The game is only half finished, and the entire internet is begging for an update!

Five orbs of light gradually spread out around the character.

Jiang Bo moved the mouse and stopped it on one of the orbs of light.

An aged voice immediately rang out from inside the ring.

"Young man, I see you have extraordinary talent; you are a natural-born swordsman!"

Jiang Bo raised an eyebrow.

"This must be the old man in the ring from the anime, right?"

"right."

Zhou Guangqi nodded.

"The companion opportunities that appeared in the anime can all be selected in the game."

"Different opportunities will unlock different quests, which will also affect the direction of the player's sword development in the early stages."

"The old man's ring is mainly for increasing the speed at which you learn swordsmanship!"

Jiang Bo then moved the mouse to the next room.

The ball of light swirled, and a blue, magical artifact-like object slowly rotated, while the surrounding sword energy noticeably accelerated.

[Unknown Spiritual Treasure]

[Specific abilities will be discovered automatically after binding.]

Lingbao?

After examining the five opportunities in turn, Jiang Bo finally moved the mouse back to the black ring.

Forget it, let's test the waters with this first! At least this way, it won't be like I'm venturing into the Sword Qi Continent alone!

Jiang Bo clicked "Confirm".

The black ring transformed into a streak of light and slipped onto the character's right index finger.

The aged voice rang out again.

"Now that you have chosen me, then this world should tremble because of us!"

Accompanied by this classic and somewhat cheesy line, the five orbs of light on the screen suddenly contracted, then transformed into a blinding white light that filled the entire screen.

After a brief white screen transition, the image gradually becomes clear.

Without lengthy loading bars or abrupt UI pop-ups, Jiang Bo's perspective directly appeared on a slightly dilapidated square.

The square is surrounded by antique buildings marked with sword marks, and weeds grow in the cracks of the bluestone paving.

A light drizzle was falling from the sky, and the raindrops pattered on the bluestone slabs, creating a very realistic white noise effect.

In the upper right corner of the screen, several lines of ink-wash style font slowly appeared and then gradually faded away.

[Birthplace: Ruins of the outer sect of Qingyun Sword Sect]

"Seamless loading?"

Jiang Bo turned the camera around, and the panning of the camera by sliding the mouse was very smooth, without any stuttering or frame drops.

"right."

Zhou Guangqi explained from the side,

"To ensure an immersive experience in the cultivation world, we've seamlessly stitched together the world map. Except for entering special dungeons, there's no loading screen required for exploring the open world."

Jiang Bo nodded in satisfaction and was about to move his character when the black ring on his right index finger suddenly flashed with a faint light.

The old man's voice rang out directly from the bottom left corner of the screen.

"Kid, stop looking. This outer sect of Qingyun was destroyed by the demonic cultivators from beyond the heavens long ago. You don't even have a decent weapon now. If you encounter any wandering demons, you won't even be enough to fill their teeth. Go to the ruins of the Sword Tomb ahead and pick out a sword blank."

As the old man finished speaking, a minimalist task prompt quietly appeared at the top of the screen:

[Current guidance: Head to the Sword Tomb Ruins to find the Sword Embryo.]

Jiang Bo's eyes lit up.

This should be the beginner's guide!

He pressed the W key and controlled his character to run towards the target location.

The character's running movements are very natural, with the hem of his clothes swaying with his steps, and even splashing water realistically when he steps into puddles.

Soon, the swirling clouds dispersed to both sides, and a valley filled with swords gradually appeared on the screen.

Longsword, heavy sword, rapier, short sword...

Hundreds and thousands of unsharpened sword blanks were stuck in various parts of the valley.

[Unowned Sword Embryo]

[Trial Available]

Jiang Bo controlled his character to enter Sword Valley.

The closest object was a heavy sword about half the width of a person.

An interactive prompt for "[F key: Draw sword]" immediately appeared in the center of the screen.

Jiang Bo pressed the F key directly.

The character gripped the greatsword stuck in the stone with both hands and pulled upwards with force. Accompanied by the sound of stone shattering, the greatsword was pulled out.

[Obtain initial weapon: Unnamed sword blank]

[Have you confirmed your choice of this sword blank as your destined sword?]

Once your destined sword is chosen, it will accompany you throughout your character's growth.

The appearance, attributes, and combat traces of a sword will all change over time.

Jiang Bo clicked "Confirm".

A sword's cry suddenly resounded throughout the entire Sword Valley.

The remaining sword blanks slowly sank into the ground, leaving only the heavy sword chosen by Jiang Bo suspended in front of the character.

Please name your destined sword.

Jiang Bo thought for a moment and typed two words in the input box.

【Taiping】

The heavy sword trembled slightly, and a stream of sword energy flowed from the hilt to the tip.

The sword remained ordinary; it didn't suddenly transform into a divine weapon, nor did it gain any extra attributes. The only change was the addition of its name to the information panel.

[My Destiny Sword: Taiping]

[Sword Embryo Status: Unsharpened]

[Current Features: None]

Standing to the side, Zhou Guangqi scratched his head upon seeing the name and asked with some curiosity:

"President Jiang, I thought you'd name it something like 'Zhu Xian' or 'Po Tian,' or at least something like 'Zhao Xi.' 'Taiping'... doesn't that sound a bit too mild? This is a game where we're going to carve out a bloody path in the world of cultivation!"

Jiang Bo released the mouse, turned his head and glanced at Zhou Guangqi.

"Ah Guang, this is because you have a narrow perspective."

"I won't argue with you about making games!"

"But look at this sword, a heavy sword with no edge, its great skill lies in its simplicity! The reason it's called Taiping (Peace and Tranquility) is because..."

"When the world is at peace, one need not draw one's sword."

"When the world is in turmoil, peace will follow!"

"Holy crap..."

Zhou Guangqi gasped, feeling an overwhelming aura of arrogance wash over him. Absolutely incredible!

We're both in the gaming industry, but the boss has way too many tricks up his sleeve! You've got to put on airs again, haven't you?

Jiang Bo smiled with satisfaction and gripped the mouse again.

"Alright, I'm going to try out this greatsword!"

Jiang Bo wandered around casually and headed directly to the [Trial Bamboo Sea] on the outskirts of the Qingyun Sword Sect ruins.

He controlled the character as he raced forward.

The seamless transition of the large map is indeed very smooth. From the ruined square to the bamboo forest, there are no invisible walls, and even the transition of vegetation is very natural.

As soon as I stepped into the Bamboo Forest of Trials, a cold wind blew by.

From the mist ahead, several roaming bamboo rats, their eyes glowing red and their bodies comparable in size to adult wild boars, screech as they pounced!

Roaming bamboo rats

Born from the residual sword energy of the ruins

[Drops: Shards of Iron, Ashes of Bone, Residual Sword Energy]

Several lines of basic operation prompts also appeared on the right.

Left mouse button: Swipe sword

[Continuous attacks can be chained together with basic sword moves]

Hold down the attack button to charge up a powerful slash.

"Well done!"

Jiang Bo's eyes lit up, and he immediately pressed the control button!

"call……!"

The sound of the greatsword being swung was deep and powerful, as if it could tear the air apart.

Because Jiang Bo chose a heavy sword, the character's attack animation was significantly longer than that of a regular longsword.

But at the very moment the sword struck the bamboo rat...

"Bang!"

The screen produced a noticeable vibration feedback!

It even comes with a brief "frame freeze" effect!

This is the core essence of an action game: the feeling of impact!

In that instant, Jiang Bo even felt that his mouse had become heavier!

"That's great feedback!"

"I feel the same way as Guo'er!"

There were no damage numbers flying all over the screen, and no monsters that didn't react at all after a sword strike.

The wandering bamboo rat took a solid hit from the sword, its plump body flying out on the spot, rolling several times along the slippery bluestone slab, and finally crashing headfirst into a pile of rubble by the roadside.

The gray, stiff fur covering its body was dented by the heavy sword, and a large portion of its health bar disappeared instantly.

More importantly, the whole process was quite straightforward.

The vibrations when the sword struck, the weight of the monster as it was knocked back, and the feedback from shattering rocks—all these sensations were interconnected. Jiang Bo could even clearly feel that he was indeed holding a heavy greatsword.

"Not bad, the impact of the attacks is good!"

"If you hadn't told me this was an online game, I would have thought it was some kind of Souls-like game!"

Jiang Bo's eyes lit up immediately.

Although the sword strike had a slightly longer wind-up, the moment it actually hit the ground, it did give me a satisfying feeling of flipping the monster and the ground over with a single blow.

Just then, the remaining few roaming bamboo rats rushed up.

They didn't line up to be attacked; one pounced head-on, two flanked from the left and right, and another circled behind the character, opening its mouth to bite at the calf.

Jiang Bo quickly moved the mouse, and the character turned around accordingly.

Taiping swept the sword across the ground in a half-circle, the heavy blade scraping through the water and gravel, creating a sweeping motion that covered a large area in front of him.

boom!

Three bamboo rats were swatted away at the same time.

One of them crashed directly into its companion, and the two monsters rolled into a ball, their health bars dropping along with each other.

"Could it be that you could hit your own people?"

Jiang Bo was somewhat surprised.

"Smaller monsters are all acceptable."

Zhou Guangqi stood to the side and explained:

"The advantage of the greatsword is its knockback and area-of-effect attacks. If the player positions themselves correctly, they can slam monsters into a wall, or use one monster to smash another."

"While some large monsters cannot be knocked away directly, they will stagger, have their armor broken, and fall to the ground."

Jiang Bo nodded.

That makes much more sense.

Since the player sacrificed attack speed and chose a greatsword that is half the width of a person, each attack should have a sufficiently obvious reward.

It's unacceptable for a rapier to slash three times in a second, while a greatsword manages to swing once, only to find that the only difference is the numbers above their heads.

It would be better to just give the greatsword a longer health bar so players can just stand around with it.

After a few simple trials...

Jiang Bo is becoming more and more familiar with the operation.

The entire combat process does not require complicated operations.

Normal attacks, continuous sword swings, charged heavy slashes, and basic directional adjustments can create a fairly smooth combo.

In this way, once new players get the weapons, they can quickly experience the thrill of slaying monsters.

Only after joining a sect and learning more sword techniques will one's combat style gradually become more diverse.

Soon, after the last bamboo rat fell, several pieces of material were scattered on the ground.

[Materials Obtained: 3 Gray-backed Stiff Hairs]

[Materials obtained: Bamboo Rat Teeth *2]

[Materials Obtained: Scrap Sword Fragment *1]

[Gained 4 Residual Sword Auras]

Jiang Bo walked over and picked up all the materials.

After opening the backpack, each material was labeled with several different uses.

That's it!

The combat and material gathering process seems to be going perfectly smoothly!