Chapter 88

In the wild area around the Defias Lookout, a paradise for new players, ...

...

...

In recent days, most of the newbies who have been hanging around this area have witnessed a miraculous scene: a level 20+ mage, dressed in tattered robes, would cast a long-range "Arcane Shot" at a monster from a distance, then rush over to let the monster beat him up. Just as the audience was about to shout "What the hell," they would exclaim again:

"Feichai Brother!!!"

Next, posts with titles like "Overwhelmed, Feichai Brother Finally Goes Crazy in the Whirlpool of Emotions" would flood the forums. A heated debate about "Feichai Brother's" sexual orientation and its impact on his mental state would inevitably follow. Everyone would passionately analyze "Feichai Brother's" situation and his private life, with some eloquent keyboard warriors proudly satisfying their vanity... In short, all the posts would be filled with endless discussions of these off-the-wall theories.

Very few people could see that Alpha was actually grinding his martial arts proficiency. At most, some would say that "Feichai Brother" was forced to train in "Resilience Mastery" to endure the whip and candle torture from the Shadow Goddess Shar. "Resilience Mastery" is one of the few specializations that improve by taking hits, reducing physical damage by a few percentage points for every 10 levels gained.

—Isn't that an improvement? At least Alpha's scandals now involve a beautiful goddess rather than just Lancelot and a few muscular male deities...

Alright, enough nonsense, let's get to the main point. As the saying goes, "Hard work pays off," especially when you're genuinely practicing "kung fu." The process becomes even more straightforward:

When the "Demon Beacon" shone a bit brighter and there was still over an hour before Alpha's scheduled logout time, "Gut Strengthening Technique" and "Sleeve Arrow" finally reached level 9 one after another.

Of course, the long-awaited martial arts advancement quest notifications promptly appeared:

["Sleeve Arrow" has reached the maximum level and meets the conditions for advancement. Do you wish to enter the "Heroic Space" to complete the martial arts acquisition quest?]

["Gut Strengthening Technique" has reached the maximum level and meets the conditions for advancement. Do you wish to enter the "Heroic Space" to complete the martial arts acquisition quest?]

Rome wasn't built in a day, and martial arts advancement quests should be taken one at a time. It seemed that the time had finally come to start the "Gut Strengthening Technique" advancement quest that Alpha had been dreaming of...

—However... Alpha chose "Sleeve Arrow" first...

Indeed, Alpha most hoped to see a new internal technique, but unfortunately, our protagonist has a habit of saving the best for last. Some say this is a form of OCD, so the internal technique advancement quest that Alpha was most hopeful and excited about was postponed.

(For example, leaving the best piece of meat for last when eating, many readers probably have this kind of OCD, right?)

In fact, Alpha soon paid a small price for his OCD, not a big one, but a price nonetheless...

[Sleeve Arrow (Level 9): A 1st-grade weapon martial art. Use to launch ranged attacks with hidden weapons, which are hard to defend against.

Deals (Ranged Attack Damage + Hidden Weapon Damage + Base Agility/2 + Base Strength/2 + Additional Agility/4 + Additional Strength/4) x 180% physical damage to a single target;

No casting time,

Casting interval: Based on unarmed attack speed,

Attack range: 0-30 yards,

Mana cost: 0,

Requirement: Hidden weapon (short crossbow bolt or small object);

Internal energy effect: Increases the maximum range and damage of the hidden weapon, adding 10 yards of maximum range and internal energy damage for every 10 points of internal energy used, with a maximum of 108 points of internal energy.]

["Sleeve Arrow" has reached the maximum level and meets the conditions for advancement. Do you wish to enter the "Heroic Space" to complete the martial arts acquisition quest?]

Like "Swift Shadow" and "Pressure Point Strike," martial arts that reach level 9 but haven't completed the advancement quest still retain their level 8 attributes.

Alpha then checked his quest log:

"Do you accept 'The Lute and Flute Sorrow'?

Quest objective: Engage with Dashaoyang Hand Fei Bin and rescue Qu Feixue. Quest level: B. During the quest, you cannot use any spells or items from the Azeroth plane."

The quest level B is the same as "Crane Wing Flight," suggesting that the difficulty of martial arts advancement quests is somewhat related to whether there is a boss in the quest. For example, "Red Flower Plunder" involves dealing with a group of minor enemies and is a B- quest.

It's unclear if there will be A-level or higher quests in the future. If one could learn "Dugu Nine Swords" or "Six Pulse Divine Sword," it would likely be S-level or even SSS.

The name "The Lute and Flute Sorrow" doesn't seem to have any connection to hidden weapon techniques, but considering that "Red Flower Plunder" also doesn't seem to have any connection to finger techniques, it's not surprising.

What truly troubled Alpha about "The Lute and Flute Sorrow" was the quest content:

—Dashaoyang Hand Fei Bin? The system must be overestimating me to pit me against such a formidable opponent. What does "engage" mean? Is it like dealing with Yun Zhonghe?

It's certain that this engagement won't be as simple as "Crane Wing Flight." Fei Bin, while not as powerful as masters like Zuo Lengshan or Mo Da, is still one of the top experts in the Five Mountains Sword Sect, far superior to the likes of Yu Zhenhai's minions or Yun Zhonghe.

Even the skilled Mo Da had to rely on a sneak attack to gain the upper hand, and whether he could have killed Fei Bin without it is uncertain. Not to mention how Fei Bin brutally defeated Linghu Chong.

Even if Linghu Chong hadn't learned "Dugu Nine Swords" at that time, Alpha knew he was far from Linghu Chong's level. Alpha was well aware of his own martial arts skills—against the initial Linghu Chong, he was far behind. He might have a chance against Lin Zhenan, but against the Four Heroes of Qingcheng, he could barely handle one.

In the best-case scenario, he was on par with Lu Dayou and Yin Bailuo.

Linghu Chong, the top disciple of Huashan, could easily deal with the Four Heroes of Qingcheng, though not a supreme expert, was a leader among the new generation.

If even Linghu Chong was beaten to a pulp by Fei Bin, how many moves could Lu Dayou and Yin Bailuo withstand?

After reviewing the quest description for "The Lute and Flute Sorrow" again, Alpha confirmed that the objective was to rescue Qu Feixue, the granddaughter of the demon sect elder Qu Yang, who was killed by Fei Bin. This made Alpha feel a bit more at ease.

"It's an engagement, thank goodness it's just an engagement."

If the quest required him to defeat Fei Bin, it would likely be at least an A-level quest, and he would need Mo Da's skills.

According to the original story, Linghu Chong and his companions were beaten to a pulp, with some dying and others injured. In the end, Mo Da launched a sneak attack and killed Fei Bin, saving Linghu Chong. If that's the case... Alpha had some ideas.

—In other words, the key is to stall? Specifically, just stall until Mo Da arrives?

... Alpha carefully recalled this part of the story:

Linghu Chong and Yilin encountered Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang in the wilderness, both of whom had their heart meridians severed. They used their last bit of internal energy to perform a lute and flute duet, but Dashaoyang Hand Fei Bin suddenly appeared.

Linghu Chong tried to stop him but failed, and Liu and Qu were too weak to resist. In the end, Fei Bin killed Qu Feixue with a single strike. Although Mo Da later killed Fei Bin in a sneak attack, Liu and Qu still died together...

The quest now required Qu Feixue to survive—thinking about Qu Feixue's death, Alpha felt a surge of anger.

While the two old men's decision to die together was understandable, it was infuriating that the innocent and adorable Qu Feixue was also killed by Fei Bin.

Every time Alpha read this part, he blamed Qu Yang for not protecting his granddaughter. Qu Yang was in his sixties, so his death was understandable, but Qu Feixue, a young girl in her teens, shouldn't have been dragged into this.

As Qu Feixue's only relative and elder, shouldn't Qu Yang have used his remaining internal energy to protect her first before playing music with Liu Zhengfeng?

Putting that aside, there was a more serious issue:

—Qu Feixue, the little girl, rushed out to challenge Fei Bin on her own.

Qu Feixue's skills were no threat to Fei Bin, but her bold move made it easy for Fei Bin to kill her. As the first victim of Fei Bin's sword, Qu Feixue's death was meaningless.

How to keep Qu Feixue from rushing out and fighting to the death was something Alpha had to think about carefully.

Rescuing Qu Feixue was a dream for many martial arts fans, and Alpha was no exception. The "The Lute and Flute Sorrow" quest resonated with him emotionally...

Clearly, stopping Fei Bin and engaging with him couldn't be done with just the injured Linghu Chong and himself.

In the original story, the five people present, excluding Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang, were no match for Fei Bin. The two experts who could have fought him had exhausted their internal energy.

... These two were so obsessed with their music that if they hadn't been so distracted, it might have been easier to handle Fei Bin.

Without Liu and Qu's help, Fei Bin would play with them like a cat with a mouse. Killing the five, including Yilin, would be a matter of five sword strikes. Even with Alpha, it would just be more mice. How to protect Qu Feixue in this situation, especially when she might not listen to him, was a challenge.

After much thought, Alpha realized that keeping Qu Feixue alive until Mo Da arrived would be difficult. Nonetheless, he decided to accept the quest "The Lute and Flute Sorrow." The world darkened, and he found himself leaving the Defias Lookout...

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