Chapter 4: Both d*e Together
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A horde of zombies surged onto the stage.
The air in the Martial Arts Hall was thick with a putrid stench.
The audience covered their noses and backed away, fearing that the disgusting black bl**d sloshing around inside the zombies would splatter onto them in the midst of the fight.
The Cold Moon Witch stood calmly at the other end of the stage. Even Lin Nan, who miraculously survived the first wave of “Illusory Sea” attack, seemed to have no effect on her emotional state.
The dense mass of zombies formed a protective wall around their master.
As Lin Nan charged forward, they bravely flung themselves at him, determined to block his path.
But Lin Nan was hardly a defenseless target easily halted by a swarm of undead.
With agile swordplay, his blade darted forward, skewering any zombie foolish enough to stand in his way.
The brain-dead zombies swiftly met their second demise.
Covered in bl**d, Lin Nan sliced through the zombies, his long sword glinting like a silver comet, viciously lunging towards the Cold Moon Witch.
Even her previously unflappable expression finally showed some signs of emotion.
She took a slight step back and drew her Black Wind Sword, meeting his incoming blade with a brutal clash.
The crowd gasped in shock.
What was he doing?
Did he not know that the Cold Moon Witch’s sword was extraordinary?
A regular sword wouldn’t be entirely black and razor-sharp like that – only a special weapon could possess such traits.
After being so careful while dealing with Black Snow earlier, it seemed he let his guard down at the most critical moment.
With a clang, Lin Nan’s long sword was predictably cleaved into two pieces by the Black Wind Sword, which showed no resistance whatsoever as it pierced through Lin Nan’s chest, the black blade protruding from his back.
“Wow…”
Lin Nan spat out a mouthful of bl**d, his face paling instantly, his body swaying like a weakened tree, about to tumble over.
“Bro, just one more step!” Fatty cried out in anguish.
Lin Nan had fought through countless obstacles, and victory was nearly within reach, only to be heartlessly skewered by the Cold Moon Witch at the last moment.
Fatty was on the verge of tears.
At that moment, Lin Nan spewed out another fountain of bl**d.
To everyone’s surprise, a significant portion of that bl**d splattered onto the Cold Moon Witch.
Even her usually stone-cold expression was now flecked with crimson.
Long accustomed to her high-and-mighty demeanor, the Cold Moon Witch furrowed her brow, seemingly disgusted by the thick stench of bl**d.
In the moment she was distracted, nearly out of vitality, Lin Nan’s left hand suddenly cast out a hidden black snowflake he had kept tucked in his palm for ages.
This final act tugged painfully at his wound, prompting the Cold Moon Witch to reflexively yank the Black Wind Sword from his body.
Ding… Your health points have hit zero. You have died.
Lin Nan’s consciousness finally faded into nothingness, plunging him into an endless abyss of darkness.
When he awoke again, it felt as if he had been asleep for an eternity.
The first face he saw was none other than Fatty.
And it wasn’t just Fatty – behind him was an entire crowd of players gathered.
They looked at the freshly revived Lin Nan with eager eyes, as if they were staring at a legendary figure.
“Bro, we won! We won!” Fatty yelled, bursting with excitement.
“Won?” Lin Nan echoed, bewildered.
At that moment, he couldn’t even be sure if his final attack had hit its mark.
He had only pushed himself to his absolute limit just as his life was dwindling away.
The live streaming room was in chaos.
At that moment, Strong Brother’s voice cracked with emotion.
“This player named Lin Nan has truly persevered. I believe everyone shares my sentiments. No matter how dire the circumstances, with a road paved with challenges ahead, Lin Nan never gave up.
Especially at that final moment, when we all thought he was on the verge of failure, just one step away from achieving his dream, he actually had a backup move…”
Cold Little Rain was already teary-eyed.
She had been among the first players to enter “The Way of Inquiry,” experiencing what true virtual life was all about in this world hailed as a “second life.”
But she had never seen a player like Lin Nan, almost like the protagonist straight out of an action manga. Time and time again, he would be knocked down yet always manage to rise back up, with determination stronger than anyone else’s.
She and most of the players had thought such heroes only existed in fantasy, yet here they were, witnessing one for real.
At the exact moment Lin Nan fell into a cloud of vapor, the Cold Moon Witch also succumbed to the black snowflake he had thrown, severing her neck.
Both collapsed onto the stage, one after the other.
Ding! The sixth level boss has been defeated.
The audience received the system notification.
But this situation was awkward.
This was the first time in the Martial Arts Hall’s history that the challenger and the final boss had died simultaneously.
For bosses in other levels, simultaneous d*ath could easily be managed.
After all, they had not completely cleared the level, and tougher bosses awaited ahead, so a direct loss announcement would suffice.
But Lin Nan’s case was unprecedented.
The NPC inner door disciples quickly divided into two factions.
One side argued that although both died almost simultaneously, there was still an order of sequence. Since Lin Nan had died first, calling it a loss for him was only right; surely no one would disagree with that.
But the other faction maintained that such a ruling was unfair.
Wasn’t the ultimate goal of the test defeating all the bosses? Hadn’t Lin Nan achieved that?
As long as he accomplished that, why did it matter if he was dead or alive?
The NPCs were soon embroiled in a heated argument, not to mention the normal players.
“Lin Nan is such a sneaky guy! How dare he spit his filthy bl**d on the Cold Moon Witch—doesn’t he fear a lightning strike?”
“Even if she’s a Great Demon, she has her standards! If his actions hadn’t distracted her, how could he have gotten away with it so easily?”
“Exactly!
And besides, we saw it clearly: he died before the final boss. How can we say it counts as clearing the stage?”
“If it were any other boss, maybe. But he faced the Cold Moon Witch, and we cannot tolerate the disgrace of our idol. So overall, this round belongs to the Cold Moon Witch.
That stinky kid can go off somewhere and cool down.”
“Hey, you all keep going on about the Cold Moon Witch! Have you ever considered her perspective? Sure, she’s just a projection, but what strong person wouldn’t want a massive brawl?”
“Exactly! I’m also a fan of the Cold Moon Witch! While she might be frosty on the surface, her heart is surely warm. I bet if her true self were here, she’d be moved by Lin Nan. Who knows, she might even take him on as a disciple! Like Athena and her five little formidable Saint Seiya!”
“You guys arguing only know how to bicker while forgetting this test’s difficulty was S-level! Bottom line: we can’t just throw away Lin Nan’s hard-fought battle to the end, right when he nearly took out the Cold Moon Witch.”
No matter how much the audience and the players in the live stream debated, the final decision on the outcome was not in their hands.
Even the Martial Arts Hall itself couldn’t make the final call on such an unconventional situation.
“M-master sister… What do you think…”
The waiter from the Eight Immortals Restaurant knelt anxiously before Luo Ying, his voice trembling slightly.
Luo Ying shook the wine jug, revealing it to be completely empty.
She had witnessed everything on the stage through her divine eye.
To her, the Cold Moon Witch’s strength was nothing of concern; she considered her merely a second-rate Great Demon.
However, placing her as the final boss felt a bit absurd since her opponent was just a newbie.
She had thought that young man would fall easily but was surprised to see him last all the way to the end, trading blows with that demoness until they both went down.
By every measure, this person’s talent and resilience were exceedingly rare.
Well, since fate led them to trigger the entrance mission and reach this point, if they rejected them now, it might draw the wrath of heaven.
After deliberation, Luo Ying finally nodded. “Alright then, they have both passed.”
The waiter looked up in joy, “Thank you, Master Sister!”
“Don’t thank me; it’s what they deserve. Moreover, temporarily cancel the hidden mission at the Eight Immortals Restaurant. I’m not looking to take in any more disciples for now.”
“Yes, Master Sister.”
The waiter stumbled down the mountain, racing toward the Martial Arts Hall.
When the news of Luo Ying accepting Lin Nan and Duan Mu as disciples was announced by the waiter, the entire place erupted into excitement.
Even the inner door players who had always mocked Lin Nan and Fatty couldn’t help but cheer.
The reason? Lin Nan’s effort had indeed left a profound impression on them.
The joy was well-deserved for the duo.
However, they wouldn’t cut Lin Nan any slack in future competitions due to their admiration for his efforts.
After all, the Heavenly Sword Sect was still a brutal place where the weak were meat and the strong dined.
Even with Luo Ying backing them, without sufficient points, they couldn’t even learn basic skills, let alone high-level spells that required hefty skill points.
Everything lay ahead.
They could only hope the two would carry their good fortune into the future.
But regardless, everyone was thrilled with this outcome.
Just moments after reviving at the spawn point, Lin Nan gazed at the lively live streaming room, feeling a whirlwind of emotions.
d*mn it, was it really this hard?
All he wanted was to join an inner sect of a sword-fighting sect and he faced such a painstaking trial.
The final boss turned out to be his own little account!
Boy, did it shed light on why players both loved and hated her!
Yet through this grueling experience, he inadvertently gained a deeper understanding of his little account’s skills.
Next time, if his little account crossed paths with someone like Lin Nan again, he wouldn’t give them any chance!
Ding! d*ath Penalty: You have permanently lost system hosting capabilities for your little account (Cold Moon Witch). Your consciousness remains in your main account while your little account will be in a defenseless slumber. This penalty takes effect in 3 hours.
When your little account encounters danger in the future, the system will provide a free warning once; every subsequent reminder will cost 300 Spirit Coins, deducted automatically from your account. If the balance is insufficient, the reminder will cease to appear.
P.S.: From now on, every time your main account dies, the system will permanently strip away part of your powers as punishment.
Lin Nan: “…”
What the heck! System, get out here!
I just fought tooth and nail through the final initiation test, and you stab me in the back like this! Do you have no humanity at all?
I’ll go head-to-head with you! Ahhhh!
