"Jiang Shang, didn't you master the Black Tiger Fist?"

"Ninth-rank martial artist, defeated by a single blow."

"Man, that kneeling... was a bit too quick, wasn't it?"

The onlookers, a bunch of free agents, expressed their dissatisfaction and demanded another round.

Yet, Zhong Shenxiu just smiled without saying a word. Suddenly, he pressed his palm against the cliff, and his entire body floated up like a white cloud, "The next battlefield will be right here. Anyone who wants to experience a deadly fall is welcome to give it a try."

"Holy crap, that's Qinggong!"

"Wan Donglin" shouted, "Where did you learn it?"

Er Ha didn't have a separate Qinggong skill. After all, the Black Tiger Escort Agency didn't teach it.

"Not only Er Ha can teach martial arts among the NPCs, and furthermore... you can practice with a manual..."

Zhong Shenxiu replied with a smile.

There are always those geniuses in the world who make ordinary people question their life choices.

What others need years to achieve, they might only need a few days!

"Lord Immortal, what do you think?"

"Avalon" stepped closer, asking for advice.

"Ha ha... you're formidable. We Immortal Sect yield this place to you."

Huang Tianyao laughed out loud, "Brother, you've got impressive skills. Let's connect in real life, I'll send you a hefty red envelope!"

He could see the situation clearly; the terrain of this cliff heavily favored the opponent. It was the perfect spot for one man to hold off a thousand.

Seems like the advantage of this cliff was no longer up for grabs.

Better to lose gracefully than to lose face. Say a few nice words and then leave.

"Mhm."

Zhong Shenxiu blandly responded, then let down a rope and pulled up Xie Biqi and the others before swiftly gathering the rope.

The players on the ground could only watch helplessly with wide eyes.

...

Atop the cliff platform.

"Mhm mhm... Lord Shenxiu, you're amazing."

Luo Xiaoyi, as though she had amnesia, gave Zhong Shenxiu a thumbs up.

"With the gamers' temperaments, they'll for sure try to climb up again. But from our high position, just a few thrown rocks will do..."

Zhong Shenxiu said, "But we must speed up the exploration of the Five Poison Cave..."

If they didn't hurry, players would eventually circumvent the top of the cliff and try to lower themselves down using ropes.

After all, these are a bunch of fearless Er Has!

"Mhm mhm!"

Xu Ran and the others nodded in agreement.

...

Grotto Heaven.

Zhong Shenxiu briefly browsed the official forum and instantly saw a pile of posts.

[Mo Tengyun: Mysterious cave surfaced, suspected as a monster-spawning point, but 'Alluring City' is monopolizing it!]

[Hammy: It's clearly discovered by them first, the guy above has no shame (contempt)]

[The Twelve Heavenly Capitals: But in the game, spawning points should be the treasure of all players...]

[Fei Zhuli: No! Beauty is justice! I stand with 'Alluring City', no explanation needed!]

[Wanderer by Night: The guy above is a bootlicker, verified (dog head)]

[This Binbin is Just Crap: Don't you guys care about another thing? Who exactly is 'Lord Shenxiu', a gaming legend or relative of the devs, the uncle party?]

[Please call me Boss He: First batch of players here, still haven't mastered the Black Tiger Fist (sobbing...) ]

[Zhan Xunzi: I also watched that epic battle, truly shocking the heavens and moving ghosts and gods... Ah forget it, I can't keep this up, the other guy just used one move, and Young Master White Hair bit the dust right there and then, but after that, one man held the fort, a thousand men couldn't break through, now that is the idol for our generation! Totally fangirling... ]

[Li Xiangyu: Are you sure a GM didn't just descend?]

[Chu Qiao: This game is so much fun, I want to hype it up!]

[Broken-winged Angel: Offering a high price for gaming gear... ]

...

Hmm, on the forums, going off-topic is the norm.

Zhong Shenxiu couldn't care less about these, as usual, he logged in daily, watching 'Alluring City' beauties battling with the Five Poison beasts, with some weird stuff getting mixed in...

Wrongfully accused, Xu Ran is lying down taking bullets...

Today.

Cliff faces and steep ledges, on top of a platform.

Xu Ran and the others gathered together, analyzing a map.

"Based on our exploration these past days, we've discovered that this cave is very deep, with many side passages, and many of them lead to dead ends, set up with traps... The game designers really have a sick sense of humor," Luo Xiaoyi said, annoyed.

She had just died once again, running back from the newbie valley.

Zhong Shenxiu touched his face and glanced sidelong at Luo Xiaoyi.

"But at least we've cleared out most of the cave; we can reach the bottom today."

Xie Biqi was a bit excited.

Since the last time, they had ceased being afraid of being discovered and went to Three Elements City to buy a ton of items, staging a fire assault on the Five Poison Cave, killing many venomous creatures.

The progress of developing this area suddenly became very smooth.

This time, everyone prepared lots of sulfur and other insect-repelling items, as well as torches, before entering the cave once again.

After twists and turns, they finally reached the deepest part, a damp natural cavern.

"Wow, there's a skeleton!"

Luo Xiaoyi, holding a torch, moved forward and screamed, then felt bored with herself for doing so.

Sigh, after experiencing a previous brutal fight through mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, as well as the trial by venomous creatures, had her heart become so jaded?

"There's writing on the wall!"

Xu Ran illuminated the wall and read it out slowly: "I am the Southern State Flower Man, nicknamed 'Wan Tu,' who once lived a life of revelry and roamed the Jianghu, making heroes bow before me. In my later years, I was betrayed by a vile person, forced to die in meditation from my grave injuries right here..."

"This old man still had the energy to set up traps before dying, must have been a high-ranking martial artist, right?"

Zhang Xuanyi stroked his chin: "The rest is brief, saying he left a keepsake and a Cultivation Technique for inheritance, buried right three feet in front of us. If future generations are interested, they should bury him where his books were hidden... I think he's trying to trick us..."

"Hey, anyone modern enough to be tricked by this guy is a fool... but I do want to try."

Xu Ran dug three feet into the ground in front of the bones and indeed found a black iron box: "Everyone step back, I want to see just how cruel the traps in this game can be..."

Zhong Shenxiu glanced at everyone, seeing that even Lin Chenxi was somewhat eager and ready to experiment, and couldn't help but be speechless: "Let's take care of the important stuff first, a hundred ways for a player to die can be tested later..."

He continued to dig a few more feet and unearthed another black iron wooden box.

This time, he opened it directly and found inside a piece of silk, an ancient book, and a jade pendant.

The jade pendant was a keepsake that one could use to join Flower Man's sect, but it was a thousand miles away in the Southern Province.

Apart from that, the secret manual contained his Cultivation Technique legacy, not a sect's ultimate skill, but rather techniques he created or collected himself.

The ancient book recorded a poisonous skill named 'Six Poison Extreme Skill,' which could be cultivated up to the Fourth Grade Martial Artist level.

Sixth-rank Martial Artists were known as the Inner Breath Realm.

Fifth Grade Martial Artists were the Ascending Realm, signifying mastery in the art of martial arts.

As for Fourth Grade Martial Artists, they were called — 'Under Heaven'!

In Jiuzhou, they were enough to become famed far and wide, ruling over their own territory.

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