Chapter Thirty-One: Decision

  "Hmm, which sect are you planning to go to?" asked Xiao Yao.

  Before the wind had a chance to speak, the聚宝盆 (聚宝盆 is a mythological object that can grant wishes) jumped in and said, "Why don't you just come with us to Kunlun?"

  Feng Xiao Xiao asked: "Which school is more powerful?"

  The boss laughed and said: "In reality, of course, Wudang and Shaolin are generally considered to be the strongest, but in games, balance is key. Each school has its own strengths, like Wudang and Shaolin's internal skills are quite good, Huashan and Kunlun are skilled with swords, Tangmen's hidden weapons, Duan Damei's knives, Wudu's poison, Changbai Bang's medicine... In short, there are many."

  "I've heard of a set of Devil-Subduing Cudgel Techniques before, I heard its defense is very strong, which sect's?"

  "That's Shaolin's, apart from internal strength, the weapon they're good at is the staff!" Lao Da replied.

  "Shaolin? Didn't you used to know this before?" Feng Xiao asked in puzzlement.

  "Previously, all three of us were Shaolin, but those two later defected to other sects!"

  "Huh? So this way I can learn all schools of martial arts?" Feng Xiao Xiao was excited about her new discovery.

  "What a wonderful thing, after leaving the sect, the martial arts learned from the original sect can only be practiced to 1/3 of the highest level. If you are forced out of the sect by the system, your previous martial arts will also be abolished." Xīao explained.

  "Big Brother, you're from Shaolin, why are you using a knife? Isn't Shaolin skilled in staff?" asked Xiao Yao.

  "My knife technique is not Shaolin martial arts, it's something I learned from doing tasks, called Tian Xing Knife Technique." Lao Da replied.

  "Like a sword thrusting into the sky, the Seven Extremes Whirlwind Sword is also obtained through missions, but it's not their Wudang martial arts!" chimed in the Treasure Basin.

  "Besides Qigong, you can also learn martial arts!" Xiao Yao wondered.

  "Nonsense, didn't you learn it yourself?" said Jupao.

  "Huh? So this type of martial arts is quite formidable!" Feng Xiao Xiao made another astonishing discovery.

  "That's not necessarily true, but like Lao Da's this and Yi Jian Chong Tian are both powerful."

  "Then I went to the forum last night and looked at the list of weapons, but I didn't see Lao Da!" Feng Xiao Xiao was puzzled again.

  "Cut the nonsense! We've already established that it's a weapon manual. Of course, the weapons will take center stage. And this knife of yours isn't some rare and precious artifact!"

  "Oh..."

  "Have you thought of adding any sects!" The Golden Basin looked at the Windy Xiao as if he was about to ask another question, and hastily asked him instead.

  "This, I'll think about it some more, while leveling up."

  "Are you going to level up with your little MM again?" Ju Bao Pen teased.

  "No, let's practice again later, when are you guys going to surpass the next match." Feng Xiao quickly changed the subject.

  "The next match will be against players, starting at 8 pm, in a knockout format, lasting two and a half hours, with one round every ten minutes."

  "Ten minutes is so short, what if we can't finish?"

  "The system will determine the winner based on the amount of damage caused during the match, with the one causing more damage winning. However, this is unlikely to happen, and ten minutes would be enough. For example, if you and I were to duel, we wouldn't even need to fight, as soon as you see me, I'd immediately concede, and it would all be over in just ten seconds."

  "Really? You try it!" The wind whizzed by, just about to kick, when Xiao Yao pulled him back. "Don't mess around, smashing NPC stuff will get you jailed!"

  "Go ahead, go join whatever sect you want!" The boss said with a smile.

  Jubao Pan was just about to mock Feng Xiaoxiao, but suddenly remembered that the sword he was using was still Feng Xiaoxiao's. If he provoked him and Feng Xiaoxiao took back his sword, Jubao Pan would be left with nothing to play with, so he quickly shut his mouth again.

  "What shall we do now?" asked Xiao Yao.

  "Why don't we go have dinner first? Let's go together, it's been a long time since I got up so early. To celebrate, let's eat well!" suggested the聚宝盆 (treasure basin).

  Having won everyone's approval, the four of them went offline together to eat.

  The topic of discussion during meals is still Jianghu, and the current focus of Jianghu is of course the Martial Arts Conference. The four people are now discussing the same old issue of the Windy Sect.

  "I think you don't need to learn any martial arts now, your 'Wind Chasing the World' is enough. If you want to learn a good internal skill, just add Shaolin or Wudang, and if you happen to discover a hidden task, learning 'Yi Jin Jing' will make you prosperous." Sun Peng said.

  "You'd better think more about this sword, it's a waste if you can't use it well. Quickly create a sword style, like Huashan, Kunlun, Tianshan... Learn some decent sword moves to match with this sword!" Liangzi said.

  "Learning internal skills is important, internal skills..."

  "It doesn't matter, with this sword's power it's enough to just slash around, just learn some basic internal skills to fill the quota, but you must practice your sword techniques well, otherwise this sword will be wasted!" Sun Peng hadn't even finished speaking before being interrupted by Liangzi.

  Just as the two were about to continue their argument and even prepare to use any available objects as weapons, the boss intervened again.

  Ever since everyone started Jianghu, Liangzi and Sunpeng had countless disputes over which was more important, martial arts or equipment. The two were already accustomed to dragging any issue into this, and the dispute would always be stopped by Lao Da's intervention, which seemed to have become a fixed pattern.

  At this time, the boss usually makes a concluding remark. Indeed, the boss said calmly: "Let Ah Kai choose this sect himself, you two don't have to worry about it!"

  Ye Kai hastily nodded in agreement. In fact, Ye Kai's real thoughts were not to join any sect, so as to appear a bit unconventional. But the current situation was that his internal strength was clearly inadequate, and he had not been able to achieve his previous dream of relying on some tasks to acquire martial arts skills through completing tasks. The reality was gradually becoming an illusion. Previously, he had also heard that Xiaopeng had picked up a martial arts manual when killing BOSS with others, but after following them for a few days and encountering several small BOSSes, why hadn't he seen any books drop?

  Ye Kai raised this question again.

  "Nonsense! You've been following us and fighting animals, which don't even drop money or equipment. And yet, a book drops out!" said Ryōji.

  "Who can we fight? Let's go find someone to beat up!" suggested Ye Kai.

  "What's wrong, Ah Ke seems to be unwilling to join the sect and wants to cultivate internal skills through monster drops?" The boss saw through Ah Ke's thoughts.

  Akai nodded in agreement.

  "This BOSS drops a lot of auxiliary skills, like Xiao Peng's 'Swordsmanship' for example. The martial arts skills that drop are said to be pretty bad!" Lao Da reminded Ye Kai.

  "Doing tasks, the martial arts obtained from tasks are generally better!" Liangzi said.

  "The rewards are all mid-level hidden quests and above, I have no idea how to trigger them, and if you're unlucky, you might not even encounter one in this lifetime!" said the boss.

  The little friend who had been silent all along suddenly spoke up: "Ah Kai, if you want this kind of martial arts, I happen to have a ready-made inner power here!"

  The three of them looked at Xiaopeng in surprise, and the first to speak was naturally Liangzi: "You have such a good thing, why haven't you ever mentioned it before?"

  "It's just a piece of junk, not even worth mentioning. If Ah Kai really doesn't want to join the gang, then just take it for now and we can change it later when we have the chance!" Little Peng said with a smile.

  "Can I exchange it?" Ye Kai asked.

  "When you practice to a higher level, the effect of good internal strength will replace the original one. This is also the way people distinguish between good and bad internal strength nowadays!" Xiao Peng replied.

  "Alright!" Ye Kai thought for a moment before making up his mind, "I'll go online soon and get that internal skill from you. I'll practice it first."

  "No problem!" said Little Peng.

  "What if you don't learn swordsmanship then?" Liangzi was only concerned about swords.

  "After that, find an opportunity to learn, now... this sword will be given to... Little Peng?" Ye Kai ignored Liangzi's expectant expression and turned to say to Little Peng, winking at Lao Da and Little Peng.

  Xiao Peng understood what he meant and said: "Okay, then give it to me first. You can give it to me when you go online later!"

  Lao Da also chimed in: "Yes, let Xiao Peng use it first. With his high swordsmanship level and mastery of 'Sword Control Technique', he's the most suitable to wield a good sword."

  Three people looked at Liangzi together, and Liangzi nodded in agreement with a nonchalant expression, but the two chopsticks in her hand had already been twisted into a rope.