Jiang Dali's thoughts soared as he remembered the past, and he paused for a moment, his gaze shifting to the post made by Drunk Green Robe.
"Today marks the first day of the internal test, and I was born in a small village named Cloud Mist Village. Luckily, I found out that just a hundred miles from the village is the Huashan Sect.
Hahaha, Huashan Sect, commanding the four corners, with Sword Qi like a surging tide.
I feel it won't be long before I can master the Purple Mist Divine Skill and the Dugu Nine Swords and dominate the Martial World.
Strutting my stuff! Birth location really is key, but now the problem arises. The official information only says that these two Martial Arts are very powerful and characteristic of the Huashan Sect, but I have no clue how to obtain them. Do I have to sell myself, suck up to the Sect Master's wife?
Fellow Martial World comrades, what do you think?"
Just by reading the posts made by Drunk Green Robe, Jiang Dali couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
Such a flippant and arrogant tone really didn't match the other's later-day icy demeanor as he blazed a trail through the Martial World with only his sword.
Below Drunk Green Robe's post,
there were already quite a few responses.
"Damn! I have no idea how to obtain the secret manual, but you're really a lucky dog! Can't you stop flaunting it in our faces?"
"Young Hero above, you've exposed yourself. Were you born in some godforsaken backwater?"
"Hehehe, looks like your birthplaces weren't so great. Mine was quite alright, born in a small county town. Although I lived in a dilapidated City God Temple and was a vagabond, our little county town actually had a martial arts school, hahaha. When I went to the school to seek discipleship, the head instructor said I had some talent and, if I could gather two taels of silver, would agree to take me in."
"Admiring the future expert from above! But I don't want to break your heart. Do you know how hard it is to earn two taels of silver? I've just done a preliminary survey of the prices in this Mixed Martial Arts World, as well as the income levels of ordinary people.
Here, two stone of rice, which is about 380 pounds of rice, is worth one tael of silver, which converted to our money, would be about 665 yuan.
Two taels of silver would then be over 1,300 yuan.
And the professions for ordinary people to make money in this world are truly limited.
In this broken-down county where I am, the only job that offers the best benefits is as a waiter at the sole tavern, providing meals and accommodation with an annual salary of just one tael of silver—and without connections, the tavern owner won't even consider you.
Unless you leave town to hunt wild boars and hares for their game meat, it is very hard to earn that much money in a short time.
So now another serious problem arises, with no money, we can't even afford to eat daily. We can only beg or do some unpaid odd jobs for merchants who need the labor to scrape by...
So this game is pretty screwed up, huh? We start with nothing, relying only on our birth location, still dreaming of learning Martial Arts from a school? Dream on."
"Shit! Really? If it's as you say, then this damn game is way too hard to play, right?"
"Are you all having such a hard time? I was also born in a small village, but I had a piece of farmland, so filling my stomach shouldn't be an issue. Plus, today I encountered mountain bandits. I boldly approached them, hoping to join their Mountain Village, but I was rejected."
"The luck of the guy above must be sky-high, right? To encounter mountain bandits so quickly, and to still be alive and not killed. That's an opportunity! From what I see, this game is tough to get by in, maybe joining a band of strong robbers could lead to a prominent position.
Or try teaming up with the brothers around you and take down some mountain bandits. You might loot some secret manuals and silver."
"I'm genuinely envious! Looks like we should also venture out and see. Maybe we'll come across some fortune."
...
After reading through the silly banter of forum players, Jiang Dali had an even better understanding.
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't speak up on the Jianghu Forum, he would have certainly thrown in a comment or two to stir the pot.
Looking at it now, it really is quite similar to when I first tested in my previous life; players' starts are pretty miserable, only a minority blessed with good fortune have a good birth, winning at the starting line.
The vast majority of people that enter this world are akin to entering this chaotic and bitter Martial World, where most are involuntary participants, few achieve a carefree life, and it's even more unlikely they would know the many stories of the Mixed Martial Arts World like him, a reincarnated guest, who was forewarned and forearmed.
"It's good that they are all suffering, for, after hardship comes relief. These chives....er, these players are suffering now, which makes it easier for me to recruit them one by one."
Jiang Dali immediately called for his mountain bandit lackeys and ordered them to start expanding their operations.
His plan was simple.
In the next two days, after players realized how hard it was to learn Martial Arts at the martial arts schools, he would lend them a hand, planting these chives in his own garden.
And the current preliminary work was to have the mountain bandit lackeys frequently wander around the nearby villages to catch the players' attention.
This group of people had very divergent thinking, which simply means they were very good at coming up with all sorts of wild speculations and associations.
After frequent contacts with these mountain bandit lackeys, something would eventually be triggered.
"If there are players who want to hunt down these mountain bandit lackeys of mine, that's even better – it will be their first lesson in the Martial World, where they'll learn what the taste of death is like."
Jiang Dali harbored plenty of wicked schemes.
He instructed his mountain bandit lackeys to roam down the mountain.
Meanwhile, he turned his attention back to the Jianghu Forum and discovered that some players, due to their birth locations, had already come into contact with Martial World people and even started their storylines, prompting him to sigh at their fortune.
"Speaking of which, now that this batch of Internal Test Players has descended, my subsequent plan also needs to commence.
The officials surely have already set up Tyrant Hall, and before long, they will recruit a large number of elites from the Internal Test Players.
I have to compete with the officials for people, and moreover, I have to snatch resources from their hands.
Considering the time, in a little while, I'll be able to go and take the Nine Yang Divine Skill."
Jiang Dali had planned this all along.
As a reincarnated guest, he certainly knew well the opportunities that some top experts had received.
Among them included the Nine Yang Divine Skill once obtained by One God.
Now that players have arrived, the location hiding the Nine Yang Divine Skill should be accessible within half a month.
However, only he knew of this; the ancient records held by the players could not possibly reveal this secret, although the officials might have data concerning the Nine Yang Divine Skill, which could pose some threat.
"Brother Da Li, something's wrong."
Just then, Second Master Xiong Ba barged into the council hall in a fluster, calling out with a gruff voice.
"What's the matter? You seem panicked. Could it be that some blind fool dared to attack us?"
Jiang Dali rose from his seat with composed curiosity.
"You guessed it exactly."
Xiong Ba's eyes were wide as saucers, and even his forehead wrinkles showed, "You remember the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, right? Last time, on orders from above, we robbed the goods of Dragon Gate Escort Agency. I just got news that Dragon Gate Escort Agency has really sent people after us from afar.
However, they are not yet in our Earth Realm, but they should be here in a couple of days."