The two walked under the city gate, looking up at the over ten meters high gate. Around them, people were flowing in and out of Beifeng City, and occasionally, they could see carriages pulled by exotic beasts speeding into the city.
After entering Beifeng City, Yu Xiaoman said, "We're in the city now. The system alerts me that I've left the danger zone. Master, I'm logging off first. It's the first time experiencing being trapped in the game and unable to get out. Bye, Master!"
After speaking, Yu Xiaoman logged out of the game.
Lu Yu stared at her, wanting to see what would happen to the character after logging out.
Suddenly, Yu Xiaoman's character walked into the crowd, and Lu Yu couldn't find her character anymore.
"What's going on?" Lu Yu looked at the sea of people in front of him, somewhat confused. He clearly saw Yu Xiaoman walk in just now, so why couldn't he find her now?
It was as if Yu Xiaoman had become one of the background characters, her presence forcibly erased.
Lu Yu scratched the back of his head, unable to understand, and helplessly followed the stream of people into Beifeng City.
"Should I go to Beifeng Academy first? Or should I go to Divine Weapon Pavilion first?"
[Beifeng City Area Chat]Anonymous: Does anyone know where the little princess of the Ling family, Ling Shuang, is? Heavy reward for her location.
[Beifeng City Area Chat]Cyan Light Sword Technique Master: Forming a team to encircle the demon snake of Blue Water Pond, requiring Qi Cultivation level six or above. Detailed profit distribution discussed upon meeting. Private message me if interested.
[Beifeng City Area Chat]Anonymous: The Fire Rain Mountain secret realm is about to open. Anyone interested can find me to purchase entry slots.
[Beifeng City Area Chat]Anonymous: I know Ling Shuang's location. Private message me if you're interested.
[Beifeng City Area Chat]Treasure Appraisal Master: I have a treasure-hunting mouse for sale. Those interested can find me at Wanbao Auction House.
[Beifeng City Area Chat]Anonymous: Looking to purchase a Divine Weapon Pavilion Elite Recruitment Order.
...
Lu Yu walked for a while before discovering how lively the Beifeng City's area chat channel was.
Through the roadside stall vendors, Lu Yu learned the location of the Divine Weapon Pavilion. After presenting the Elite Recruitment Order, he was placed in a loft.
The Divine Weapon Pavilion Steward told him that the entry trial was arranged in a secret realm opening the day after tomorrow. Just gather at the Pavilion's entrance in the morning two days later, and he could freely roam in the meantime.
Lu Yu had just settled into his courtyard when someone came looking for him.
A fiery-red-haired youth knocked on Lu Yu's room door. When Lu Yu opened the door, he found it was someone he didn't recognize.
The youth extended his hand in greeting, saying, "I'm Ouyang Lie. I live next door to you and arrived in Beifeng City a few days before you."
Lu Yu shook hands with him and introduced himself, "My name is Lu Yu."
"You came here with the token too, right? The elder gave me this token and kicked me out of the family. I traveled over a thousand miles to get to Beifeng City."
Ouyang Lie seemed to be complaining about his family's elder to Lu Yu, who didn't know how to respond.
"By the way, there's someone else on this floor. That guy seems to be a local from Beifeng City. I only saw him once, and he hasn't come back here since."
"To celebrate our acquaintance, I'll treat you to a meal!"
Lu Yu was a little bewildered; was this person naturally so open?
Pulling Lu Yu along, he left the room, saying as they walked, "I'll tell you, I know a place that's cheap and delicious. Today, I'll take you to try it."
Half an hour later, Lu Yu watched Ouyang Lie gobbling down food fast, feeling he might have been tricked.
Ouyang Lie seemed to have no money left and brought Lu Yu to eat. Although Lu Yu admitted the food was indeed delicious.
Sure enough, in the end, Lu Yu paid. Ouyang Lie didn't have a single copper coin on him, though he didn't eat much. Together they ate for half a day, only spending 8 silver and 56 copper.
Lu Yu didn't mind the meal cost.
As they walked back to their rooms, Lu Yu asked Ouyang Lie curiously, "Did you really not bring any money when you left?"
Ouyang Lie's face immediately fell, "I did. The elder gave me quite a bit of money, but I met a thief on the way, and all my money was stolen. Thankfully, the token wasn't lost, or I wouldn't even have a place to sleep."
"To thank you for the meal, I'll tell you something." Ouyang Lie looked around and quietly said to Lu Yu, "Be careful at night. Someone might come to steal your token."
"Steal the Elite Recruitment Order?" Lu Yu was somewhat surprised. Was Beifeng City's security that poor?
[Mission Acquired—Protect the Elite Recruitment Order, a test from the Divine Weapon Pavilion. Mission reward: Entry Qualification for the Divine Weapon Pavilion Formal Disciple Test]
[Note: Cannot log out during the mission]
After the two returned to their residence, they each went back to their rooms. Lying in bed, Lu Yu became vigilant. It seemed he might not be able to sleep tonight.
After eating, Lu Yu lay on the bed and looked at the chat section about Beifeng City. Most of it was information about trading items and finding teammates, basically using anonymity; no one revealed their real names.
Some might have used their real names, but up until now, Lu Yu hadn't seen it. In a way, this phenomenon indicated an unfriendly relationship among players.
It was almost midnight, yet messages occasionally popped up in the regional chat, suggesting there were quite a few players gaming overnight.
Snoring~ Lu Yu heard snoring coming from the next room—it was Ouyang Lie's snores.
"Someone could come to steal, and he still sleeps?"
After waiting for two hours, Lu Yu began to feel sleepy; his eyelids were fighting each other. Aside from Ouyang Lie's snores, he hadn't heard any noises from any thief.
Squeak~ A tiny friction sound mixed in with the snores of Ouyang Lie, so inconspicuous that Lu Yu seemed unaware, lying on the bed with steady breathing.
The subtle sound of clothes friction arose; after rummaging through the package Lu Yu left on the table, the person didn't find the recruitment token and was a bit anxious.
Glancing at Lu Yu lying on the bed with his back facing him, the person lightly walked toward Lu Yu.
Lu Yu suddenly turned over and scratched his belly; the person halted, observing closely, realizing Lu Yu seemed to be asleep.
Suddenly, the person saw a bulge in Lu Yu's clothing, resembling a recruitment token.
The person reached out, gently trying to seize the token, when a hand suddenly grasped his arm, and Lu Yu opened his eyes, staring at him.
An invisible pressure enveloped the masked person; he felt as if a mighty beast was watching him—that was the martial intent of the Fierce Tiger Fist.
Lu Yu intended to get up and unravel the masked person's disguise but felt the arm in his hand was slippery like a loach, unable to grip it.
Instinctively using Black Tiger Heart Attack, his fingers instantly hardened, the fingertips piercing through the masked man's dark clothing, leaving five blood marks on his arm.
The opponent seemed to have cultivated some special martial art; his skin became slippery and resilient, and even using Black Tiger Heart Attack to fortify his fingers, Lu Yu couldn't fully pierce the skin, unable to hold him.
Boom~ The masked person crashed through the window, escaping from Lu Yu's room. Lu Yu stopped at the window, looking down at the courtyard where Divine Weapon Pavilion guards patrolled.
This behavior seemed to be allowed by Divine Weapon Pavilion; those patrolling guards did not react at all.
Perhaps this was also one of the Divine Weapon Pavilion's tests for those holding recruitment tokens.
Lu Yu returned to the bedside; the snore next door had softened when the masked person arrived and had now returned to its original volume.
Noticing the change in snores, Lu Yu realized he had underestimated Ouyang Lie.
Lu Yu remained awake through the latter half of the night, wary of the masked person returning for a sneak attack.
At dawn, the cock's crow sounded, and everyone left their rooms to eat the breakfast prepared by the Divine Weapon Pavilion; of course, one could choose to eat outside.
Lu Yu lived in a courtyard structure resembling a square. He and Ouyang Lie stayed on the top level, in the alpha-numbered rooms. Below were beta, gamma, and delta-numbered rooms, also occupied by those looking to join the Divine Weapon Pavilion.
The difference was that they had undergone many tests to reach this point, while Lu Yu and Ouyang Lie had progressed straight to the final test with their recruitment tokens.
He glanced at the regional chat, seeing the message buying recruitment tokens still popping up. Its sender occasionally sent messages even at the dead of night, ensuring everyone saw them promptly.
Lu Yu found it strange why the person wanted the recruitment token so badly, feeling that the token wasn't hard to get since Shopkeeper Ge approached him and handed him a token out of the blue.
Perhaps the person who came to steal his token last night was a player, but currently, Lu Yu had no way to distinguish who was a player and who was an NPC; he hadn't encountered enough players yet.
He glanced at his friend list showing Yu Xiaoman, who hadn't logged on yet. It should be said that after logging off yesterday, she hadn't gotten back online, probably frightened by the game.
Yesterday, Yu Xiaoman and Lu Yu walked for a good five or six hours from the forest to Beifeng City. Halfway, Yu Xiaoman wanted to exit the game, only to be warned by the system that she was in a danger zone and couldn't exit.
She was only allowed to exit after entering Beifeng City, possibly leaving a psychological shadow.
While eating, Lu Yu sensed the surrounding people seemingly hostile toward him, whereas Ouyang Lie seemed completely oblivious to their glances and went for another bowl of porridge after finishing one.
When Ouyang Lie left, a tall, thin man sat down before Lu Yu, who instinctively looked at his left hand, seeing no trace of injury; this wasn't the masked man from last night.
"Hey, genius, I heard you're participating in the secret realm trial the day after tomorrow?" the tall and thin man said, unfriendly in tone.
Lu Yu didn't respond, knowing that the other was deliberately provoking him and replying would only fall into his trap.
"I advise you not to join the trial. Without Qi cultivation realm strength, entering the Fire Rain Mountain secret realm is seeking death. You might as well hand over the token to me for safety.
"I won't bully you." The tall, thin man tossed a wallet and pointed at it, saying, "Inside is 1,000 gold. Surrender the token, take the money and return to your hometown, avoiding a needless death in the secret realm."
Yesterday, the tall, thin man had investigated Lu Yu's background, discovering he was merely a martial cultivator from a remote town without any influence in Beifeng City, hence "urging" Lu Yu not to join the secret realm trial, surrendering the token.
Ouyang Lie returned with the food and saw the tall, thin man sitting in his spot, frowned, and said, "Move."