Chapter 00222: The Treasure of Thunder Mountain
# The Treasure of Thunder Mountain
Chapter 222
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 222 The Treasure of Thunder Mountain
One holds the rank of the Three Dukes, a First-Rank official, second to only one person and above ten thousand.
The other has spent half his life on horseback, with countless elite troops and strong generals under his command, controlling the world's armies.
For two such men to be utterly helpless against a minor Liu Family from the martial world, it sounded absurd.
In fact, this absurdity was quite plausible.
After all, the Liu Family was not in Liu Prefecture, but in Yue Prefecture.
In this world, the Central Plains alone had ten kingdoms and sixteen prefectures, not even counting the various nations of the Western Region, Northern Borders, and Southern Frontier.
It was much livelier than the Seven Warring States.
No matter how great one's power, it did not extend to other nations.
Even the emperor of the Liu Prefecture Kingdom could only scratch his head over this matter.
What could he do? Send the Imperial Bodyguard to slaughter the Liu Family, leaving no chickens or dogs alive?
Setting aside whether the Imperial Bodyguard had that capability, just what would be the Yue Prefecture Kingdom's reaction if they did that?
If war were to break out and rivers of blood were to flow, all because of some trivial matter in the martial world...
Future generations reading history books would probably find it even more absurd.
Of course, Li Yingluo's family certainly would not swallow this insult in silence, but it was also a fact that they could not take any direct and effective action.
Yang Yiyi initially thought that as a victim, all she had to do was step forward and expose the Liu Family's crimes, and they would surely be spurned by the world, with everyone wanting to punish them.
A very naive and foolish idea.
Having traveled until now, Yang Yiyi seemed to have gradually understood that things were not as simple as she had thought, but seeing Li Yingluo's father sigh still made her feel upset.
The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she felt.
Yang Yiyi got up, washed up briefly, and decided to go practice her fist techniques in the courtyard.
The residence of the Minister of Education, one of the Three Dukes, was magnificent.
Even the courtyard of the guest room was fully equipped with pavilions and waterside terraces.
The sky was just beginning to brighten.
Yang Yiyi stood before a row of beautiful hydrangeas, practicing her fist techniques while smelling the faint floral fragrance.
This should have been a very pleasant experience, but the preoccupied Yang Yiyi was in no mood to appreciate it.
"What's troubling you again?"
Suddenly, the Jade Tablet in her arms spoke.
Yang Yiyi quickly stopped and took out the Jade Tablet, saying:
"Brother Li, how did you know?"
"Nonsense. When you have something on your mind, your punches are like an old lady's underpants, utterly pathetic."
"....."
Yang Yiyi was a simple person who could not hide things in her heart.
"Still thinking about the Liu Family?"
"A little."
"Why think so much? Just train hard. In the future, once your divine technique is perfected, just go straight to their door and wipe out even their dogs."
"Brother Li, your way of speaking is still so... uh, straightforward?"
"What's there to beat around the bush about? Once your divine technique is mastered, just get it done."
"But I don't know when I'll ever master my divine technique..."
On the other side of the screen, Li Chengxi saw Yang Yiyi's reply and thought to himself that this was indeed a problem.
Yang Yiyi was currently without a sect, which meant she had no path for advancement and could not learn the top-tier martial arts of other sects.
Wandering martial artists of the Jianghu were free and unrestrained, but the lack of a path for advancement was a difficult problem.
When new martial techniques would appear in the Teaching Box was not up to Li Chengxi.
Even now, he had not fully figured out the pattern for their appearance.
The other path to becoming stronger was through the Sky-Upholding Stone.
But this thing was not only rare and hard to come by, he also had a vague feeling that it involved extensive connections.
Acting rashly could lead to big trouble.
This was like having two clear paths to becoming stronger, but neither was easy to walk, and there was no clear direction.
"That's all? Don't worry, you're still so young. Just take your time."
This was not just simple comfort from Li Chengxi.
In his view, it was an idle game, after all.
It certainly would not have shortcuts like a typical RPG, and becoming invincible right from the start was unrealistic.
If things really did not work out, he could just pull Yang Yiyi over and have Audel see if she could teach her magic.
Leaping over eaves and walking on walls, then starting off with a big fireball.
I have to admit, that sounds pretty awesome.
If that still did not work, Li Chengxi would find a way to pester Section Nine.
They would not sell him planes or cannons, but he should be able to get a pistol, right?
Then he'd have Yang Yiyi master the 'American Iaijutsu' and dominate the world with the Ashina Sword Style.
That could work too.
Therefore, Li Chengxi was not really worried about this problem at all.
Just as he was about to comfort Yang Yiyi with a few more words, Li Yingluo walked in from behind the moon gate.
"Elder Sister Yang, you're up so early as always."
"Couldn't sleep, so I got up to practice my fist techniques."
Having returned home, Li Yingluo had changed into a green dress, which made her look even more like a young lady from a prestigious family.
The two of them walked to the pavilion by the pond, and maidservants immediately served dried fruits, candied preserves, and clear tea.
It made one suspect they had these things ready at all times.
After dismissing the maidservants, Li Yingluo listened to Yang Yiyi's troubles and then said:
"Elder Sister Yang, you worry too much. You already have Brother Li's help. Achieving peerless divine skill in the future is just a matter of time."
"See? I told you she was overthinking things."
Since no one else was around to see, Li Chengxi controlled the Jade Tablet to float around the table.
He even grabbed a few candied fruits to see what they tasted like.
"But practicing day after day, year after year like this, how long will it take?"
"All the great heroes in this world possess a combination of talent, hard work, and fortunate encounters; not a single one can be missing."
In terms of hard work, Yang Yiyi would not lose to anyone.
In terms of fortunate encounters, meeting an Immortal was an immense stroke of luck beyond words.
As for talent...
For that, she could only rely on the Sky-Upholding Stone to defy heaven and change her fate.
"Elder Sister Yang, please rest assured. If you need anything, you can tell me at any time."
On his end, Li Chengxi gave Audel two pieces of candied fruit to try.
Seeing that Yang Yiyi was still a bit down, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"I say, don't tell me you've lost your motivation?"
Yang Yiyi immediately showed an expression of someone whose thoughts had been seen through.
"It's just that the goal feels too distant. No matter how hard I try, there's this sense of frustration that I can't achieve it. Then I start to become demoralized, overthink things, and just slack off."
This is also why many games set up a large number of side quests and achievements.
When a game starts, players are all heading for the ending, but if the game is too long and only has one main storyline, players will quickly lose interest.
In short, there is no sense of accomplishment, not enough positive feedback.
For this kind of game, no matter how beautiful the graphics or how great the controls are, it will lead to a very low completion rate.
Players often toss it aside after just a few hours.
Li Chengxi did not understand any grand principles, but he played a lot of games, so he naturally thought of this.
"That's easy to solve. Find something to do. Don't just practice your skills or sleep all day."
Hearing this, Li Yingluo hesitated for a moment before saying:
"I wonder if Brother Li has heard of the Thunder Mountain Treasury?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"Not far from here, there is a Thunder Mountain. It can be entered once every twenty years. The mountain is filled with countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures, as well as divine techniques and secret arts left behind by profound masters. Every year at this time, a large number of wandering martial artists go there to try their luck."
"There's actually a place like that?"
"Elder Sister Yang, you haven't heard of it either?"
"No, no one has told me about the affairs of the martial world before."
Previously at the inn near Heavenly Water City, that group of Jianghu people were heading to the Thunder Mountain Treasury.
Li Yingluo had thought Yang Yiyi knew.
Li Chengxi thought that this Thunder Mountain Treasury place was not bad.
It would be good to go and try their luck, to keep Yang Yiyi from falling into a slump.
However...
"This Thunder Mountain Treasury, it's not that easy to get through, is it?"
You could figure that out with your ass.
A good place like this is definitely fraught with danger.
"Every year, many people die inside. It's said that not even one in ten survives. I'm not too keen on letting Elder Sister Yang go to such a place, but with Brother Li accompanying you, there should be no worries."
Yang Yiyi jumped up directly, her eyes shining:
"Where is Thunder Mountain? When does it open?"
It seemed she was very interested.
(End of this chapter)