The Game Launches

"Is this the power of a Mighty One? Truly terrifying." It was the first time Jin Sheng had ever witnessed such an awe-inspiring sight. A planet had disintegrated right before his eyes, tearing into pieces before the aftershocks gradually ground it into dust. The radiance of the gold coin stretched all the way into the depths of the Tree Universe, beyond what the naked eye could observe. Even as shock filled him, endless drive surged within him. A Mighty One. As long as one became a Mighty One, one could wield such mighty power. He looked toward Little Nora, only to find that Little Nora was just as dumbfounded, staring at the screen with its mouth agape. In truth, Little Nora had only meant to blow up that dead planet; it had never intended to drag in whatever lay behind it, and it had used only a tiny, minuscule sliver of power. Yet the destruction it caused far exceeded its own expectations. "Little Nora, what's with that expression?" Niman noticed Little Nora's strange look as well and asked with an amused chuckle. Little Nora hurriedly shook its head and put on a brave front. "Nothing. Nothing at all." "Alright, let's head out. Are you coming too, Little Nora?" Nora naturally saw through Little Nora's guilty conscience, but she gently changed the subject for it, addressing everyone before turning back to Little Nora. Little Nora shook its head. "I won't go. I'll watch the ship!" It had been a very, very long time since it had streamed. Although to everyone else it had only gone offline for a brief moment, for Little Nora it had been over a hundred years. It missed the viewers of its eating streams, so it planned to stay on the Aska to broadcast. "All right, keep a good eye on the place. We're off," Nora said with a nod. Zhang Shou looked at Nora and asked, "Wait, how do we get to the Zhen Realm?" "Find Feng Mingge," Little Nora said. Just then, however, dialog boxes popped up in front of Zhang Shou and the others one after another. Everyone froze, then exchanged surprised glances. "We received an invitation from the Zhen Realm. Could it be Salty Fish?" Zhang Shou looked at Little Nora, guessing. Niman chimed in, "Muse, check for any malicious intrusions." "There are no malicious intrusions aboard the Aska," Muse answered. Niman looked thoughtful and smiled at the others. "Then Salty Fish has most likely triggered some mechanism in the Zhen Realm again, obtaining a special item or certain permissions." "That works out great—we don't even have to look for Feng Mingge. Let's go," Zhang Shou laughed. One after another, they tapped to accept and dissolved into beams of white light, leaving only Little Nora behind. "Time for me to start streaming too, then." Seeing that everyone had entered the Zhen Realm, Little Nora happily turned and left the bridge. ... A white space. Upon entering, Nora began answering questions with practiced ease. This time, however, her answers were completely different from before; after all, her previous class had been far too weak. Yu Xian had once told her that every class corresponded to a kind of rule, and rules had hierarchies—they were not fair and equal. [Do you enjoy using weapons?] Her previous answer had been no, but this time her answer was: Yes. [What kind of weapons do you prefer to use?] Looking at the question, Nora recalled that her previous answer had been melee weapons because she felt her marksmanship was already strong enough and had wanted to hone her close-quarters combat skills. This time, she answered, "Any weapon that can kill an enemy, I like!" [What style of combat do you prefer?] Nora replied, "Easily disposing of all enemies while guaranteeing my own safety." She went on answering questions, her responses bolder and greedier than last time, filled with words like "invincible," "effortless," "annihilate enemies," and the like. At last, her class was determined. [Based on your answers, the class best suited for you is: War Armament Master] She read through the description: the War Armament Master possessed the ability to manufacture combat armaments, as well as the ability to accelerate mastery over all kinds of weaponry. One could say that by becoming a War Armament Master, it was only a matter of time before she could wield all eighteen types of weapons as naturally as her own limbs. Nora promptly chose War Armament Master, and in the next moment, she was teleported into the Zhen Realm. ... A flash of white light. Nora appeared within a massive walled city. She blinked in surprise for a moment, then noticed class users continuously spawning around her. [Welcome, players, to the game. This game is sponsored by the Great Zhen and operated and maintained by Yu Xian. We hope everyone has a wonderful time playing.] Looking up, Nora saw a translucent light screen hanging in the sky, scrolling this line of text repeatedly. She couldn't help a smile. No wonder the Zhen Realm had changed so drastically—it turned out Yu Xian had acquired operational privileges over it. [PvP combat is discouraged in this game. If any conflicts arise, players may apply to enter the Deathmatch Arena for a life-or-death duel. Please coexist harmoniously.] Niman appeared not far away and walked over to Nora, quipping, "Yu Xian is really running the Zhen Realm like a game." "Hahaha! Interesting. Class users turned into players—now we're all gamers," Zhang Shou said with a chuckle as he walked over. Shui Yuetian spotted Zhang Shou as well and stepped forward, asking curiously, "What classes did you guys get?" "I'm a Heaven-Cleaving Blade Master," Zhang Shou answered immediately. Although his answers had all aimed for Sword Immortal, he had ended up a bladesman instead. Still, he was satisfied. A bladesman was fine—better than a healer, at least. Nora smiled faintly. "My class is War Armament Master." "I answered rather conservatively this time. My class is Nature Poison Master," Niman said. Just then, Jin Sheng spotted the group and squeezed through the crowd to Zhang Shou's side. After a brief discussion, they concluded that this city might be the sole spawn point, which was why everyone had ended up here. "Could Salty Fish have merged all the continents together?" Zhang Shou guessed. Niman smiled. "Knowing Yu Xian, that's entirely possible." "Then let's look around; Cheng Pi and Little Huangquan should be nearby," Nora said. The group searched together and, after about five minutes, successfully reunited with Cheng Pi and Little Huangquan. After chatting for a while, they decided to head outside the city to take a look. Presently, the biggest change in the Zhen Realm was that players were forbidden from fighting one another; life-or-death duels required an application and could only take place in the arena. Therefore, leaving the city was quite safe. Yet before they could reach the city gates, an uproar suddenly erupted within the city. "Mr. Gong!" "Big Boss Gong!" "Boss Gong!" All at once, countless people excitedly crowded around a middle-aged man. Gong Yinhu had never imagined that even though he was no longer an almighty powerhouse, so many people would still revere him. "I am no longer the max-level Gong Yinhu," Gong Yinhu said, his eyes reddening slightly as he looked at the crowd. He had been sweeping latrines when he received the invitation from the Zhen Realm. He had fully prepared himself to face contempt, mockery, and verbal abuse from countless people—after all, his defeat at Yu Xian's hands had crushed the hope of the entire continent. Yet he hadn't expected that no one blamed him. Voices rose at once as everyone began reassuring him. In the end, countless people surrounded Gong Yinhu and walked toward the outskirts of the city. Evidently, this would become the Zhen Realm's greatest faction.