Chapter 52: Recognition, The Shift of Stars
The Murong Family!
Once held a prominent position in the martial world, though it has faded somewhat under the pressure of the Four Great Families and Eight Major Families recently. Yet this does not diminish the strength of the Murong Family itself. Relying on their extraordinary martial art, “The Shift of Stars,” they even dare to compete with the most powerful masters in the martial world.
Murong Bo and Murong Xuan were the family heads of the previous generation—martial arts geniuses who enjoyed extremely high reputations and status in the martial world. Even the abbot of Shaolin and the leader of the martial world once invited them, marking the most glorious period for the Murong Family.
The information revealed by Miss Murong stirred excitement in Happy. In his past life, the Murong Family had produced two genius players who not only mastered “The Shift of Stars” to perfection but whose individual strength was on par with the legendary “Seven Lords” and “Thirteen Heroes.” Even in chaotic group battles, they could move with ease among countless enemies.
Although mastering “The Shift of Stars” requires extremely harsh conditions, for someone like Happy with three years of experience, it’s only a matter of time!
“It’s a pity…”
After recounting the glorious history of the Murong Family, Miss Murong’s tone shifted, taking on a hint of loneliness:
“With the death of the former family head, the current head has been in seclusion practicing ‘The Shift of Stars.’ Our family’s fame has declined, and no outstanding talents have emerged among the younger generations. Now… we can only select qualified individuals from you newcomers to carry on the legacy.”
“…”
“The Shift of Stars is an unparalleled martial art, and the Murong family never readily passes it on!” Miss Murong gave Happy a deep look. “Uncle Rong is like half my master. Since you were able to fight him a hundred times without losing, it shows your extraordinary talent and your ability to learn ‘The Shift of Stars.’ Uncle Rong has already recognized you… But!”
“With your current strength, you’re not yet ready to practice it. You still have a long way to go, and experience in the martial world is essential! Do you understand?”
“The disciple understands.”
“I’ve called you here because you now meet the conditions to enter the martial world. I have an important task for you now.” Nodding, Miss Murong said, “There’s one more prerequisite for learning ‘The Shift of Stars’: mastering a hundred different martial arts! Only by doing so can you fully realize the highest principle of ‘using their own methods against them.’ So, starting today, after leaving the sect, you must learn a hundred martial arts and raise each one to at least the tenth level!”
As soon as the words faded, the system emitted a “ding” sound, notifying the stunned Happy that he had received a mandatory sect task—Mastering a Hundred Combat Arts! (Practice a hundred different martial arts and raise them to level 90 or above; current remaining tasks—96!) “…” This arduous and long-term task left Happy speechless. Although it wouldn’t take too long to master a lower-tier martial art up to the tenth level, doing so for a hundred arts in total would require over a hundred years… And that’s assuming no other interruptions along the way! It was equivalent to spending over half a year in seclusion as a martial artist! Thinking further, Happy felt as though he might go crazy from the pressure. In other words, the earliest he could master these arts would be in half a year… He remembered that in half a year, around the one-year mark of the game’s operation, the world would already be filled with powerful figures—some even from foreign regions. Figures like the One Emperor, Two Queens, and Three Kings had established unshakable dominance in the game, with their successors already capable of standing on their own… But! Since he had already accepted this task, Happy had no choice but to comply. With a sigh, he decided to postpone practicing “Dou Zuan Xing Yi” for now and focus on mastering a few excellent higher-tier martial arts as a temporary solution. This way, he would be able to compete with strong opponents like the Seven Lords and Thirteen Heroes. Receiving this task meant Happy could officially leave the Murong family and embark on his own journey through the martial world, facing life and death… Of course! Players could also choose to stay in the sect, continuing to train and complete minor sect tasks while growing gradually. That was certainly an option too! But Happy knew that those who stayed in the sect often struggled to encounter the numerous plots and tasks available in the world. On the other hand, leaving the sect didn’t mean he would no longer receive sect tasks… When outside, if an emergency arose, the sect would send messages to summon him back or issue tasks and orders directly. So after Miss Murong handed over the “Mastering a Hundred Combat Arts” task, Happy quickly began preparing for his future adventures in the martial world. Leaving Gusu City right away and venturing alone was clearly unwise. That was what true novices did.
Kai Xin carried nearly 80,000 taels of silver and a “Jade Ruyi” worth over 50,000 taels—such wealth was already terrifying. If it could be transformed into personal strength, it would be quite useful. Leaving Murong’s mansion, Kai Xin entered a pharmacy! “Young master, what would you like?” The shopkeeper glanced at the Gentleman’s Sword in Kai Xin’s hand and greeted him warmly. “We have the best ‘Golden Wound Medicine’ for injuries, ‘Poison Antidotes,’ as well as ‘Pills’ to speed up internal energy recovery, ‘Hangover Soup,’ and ‘Elixir’ for treating internal injuries…” Kai Xin was well aware of the names of these medicines. Aside from the most commonly used Golden Wound Medicine, the other elixirs were expensive. Yet, right now, he needed the Golden Wound Medicine the least—he already had no less than 200 doses from his time in Black Wind Fort, enough for half a year. “Give me two packs of Pills and ten packs of Golden Wound Medicine…” Inside the shop, three players were browsing the medicines. One of them listed his needs and seemed reluctant to pay—after all, the Pills were extremely costly, costing 200 taels each. The player who bought the medicine seemed to practice lightness skills; considering the energy consumption such skills required, he paid reluctantly. When they saw Kai Xin enter, they were momentarily stunned, nodded, and left. The remaining two didn’t leave and continued to wander around the counter. Kai Xin glanced around, took out a stack of silver bills from his Qiankun Bag, and calmly listed the medicines he needed: “100 packs of Pills, 10 packs of Poison Antidotes, 10 packs of Elixirs.” “Okay… sure!” The shopkeeper paused briefly, took the silver bills, and quickly showed an even more enthusiastic smile. “Please wait a moment.” Ignoring the two players with stunned expressions, Kai Xin stood calmly at the door, thinking about where to practice the Black Dragon Kill after acquiring lightness skills… Secret techniques could determine the outcome of a battle when necessary!