Numinous Ascent Peak, Enforcement Hall.
Qian Yutang was a steward of Numinous Ascent Peak and had followed Ding Mingcang for decades. It had been a long time since he had seen him fly into such a towering rage.
He knew how fierce Ding Mingcang's temper was. Even brewing tea had him trembling, afraid he might get caught in the crossfire.
Qian Yutang smiled ingratiatingly. "Why get so worked up, Elder Ding? He's just an Outer Disciple. You can deal with him however you like."
"Hmph! He actually dared to enter into a Sect Covenant? I'd like to see where he gets his confidence!"
Ding Mingcang took the teacup and drained it in one gulp, his eyes burning with fury.
A mere Foundation Establishment Realm disciple had dared to speak to him like that?
Had Numinous Ascent Peak not been packed with sect disciples at the time, he could have crippled Lu Ze with a casual squeeze.
Unfortunately,
with all those eyes watching, he could not go too far. He had no choice but to hold himself back.
According to reports received afterward, the brat named Lu Ze had apparently posted a notice before coming to the Enforcement Hall, asking every disciple who had played "Demonic Path Escape" to gather there.
Clearly, he had planned it all in advance.
"What a cunning brat!" After learning of this, Qian Yutang cursed him viciously. "We mustn't let him turn things around this time... Keeping a disciple like that in the sect will only invite disaster."
"Turn things around?"
At that, a sly smile crossed Ding Mingcang's face.
"The moment he agreed to let me choose the topic, he lost any chance of turning things around."
"What do you mean?"
Qian Yutang did not understand.
Ding Mingcang was utterly confident.
He had already devised his strategy the day he demanded the right to choose the topic.
"Heh. Practicing the sword isn't like practicing movement techniques. Sword practice means fighting."
"Once it comes back to fighting, what loopholes can his petty cleverness exploit?"
"Does our Spirit Cloud Sect lack illusion trials for sword practice? They were all created by Grandmasters years ago. What qualifies a Foundation Establishment disciple like him to surpass works of that caliber?"
"Besides..."
"'Demonic Path Escape' succeeded because the combat mechanics he designed were exceptionally good."
"Now that I've explicitly forbidden him from developing any battle-related functions, how can he turn things around?"
"He is certain to lose."
Artifact Forging Hall.
Lu Ze had moved out of his original little room into a separate pavilion.
It had every living amenity, along with the tools and artifacts needed to create illusions.
Ding Mingcang had erected a barrier around the pavilion.
Without his permission, Lu Ze could not leave, and no one else could enter.
"You brat, you never give me a moment's peace!"
"I was away for barely half a month, and you went and poked a hole in the sky!"
"You even entered into a Sect Covenant! You... good grief!"
An angry scolding poured from the Sound Transmission Jade Slip in Lu Ze's hand.
It was his master, Nangong Yuan, the Sixth Elder of the Spirit Cloud Sect.
Under the rules, Lu Ze was not supposed to communicate with anyone else.
Apparently, Nangong Yuan had pulled some strings to secure this chance to speak with him.
Even so, Ding Mingcang was listening in to prevent cheating.
"Just enjoy roaming around out there, Master. Don't worry, your disciple knows what he's doing."
Lu Ze curled his lips helplessly.
If he listened any longer, his ears would grow calluses.
"You brat... Fine, fine. You're one of our Artifact Forging Hall's people, after all. I can't let outsiders bully you."
The old man's tone was that of someone frustrated that iron would not become steel.
"Since you've got such backbone, I'll give you every sword-practice illusion in the sect to observe and study."
"You'll have to figure out their underlying methods yourself. I can't say much..."
Nangong Yuan stopped short of saying more.
"Thank you, Master."
Lu Ze understood.
That old bastard Ding Mingcang must have forbidden discussion of the relevant content to stop Elder Nangong from giving him hints.
The sect's illusions would not help him much, but they would at least provide something to compare against.
"Master, do you think I can win?"
Suddenly intrigued, Lu Ze asked the question.
"..."
The other end of the Communication Jade Slip fell silent for a long time.
The answer spoke for itself.
Only after a long while did Nangong Yuan finally grumble:
"You brat... So you've finally realized what a huge mess you've made, and now you're worrying about winning or losing?"
"Just get on with it. I'll find a way to handle the Sect Covenant."
"What's there to cripple in that paltry cultivation of yours?"
After hearing that, Lu Ze did not feel comforted in the slightest.
He felt more like he had just been insulted.
"So even you don't think I can win, Master?"
Lu Ze smiled.
"Then why don't we make a bet too... If I win, you'll make a prop for me. How about it?"
"???"
Nangong Yuan was a little bewildered.
He wondered whether he needed to fetch a steward from Danqing Peak to examine his disciple's head...
"Heh. If you can win under conditions like these, forget a prop. I'll even make you an Immortal Artifact!"
"It's a deal!"
Night fell.
Lu Ze rubbed his slightly throbbing forehead.
He had spent the entire day trying out all kinds of sword-practice illusions.
The more he experienced, the deeper his brow furrowed.
"As expected of cultivators' favorite weapon. Even the illusions are this well developed..."
Lu Ze sighed after exiting the last swordsmanship practice illusion.
He had to admit that these cultivators had taken swordsmanship training to a certain pinnacle.
Every conceivable difficulty level was available.
The people of this world might not know how to make games, but they knew how to cultivate.
Although the illusion trials merely transplanted real-world swordsmanship training ideas into illusions,
they were already polished enough.
Every aspect of the art of swinging a sword, whether Lu Ze could think of it or not, had been covered.
For a moment, even he found the problem rather thorny.
Two things were currently restricting his creativity.
First, he had only just reached Foundation Establishment, and his spiritual sense could support a space scarcely larger than before.
In other words, he could not create large-scale game environments like those in "Sekiro" or "Nioh."
Second, there was the restriction Ding Mingcang had imposed—
He could not design battle-related gameplay.
It had to be single-player!
And the kind with no multiplayer at all!
That also ruled out fighting games like "Meteor Butterfly Sword."
His options...
had instantly dwindled!
"Sword practice... gameplay... setting..."
Lu Ze sank into thought.
He had to admit that Ding Mingcang really was a crafty old bastard.
The seemingly casual rules he had laid down actually imposed enormous restrictions on him.
Banning the battle function in particular was nothing short of lethal.
"Forget it. I'll make something first and worry about the rest later."
Lu Ze shook his head.
He decided to try making a few games before deciding what to do next.
Sword Inquiry Peak, Sword Inquiry Manor.
Inside a Meditation Chamber reserved for True Disciples.
"Junior Sister Li, do you have any thoughts on illusions for cultivating the Sword Dao?"
Zhong Yi asked.
Li Moran shook her head. "None."
Mu Yawen, standing beside them, laughed. "She's a Sword Dao genius. She's never hit a bottleneck in comprehending it. Why would she need illusions to cultivate?"
"True enough." Zhong Yi agreed, then continued, "Junior Sister Li, do you think he can create an illusion like 'Demonic Path Escape'?"
"What do you think, Senior Brother?"
"I think..."
Zhong Yi gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"It'll be hard!"
"With the 'Sword Dao' as its theme, the illusion will inevitably lean toward 'combat.'"
"'Demonic Path Escape' succeeded precisely because it broke away from dull 'combat' and immersed us in the illusion through an ingenious approach."
"I admit Junior Brother Lu is gifted and clever, but once he enters the realm of 'combat,' any illusion he creates will struggle to rival 'Demonic Path Escape.'"
"I'm afraid Elder Ding made that demand because he saw exactly this... Ah!"
Zhong Yi deeply regretted Lu Ze's predicament.
To him, venturing into the realm of combat was like walking into a dead end.
If fighting was the focus, the disciples could simply cultivate in the classic secret realms left behind by the elders.
Those with greater strength could even face phantoms of powerful cultivators directly to gain combat experience.
When it came to combat, the existing illusions had already reached the pinnacle.
Their position could not possibly be shaken.
But if fighting was not the theme...
What could swinging a sword accomplish?
He could rack his brains to pieces and still find no answer.
"Senior Brother Zhong, why are you looking so dejected?"
Simple and good-natured by temperament, Mu Yawen was an optimist.
"With Junior Brother Lu's brains, I think a combat-based cultivation illusion would be amazing... When the time comes, I'll definitely have to spar with you properly, Senior Brother!"
"Have you forgotten again? Elder Ding said the battle function was forbidden."
Watching Mu Yawen rub her fists and flex her wrists eagerly, Zhong Yi felt a little envious of her disposition.
He had come to Sword Inquiry Peak intending to discuss with Li Moran whether there was any room for innovation in cultivating the Sword Dao.
But she was a sword-practice genius. To her, every form of cultivation was as ordinary as breathing or drinking water.
She really could not offer any suggestions.
As things stood, Lu Ze's situation looked extremely perilous.
"What if..."
Li Moran suddenly stopped practicing.
"He made even swinging a sword something ingenious?"
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