Training Base for Mighty Ones

For the next few hours, Yu Xian spent his time browsing the auction house. Weapons, equipment, medicines, special items—he examined them all at a leisurely pace. As for the livestream, he simply left it running and paid it no mind. Yet without him realizing it, several class-users with nothing better to do wandered into the stream. After a while, some even started demanding that Yu Xian show off some talent. But because Yu Xian was paying zero attention to the broadcast, he had no idea they were clamoring at all. [Gravity Bomb: Upon being thrown, creates an area of abnormal gravity lasting 30 minutes. Price: 20,000 Fortune Gold Coins.] Yu Xian watched the demonstration effect and bought it on the spot. [Skill Merchant Summoning Talisman: Summons a Skill Merchant upon use. The Skill Merchant persists for one hour. Price: 5,000,000 Fortune Gold Coins.] Yu Xian looked it up and discovered that the Zhen Realm actually possessed entities known as "Skill Merchants." They were non-attackable NPCs that spawned randomly in certain regions. If class-users were lucky enough to encounter one, they could purchase additional universal skills from them. However, because universal skills were exorbitantly expensive—a single Self-Healing cost one million—some class-users who obtained a Skill Merchant Summoning Talisman chose not to use it themselves. Instead, they listed it on the auction house, knowing full well they could not afford the skills offered even if they did summon one. Once Yu Xian understood its function, he immediately flipped back to the auction house page, intending to buy the talisman, only to find someone else had already snapped it up. "Damn it, that's infuriating!" Yu Xian flipped through several pages in succession, thoroughly exasperated. There were simply too many rich people in the Zhen Realm. Deciding to switch gears and reset his mood, he closed the auction house, only to discover with surprise that his stream actually had over a hundred viewers. "Don't you guys have anything better to do? No leveling to grind? No money to make?" Yu Xian couldn't resist scoffing at the chat. At once, the hundred-odd viewers took offense and launched into a battle of wits and insults against him. The commotion, in turn, only attracted even more onlookers. A Moderator Named Moxi: "Calling a necromancer 'Sparkle Youth King'? You should call yourself the 'Dark Femboy.'" Femboy? Veins instantly bulged on Yu Xian's forehead. He sneered, "When did I ever say I was a necromancer? Don't make stuff up." At that moment, another viewer named Does Meow Eat Fish chimed in: "Look at the skeletons behind you, and you're still denying it?" That viewer's argument was weak, however, and Yu Xian merely smirked. "Having skeletons doesn't equal being a necromancer. Basic inequality destroyed you. Next!" "Salty Fish, it's Sparkle Girl." A message suddenly flashed across the chat box, making Yu Xian's eyes widen. Stunned, he took a whole second to recover before hastily muting everyone in the stream. Then, he sent a private message to Nora: "Which continent are you on? Are you all right?" After sending it, he stared tensely at the screen. Only when Nora replied did his heart resume beating, a broad grin spreading across his face. …… Over the next few days, the other members contacted Yu Xian one after another through his livestream. After a round of discussions, Yu Xian finally learned which continents everyone had been assigned to and how they were faring. Without a doubt, the most miserable were Gong Qian and Shui Yuetian. Neither had rolled a particularly good class, and their luck was quite poor to boot. Currently, they were only in their teens in level, facing a grueling uphill battle. The one doing best was Niman. Having already used a character enhancement stone to bring herself to +1 enhancement, her strength was likely second only to Yu Xian's. On the fifth day, after Gong Qian and Shui Yuetian—the last to discover his stream—finally made contact, Yu Xian set a time with everyone for a private livestream gathering. Streams actually offered both public and private modes. In private mode, the broadcaster could specify exactly who was allowed into the room. Class-users who were not invited could not even search for the room's existence. Saturday. Yu Xian launched the private stream and invited Zhang Shou, Nora, Niman, Shui Yuetian, Little Huangquan, Little Nora, Gong Qian, Cheng Pi, and Jin Sheng into the room. In an instant, the chat room became lively. Zhang Shou: "How's everyone doing? Long time no see!" Cheng Pi: "It hasn't actually been that long, only a few months. But everyone being on different continents is annoying. Helping each other out is pretty tough." Shui Yuetian: "You can say that again! Qianqian and I have it so bad. We never know where our next meal is coming from, and we're starving half the time." Niman: "Actually, there's a way to change continents, but it's quite expensive. It requires 100,000 Fortune Gold Coins." Yu Xian: "There's a feature like that?" He was genuinely shocked. How had he not known that switching continents was an option? Nora added, "Every newcomer has this chance. Near the System Management Center, there's an NPC. If I remember correctly, submitting specific materials triggers a hidden quest to transfer continents." Niman: "Right, every newcomer gets one opportunity. I've saved up roughly 20,000 coins so far, so I'm still 80,000 short before I can travel to your continent, Yu Xian." Yu Xian sighed and said, "You should've said so earlier! I can deposit a sum of money in the System Management Center and give you the passcode. You can withdraw the funds, then find your way to Jiangli City on the Baihe Continent. I run the place here." Zhang Shou: "As expected of Salty Fish—what an absolute powerhouse to lean on! Wait for me, I'm heading over as soon as I can!!!!" He wanted nothing more than to teleport to Yu Xian's continent immediately, considering he was being hunted down every single day. Next, Yu Xian coordinated the withdrawal passcodes and the amounts of Fortune Gold Coins to deposit, after which the conversation drifted toward classes. Gong Qian had plenty to vent about on that front. She had been a perfectly good warrior, yet she had been forced into becoming some lousy Daoist. It was sheer torture. She felt she had written more characters while drawing talismans over the past few months than in all her previous decades combined. Zhang Shou nodded vehemently upon hearing that, complaining, "I feel like the Zhen Realm is screwing with me, too. I was a majestic mage, and now I've turned into a brawling melee warrior! Whatever happened to my Sword Immortal dream?!" "Actually, through my experiences over this period, I've noticed something interesting. Every class is essentially a rule," Niman said at that point. "My class is Divine Script Kotodama Master, which corresponds to the Rule of Script, and above that lies the Rule of Order." Jin Sheng asked in surprise, "There's something like that?" "I only started noticing clues after reaching +1 enhancement. Each enhancement is essentially an evolution toward a higher-tier rule," Niman explained. "Salty Fish told me about his class before. In the beginning, activating his skills required sacrifices, but after enhancing his class, sacrifices were no longer needed. Similarly, when I started out, I had to speak every word aloud to use my ability. But after reaching +1 enhancement, merely reciting it in my mind was enough to trigger it. The more you enhance, the higher your mastery over the rule becomes, and the more freely you can wield those abilities." Gong Qian asked in delight, "So once I enhance later on, I won't have to draw talismans anymore?" "Right. In all likelihood, you won't need to." Niman gave an affirmative answer. The rule underlying every class was anything but simple. And coincidentally, a Mighty One had to master at least one rule. In truth, the Zhen Realm was nothing less than a training base for Mighty Ones: every entrant was granted at least one rule and gradually brought to master it through the process of leveling up.