“Brother Qi, the Qiao Family is in chaos. Even Qiao Pingjiang’s wife and children have been captured. Your consecutive strategies are truly brilliant. The enemy is in disarray without any attack. I admire you. Here are the keywords that I have manipulated for you while looking through the information about the Qiao Family.”
Excitedly flipping through the intelligence about the Qiao Family, Feng Zhong said, “The public’s demand for us to save the Qiao Family is increasing. Let’s take advantage of the chaos and bring people to attack, holding high the banner of justice and maintaining stability in the martial world! Once we attack, it will confirm the good reputation of the Qiao Family, guaranteeing that not a single person from the Qiao Family will survive. Killing a chicken to warn the monkeys, let’s see which sect dares to help the Heavenly Demon.”
“It’s fake.” Du Ge opened his personal ranking and looked at the numbers on it calmly. “None of the simulation field participants have died, the Beggar’s Sect and Azure Dragon Gang have not withdrawn from the Qiao Family, and the Kunlun and other sects are still on their way to the Qiao Family. Therefore, the chaos in the Qiao Family is just a show for us.”
“Idiot.” Wang San sneered disdainfully.
“F*ck.” Feng Zhong’s face turned red suddenly, and he said embarrassedly, “I almost got fooled by them. Fortunately, Brother Seven is wise.”
“In times of great events, one must remain calm. The more chaotic it gets, the more we need to calm down, so as not to let excitement cloud our judgment.” Du Ge closed his personal interface. “There are at least dozens of Heavenly Demons in the Qiao Family, and there are probably also the top ten participants in the simulation field. It’s not surprising that they can decipher our strategies.”
“Brother Qi, what should we do now?” Feng Zhong asked, “After eliminating some useless keywords, there are still at least a dozen useful keywords on the Qiao Family’s side. Who knows, they might have skills that can counter us. Can we defeat them?”
“There won’t be a dozen. At most, there will be two or three who can compete with us. They are the ones who set up this trap in the Qiao Family. Only those who are incapable will rely on the protection of the Qiao Family.” Du Ge said, “True masters will not actively participate. For example, you, ranked third on the leaderboard, would you pay attention to the Qiao Family’s announcement?”
“… ” After a moment of silence, Feng Zhong said, “I will watch the show from the sidelines and profit from it.”
Du Ge lightly tapped the table with his finger and suddenly changed the topic. “What do you guys think, why has the Qiao Family been persistently holding the Martial Arts Tournament for the past hundred years and only allowing young people under the age of 25 to enter the Qiao Family’s holy land?”
He remembered what Feng Jiu had said about the mainline of the world when he first crossed over.
On Earth, whether it was an online game or a single-player game, most of them had a mainline mission. No matter what the characters you controlled did along the way, they would eventually converge on the mainline.
This was the simulation field, not a real world. Even the government was downplayed. So, it was normal to have a mainline mission.
The people who set up the trap in the Qiao Family should have taken advantage of this.
And the path he was taking could be said to be creating his own mainline.
Although he was enjoying himself, he realized that it seemed a bit off.
But he couldn’t blame himself. The simulation field was too realistic. The people inside had flesh and blood, and it was easy for him to feel that this was a real world. It seemed normal to deviate from the right path.
“It is said that after Qiao He died, he found that there was no one in the Qiao Family who could inherit his mantle. In order to ensure the long-lasting continuation of the family, he made this strategy.” Feng Zhong said, “The sects that obtained the martial arts secrets from the Qiao Family’s holy land would be grateful to the Qiao Family. In case of any mishap, they would not harm the Qiao Family.”
“A hundred years is enough time to continue for five generations if it’s fast.” Du Ge said, “The Huashan and Taishan sects, for example, have never produced a genius like Qiao He, but they still stand strong. Qiao He almost dominated the entire era. I don’t believe he couldn’t do it. So, the so-called Qiao Family’s holy land and the martial arts tournament held every few years must be a conspiracy.”
“Thinking about it, it does seem abnormal.” Wang San said, “Before, I thought the mainline of the world was all the simulation field participants participating in the martial arts tournament held by the Qiao Family, competing for rankings on the martial arts stage!”
“The people behind the Qiao Family should have taken advantage of this conspiracy and pushed the Qiao Family against the Peacekeeping Sect.” Du Ge said, “Otherwise, even if the Peacekeeping Sect rose, they should have tried to contact us first instead of suddenly becoming so aggressive, opposing us for a group of Heavenly Demons they don’t even know. Qiao Pingjiang is not Qiao He.”
“Brother Qi, what do you think the conspiracy is?” Feng Zhong asked with renewed interest, “If the other side can take advantage of it, can’t we also take advantage of it?”
His skill was manipulation, but not all of it was provoked by Du Ge. Compared to Wang San, he was the one who had been lying down all the way, a proper tool.
“I think the Martial Saint might not be dead.” Du Ge thought for a moment and gave a conclusion.
“Brother Qi, this is a bit outrageous. Previously, whether we framed others or shifted blame, there was still some theoretical basis for it, making it look plausible.” Feng Zhong shook his head, “But if the Martial Saint is not dead, it’s a bit absurd. This is a wuxia world, not a xianxia world. If the Martial Saint didn’t die, wouldn’t he be over two hundred years old now? No one would believe it if we said it.”
Then you don’t know that there is a Zhang Sanfeng on Earth. After being studied by a group of people, that old Taoist has already lived for over two hundred years.
Du Ge glanced at him and said, “A person’s energy is limited. The Qiao Family’s holy land has been producing martial arts secrets for so many years. Are they all written by Qiao He before he died?”
He smiled and recalled the routines in Earth’s movies and TV shows, saying, “In this world, Qiao He has become a legend. Since he is a legend, he cannot be measured by ordinary standards. Maybe he is hiding in the Qiao Family’s holy land, studying unique techniques similar to ‘Dao Heart Cultivation of Demons’ or ‘Soul Transference Technique,’ ready to possess a new body at any time! Holding the martial arts tournament every few years is to select the most outstanding young people in the martial world as suitable candidates for body possession. Now that there are so many outstanding Heavenly Demons in the world, they are obviously more valuable for body possession than ordinary people…”
“Thinking about it this way, it does seem reasonable!” Feng Zhong nodded, “So, how can we take advantage of this?”
“Utilize what? Didn’t the Qiao Family run into trouble? We can just barge in, eliminate the Heavenly Demons causing trouble in the Qiao Family in the name of peacekeeping, and rescue the Qiao Family.” Du Ge crossed his arms and said, “The big conspiracy should be revealed at the end for it to be interesting. Perhaps, by then, we can even make use of the experts from sects like the Beggar’s Sect and Kunlun.”
“I just said we should go and kill them…” Feng Zhong grumbled, “Brother Seven, the Qiao Family has at least dozens of Heavenly Demons, and there’s one secretly making arrangements. You also said that other experts might be secretly watching, waiting to reap the benefits. If we go there, wouldn’t we be falling right into their trap?”
“Contestants in the Simulation Field need to have compatible attributes to grow. What can those Heavenly Demons crammed in the Qiao Family do? My recklessness is different from yours. We openly mobilize the experts from the Peacekeeping force to attract their attention. In secret, the three of us sneak in and launch a surprise attack, killing as many as we can. We previously set up such a sophisticated plan, making them think we would rely on the power of the Peacekeeping force, but we will do the exact opposite.”
Du Ge looked at the two of them and said seriously, “As long as we eliminate enough people, our strength will increase. Those who are lurking in the dark will have to make a move. If they don’t, once we deal with the Qiao Family, they will lose their chance. In fact, those who are making arrangements in the Qiao Family also know that the Qiao Family is the final battleground, no one can stay out of it.”
“Final battleground?” Feng Zhong swallowed, “It’s not even a month yet, isn’t it too early for the finals?”
“It would be great if it could end in a month!” Du Ge laughed, “Don’t think that because we have the upper hand now, we will always have it. We have already shown our cards. Everyone knows the Keywords. Once others get the chance to grow, those relying on the Peacekeeping force won’t be able to hold on.
When those who survive adapt to the world and secretly set fires on our territory, wearing down our strength, what will we do then, play firefighters? The later it gets, the more passive we become…”
(End of Chapter)