Chapter 55: Another New Player?

At night, accompanied by several lit tallow candles, Elder Meng was explaining the origin of their enemy inside the Shrine of Faith, after hearing Ji Ye’s story.

“The Steelback Blue Wolf is a minor villain from Journey to the West. By using a trick, which was later translated as ‘divide the petals of the plum blossom,’ it lured Sanzang’s three disciples away and captured him. Later, it sent a fake human head back so the disciples wept over it, believing that their master had already died. It was one of the smartest minions in the whole story, I’d say.

“In some versions of the book, this monster could crouch on the ground while casting incantations, leaving only its hardened back open for attacks. Not even Bajie’s rake was able to get through it. It was Sun Wukong who killed it with his cudgel, snatching the chance to attack when the monster was taking a breather.”

The “new players” listened to the story as they might need such knowledge in the Land of Inheritance later.

They would also occasionally give Li Qing eager glimpses, as they saw him slowly walking to the offering table with the wolf skin in hand.

“I wonder which champion we’ll get this time. Another hero from the 108 outlaws?” Jiang Wenming said with a smile.

After returning to the settlement, Jiang Wenming spent all of his EXP to learn the Iron Skin skill he found from a killed wolf. Adding a glass of Red Pip juice, he had already become a Ordinary Rank-6 human warrior.

“It’s… not very likely.” Elder Meng shook his head. The supplement he took during his stay almost helped his hair turn black. “From what I learned, the level of a summoned hero is relevant to the level of our Heart of Enlightenment. Then, it is further determined by the rarity of the offering item. If any of the famous outlaws arrives, he or she would be at least a superior human warrior at the beginning. However, our Heart of Enlightenment is only at Ordinary Rank-7 right now. The skin Li Qing is using is only ‘uncommon.’ All things considered, I’m afraid we can only receive a lesser leader who worked in the Twin Dragon Mount settlement in the story.”

“There’s another conjecture,” Elder Jiao added, “It might be likely that an outlaw hero is willing to give up strength just to be able to descend and return home sooner. But… we haven’t seen any proof of that possibility right now.”

Shang Yan checked Lu Zhishen, who was excitedly waiting for a new comrade to come, and raised a hand. “Mister Jiao, you said that someone like Lu Zhishen requires a legendary offering to appear, which is… almost impossible to find. Did he come as his ‘weaker self’?”

“That is not the case.” The two old scholars smiled at the same time.

Unlike their younger members, those two had stayed in the settlement and tried looking for clues they could use. They had already surmised that Ji Ye was the “streaming player” of Yang City. Of course, that flawless snake hunt could definitely get them an offering item of the legendary rank.

“Lu Zhishen brought his full strength. I’m sure of it!” said Qin Yueyu. She also figured out who Ji Ye was by then.

For one, Ji Ye had shown them some real skills by handling that alpha wolf all by himself. Besides, she had watched Ji Ye’s stream. She had recognized the Heavy Bulldozer crossbow during the previous fight, as well as the serpent skin armor used by the settlement warriors. She knew Ji Ye was the one who had left the entire Yang City in an uproar that very night.

However, she didn’t reveal her discovery for personal reasons.

Jiang Wenming and Su Nongying were also aware of Ji Ye’s identity from the very beginning, though they couldn’t say it due to their non-disclosure agreement. Besides, they both had their own plans as well.

It was strange; many people present knew that Ji Ye was the “Crossgod” everyone was talking about, yet no one would bring it up.

“Oh, you guys haven’t started yet? Glad I made it!” Xu Xue said as she entered everyone’s view. She had put on an eye-catching purple frock that looked rather ancient. She also locked up her hair using an antique-looking hair clip that went well with the local style.

Nobody reacted to her arrival, except for An Quan who greeted her in a small voice.

“I’m doing it now.” Li Qing had placed the wolf skin onto the ritual table.

Next, he took several steps away and joined Ji Ye as they looked at the table carefully.

Everyone was focusing their attention on the table, as well as the Heart of Enlightenment that floated above.

There was an exception, which was Xu Xue, who only stared at Ji Ye’s back somewhat eagerly.

After returning from the wolf hunt, Xu Xue had fully realized that she was not a fighter. She decided to try earning Honor points by other means in the settlement. By following the tips she found on the forum, she successfully obtained two points by working with several female settlers. At the same time, she had also learned a piece of information from them that shocked her for good.

She was told that a giant, black snake monster which haunted this settlement had been killed by their “Chosen One,” the man in front of her.

So, this man is the first streamer of Yang City. Glad I learned it before everyone did! I can use it to my advantage… She thought to herself.

Someone interrupted her train of thought by yelling out.

“Someone’s coming!”

The inside of the shrine grew brighter as the yellow light of fortune was summoned. Inside the light, the faint silhouette of a human slowly turned clearer, stepping into people’s view.

“That’s it!… Is it?”

“This is how you summon people? Looks easy enough. The forum’s making everything sound overly complicated.”

“Maybe it’s because the offering item isn’t a good one, so things are, you know, simplified?”

The players who waited by the entrance mumbled to each other.

The figure that appeared in the light was a moderate-sized young man who looked about 20. He had tattoos on his arm, and his eyes looked rather blank for some reason.

Ji Ye frowned as he inspected the newcomer.

As someone who had personally summoned Lu Zhishen, he knew the summoning process to the last detail. For example, the summoned hero would drain the power of fortune gathered in the settlement. Even more, if it happened to be someone powerful.

As the master of the settlement, Ji Ye could see how much “fortune” had been spent. He was confused to notice that this plain-looking man didn’t justify the fortune power that was just consumed, which should get them at least a Ordinary Rank-7 warrior.

Programmer An Quan saw something strange and called out first, “Hey, he doesn’t look like someone from the old times, does he? Isn’t he wearing the starter garb we all used when we came? And that tattoo looks familiar… Wait, it’s Jaipanese language!”

The summoned young man opened his eyes, looked around, and showed a delighted look. “Nice, it didn’t throw me in the middle of the wildlands this time! Are you perhaps… welcoming me? Good, good. This place seems decent, unlike that last one. It was all because of those weirdos that I died in the end.”