5: Chapter 5 Warriors: The Correct Way to Play the Game

Having delivered the food, Uncle Luo turned and sternly warned the two of them, "Anything related to martial artists, don't get close and don't ask questions. Laying low is the ultimate principle."

"This is advice from my own experience."

Patting their shoulders, Uncle Luo took a very long bamboo pole and pushed the food into the depths of the Dungeon.

Deep within the Dungeon, there was a person whose neck was firmly locked and whose limbs were pierced through by iron chains.

Long hair covered his blurred face; his head hung low, but his rising and falling chest and heavy breathing indicated he was still alive.

Despite such treatment, the Quasi-Martial Artist was still alive, showing just how tenacious his life force was.

"Stop looking, let's go."

Uncle Luo seemed very wary of the person in the deepest part of the Dungeon; after delivering the food... he hurriedly led the two away.

Along the way, Chen Yichuan lowered his head in thought... Martial artists, Astral Qi.

Martial artists might very well be the correct way to enter the Profound Realm.

...

In the Ding-class room, by the table.

Chen Yichuan ate ravenously.

He was curious about martial artists, and at the same time, he suddenly thought of the Cat-faced Old Lady from the real world.

He couldn't help but ask softly, "Uncle Luo, what kind of world is this exactly? Since there are martial artists, are there also Monster or evil spirits?"

"Like the Cat-faced Person?"

Uncle Luo's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and he looked at him in shock. "Cat-faced Person? Where did you hear that from?"

Holy shit.

Seeing Uncle Luo's reaction, Chen Yichuan was momentarily stunned. "Uncle, I just read about it randomly in a storybook."

Cat-faced Person.

It seemed the Profound Realm had these things too.

I'm afraid this world doesn't just have martial artists and the martial world, but also Monster.

"Cat-faced Person? What's a Cat-faced Person? A person with a cat's face?" Eating a bun, a look of confusion flashed across Zhao Ritian's face.

Glancing at the idiot who only knew how to eat, Uncle Luo put down his chopsticks:

"When I was young, I did indeed encounter Monster. Not just the Cat-faced Person... I've seen all sorts of monsters that were hybrids of Monster and humans."

Monster.

Human-demon hybrid monsters.

Zhao Ritian was instantly intrigued and stopped eating his bun.

Seeing that the two were interested, Uncle Luo didn't hold anything back and shared what he had seen and heard in his youth.

Jiuzhou Nation.

The world is divided into nine provinces; Shuangjiang County where they are located is in Liang Province, on the southwestern border of the Jiuzhou Nation.

Decades ago, Monster ran rampant. Often, groups of Monster would gather not far from human villages, using humans as blood food to increase their strength.

In that era, the people suffered greatly; killings by Monster and Demon-men were extremely common.

However, once martial artists appeared, the situation was instantly reversed... Monster were killed, and the Demon-men, hybrids of Monster and humans, were driven into the deep mountains and old forests.

Nowadays, traces of them can still be found in some border regions, such as the Cat-faced Person and Minotaur.

But their numbers are now very few. Books and history regarding Monster have been suppressed by the Jiuzhou Nation and classified as forbidden books.

Uncle Luo sighed about having lived a long time, which was how he knew some of these secrets.

"Alright, you two boys... that's all I'll teach you for now. I'm going to take a nap; I'll leave this place to you two!" After saying this, Uncle Luo turned and left.

Ding-class cells.

Only the two players, whose worldviews were slightly crumbling, remained, staring at each other.

"Martial artists, so that's the correct way to play the game? Heh... six days of closed beta, and I've basically lived in vain." Zhao Ritian stared blankly, shaking his head in self-deprecation.

Six days?

Chen Yichuan glanced at Zhao Ritian in surprise; he hadn't expected the person beside him to be a veteran player.

"Brother Ritian, do you have any thoughts about this game?"

Looking at the dejected Zhao Ritian, Chen Yichuan spoke up.

"Game? Heh—" Zhao Ritian scanned the surroundings. Seeing no Jailers coming in, he let out a low snort:

"Chen Yichuan, do you really think 'Profound Realm' is just a game?"

As soon as he said this.

Chen Yichuan fell silent.

This world was impossibly realistic, and he was clearly aware that he had been sucked in by his computer.

With Wang Li as a cautionary tale, if he played it like a game...

...he'd probably be seeing the crematorium in a matter of minutes.

Seeing Chen Yichuan's silence, Zhao Ritian shook his head and smiled. "Chen Yichuan is your name on Blue Star, right?"

Hearing this.

Chen Yichuan didn't deny it and nodded.

"No wonder." Zhao Ritian showed a look of realization, as if he had figured something out.

"What? Is there a problem?"

"No, what problem could there be... Sigh, it's great! If I'd known, I would have entered 'Profound Realm' with my real name too. Seriously, why did I change my name?" Zhao Ritian shook his head, his face full of regret.

"Hmm? Is there some trick to using your real name?"

Just as Chen Yichuan finished speaking.

Zhao Ritian slapped his thigh and said indignantly, "Of course it's useful! Entering the game with your real name can greatly increase your favorability with NPCs. Didn't you see how well Uncle Luo treats you?"

At this point, Zhao Ritian felt a twinge of jealousy.

He had spent a full six days trying to win over Uncle Luo, using every trick in the book and giving plenty of gifts before he finally became Uncle Luo's apprentice.

Then look at Chen Yichuan... Tsk, comparisons are odious.

When choosing a name, Chen Yichuan hadn't thought that much; he had just gone with his intuition.

He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise.

"There are benefits to using your real name in the game. It was just my guess before... but now it seems that guess is very well-founded."

Zhao Ritian turned his face toward him, looking serious:

"Chen Yichuan, do you know how your two or three predecessors died?"

How did they die?

Chen Yichuan frowned slightly, asking somewhat uncertainly, "It couldn't be because of their names, could it?"

Slap!

Zhao Ritian clapped his hands and gave a thumbs up. "Smart. It was their names that did them in."

"Those two idiots, one was 'No Cilantro' and the other was 'No Beef.' How the hell could a normal person have names like that? But their identity registrations actually had those names written on them."

"After that, every time they delivered food, for some reason, they were targeted by the prisoners... You know the result; in the end, they both died."

Chen Yichuan's brow furrowed, his heart filled with a sense of relief.

He didn't like using online nicknames, and this point had unexpectedly brought him benefits.

Just looking at the deaths of 'No Cilantro' and 'No Beef' made it clear.

He knew that if you died in the game, you were truly dead.

Thinking of this, Chen Yichuan asked as if possessed, "Brother Zhao, do you know someone named Wang Li?"

"Wang Li?" Zhao Ritian was silent for a moment, then nodded. "I know him. Calculating the time... he should have been your predecessor."

"But I didn't have much contact with him. Wang Li was in charge of the Jia and Yi-class cells, which are much more dangerous than our place."

Speaking of which.

Zhao Ritian carefully looked around and whispered in his ear, "I heard... those imprisoned in the Jia and Yi cells are all ruthless characters. If I'm not mistaken, those prisoners are all martial artists, or at least Quasi-Martial Artists."

"According to the grapevine, Wang Li was apparently killed by a single punch from a prisoner in a Jia-class cell."

A day ago, Zhao Ritian didn't dare to be sure.

Now that he heard news about martial artists, it instantly became clear to him.

Martial artist.

Killed by a single punch.

It matches.

Wang Li had self-destructed before his eyes; that invisible Astral Qi, wasn't it exactly the Astral Qi Uncle Luo mentioned?

At this moment, Chen Yichuan had a sudden realization.

Summary.

Martial artists are badass, and Wang Li was just an unlucky bastard.

To the side.

Seeing Chen Yichuan's silence, Zhao Ritian couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. "What are you thinking? Say something... By the way, how did you know about Wang Li?"

"Is he a relative of yours?"

Meeting Zhao Ritian's inquisitive look, Chen Yichuan gave a sheepish smile.

Then, he didn't hold anything back.

He explained the 'process' of how he knew Wang Li, as well as his guess that dying in the Profound Realm meant being dead for real.

He didn't mention the Cat-faced Person; Chen Yichuan was undecided.

"What!!" Upon hearing this terrible news, Zhao Ritian backed away several steps, his face full of terror.

"You're not lying to me?"

"Dying in the game means being dead for real? I thought players were the Fourth Calamity and could resurrect after dying." Zhao Ritian held his head in his hands, his heart filled with lingering fear.

He was very glad that he followed one principle: Lay low!

"Brother Ritian, you also said the Profound Realm doesn't seem like a game... so you understand." Chen Yichuan straightened his sagging clothes.

Hearing this.

Zhao Ritian nodded. "Dying means being dead for real; that makes sense now."

"No wonder the Jailers (players) have been changing so often lately; it turns out that when they die, they're really gone."

...