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Join the ServerIt was called a Developer Direct, but really it was just another kind of launch event for the new version.
If this had not been the first major version update since Xuanhuang Chronicles launched, the dev team probably would not have chosen such an unconventional format.
Plenty of games held Developer Directs. The best outcome for those developers was being argued into silence by furious players, who happened to have facts and logic on their side.
Those with worse outcomes had players wishing they could beat them on the spot. Some lead designers were even fired afterward under pressure.
None of that worried Liao Cao. Xuanhuang Chronicles had launched recently, so player resentment had not built up to that level yet. It was true that some players had cursed the endgame weapon grind in thousands of forum posts, but Liao Cao was an experienced designer. Right at the start, he announced that the next version would adjust the endgame weapon grind.
Whether that meant more grind or less would have to wait until the update went live.
Next he played a preview CG for the new version, packed with new maps, new storylines, new classes, new races, and a whole pile of fresh things designed to stir up positive feelings. Then he began introducing them one by one.
While he spoke, Bai Ling stood on stage as background decoration, eyes vacant as if she were spacing out. In truth, she was watching every movement in the venue.
The demonic power inside her boiled through her veins, yet not a trace leaked from her pores. Part of that was thanks to Guan Qing’s brutal training and all the battles she had fought so far, which had steadily improved her control. Another reason was that lately her demonic power had somehow grown lazy.
It seemed to have started after she was with Xu Zhi. This inexplicable laziness troubled her. Her once vast demonic power had become so sluggish that unless she deliberately released it, it stayed inside her without moving, as if locked beneath her skin.
She had no idea why.
‘Could I be pregnant?!’
At that thought, Bai Ling suddenly shivered. It might actually be possible.
But she knew nothing about pregnancy. She did not even know whether a hospital could detect it. Guan Qing probably knew, but Bai Ling had been avoiding Guan Qing lately, and she did not dare ask.
Bai Ling bit her lip, almost imperceptibly.
‘If I really am pregnant, I’ll get rid of it immediately!’
But did she really want to get rid of it?
A question mark rose in her heart, and she seemed a little reluctant.
Luckily, this laziness let her disguise herself perfectly. Even if her demonic power boiled several times harder than before, it would not leak out.
‘What the hell? I can’t sense a trace of demonic aura anywhere in the venue. Is A Qi lying to me?’
“Of course, the old classes will also see new changes in the new version!” Liao Cao raised the microphone and cheerfully began introducing the content. “Take the Snake Demon Swordswoman, for example. She’s an output class that everyone loves.”
The Snake Demon Swordswoman was indeed one of the players’ favorite classes, still ranked first on the popularity chart.
“In the new version, our Snake Demon Swordswoman will receive her first evolution skill!” As Liao Cao finished, the screen behind him began playing a demonstration of the new skill. “I’m happy to introduce Baixi Yunji!”
On the screen, the Snake Demon Swordswoman swung her sword light into a magic circle. After a burst of white light, she transformed into a human-headed, snake-bodied form, standing with her sword.
The screen then displayed the skill changes for the Snake Demon Swordswoman under Baixi Yunji, such as greatly increased survivability and strengthened damage skills. Of course, this state could not be maintained forever, a decision made for balance.
When the demonstration ended, the audience immediately cheered. Most of them were probably Snake Demon Swordswoman players. Even Bai Ling felt a little happy and excited at how strong the skill was.
After all, who did not want their class buffed into the new version’s overlord?
“Of course, now that the snake demon race has an almost all-purpose melee damage class, I think they should also have a class that focuses on spirit burst damage while bringing team support skills!” Liao Cao waved his hand and pressed down the players’ cheers. The feeling of players cheering for their own work was addictive.
“Next up is the Snake Demon Swordswoman’s younger sister, the Snake Demon Assassin!”
As his voice fell, a teleport effect lit up on the screen. The Snake Demon Assassin, with cyan as her main color, slowly walked out of the portal. Two poison-coated short blades tossed up and down with her entrance animation, and cyan talismans floated and danced behind her. One look was enough to tell she had poison attributes.
The Snake Demon Assassin excelled at…
Liao Cao immediately launched into a flood of introductions for the new class. Stacking poison layers for explosive damage, healing reduction, group invisibility, and a whole string of other skills. She seemed better suited for PVP than ordinary PVE.
That also matched the new PVP gameplay introduced in this version.
But that was not what Bai Ling should be thinking about. She stared blankly at the cyan Snake Demon Assassin image, and suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her head, as if she had seen it somewhere before…
It seemed a little green snake had once appeared in a distant memory, but Bai Ling searched through all nineteen years of her memories from childhood to now and could not find a similar image.
‘Could past-life memories really be a thing?’
Bai Ling rolled her eyes adorably. Demons and monsters existed, so past-life memories did not seem like complete nonsense either.
No, why was she thinking about that now?!
Shouldn’t she be on guard against that Grudge Demon hiding somewhere unknown?!
Bai Ling suddenly pinched her waist. A faint amber gold appeared in her pupils, and her perception expanded further.
Still nothing.
“Hey, hey!” Guan’er beside her suddenly poked her. “I heard you play Xuanhuang Chronicles too.”
She lowered her voice. “I play it too!”
“Ah, mm…” Bai Ling answered absentmindedly, her perception sweeping every corner of the venue again and again. Human scent, human scent, still human scent. Not a trace of demonic aura.
“Add me as a friend, let’s run dungeons together…”
On stage, Liao Cao had already moved from the Snake Demon Assassin to buff plans for the Human Swordsman. He said only one Human Swordsman was in the top hundred of the server rankings, which showed the class’s strength was below expectations. Then he blah-blah-blah’d a pile of buff plans.
And with that, the Human Swordsman was definitely going to become the new version’s daddy.
After introducing the new class and balance adjustments, next came the live demo of the new dungeon.
The lights in the venue slowly dimmed as the demo began. But in that instant, Bai Ling suddenly caught a faint, hard-to-notice stench of blood.
It was that Grudge Demon! It had finally appeared!
“I’m going to the bathroom!” Taking advantage of the dim lights and no one paying attention, she tossed a sentence at Guan’er and slipped backstage.
“Huh?” Guan’er looked at the still-fluttering curtain, at a loss. “I wanted to go too, let’s go together…”
The bronze bell on her wrist suddenly began to tremble, making a faint sound only she could hear.
“This…” Before Guan’er could even be surprised, the bell’s trembling suddenly intensified. The frequency grew so fast that her wrist went numb!
Then the red string holding the bell snapped, and three bronze bells scattered across the floor with a clatter.
She had never seen the bells react to this degree!
“This definitely isn’t the bell going crazy…” She stared at the rolling bells and muttered to herself. Just outside the venue, she had thought the bell was ringing because it had gone mad. Now it seemed the demon had only been hiding.
She suddenly turned her head toward the still-fluttering curtain.
If there really was a demon…
Mrs. Qinglin is in danger!
She immediately ran backstage. As she passed the dressing table, she grabbed the Green Dragon Crescent selfie stick.
She had been running a courier job today and had not brought a weapon, so this would have to do.
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