484: anger

The players left the Great Desert and flew toward Yanwang Prefecture. After familiarizing themselves with the location, they restarted their characters, preparing to begin a new cultivation journey with a fresh start.

At this moment, the Lightning Tribulation in the Kongming Grotto-Heaven was still ongoing. Motivated by high rewards, many players desperately ventured inside to explore, but the situation remained uncertain for the time being.

After visiting the Nine Sword Dao Branch Sect in Yanwang Prefecture, Gui Fu Shen Gong immediately committed suicide to restart.

While waiting for his resurrection timer, he imagined the future, becoming increasingly excited.

After thinking for a bit, he logged onto the Forum to see what the players were discussing and whether anyone was envious of them.

Once he entered, sure enough, many players who had successfully passed the trial were showing off, drawing the envy of countless others.

Although Gui Fu Shen Gong didn't post anything, watching others show off felt as if he were showing off himself.

Looking at the replies filled with envy and jealousy, the corners of his mouth curled up, and he couldn't stop grinning.

Suddenly, a discordant reply caught his eye:

["Heh, you guys still need to pass the Ascension Assembly? I just died once at the Kongming Grotto-Heaven and got specially recruited!"]

What the hell?

Specially recruited?

What is that?

Gui Fu Shen Gong's head buzzed.

He had basically acted like a subservient grandson during the Ascension Assembly, only managing to pass the assessment and secure a spot in the Sect with great difficulty.

Furthermore, he had to start from the very bottom as an Outer Sect Disciple and climb up step by step. Along the way, he would inevitably be ordered around like a Servant by Inner Sect Disciples and Outer Sect Elders.

But he didn't mind because everyone was the same; everyone had to struggle and crawl their way up from the bottom.

But... what the hell did they mean by 'specially recruited'?

Gui Fu Shen Gong forced himself to stay calm and not explode in rage. Special recruitment had to be based on logic.

Just like special admissions for universities in reality, one must have extraordinary talent or indispensable potential in a certain field to be specially recruited.

It was impossible for them to just find some random reason to recruit someone, right?

Wouldn't that turn a major examination like the Ascension Assembly into a joke?

"They must be Geniuses who bought talents with transaction points, or perhaps they have some kind of Dao Heart? It's fine, there won't be many people like that, and you can't really be envious of them... Wait, what do you mean they were specially recruited just for going in and dying once?"

Gui Fu Shen Gong suddenly felt a bit dizzy. This was purely psychological, as he was currently waiting to respawn and logically shouldn't be experiencing any physiological abnormalities.

He first skimmed through the thread quickly, then, refusing to believe it, he read it again carefully, word by word.

Finally, he simply made a post himself, demanding that these players post videos, otherwise, they were just spreading rumors.

After confirming that these players really were specially recruited, and the reason was merely going to the Kongming Grotto-Heaven to throw their lives away...

Gui Fu Shen Gong felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body.

"What is this? Huh?"

At first, there weren't actually many specially recruited players.

But soon, the Fourth-Rank Cultivators discovered that there were layered mountain ranges inside the Kongming Grotto-Heaven, which seemed to contain nested Secret Realms. Consequently, they required more players to go in and die while exploring.

This exploration caused the number of special recruitment spots to skyrocket.

By the time Gui Fu Shen Gong's resurrection cooldown ended, over thirty thousand people had already been promised special recruitment.

Gui Fu Shen Gong was dazed and didn't even choose to resurrect immediately.

He suddenly felt that his efforts in the Ascension Assembly were nothing more than a joke.

"I even knelt down and kowtowed..."

Whether it was shame or anger, Gui Fu Shen Gong suddenly felt it wasn't worth it.

Originally, he thought that a Sect like the Nine Sword Dao, which possessed a Grotto-Heaven and was overseen by a living Fourth-Rank Expert, had top-tier prestige.

To join it, a bit of roleplaying was acceptable and not considered disgraceful.

But now... he only felt like a clown.

It turned out that so much effort wasn't necessary at all; there was no need to be so humble.

The spot he cherished like a treasure could be easily obtained just by picking the right time... "This isn't fair! Dammit!"

Gui Fu Shen Gong cursed loudly.

In his agitation, he suddenly remembered an old matter.

It was supposedly from a post Ye Chun made on the Forum years ago, as well as a summary by This Time Bu Ge; anyway, it was later quoted by many people.

It basically said that the Xuanhuan World is a world where strength is respected, whether it's the laws of a country, the morality of society, or the most basic explicit or implicit rules between people.

Everything is defined and maintained by the strong.

There is no talk of fairness or justice here, nor talk of morality or law.

Gui Fu Shen Gong stood dazed for a long while before suddenly seeing the light.

"In the final analysis, I joined the Nine Sword Dao only for Opportunities, only to become stronger."

"What kind of character the people of the Nine Sword Dao have, whether they are reasonable, whether the recruitment quotas are fair... what the hell does that have to do with me?"

"As long as I can get in, can cultivate, and can consume the resources of the Nine Sword Dao, then that counts as success!"

Even though he thought this, he still felt a surge of resentment in his gut.

Gui Fu Shen Gong shook his head and finally chose to resurrect.

This resurrection did not retain his cultivation base; it wiped away all traces of his cultivation, starting him directly from zero.

Then, based on the characteristics of the Giant Fiend Sword Legacy mentioned by Senior Brother Jiang Vengeance, he spent transaction points to select some corresponding talents.

Gui Fu Shen Gong thought about it and didn't spend all his transaction points, leaving himself some leeway.

Anyway, as long as he had transaction points, he could purchase talents at any time. Even an Innate Physique could be bought later as an Acquired one, so there was no rush.

After restarting, he used teleportation arrays and flying boats to reach the Great Desert. Then, under the guidance of Nine Sword Dao Disciples, he headed to Yanwang Prefecture and subsequently arrived at the Branch Sect.

The Nine Sword Dao Branch Sect was very simple, situated atop a Spirit Peak. The winding mountain paths were paved with gravel slabs, making it look less like a place for immortal cultivation and more like a mundane martial arts Sect.

Jiang Vengeance and other Nine Sword Dao Cultivators were waiting at the foot of the mountain. Once Gui Fu Shen Gong and the others had all arrived, they would lead them up to their respective residences on the various peaks.

But just as Jiang Vengeance turned around to lead the way, Gui Fu Shen Gong looked at his back and could no longer hold it in. He actually took the initiative to speak up:

"Senior Brother, there is one thing I just can't figure out."

As soon as he spoke, the surrounding players all looked toward him, quite startled.

They all remembered Gui Fu Shen Gong's previous submissive and humble appearance and couldn't understand why he would suddenly speak up to ask a question now.

Moreover, seeing his wide-eyed stare and his hands tightly clenched into fists, calling it a question was less accurate than calling it an accusation.

It was truly bold.

"Oh? You have a question?"

Jiang Vengeance narrowed his eyes. He didn't like these kinds of complications; he hated complications most of all.

"Yes, I have a question."

Gui Fu Shen Gong's courage gradually grew.

He was, after all, a player who even the state-stabilizing seal had once found difficult to control. After throwing away that anxious 'major exam mentality,' he had rediscovered the sharp edge that belonged to a player.

"I heard that over at the Kongming Grotto-Heaven, the Elders are recruiting Disciples en masse? Since Disciples can be recruited so freely, then I wonder what the hardships we suffered in the Ascension Assembly were for?"