19: Even hardcore players get stuck

Midnight Gao Sou was completely dumbfounded.

He possessed genuine skill, having trained in Traditional Martial Arts and combat.

He had also set many records for speedrunning boss battles.

He usually played games with great integrity, avoiding trouble whenever possible, so his combat count wasn't high.

But whenever a battle was triggered, he would get into the zone, either clearing it in one go or two, rarely needing a third attempt.

But... he was instantly killed by someone?

Killed in one finger poke?

This disparity in strength left him utterly bewildered; let alone three attempts, even thirty wouldn't be enough to win.

"Brothers, something's not right, this definitely isn't right!"

"A character of this level shouldn't appear in Newbie Village. Something else must have happened just now; I must have been ambushed by someone."

"Let's watch the recording, okay? Let's see what exactly happened just now."

Midnight Gao Sou calmed down.

He thought that perhaps he wasn't killed by a single finger poke.

Instead, at the same time his finger poked him, someone in the shadows used a firearm or a hidden weapon.

That would make much more sense.

Midnight Gao Sou calmly reviewed the recording, again and again.

"Streamer, stop watching, you were just instantly killed by one finger poke."

"No firearms, no hidden weapons."

"The other NPCs didn't even move."

"How is this possible?"

Midnight Gao Sou frowned, "Is the game bugged? No, Brothers, I'm going to try again."

Not just him, many people in the live stream also felt that the game must be bugged.

A small boss in Newbie Village instantly killing a player?

What a joke?

Soon, Midnight Gao Sou restarted the game.

This time, he didn't challenge the four servants, but directly entered the main hall.

"Wicked disciple, what are you doing!"

The Old Master fumed, his beard bristling.

Midnight Gao Sou laughed heartily, moving swiftly towards the Young man in black.

The young man remained expressionless, merely exhaling softly.

The next moment, a surge of Qi erupted, emitting a dazzling light.

Exhaling Qi like a sword!

This sword of Spiritual Qi instantly pierced into Midnight Gao Sou's mind.

He died on the spot!

"Holy hell!!"

Midnight Gao Sou was completely stunned.

He stared intently at the Qi flow effect, which was incredibly exquisite, clearly meticulously crafted.

At this moment, he finally understood.

This wasn't a bug.

The stats weren't wrong.

It was designed this way!

The live stream audience also erupted:

"Holy crap, there are corresponding actions and corresponding special effects, this definitely isn't a bug!"

"No, does this Jiang Feng even know how to make games? A Newbie Village boss instantly killing a player?"

"Wait, this doesn't seem like an ordinary instant kill. Didn't you notice the attack method is very unusual?"

"I noticed it too, this boss exhaled a breath? What is that?"

"I get it, this is a Cultivator, this is a Cultivator's method!"

The live stream was in an uproar.

They were shocked by the power of a Cultivator, and by the unprecedented attack method.

At this time, they still didn't know that once one stepped into the Cultivation world, even a small Qi Refining Cultivator.

The Spiritual Qi exhaled would possess the power of a blade, enough to instantly kill a Mortal Martial Artist.

This NPC who crushed Midnight Gao Sou was merely an outer disciple of Duan Kong Cave, a small Cultivator who had barely reached Qi Refining.

The people in the live stream suspected that this was not a small boss.

But a crucial NPC!

"This definitely isn't an NPC that players are meant to fight."

"Right, this should be a very important NPC, with an extraordinary status, probably a key figure in the main storyline."

"Gao Sou must have played it wrong, he shouldn't have attacked this NPC."

"Yes, these stats clearly belong to a Late Stage character in the game; he's definitely not a simple person."

"Gao Sou, can we stop being reckless?"

"Look at Old Potato next door, after being killed once, he's already being very obedient, waiting in line for the test."

"Haha, you're behind the times, Old Potato got killed again!"

"Old Potato died again?"

Midnight Gao Sou looked at the bullet comments, also feeling confused.

He had actually already planned to honestly queue up for the test.

As a player with high moral character, he even waited for traffic lights when playing a certain urban crime game.

If it weren't for the protagonist's background being oppressed by his Senior Brother, he wouldn't have "escaped from prison" at the beginning, but would have honestly accepted the punishment.

After he escaped from prison, wanting to display his hardcore player skills, he fought his way through to his Senior Brother.

But he didn't expect to be unable to defeat the NPC and get stuck.

Now, he truly wanted to honestly queue up for the test and concede to the plot.

But... wasn't Old Potato in line? How did he die again?

Midnight Gao Sou curiously brought up the UI panel and entered Old Potato's live stream.

Old Potato also used his own body data, a somewhat greasy middle-aged man.

He was now red-faced and cursing:

"What do you mean 'no Spiritual Root'?

"What do you mean 'no chance to seek Immortality'?

"What do you mean 'offended an Immortal and got killed'?"

It must be said that in the development of web novels in Jiang Feng's previous life, Xianxia was a popular major category, but because the Cultivation system and many settings were very useful, many Xuanhuan also used them.

And if we talk about it broadly, Xuanhuan is actually a large genre, covering a very wide range, almost encompassing all imagination.

When Jiang Feng created the Xuanhuan World, he naturally also used classic Xianxia settings.

For example, Spiritual Root.

Only by possessing a Spiritual Root can one absorb Spiritual Qi and embark on the path of seeking Immortality and Cultivation.

In order to let players experience the difficulty and rarity of the Cultivation path, all players in the demo would be set to have no Spiritual Root at the start, meaning they could not begin the Cultivation storyline through normal means.

Old Potato endured humiliation, even died once, and finally managed to queue up for the test, only to be told he had no Spiritual Root and couldn't Cultivate, and would be kept in confinement.

Of course, he couldn't accept such a thing!

He immediately argued with the Cultivator of Duan Kong Cave, stating that he wanted to Cultivate no matter what, and begged for a chance.

He was a living, breathing hot-blooded anime protagonist.

Unfortunately, before the Cultivator could speak, others nearby couldn't sit still and collectively rushed forward to beat Old Potato to death.

"Even conceding to the plot isn't allowed?"

Midnight Gao Sou frowned.

He couldn't win in a fight, and even trying to follow the plot obediently led to a dead end.

Either they were going in the wrong direction.

Or the game simply wasn't finished and was deliberately blocking them here?

"Streamer, actually there's no need to Cultivate. Just play it like a normal Wuxia game."

"Right, I see this martial arts school and the small town next to it are both open. Just play normally."

"No need to go for Cultivation. I think that Jiang Feng himself didn't do a good job of it."

"Anyway, it's just a demo. The later parts probably aren't open yet. Let's wait for an update."

"Update? Haha, I think Jiang Feng is just making empty promises. This 'Xuanhuan World' is actually just mindlessly inflated stats."

Play it as Wuxia?

Midnight Gao Sou pondered.

Indeed, the martial arts school was well-developed, and the small town outside seemed to be open.

According to the understanding of old games, one should continuously explore and level up in the small town.

But... as soon as he thought of the Cultivator exhaling Qi like a sword, Midnight Gao Sou felt a surge of excitement.

The Xuanhuan World was clearly laid out before him, should he pretend it didn't exist and be a Martial Artist?

Midnight Gao Sou knew that this was absolutely not just a simple stat inflation.

The combat methods had undergone a qualitative change, and the gaming experience it could bring would definitely be extraordinary.

Jiang Feng of Illusion Dream Game Studio might have truly created something big.

The only problem was that he, a hardcore player, was stuck.

Midnight Gao Sou thought carefully, recalling all the games he had played.

"Brothers, I think Jiang Feng designing a Cultivator NPC must be related to the plot."

"Since we don't have that Spiritual Root and can't enter through normal channels, we have to find a way to please him and make him give us a pass."

"You said Old Potato was killed for bribing earlier?"

"Haha, that's because he didn't do his research. Remember the live demo? Those Cultivators are clearly on a different level than Mortals. The wealth we have now won't impress them at all; in fact, it might be seen as an insult."

"What should we use to bribe them? Go gather herbs in the mountains outside the small town! The live demo specifically showed alchemy scenes. This must be key; it must be that we need to concoct medicine to please the Cultivator."

Midnight Gao Sou's analysis seemed very reasonable.

"666, Gao Sou is indeed Gao Sou, he really figured it out!"

"Right, I understand now too. Cultivators are like armed thugs, and we are unarmed civilians. We can't resist at all; we can only curry favor."

"So the main storyline is to curry favor with this Cultivator? Why does that feel a bit disgusting?"

"What else can we do if we don't curry favor? That's how it was in ancient times."

"Suddenly I don't want to play this game anymore; I feel like it will be very frustrating."

"Yeah, is this Jiang Feng only good at making people uncomfortable? Forcing us to curry favor with NPCs?"

The bullet comments in the live stream started flooding again.

Everyone realized that the Xuanhuan World seemed a bit stifling.

If you're not as strong as others, you don't even have the ability to resist.

In a fit of rage, you just get angry for a moment.

Players who want to become stronger still have to concede and act subservient, and even then, they might still be killed.

Suddenly, everyone felt the dark side of the Xuanhuan World.

There were no laws, no human kindness, only the law of the jungle, and everyone only cared about profit.

This world was too cruel and too stifling.

The atmosphere Jiang Feng wanted to create had indeed been released.

But similarly, many viewers backed out, no longer planning to play the game.

At this moment, new bullet comments appeared:

"You guys stop talking, it's not like that at all! Xiao Daidai next door has already triggered a new storyline!"

"Holy crap, things got exciting over at Xiao Daidai's; it's thrilling to watch!"

"What?"

Midnight Gao Sou was stunned when he saw this bullet comment.