Chapter 61
The sandbox is now Xue Jin'an's magical medium, essentially a game server, while the other sandboxes become game ports. Theoretically, anyone using a sandbox during this time period will be affected by his magic and thus enter the game—however, Xue Jin'an's current magic is limited, so he simply set IP conditions, allowing only ports in the capital and Qizhou to successfully enter.
Sand tables have existed since the Qin Dynasty and have been an important and indispensable piece of warfare equipment throughout history. The simplest and most primitive form was made of piled rice. Currently, sand tables are used for military purposes. The Great Qi Dynasty explicitly prohibits ordinary people from privately making and collecting sand tables. Even if a sand table is found in the residence of a soldier or general, their motives will be questioned.
Therefore, privately owned sand tables are not many. Most of them are generals and commanders with names and surnames, or officials such as county magistrates who are responsible for maintaining order in a prefecture or county. Apart from these, they are mountain bandits, river bandits, or people from the Jianghu who rebel against the imperial court and do not follow the rules.
In short, although Xue Jin'an's magic spread out and affected all the sandboxes in both places, not many people actually entered the game and were successfully matched with teammates/opponents. There were only about a hundred people fighting at the same time. Each person could activate different heroes. Some people with lower official positions and poor interpersonal relationships could only activate their direct superiors.
—It's really fortunate that Xue Jin'an's battery life is normal now, allowing it to support so many people playing games online for two hours before shutting down.
Xue Jin'an wasn't afraid that they would be frightened by this strange and sudden change. As mentioned earlier, everything illogical about Xue Jin'an's magical construction would be rationalized by everyone in their subconscious understanding. When he inevitably became associated with non-natural forces due to certain inevitable reasons, they would also rationalize his identity and accept it smoothly based on their own cognition.
This is like an emperor believing that Teacher X is a god and willingly offering incense and money; Master Cen's first thought upon receiving the article is that his ancestors have manifested; while Helian Cheng and Doctor Chang unanimously believe that Long Aotian is a ghost.
To everyone else, they simply selected puppets and placed them in the sand table, then clearly enacted the battle scene in their minds—this is normal; people who are used to using sand tables are very good at simulating battlefields in their minds.
In conclusion, the opponents Xue Jin'an and his team were matched with actually had pretty good combat awareness, and everyone felt they had a great gaming experience, except for Xuan Shiyi.
They played three games in total, and Xuan Shiyi chose to be the emperor in the first two games.
The Emperor's first skill, Imperial Majesty, prevents everyone within his sight, friend or foe, from using their skills. The skill lasts for two seconds. Due to its wide range, the game has reduced all of the Emperor's attributes by 30% when this skill is used to maintain balance.
The emperor's attack power was already low, and with this further reduction, he couldn't even damage the minions. Not only did he fail to finish off the enemy, but he also almost got counter-killed and gave up his first blood.
Xue Jin'an: "..."
Even if we had anticipated the emperor's dishes, the fact that they turned out like this, doesn't the emperor really need to reflect on his actions?
In the end, Cui Zui saved the emperor by firing an arrow in time, allowing him to escape with a flash. He barely managed to escape with low health, only to be lightly touched by a soldier and die on the spot with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
They successfully secured their team's first kill.
After Xue Jin'an and Cui Zui finished off the enemy, they turned around and saw this report. The latter's face turned green.
Cui Zui opened his mouth several times, but swallowed back the unpleasant words that were on the tip of his tongue. Ultimately, out of consideration for the emperor's status, he said to Xuan Shiyi in a tactful and restrained tone, "Next time, run away after you use your skill. Don't come over to finish him off. Otherwise, it's too embarrassing to die like this every time. People who know you will know that you are willing but unable to do so, but people who don't know you will think that you are an undercover agent."
Xuan Shiyi, who was indeed an undercover agent: "..."
Although Xuan Shiyi is not talkative, he can be a bit stubborn at times, especially when his expertise is questioned. He admits that he gets a little carried away and starts to participate in team battles very actively.
Then Xuan Shiyi looked at the newly refreshed skills and fell into deep thought.
The emperor's second skill is "Raising Gu in the Harem." When used in team battles, it causes enemies to attack each other. When applied to a single enemy, it causes their attack damage to be reflected. Sounds pretty useful, right? But—doesn't the name of this skill seem a bit off?
Does the "Gu" in "raising Gu in the harem" refer to the calamity of Gu worms, or... to the concubines themselves?
Xuan Shiyi dared not think about it further.
In the first game, Xuan Shiyi made a series of impressive plays, but his score was 0-5. The only thing he could boast about was his assists, which were just as many as his deaths.
"Am I really that bad at the game?" Xuan Shiyi doubted himself.
"Be confident, it's your choice of hero that's bad." Xue Jin'an spoke the truth. Although the others did not echo him out of respect for the emperor, the way they exchanged glances clearly showed that they agreed with him.
They have a clear understanding of the emperor's skills. A surprise attack in team battles can be very effective, but it can only be used once; he's practically doomed once he's exposed.
To be honest, if it weren't for Xuan Shiyi's good reaction, operation and awareness, the Emperor might not have even gotten an assist and would have become a true zero-five.
Xuan Shiyi struggled with the choice between his own poor performance and the Emperor's truly terrible skill, but ultimately chose the former: "One more game!"
He wanted to prove himself.
Then, when he chose the Emperor, he encountered a team that was significantly stronger than the previous one. Moreover, the opposing team had excellent teamwork, and there was no serious issue of similarity during the blind hero selection, unlike the previous game. In fact, they didn't even know the names of many of the heroes that appeared, so they were completely unaware of the opponent's skills and played very conservatively in the early game.
The only certainty is that these people are all military personnel, and their uniforms indicate that they belong to different military camps.
The opposing team seemed quite familiar with the characters they had chosen. One of them taunted them over the mic, "Oh, it's someone from the capital again, and they're all high-ranking officials. What bad luck today, running into cowards and good-for-nothings like you."
They assumed that those playing with the sand table were all military personnel, never expecting that a prince would also be involved. The border troops and the capital's garrison had a long-standing feud, so it was not surprising that they would make sarcastic remarks. As it turned out, they did have some reason to be arrogant, and their combat awareness was quite remarkable. Xue Jin'an learned a lot from them.
This time, Emperor Xuan Shiyi was almost crushed at the resurrection point. The opposing team opened their microphone and said with a half-smile, "Did you think we wouldn't dare to attack you just because you used His Majesty? This is just a game. His Majesty is His Majesty, and you are you. I think His Majesty would definitely want us to win."
They are a group of intelligent generals who know how to take precautions.
In the end, Xue Jin'an and his team narrowly won. Excluding the highest scorer, each of them died twice on average. In the end, it was probably Cui Zui's special attack on the Northwest Army that played a role. After being quietly fattened up, he could take down an enemy with one arrow.
"I didn't expect there to be such skilled people in the capital! You guys are pretty good. Want to join our Northwest Army? We need girls too!" The other guy was quite happy despite losing, and even added them as friends, agreeing to team up and play together in the future.
In summary, everyone else was showing off their skills throughout the entire match, while the emperor was getting beaten up.
Xuan Shiyi offers absolutely no gaming experience.
"Everyone's laughing, why aren't you laughing? Is something on your mind?" Cui Zui leaned closer with a cheeky grin, put his arm around his shoulder, and said earnestly, "There's a saying that things shouldn't happen more than three times. I learned a term from my master, something like the 'control quantity method'?"
“The method of controlling variables,” Xue Jin’an corrected.
“Yes, yes, that’s it. If you want to know whose problem it is, just change one thing, right?” Cui Zui said with a grin. “Want to try another round? You’ll know the result after you finish playing.”
Xuan Shi nodded. He absolutely did not agree with their slander of His Majesty, but he felt that with so many heroes in the game, they should try something new and let His Majesty have a good rest.
This time, Xuan Shiyi chose Cui Pengfei. Cui Zai had been to Zhaoyang Palace before, so choosing him wouldn't be a mistake and wouldn't expose himself.
Cui Pengfei's skills were not suitable for jungling, so he went to the support position. The others also wanted to try other positions, so they decided to choose heroes first and then decide on the final position. In the end, they chose the same few heroes again and again.
Finally, Cui Zui controlled himself to go to the top lane to withstand the pressure, Fu Ling led the Empress Dowager to fight in the bottom lane, and Ling Zhi controlled Lu Bingzhu to jungle.
Meanwhile, Xue Jin'an in the middle lane chose the relic Chu Wenwan with negative interaction value, discovering that she might have really recited Buddhist scriptures too much in her lifetime, and even if she didn't have a compassionate heart, it had been seasoned with it. He then observed her skills:
Her first skill, Greed, Anger, and Ignorance, randomly allocates half of her attribute points to any other attribute. —This refers to her jealousy of Zhou Yuting.
Her second skill, "Encountering Vengeful Spirits," grants control over an enemy's body after a kill. The side effect is being haunted by a vengeful spirit, losing five health points per second and having her attributes reduced by 1%. When at low health, she enters a confused state and must be killed by a friendly teammate; otherwise, all allies suffer a continuous health drain for five seconds. —This refers to her killing someone and falsely accusing Xiao Shu of being the murderer in a murder mystery game.
The third skill, "Unattainable Desire," grants the user a 300% attack bonus in exchange for self-silencing of all skills. —This clearly refers to Xue Jin'an's suggestion to burn the relics, which rendered everything she desired futile.
The fourth skill, "Unforgettable": Marks a person and sacrifices himself for them. After death, the marked person becomes a vengeful spirit that follows the marked person, weakening the marked person's damage taken for five seconds. — This likely refers to the Fourth Prince.
This hero never mentions the relic, yet it's everywhere. Xue Jin'an is very happy with it. Every time he sees her full of resentment, he feels as if Chu Wenwan has received the ending he gave her.
That's great. Xue Jin'an was so happy he almost died twice over.
This time, they achieved a great victory, setting the pace on all three lanes and crushing the opponent in just 15 minutes.
Xuan Shiyi's performance was impressive, with zero kills and ten assists, finally giving him a real gaming experience.
After the initial joy, a chilling thought crept in: Could it be that the emperor was truly incapable?
Xuan Shiyi wasn't the only one to have such a rebellious idea. Not to mention the other participants in the two competitions, even the three guards who watched their intense battle on the sand table thought the same thing.
These three guards were the same three who had helped carry the sand table in earlier and whom Shouquan had invited to stay for tea.
Xue Jin'an and the other four were so engrossed in the game that they didn't make a sound. On the contrary, Fu Lu Shou Quan and the other two exclaimed in surprise. Even Xia Zi, who was sweeping the yard, couldn't help but quietly push open the study window and peek inside. As soon as his eyes fell on the sand table, he was immediately captivated.
The three guards, separated by the screen, were extremely uncomfortable. They looked at each other, and finally one of them coughed and suggested, "We've been sitting here for quite a while now. It's time to take our leave and return to our duties with the Seventh Prince."
“Yes, yes!” the other two echoed, and they couldn’t wait to get up and head to the study.
He was pretending to leave; he really wanted to see what was going on here.
Then, upon closer inspection, they found themselves completely engrossed. Even when the patrol captain noticed something was wrong and came to arrest them, he couldn't get them to move an inch.
But it's alright. The captain got caught up in it too, and even gave a quiet critique of the heroes used by both sides. He praised everyone else, but when it came to the emperor, it was awkward. Regardless of his performance or record, he could only manage to stammer out, "Your Majesty is indeed awe-inspiring."
After all, the Emperor is the only hero whose skills have no range restrictions and are instead linked to vision. This assessment is perfectly valid. However, compared to the previous well-reasoned comments, it seems somewhat thin and barren. Simply put, it sounds like flattery.
Xue Jin'an and the others stopped after playing three rounds. It wasn't that they were tired of playing, but rather that his current battery level could only support them for that long. After they left, Xue Jin'an's magic power would continue until all the other battlefields were over before ejecting their consciousness.
As soon as Xue Jin'an and his group came out, they saw a crowd gathered around them. Xue Jin'an was aware of this but not surprised.
The others were startled, especially Cui Zui, who almost instinctively punched the Imperial Guard squad leader who was standing right in front of him, sending him flying.
Fortunately, he managed to restrain himself in time. Looking at Xue Jin'an's expressionless and indifferent face, he scratched his hair and said with some annoyance, "I was so engrossed in the sand table that I didn't even notice when someone came in. I really shouldn't have done that."
If someone were to attempt an assassination today, he wouldn't even be able to protect himself. He still needs to learn more from his master. From now on, no matter how interesting something is placed in front of him, he must pay attention to the outside noise and can't continue like this.
Cui Zui made up his mind.
Cui Zui never considered that he was influenced by Xue Jin'an to block out the unusual noises outside. He only thought that he was too focused. After all, the first thing an archer needs to learn is focus. He often forgets everything else because he is busy with one thing, even to the point of forgetting to eat and sleep.
Lingzhi and Xuan Shiyi, however, are quite different. Both are very sharp and alert, but Lingzhi is naturally so, while Xuan Shiyi has developed his alertness through rigorous training. Vigilance has become an instinct ingrained in their bones, and they would never forget it even when facing death.
If this anomaly wasn't due to their own mistake, then the only one who could have made a mistake was... They glanced at Xue Jin'an, a thoughtful look in their eyes.
Lingzhi's first thought was whether the Seventh Prince had actually blocked their internal energy perception.
Perhaps the Seventh Prince does possess internal energy, but his internal energy has reached a state of returning to simplicity, or perhaps an even higher level, beyond the comprehension of ordinary people like her.
If that's the case, many things become clear, such as the ancient and profound chanting of sutras that she hears every night these days, a sound that evokes the aura of a high-ranking monk.
Lingzhi once asked Fulu in private, and the latter said with surprise and doubt, "How come you also said that the master has sleep talking, but I have never heard it? Could it be that there is something wrong with my ears?"
Fu Lu fell into self-doubt and really wanted to go to the Imperial Hospital to have his ears checked.
"Who else has said that?" Lingzhi immediately grasped the key point.
There are very few people in Zhaoyang Palace who possess martial arts skills. Fuling is pure-hearted and never puts her mind on anything outside of orders. She is the kind of person who, if you tell her to lie down somewhere, will lie there motionless until she dies, as long as the order to end the mission has not been given.
Xia Zi's dantian was destroyed, and his martial arts were almost completely ruined. He only had Xuan Shiyi left. This person had been on guard since he was in Qifeng Courtyard. Whether he could get close to the prince's palace was another matter. Even if he did overhear something, he probably wouldn't dare to tell Fu Lu.
“It was the Fifth Prince.” Fu Lu recounted the story of the Fifth Prince lying on the roof beam of his master’s room in the middle of the night. “...Because of this sleep-talking incident, the Fifth Prince pestered his master for a long time, insisting on taking him to sing a song for the frightened Fourth Prince.”
Fu Lu was quite helpless when he mentioned this.
Lingzhi immediately grasped the key point: "The murmurs I heard were always the sound of chanting scriptures."
Moreover, it always manages to pick up where it left off last time, even if it was only the first half of a syllable that was broken off at the time, it will always start from the second half of that syllable the next day.
Even she couldn't help but sigh that the Seventh Prince's memory was far too good, to the point of being terrifying.
However, if all of this is based on the Seventh Prince possessing unfathomable internal strength, then Lingzhi can understand it all.
People generally believe that scholars are smarter than martial artists, but in fact, the real masters who are truly unmatched are all well-rounded, and having a photographic memory is a basic requirement for them to enter that field.
But is it possible for the Seventh Prince to possess such profound internal strength at such a young age?
Furthermore, since the Seventh Prince has been in the palace since birth, who could have taught him such profound martial arts?
Lingzhi pondered and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, feeling that the longer she followed the Seventh Prince, the more mysteries surrounding him became.
Lingzhi's idea seems outrageous, but in a way it is the truth. Xue Jin'an's magical power is indeed a level higher than internal energy. His entry threshold is the ultimate realm pursued by countless martial artists, which is breaking through the void.
The shattering of the void was actually due to the limited carrying capacity of this world, which could not accommodate such a massive amount of data, so it was repelled to another world with a larger memory.
Xue Jin'an's ability to use magic relies entirely on his connection to the world's network, which is equivalent to accessing the world's core password. Of course, the world is not a saint, and his access is always based on an equivalent exchange. That is, the world is using his remaining magic to clean up and compress large files and expand the world's memory. Although it is difficult to perceive, the world's operation is indeed smoother.
Who knows, perhaps a thousand years from now, when the world's memory capacity reaches a certain level, martial artists who have stepped into the realm of cultivation will no longer need to leave their homes and wander in other worlds with larger memory capacities.
In conclusion, there's nothing wrong with Ganoderma's idea.
In contrast, Xuan Shiyi's idea was a bit off. Although he did not see Xue Jin'an's treasury, he had vaguely heard rumors that the emperor seemed to have recently become a believer in gods.
Xuan Shiyi was not superstitious, but that did not stop him from feeling that the Seventh Prince was somewhat strange.
Everyone playing the game together had their own thoughts and speculations, but Fuling was the only one who didn't think about anything.
Fu Lu and Shou Quan were also thinking, but they were thinking about the game itself.
Fulu originally had no interest in playing competitive games. He was not the type to be brave and combative, not to mention that he did not know martial arts and was completely ignorant of tactics. He always felt that playing with his master would hold him back, so he simply did not play.
However, after watching a few of their exciting battles, he couldn't help but feel itchy to play, and could only sigh regretfully, "It's a pity this game can only be played on a sandbox."
“We can do more than just play on the sand table,” Shouquan pondered. “We can make these into playing cards similar to leaf games, or into a chessboard, and set up corresponding rules… As long as the fun factor isn’t diminished, it’s sure to attract a lot of attention!”
Xue Jin'an raised an eyebrow in slight surprise and said, "This isn't a leaf game, it's called a board game."
"What are board games?" Everyone looked over, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Xue Jin'an then used the classic game "Three Kingdoms Kill" as a model to explain to them what board games are and the difference between them and leaf games. Afterwards, he extended the discussion from leaf games to modern poker and various ways to play.
In ancient times, entertainment was limited, and games played at the table were even fewer. The gambling industry relied on dice for the same old thing, so this novel card game truly amazed everyone who heard about it.
The Imperial Guard squad leader couldn't help but exclaim, "What a brilliant idea! A sand table is not something ordinary people can have, but these playing cards are similar to leaf games, which everyone can keep at home."
"If something like this really happens, it won't just attract attention, it'll become the talk of the town!" the squad leader said.
Shouquan had only mentioned it casually, but he didn't expect it to yield such a great result. His mind immediately became active: His Highness has no family background to support him. Whether he stays in the palace or establishes his own residence outside the palace, there will be many places where money will be needed to bribe officials. It would be good if His Highness had some property to rely on.
Shouquan immediately asked, "Are these playing cards sold outside?"
"Of course!" The squad leader, a native of Beijing, knew the area well and knew how many idle rich kids there were. He immediately made the decision, "If we really follow these rules, I guarantee there will be a market! If you add some fancy designs, with high prices and low prices, everyone, regardless of age, gender, or wealth, will want a set!"
The squad leader's words were a bit of an exaggeration, but it's true that this stuff has no problem finding a market in the bustling capital.
Some of the card games that the Seventh Prince described might even be included in casinos' records.
However, the squad leader didn't say this. He really hoped to play such a hand. He was extremely eager to play it. If he said this and spoiled the Seventh Prince's mood, causing him to decide not to play, he would suffer a huge loss.
Often, the object itself is not the problem; it is only because humans have given it negative meaning that it becomes something that leads people astray.
"Human hearts are truly unpredictable!" The squad leader couldn't help but add, "Merchants in the capital are shrewd. These cards and the rules of the game are easy to counterfeit. Even if they are sold under the Seventh Prince's name, it's probably only a one-time deal."
What he didn't say was that the shops that could gain a foothold in the capital all had powerful figures backing them up. A prince without any power or influence would not be able to gain any advantage at all. On the contrary, if he were to sell things under the banner of a prince, the words "competing with the people for profit" would be used against him, and it would probably cause trouble instead.
The squad leader didn't mention it because he didn't want to cause trouble later, which was understandable. The fact that he casually mentioned the card counterfeiting was already more than enough. He felt that this was not something he should get involved in, so he quickly led his men out.
However, there weren't many fools present. Even without his mention, everyone could guess that they wouldn't openly use the Seventh Prince's name to do business outside. But no matter how they thought about it, they were still unwilling to accept this one-off deal.
Unfortunately, no one could come up with a good solution.
Cui Zui couldn't help but pull out a handful of his hair, and said fiercely, "At worst, I'll patrol the capital every day and see who dares to imitate Master's things. I'll smash them up!"
"You're going to become a regular at the Jingzhao Yin's prison. If you come a few more times and still don't learn your lesson, we'll increase your punishment and send you to do hard labor," Lingzhi teased, lightening the atmosphere considerably.
With Cui Pengfei's connections, and given that Cui Zui didn't injure anyone, as long as the compensation is paid in full, he won't actually be arrested, imprisoned, or sentenced.
After laughing, Fu Lu comforted them, "Even if it's just a one-time deal, it's still some income. We can always come up with more creative ideas. We still have some loyal customers who stick with us."
Shouquan originally wanted to create an industry for his master, so he nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
The group quickly settled on the matter in a few words, then suddenly realized that their master hadn't spoken or offered any opinion. They looked over anxiously and asked, "What does Master think?"
Xue Jin'an glanced at them and asked first, "Want to sell board games?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Lingzhi spoke on their behalf, summarizing everyone's thoughts: "There will be many more places to spend money in the future, and we can't just sit around and do nothing."
Xue Jin'an nodded and offered a feasible solution: "Take over a bookstore that can print its own playing cards. Don't sell the low-priced cards individually. Instead, cooperate directly with teahouses and taverns to reduce the profit to two or three coins. Follow the strategy of small profits and quick turnover, and this business will be viable."
The only ones who can compete with them in this wholesale business are their peers, namely bookstore owners. However, the profit margin for book printing is very high nowadays. A book can sell for at least several hundred coins, so most of them don't care about their meager profits. With Xue Jin'an regulating market prices, they don't dare to raise prices arbitrarily. It's not worth it for the owners to work hard and earn a pittance.
As for the premium cards, Xue Jin'an said, "We don't sell premium cards. Instead, we take over a shop to turn it into a card room, with a membership system. We sell services and can also use special materials to make the cards, which we then give away to members as limited editions and exclusives."
As for why they chose to open such a high-end, high-consumption card and mahjong parlor instead of catering to ordinary people, the answer is simple: the laws and regulations of this world are not perfect, and people's hearts are unpredictable, making it easy for them to veer towards gambling, which is uncontrollable.
High-end card and board game rooms set high barriers to entry from the very beginning. You can't say that people who can get in are morally superior, but at least they don't care about spending money, and they are also a group of people who are easily held hostage by vanity.
Many noble families would empty their coffers to maintain their dignity, and Cui Zui, who came from a noble family, understood this all too well. He looked at Xue Jin'an with admiration and volunteered, "Master, leave this matter to me."
"But Master, what if there are people who don't follow the rules?" These privileged classes are used to enjoying themselves, and there will always be some arrogant, domineering, and disobedient fools.
Xue Jin'an said matter-of-factly, "We'll interrupt wherever the rules are broken."
Cui Zui's eyes lit up: "What if they have objections?"
“Let them come to me,” Xue Jin’an said.
Cui Zui asked again, "But what if they can't get into the palace?"
Xue Jin'an tilted his head, not answering, but Cui Zui already understood.
If they can't even get into the palace, what objections are there?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
