22: Chapter 22 Even a wooden stick can be stolen.

Jiang He paused in his tracks, feeling an urge to curse.

How could he not shake off this fly no matter where he went?

He didn't even bother to give Zhang Zixuan a sidelong glance, shifting his body to brush past him directly.

"F*ck, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?"

Swish, swish, swish—a dense crowd of people surrounded him.

Zhang Zixuan stepped forward, his voice filled with a nauseating sense of superiority:

"Jiang He, look closely. This isn't the Novice Village anymore. Open your dog eyes and take a look."

He made an exaggerated sweep with his arm: "The people around me are all Level 20. What right do you have to be so arrogant with me?"

Jiang He stopped and scanned the crowd.

He wasn't angry, only filled with an extreme sense of annoyance:

"Zhang Zixuan, are you sick? You have nothing better to do than stick to me all day? Are you gay? I'm straight, so don't even think about it. Get lost."

Many players watching nearby couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The looks they gave Zhang Zixuan changed quite a bit.

Zhang Zixuan's smile froze, turning from red to purple, and then from purple to black.

"You little brat, f*ck your ancestors! Kill him for me!"

Someone in the crowd immediately launched an attack.

The first to rush over were several Warriors.

Behind them, over a dozen Mages were casting Fireball Technique.

The overall coordination was smooth and seamless.

They were definitely not just ordinary players.

Despite his years of gaming experience, Jiang He still couldn't completely dodge the attacks.

HP -280

Jiang He's heart jolted.

This was the first time he had taken such high damage from a player's attack.

He subconsciously glanced at his 7,500 HP.

Fortunately, he was thick-skinned and durable.

But this immediately sounded an alarm in his mind.

The people Zhang Zixuan brought this time... were different.

They weren't the disorganized rabble from the Novice Village.

What shocked him even more was that Zhang Zixuan had only entered the main city an hour before him.

How could he assemble dozens of people, all of whom were experts, in such a short amount of time?

It seemed Xiao Yao's guess was correct; the Zhang Group was already secretly expanding its team.

Judging by the speed at which these people assembled, they were most likely internal employees of their company.

Jiang He constantly shifted his positioning to dodge the attacks.

Seeing several Warriors already upon him, he steeled his heart, ready to counterattack.

Suddenly, an even larger fireball crashed down in front of him, knocking the players back.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Young Master Zhang, you haven't even stepped through the main city gates yet, and your temper is already so flared? You're going to try and kill someone in the middle of the street?"

A voice filled with mockery and banter rang out.

The crowd automatically parted.

A male Mage wearing blue robes walked over, followed by dozens of players as well. His presence was clearly even larger than Zhang Zixuan's.

"Gu Qingming? You chose Chang'an too?" Zhang Zixuan's face stiffened.

"What? You can come, Young Master Zhang, but I can't?"

"This is none of your business. I have a private grudge with him."

Zhang Zixuan's tone was significantly more subdued; it seemed he was quite wary of the person before him.

"Oh, really? And if I'm determined to protect him, what can you do about it?"

"You want to oppose me?"

Jiang He looked at this person [ID: Qingming Yushang].

He didn't recognize him; he must have come from another Novice Village.

He had never even met the guy before.

Why would he want to protect him?

"Oppose you? Sure, I've been wanting to test Young Master Zhang's strength anyway."

In an instant, the people behind both sides assumed combat stances.

Just as the situation became explosive, Zhang Zixuan chose to compromise.

"Fine, I'll give you face today."

He then pointed at Jiang He: "Kid, don't be too arrogant. Don't let me catch you again, or you won't be so lucky next time."

With that, Zhang Zixuan led his people away to continue grinding mobs.

It wasn't that he didn't want to leave the area, but his quest required him to farm quest items right here.

Seeing that he was no longer making trouble for him,

Jiang He looked at Gu Qingming: "Thanks, brother."

"So you're the one called Jiang He."

"You know me?"

"Yeah, I've heard of you. You're quite famous in Novice Village No. 8063."

Jiang He was greatly shocked. The other party even knew about Novice Village No. 8063?

As far as he knew, there were tens of thousands of Novice Villages.

How could he have found information about him in such a vast sea of people?

How powerful must the faction behind him be?

He even began to suspect if the other party had people in every single Novice Village.

Jiang He smiled and said, "It was just minor stuff, nothing compared to you, Young Master Gu. You have a great family and great power; I'm just an ordinary person."

He intended to exchange a few pleasantries and then leave.

But the other party actually said he was no ordinary person.

Right now, what 'ordinary person' could have reached the main city?

Only two types of people could get in.

First: the rich and powerful.

Second: those with real ability.

"You flatter me, Young Master Gu. I really am just an ordinary person. I have things to do, let's talk next time."

Jiang He lifted his leg to leave.

Gu Qingming called out, "I admire you. Join my team. Name your conditions."

"Thank you for the offer, Young Master Gu, but I already have a team. Sorry, I can't join you."

"You have a team?"

Gu Qingming was greatly surprised. He had investigated and found Jiang He's performance in the Novice Village to be very strange.

He killed bosses solo and could even easily escape the kill order issued by Zhang Zixuan.

This kind of person was indeed backed by a faction; otherwise, he would never have achieved such results.

"Oh? May I ask which great power you belong to?"

Jiang He smiled: "Zhao Zilong of Changshan, the Zhao Family Army."

"The Zhao Family Army?"

Gu Qingming was even more confused. He hadn't heard of any Zhao family entering Immortal Realm.

Could they have entered in secret?

"Hahaha, don't listen to his bullsh*t. He's just a Traitor."

Zhang Zixuan, who had been listening from the side for a while, finally couldn't help but laugh.

He walked over and raised his voice: "Young Master Gu, you've really misjudged him this time. He's just trash. He was even selling equipment to me to make money back then. Tell me, which great family would sell equipment? And for just a few hundred bucks?"

Gu Qingming frowned and looked at Zhang Zixuan, his eyes full of disbelief.

Zhang Zixuan naturally understood what he meant and said softly, "I know what you're thinking. You suspect he has a Hidden Class, right? Well, you guessed wrong. Just look at his weapon."

Gu Qingming looked over.

He had been so focused on talking that he had actually forgotten to check the man's equipment.

When he did, his brow furrowed even tighter.

Jiang He was clearly holding a broken wooden stick in his hand.

Wasn't that the starting equipment given when you log into the Novice Village?

At this time, a female Priest behind him whispered:

"Young Master, could our intelligence be wrong?"

Gu Qingming shook his head slightly:

"Impossible. Look around—which player do you see reaching Level 20 with a wooden stick? Do you think that's possible?"

As soon as he said this, not only was the Priest amazed,

But Zhang Zixuan also began to lower his head in deep thought.

Right?

How had he not thought of that?

Could someone solo a boss with just a broken wooden stick?

Could they one-shot Tie Shan?

Strange, there's definitely something strange.

He looked at the weapon in Jiang He's hand again, but no matter how he looked at it, it was just a broken wooden stick.

He couldn't see anything unusual about it at all.

"Jiang He, let me see your wooden stick. If I like it, you can name any price."

Jiang He was stunned.

We're already Level 20, and you want to buy a wooden stick?

At this moment, Gu Qingming also shouted: "I can too! Name any price you want."

In an instant, the two of them actually started arguing again over a wooden stick.

"Hey, hey, hey, you two? Is this really necessary? Arguing like this over a stick?"

"Jiang He, as long as you agree to sell the wooden stick to me, I promise I won't cause you any more trouble in the future. How about it?"

"Bullsh*t! Jiang He, don't listen to him. Sell it to me, and I can also guarantee he won't dare to trouble you again."

Jiang He, getting a headache from their arguing, suddenly shouted:

"Fine, fine, fine! I'll sell it, okay? Can you two stop arguing? My head hurts."