[Anti-Trope Martial Arts] [Game System] [Why Does the Villain Have a System Too?] Lu Mingyuan opened his eyes with a shattered chest, a blank spot in his memory, his master Chu Qianqiu dead, seven experts surrounding the village, and himself having climbed ninety-seven steps before collapsing at the gate of Hanging Sky Temple.
He thought this was a game, where he could reload after dying and NPCs would respawn if they were killed.
But he discovered that this world wasn't what he had thought.
Even worse, the jade pendant had started talking. Newbie guidance, System modules, martial arts practice, teleportation, face customization: it was all straight out of a game. But he'd traded the martial arts practice module for a teleportation escape, and the teleportation module's energy had run out even though he hadn't used it. Either the System was cheating him, or someone else had used it for him.
Seven people, seven modules, one each. Together, they made a perfect match for the two on his person. Someone was playing him with all their cards face up. The woman in black wanted "unquestioning submission," while the noble young master wanted "the support of the people." They were both twisted and obsessive, and each had a module that could see right through him. He had to run, get stronger, and figure out who that "old acquaintance" was before the seven of them found him.
The scripture library at Hanging Sky Temple was like a marketplace, where anyone could climb through a window to sneak in and learn. You had to sweep the floor to go upstairs and dust the shelves to read the manuals. Two or three dozen martial artists were camped out on the second floor, flipping through books, copying them down, and discussing them, just like players on a forum looking up conquest guides.
