Chapter 1: Preface

　　This is a world of online games!

　　This is a world of martial arts online games!

　　But! This is actually not a preface!

　　Because the beginning was recently revised, two chapters were merged into one, leaving this chapter empty, so it became the preface.

　　So, if you don't mind, click next page, and "The Lone Journey Across the World" will truly begin!

Chapter 2: First Steps into the Jianghu

　　Eric Ford stood like a statue in the very center of the novice village.

　　Just half an hour ago, because he was simply too bored, too uninterested in life, and couldn't bear braving the cold wind from the dorm to the classroom on such a chilly day, Kevin Young, as if possessed, entered an internet café across from the student dormitory and logged into an online game called "Life in the Jianghu."

　　Kevin Young had never played an online game before, but entering this game wasn't exactly by chance. His three dormmates, David Clark, Brian Brooks, and Paul Scott, had all thrown themselves into "Jianghu" on the very first day of its open beta, becoming part of the game.

　　Now, it's been more than half a month since "Jianghu" began its open beta, and the three of them have been living a two-point routine between the internet café and the dorm, sleeping by day and staying up by night. In a word: regular. Besides, the three of them had, perhaps unintentionally, started subtly influencing Eric Ford.

　　In this half month, Kevin Young had not heard the three of them discuss which girl in class was the prettiest—they hadn't seen any girls from their class in half a month; nor had he heard them complain about how bad the cafeteria food was—the cafeteria's regular hours clashed severely with their own schedules; nor had he heard anyone lying in bed late at night, bored, reciting "The long night is endless, sleep eludes me"—they wished they could stay awake forever...

　　The famous mountains and rivers of the great motherland, historic cities; all sorts of strange names only heard in martial arts novels and films; concepts like strength, agility, and movement speed that kept coming up... these were the topics that had been ringing in Kevin Young's ears these days.

　　Just an hour ago, Paul Scott used a so-called "Iron Chain Across the River" move to open the dorm's flimsy door, and the three of them had returned from their early morning gaming session for the eighteenth time. And at this time, Kevin Young was supposed to get up and go to class to further his scientific and cultural knowledge. As he was getting up, staff fighter Paul Scott and swordsman Brian Brooks were discussing which move to use to close the door after opening it with "Iron Chain Across the River."

　　After Kevin Young got ready and walked out the door, he heard Paul Scott and Brian Scott shouting behind him—one yelling "Sweep Across the Army," the other "Boundless Falling Leaves." The two of them together managed to knock wood chips out of the metal-clad door, but the thunderous sound could only echo in the hallway.

　　The cold wind outside was biting—a perfect day for hibernation. And there were still several hundred meters from the student dorm to the classroom. Although Kevin Young didn't love online games, that didn't mean he was fond of studying either. In the end, the howling north wind blew him into the internet café across from the dorm.

　　The internet café was bustling. Everyone wore sunglasses, and with the cutting-edge computers, the whole place looked just like a scene from "The Matrix." Kevin Young had never eaten pork, but he'd seen pigs run—he knew the sunglasses were necessary equipment for the game "Life in the Jianghu," used for the virtual environment.

　　When the attendant led Kevin Young to his seat, he handed him a pair of sunglasses. Kevin Young hesitated for a moment, then took them. Well, since he had nothing better to do, he might as well see what it was that these three guys found so endlessly entertaining.

　　Ten minutes later, the avatar of Kevin Young—name Eric Ford, male, height 173 cm, weight 56 kg—was born in a corner of the jianghu—a novice village. It should be mentioned that there was originally an appearance option, but for now, the system provided a unified virtual avatar, and real avatars would be uploaded after the open beta.

　　"Life in the Jianghu" was jointly launched by several online companies, with a single server used nationwide. According to statistics, user registrations had reached a million, and there had yet to be any lag—truly top-notch quality. And now, Kevin Young was one of this million-strong army.

　　Thatched cottages, fences, and cooking smoke—this was the first scene that greeted Eric Ford's eyes. Yet he himself was wearing nothing but a pair of white shorts, a product of modern civilization that looked completely out of place in the surroundings.

　　Just as he was at a loss for what to do, an elder in a beige long robe beside him smiled and greeted him: "I'm the village chief here, child. You're not young anymore, don't idle your days away—help out the villagers more! Here, take these clothes and put them on first."