"Hey! Who is it?"
"Brother Yu, it's Su Peng."
"Su Peng!" Lu Yu was very surprised, a mix of delight and mock scolding in his voice, "You just disappeared without saying goodbye, I haven't had a chance to settle accounts with you! Why have you been out of touch for three years? What have you been up to?"
"Well, something happened at home back then, so I rushed back and didn't have the time to say goodbye."
"What about Jing Yang? When he left, he didn't say anything either. Did something happen at his home too?"
"Uh~ it should be."
"Alright! Both of your families had problems, and both of you left without notice, I won't pursue it further. Since you're calling now, it means the problems have been resolved. When do you have time to hang out, and bring Jing Yang along? I still have your graduation certificates here, when will you come and collect them?"
"Forget the graduation certificates, we won't need them anyway. As for hanging out, I don't have time now, maybe later; I still need to ask Jing Yang if he's free."
"We'll talk about these things later, the reason I called is to tell you something very important." Su Peng's tone became solemn.
Lu Yu knew Su Peng's personality, and since he was this serious, it must be something important. He instinctively sat up straight, ready to listen.
"Go ahead, I'm listening."
"In a moment, you'll receive a package which you'll need to sign for. I sent it to you."
"Alright."
"Inside the package is a game headset, yes, it's the kind from novels that can simulate reality at one hundred percent, a holographic virtual reality game headset."
Upon hearing this, many questions popped up in Lu Yu's mind, but he didn't interrupt Su Peng's talk.
"What you need to do is use the game headset to enter the game and do everything you can to become stronger in the game. One very important thing is never to die in the game."
"The game headset uses brain connection technology, this technology isn't very mature yet. If you die in the game, it may cause the brain to mistakenly believe the body is dead in reality, leading to a false impression of brain death, which could become real death."
"If you encounter irresistible danger in the game, you can choose to directly exit the game to avoid the danger. However, it's best not to use this method often; also, forcibly exiting the game can cause damage to the brain nerves."
"A few times won't cause any issues, but too many times can lead to cerebral palsy."
"Well, there shouldn't be anything else, remember to sign for the package, Brother Yu. If we're lucky, we might see each other in the game soon."
After speaking, before Lu Yu could ask questions, Su Peng hung up, and when Lu Yu tried to call back, he was met with "The user you dialed is not in the service area, please try again later."
No choice now, unable to contact Su Peng, it seems he can only ask what's going on when he sees him in the game?
Lu Yu now strongly suspected whether Su Peng's family company had developed this futuristic technology and lacked guinea pigs, wanting him to be one.
Not long after Su Peng hung up, Lu Yu received a call from the delivery guy.
"Hello, is this Mr. Lu? There's a package for you, please come and pick it up."
After signing for the package at the downstairs community's delivery station, Lu Yu hurried home at the fastest speed and eagerly opened the package box.
Beneath layers of wrapping was a silver-gray helmet, looking no different from a regular motorcycle helmet.
Inside the package was also a piece of paper, with "Game Headset for Divine Martial World Login" written on the front and an assortment of symbols and numbers mixed together on the back, remembered after looking at them a few times.
Since Lu Yu was now a freelancer and confirmed there was nothing to do in the afternoon, he directly took the headset and connection cable to the bedroom.
After plugging in the power, three green lights lit up on the headset; he put on the headset, lay on the bed, and entered the game.
He didn't feel any magical login process, just closed his eyes and opened them again, he was already in the game.
Upon opening his eyes, Lu Yu carefully observed the room's environment. The room was very simple.
The walls, old and cracked, looked like they were made of thatched roofing, and the room contained only a rough straw-covered wooden bed taking up most of the space.
He glanced at his hands, which were a bit emaciated due to malnutrition, felt the roughness of the straw on the bed and his clothes, and a rancid smell filled the room, indicating the body hadn't showered in a long time.
"This game is kind of amazing! Touch, smell, vision..."
Smacking his lips, he tasted bitterness spreading in his mouth, "Taste is this clear and realistic too, if released it would surely dominate the gaming world; I wonder what the price of this headset is."
If not for a few system operation buttons in his view, Lu Yu would have thought he had time-traveled.
Clang clang clang~ "Get up, everyone get up!"
Bam bam bam~ Kicking noises sounded, coming closer and closer.
Bam~ The door to Lu Yu's room was kicked open, sunlight streamed in, and Lu Yu instinctively squinted seeing a young man in a blue shirt with a gong kicking the door open.
"Hurry up and gather at the training ground, if you're late, don't bother eating today!"
After speaking, the man turned and left to wake the others.
Lu Yu was momentarily unclear about the situation, so he decided not to act on his own and instead followed the guidance of the NPC.
After stepping out of the house, he discovered that besides the small hut he was in, there were many others—Lu Yu quickly estimated there to be no less than 30.
Following the others, Lu Yu arrived at a spacious courtyard filled with blue flags, each bearing a large "Han" character.
Just like Lu Yu, boys in hemp garments were gathered at one corner of the courtyard, while on the other side were robust individuals in azure outfits, utilizing training equipment on the martial grounds for their workouts.
A middle-aged man in black clothing, moving with an aura of authority, approached the crowd. Lu Yu observed his surroundings from within the group, initially determining that his character seemed to be a servant or household staff.
As the middle-aged man approached, a young man holding a copper gong changed his expression to one of ingratiation, bowing respectfully and saying, "Steward Zhang, this is the newest batch of Protector candidates, all vetted as orphans of clean backgrounds."
"Alright, you can leave now!"
"Yes."
At this moment, a tall and handsome young man in azure attire, with a black belt, a sword on his left and a fine jade on his right, walked over from the hall at the end of the martial grounds.
Upon seeing the young man approach, Steward Zhang revealed a hint of a smile and said, "Guardian Yang, I'll leave these newcomers to you. I hope you'll guide them well; learning even a couple of your moves would be greatly beneficial."
"You're too kind, Steward Zhang. I will certainly teach these newcomers well and won't let down the expectations of the master and mistress."
After a brief exchange, Steward Zhang departed as the handsome and tall Guardian Yang took over the task of instructing the crowd.
Scanning the group, Yang Xiu declared, "My name is Yang Xiu, and I will be responsible for teaching you martial arts from now on."
"Firstly, being selected to become a Protector of the Han family is a great honor. Without the family's grace, you'd still be living a begging life in some unknown corner, with no chance to learn martial arts and change your fate!"
"Secondly, you're not true Protectors yet. I will teach you a boxing style in the coming days, and when you reach the first level of Body Refinement, you will become genuine Protectors."
"You'll move from the yellow mud and straw shelters into blue stone-tile houses, eat your fill, and even receive monthly pay."
Hearing this, the majority of the boys displayed fervent anticipation in their eyes, longing for the life Yang Xiu described, which made Yang Xiu nod in satisfaction.
"Alright, I will now teach you a boxing style called Fierce Tiger Fist. It's robust enough to be practiced up to the seventh level of Body Refinement. I'll demonstrate it several times now; watch carefully and remember!"
Speaking thus, Yang Xiu began to demonstrate the Fierce Tiger Fist, each move vigorous and powerful, fists bringing wind and feet sweeping dust, standing amidst the crowd, Lu Yu could even feel the wind from Yang Xiu's punches, the force brushing against his face.
[Ding! Detecting player learning "Fierce Tiger Fist"]
Below appeared a progress bar, steadily advancing.
While punching, Yang Xiu also explained the key points and force exertion of the Fierce Tiger Fist to everyone. Without these insights, merely watching him wouldn't suffice for learning the technique.
Yang Xiu quickly finished demonstrating the boxing routine, with the progress bar loading until 100%. Upon seeing the [Fierce Tiger Fist Learned] prompt, Lu Yu opened the system interface to check his information.
[Name: Lu Yu]
[Realm: Mortal]
[Qi Blood: 9]
[Cultivation Technique: Fierce Tiger Fist (Level 1)]
[Skill: Fierce Tiger Fist - Hungry Tiger Pounce (Novice)]
[Experience Points: 0]
Yang Xiu swiftly demonstrated the Fierce Tiger Fist three more times before telling everyone to disperse and begin practicing.
Soon, the courtyard echoed with continuous cries of pain. Yang Xiu walked among the crowd, brandishing the sheath to harshly strike anyone with incorrect posture or movement, helping to correct them.
The painful correction made learning memorable; to avoid being struck, one could only remember the correct actions.
Watching others quickly grasp the right posture amid cries of agony, Lu Yu felt a bit wistful. If military training had been this strict, maybe he wouldn't have spent a week failing at standing correctly.
With Yang Xiu moving along, it soon came to Lu Yu's turn. As he instinctively prepared to raise the sheath for a hit, he suddenly stopped, because the person before him displayed precisely correct movements, though a bit raw.
Surprised by someone executing such standard Fierce Tiger Fist moves, Yang Xiu glanced at Lu Yu several more times. After passing by him, cries of pain emerged behind Lu Yu.
For Lu Yu having nailed the Fierce Tiger Fist, Yang Xiu thought little of it. After all, the Fierce Tiger Fist wasn't advanced martial arts, just ordinary fare, and learning a few moves from elsewhere wasn't unlikely.
Naturally, Lu Yu hadn't learned the Fierce Tiger Fist previously—clicking the practice button underneath it, his body moved as if controlled by strings.
Lu Yu felt that with just a bit of "effort," he could easily regain control over his body.
But given the option to autopilot, why exert himself?
Watching the proficiency level of Fierce Tiger Fist steadily rising beneath it, Lu Yu appreciated the automated training experience.