chuan said, "Stop chatting, go and level up!”

Li Xiang sent a wave goodbye expression, and immediately went back to the game interface.

In the game, after the three of them left, Li Xiang and Wu Zewen got up from the ground, and the three-person team continued to fight monsters leisurely according to the method just now.

Liu Chuan asked on the team channel: “Why were you so nervous when they opened up the vendetta mode just now? You two still lack experience in PK’s, right?”

Li Xiang said embarrassedly: “Elder Brother Tangmen, you’re already an expert but we are still lacking by a lot. I just changed into Shaolin and I don’t know its skills. This is the first time my friend—the Five Poison—has played online games.”

Wu Zewen asked seriously: “What should I do?”

Liu Chuan asked: “What school* would you like to play?”

* Remember that the Five Poison Sect has three different schools: Long Whip, Mending Heaven, and Poisonous Insect

Wu Zewen said: “I'd like to take the Poisonous Insect School. It will be more interesting that way.”

Liu Chuan couldn’t help himself from smiling. Wu Zewen’s earnestness is rare. It’s not easy to play the Five Poison’s Poisonous Insect School but if he manages to play well, he will undoubtedly become an amazing expert. He has a good chance of winning against any sect.

Liu Chuan thought for a moment before he said: “When you’re free, go to the official website of the Seven Star Grass Team and find the first-perspective video of a player called Wheel of Reincarnation. If you have spare time, do more research.”

Wu Zewen never heard of who “Wheel of Reincarnation” was but he admired the Tangmen’s swift operations just now. After the master spoke, Wu Zewen who was a novice in the game, naturally believed him and said without hesitation: “Okay, I’ll go back and check it out.”

Li Xiang saw Wu Zewen believing the Tangmen to watch the videos. He couldn’t help but open QQ and sent his master a private message: “Master, master, you* are playing Shaolin. Whose Shaolin video strategy do you think I should watch?”

* Remember that Liu Chuan asked Qin Ye to beat up Li Xiang using a Shaolin account so Li Xiang thought the person he was chatting is the person who beat him using the Shaolin account

Liu Chuan: “…….”

Your master is going to be tortured to death by you! Tut, this QQ game is really tiring.

Liu Chuan used his trumpet to go to the New District bringing these two novices with him and didn’t tell Li Xiang that he was his master. The reason was quite simple: if Li Xiang knew he was his master, these two novices would absolutely have the “blind obedience” mentality towards him and always “listening to the master” and everything they do would be based on the master making them unable to think independently for themselves.

What Liu Chuan wants to cultivate are independent players who have their own opinions and can analyze problems by themselves, rather than obedient babies*.

* Wu Zewen can be your baby ;) ;)

That’s why he lurked as a stranger beside the two novices, pointing the right way when they take roundabout ways that waste their time.

It’s just that when Li Xiang asks, Liu Chuan has to switch from his student QQ to his trumpet. Indeed, it was really tiring to meet this foolish apprentice.

Li Xiang was still asking: “Master? Is there a great god in Shaolin who records strategies?”

Liu Chuan said, “Wait a minute, let me think about it.”

The best Shaolin player, of course, belongs to the Seven Star Grass Team: Xiao Sijing, the captain with the ID Master Sansi. However, due to his duties as captain: managing the team’s training, and accepting various interviews, he’s unable to record any strategies for the Shaolin. The little sister Xu Xinran of the Chang’an Team also plays Shaolin but was relatively lowkey. She doesn’t like to record strategies or accept interviews; even her Weibo is the kind that’s only used for reading and scrolling.

If he thinks about it carefully, it seems that there are really no Shaolin masters who are willing to record strategies in the professional circle?

Liu Chuan had no choice but to say helplessly: “There are very few professional players in Shaolin who record videos publicly, but there are some good ones among common players. You can go to the Shaolin Sect Essence Area of the forum to find PK* videos. Watch a few more games by the Seven Star Grass Team.”

* player kill videos or player vs player

Hearing what Master Li Xiang said, he immediately realized: “I see, Master, do you want me to learn the consciousness and operation of Captain Xiao?”

Liu Chuan smiled: “You still can't learn Team Xiao's consciousness and operation. What you have to learn from him now are Shaolin's basic conditions.”

Li Xiang immediately realized.

Master is right. Captain Xiao is the first Shaolin player in the professional circle and the captain of the Seven Star Grass Team. If he can learn his consciousness and operation, wouldn’t he be considered a genius? Learn Shaolin’s basic conditions? It seems that another mysterious door has opened in front of Li Xiang's eyes.……

Liu Chuan sent an expression of encouragement with a pat on the shoulder: “Shaolin is the profession that most needs to look at the big picture. If one day, you lead a group to play a large-scale competition, lead a team to play in the arena, or follow the team to participate in a large-scale competition, as a Shaolin, you must always remember that you are the most solid support for the entire team!”

Li Xiang still remembers this sentence a long time later--

As a Shaolin, you are the most solid support for the entire team!

As a Shaolin, when your teammates attack, they must rush to the forefront as a shield and attract a lot of aggro* because they have thick skin and thick flesh. When your teammates retreat, they must be at the rear to help their teammates resist the damage!

* aggro or hate which is to prioritize which character to attack first. Thick skin = higher defenses

Shaolin is a tank meat shield…

But it is also the most solid support in the hearts of his teammates!

Li Xiang suddenly remembered what he dared to say a few days ago: “I feel that the Shaolin is only useful for instances and is fairly useless when playing in arenas!”

In retrospect, Li Xiang really feels ashamed.

Liu Chuan sent a smile: "Jiayou.”

Student Li Xiang was very moved. He posted a large row of hugging expressions on the QQ window, followed by a sentence: “Thank you, Master!”

Liu Chuan smiled at the computer without saying a word.

This foolish apprentice is finally on the right path as planned.

Liu Chuan believes that with Li Xiang's hand speed and comprehension, he will soon be able to turn into a great master!