chapter 21: goddess emei

In fact, the disconnection couldn’t really be blamed on Liu Chuan this time. Currently, the entire Tsinghua Internet Cafe was full of exploding obscene language.

A soft voice from the wireless speaker sounded above their heads: “I’m very sorry to all the friends who came to the internet cafe. Due to the fifth floor of the cafe being renovated, we are experiencing connection problems and need to be disconnected for two hours between 7:00 and 9:00. Please settle as soon as possible and come back in two hours. Those guests who were affected by the internet outage do not need to pay for the bill tonight…”

“Internet cafes need to be disconnected? What the hell is this?!”

“The fifth floor is being renovated, and it is said that the scale of this Internet cafe will be expanded again! The fifth floor is full of VIP private rooms!”

“Ah fuck! I was playing in the arena just now! Ah, it’s really annoying to go offline halfway through the game!”

A group of people next to him were excited. Some people hurriedly withdrew from the game, and some were still beating the table hard. The speaker above their heads repeated the announcement again and Liu Chuan had no choice but to withdraw from the game.

—Well. You* played in the arena and had to quit halfway through, pitting some of your teammates.

* Plural you

—I was getting married! Halfway through the marriage, I got disconnected! What should I do if I get cheated by the guests?!

A group of people swore and walked out. Fortunately, the temptation of the compensation that everything was free of charge tonight is high enough to make a lot of people accept the situation.

Liu Chuan happened to be hungry, so he simply searched for a place to eat.

7 o’clock is the peak time for dinner and a lot of small shops were full. Liu Chuan found a noodle shop that was fairly vacant and sat down. As soon as he ordered a meal, he heard a familiar voice.

Li Xiang said as he walked, laughing merrily: “Zewen, what do you think is the Tangmen’s mood now? Halfway through the marriage the bride suddenly disappeared. He must be very angry, right?”

Liu Chuan: “......”

He’s not mad, he’s sitting here and eating well!

Wu Zewen said, “The power interruption will last for two hours. Let’s explain it to him after it comes back.”

Unexpectedly, the two walked over and saw Liu Chuan.

Surprised, Li Xiang asked, “Liu Chu? You’re here too?”

Liu Chuan smiled, “Well, I’ve come to eat dinner.”

Li Xiang walked over and sat at the same table. “I originally wanted to take you to the new district together but you already disappeared when I got up at noon today. I could only come with Zewen. There’s a lot of people in the new districts this time!”

Liu Chuan said, “It’s normal for new districts to be full.”

Wu Zewen also walked over, sat down, and picked up the menu. He asked, “What do you want to eat?

Li Xiang said boldly: “Order whatever you want, my treat!”

Classmate Li Xiang is very straightforward and especially loves to treat his friends. Liu Chuan and Wu Zewen didn’t treat him politely and each ordered a bowl of noodles. In addition, Li Xiang ordered shredded seaweed dressed with sauce and simmer-fried chicken wings as side dishes.

While waiting for the food to be served, Li Xiang started small-talk with Liu Chuan. “Liu Chuan, let me tell you something very funny. Zewen plays a female account in the new district and met a fool when he was promoted to level 30. That fool didn’t figure out who Zewen was and actually proposed to him directly!”

Liu Chuan: “......”

Classmate, that idiot is right in front of you…

Li Xiang continued, “That person definitely didn’t know that Zewen was a man and only proposed because he saw the beautiful appearance of the Five Poisons. He definitely has ill intentions.”

Liu Chuan: “......”

Li Xiang looked at Zewen again and said solemnly, “Zewen, this is the first time you’ve played only games and you don’t know that there are a lot of wretched people. Some scumbags have girlfriends at home but still, look for lovers on the internet! All kinds of internet love are very complicated. When he asks to add you in QQ, send him photos and videos, you must directly delete his contact.”

Liu Chuan couldn’t help but cough at Li Xiang’s words: “Kekeke*…”

* Sound of coughing

Fortunately, Wu Zewen was not influenced by Li Xiang and said calmly, “He shouldn’t be a liar. He already knows that I am a man.”

Li Xiang was surprised. “Did you tell him?”

Wu Zewen nodded. “Yeah, when he proposed to me. I told him I was a man and he said he didn’t mind. Getting married is only to do tasks faster and besides, his level is so high and he’s much better than us. I don’t think we have anything of value for him that is worth cheating.”

Li Xiang: “......”

Do you have to be so direct?

Looking at Li Xiang’s defeated expression, Liu Chuan felt very comfortable. His family’s Zewen is indeed very wise!

Wu Zewen continued, “Before, in the Bandit Village, he easily killed the Three Grasses. He’s obviously a master. He didn’t even mind you having a vendetta against him and taught you how to do the light step skills. Rather than cheat, I think he wants to take us along, right?”

Li Xiang was depressed. “...why are you giving him a lot of praise?”

Wu Zewen said calmly, “What I said were facts.”

Li Xiang: “......”

Next to him, Liu Chuan was smiling as he drank his tea.

It was the right decision to marry this Zewen, who was sweet enough to protect him everywhere!

When he heard Wu Zewen praise him, Liu Chuan was in a very happy mood, especially when he sees the depressed and defeated expression on classmate Li Xiang’s face! This type of happiness that’s built on the pain of others makes this feeling even stronger.

Food is served quickly and three hungry boys finished the meals on the whole table in just ten minutes.

After eating, Li Xiang proposed. “Zewen, I’m going to the Internet cafe all night tonight. You?”

Wu Zewen hesitated for a moment, nodded, and said, “Then, I’ll go too.”

In fact, Wu Zewen has always been a good student ever since he was a child, spending a lot of time in the library and rarely in places like internet cafes. It was his first time playing in the Internet cafe today and it’s unimaginable for him to spend the entire night in an internet cafe but for some reason, Zewen felt it was normal. He also wanted to upgrade quickly. Anyway, tomorrow is the weekend so it’s fine if you stay up all night.

Mind made up, Wu Zewen said, “I’ll go back, take a shower and change clothes. I’ll go to the internet cafe to find you at 9 o’clock.”

Li Xiang said, “Okay. Then, I’ll go back to the dormitories to take a shower. Remember to bring a coat. If you get blown by the air conditioner in the middle of the night, you’d catch a cold.”

Wu Zewen nodded. “Okay.”

Li Xiang turned to Liu Chuan and asked, “Liu Chuan, are you going?”

Liu Chuan smiled. “You guys go.”

Li Xiang didn’t try to persuade him. He took out his wallet to pay the bill and the three of them went back to school together.

Of course Liu Chuan is going to stay up all night but it’s hard to tell his intentions to the two people with him.

He didn’t want to deliberately lie to these two people. It’s just that, with teaching, it’s more effective if the master maintains a sense of mystery. Li Xiang is full of admiration for his master now and will listen to whatever his master says. If he lets him know that his master is his roommate in front of him, the effect will be greatly reduced.

In the beginning, Liu Chuan suggested he play Shaolin but he immediately refused. “You don’t understand, what’s so fun about the Shaolin…”

However, after Qin Ye oppressed him in the game, he admired the Shaolin so much enough to prostrate himself.

The more mysterious and unfathomable the master, the more people will admire and be in awe of it. On the contrary, if you know him, even if you know he is good, it would be very difficult to connect him with the great god in your mind. Once Li Xiang knows that his master is his roommate, then it would be very awkward to guide him in person.

The so-called “to wither in the light of day* in online games” is true.

* Disappointment especially after anticipating the first meeting

Their current status is very good. Liu Chuan has no plans to reveal his identity and wither in the light of day for the time being.

It’s not too late to talk about it when Li Xiang and Wu Zewen have fully mastered the characteristics of their own schools and graduated from Liu Chuan’s tutelage…

***

When they returned to the dormitory, Yang Tao and Zhu Xiaoyu, their other roommates in 301, were playing arena with the others.

Li Xiang leaned in front of his roommate’s computer, looking at the game.

Zhu Xiaoyu turned his head and asked, “Chief, how’s the new district? It’s swarming with people in there!”

Li Xiang nodded. “Yeah. This time, the upgrade expansion updated a lot of content. A lot of major guilds entered the new area as well as new players settling in. The novice village of Shuilong Yin has already opened eight lines. It’s really crowded!”

Li Xiang paused and asked, “Are you still playing in the arena?”

Zhu Xiaoyu nodded. “All the points after the new season goes back to zero. A lot of people have changed their equipment and outfits trying to experiment.”

For the past six years of Wulin, it has maintained a tradition: every summer from July to September, the annual expansion will be updated and new areas will be opened. At the same time, the arenas in the online games will start a new season and all points will be cleared back to zero.

Of course, the battle level will not be cleared. For example, you’re already in the fourth battle level. At the beginning of the new season, you can continue to play from the fourth battle level but the points previously accumulated will go back to 0. Points are converted to Jiange points which are used to buy new equipment in the Jiange Pavilion.

The setting of the Jiange Pavilion in the game is a “neutral force in Jianghu that collects various outstanding weapons.” Every year, masters from various schools will be invited to hold a Sword Appreciation Conference, which is in relation to the game’s plot missions and instances. The updated content of this expansion is part of the main storyline of the 24 weapons of the Jiange Pavilion.

After a player reaches level 70, the clothes, handguards, etc. can be exchanged for various stalls in the district or dropped in bulk during a boss instance but weapons are different. The 70-level instance doesn’t drop weapons. To get the best weapon, one must rely on the Jiange Pavilion points or exchange precious materials for a sword in the Jiange Pavilion.

The Jiang Pavilion will also announce the ranking of best-sellers according to Jianghu’s players which can be used to compare and contrast the equipment data in the game.

Li Xiang asked curiously, “By the way, has anyone changed to the new orange equipment?”

Zhu Xiaoyu said, “In the list of exchange records of the Jiange Pavilion, almost all of the professional players of the seventh rank have changed to orange equipment.”

Li Xiang nodded. “Yes. Looking at the arena points for the Jiange Pavilion, only the god-like players of the seventh rank have enough points. However, professional players don’t have much time to play the online game so they probably experimented or changed their weapons…”

As he was talking, the world channel in the lower-left corner suddenly swiped a line of golden characters—--

The Emei Disciple [Ye Se*], who ranks first in the Wulin Battle Level list, is online!

* Kept the previous TL’s choice; means the dim light of night

At the sudden announcement, Li Xiang’s eyes lit up as he looked at the lower-left corner of the screen in disbelief, and then entered excitement mode: “Ye Se is online? Why is a professional player here in the online game? I’m not hallucinating, right? Is it to exchange new orange equipment?”

Zhu Xiaoyu smiled and said, “You’re not hallucinating. It’s really the Goddess Ye Se you admire the most.”

Yang Tao patted him on the arm and said, “Come on, find your goddess for an autograph!”

Classmate Li Xiang scratched his head in puzzlement before giggling at the screen.

Liu Chuan: “..........”

The one in front of me is a real fanboy!

But classmate, do you know that your “Goddess Ye Se” is actually a man?!

Liu Chuan resisted with great difficulty to tell him the truth and silently took out his mobile phone. He sent a message with his QQ: “You forgot to put your status to invisible.”

Three seconds later, the world channel swiped another line of golden characters—--

The Emei Disciple [Ye Se*], who ranks first in the Wulin Battle Level list, is offline!

Then, Liu Chuan’s mobile phone vibrated in his pockets, a reply to the message he sent just now. It was two simple and crude punctuation marks: “!!”

The two exclamation marks represented the depressed mood Qin Ye was in.

Liu Chuan happily replied with a row of: Hahaha.

The online and offline time was merely three seconds. Although it was only short-lived*, the world channel went crazy and out of control--

* Phrase used is flash in the pain

“Oh my god! Was the great Goddess Ye Se really online?!”

“Goddess Ye Se! Begging for abuse and guidance in the arena!”

“Emei disciples have come to worship the goddess!”

“Emei disciples have come to worship the goddess +1!”

“Emei disciples have come to worship the goddess +2!”

“Emei disciples have come to worship the goddess +3!”

“Emei disciples have come to worship the goddess +10086…”

At the peak of the evening, there were so many online players that people were dazzled at the speed of the screen being swiped up and soon, hundreds of people lined up to worship.

Zhu Xiaoyu and the others happen to be in the old district. Players can enter the “Wulin Conference” cross-service arena after reaching the full level.

The setting of the cross-service arena is naturally to facilitate random qualifying matches. All the masters in the whole region get together to play random qualifying matches which is definitely more exciting than a server where so many players mutually abuse each other.

Ye Se, who is ranked first in the Emei battle level, was announced on the cross-service arena of the Wulin Conference. Just now, all full-level players who played qualifying matches could see the system announcement.

Just the announcement of Ye Se going online was enough to cause a frenzy in the world channel. It’s naturally because of the successful development of the professional leagues in the past few years that the sharp and impressive operation level of professional players has gradually formed the “celebrity effect”. Many professional players have a large number of fans, especially players with Ye Se’s level. They are the top gods at the list of the popularity rankings!

——Ye Se, real name: Qin Ye, vice-captain of the Chang’an Team, top Emei in the professional circle and is known in Wulin for his sharp assassination skills.

Qin Ye is rated as the “strongest assassin in the league” by netizens. He’s been selected as the “representative of Emei Claw School” for the annual All-Star Invitational Tournament and is ranked in the top ten popular players every year.

It can be said that Qin Ye of the Emei Claw is one of the top professional league god-level players who is on par with Liu Chuan’s Tangmen and Xiao Sijing’s Shaolin.

The beautifully designed costumes of the Emei sect tend to be pink and white. Therefore, the Emei sect is also the sect with the most female players among the eight major sects in the online game. In order to take care of the girls, the officials designed the gentle style of the Emei players very carefully—--

Qin* School, weapon: Guqin**, can add blood to teammates and has a very strong healing ability. It’s very popular as a healing profession in both the arena and online games.

* Musical instruments

** Picture below

(Image: Picture)

Zheng School, weapon: Guzheng*, is an all-rounded support player that can increase the advantage of their teammates and has the most auxiliary abilities.

* Picture below

(Image: Picture)

The above two schools have a large number of loyal female players. Healers and support’s who add blood and mana are designed to be very gentle in terms of image and skills. They are very popular in instances and on the battlefield. Suitable for the gentle people who don’t like to fight and kill.

…Think that the Emei Sect is full of soft persimmons*? Then that would lead to your downfall!

* Weak or pushovers

The Emei Sect also has a very violent offensive school: the Claw School.

Claw School, weapon: sharp claws with the Nine Yin White Bone Claw as its core nucleus. Its close-range attacks require accurate judgment operations. As long as one claw hits the eyes, heart, abdomen, or other key parts, it causes a very terrifying bleeding effect. The bleeding effect will lead to continuous blood loss and the damage is very high. Therefore, the Emei Claw School is also considered a super sharp “close assassin” type.

Because most of the Emei Claw’s skills are single attack skills and the accuracy requirements are extremely high, there aren’t a lot of people who could play Emei Claw very well in online games. However, in the major professional leagues, Emei Claw is one of the most common schools and Qin Ye, the vice-captain of the Chang’an team, is considered the representative of that school.

As a result, Qin Ye became the most popular professional player among the Emei players and is revered as “Elder Sister” by the Emei players while because of her gender, is called as the “goddess” in the heart of countless otaku*.

* Japanese term: men with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga, and video games

It’s a pity that many people don’t know that their Goddess Ye Se of the Emei Sect is actually a man……