Chapter 90: A Big Discussion About the Second Beta Test Content!
Hang Yu first went to learn a few skills he hadn’t picked up yet.
【Essence -1000!】
【You have comprehended “Chain Lightning”!】
【Essence -1500!】
【You have comprehended “Earth Shock Wave”!】
【Essence -1000!】
【You have learned the “Taiping Rejuvenation Spell”!】
Among them, “Chain Lightning” and “Earth Shock Wave” were skill stones obtained from treasure chests, now embedded in the Skill Tower.
As long as the learning requirements were met, they could be instantly mastered.
As for the “Taiping Rejuvenation Spell”?
Hang Yu didn’t have the skill stone for this skill.
But lacking the skill stone didn’t mean the skill couldn’t be learned. He could use the Skill Tower as a medium to acquire this skill’s inheritance from Wei Ji of Hexi Village.
Of course, learning skills through this method came with stricter conditions.
First, the skill instructor must have fully mastered the skill.
Second, the process would consume a large amount of energy and reduce cultivation, depleting the Essence of both learner and instructor.
Furthermore, the higher the level of the skill, the greater the requirements for the learner.
For example, a skill requiring 100 Strength to learn via skill stone would require 150 Strength to learn through direct transmission.
Hang Yu activated the NPC Template for Wei Ji.
He now managed Hexi Village and mainly served as a skill instructor.
While Hang Yu’s territory lacked other resources, it had no shortage of Essence energy.
Not only would it reimburse Wei Ji for the energy spent teaching, but each successful transmission would also award him Contribution Points.
Currently, advanced monks among Hang Yu’s personal guards and players, such as Midnight Pig Slayer and Chenxi, had already learned the Revitalization Talisman.
This continuous healing skill, although not as fast in recovery as the Healing Spell, restored three to four times the total amount.
It could stack with other healing skills, effectively boosting the healers’ overall output.
He then leveled all three skills to their maximum.
【Essence -6000!】
【Your “Chain Lightning” has been cultivated to the highest level. You gain a permanent +15 to Spirit attribute!】
【Essence -6000!】
【Your “Taiping Rejuvenation Spell” has been cultivated to the highest level. You gain a permanent +15 to Will attribute!】
【Essence -10000!】
【Your “Earth Shock Wave” has been cultivated to the highest level. You gain a permanent +18 to Strength attribute!】
After cultivating all three skills.
He gained a total of 48 attribute points.
His strength had once again received a significant boost.
And the total Essence consumed hadn’t even reached 30,000.
Hang Yu still had about 160,000 left, enough to help his eight elite guards break through to Tier Two, giving their power a massive boost and ensuring the absolute safety of his territory.
However, considering there were still six days of protection from the Will of the Stars, and with no immediate risk of being invaded, it was better to invest the resources in more useful areas.
For example—
Developing production capabilities.
Yan Ling and Bai Mu needed about 50,000 Essence each to become mid-tier Tier Two Forgers.
Yan Ling had saved nearly 30,000 Contribution Points.
She would soon reach level 10 as a character and level 10 as a novice Forger.
Because Yan Ling was obedient and had a very good work attitude, Hang Yu could front her some Essence to help her break through to meet the territory’s needs.
As for Bai Mu? The Alchemy Workshop was limited by raw material supply and production capacity, so its performance was slightly worse than the Forging Workshop, but he could just use microtransactions to upgrade it.
As a former Lord—even a high-ranking one—despite having lost his territory, he surely still had a considerable stash of Abyssal Magic Crystals.
Hang Yu had approached Bai Mu and Yan Ling.
Both parties signed a supplementary contract.
If Bai Mu and Yan Ling wanted substantial support from the territory, they had to sign long-term employment contracts to ensure they wouldn’t easily jump ship and to safeguard the territory’s interests.
Aside from investing in production.
He could also invest in himself.
Hang Yu could level all the way up to 20.
The amount of Essence required in this process was also massive, showing how great the demand for Abyssal Essence still was.
Hang Yu didn’t rush to use up his remaining Essence. After returning to his residence, he had Xiao Ba connect to the internet.
The second beta had already been live for over 20 hours, and he wanted to check players’ and netizens’ reactions.
Opening the Starsea Forum.
He saw that a Twisted Three Kingdoms section had already been added.
This made it more convenient for Twisted Three Kingdoms players and the countless cloud players to interact and discuss.
Hang Yu skimmed the players’ posts.
At least dozens of players had shared their gameplay experiences on the forum, which could be broadly divided into three categories.
The first category: Hype and worship.
This was the most common type and completely understandable.
Although the Twisted Three Kingdoms closed beta had been running for over ten days and first-beta players had hyped up the game’s realism on the forums, unless one personally experienced it, they couldn’t imagine just how shockingly immersive the game truly was.
This time, the second beta opened with 400 players recruited in the first wave, including people from all walks of life and even some high-profile figures.
All of them were now awed by the game, lavishing it with praise and admiration.
The second category: Player death compilations.
The hallmark of Twisted Three Kingdoms was its high operational difficulty.
If average players didn’t play well, they wouldn’t even be able to beat the Snake-Tailed Chicken at the gate, let alone challenge top-tier monsters.
Although most elite monsters near the Luoshui base had already been killed by the first-beta players, that didn’t mean new players couldn’t challenge them.
Hang Yu had already mastered the Nightmare Sources of each location.
He could control these Nightmare Sources to continue absorbing Abyssal energy and spawn monsters.
Not only could wild monsters like Snake-Tailed Mountain Chicken and Skeletal Scorpion-Tailed Bull respawn—
Even big bosses like Ma Yuanyi could be spawned again.
Of course, their corrupted souls had already been purified.
Even if they reappeared, they would have no consciousness.
They were merely cloned shells.
The stronger the monster, the longer its respawn time.
For example, the Snake-Tailed Flame Chicken could be refreshed every two days. If players didn’t coordinate well and got wiped out, it was totally normal—being beaten in all kinds of ridiculous ways was part of the game’s charm.
The third category: Player antics and wild creativity.
Once players discovered Twisted Three Kingdoms had an ultra-high degree of freedom—
They immediately realized this wasn’t a traditional numbers-based game. There were countless possibilities and mechanics to be developed.
Among these players were many imaginative and eccentric veterans.
Even though they had just entered the game, they were already taking unconventional paths: taming wild beasts, experimenting with poisons, trying to make explosives and start an industrial revolution.
All kinds of antics.
Endlessly emerging.
These quirky and risk-taking players provided lots of fun for the game forum.
Although Hang Yu also found them amusing, he wasn’t here just for entertainment. He was focused on the players involved in developing new zones.
The content they posted reflected the latest game progress.
First, Hang Yu saw a post from Ye Li Meng.
“Hello everyone!”
“I’m Old Ye!”
“As you all know, the ‘Woniu Mountain’ expansion pack has been released. This update is unprecedented in scale, not only optimizing gameplay experience and system mechanics, but also introducing many new elements and challenges!”
“We players must not only continue to confront the Abyss and purify corruption, but also resist the Starsea Demons invading the Three Kingdoms world. The game’s difficulty has definitely increased, but so have its mystery and playability.”
“Today, some first-beta players launched the first exploration of Woniu Mountain.”
“Though the process didn’t go smoothly and exploration progress is under 1%, we don’t yet know the extent of the Abyssal Corruption in this area, nor what kind of Abyssal monsters and corrupted beings exist here.”
“But we’ve already gathered basic intel on the Starsea Demons and made some progress in our interactions. The enemy Lord is a Starsea creature known as a Dragon Lizardman!”
“Whether it’s the Dragon-Lizard Lord of Woniu Mountain, or NPCs like the Alchemist Bai Mu and the Forger Yan Ling, they’re all alien species from the Starsea. We still don’t know the factional relations between these races.”
“Just as the Abyss World is extraordinarily vast and complex.”
“I’m afraid the Land of the Stars is equally intricate and massive in design.”
“I’m not good at studying lore and plot, so I hope @Chimera Wraith and @Chenxi, those experts, can dig up more information to help us players unveil the mysterious and grand hidden world of Twisted Three Kingdoms as soon as possible.”
“No more talk.”
“Let’s first talk about this experience.”
“……” (Process omitted.)
“Currently, three Dragon-Lizard unit types have been revealed.”
“The Starsea Kin are extremely difficult to fight, but their drops are very generous.”
“We’ve killed five of them so far, and we can summarize the following points.”
“Dragon-Lizard Warriors are similar to fighters: high HP and defense, very agile, with abilities such as Rage, Armor Piercing, Ranged Throwing Attacks, and Melee Spear Techniques. If encountered, never fight them head-on—use spells to control them and prioritize attacking other targets.”
“Dragon-Lizard Priests are classic healers with group healing capabilities. They’re also skilled in various buffs, poison coating, poisoning, and defensive enhancements. It’s best to take them out first.”
“Dragon-Lizard Mages are the main magic DPS. Their damage is explosive and they wield wide-area fire magic like the Flameburst Spell. They’re also adept at using poison and have extremely strong damage output.”
“Our recommendation for direct engagements with Dragon-Lizardmen is to prioritize killing the Priests, then the Mages, and finally the Warriors.”
“If ambushing, kill the Mages first, then the Priests, and finally the Warriors.”
“If conditions allow.”
“Make sure to prepare antidotes.”
“Almost all Dragon-Lizard units use poison, and they are very dangerous.”
“Hope this experience helps everyone. My studio is still recruiting. Anyone with game access can join, with a guaranteed base salary of 100,000 per month… We’re also hiring experienced game consultants and strategic planners. Compensation is negotiable. If interested, send your resume to my email.”
Ye Li Meng not only detailed the operation in his post, but also included strategy tips.
Not only that, he also posted several in-game photos.
There were scenes of players galloping on spirit horses.
And also live combat against Dragon-Lizardmen.
This post was quite helpful—whether for players with access or cloud players interested in the content, it offered useful and engaging material.
At the same time.
Chimera Wraith also made a post.
This post was also about the invasion by the Dragon-Lizard Lord.
She described in detail her findings over the past day, especially regarding the rescue mission at the slave camp, and attached several high-definition photos taken at the camp.
“……”
“As everyone can see!”
“The local populace is suffering under the brutal slavery of the Starsea Demons!”
“Every NPC in Twisted Three Kingdoms is unique. Any NPC’s death is permanent and irreversible. Every action and choice we make as players will affect the fate of the characters and even the entire world!”
“If we want the game world to improve, we must take action and do something for this world!”
“Next, we’ll stop at nothing to rescue these oppressed and enslaved people. This will not only weaken the power of the Dragon-Lizard Lord, but also provide us with valuable intelligence and manpower.”
“Since ancient times, he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world!”
“Our great Lord has already set an example for us through his own actions!”
“Now, Hexi Village has become part of the territory, and Village Chief Wei Ji has become a key skill instructor.”
“I believe that if Hexi Village can be subdued, so can other commoners and militias!”
“If Wei Ji can submit to the Lord and teach us skills, then those unpolluted and historically famous ministers and generals can surely be recruited to fight alongside us and become our trusted allies!”
“We must not only help the Lord fight Abyssal Corruption and resist the Starsea Demons, but also recruit soldiers and talents to build a prosperous and radiant dream homeland!”
“Hope more people join our ranks!”
“Let’s strive for this great goal!”
“……”
Hang Yu nodded in satisfaction.
He then scanned through the replies to each trending post.
“A single update with this much new content? This is crazy and so generous!”
“Damn, the screenshots posted by Sister Wraith look so real. Those civilians enslaved by alien invaders are too miserable—I can’t even bear to look twice!”
“The native residents of this game world really have it rough. Either they get corrupted by the Abyss and turn into mad monsters, or they’re enslaved under the Starsea Demons!”
“Damn, just a bunch of lizardmen and they’re acting so arrogant? Time to crush them!”
“The big shots are posting more and more game screenshots—it seems like players are getting richer!”
“The Dragon Lizardman models are really badass and high-quality. If they were in a Hollywood blockbuster, they’d definitely be the main villain!”
“Dear Devs, please give me a game slot—I will be online 20 hours a day fighting for the territory!”
“Woniu Mountain? Isn’t that where Zhou Cang was the mountain king? The big boss on this map must be Zhou Cang, right? Hurry up and show us what he looks like after corruption!”
“Zhao Yun also visited Woniu Mountain! Why can’t the boss be Zhao Yun?”
“Forget those lizardmen. First, let’s find those big shots!”
“……”
Twisted Three Kingdoms had hundreds of thousands of active cloud players.
Each popular post had thousands of replies, with reactions ranging from shock and doubt to playful trolling.
There was a constant stream of fan creations and illustrations.
It had practically formed a cultural community.
Many were even strategizing.
Helping players plan tactics.
Hang Yu already had a general idea of what players wanted to do next.
Many of the wild ideas were inspiring to him, helping him better guide players through quests.
Right now, dealing with the Dragon-Lizard Lord was crucial.
But investigating the corruption of Woniu Mountain was equally important.
Hang Yu was also very interested in the core corruption source of Woniu Mountain.
If it remained unclear, it would always be a lurking threat.
He planned to trigger a quest and assign a group of players to investigate it and gather more useful intel.
The next day.
Main players logged in one after another.
Their fatigue had cleared and energy restored.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge and Chimera Wraith had successfully gathered a team, including Ye Li Meng and other experts.
The majority of level 5 and above players had joined them.
They held a swearing-in assembly, then all rushed into Woniu Mountain.
Upon seeing this scene.
Hang Yu smelled the scent of ripe leeks.
Today was bound to be a day of blood and carnage.
Although he accidentally went overtime again, this was the chapter for the 17th.
He was working hard to adjust the schedule.
The past two days had been disrupted by life matters, but he believed he would get back on track very soon.