Some players were making a commotion, some were holding their breath, and even more were simply waiting. There was no time to wonder how all of this had been accomplished—the real question was, what was this quest pointing toward?

　　The space around them grew increasingly turbulent, and even Frank Walker, standing at the very center of the chaos, felt a bit unsteady on his feet. But this didn’t affect his mood in the slightest—he had finally done it!!!

　　The quest screen opened, just as he had designed it. At last, this chapter was about to begin, and from now on, Jiutian would truly enter its glorious era!

　　His ideal kingdom.

　　The goddess silently watched Frank Walker, radiating light, while all players received a notification.

　　“Open beta has ended. The entire Jiutian world—all maps, all races, all classes—are now open to players. The Void race descends, the era of peace is over, and war returns to the continent.”

　　A cocky grin, the same as ten years ago, finally appeared on Frank Walker’s face. Orcs, the Eight Tribes, the Sea Clan, you could even play as a monster—how could you not love it?

　　Yes, Old Walker is back!

　　Every boast I’ve ever made, I’ll fulfill with my own hands!

　　He would make the whole world recognize the founder of Yujitian once again—the prophet who changed the gaming world.

　　He would stand tall before Ethan, still the senior she admired!

　　A real man rises from where he once fell!

　　This moment called for a celebratory smoke. Soon, the whole world would know him again—Frank Walker—he was starting over, and he believed that under his leadership, Yujitian would shine even brighter!

　　Naturally, the forums exploded. Such a perfect Yujitian, and this was only the start—the open beta. What would the new chapter bring?

　　How spectacular would it be?

　　Within minutes, Jiutian Corporation’s stock price skyrocketed like a rocket. Clearly, this would create several super-rich individuals, and Frank Walker would be the richest of them all.

　　“It’s done! Iris, log out!”

　　Even after all these years of life’s beatings and hardships, Frank Walker was still a little excited. After all, he was only in his thirties, a man in his prime, with plenty of time to start over. Starting tomorrow, the neighbor Old Walker would transform into a diamond bachelor!

　　Time to celebrate—change into clean clothes, get a haircut. Damn, I haven’t even lit a cigarette yet, so why do I smell smoke… Who’s so inconsiderate?

　　But the familiar control interface didn’t pop up. This kind of freeze only happened occasionally in the early days of the game. Old Walker… felt something was wrong. Crackling sounds and a choking smell of smoke reached his ears, but his body wouldn’t move. The game screen was frozen, only the Jiutian goddess still staring at him, infatuated and focused.

　　Damn it… what are you looking at, help me…

　　Boom…

　　In Zhaxi District, an old residential complex suffered a fire and gas explosion due to aging wiring and overloaded appliances. A man was unfortunately… The entire district launched a safety inspection campaign for old neighborhoods…

　　(Brothers, Old Walker is back again. This time, Old Walker is a little different—not the straightforward boy of before, but the refined product of nine years of training, with a unique worldview, a true man who talks his way out of everything.)

Chapter 2: Dungeon Whip Start

　　The world of Jiutian—a world where the Sea Clan, Eight Tribes, Beast Clan, and humans coexist. The Sea Clan, relying on the ocean and mastering the secrets of water, and the Eight Tribes, combining strength, beauty, and wisdom, are hailed as the darlings of the gods, ruling the seas and the continent respectively.

　　Orcs and humans are the slave classes. Though the Beast Clan is ugly, they are strong and have a slightly higher status than humans. Weak humans are at the very bottom of the food chain, surviving tenaciously thanks to their astonishing reproductive ability and knack for survival. It wasn’t until the appearance of runes that humans began to change their fate.

　　If runes gave humans hope, then the great Sage Mark Walker led humanity to glory. He created the five great Order Runes, pushing the use of human soul power to its peak, and, based on the characteristics of human soul power, established eight major professions: Wizard, Martial Artist, Gunner, Soul Beast Master, Exorcist, Alchemist, Forgemaster, and Runemaster. In one stroke, he overturned humanity’s weak status on the Jiutian continent, and the rise of humans became unstoppable.

　　In the 125th year of the Rune Era, Mark Walker led the eight profession kings to unite dozens of forces on the continent, founding the Jiushen Alliance.

　　In the 150th year of the Rune Era, Mark Walker led the continental allied forces in a decisive battle against the Sea Clan at the Mariana Trench. Against all odds, he dealt a heavy blow to the Sea Clan’s main force. Mark Walker and his eight followers forced the three Sea Kings to sign the greatest peace treaty in history, ending the Sea Clan’s thousand-year plundering of land civilization and redefining the continent’s hierarchy: humans, Eight Tribes, Sea Clan, Beast Clan.

　　Unified currency, standardized measurements, and a series of other measures gradually transformed human strength into the strength of civilization, solidifying this advantage.

　　If not for Mark Walker, humanity would have remained in darkness for eternity.

　　However, the accomplished Sage perished in a mysterious explosion while researching the secrets of the Void—apparently due to using a substandard soul artifact. But his spirit will live on forever.