Official Eternal Universe Forum.
General Discussion Section.
A thread was quietly climbing toward the front page.
Thread Title:
[HOLY SH*T?! Trash Martial Artist Solo Kills Elite Monster?! Come Watch Right Now]
Within Eternal Universe’s forums, the post gradually gained traction.
Original Post:
“Damn, brothers, something huge just happened.”
“I found this video on another forum a moment ago.”
“A Martial Artist soloing a Level 7 elite monster.”
“Can someone who understands the game tell me whether this video is real or fake?”
“Video link: [Click Here To Witness Divinity]”
Replies immediately flooded in beneath it.
[Didn’t even watch. Downvoting first. Can you people stop baiting already? Martial Artist players have it hard enough without being dragged out and mocked every day.]
[+1. I see titles like this several times a day. Why not just say a Martial Artist punched through the Starnet Mainframe while you’re at it?]
[Wait, what did you just say? Martial Artist solo killed an elite monster? Are you sure you weren’t watching some fan made “Bizarre Adventures of Martial Artists” parody video? Fine, I’ll watch it before flaming.]
A few moments later:
[…Hold on. Guys. The video might actually be real?]
Mocking Martial Artists had practically become a meme on the forums.
Threads like this appeared daily.
Their titles came in endless varieties.
[Latest Martial Artist Techniques! The Sewer Class Rises! Explosive Damage! Future Meta Class! Click To Learn!]
Or:
[Every Martial Artist Must Learn This! Master It And You’ll Be Sh*tting On Warlocks In Minutes!]
The actual content was always something like:
“Keep dreaming. Hurry up and reroll another class.”
Naturally, Martial Artist players were often furious.
Over time, many developed a sort of PTSD whenever they saw titles praising Martial Artists.
Yet this time…
A genuine masterpiece had somehow slipped into the pile.
[Holy crap! I watched it! What the hell?! This video has to be fake!]
[Wait, that’s really an elite monster? What kind of damage is that Martial Artist doing?!]
[Bro, even as a Warlock player I can’t accept this. I throw two major skills at an elite monster and barely scratch its health bar. Martial Artists have pathetic damage. Even if the boss stood there and let you hit it, you’d still be scratching it until the next expansion. Where’s the video? Let me see which devoted son is exaggerating this hard.]
One minute later, the same Warlock player posted again.
[…Huh?]
Another user immediately replied.
[My reaction too: Huh?]
[Hold on. Is that level of control even possible for a carbon based life form?]
[That movement technique… is he running script level prediction software?]
[Feels like I’m watching a martial arts movie. Eternal Universe actually has this much freedom?]
Someone answered:
[It does. Just lower the assisted casting settings.]
Another user chimed in.
[I’m a Martial Artist myself. Even with assisted casting set to fifty percent, using skills already feels difficult. There are posture restrictions and everything.]
[Judging from the freedom of movement in this video, he’s probably playing with thirty percent assistance. Maybe even lower.]
[Forget the mechanics. Am I the only one who thinks his damage numbers are completely wrong?]
[I counted around ten sword strikes total.]
[Not sure which ones were skills but by my calculations, each strike averaged around two hundred damage.]
[Two hundred? I can smash my keyboard performing my entire Flameburst combo and still won’t hit two hundred. If that’s not a cheat, what is?]
[Probably not cheating. The Starnet Mainframe personally oversees the system. Who could even make hacks for that?]
[I did some calculations.]
[Theoretically, if he’s carrying a Purple grade weapon, using damage enhancing potions, receiving buffs from a Spirit Mechanist and a Soul Contractor summon, stacking Armor Penetration and landing critical hits… maybe it’s possible?]
[Still not enough. Add Iron Guard’s near death sacrifice damage buff and, in theory, it might work…]
[As a Warlock, I’m feeling tremendous pressure. Stop calling us the favored children of the game. Look at Martial Artist bro over here…]
[Trembling.jpg]
[Lmao. Woke up this morning and the trash tier class suddenly became the new meta?]
[Ten years of scratching mobs and nobody cared. One elite monster kill and the whole world knows your name!]
[This video is officially my phone wallpaper from now on.]
[MARTIAL ARTISTS HAVE RISEN!!!]
[Sobbing uncontrollably.]
The video spread with astonishing speed.
Ever since the game’s launch, Martial Artists had been universally recognized as the weakest class in the game.
A large portion of the players who had originally chosen the class had already deleted their characters and rerolled into other professions. Even those who remained were gradually losing hope.
The appearance of this video was undoubtedly a powerful shot of adrenaline for every Martial Artist still stubbornly holding on.
Never mind how the Martial Artist in the video had managed to pull it off.
The mere fact that someone could do it proved that the class possessed such a ceiling.
How could anyone not be excited?
As the video spread further and further across the community, it naturally caught the attention of numerous top tier gaming clubs.
Countless organizations began analyzing the footage overnight.
The damage output displayed by the Martial Artist was simply terrifying.
He had surpassed even the current version’s strongest damage dealing class, the Warlock, by an absurd margin.
If a team possessed an elite damage dealer like that, what dungeon could they possibly fail to clear?
What boss could they possibly be unable to kill?
“Have you finished the analysis?”
“The recording distance is a little too far. A lot of details aren’t clear.”
One analyst shook his head before continuing.
“But judging from the freedom and fluidity of movement, we estimate his Assisted Casting setting is below twenty five percent.”
He paused briefly.
“It may even be set all the way down to the minimum of twenty percent.”
“The video doesn’t show his in game ID either…”
Someone frowned.
“What are the other clubs saying?”
“We asked around.”
The analyst’s expression turned strange.
“I asked if anyone knew a Martial Artist who soloed elite monsters.”
“And?”
“They told me if I was having delusions, I should seek medical treatment.”
“…”
…
Meanwhile, the person at the center of the storm remained completely unaware.
Yin Huaichen had no idea that a video of him had triggered such a massive sensation across the forums.
At this very moment, he was riding an airship alongside Mu Yu and the others.
Departing from Thousand Mechanisms City, they traveled southward, transferring through several waystations along the route before finally arriving at the foot of a remote mountain seldom visited by anyone.
“This should be the place.”
Mu Yu looked around the area as he spoke.
Yin Huaichen followed his gaze.
Before them stretched nothing but barren rock walls.
Aside from mountains, there was only more mountain.
“This is Windblade Stronghold?”
“Mm.”
Mu Yu nodded.
“The outer perimeter of Windblade Stronghold is concealed by illusion techniques.”
According to the information they had purchased from Dustworld Pavilion, Windblade Stronghold’s leader, Helian Zheng, had originally been the Hall Master of Bronze Armor Hall.
“Later, he began cultivating through the absorption of baleful energy and suffered a cultivation deviation.”
“His mind became unstable.”
“He slaughtered the elderly, women and children of several nearby villages.”
“When the major sects of Thousand Mechanisms City joined forces to hunt him down, Helian Zheng knew he couldn’t win.”
“So he escaped into the mountains with his trusted followers and established Windblade Stronghold.”
Mu Yu continued.
“One of his subordinates is a Warlock who specializes in illusion techniques.”
“He created a maze formation outside the stronghold.”
“Without the corresponding token, it’s practically impossible to locate the entrance.”
Yin Huaichen froze slightly.
Illusion techniques?
Concealing an entire mountain stronghold with illusion arts was no feat an ordinary low level Warlock could accomplish.
In Yin Huaichen’s memory, the sect most proficient in illusion formations throughout the entire Canglan Continent was Thousand Veils Shapeshifting Sect.
Yet even a top tier illusion sect like that would require at least Fourth Rank cultivation to construct a maze formation on such a massive scale.
According to Eternal Universe’s level system, Fourth Rank corresponded roughly to Levels 40 through 49.
The current players hadn’t even properly left the beginner stage yet.
And now they were supposed to confront a Fourth Rank expert?
That seemed more than a little unreasonable.
“Let’s search the area for any unusual mechanisms.”
Mu Yu said.
The players’ understanding of Eternal Universe remained shallow.
None of them had any concept of what a Fourth Rank expert truly represented.
Naturally, they couldn’t understand what Yin Huaichen was thinking.
With a helpless sigh, Yin Huaichen joined the others in searching.
The surrounding area appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary desolate mountain.
Dead leaves covered the ground.
Sunlight filtered through sparse branches.
There wasn’t the slightest indication that people lived here.
To the point where even Mu Yu had begun doubting the accuracy of the information they had purchased.
Unlike the others, who wandered around aimlessly like headless flies, Yin Huaichen paced calmly through the area.
He studied the terrain.
Observed the surrounding cliffs.
Then he tilted his head upward and looked toward the sky.
Sunlight poured down from above.
Golden strands of mist drifted through the air, refracting countless diamond shaped flashes of light.
Yin Huaichen narrowed his eyes.
His gaze pierced through the scattered light.
There.
Within the flowing currents of air.
He spotted faint traces of mirage energy dispersing in subtle patterns.
So it really was a technique from Thousand Veils Shapeshifting Sect.
And not just any technique.
The traces clearly belonged to the highly sophisticated Eight Desolations Mirage Law Formation.
As the Young Palace Master of Impermanence Palace and its future successor, Yin Huaichen had been exposed to cultivation systems from all Four Continents.
His teacher, Yin Yuan, had once told him:
“There are countless sects beneath heaven and endless cultivation paths as vast as the sea.”
“As the future heir of Impermanence Palace, you don’t necessarily have to learn everything.”
“But you must understand everything.”
Thinking of that, Yin Huaichen couldn’t help sighing.
How unfortunate.
Of all the schools and disciplines…
Illusion techniques happened to be one of the subjects he understood the least.
Well, it wasn’t completely accurate to say he knew nothing.
At the very least, he could recognize them.
Compared to his talent in martial arts and cultivation methods, magical and spell based systems had always been his weakest area.
Basic formations were manageable.
But something this profound and intricate left him somewhat at a loss.
One truly regrets lacking knowledge only when the need arises.
If I’d known this day would come, I should’ve listened more carefully during lessons back then…
Scratching his head, Yin Huaichen began recalling everything he knew about illusion techniques.
Afterward, he surveyed the surroundings once more and started drawing calculations on the ground.
Reverse engineering a formation was a highly technical process.
He could only begin from the most fundamental steps.
Fortunately, he possessed the token.
His goal wasn’t to break the formation itself.
He only needed to locate its activation point.
It was like standing before a locked door while already holding the key.
There was no need to pick the lock.
He merely had to find the keyhole.
That reduced the difficulty considerably.
“‘Mist silk trims heaven’s light as bait. A thousand peaks suspended in the void become its bones. One breath burns away the old rivers and mountains. Trust not the moon beneath the eaves. Touch not the abyss reflected in the mirror. To see truth is to embrace illusion…'”
Picking up a tree branch, Yin Huaichen scribbled continuously across the dirt.
“Hmm…”
“‘Trust not the moon beneath the eaves’…”
“What comes after that again?”
The calculations left his head spinning.
From his teammates’ perspective, however, the scene looked rather different.
“Is he…”
He Shi Yue Bu Que stared toward the distance.
“…slacking off?”
In the distance, Yin Huaichen was squatting on the ground, poking and scratching lines into the dirt with a branch.
Mu Yu’s lips twitched.
He looked as though he wanted to say something but ultimately held back.
“…Forget it.”
“Let him do whatever he’s doing.”
If it had been one of their own guild members, he would have started scolding already.
But there was nothing he could do.
Yin Huaichen was only a temporary teammate.
And more importantly,
The key was in his possession.
What exactly could they say?
“I think the method to break this illusion formation is probably tied to another quest chain.”
He Shi Yue Bu Que said.
“Should we ask about it?”
Mu Yu opened his communication panel and contacted Dustworld Pavilion.
A few moments later, he ended the call and forced a bitter smile.
“It really is.”
“The information for breaking the illusion is tied to another quest chain.”
“And it’s a pretty troublesome one.”
“You have to finish the entire sequence before obtaining clues.”
“Then you need to find an NPC who can identify the formation core.”
“Dustworld Pavilion should be selling that information too, right?”
He Shi Yue Bu Que asked.
Dustworld Pavilion essentially functioned as an intelligence marketplace.
Players completed quests and sold useful clues to the organization.
Dustworld Pavilion then resold that information to others who needed it.
Everyone profited.
“Yes.”
Mu Yu nodded.
“They have it.”
“How much?”
“Three hundred silver.”
“…”
Great White Shark’s face immediately darkened.
“That’s highway robbery.”
Three hundred silver coins was an enormous sum at the current stage of the game.
No one even knew what rewards Windblade Stronghold contained.
After investing so much money upfront, what if they ended up with nothing?
Wouldn’t that be a complete loss?
Rubbing his temples, Mu Yu sighed.
“What choice do we have?”
“If we don’t buy it, then all the information we’ve already purchased becomes worthless.”
They had already invested too much.
At this point, backing out wasn’t really an option.
The group pooled their funds together.
Mu Yu contacted Dustworld Pavilion once again and initiated the transaction.
Three hundred silver coins were successfully transferred.
Shortly afterward, a message arrived from the other side.
“Please wait a moment. Once we verify the payment, we’ll send the information regarding the formation core.”
Even though Mu Yu felt thoroughly exploited, he could only maintain a polite smile.
“Thank you for your trouble.”
“Hmm…”
Fallen Leaf Wushuang suddenly looked toward Yin Huaichen.
“There’s still one more person.”
“Shouldn’t we split the cost with him too?”
Mu Yu immediately shook his head.
“How would that even work?”
“This was our failure to prepare properly.”
“And now you want to ask him for money?”
“Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“I was just saying.”
Fallen Leaf Wushuang shrugged.
The five teammates stared anxiously at Mu Yu’s communicator.
Waiting.
Waiting for the formation core information to arrive.
Then,
A voice suddenly sounded beside them.
“Why does everyone look so miserable?”
Yin Huaichen walked over curiously.
“Let’s go.”
“Go?”
Mu Yu blinked.
“Go where?”
Now it was Yin Huaichen’s turn to look confused.
“To Windblade Stronghold, obviously.”
He pointed ahead casually.
“I found the formation core.”
“…?”
Mu Yu froze.
The others froze as well.
Every face filled with disbelief.
“You…”
“You found it?”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
A wild Ko-fi button has appeared! ✦
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Remember to keep a positive moodChapter 2 · Have fun playing the gameChapter 3 · Skill completion rateChapter 4 · Strange and malevolent creatures roam outside the cityChapter 5 · 90% complete!Chapter 6 · Serving the sect is my dutyChapter 7 · First meetingChapter 8 · Fang LecangChapter 9 · A prestigious and righteous sect!Chapter 10 · Kill Chi BantuChapter 11 · Spoils of warChapter 12 · We’ve made a fortune!Chapter 13 · Thunder and fire extinguish goldChapter 14 · You found it?Chapter 15 · The so called degree of freedomChapter 16 · The secrets of life and deathChapter 17 · A minor leader of the first rank.Chapter 18 · What kind of luck do you have?Chapter 19 · Let’s Do itChapter 20 · The BOSS escapedChapter 21 · “A wound to the heart is also a wound.”Chapter 22 · Good people are always blessed.Chapter 23 · The Old Man of the Valley of BonesChapter 24 · It’s me, young master!Chapter 25 · Take it slow and steadyChapter 26 · The older they get, the stingier they becomeChapter 27 · You know this person tooChapter 28 · I saw Wei Wanzhou againChapter 29 · You’d better keep having this kind of luckChapter 30 · “Password lock” crackedChapter 31 · We’ve come to punish you!Chapter 32 · A boorish country bumpkin who knows no manners.Chapter 33 · You have crossed the lineChapter 34 · Now that we’re here, do you think we can leave?Chapter 35 · A trivial skillChapter 36 · Actually, I was just kiddingChapter 37 · Upgrade mission complete, rating: SSS!Chapter 38 · AwardChapter 39 · I have always been law-abiding and law-abidingChapter 40 · Are you coming back for dinner tonight?Chapter 41 · Purple Lightning Square Seal.Chapter 42 · A money-grubberChapter 43 · BetChapter 44 · Four Continents Chamber of CommerceChapter 45 · This was my third meeting with Wei WanzhouChapter 46 · Oh, you want to hit on me.Chapter 47 · The angry drizzle has stoppedChapter 48 · Thunder SpearChapter 49 · “Are you a devil?”Chapter 50 · The Impermanent Lord!?Chapter 51 · Loot everywhere..Chapter 52 · His identity remains a mystery.Chapter 53 · Why not show yourself?Chapter 54 · He confronted Li Mingrui.Chapter 55 · Auction