Chapter 51: The Return to the Temple

After the Martial Arts Tournament, Tang Xuan and his master, Master Xianzhi, returned together to Shaolin Temple from Dasheng Pass.

Upon their return, Master Xianzhi reported in detail all of Tang Xuan’s actions during his journey down the mountain. The Disciplinary Hall then reviewed everything and issued an “assessment report”—the final tally of the merit points Tang Xuan had earned from his journey.

“I still have to wait a few more days before I can use my merit points to learn Shaolin’s ultimate techniques,” Tang Xuan thought with a shake of his head. As an ancient and renowned temple, Shaolin’s rules were truly endless!

Whenever a Shaolin disciple returned from outside, the first thing they were required to do was report to the Disciplinary Hall about their conduct and adherence to the precepts, in order to receive merit or, if they had transgressed, their punishment.

With his master accompanying him to the Disciplinary Hall, Tang Xuan found the process much less troublesome.

Additionally, returning Shaolin disciples were also required to visit the Prajna Hall to report on any martial arts techniques they had observed from other sects during their travels.

Tang Xuan had already done so, recounting all he had witnessed: Li Mochou’s Scarlet Serpent Palm and Frosty Silver Needles, the skills of Yang Guo, Guo Fu, Yelü Qi, the Wu brothers, the martial prowess atop Mount Hua, the Five Fiends of the River’s Edge, as well as the abilities of Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng. He also reported on the martial skills displayed at the Martial Arts Tournament by Huo Du, Dalba, and even Guo Jing and the Golden Wheel Lama.

The responsibility of the Prajna Hall was to collect techniques from other sects, analyze those with merit, and, if worthy, incorporate them into Shaolin’s own teachings.

The Arhat Hall, where Master Xianzhi belonged, focused on developing and researching the sect’s own martial techniques.

Then there was the Bodhidharma Institute, the highest-level martial arts research body within the temple; only those with extraordinary mastery were qualified to join. Of all the many senior monks of the “Xuan” generation at Northern Shaolin, only seven or eight were eligible to enter the Bodhidharma Institute.

There were also other halls and institutes—Bodhi Hall, the Medicine King Hall, the Hall of Enlightenment, the Nāgārjuna Hall, the Reception Hall—each with its own distinct responsibilities.

“Since I still have a few days before the assessment report is complete, I might as well run some dungeons and level up,” Tang Xuan decided.

He opened the in-game Pigeon Post system and sent out messages to his beautiful fans and to Jiang Wanwan: “Meet at the foot of Blackwind Fortress—I’ll carry you through the dungeon!”

The replies from the girls came swiftly.

Tang Xuan made his way to the Dungeon Envoy within Shaolin Temple and entered the Blackwind Fortress dungeon.

—

At the foot of Blackwind Fortress, players were gathered in droves!

Since the launch of “Grand Wuxia” and its promise of 100% virtual realism and highly engaging gameplay, the game’s popularity had exploded, with tens of thousands of new players joining daily.

The normal-difficulty Blackwind Fortress dungeon (level 5–10, for 1–10 players) had already been thoroughly completed by countless players.

Many had conquered the dungeon, obtained their entry tokens, and joined martial sects—most opting for the prestigious ones, with only a rare few choosing the lesser schools.

Shaolin, where Tang Xuan resided, stood as the leading light of the martial world, and was bustling with players.

Once they had joined a sect and gained access to higher-level internal and external skills, players began to band together and challenge the hard mode of Blackwind Fortress (level 11–15, for 1–10 players).

They trained their skills and leveled up, finding endless enjoyment.

Those who leveled up the fastest were the earliest batch of players—the first to join the sects and become inner disciples. These players, who secured entry tokens and inner disciple status from the outset, were all prominent figures from major online gaming clubs and guilds—top-tier gamers.

After becoming inner disciples, they learned superior internal and martial skills and enjoyed the full support and resources of their gaming guilds.

As professional players and experts, their skill training and leveling efficiency far outstripped ordinary players.

These elite gamers had already grouped up and conquered the nightmare-level Blackwind Fortress dungeon (level 16–20, for 1–10 players).

However, the first clear of the nightmare dungeon had long since been achieved by Tang Xuan alone.

For the rest, defeating the nightmare-level Blackwind Fortress was no easy feat.

The level 30 boss, the Blackwind Fortress Chief, was already considered a second-rate master in the martial world—not to be underestimated.

Even elite players, when confronting the Chief in a group, often suffered casualties; a single misstep could wipe out the entire team.

At present, players thronged the base of Blackwind Fortress—some from the newbie villages seeking tokens from the normal dungeon, others aiming for the hard mode to level up.

As for those running the nightmare-level dungeon, there were not many; their numbers were small and most were already inside the instance.

Tang Xuan’s arrival—under his famed player name “Defier of Heaven”—caused an immediate stir.

Though some days had passed since Tang Xuan had last appeared at the foot of Blackwind Fortress—he had since left Shaolin, made a round-trip down the mountain, and not shown his face here again—his string of world announcements on the first day was still etched in everyone’s memory.

At the sight of “Defier of Heaven,” players were abuzz—some watched from afar, others approached, eager to meet the gaming legend and perhaps add him as a friend.

Suddenly, excited shouts rose up again:

“There’s ‘A Touch of Red Dust’—our Huashan Sect’s inner disciple! My beautiful senior sister!”

“Wow, it’s ‘First Summer’ from Emei Sect!”

“‘Midsummer’ from the Five Venoms Cult is here too, as expected.”

“And here comes ‘Li Weiwei,’ inner disciple of the Quanzhen Sect!”

“Wow! Isn’t that my goddess, Jiang Wanwan!? Goddess, over here!!”

As Wang Yajun, Luo Qingqing, Qin Yanran, Li Weiwei, and Jiang Wanwan appeared, they caused a sensation.

As inner disciples of the Huashan, Emei, Five Venoms, Quanzhen, and South Sea Coconut Blossom Island sects, they were all prominent figures and elite players within their respective schools.

Wang Yajun, Luo Qingqing, Qin Yanran, and Li Weiwei, all four members of the same offline gaming studio, were often seen running dungeons together.

Their beauty, combined with their status as inner disciples and their frequent joint appearances, had long since made them famous.

What’s more, on the first day of the server launch, these four had, together with “Defier of Heaven,” achieved the first clear of the normal Blackwind Fortress dungeon, further shrouding them in mystery.

Jiang Wanwan was already a goddess in the online gaming world, once the leader of the Eternal Guild—one of the four great guilds under the number-one gaming club, Dynasty—her reputation even greater.

Yet rumor had it that Jiang Wanwan had stepped down as guild leader, sparking much speculation among her fans.