Chapter 11: Why do I still have to pay taxes?

Chapter 11: Why am I paying taxes now?

【Little Lady with the Strength of a Mountain: Hahahahaha, I'm stronger than you! I did it in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Looks like I've definitely got talent-level potential!】

【I Once Shook the Mountain to Scare the Tiger: F***, you beast!】

【Naked in the Wind: *tears streaming* I also did it in an hour and a half. How did I end up in the same league as Brother Wu Song?】

【Jump High, Pee Far: I took 1 hour and 45 minutes...】

【Born to be Emperor: Are you guys talking about this game? Getting this excited? Is this game really that much fun?】

【Sky Exploding: 2 hours 35 minutes.】

【Little Lady with the Strength of a Mountain: @Sky Exploding Damn, the big shots are still stronger.】

【Philanthropist: @Sky Exploding Big shot, what on earth are you guys talking about? Give us the scoop. How is this game? Can you share some screenshots or plot details?】

Seeing Little Lady and the others starting to bubble up in the group, everyone rushed out to ask.

As it turned out, they saw Sky Exploding reply with this

【Sky Exploding: Brothers, to be honest, the plot of this game isn't even important anymore. It's definitely going to set a world record. You won't find a more fun game in the entire world. I'll stake my entire gaming career on it.】

The group chat instantly exploded with rapid-fire messages.

It was nothing but a sea of "Holy sh*ts."

Is it really that exaggerated?

Could this big shot, Sky Exploding, have finally lost his shame and taken money to hype it up?

The best game in the world?

What kind of level of hype is this? Even the critically acclaimed AAA masterpiece [Chronicles of the Divine Era], which was recognized as the highest-rated in the gaming industry, didn't dare to claim such a thing when it first arrived!

Sky Exploding knew that no matter how much he explained, these people wouldn't believe him.

Because right now, he truly couldn't provide screenshots.

The only downside to the Yunzhou Continent was that it wasn't fully connected to the internet yet. He couldn't find screenshot or screen-recording buttons within the game, so he truly had no evidence to present.

But his senses wouldn't lie to him.

He had truly witnessed the existence of "another world."

He no longer needed to care about others' opinions; instead, he needed to figure out how to seize the initiative in this new world.

As long as the game itself didn't shut down, he would absolutely play it forever.

Sky Exploding asked Zhou Xiao to help him pull the other 40-plus players who had entered the game into a single unified group.

【Yunzhou Continent Inner Disciple Group】

Since Zhou Xiao had been the one posting the recruitment materials previously, she basically knew everyone who had filled out their information.

But after looking for a while, she still missed two people.

【Han Tian: Those two brothers or sisters probably saw the advertisement themselves. Once they enter the game, tell them we have a group.】

【Han Tian: I see everyone is in a state of confusion. I'll take the lead and explain what I've observed. If anyone has questions, feel free to add to it.】

【Everyone: 1111 (representing agreement)】

【Han Tian: First of all, the most important point of this game has been made clear: everything is predicated on ensuring the Sect Master stays alive. Just treat her like your own mother.】

【Han Tian: There are two paths for sect development. 1. The Sect Master ensures her own cultivation; as for how much we can help with that, it depends on the game's mission requirements. 2. We must at least ensure the sect can continue to develop freely. = Earn money to revitalize the sect, increase our own cultivation, and choose professions that suit us. This is our main task.】

【Han Tian: Currently, the known directions for the game are the Artificer Sect and the Alchemist Sect. There will likely also be Sword Cultivators and other types of cultivators. When you enter the game, you can see which direction suits you. Our sect cannot waste the talent of players; we must choose to develop in all directions. In other words, we want both alchemy and smithing.】

【Han Tian: We have already conducted tests. Most material reactions in the game are consistent with reality. I have marveled at the heaven-defying nature of this game many times. Therefore, it's possible that we can bring some modern technologies into the game. I'll let @Zhou Nüzi give an example.】

【Zhou Nüzi: Okay, okay, thank you, Big Shot. As one of the lucky ones chosen by Senior Brother A-Wu today, I followed A-Wu to identify several basic spiritual herbs of the Yunzhou Continent, which are the raw materials for refining the legendary Blood Replenishing Pill and Qi Replenishing Pill.】

【Zhou Nüzi: We observed that, aside from using spiritual energy for cultivation, the process is actually no different from our traditional farming methods. There is even a fertilization step, except they use local spiritual energy fertilizer. @Chen Miaomiao, the big shot, said that we might be able to use modern techniques like grafting to improve spiritual herb varieties and increase yields. However, since we haven't been in the game long, this requires experimentation to prove; for now, it's just one of our feasibility conjectures.】

Zhou Nüzi's words instantly helped everyone understand Han Tian's point.

If the Yunzhou Continent used normal farming methods with only spiritual energy as a variable, wouldn't the "wild" operations they could perform be even more numerous?

One player took the idea a step further.

【Su Daqiang: You mean if my cultivation isn't great, I can also hand-craft missiles, right?】

【Wu Dahu: Brother, you're in deep trouble. Very deep.】

【Yang Meimei: Stop bullshitting. Even if it's possible, it's impossible to build them right now. Setting aside whether you even know how to build a missile, you can't expect to carry out an industrial revolution in a cultivation world, can you?】

【Su Daqiang: @Yang Meimei It's just a metaphor. More ideas mean more paths.】

【Han Tian: Missiles might be out, but we should be able to make bombs.】

【Su Daqiang: Brother, you get me!】

【Jiang Ya:...】

【Ma Xiaoniao: Good, good, good. I knew I came to the right place by being teammates with you guys. The future is looking bright. Are you guys really not afraid of the cyber police raiding this group?】

【Ma Xiaobun: Weren't we here for cultivation? Why are we doing this?】

【Su Daqiang: Because we aren't strong in the early stages. We definitely have to take the unorthodox paths. Look, there's the Flying Sparrow Sect right above us. Our Longevity Sect is still a subordinate force to them; we don't even have a say. In the early stages, we only have fifty Qi Refining stage players. If the other side has even one Foundation Establishment cultivator, they could crush all of us. The cultivation world is just that devoid of human rights.】

【Zhou Nüzi: Actually, I think a tech-style cultivation world would be pretty badass. Let's grab both hands—let's give the cultivation world a shock! We are players; let's stir things up!】

【Chen Miaomiao: 1】

【Jiang Ya: 1】

【Su Daqiang: 1】

【Everyone: 11111】

While the players were discussing heatedly, the person involved, Song Jiulai, began her life of intense competition after being forced offline.

Because that damn System told her that all its knowledge reserves regarding the Yunzhou Continent were derived from Song Jiulai.

This meant that if a player asked a question, the System had to be able to answer it, and the basis for that answer was whether or not Song Jiulai knew it.

She could bluff her way through high-level questions, but for low-level ones—like if the system couldn't even identify basic materials—if she, as the Sect Master, couldn't answer, the System's image of omniscience would collapse, which would be bad for her own image as Sect Master!

Thus, Song Jiulai began to cultivate frantically out of resentment.

She had to practice the Soul Cultivation mental method sent by the System, read the Encyclopedia of Yunzhou Continent Mineral Veins she borrowed from Su Huanli, and study the Encyclopedia of Yunzhou Continent Herbs she bought with a low-grade spiritual stone. She even begged Su Huanli to find rare information for her, such as uncommon herbs and minerals that weren't available on the market.

She might not practice those mental methods herself, but she had to know them!

Fortunately, the cultivation continent truly didn't require sleep; opening and closing one's eyes was essentially cultivation.

And then, she received devastating news.

Shortly after all the players went offline, A-Wu ran over panting and said, "Sect Master, I just learned that the Wanxian Sect is holding the Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony next month, and cultivators from all over the world will be attending. The Wanxian Sect announced that all sects must pay their taxes in advance this year. Since our sect has taken in fifty new junior brothers and sisters, we have to pay an extra ten mid-grade spiritual stones."

Song Jiulai: "What?!!"

Why the hell am I paying taxes now?!