Chapter 314.2: Mythological Tianke
[In the thirteenth year of Tianqi, war and chaos raged. Calamities arose everywhere. In Yunyan County, the genius martial artist Luo Bufan broke past the martial limit, seemingly shattering the void and ascending. The demons massacred the Chen Clan and the Luo Clan.]
[Mission: Uncover the truth.]
[Reward: Physique-Tempering Blood Pill.]
"Am I playing a game inside a game?" Qi Yuan was stunned, guessing, "Is this hidden map basically a dungeon similar to a god-space instance?"
He had seen plenty of manga and anime with such settings. This sort of premise was easy for him to accept. Then, a flood of information poured into Qi Yuan’s mind. Just like the Primordial Seed, he now held the memories of a game character, as well as that character’s understanding of the world’s lore.
Qi Yuan froze. "This game is a mythological version of Tianke?"
The dynasty before the Qin Yuan Kingdom was called the Tianke Empire. It was also the era in which Luo Bufan lived. Having received compulsory education, Qi Yuan knew a bit of ancient history. Historically, the Tianke Empire had merely been an ordinary feudal dynasty, without much artillery.
If there was anything unusual, it was that there were many legends concerning martial artists. Of course, the martial artists recorded in the history books had all been somewhat embellished over time.
In this game, martial artists could overturn rivers and seas. Moreover, all sorts of demons lived within the Tianke Empire, feeding on humans. None of this existed in the history textbooks. Either the court historians had all died, and the history Qi Yuan knew was merely unofficial lore, or this was simply the game version.
Either way, he would play the game first. After all, Qi Yuan had already grown accustomed to leisurely life in his games. He looked up and saw a somewhat damp earthen wall, draped with red curtains, giving off a festive atmosphere.
Just then, a girl said sorrowfully, "Brother Qi... I don’t want this, I won’t, no..."
A dark-skinned, rather ordinary-looking girl stood there holding a kitchen knife, tears still lingering in her eyes. She was dressed in bridal attire, which made her appear even darker under the dim yellow light. Upon hearing the girl’s words, more memories rushed in, leaving Qi Yuan rather speechless.
The girl before him had a very simple name, Xiaomei. It seemed the game dev had completely given up and couldn’t be bothered to name characters properly. Calling her Xiaomei was one thing, but the girl was not beautiful at all. She was dark-skinned and very ordinary. The girl was the child bride that his game character had picked up.
His backstory was that of a middle-class butcher who loved gambling. He had always wanted to marry a beautiful wife, but since the child bride seemed average, he simply named her Xiaomei. As the saying went, nine out of ten gamblers lost before hitting it big.
Moreover, the butcher owed a large sum to the gambling den. Who would have thought that the true power behind Yunyan County’s gambling dens was a nest of weasels? Among them, Fourth Master Huang had come to collect the debt. Since Qi Yuan could not repay it, he had offered the child bride as collateral. Fourth Master Huang happened to favor Xiaomei’s type.
Xiaomei clutched the kitchen knife, tears streaming down her face. "I will repay you for saving my life! Once I marry Fourth Master Huang, we’ll be even!"
Anger, fear, and disappointment blazed in her eyes.
Qi Yuan shrugged. "Then we’re even now."
After all, this was merely the game’s setting. Could it be that if the game assigned him a father, he would have to call that man "Dad"? His true body had also descended here. Indeed, he wasn’t even using the game character’s body, only his clothing and appearance had been adjusted.
Qi Yuan’s cold and heartless words left Xiaomei utterly despairing. In her heart, she still clung to hope that Brother Qi would come to his senses and take her away from Yunyan County.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, breaking the silence of the night.
"Qi Er, open up! Is the wedding dress on yet? You coward, hurry up and send the little bride out. Don’t keep Fourth Master Huang waiting!"
Although Xiaomei was tearful, there was none of that pear-blossoms-in-rain beauty about her. Only snot smeared across her upper lip.
A look of interest appeared in Qi Yuan’s eyes. "A demon, huh?"
To be honest, he found the demons and the bloodline martial path of this world rather fascinating. However, as Qi Yuan took a step forward, his expression froze slightly. His cultivation had decreased.
In the Qin Yuan Kingdom, he was at the peak of Foundation Establishment, only a step away from Core Formation. Yet now, he was only at the peak of the Qi Refinement realm.
Qi Yuan was startled. "This is..."
He had never encountered this situation in any game he had played before. In his shock, he recalled Lord Great Wisdom’s explanation.
Within the Yang Spirit realm, there was one stage called the Principle realm. If a Yang Spirit who had not reached the Principle realm rashly entered a world with entirely different laws, their cultivation would drop by one major realm. If one had reached the Minor Principle realm, it would only drop by one minor realm.
And now, Qi Yuan was facing precisely such a situation. His immortal cultivation had dropped by one major realm, but his martial cultivation still remained. It made him inwardly cautious, but not overly so. After all, it was just a game. Having fun was what mattered.
Pushing open the door, he walked into the courtyard, then flung the main gate wide open. Several fierce-looking, burly men stood there, broad-waisted and thick-armed. Beside them stood a sedan chair, before which an old man in a silk robe stood waiting.
The old man appeared gentle and benevolent. Even the way his brows arched and his eyes curved suggested kindness. In television dramas, he would be written off as a good person without question. A heady perfume clung to him, and Qi Yuan could already catch a strange odor from far away.
The stench was indescribably sour and pungent. It felt like standing beside someone who had desperately tried to mask their body odor with overpowering cheap perfume in an old elevator that hadn’t been cleaned for years. This old man was Fourth Master Huang. He appeared human at first glance, but on closer inspection, he had a pair of mouse ears.
Before the uninvited guests could even speak, Qi Yuan took the initiative. "Are you the Mouse-Eared Gentleman?"
He had seen cat-eared girls before, and now he had seen a mouse-eared man. His fantasies about such creatures were completely shattered. Then again, in the vast universe, anything was possible. Perhaps some men were into mouse-eared men instead of femboys.
A burly man barked, "How dare you speak to Fourth Master Huang like that?! Where’s the little bride?! Hurry up and bring her out!"
He wore an open-chested, short hemp shirt, revealing yellow chest hair.
Unbeknownst to him, Qi Yuan was skilled at wielding the weapon of law. "Little Yellow Hair, how dare an NPC talk to me like that? Don’t you know that according to the laws of Tianke, trespassing into a private residence is illegal?"
Although the law served the ruling class, Qi Yuan saw no problem in using it as a successor of the people. Besides, as the father of two daughters, he had always hated yellow-haired punks. Sure, the yellow hair wasn’t on his head, but hair is hair.
The yellow-haired man flew into a rage and was just about to beat Qi Yuan up. He had done this sort of thing many times.
Fourth Master Huang said elegantly, "Now, now. Today is a joyous day. Let us not spill blood, shall we? Qi Er, I know you’re unhappy that I’m marrying your child bride. I really do. But weren’t you the one who signed the contract of sale?"
Though he wasn’t human, he loved pretending to be one, acting according to human manners.
Qi Yuan threw a punch. "Like you said, Qi Er signed it. What the fuck does that have to do with me?!”
He didn’t use any Dao techniques, just pure martial arts. Having just broken through the martial peak, he had to test his skills on these mini-bosses. Qi Yuan once again found the thrill of gaming.
The yellow-haired man roared and immediately attacked Qi Yuan, "Brat, your guts have grown? You learned a fake move or two, and now dare lay hands on Fourth Master Huang?! You’re courting death!"
He was obviously a trained fighter as well. In fact, he had only beaten Qi Er senseless yesterday. He simply did not take Qi Yuan seriously at all.
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