Chapter Fifty-Nine

As a reincarnator, everyone around Li Tianxiang believed he was the chosen one (cheater) in the game "Artifacts and Martial Arts." But now, he truly felt that things had surpassed his expectations; the game he'd played for years seemed to have transformed into something utterly unfamiliar.

The concept of armies—never even mentioned in the game before—had suddenly become mainstream. This deeply unsettled Li Tianxiang. He had once reveled in the days of being a peerless grandmaster, admired by thousands; before, when he teamed up with others, they'd excitedly call out for him to lead them. Now, when he tried to form a party, no one even spared him a glance.

With the Star-Observing Disc in hand, he decided to see just how powerful these armies really were. Just as he was thinking this, an arrow abruptly flew toward him. The Star-Observing Disc suddenly spoke: "Quick, dodge down!" Li Tianxiang slid downward just in time, as an arrow lodged itself in a tree. In the next second, the trunk exploded, blasting Li Tianxiang out of the tree; the spot where the arrow landed was exactly where he'd just been sitting. "Where are the enemies?" Li Tianxiang was completely stunned.

The Star-Observing Disc replied, "A kilometer away. Leave immediately! They’re going to surround this place." Li Tianxiang's desire to show off instantly vanished. Minutes later, he sat atop a mountain, watching the massacre below. Fewer than twenty people repeatedly charged in and out of the sect; even the sect leader, wielding a spirit-level Black Jiao Sword, could do nothing—because one among them wielded a Silver Dragon Spear, slaughtering all in his path.

When the spear pierced the body of the Black Jiao, the outcome was decided. Li Tianxiang realized that even facing the general with the Silver Dragon Spear one-on-one, victory would be nearly impossible—the opponent’s margin for error was simply too high. Their soldiers wore iron-scaled armor, almost immune to the Black Jiao Sword’s attacks. Most only suffered minor injuries, while the spear left gaping holes with every strike. The enemy had superior armor, higher damage, greater mobility, and, most terrifyingly, devastating finishing moves that were nearly impossible to counter.

Li Tianxiang watched as the cavalryman with the Silver Dragon Spear picked up the Black Jiao Sword, ignored its struggles, stomped it to pieces, and tossed it to another spearman beside him to absorb its power. He watched as the spear turned from white to black, and a black jiao emerged on its scale-patterned shaft. "Next."

Li Tianxiang decided to return to Black Tiger Fortress and see what had become of it. Several days later—

Black Tiger Fortress was teeming with people, for it had swept through all the sects in Youzhou. This was an unprecedentedly powerful sect in the world of "Artifacts and Martial Arts," both for players and NPCs—a first in the game. Cheng Yuan looked at the crowds below. He finally understood what it meant for numbers to exceed ten thousand, stretching beyond the horizon; he was still somewhat bewildered by the current situation.

At first, he'd only intended to build tall walls, but before much grain had been accumulated, it seemed he was about to proclaim himself king. Cheng Yuan reflected on recent days: he'd grabbed a herder, moved bricks to build walls, raided neighboring areas, did some business to subsidize the fortress. The people kept coming, yet he felt he’d done almost nothing—just made a few judgments and went with the flow.

Players would go out to capture herders, go with the flow, probe the sects’ strength, have ideas, and go with the flow. Cheng Yuan calculated carefully; he hadn’t even left the Black Tiger Mountain much, yet his territory was this vast. Surely no one would dissent?

He glanced at the player beside him, who was eager to don a yellow robe. "Yellow robe for the king?" Cheng Yuan’s gaze turned toward the desert. As he pondered, a sudden thunderclap exploded in his mind, and his perspective shifted to a creature gnawing on the corpse of a reticulated python—first-person view. Cheng Yuan suddenly realized: it was the Manze Giant Lizard, and it had evolved!

At that moment, he felt something change. His perspective vanished, and he instinctively shook his arm, sensing a physical shift. Suddenly, a tidal wave of cheers erupted from below. Cheng Yuan had to put aside his private thoughts, grabbed the yellow robe, and, to everyone’s shock, tossed the symbol of imperial power into the air.

When the yellow robe landed, Cheng Yuan did not stoop to pick it up. Instead, he turned and opened a drawer, retrieving the sickle and hammer he'd prepared long ago. His figure was shrouded in shadow. "Imperial power has long since faded. In this new world, why must we walk a path doomed to destruction?"

He walked slowly from the shadows, sickle and hammer in hand. Many noticed what he held; his body bathed in the warm sunlight of dawn, he raised the sickle and hammer, crossing them together. In the sun appeared a symbol both familiar and alien to the players. Some were puzzled, but more were moved to tears. Cheng Yuan declared, "Comrades, let us build this new world together."

His voice was not loud, but the players understood; only some NPCs remained confused. Cheng Yuan set the sickle and hammer aside, and as he turned, he noticed a familiar face in the front row: Li Tianxiang. Their gazes met for a moment; both recognized each other. Cheng Yuan thought, "Do I still resemble the person I once was?"

Li Tianxiang instinctively looked away, sensing a gap—a difference in mindset and realm—that made him acutely aware of his own narrowness and shallowness. In that instant, all the grand heroism he once felt evaporated. Cheng Yuan continued gently, "All right, everyone, it’s time we discussed what to call ourselves."

The debate was fierce. Some even wanted to directly use names from the real world, but this was rejected: a game is a game; immersion is good, but not too deep.

After three days of intense debate, the chosen name for the new nation emerged: The People's Republic of Hao. Abbreviation: Hao. From then on, Cheng Yuan had little to do, for there was a ready-made legal system to borrow from. To the astonished eyes of NPCs and players alike, the players quickly drafted a comprehensive legal code, civil and criminal statutes.

Given the real-world lessons, the players made some improvements to fix flaws. Reality had produced failures that couldn’t be corrected, but in this new game environment, changes could be made.

The founding video of Hao was posted online. At that moment, many felt they’d missed out, regretting their bad trades, while countless office workers found renewed interest: in the game, they could build their own homes, free from mortgages and the risk of unfinished projects. That alone was worth it. Building a new world, striving for a noble ideal—this was far more satisfying than being exploited by entrepreneurs.

This success caused "Artifacts and Martial Arts" daily active users to surge past one hundred million. As the data volume soared, the servers hosting the game began to emit faint cries of distress. "Artifacts and Martial Arts" was fundamentally a low-social game—after all, the grand hero was, by nature, a leisurely and carefree role, not much suited to interaction.