Chapter 2: The Murong Family

The moment the helmet was put on, the sound of hooves galloping through the martial world grew louder and clearer, increasingly frequent…
Hah!
In the endless darkness, someone began to unfold a tale of blades and bloodshed! The howling of swords and the whistling of knives seemed to be right beside him, suddenly awakening him—swinging, intersecting, like a chaotic battle in the night, yet so orderly, unhurried, with precise advances and retreats, as if someone were retreating while dealing with swords, blades, and hidden weapons from all directions!
A master!
After listening carefully for a while, Chen Kai Xin sensed something in his heart.
He remembered hearing this when he first entered the game. Back then, as a newcomer to the martial world, he had no idea what it was. He thought it was part of the dubbing from some great martial arts novel and really enjoyed it before fully diving into the game.
But now…
Without opening his eyes, Chen Kai Xin could quickly visualize vague figures in his mind through the unique sounds embedded in each move and the vibrations from their collisions.
A master fighting one against eight gradually emerged from the encirclement of swords, fists, and kicks.
There was no doubt about Chen Kai Xin’s memory.
During the three years in “The Martial World,” he had pursued the legendary most powerful figures—“The First Emperor,” “The Two Queens,” “The Three Kings,” “The Seven Marquises,” and “The Thirteen Heroes.” Over those years, he had fought against countless masters, practiced numerous martial arts from different schools, memorized the unique techniques and moves of many schools, and even mastered them effortlessly.
The martial arts at the beginning of the game were neither peerless skills nor rare and obscure techniques. Apart from the person in the center using somewhat bizarre and mixed martial arts, the eight attackers belonged to various schools: Shaolin’s Arhat Fist, Wudang’s Clear Wind Sword, Emei’s Falling Leaf Windbreaker Sword Technique, Kongtong’s Disabled Leg Technique, Kunlun’s Soft Palm, Huashan’s Gentleman Sword, Beggar Sect’s Dog Beating Staff Technique, and Tang Sect’s Flower Scattering Hand.
Except for the Beggar Sect’s Dog Beating Staff Technique, which was the highest level, the other martial arts were relatively basic. Yet, despite their low level, their mastery was remarkable—each one reached a state where they could handle anything with ease.
With each advance and retreat, they displayed the demeanor of true masters!
Yet…
The person under siege was clearly even more formidable. Facing the fierce attacks of the eight masters, he remained calm and composed, handling everything with ease. There were no fixed patterns in his moves—untraceable, like an antelope’s hoofprint—yet he perfectly blocked all attacks, creating an impenetrable defense.
The more he listened, the more fascinated Chen Kai Xin became!

He hadn’t realized that he could now see the battle clearly, observing the man in white effortlessly defending against the attack of eight opponents, his movements as graceful as a breeze passing through misty mountains. As he watched intently, an unexpected thunderclap sounded, and the surrounding images vanished suddenly. Chen Kai was startled and then noticed that his character stats had appeared. The scene shifted, and he found himself on a wide street. “What a clever and adorable little boy,” said an NPC-looking auntie who happened to be passing by. Seeing Chen Kai appear out of nowhere, she stopped in her tracks and smiled kindly at him. “There are many martial artists in the city lately. Don’t wander around alone, little one. Where is your home?” Raising his head, Chen Kai looked at the kind-faced auntie, both surprised and delighted! This was actually a very common trigger task, one that only new players with high innate talent and comprehension could trigger within the first ten minutes of entering the game. But strangely, he remembered his innate talent being quite ordinary—so he shouldn’t have been remembered by this auntie! Could it be his character traits had suddenly improved? Though puzzled, he was still very excited and didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity for training… The game had assigned him the role of an orphan whose parents had died, and by simply answering her questions and revealing the truth, he could be taken away by the compassionate NPCs, bypassing the difficult tasks of finding work or doing chores. He could work while learning basic martial arts, and with luck, even be taken as a disciple to learn combat skills directly. “My name is Kai Xin. I don’t know where my parents are… I have no home,” he said. “Ah,” replied the kind auntie. She indeed had a compassionate heart. With a sigh full of pity, she gently patted the head of the boy, who was less than 1.4 meters tall. “You must have gotten lost during the war. Poor child… These times are tough… Well, if you’d like, come with me to the mansion ahead. They’re hiring servants these days. If you join them, you can help with chores and household work. You’ll have food and shelter, and you’ll even get paid at the end of the month. How does that sound?” Of course, Kai Xin wouldn’t refuse. Guided by the kind auntie, he soon arrived at a magnificent mansion guarded by two lions at the entrance… Looking up, he saw a huge silver-plated plaque with three large characters engraved in bold script: Murong Mansion! Noticing the boy’s stunned expression, the “kind auntie” bent down and smiled. “Kai Xin, from now on, you’ll work at our Murong Mansion. I’ll take you to the mansion’s steward first so he can assign you a lighter task.”

Unbeknownst to her, the little boy beside her wasn’t surprised by the grandeur of the mansion at all; he was rather astonished that the kind aunt had brought him to the world-famous Murong family—this legendary family that countless players tried every means possible to get into just to learn skills there!
What? You don’t know? What kind of joke is this? Even some foreign friends are shaking their heads and saying, “Do unto others as they have done unto you,” dreaming of mastering “Dou Zuan Xing Yi.” Which martial arts enthusiast wouldn’t be familiar with this unparalleled skill?
While the kind aunt was speaking, Happy felt as if her brain had short-circuited—she couldn’t understand how she could be so lucky to receive such a “huge” gift.
“Silly child, don’t stand there frozen. Come in with me.”
The kind aunt took Happy’s hand and led her into the Murong family’s residence.
“These plants and flowers are very precious. Be careful—if you damage them, you won’t be allowed to stay.” The butler of the Murong family was outside in the courtyard, looking stern as he directed several maids and servants to tend to the plants. Although they all wore uniform servant clothes, Happy could tell from their eager eyes that they were among the first group of players to enter the Murong family.
“Butler, this is…”
The kind aunt pulled Happy over and explained her situation, quickly catching the attention of the maids and servants nearby. All seven of them showed surprise and astonishment.
After all, they had all struggled hard to get in, and this was the first time they had seen a player brought in by an NPC.
Happy ignored their gazes and glanced around the courtyard of the Murong family. All kinds of precious plants and flowers were placed along the paths and in the corridors, in great numbers. In the distance, a gracefully dressed woman in white sat in a pavilion in one corner of the courtyard, holding a fluffy white rabbit, looking extremely beautiful.
“Is she a lady from the Murong family? Or from the Wang family…”
As Happy showed curiosity, the kind aunt had already finished explaining her background.
The butler examined her satisfactorily and nodded. “Your name is Happy, right? Good. You clearly seem smart and clever. Well, from today onward, you’re part of the Murong family. Your daily task is to take care of the pets raised by the young lady in the back courtyard. Come with me.”
Happy immediately smiled happily.