Chapter 342: An Unbeatable Opening Hand

Li Na finally understood why, on a day this important, the boss had still been calm enough to delay his appearance.

Why, on a day this important, this boss had arrived at the studio looking like an innocent college boy.

Strength!

Everything came from strength.

When a person possessed sufficient power, he could ignore every judgmental look and every opinion around him.

Su Wangchuan had taken over this game studio with exactly that kind of confidence and strength.

Inside the game, he had long since won over Wang Yuehui, Hong Kaibao, and the others!

At the Bajiquan Martial Arts Gym, he had relied on his own talent and ability to win over Lin Jiahe, Chen Gang, and the others!

And now…

With that one light, casual sentence—“《Xuanwu Art》, Perfect Mastery”—he had effortlessly conquered Li Na, the supervisor sent by the Online Guidance Center.

“Li Na.”

Su Wangchuan leaned forward slightly, his expression serious, his gaze fixed on her as he spoke word by word.

“I’ve already proven my strength. With my ability, becoming the number one game studio in H City is only a matter of time. Next, it’s your turn to demonstrate your professional competence and skill. How are you going to help me break through to the fourth rank, then the fifth, force my way onto the Jianghu rankings, and obtain higher clearance and greater influence?”

Su Wangchuan had no intention of letting her deal with him the way Su Wan had once used him.

The pressure on Li Na rose at once.

It was her first time managing a studio, yet she had started with an unbeatable opening hand.

That was a good thing!

But…

The boss’s meaning was perfectly clear.

If you have ability, stay.

If you don’t… step aside and let someone more capable take your place.

Li Na immediately turned serious.

“I’ll revise the entire plan at once, but first, I need a more detailed understanding of your actual martial realms and strength, Boss, including what martial arts the Caobang can currently provide.”

“All right.”

Su Wangchuan laid out his situation one point at a time.

The more Li Na heard, the more alarmed she became.

《Archery》 at Perfect Mastery!

《Dragon-Elephant Body-Protection Technique》 at Integration!

And there were still two fourth-rank martial arts, 《Cloud Ladder》 and 《Water-Moon Sword Art》, that he had not yet begun cultivating.

The Sanjiang Branch Helm alone had more than three hundred Martial Artists!

The hall itself had more than two hundred Martial Artists!

This…

Li Na fell into thought, then said, “Boss, please go upstairs and rest first.”

“I need to think this through carefully. Once I have an answer, I’ll report back to you immediately.”

Such a good hand absolutely could not be played badly.

Su Wangchuan nodded, rose, and left.

The fifty-first floor was enormous. At present, only he and Li Na had clearance to enter the entire floor.

More than twenty security robots had already been stationed there…

He took a full walk through all four upper floors before finally finding his room, lying down, and entering 《spirit realm》.

With 《Xuanwu Art》 having broken through, he would need twenty-four hours before he could create a second martial arts manual.

Wangchuan wasted no time at all and immediately prepared to cultivate the fourth-rank 《Water-Moon Sword Art》.

Under the moonlight, Wangchuan began exploring it alone.

In the moonlight, an ordinary longsword bloomed in the training grounds with circles of watery ripples, its glow soft and fluid, its edge hidden within.

As Wangchuan practiced, a marvelous feeling arose within him.

With his five senses greatly enhanced, it was as if he could clearly watch himself practicing the sword, as though he had opened up a god’s-eye view.

He watched his own movements…

Again and again!

And then…

Gradually, he began to understand where the flaws lay.

The principle of illusion and reality within 《Water-Moon Sword Art》 was hidden right there.

Within softness, it concealed a fatal edge!

What looked like elegant flourishes were, in fact, lethally deadly!

Between the turns of the sword forms, internal force suddenly surged and spat outward!

An extremely sharp flash of edge swept out in a rapid arc, passing through three Iron Dummy Stakes without the slightest obstruction.

Clang…

The three Iron Dummy Stakes fell cleanly to the ground as though sliced by a blade.

At that moment, enlightenment struck Wangchuan like a bucket of cold water to the head. Looking at the sword in his hand, he summoned his Status Panel, glanced at it, and smiled.

《Water-Moon Sword Art》 had indeed reached Entry Level, and its experience had jumped from 0 to 1.

“So that’s it.”

“The way of illusion and reality is hidden within internal force.”

“The moment a killing move infused with internal force suddenly erupts, that is the true mystery of 《Water-Moon Sword Art》. It unleashes the fatal edge of the Water-Moon Sword Art.”

“It consumes a bit of internal energy, but… that isn’t much of a problem.”

Wangchuan continued cultivating.

As long as he made his internal force surge within one full set of sword forms, he could increase his experience.

“Ding!”

System prompt:

“《Water-Moon Sword Art》 has advanced to ‘Minor Mastery.’ Reward: +1 Agility!”

He had no idea how long he had practiced before the sword art broke through.

At the same time, his internal energy dropped to a low point, forcing him to sit cross-legged and circulate his art to recover.

Each time he drove internal force into a move, it consumed 2 points of internal energy.

His internal energy could be exhausted very easily.

However…

After 《Water-Moon Sword Art》 reached Minor Mastery, it seemed to break through some kind of bottleneck. Wangchuan discovered that he could now make internal force pulse rapidly and smoothly within a single set of sword forms.

Previously, he could only release internal force once in a full set of sword moves…

Now he could trigger it twice, even three times, increasing the might of the sword forms and sharpening their edge!

The watery radiance veiled the moon, yet made it even deadlier!

Wangchuan considered it and estimated that, once 《Water-Moon Sword Art》 broke through to Practice Makes Perfect, he should be able to inject internal force into the sword forms with even greater ease and fluency, further increasing their sharpness and killing power.

When he woke the next morning, Wangchuan went to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Below the tower, a long line had already formed.

Sanjiang Studio was recruiting one thousand gold-farmers, with a monthly salary set at fifteen thousand!

Naturally, that had drawn a great many applicants.

Some had come specifically for 《spirit realm》, while others had merely joined the excitement.

Wangchuan took the chance to ask Wang Yuehui about the situation.

Hong Kaibao had already escorted Lin Jiahe and the other three into Hejiang Town and had explained to them the key intelligence regarding 《spirit realm》. The four of them had adapted quite well and were already settled within the Sanjiang Branch Helm.

However…

All four of them were extremely capable.

Chen Gang had cultivated 《Bajiquan》 and 《Bajiquan Spear Technique》 to Perfect Mastery. All three of his main attributes were now close to 40 points. He already possessed the strength of a peak first-rank martial artist and could step into the second rank at any time.

Li Xiangyang had cultivated 《Assassination Technique》 and 《Bajiquan》 to Perfect Mastery, and he too currently possessed the strength of a peak first-rank martial artist.

Lin Jiahe was the strongest!

The moment he logged in, he already possessed the strength of a second-rank martial artist. Aside from 《Bajiquan》 and 《Bajiquan Spear Technique》, he had also cultivated 《Bagua Saber》 and 《Xingyi Quan》 to Perfect Mastery.

The only comparatively weaker one was Chen Dan. She had only practiced casually along with the others, and at present had just barely broken into the realm of a first-rank martial artist. Even so, among newcomers, she still counted as outstanding.

With the addition of those four, they could directly form a Land-Clearing Team.

Chen Gang and Li Xiangyang would soon break through to the second rank.

Lin Jiahe could break through to the third rank very quickly!

Wangchuan specifically asked Li Na whether, if someone like Lin Jiahe advanced to the third rank, he too would be forcibly conscripted by the Online Guidance Center.

Li Na gave him her answer.

“He won’t.”

“Newcomers only receive a studio license after they have spent one full year in 《spirit realm》 and have passed our evaluation in all aspects. Moreover, Mr. Lin Jiahe is experiencing the game for the first time. He will probably need to spend quite some time immersed in 《spirit realm》 before he can even become a candidate.”

“You can train him without worry, Boss. The Online Guidance Center won’t immediately come and pick the fruit.”

At that, Wangchuan finally let out a long breath of relief.