1RomanceEB Chapter 43 New Feature: Sea Access
Chapter 43 New Feature: Sea Access
The first dinner in the instance was arranged in a private room on the second floor of Yuelai Inn. Zhu Baixuan was familiar with the place and ordered the dishes early, instructing the waiter to bring out all the dishes, including dried fruit, cold dishes, and hot dishes, so that they could start eating as soon as the other two people and the cat arrived.
In the end, the four players walked back to the inn from Zhengqi Hall together, attracting a lot of whispers from the crowd. If you looked over, you could see their kind and simple smiles, clearly indicating that they were already a well-known group of chivalrous heroes in Liquan Town.
Reaching the inn's entrance, Lin Zhuo looked up at the signboard and thought to himself that the name was quite common; it seemed that every martial arts world had an inn or restaurant called "Yuelai." Or perhaps it was a playful name like "Youjian Inn."
There were three or five beggars squatting outside the inn, singing lotus ballads and begging for rewards. Lin Zhuo observed them carefully and confirmed that they belonged to the Beggars' Clan, since the leader obviously had martial arts skills. He informed his teammates and then called the waiter to set up a small table for them outside the inn and served them food.
"Thank you, hero! Thank you, hero!" the leading old beggar shouted, then patted the heads of the few young men beside him, making them follow suit and flatter him.
Lin Zhu clasped his hands in a salute and said, "I have heard that your esteemed sect's founder, unable to bear the plight of the destitute and homeless, abandoned his family business, donned patched robes, and, covered in filth, entered the world to establish the Beggars' Sect to take in the pitiful. For the past hundred years, many beggar heroes have upheld righteousness and relieved the lonely and suffering. Such achievements are truly admirable. My humble contribution is nothing to boast about."
The little beggars were surprised. "Grandpa, is this guy talking about us?"
"I'm talking about an old man like myself. You kids aren't qualified." The old beggar chuckled, readily admitting his identity, and then begged Lin Zhuo to buy him a pot of wine. "Liquan Town has beautiful mountains and rivers; even the homemade wine is a fine brew. I've been craving it for ages."
Lin Zhuo naturally wouldn't want to spoil the mood, so he took some wine and clinked glasses with the old beggar. He himself didn't have the habit of drinking, so he only touched his lips to the wine and took a small sip. After the old beggar started pouring his own wine, he took his leave.
Being on good terms with members of the Beggars' Sect is beneficial and harmless. Once you reach a certain level of friendliness, you can unlock related side quests, and they will also help you pass on intelligence.
Lin Zhuo entered the private room on the second floor and took his seat. Everyone closed the doors and windows to shut out the noise, and the atmosphere relaxed.
Jin Xiaohu, who had been squatting on the chair, finally stood up, washed his paws with a basin of water, dried them with a rag, jumped onto the table and started picking up food. He only picked fish and meat to eat and was not interested in anything else.
Zhu Baixuan also dispelled the illusion, revealing its true, imposing form. Its heavy body was huddled in a round chair, the round, bulging fat on its belly dented by the armrests. The panda looked like a black sesame dumpling with its filling exposed, held between chopsticks.
Shu Yuliu felt immense pressure for the chair, worried that it might fall apart at any moment.
Lin Zhuo was always preoccupied with leveling up; his main purpose in entering the dungeon was to improve his level and the quality of his cultivation techniques. After all, the situation in the real world was ambiguous and chaotic; while it wasn't a fatal crisis, it could still have a drastic impact on his life.
He still had some concerns under these circumstances.
Lin Zhuo had already noticed that Captain Zhu Baixuan was an easy-going panda, without any airs of a veteran from the online variety show scene. At the first team dinner, he didn't say anything fancy, only telling his teammates to eat and drink well. Such a gentleman was endearing, and it made Lin Zhuo determined to get closer to him.
"Captain, I have a favor to ask." Lin Zhuo was never afraid to ask for favors or show weakness, so he spoke his mind directly. "After I level up, I plan to cultivate a white-quality internal skill, but I'm afraid of going into qi deviation. I would like to ask you to take care of me."
Shu Yuliu, who was socially awkward, widened her eyes and whispered, "Captain, I... I also want to trouble you."
Jin Xiaohu quickly dropped the fish bone, stroked his whiskers, and raised his paw, saying, "Meow too!"
Zhu Baixuan chuckled and nodded, "Sure. I was worried you'd be too proud to say it."
Lin Zhuo, his companion, and the cat all breathed a sigh of relief and expressed their gratitude repeatedly. Shu Yuliu asked curiously, "Has the captain ever had any accidents while training new recruits before?"
"Many." Zhu Baixuan shook his head, holding a large bowl and stirring the noodles with long bamboo chopsticks. "They all thought they had great talent, so they secretly practiced alone, and then could only escape by committing suicide."
Jin Xiaohu tilted his head, revealing an obedient expression, and asked in a surprised tone, "How can there be such an idiot?"
Lin Zhuo hadn't really believed it before, but after meeting Qiao Mingyang and his group, he came to terms with it. "There are all kinds of people in the world. Many people make a mistake because of a single thought, but end up going astray."
Zhu Baixuan slurped up a mouthful of soup noodles, smacked his lips, and said, "Actually, it's easy to understand. Qigong masters, or rather all martial artists, are inevitably arrogant. Pride isn't necessarily a bad thing for us; without absolute confidence, we can't reach the top. Most of those newcomers I mentioned who have gone astray in their cultivation are actually quite talented."
Upon hearing this, Shu Yuliu patted his chest and said, "Luckily, I'm rather slow-witted and timid, so I don't dare to act on my own."
Jin Xiaohu nodded. "I can see that now. During the fight before, you didn't dare to look at those corpses and walked around with your eyes covered."
Shu Yuliu put down her chopsticks and fiddled with her fingers. "I'm scared... By the way, Second Senior Brother, you look so young, how can you gouge out people's eyes without batting an eye? Don't you think the smooth feel of eyes is weird? I think they look like frogs. Ugh~"
She shuddered as she recalled the bloodied, hideous face of the notorious thief, Ye Toufeng.
When Lin Zhuo was in college, he took forensic courses and watched a lot of video footage of death scenes. At first, he was not used to it and lost his appetite after watching them.
Lin Zhuo remembers that the teacher of the elective course was an old lady with a very cold smile. She persuaded the students in this way, and Lin Zhuo also told Shu Yu'er the same words.
"When you see some gruesome scenes, try to detach yourself from them, avoid having any psychological interaction with the tragic objects, and don't imagine what the dead feel. Just think of it as seeing fallen trees or broken statues."
This is a very effective and widespread psychological defense mechanism.
Shu Yuliu seemed thoughtful. "Second Senior Brother, is that what you think?"
"No. It's not." Lin Zhu shook his head, but didn't elaborate.
Jin Xiaohu suddenly waved his paws, "Hey, aren't you guys hungry? Let's eat, don't talk about such heavy topics."
The culinary skills of a rural inn like Yuelai Inn can't compare to those of restaurants in big cities, but they still do their best.
Zhu Baixuan ate the most at the table; the giant panda's stomach was enormous. Lin Zhuo also did his best. The remaining girls and cats could only cheer him on, working together to finish the dishes and avoid waste.
"You'll be eating here every day during your stay in Liquan Town. I've already paid the innkeeper, so feel free to come over whenever you're hungry." The giant panda pushed up its conical hat, transforming into the form of a black and white child. As it stood up from the chair, the armchair creaked, like a laborer carrying a heavy load letting out a long breath.
The property Zhu Baixuan bought was a secluded courtyard in the eastern suburbs of Liquan Town, where even if he made some noise while practicing martial arts, it would not disturb the neighbors.
The courtyard house is known for its "Four Waters Returning to the Hall" structure, with four small buildings facing east, west, south, and north, enclosing a small courtyard. In the center of the courtyard stands an laurel tree, surrounded by wooden dummy posts, stone locks, sandbags, and an empty weapons rack, indicating that the previous owner was clearly a martial artist.
The first floor was the living room and kitchen, and the second floor was the bedroom. They each chose the room they liked.
Zhu Baixuan lives in the north; it prefers quiet and doesn't like sunbathing much. Jin Xiaohu lives in the west; it says tigers should live in the west. Shu Yuliu sneaks into the small building in the east; she wants to watch the sunrise. Lin Zhuo lives in the south; the main hall and entrance are downstairs, so he can notice guests immediately.
The house used to have servants to clean it, but now the players have to fend for themselves. By the time everyone was settled, it was already getting dark.
It wasn't time to sleep or rest yet, and the three newbies were preparing to break through their level barrier tonight. This step wasn't risky, so they didn't need experienced players to supervise them.
Lin Zhuo sat cross-legged on a futon, calming his mind.
Open the integrated network panel.
Occupation: Qigong Master Lv1 (950/300)
Upgrade requirements have been met.
Although the panel currently shows Lv1, Lin Zhuo is actually Lv2 according to the evaluation standards of the comprehensive network. However, he still needs to upgrade manually. This process is not automatic because it is to prevent the upgrade process from affecting the player's status and interfering with critical situations such as battles. He needs to judge the appropriate time to break through himself.
In the "Cangcheng" dungeon, players can level up to Lv5. After that, the level penalty will remove the Disaster Coins and Universal Experience from the quest rewards, and only the drop rewards will be retained.
For Lin Zhuo at present, Lv5 is still a relatively distant thing.
"upgrade."
Ding--
Occupation: Qigong Master Lv2 (650/900)
Occupational Characteristics (New)
Tonghai: Opening a Qihai acupoint within the body, which is between existence and non-existence, to store spiritual energy.
In an instant, Lin Zhuo's mind sank into the void within his body, glimpsing countless minute orifices. These countless star-like points, thanks to the effects of the "Flowing Qi Classic," constantly exhaled and inhaled vital energy, creating a vibrant scene.
With the birth of new professional characteristics, the void within his body began to collapse, and countless micropores, like stars returning to the void, approached each other and converged into one place. Along with Lin Zhuo's thoughts and intentions, everything in his body and mind was mixed into a point that was neither there nor there.
The Qi Sea is the unified aperture of the universe. This so-called universe is naturally the inner field of the Qigong master's body and mind. Compress this infinite void into a grain of millet, so that body and mind are one, and all apertures are unified, so that all apertures overlap and connect with each other to form the closest relationship. This is the essence of the Qi Sea aperture.
Originally, countless micropores were like thin reed stalks, leading to the foundation of the body, allowing the vital energy of life to flow out in strands, while the Qi Sea acupoints were like a large well, reaching deep into the earth, and able to pump out a continuous stream of spring water.
Once the Qi Sea is opened, the connection between the Qi master and the physical foundation becomes very close, to the point that they can use some life-threatening moves to unleash their potential at all costs, refining their Qi by damaging their foundation.
This method can drain a Qigong master dry and kill them. However, not every martial artist has the determination and perseverance to endure such pain.
Lin Zhuo's thoughts were already vague at this moment. The newly formed Qi Sea acupoints were like dandelion seeds floating in the air, needing to find a place in his body to fall and take root.
This step is actually quite important, especially for beginners, because different cultivation methods require different Qi Sea points.
The acupoints are usually chosen in areas with dense nerves and blood vessels, such as the center of the eyebrows, the Niwan point, the chest, the Tanzhong point, the Dantian point, and the Zhiyang point.
Some special techniques even require placing the Qi Sea point on acupoints such as the Laogong point in the palm or the Yongquan point on the sole of the foot, which can significantly increase the power of certain martial arts skills. However, experienced players on the internet do not recommend such unorthodox choices.
Lin Zhuo chose the Zhiyang acupoint, located in the depression below the spinous process of the seventh thoracic vertebra on the back. It is on the same level as the Tanzhong acupoint in front of the chest, which is a good and reliable point.
As he made up his mind, the Hun Tian Yi Qiao (a type of energy cultivation technique) shone down from his head and mind like a luminous seed, illuminating each vertebra like a palace of pure white buildings. It finally settled at Zhi Yang (a point on Mount Buzhou), shining brightly as if the sun had fallen on Mount Buzhou. It released the void within his body, and the explosive sensation made Lin Zhuo unable to help but open his eyes. He saw a bizarre and colorful illusion that lasted for a moment before slowly dissipating.
It's done. He has opened up his Qi Sea.