Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Hello Everyone, Welcome to Yunzhou Continent
Song Jiulai: ?
’That’s not what the System said when I came here!’
System: "I said this place was safe. I never said it would *always* be safe."
Song Jiulai: "...You’re really not a person, are you?"
System: "You don’t need to state the obvious. It just makes you sound long-winded."
"..."
’Bastard!’
A genuine trace of panic now crept into Song Jiulai’s voice. "A demon beast riot... is that what I think it is?"
Shui Ping nodded. "Every few decades, riots break out in Demon Cave Valley, and they sometimes spill over into Cultivator territory. Although a Great Power Cultivator usually steps in, if a riot happens, we’re right on the border. If the people from the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect don’t get here in time, Wang’an County could easily be overrun by demon beasts..."
The demon beasts leading the charge would be at least Fifth Rank, not to mention the Seventh Rank Demon Beast that resides on First Mountain itself.
That wasn’t something the people of Wang’an County could possibly withstand.
"It’s been thirty years since the last demon beast riot... Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to happen." Seeing the look on Song Jiulai’s face, Shui Ping added reassuringly, "I’ve never experienced one in my whole life."
Song Jiulai: "..."
’Of course you haven’t, you’re only fifteen!’
’You weren’t even born thirty years ago when the last riot happened!’
It would have been better if she hadn’t said anything. Now, Song Jiulai felt as if some new instance had just been activated on the Yunzhou Continent, and any information she was privy to was never good news.
Shui Ping, however, seemed to accept it readily. "If it really does happen, then it’s a tribulation we Cultivators are fated to face. It’s all preordained. Besides, the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect has set up a Protective Array here. They’ll detect any disturbance quickly, so you don’t need to worry."
"..."
’Then why did you tell me!?’
Song Jiulai pinched the bridge of her nose, wishing she’d never heard this news.
But Shui Ping had only meant well.
Realizing she might have said something to worry Song Jiulai, Shui Ping stuck out her tongue playfully. "Anyway, Junior Sister, just be careful when you go to First Mountain for your training. Don’t overthink it."
With that, Shui Ping left.
The Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony.
A demon beast riot...
It all sounded like a massive flag.
Of course, it was unrealistic for Song Jiulai to pray it wouldn’t happen at all.
’At least delay it a little!’
’If it waited a few years, with any luck, I’d at least be at the Golden Core Stage. If something happened then, I could run a little faster...’
For once, the System said something helpful. "You don’t have to worry too much. I checked the data when I arrived. The probability of a major disaster occurring here anytime soon is low."
Song Jiulai: "You can check data?"
System: "I merely use my own methods to calculate certain probabilities."
It couldn’t just throw Song Jiulai into an extremely dangerous place, after all.
Although this place was dangerous due to its proximity to Demon Cave Valley, it was actually less likely to cause problems than a place teeming with Cultivators.
Given Song Jiulai’s personality and her habit of summoning players, if she were in a Major Sect rich with Spiritual Energy, she’d offend a whole nest of Cultivators with a single sentence.
Song Jiulai: "So how long is ’anytime soon’?"
System: "Anywhere from one day to one hundred years."
Song Jiulai: "..."
She knew it. The System could be a real menace sometimes.
Still, she had embarked on the path of Cultivation. She needed to be more open-minded. Song Jiulai decided to stick to the original plan and set out for First Mountain.
***
The players had also finished their preparations to set out and had arranged their log-off schedules.
This event would require flipping their days and nights. Some players who worked during the day would have to stay up all night.
The news that Han Tian had received permission to live stream shocked Zhou Xiao and the others.
"You’re saying that because the information you posted on Weibo brought attention to the ’officials’, they gave you this as a reward?"
Han Tian nodded. He had already arranged the stream with the website; all he had to do was start it at the scheduled time.
They were just about to head to First Mountain, and the scenery along the way would surely become hard evidence.
At this moment, Jiang Tianya joined the group with his cousin, Xue Yao. Hearing this, a thought struck him. "Lord Han, the officials said it was because you got them trending. If we get them trending again, will they give out more streaming slots?"
Han Tian: "I’m not sure about that. You want to stream too?"
Jiang Tianya shook his head. "It’s not about streaming."
’It’s that I want to understand this game on a deeper level.’
’Is the official planner behind this really the person I think it is?’
He wanted to ask the Sect Master, but he didn’t quite dare.
He and Xue Yao had already looked into Song Jiulai’s background. She was an orphan, and her records were unbelievably clean.
Even her friends were just a few colleagues.
Someone who grew up in such an environment should be somewhat withdrawn.
But according to the information he’d gathered from a few phone calls, Song Jiulai was actually a rather lively girl.
Furthermore, her previous field of study and her profession had absolutely nothing to do with gaming.
Jiang Tianya didn’t know what kind of relationship Song Jiulai, the Sect Master of this game, had with the Song Jiulai of the real world.
’What kind of existence... is she?’
Han Tian paused for a moment before saying, "I asked for you. The system said that from now on, streaming slots can only be exchanged for points. I probably got lucky this time because I hit the top trending spot."
After all, that one-million bounty was still active.
The temptation was significant.
Jiang Tianya nodded.
"Let’s get ready to go. It’s eight o’clock at night now, and I’m about to start the stream. Our faces in the game aren’t our real ones, so it’s okay for everyone to be on camera, right?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Han Tian logged off for a moment to confirm that his website and the game were connected, then he opened the stream channel directly.
Meanwhile, the audience, who had been waiting for a while, could no longer contain their excitement.
From the moment Han Tian announced the stream, many people had declared they would be there to debunk it.
A fully immersive virtual reality game, plus a one-million bounty from Han Tian for which no one had yet found a single matching location—the hype was off the charts.
Even some casual bystanders who weren’t interested in gaming had been drawn in.
In an instant, the stream was flooded with one hundred thousand viewers.
Anyone familiar with the live streaming industry would know that such a number of viewers joining at the very start was terrifying, to say nothing of the continuous stream of new arrivals.
After a moment of black screen, the broadcast on the streaming site went live with a SWISH, and a girl’s face appeared in the frame.
"How’s it going? Han Tian, is your stream live?"
The speaker was Zhou Xiao.
The face she had created was aesthetically flawless, the very picture of a budding beauty.
Recently, she had even spent some money to have a few outfits tailored in Wang’an County. Dressed in flowing white robes, she had an even more ethereal, immortal air about her.
When the audience entered the stream, they were immediately hit by the sight of a beautiful face and instantly grew excited.
[Holy crap, it’s a beauty!]
[So pretty so pretty so pretty...]
[Isn’t that punk Han Tian supposed to be streaming Cultivation? Are you afraid we’ll flame you, so you put a pretty girl out first to draw our fire?]
[This production crew is pretty professional, huh.]
...
After the stream started, Jiang Tianya whispered to Liang Xueyao, "Did you send a message to that person?"
Liang Xueyao nodded. "I’m not sure if he’ll believe it. I told him to find someone to watch the stream first."
With their reaction speed, if there really was something wrong with the game, they would be able to spot it quickly.
Jiang Tianya nodded.
Han Tian’s own perspective was also being broadcast, and he could even adjust the camera angle with a thought.
He discovered he could see the viewers’ bullet comments with his naked eyes, a dense swarm of them, as if a half-screen overlay was open in front of him.
It didn’t interfere with his gameplay at all.
He immediately moved the camera to his own face, revealing features that, while not meticulously crafted, were still a few degrees more handsome than his real-life self, and said with a smile.
"Hello everyone, I’m Han Tian. Welcome to the Yunzhou Continent!"
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