After occupying the horse farm, Xiao Jing hadn't forgotten the purpose of his trip.
First was to eliminate the bandits, and second was to rescue the player who had called for help. He also wanted to probe how much she knew about the Secret Realm.
Following his memories, Xiao Jing soon led his army to the cave where the Ancient Qin Secret Realm was located.
The bandit leader had indeed left some men behind to guard the vicinity of the cave.
When these bandits saw Xiao Jing's troops, they initially thought of running, but Zhou Cang took them all out with ease, one slash per man.
"My lord, I sense that the entrance is very dangerous. You shouldn't risk going in!"
Before they even entered the cave of the Ancient Qin Secret Realm, Zhou Cang advised Xiao Jing with a solemn expression.
Xiao Jing waved his hand and smiled. "I'm already aware!"
'I haven't forgotten. Because I exploited a bug, the affinity of those Ancient Qin guards in the Secret Realm toward me is absurdly low. If I go in, won't they just kill me on sight?'
'Getting killed by my own subordinates despite being the master of the Secret Realm… that would be the biggest joke ever!'
...
Gazing at the deep entrance to the first level of the "Ancient Qin Secret Realm," Xiao Jing thought for a moment before sending a message to the person who had asked for help on the forums.
"Where are you? I've dealt with all the bandits. It's safe outside now, you can come out!"
"Really? *Sob sob sob*, thank you, Great One!!"
An instant reply came back through the forum.
A moment later, Xiao Jing saw a grimy head peek out of the cave entrance, furtively looking around.
Having seemingly confirmed that it was truly safe outside, she cautiously emerged from the cave. Upon seeing the neat ranks of terracotta soldiers, her pupils constricted, and she instinctively wanted to shrink back into the cave.
But the next moment, she spotted Xiao Jing among the soldiers. A hint of delightful surprise appeared in her eyes; she had clearly recognized him as a fellow player.
However, she glanced at the dozens of terracotta soldiers standing ramrod straight, then at Zhou Cang, who was exuding a murderous aura nearby. She rubbed her eyes hard, her face a mask of disbelief.
'Oh god, how long have I been trapped in here?'
'Players can already recruit this many troops?'
'Wait, what's that? Such a terrifying killing intent!! Could that be a general with extremely high Martial Might?!'
'Unbelievable...'
Ye Mengmeng's face didn't show it, but her heart was reeling in silent shock.
"G-Great One?!! Is that you?"
She carefully navigated past the terracotta soldiers and approached Xiao Jing. Breathing a sigh of relief, she asked cautiously.
Xiao Jing looked at the cautious, soot-covered girl before him and sighed internally. 'It seems everyone's fate has been changed.'
He nodded and replied, "That's right. I've taken care of all the bandits. You're safe now!"
Then, he nonchalantly asked, "What's the situation in the Secret Realm? And what are your plans now?"
Hearing this, Ye Mengmeng looked lost. Her small face was full of confusion as she said blankly, "The situation in the Secret Realm? I have no idea!"
She then continued, sounding aggrieved, "As soon as I entered the game, I was teleported into that Secret Realm. It was pitch black all around, so I didn't dare move!"
"Later, I got so hungry that I fumbled around in the cave for a bit. I only found some food, a useless-looking Token, and an Array Plate..."
"After that, I ran into those bad guys. They stole my food and the Token... Then I went to the forums to ask for help... and then I met you, Great One."
For some reason, Xiao Jing's face twitched as he listened to Ye Mengmeng's story.
'The Array Plate was the Nine Dragons Array Plate! And that Token... could it be the golden "Village Creation Order"?'
'Finding two treasures just by fumbling around, one gold and one purple rarity at that... Isn't her luck a bit too outrageous...'
'And what's more...'
"You didn't run into any terracotta soldiers?"
"Terracotta soldiers?! What are those?" Ye Mengmeng looked completely lost.
"The guards in the Secret Realm!"
"Oh, oh. Nope, never saw any. Other than it being dark, there was nothing else..."
...
'She didn't encounter any guards inside the Secret Realm!!'
'What kind of divine luck is this?!!!!!!'
At this point, Xiao Jing was thoroughly convinced that something was unusual about Ye Mengmeng.
After a moment of hesitation, he asked, somewhat tentatively.
"Can I see your character panel?"
He couldn't think of any other explanation for her heaven-defying luck besides a personal Trait.
"Here you go, Great One!!"
Hearing him, Ye Mengmeng cheerfully opened her character panel.
[Name]: Ye Mengmeng
[Class]: None
[Identity]: Commoner
[Age]: 16
[Status]: Hungry, Stamina: 45%, Health: 67%
[Level]: 1 (2/100)
[Talent]: None
[Attributes]: Martial Might: 1.5, Martial Intent: 0, Strategy: 0
[Experience-based Abilities]: Command: 0, Scheming: 8, Administration: 5, Renown: 0 (Unknown to others)
[Martial Arts]: None
[Hundred Schools Arts]: Painting (Skilled)
[Skills]: Scouting (0/1)
[Treasures]: Nine Dragons Array Plate
[Personal Traits]:
1. Wish Fulfillment (Gold): Also known as 'Lady Luck'. Luck +33. When danger is present, Luck temporarily surges by 66. Turns misfortune into fortune!
[Potential]: Third-rate (Yellow). Receive 0.5 free Attribute Points per level-up, which can be allocated to Martial Might, Martial Intent, or Strategy.
[Special Units]: None
[Summary]: At the peak of luck, peerless in this world...
...
'A base of 33, which surges by another 66 in the face of danger?'
'What kind of godly Trait is this?!!'
At this moment, Xiao Jing was utterly silent. His gaze toward Ye Mengmeng was filled with complicated emotions.
He had every reason to suspect that out of so many forum posts, the fact that he happened to see Ye Mengmeng's, and happened to be moved to rescue her, was very likely the work of her 'Wish Fulfillment' Trait.
"Great One, is there a problem with my panel? Is it really bad?"
Seeing the complex expression on Xiao Jing's face, Ye Mengmeng asked with some trepidation.
"You..."
Xiao Jing shook his head, his heart a tangle of emotions.
For the first time, faced with Ye Mengmeng's heaven-defying Trait, he felt the urge to recruit her.
Everyone is jealous of the lucky, but everyone wants to be lucky.
'With Ye Mengmeng, this lucky mascot, around, how could Barren Mountain Village ever be short on opportunities in the future?'
'Besides, he could tell that while this girl had a bit of cleverness, she was mostly just clueless. Her knowledge of the Ancient Qin Secret Realm was minimal, so she posed no threat to him.'
"Are you willing to join my village?"
Faced with Xiao Jing's invitation, a system notification rang in her ear: "Ding! The village chief of Barren Mountain Village invites you to join the 'Faction' Barren Mountain Village. Do you accept?"
A huge wave of shocked delight washed over Ye Mengmeng.
'Barren Mountain Village? Could it be the "First Village Under Heaven" that the system just announced not long ago?! Oh my god! He's *that* Great One!!'
No matter how slow she was, she now realized what a huge pillar of support Xiao Jing was.
Without a moment's hesitation, she began nodding her head like a chick pecking at rice.
"Great One, I'm willing! I'm willing!"
A smile appeared on Xiao Jing's face. "My name is Xiao Jing. You don't have to call me Great One. My strength is just a little bit ahead of the curve."
"Mhm, mhm!"
Ye Mengmeng glanced at the surrounding terracotta soldiers, the murderous-looking general, and thought of the "First Village Under Heaven." She nodded in deep agreement. 'Right, just ahead by a *billion* points!'
The next second, as if remembering something, she took out an ancient-looking Array Plate from her inventory. It was the Nine Dragons Array Plate.
"Great One Xiao, my name is Ye Mengmeng. This is the reward I promised you!"
The Nine Dragons Array Plate. The name was domineering, but its appearance was exceptionally plain and ancient.
If Xiao Jing hadn't seen the Array Plate's stats, he would have almost mistaken it for a worn-out rock.
He took the Array Plate and put it away.
Although the Array Plate had a powerful name, to the current Xiao Jing, it was no different from a useless rock.
After all, its usage requirements were far too high: proficiency in the Hundred Schools Arts of 'Military Strategy' and 'Arrays'. It seemed like only two requirements.
However, in all the time Barren Mountain Village had been taking in refugees, he had never seen a single talented individual with 'Military Strategy' or 'Arrays' on their panel. Not even the historical general Zhou Cang had these two skills, to say nothing of reaching the 'Proficient' mastery level required.
In the game "Warfare", the mastery levels for the Hundred Schools Arts were divided into four ranks: Novice, Skilled, Proficient, and Master.
The higher the mastery, the more powerful the art, and the better the effect it produced.
...