Chapter 1: The Young Man at the Foot of Great Liang Mountain

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The sun had just risen, and the swordsmen of Heavenly Mountain soared through the air with their swords aloft, dancing atop the mountain peak, while officials in the Imperial Court paid their solemn respects with lowered voices, and battlefield eagles screeched atop the ashen city walls, flapping past and shedding one or two hard feathers, which set off a desolate and ancient call of the horns and the tiger-like shouts of the soldiers. Below Great Liang Mountain, in the village, a bunch of idle brats clapped their hands and sang a crude and vulgar rural 'song' as they merrily ran down the dusty path.

"Wang Anfeng, Wang Anfeng, born of a mother, no father to raise, a wild child, scrounging like a dog for food..."

"Wang Anfeng, Wang Anfeng, born of a mother, no father to raise, a wild child, scrounging like a dog for food..."

A burly man burst out of the courtyard in a few strides, wearing a blue short jacket, his bulging muscles glistening with sweat under the morning light. He caught up in a few steps and gave a not-too-gentle kick on the buttocks of the boy who was singing the loudest, his bushy eyebrows turned down fiercely as he cursed:

"You little brats, let me hear another fart from you!"

"Wow, run fast!"

"The big bad guy is coming out to hit people, run fast!"

The children scattered amidst their cheerful laughter, while the burly man snorted coldly, turned his head and spat, then made his way back to the door leisurely and sat on a stone bench. He picked up the clay teapot from the stone table and began to guzzle the cool tea. A young man, frowning with eyebrows just like the burly man's, said with a bitter smile:

"Dad, why are you getting angry with them again? Although it's unpleasant to hear, Wang Anfeng really is an orphan, talking rough..."

"Not rough enough to be a shoe pad, say it again and I'll beat you to death!"

The burly man glared fiercely at the young man and snorted twice before saying:

"Have you killed the pig yet? On your belt there, slice off some fat and send it to that kid Wang Anfeng."

The young man grunted in acknowledgment, then casually picked up a piece of streaky pork, and asked, "I've cut this piece, does it look okay to you?"

The burly man slammed the clay teapot heavily on the stone table and said angrily, "You feeding cats? Being stingy with bits and pieces..."

"Is this still not enough, it's over two pounds?"

"Not enough!"

The burly man stretched out two thick fingers, like carrots, pointing at the young man who was slaughtering the pig and said, "Put it there, our family's scabbard is that wide, slice it."

Reluctantly, the young man protested, "That wide? That would be more than ten pounds!"

Growling, the father said, "Am I the father or are you the father? That kid doesn't have a pig, he's thirteen—his cycle year! Just cut it like that..."

"Yes, yes, yes, you are the Family Head, I'll listen to you, really..." The young man wiped his hand and twirled a sharp boning knife in his hand, producing a glaring flash of light. With a swift chop, a gleaming sharp cold light passed, and a large slab of pork was cut off like tofu. He weighed it, feeling somewhat distressed and resentful, and said, "He's neither kin nor kind, what are you aiming for?"

"What am I aiming for? Aiming for benevolence and righteousness."

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The man's palm flared, and his eyes bulged as he said, "This boy has been watched over by our fellow villagers as he grew up; his family has no father or mother. How can you still pity him over these two pieces of pork?"

"A real man, who has neither benevolence nor righteousness in his belly, regardless of where he comes from, is nothing but a sleazy thing!"

"Besides... the child's character and aptitude are truly good, such a good kid..."

"I tell you, if it weren't that our family can't afford to support a third person learning martial arts, even if the old man crawled out of the ground and pushed me into it, I would still teach him our family's boxing!"

"He really is a good kid..."

Great Liang Village, Great Liang Village, with the towering Great Liang Mount on its back. The mountain had no fierce animals, but rabbits and foxes abounded, and there were plenty of dry branches to be collected. Selling them could earn some Copper Coin, though it was very little money that only orphans would care for.

A dark, skinny boy was standing in the mountain, a thick bundle of dry branches already strapped to his back, neatly broken and ready to use. However, he did not descend the mountain to sell them. Instead, he stood by the mountain path, his small eyes fixed intently on an odd object in front of him—

A silver Wrist Guard of an exquisitely unbelievable design, with a blue square gem inlaid on the top that emitted a light visible even in broad daylight, unmistakably extraordinary.

"Probably a treasure that someone has lost, and the owner must be anxious by now. I'll wait here a bit longer..."

After setting down the dry branches from his back to one side, the boy recalled more than once what Uncle Li had told him: human greed is like a fierce tiger, with people turning against each other over money, and drawing swords to kill was all too common. Claiming such a treasure for oneself was probably nothing noteworthy.

Frowning slightly, he then squatted down, took the water bag from his waist, and rinsed his hands. After cleaning off the dirt and dust, he carefully touched the luxurious-looking Wrist Guard. But just as his fingers lightly made contact, the blue gem suddenly lit up, and a crisp, pleasant female voice sounded out of nowhere:

"Welcome to Huaxia Longxiang server, you are the number..." The voice paused, then suddenly a hoarse distortion followed, continuing, "The server has been subject to abnormal impact, VR neural vision cannot be deployed, images cannot be projected into the retina, self-check complete, use is not recommended, please deliver to the repair station for repair..." The voice paused again. Just as the boy stood bewildered, the Wrist Guard flew up, neatly snapping onto his right wrist. He then felt a slight sting in his wrist, and the pleasant voice reached his ears.

"Welcome to use Huaxia Longxiang; you are the first user. Genetic data has been bound. Please find a secure environment, lie down comfortably, and in thirty seconds, a whole new World will unfold before you. Thirty, twenty-nine..."

Hearing that voice start to count down, the boy's eyes widened, looking around, but he could only see the dense jungle. With such an unexpected situation, his heart was inevitably panicked. Steading his nerve, he pursed his lips and said, "Are you the owner of this Wrist Guard? Please come out... This Wrist Guard attached itself on its own; you must have a way to take it off, right?"

"You're talking now, but I can't see you, and I can't return it to you..."

"Fifteen, fourteen..."

"Please... Miss, come out..."

The boy's voice fell, echoing through the woods, but only stirred up bursts of insects and bird calls, making the forest feel deeper and more secluded. The pleasant voice spoke leisurely in his ears; the boy's heart grew slightly cold, but his eyes remained steady on what was ahead, his right hand warily resting on the handle of the firewood knife at his waist.

"Three, two, one!"

The countdown voice halted, and the boy's fingers tensed as he drew the knife. A wisp of smoke rose from the virtual conduction device on his wrist, and the next moment, a burst of blue light appeared and flared up violently, swallowing him before he could pull out the firewood knife, then rapidly vanished, leaving only a crisp female voice lingering in the air.

"Welcome to the all-new VR virtual game, Great Jianghu!"