This task is actually extremely arduous, even more insane than the mission I received from Julia Bennett to accumulate one hundred thousand good deeds. It’s simply not something that can be completed when the average player level is below fifteen.

However, this quest is unique—so long as a player who has accepted it hasn’t finished, no second group of players can take it. Driven by the dark mentality of “if I can’t have it, I’ll at least monopolize the opportunity,” this group of maniacs wanted to be the first to trigger the mission to rescue Shang Zhu.

“Come on! Ivy Dance, you little brat! You actually tricked me by saying you’d found an ancient immortal’s cave. There’s no way this quest can be done without being at least level 120!” Realizing I’d been duped, I immediately started to complain.

Ivy Dance looked at me, grinning mischievously, and said with great camaraderie, “I said ‘drum immortal,’ not ‘ancient immortal.’ How did I trick you?”

For a moment, I was so flustered I couldn’t speak. This girl is so quick-witted—how could an honest guy like me out-argue her? Still, I’m not ungrateful. These friends waited here for me, braving the fierce wind for over two hours, which is truly loyal of them.

“So what are we doing next?”

The acknowledged leader of our group, Hum Hum Ha Ha, spoke up at this point: “Next, we’re going to kill snakes! Drunken Blue Ox, you’re a disciple of Qingcheng, right?”

I was just pondering where to start killing snakes when Hum Hum Ha Ha’s question left me a bit confused. I nodded and replied, “That’s right! I’ve already joined the Qingcheng Sect. That year-round jinx Julia Bennett tricked me into taking a quest, and that’s how I got roped in.”

Hum Hum Ha Ha chuckled and said, “We invited you to join the closed beta back then, but you didn’t come, so you never got familiar with the Shushan environment. Who can you blame for your bad luck now? I even helped you get an account, you know. Shushan beta accounts were going for eight hundred yuan each at the time—I was loyal enough!”

“Forget it! Let’s not talk about that. I just saw your flying sword earlier—is it the Zihu Sword?” When I nodded again, Hum Hum Ha Ha handed me a short green sword. When the boss gives you gear, there’s no need to refuse, so I hurriedly accepted it. Before I could even check it out, the Zihu Sword at my feet suddenly burst into a brilliant light.

Chapter 16: The Wildman Temple

“Zihu Sword, Qingluan Sword, fourth-tier immortal weapons, equipment requirement: level 20. After fusing the twin swords, flight speed 120–200, attack speed 50–120, damage 90–100. Can transform into a pair of giant birds for carrying people in flight, speed 480–599.”

“Damn! Boss Hum Hum, why are you so long-winded when giving me equipment? If you’d given me this earlier, I’d have been so grateful I’d be hugging your leg in tears!” Hearing my suggestive tone, Hum Hum Ha Ha quickly sent out a ring of golden light to stop me from pouncing on him.

Back in the day, I was a simple, innocent kid. But ever since I started hanging out with these overpowered forum veterans, I’ve gradually become more and more like them.

When I first started mixing it up on forums, I was young and hot-headed, didn’t know any tricks, and would often get provoked into cursing people out, coming off as totally uncultured—even I looked down on myself. But now, following Hum Hum Ha Ha and the others, I’ve developed a calm and collected mindset. With just a few understated words, I can give my debate opponents heart attacks, and these victories are piling up. Two or three times out of ten, someone will shout under my posts, “Boss, compensate us for our monitors! I just sprayed tea all over mine!” Clearly, my skills have reached a masterful level—even veterans like Hum Hum Ha Ha don’t dare compete with me in shamelessness anymore.

Twin swords combined! These friends are really something. With this, my strength instantly leveled up. Even players of the same or higher level might be able to beat me, but they can’t catch up to the Zihu and Qingluan twin swords that can transform into giant birds and fly.

I didn’t ask Hum Hum Ha Ha where he got the Qingluan Sword. If I acted all grateful, shy, and hesitant to accept, I wouldn’t be able to hang out with this crew.

Actually, online friends are the most loyal and trustworthy—not those QQ chat buddies, and not even in-game teammates, but the ones you banter with on forums. Of all the unlucky kids who’ve had bad meetups with net friends, almost none are from the forums. Forum buddies are all straightforward and have real personality—nobody puts on airs.

Once I equipped the Zihu and Qingluan twin swords, our whole group immediately set out for the Wildman Temple. Rescuing Shang Zhu is a multi-stage quest, and the first step is to find a piece of jade in the Wildman Temple.

The twin swords only take up one weapon slot after fusing, which means I can still use my Green Fang Ghost Arrow. Shushan’s design allows players to fly on one sword while controlling another to attack.

But after fusing the Zihu and Qingluan swords, although their power doubled, my dream of flying on one sword while fighting with another was dashed. The Green Fang Ghost Arrow can’t be used for flight, and its damage is much lower than the twin swords. Right now, I’m basically half-crippled.