459: Unique gameplay for demon race players

Even now, Jin Cui still held onto a single hope:

That the Old Ancestor would successfully achieve a Breakthrough, emerge from seclusion, sweep away all the players, and suppress the entire East.

It could be said that in any Sect where someone was in seclusion for a Breakthrough, the Sect Master, Elders, and even the Disciples would inevitably think this way.

Beyond the massive positive feedback of a successful Breakthrough, an Old Ancestor in seclusion was itself a part of the Sect's deterrence.

As long as the Old Ancestor remained in seclusion, any force wishing to take action had to consider:

Would he suddenly break through and then sweep everything away?

After slaughtering the Sect, if the Old Ancestor could not be found, what if he safely broke through elsewhere and waited for a chance at revenge?

After all, no one could guarantee that he would definitely fail the Breakthrough.

In the long river of history, there were plenty of cases where people with very low talent miraculously succeeded in their Breakthrough just as their Lifespan was about to run out.

"Sect Master."

Ye Chun looked helplessly at Jin Cui: "Things have come to this, what's the use of saying all that? The most urgent matter now is to preserve Heshui Prefecture as much as possible; everything else will have to start over from the beginning."

"Sect Master, stop thinking about things that aren't meant to be."

Hearing this, Jin Cui gave a bitter smile and could only nod with difficulty: "Then as you say, let's take inventory, organize, and relocate as quickly as possible."

While Heshui Prefecture was preparing on its side, Arthur was also busy on his end.

Arthur was originally a popular big streamer, and after achieving his Demon Body, he regained his popularity. Now that he was leading the assault on Heshui Prefecture, his popularity was soaring even higher.

As a result, he began to feel a bit light-headed, thinking he was finally a top-tier expert among the player base, destined to play a greater role and even become a trendsetter.

In this state of mind, he received a message from Ma Dun.

Since the Yuyao Kingdom moved south, traditional Demon Race high-level players had become increasingly decadent. Joseph, the Looking Up at the Stars Faction, and others were all looking for new paths within the Immortal Dynasty's borders, but only Ma Dun remained obsessed with Beishan.

However, after the Qingling Sect incident ended, Beishan became the Qingling Sect's territory and a common cultivation site for all players, no longer exclusive to Demon Race Players.

This left Ma Dun feeling quite helpless; every time he thought about the details, he couldn't help but shed tears.

When he heard that the players were going to move against Heshui Prefecture, he immediately became interested, seeing another chance for the Demon Race Players to pull themselves together.

He took the initiative to contact Arthur, proposing that the Demon Race Players lead the attack, occupy Heshui Prefecture first, and then firmly control it—even extending that control to the entire Chu Kingdom.

[We Rank 5 players have a consensus: that Rank 4 state-stabilizing seal is getting more and more cowardly. He's becoming increasingly self-aware as an NPC. Aside from the territories of the original Great Jiang which he still controls, he ignores the Chu Kingdom and Li Kingdom, letting us players develop freely.]

[Now, the Li Kingdom area, centered around Dragon Seeking City, has gradually become a gathering place for Human Race players like those from the Red Rain Pavilion. We Demon Race Players should also occupy the Chu Kingdom as soon as possible to let the Demon Race be glorious once more.]

[Arthur, you are both a Western Country player and a Demon Race player. This opportunity... you shouldn't refuse it, right?]

After receiving the message, Arthur's fired-up mood gradually cooled. He hesitated for a long time and never gave Li Changfeng an answer.

He involuntarily came to a small city within the Immortal Dynasty and went to a stable. He watched the horses inside, seeing them enjoy the fine fodder provided by humans and making sounds of pleasure.

Arthur thought back to when he first arrived in the Xuanhuan World. At that time, he was still very naive, thinking that in this open-world game, he could do anything.

He was very interested in knights and wanted to replicate a Knight class in the Xuanhuan World, so he stole a horse.

Then he was caught by a reformed evil cultivator and sent to prison.

From that day on, he knew the Xuanhuan World was a world of laws and morality, not a place where you could do just anything.

Later, especially after the state-stabilizing seal set a trap for Ye Chun that resulted in the deaths of many Golden Cores, Arthur understood something else:

The laws and morality of this world are dictated by the strong. Every thought and action of those below can be manipulated by those above.

This heavy pressure made him feel somewhat helpless, forcing him to seek refuge with the Immortal Dynasty, relying on submitting exploration data to earn leaderboard points. It also completely turned him into a player working for the state-stabilizing seal.

At the same time, it took him further and further away from his goal of being a "Knight."

Now, besides his knight-style heavy armor, there was nothing else about him that would make anyone think of a knight.

No freedom of galloping, no spirit of chivalry, nothing.

He even... began to feel a bit envious of Da Quan Knight.

Da Quan Knight was another Western Country Demon Race player.

Simply put, there were roughly two types of Western Country Demon Race Players:

One type was the high-level players like Ma Dun, who entered the game and used their excellent vision and understanding to develop rapidly, covering the path Human Race Veteran Players had taken in a very short time, successfully joining the ranks of top-tier players.

The other type was like Arthur, whose understanding of the game wasn't deep enough and whose perception of Xuanhuan was shallow. This caused them to spin their wheels after entering the game, their cultivation gradually falling behind the mainstream. Even if they kept up, their Dao Cultivation couldn't, so they could never break into the top tier.

Most of the second type of players faded into the crowd, but a few, like Da Quan Knight, found a new path... becoming mounts for high-level Human Race players.

This matter actually had to do with Li Changfeng. Back then, it was he who took the initiative to sign a contract with Da Quan Knight, taking him as a mount and even helping him achieve a Demon Body, which once seemed unbelievable to the players.

After the version update and full virtualization, the Xuanhuan World became a true new world. Old real-world contracts became invalid, and players thought Da Quan Knight would leave Li Changfeng.

But... Da Quan Knight didn't leave; he continued to be a mount.

Li Changfeng no longer rode him often, instead handing over some trivial matters for Da Quan Knight to handle. Gradually, in the eyes of outsiders, the two became partners in a win-win relationship.

Naturally, Da Quan Knight was living quite well, much better than the constantly rebuffed Ma Dun.

It made Arthur's mouth water with envy.

"If only I could latch onto a big shot, I'd never have to worry again..."

Arthur left the stable and went to a small inn, his thoughts becoming increasingly complex as he pondered these things.

He didn't have the drive of a top-tier expert; he never truly thought about leading any trends or seeking benefits for any group.

He had just been pushed onto a high stage, and influenced by the atmosphere, he almost really thought he was a big shot and almost actually went to do something big.

"That was close, that was close. I almost threw away my life of slacking off and enjoying myself..."

Arthur shook his head and sent a reply to Ma Dun:

[This matter is actually the plan of Wang Long and the others. I'm just a worker standing at the front; I can't help you.]