The King's ReturnCh3 - The Origin of Mystery

translator: Oyen  editor: Ciel

The so-called <Heaven Sun Combo> mentioned by Elegant Leaves referred to the combination of ‘Sword Horizon’ and ‘Sword Rain Remnant’ skills. Those were the two basic skills of the Hanhua Sword Sect’s longsword flow; the former was a small-scale group attack skill that dealt low damage, while the other was a single-target silencing skill that lasted for 2 seconds. xEdtcY

If the skills were used separately, nothing special would happen. When combined, however, the effect would be doubled and magnified—— the damage caused by the group attack would double, while the single-target silence would silence the entire group with an increased duration of 3 seconds.

Naturally, with a doubled skill effect, using the combination wasn’t as simple as clicking ‘Sword Horizon’ followed by ‘Sword Rain Remnant’. It had its own precondition—— firstly, ‘Sword Horizon’ had to be used twice consecutively; in the event of a critical hit, ‘Sword Rain Remnant’ had to be immediately connected to achieve the doubled damage and group silence.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

This was the conclusion drawn by the beta testers after repeated tests.

It was hard to produce critical hits with ‘Sword Horizon’, and even more so to connect it with ‘Sword Rain Remnant’. Therefore, the beta testers defined <Heaven Sun Combo> as one of the relatively high-end operations for the longsword flow game in the Hanhua Sword Sect. MJbCe

Unexpectedly, this self-proclaimed newbie Ink Mark could operate such a beautiful skill combo as soon as he started the game, causing Elegant Leaves to question his origins.

As a fellow player from Hanhua Sword Sect, out of five times, Elegant Leaves could produce <Heaven Sun Combo> twice. However, it may have been a coincidence that Ink Mark could produce the combination skill; after all, a level 15 swordsman could only fight with these two skills, ‘Sword Horizon’ and ‘Sword Rain Remnant’. Perhaps, just like a blind cat meeting a dead rat, the conditions for the combination skill were coincidentally achieved through pressing the skills continuously.

At this moment, the system task prompt ‘Eliminated beehives completion 4/8’ popped up on the team channel.

Ink Mark: “Yes.”

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So, was that just a coincidence? Assuming as much, Elegant Leaves no longer chose to pursue the matter.

***

The five people worked on the task throughout the afternoon.

Tasks near Mingzhou City were able to raise players up to level 20 or so; with veteran players, they did not have to worry about finding the task locations. Qin Mo’s upgrading speed was also faster due to this. wFEQ8j

At this time, Mirage sent a reminder on the team channel. “The next task ‘retrieve the treasure’ is a 3-star difficulty task. We will need to kill the thief leader upstairs. However, there are many monsters in the yard, and it will be easy for them to wipe us out if we are caught.

Little Medicine Fairy: “Okay!”

Elegant Leaves added, “There are many monsters here. Ink Mark, use ‘Sword Horizon’ to attract the small monsters, then run to the forest.”

Ink Mark: “En, I understand.” JqoIiw

Mirage: “Alright, let’s go!”

At the captain’s command, the team split up immediately.

As soon as Qin Mo entered the front yard, dozens of small monsters noticed him. Immediately, Qin Mo turned around and used his qinggong skill ‘Flicker’ to run. After moved a certain distance away, he used ‘Sword Horizon’ twice and linked it to ‘Sword Rain Remnant’, causing all the small monsters to be silenced in their places for a moment.

Within the three seconds that the negative state was inflicted, the cooldown for his qinggong skill had ended, allowing Qin Mo to quickly flee from the yard. Despite the many small monsters chasing him fiercely, none of them could get close to him. ljiPd

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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“I can’t believe it, he didn’t die……” Elegant Leaves did not know what to feel.

“Not dead?” From the second floor, Mirage poked his head out the window to take a look. “This is a difficult task, a 3-star task; usually, the players who lead the monsters away will die. How can he still be alive?” NkpAJ5

“Really?” Hiding a Dagger Behind a Smile was very surprised. “He was chased by over a dozen small monsters, with such poor equipment, he’s actually still alive?”

——Ink Mark was not only alive, but he was also living just fine.

His blood was still full at 100%, which proved that the small monsters chasing him in the woods had not inflicted any damage on him. Which also meant that he was able to keep a safe distance from the monsters.

“Being able to keep a good distance to kite the monsters, obviously, he’s using the Heaven Sun combo to silence them.” Elegant Leaves had mixed feelings about this. “If he had just been lucky in chaining the combo earlier, what about now? He can manage the distance as well as use the Heaven Sun combo simultaneously, this guy definitely isn’t a newbie, is he?” IWcNJL

“He really doesn’t seem like one,” Mirage paused. “But if he is an expert, the why did he reply that he was a newbie when I asked?”

“Could it be that he deliberately wants to hide his identity?” Elegant Leaves guessed. “During the beta test, many great gods emerged from the Hanhua Sword sect. Maybe he didn’t want to be recognised, so he said that he was a newbie.”

“It’s also possible.” Mirage nodded thoughtfully.

As he spoke, Ink Mark’s blood volume fell from 100% to 0% in an instant, his avatar darkening. In2tSx

Mirage was surprised. “What’s going on?”

If he had been killed by the small monsters, his blood volume would fall slowly. However, Ink Mark’s blood volume had been emptied instantly. Did he meet a wild boss and get slapped to death?

Finally, a line of small characters appeared on the team channel. Looking at the message, Mirage didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh.

Ink Mark: “I fell off the cliff.” JwMOmz

Mirage: “…….”

Elegant Leaves: “…….”

Hiding a Dagger Behind a Smile: “…….”

Well, Ink Mark did make the low-level mistake of ‘dying by falling off the cliff’, so there was the possibility that he really was a newbie. But if that was the case, then why was his operation so smooth, giving off the impression of ? YQEn2

Ink Mark: “How can I get back?”

The three people gazed at each other, speechless.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Just now, we were discussing whether he was an expert who had concealed his identity or not. In the end, isn’t he just a rookie who doesn’t even know how to return after falling off a cliff?

Elegant Leaves smiled. “Brother, you can resurrect at the main city and hand in the task directly.” j7myse

Ink Mark: “There is no such option.”

Elegant Leaves: “How can this be? Revive in place, revive nearby, and revive at the main city are the three options!”

Ink Mark: “Only the first two.”

Elegant Leaves was speechless. “Did you not open up the resurrection point in the main city?” rbg6FD

Ink Mark: “How do I open up the resurrection point in the main city?”

Elegant Leaves wanted to collapse!

This person’s operation really looked like an expert, but his questions were those of a rookie’s. Just now, they were immersed in the speculations of whether Ink Mark really was an expert, only to be stunned by the sudden appearance of a rookie’s question. After a moment of silence, Elegant Leaves explained patiently, “Every time you reach a main city, you can open up a resurrection point by speaking with the city owner. After that, if you die, you can go back directly to the city.”

Ink Mark: “Thank you.” GkU27p

Elegant Leaves: “…….You’re welcome.”

Since he did not open up the resurrection point in the main city, Qin Mo could not return to hand in the task. As such, he chose to revive nearby, and quickly returned to join his teammates.

After completing this 3-star difficulty task, everyone rose to level 20.

Reaching level 20 opened the first dungeon in the game. Clearing a dungeon would give lots of experience, materials and equipment, but there was a limit of five entries a day. 60eyZA

It would soon reach 6:00pm in the evening. Mirage typed out, “Let’s go for dinner first. Return by 7:00 so we can go dungeoning for equipment, otherwise, it’ll become very difficult to pass the harder tasks later on.”

Everyone was hungry, so they agreed, turning off the game to go eat dinner first.

***

At the same time, Changsha esport club, conference room. ip8ZtI

“I received news from the esports league. Many clubs in China have entered the new game ‘Peerless Jianghu’ created by Tianyi game company, who also developed Wulin in the past. The production of Peerless Jianghu is very sophisticated; I have a hunch that within a year, the game will be a huge hit.” Liu Chuan, the boss of Dragon Song said earnestly. “After some discussion, the club’s shareholders have decided to move into this new game of Peerless Jianghu, and Xiao Han will be in charge.”

The young man who was named looked up with a simple statement of “No problem.”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

His hair was naturally blond, but his eyes were as black as ink; coupled with his tall nose, his facial features looked very handsome. The combination of blond hair and dark eyes perfectly merged the characteristics of both oriental and western men, with his mixed-race status making his black yet bright eyes look particularly deep– much like a mysterious pool with a hidden depth of emotions.

Compared to the average handsome guy, Xiao Han’s face had a unique handsomeness due to his mixed-race status. Now 21 years old, he was the captain of the Dragon Song club’s Miracle division, participated in the World Competition and won the Most Valuable Player award of the season. With his special temperament, his popularity in the esport league could only be described as . 4DZKyv

The fact that the boss had asked him to personally lead the team into the new game showed quite clearly the importance of the upcoming professional league.

“Very good.” Liu Chuan looked at him, before smiling. “There are many newcomers in the training camp at the moment. Do you have ideas on how the players should be selected?”

“Newcomers who want to go to Peerless Jianghu can look for me to apply; I will select the team members from there,” Xiao Han replied calmly.

As soon as this was said, the faces of the newcomers in the conference room showed eager expressions—— the professional leagues of the old games were relatively mature, but there were many great gods gathered, causing it to be difficult to stand out. Although the professional league of the new game was still young, it was still a blank sheet of paper. Wouldn’t the first contestants be the ones to decide what kind of wonderful story will be shown? If they were lucky enough to join the first professional league, in a few years’ time, they would already be the veterans in this field. QFb4Ga

Hearing Xiao Han’s answer, Liu Chuan nodded in satisfaction. “This is very fair. Whether you have the strength to join the new team’s starting line-up will depend on your progress; the newcomers’ strength will speak for itself. That’s fine, let’s do it this way.” He waved a hand carelessly. “Alright, the meeting is over, the newcomers can go back to prepare. Xiao Han, please stay.”

After the newcomers left, Liu Chuan lowered his voice. “Xiao Han, I’ll tell you the whole story. There were three closed beta tests before the public test was launched, and many teams already sent people there to familiarise themselves with the game since the first beta test. By now, our team should be the last one among the major teams to enter.”

Xiao Han nodded to show his understanding. “There is a saying in China——, . It’s not a bad thing to be a little late.”

“Do you know this proverb? It seems that your Chinese has really improved a lot,” Liu Chuan smiled. “I remember when you first came back a few years ago, you didn’t speak Chinese well, often using the wrong words and needing Qin Mo to teach you Chinese.” CMeTND

Hearing this name, Xiao Han’s heart suddenly tightened, many memories flooding into his mind like an unstoppable tide——

Qin Mo, a proud but kind hearted teenager, always tirelessly correcting his grammatical errors. Sometimes, when Xiao Han didn’t understand the usage of related words, he would go look for Qin Mo, and the other teen would reply to him even if it were in the middle of the night. When Xiao Han used words in a disorderly manner, Qin Mo always sent him multiple ellipsis.

At that time, they were both very young. Although they were in different teams, their masters had a very good relationship, so the two of them often practiced together in the arena, exchanged ideas, learnt from each other, grew together, and progressed as players.

From a novice to the Most Valuable Player of the season, Qin Mo accompanied him all the way. MjbEDu

——They used to be innocent, two childhood sweethearts.

Xiao Han had assumed that Qin Mo would play with for many, many years, until the both of them were too old to play, then they would retire together.

Unexpectedly, Qin Mo retired early.

For three years, there was no news at all…… XsEZON

Clenching his fist by his side, Xiao Han attempted to change the subject calmly. “Has the Wind Colour team also entered the new game?”

Wind Colour was one of Dragon Song team’s strongest rivals. Since Xiao Han already asked about it, Liu Chuan didn’t bother concealing the truth. “Wind Colour was one of the earliest to enter the game. When the first beta test was conducted, they sent experts to study the game, and said that a new team has been built. However, the list of players was classified as a team secret, so it hasn’t been announced just yet. For the time being, we will keep the matter of you leading the team in the new game confidential also, and will hold a press conference when the time is right.”

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Xiao Han nodded. “I understand.”

“Several large domestic teams have received invitations from the game company. At present, there are eight teams including us, and a few teams self-organised by other great gods. Next year’s professional league will definitely be full of experts.” Liu Chuan paused for a moment, before asking, “We are starting late, will you be under too much pressure?” ybZaTS

“It’s fine,” Xiao Han replied, “Half a year is enough.”

“You seem confident.” Liu Chuan grinned, before retrieving a stack of ID cards embossed with ‘Peerless Jianghu’ from his drawer and handing it to Xiao Han. “All the best to you.”

Leave a Comment

5 comments

  1. With his special temperament, his popularity in the esport league “could only be described as . ”

    Is that a typo?

    I remember his grammatical errors were hilarious.

    Capitan of the miraculous league, the guy who was beaten until he only had his underwear has come so far.

    Poor XH since the beginning he always had QM but he was left alone when he retired early but also “two childhood sweethearts”!!??? Is he speaking of a platonic relationship?

  2. so glad that liu chuan is still recurring in this third novel! i just finished GLS a few hours ago and at that time, qin mo and xiao han are still both teenagers, now i felt like they’re already mature adults and i’m not used to it 😭😭