Chapter 003: Is This a Pay-to-Win Game?
His parents had left for work, so Xiao Yang was home alone. He walked to his room, closed the door, and took out the Book of Transcendence from the corner of his bed. The moment it touched his hand, a surge of information flooded his mind.
The Book of Transcendence has been successfully activated.
Time ratio between the real world and the Transcendent World: 1:24.
Money required to sustain the Transcendent World: 1 yuan for the first hour, multiplied by ten for each subsequent hour.
Cooldown time of the Book of Transcendence: thirty days.
Would you like to open the Book of Transcendence and enter the Transcendent World as a Transcendent?
Xiao Yang stared blankly at the book in his hand. So... the Book of Transcendence couldn't send him back to Earth after all!
Did this mean it was a golden finger?
He pondered the information he had just received. A time ratio of 1:24 meant that an hour in the real world equaled an entire day in the Transcendent World. But to sustain the Transcendent World, he needed to pay money—wasn't this just like topping up for game time? And the price was outrageous: 1 yuan for the first hour, 10 yuan for the second, 100 for the third... By the ninth hour, it would cost a hundred million! Playing for two or three hours was manageable, but eight or nine? Who could afford that?
And the cooldown was thirty days, meaning he couldn't enter repeatedly—once he left, he'd have to wait a month before returning. With only one chance to enter each month, if there were benefits to be gained in this world, naturally the longer he stayed, the better—but that would require a fortune.
He hadn't even completed a full month as a senior security guard, hadn't been paid yet, and only had a bit over a hundred yuan in pocket money. There was fifteen hundred in his bank card, a gift from his sister before his exams, which he hadn't touched.
“Does the money come off in cash, or from my card? Whatever, let's try it first.”
His cash could support three hours—three days in the Transcendent World. The card could support four hours—four more days. Xiao Yang didn't hesitate and opened the Book of Transcendence.
Previously, the book had been a single, seamless whole. Now, after activation, it had only one page, like two pieces of cardboard joined together.
A pure white light shot from the book, enveloping him. In a blink, Xiao Yang vanished from his room.
The Book of Transcendence closed and fell onto the bed. The room fell silent.
“Ding! Welcome to the Transcendent World! You are now a Transcendent!”
As the voice sounded in his mind, Xiao Yang found himself no longer in his room, but inside a strange wooden hut.
As an Earthling, Xiao Yang had played plenty of online games. This scene reminded him of the beginner’s village when first entering a game.
“Is this Transcendent World a real world, or a game world? If it's a game, there should be other players—or is this a single-player version?” He observed the hut, his thoughts racing.
He walked to the wall and ran his fingers along the grain; the texture was utterly real.
This didn’t feel like a game, but an authentic world!
The hut was empty, save for an iron sword lying on the ground behind the door. Xiao Yang picked it up—it weighed about five kilograms, light for his strength.
He opened the wooden door and found himself in a spacious living room. Several tables and chairs were neatly arranged, and a few landscape paintings hung on the walls, their colors dark and ink-splattered.
Just as he was examining the room, he heard footsteps from the back hall and turned around.
Soon, a man emerged. He looked odd—his eyes were pitch black, exuding dark mist, his face deathly pale, utterly bloodless.
He didn't seem human.
When Xiao Yang looked closely, faint words appeared above the man's head: Demonized Creature.
Was he seeing things?
He blinked. The words “Demonized Creature” appeared again.
No, he wasn't mistaken!
“Could this truly be a game? But it's so real!” Xiao Yang was astonished.
“A living human, how dare you trespass on my domain?” The demonized man saw Xiao Yang and roared, quickening his pace as he lunged forward.
He raised his hands, fingers splayed; his nails grew several inches in an instant, black and gleaming, cold light flashing as he struck for Xiao Yang’s throat.
Treating this world like a game, Xiao Yang didn't hesitate—he raised his sword and struck.
The iron blade was sharp; he severed one of the creature's hands.
But the demonized man seemed immune to pain. His other hand continued its attack, stabbing straight for Xiao Yang’s neck.
Startled, Xiao Yang retreated with all his speed.
But he was a moment too late. A searing pain shot through his throat, blood spurted forth—the demonized man's sharp fingers had punched a hole clean through.
He staggered back, terror in his eyes. Whether on Earth or the Star World, he had never suffered such a grave wound—deadly!
“Am I going to die here?”
A chill ran through him, fear mounting.
The demonized man, undeterred by his lost hand, still lunged. Blood gushed from Xiao Yang's throat, his strength failing—he couldn't resist and was brought down.
In panic, he stabbed the demonized man, but the creature didn't even flinch—the razor-sharp nails pierced Xiao Yang's chest like an awl.
Agony overwhelmed him; it felt as if his heart was pierced, his whole body convulsing, his mind fading.
Only one thought remained: I’m dying!
He really was dying.
He lay motionless on the ground, breathless, while the demonized man continued to attack, driving his hand again and again into Xiao Yang’s chest, blood and flesh flying.
After several seconds, Xiao Yang’s corpse dissolved.
In the next instant, his body reappeared in the wooden hut from before.
He gasped for breath, terror in his eyes, drenched in cold sweat.
I died!
I died!
Did I die?
He lifted his hands, staring at his palms, then at the hut around him, slowly regaining composure.
I’m alive! I didn’t die!
This really is a game—after dying, you return to the starting point?
But the sensation of death was all too real; for a moment, his mind had gone blank.
“Ding! Transcendents will not truly die in the Transcendent World. Upon death, you will return to your initial entry point.”
The prompt sounded again in his mind.
As real as everything here seemed, Xiao Yang was now certain—this was a game!
The Book of Transcendence was a login device; the Transcendent World was a game world!
For now, he didn’t know whether it was multiplayer or single-player.
“Open character info!” Xiao Yang thought silently.
A glowing screen appeared before him.
Name: Xiao Yang. Silver: 0. Class: Transcendent.
Cultivation: Martial Disciple. Techniques: None. Martial Arts: None. Items: None.
A few simple entries. Xiao Yang was not yet a true martial artist, so he was listed as a Martial Disciple—he hadn’t practiced any techniques or martial arts.
“Open inventory!” he thought again.
A grid appeared next to the character screen—eight by eight, sixty-four slots, all empty.
He dismissed the screens and pondered. As a Transcendent in this world, what benefits could he reap?
Could cultivation, items, and techniques learned here be brought back to reality?
If so, then the Transcendent World was much more than a mere game.
But for now, he could only guess—he’d have to wait until he returned to find out.
Since he could only re-enter after thirty days, he was in no hurry to leave.
Now, the iron sword was missing from behind the door.
He peered through the crack into the living room. The demonized man was reattaching his severed hand.
A strange sight—the flesh grew rapidly, and the hand was restored as if nothing had happened. The sharp claws retracted, and, paying no attention to the iron sword on the floor, the demonized man left for the inner hall.
Xiao Yang opened the door, entered the living room, and picked up the iron sword.
“Store in inventory!” he thought, and the sword vanished from his hand.
“Open inventory!” The sword now occupied the first slot in the grid.
With another thought, the sword reappeared in his hand.
Footsteps sounded again from the back hall.
This time, Xiao Yang was cautious and hid behind the door.
The demonized man entered the living room and paused, sensing something.
Xiao Yang swept his sword in a horizontal slash.
The sharp blade cut through the demonized man’s neck; with all his strength—over 242 kilograms of force—and the sword’s keen edge, the head was severed in one blow.
The body collapsed, lifeless.
Though insensible to pain, the demonized man was still alive—decapitation was fatal.
The corpse and head faded, dissolving completely in two seconds, leaving behind a small silver coin.
A wisp of energy from the vanished body flowed into Xiao Yang. A warm sensation rose within him—his strength seemed slightly increased.
“Killing monsters grants experience—and drops silver?”
He picked up the coin and stored it in his inventory, wondering, “Who created this Transcendent World? Could it have been another transmigrator who loved online games?”
He sensed this world was far more than a simple game. The Book of Transcendence had brought him from Earth to Star World—surely the book’s world was equally mysterious.
He surmised that strengthening himself or acquiring treasures here might allow him to bring them back to reality.
The thought thrilled him.
If so, he wouldn’t need any cultivation resources—just slay monsters here, level up rapidly, and become a martial artist with ease.
His eyes shone with excitement.
Monster hunting! More monster hunting!
Having profited from the first demonized man, Xiao Yang was eager for more.
For him, the monsters were enemies to be slain for experience and loot.
Again, footsteps approached from the back hall.
Xiao Yang hid behind the door.
A new demonized man entered—this one female, but with the same black mist in her eyes and bloodless face.
To him, monsters were monsters, regardless of gender.
A swift slash, and her head fell.
The corpse faded, a stream of energy entered Xiao Yang, his strength improving again.
Another silver coin dropped; he picked it up and stored it.
He checked his character info.
Name: Xiao Yang. Silver: 2. Class: Transcendent. Cultivation: Martial Disciple. Techniques: None. Martial Arts: None. Items: Iron Sword*1.
Two demonized people, two coins—a total of two units of silver.
If the Transcendent World was modeled after an online game, there should be NPCs as well; silver could probably be used to buy things.
“I wonder if these monsters will respawn?” he mused.
He didn’t wait around to see; after checking the back hall and finding no more monsters, he returned to the living room and made for the exit.
Outside, the sky was gloomy. Peeking out, he saw a small village with many similar houses.
The paths between the houses were empty—no sign of monsters.
He left the yard for the nearest house.
“A living human—how dare you invade my domain!” roared a demonized man in the hall as soon as he saw Xiao Yang.
Unnerved by these fearless, tireless creatures, Xiao Yang quickly retreated outside.
The demonized man chased after him, still shouting.
Xiao Yang was faster and easily outran him.
But as the shouting continued, more demonized people emerged from other houses, quickly surrounding Xiao Yang.
They swarmed him.
Blood spurted.
Xiao Yang screamed.
He died.
Soon after, he reappeared in the starting hut, drenched in sweat.
Though he could revive at the initial entry point, the vivid pain of death was terrifying. Twice in a short span, he’d experienced it; the very thought sent chills up his spine.
He never wished to endure it a third time.
After a long while, he calmed down.
Upon reflection, he realized the demonized were slower and weaker than him, with slower reactions too—he should win most of the time in a fair fight.
His first death had come from ignorance of their immunity to pain—had he known, he wouldn’t have been caught off guard.
With this understanding, his confidence grew.
Fear was a martial artist’s bane—one could hardly unleash even sixty or seventy percent of their strength.
A martial artist facing an opponent should remain calm, fight to the death, and even if slightly weaker, a strong fighting spirit could still win the day.
With his mind clear, Xiao Yang quietly left the hut, returned to where he had died, and retrieved his sword.
Then, head held high, he strode into the next house.
“A living human—how dare you invade my domain!” The demonized man in the hall spotted him and charged.
This time, Xiao Yang was ready, his heart steady. He shouted and charged as well.
The demonized man’s claws grew long and sharp, stabbing straight for Xiao Yang’s throat—the same attack as before!
As he closed in, Xiao Yang suddenly ducked low, sliding along the floor to evade.
With a horizontal slash, he cut through the creature’s thigh—deep to the bone, black blood gushing.
Despite the painlessness, the demonized man turned to attack again, but Xiao Yang, using his agility, dodged and struck repeatedly.
Wounds accumulated, and as the blood loss grew, the demonized man’s strength and speed waned. Soon, Xiao Yang seized the chance, severed his head, and finished him.
The corpse dissolved, energy was absorbed, and Xiao Yang’s strength increased once more.
Sure enough, as long as he wasn’t afraid and fought bravely, the demonized were no match.
He moved from house to house, slaying more and more of them.
At first, the increase in strength was slight, but after killing a dozen or two, he noticed a clear improvement.
Each kill also yielded a silver coin, all of which he picked up and stored.
With each battle, his skills increased, and he could now handle even two at once.
Following an alley, he pressed forward, and after defeating more than fifty demonized men, he reached the center of the village.
Here stood the grandest building in the village.
A wide courtyard stretched before it, with two stone pillars flanking the gate. Within, instead of a hall, lay a courtyard, then the main house.
It was clearly the manor of a wealthy family.
But Xiao Yang cared nothing for status—he walked between the pillars, through the gate, and into the yard.
A demonized man emerged from the main hall—a large figure, with eyes emitting far denser black mist than the others. At the sight of Xiao Yang, he roared, “Enemy intrusion! Destroy the invader!”
His script was different from the others—clearly special.
It didn’t matter to Xiao Yang; all monsters were the same—he tightened his grip on his sword and rushed forward.
The demonized man sprang up, leaping straight to the rooftop.
Xiao Yang paused; the roof was at least five meters high—he couldn’t possibly jump that far.
“Is this a boss?” he wondered.
Given that leap, Xiao Yang knew he was outmatched.
Remembering the terror of his previous deaths, he quickly retreated.
No sooner had he reached the open ground outside than demonized people poured in from every direction.
Only the path he had cleared remained empty; five other alleys led to this spot, each now filling with monsters.
He was surrounded and swarmed.
He could handle two or three at a time, but against this horde, he stood no chance.
He died.
Once again, he revived at the starting point in the hut, sweating all over.
Once again, the horror of death overwhelmed him.
“Damn, it really is a boss! I hadn’t even attacked, and the whole village swarmed me. I need to clear the small monsters before tackling the boss.”
Calming himself, he devised a new strategy.
Though he was still weaker than the boss, each kill made him stronger. With hundreds of demonized men in the village, he believed he could gain enough strength to face the boss.
“Will the boss drop weapons or martial arts manuals?” The thought made him eager to try.
He left the hut and checked the house thoroughly.
Several hours had passed, but there was no sign of respawned monsters. He didn’t know if the respawn time was just long, or if monsters here never respawned.
He checked the nearby houses—again, no new monsters.
He made his way back to the boss’s courtyard, picked up his iron sword, and eyed the grand house—but dared not enter. Instead, he took another alley and continued slaying demonized men.
An hour passed.
Two hours.
One after another, demonized men fell to his sword, the energy he absorbed steadily growing, his strength mounting.
He lost track of time.
Suddenly, a prompt sounded in his mind.
“Ding! Your cultivation has advanced. You have broken through to the Energy Perception Realm and become a Postnatal Martial Artist!”
He quickly opened his character info.
A screen appeared.
Name: Xiao Yang. Silver: 358. Class: Transcendent. Cultivation: Postnatal Martial Artist (Energy Perception). Techniques: None. Martial Arts: None. Items: Iron Sword.
Upon breaking through, he felt a mysterious sensation—he could now sense a flow of energy within his body, as easily controlled as an arm or a leg.
Before, his strength was purely physical.
But now, as he channeled the energy and combined it with his body, his power nearly doubled.
True strength, he realized, was the union of force and energy.
No wonder only by reaching the Energy Perception Realm did one become a true martial artist—once energy and strength merged, might increased exponentially.
He channeled the energy, leaped, and landed effortlessly atop a nearby roof.
His eyes sparkled: Now, I should be able to face that boss monster head-on!