Did He Really Dare to Come?

During the half month Lu Ze was gone.

Spirit Cloud Sect remained calm and peaceful.

The Enforcement Hall steadily intensified its patrols, handing out especially harsh punishments to disciples who neglected cultivation and became addicted to "Demonic Path Escape."

Countless Mini Illusion Towers had been confiscated alone.

Yet even so, the disciples still played in secret.

They even formed teams to resist the Enforcement Hall in private, using all sorts of tricks to outwit the Hall's enforcers.

The wager between Lu Ze and Ding Mingcang had remained a hot topic throughout the sect.

"Half a month has already passed. I wonder how Brother Lu's new game... new illusion realm is coming along."

"Do you really think Brother Lu is the creator of 'Demonic Path Escape'?"

"You weren't there that day. Lu Ze stood up to Elder Ding with such spirit... If he weren't the real designer, would he dare make such a bold claim?"

"I'm not so sure. Maybe he just wanted Elder Ding to back off."

"I heard from disciples of the Artifact Forging Hall that Lu Ze received an assignment to arrange a movement-technique Secret Realm for the Outer Disciples. He only has three days."

"Three days? How could he possibly make something like 'Demonic Path Escape' in three days?"

"So the real designer really is someone else."

"Even if it is true, there's nothing we can do. I don't believe a second illusion realm like 'Demonic Path Escape' can be found anywhere in this world."

"Whether it's true or not, I hope he can make it... Otherwise, no one will ever get to use the Mini Illusion Tower again."

"I just hope Elder Ding doesn't classify 'Demonic Path Escape' as contraband and seal it away forever..."

The days passed one by one.

Ever since an apple had sparked an idea that day, Lu Ze had felt completely enlightened.

After combining Fruit Ninja's controls with Plants vs. Zombies' tower-defense format, Lu Ze felt that this game would be absolutely explosive.

These ancient people had never tasted anything good.

Just making Demonic Path Escape had been enough to keep a group of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators addicted day and night.

Now that he was bringing over the most classic tower-defense game from his previous life, he did not dare imagine the results.

In his previous life, even veteran players who had grown up playing games had been utterly amazed when they first encountered Plants vs. Zombies.

Let alone these ancient people.

As a game designer in his previous life, Lu Ze had carefully studied the balancing and level design of many classic games.

In this life, he also possessed an extraordinary memory, so making it was not particularly difficult.

Plants vs. Zombies' story mode had numerous levels.

Lu Ze spent a week recreating it in its entirety.

After that came the localized revisions.

There was basically no need to alter the plants.

Even in a cultivation setting, the uses of each plant were easy to understand.

There was even less need to explain the facial features appearing on the plants.

The term "spirit plant" alone was enough to resolve every doubt.

Lu Ze did not even need to emphasize it; the cultivators would quickly understand them as "spirit plants."

The zombies, on the other hand, required some work.

Quite a few overly modern elements had to be changed.

For example, newspapers were replaced with tattered scriptures, football uniforms with general's armor, and Jester costumes with acrobat outfits...

The overall production took roughly half a month.

Players only needed to do two things in this illusion realm—

First, chop up all the unwanted plants and fruit.

Second, place the plants they needed wherever they wanted to plant them.

Lu Ze could not wait to enter and try it out himself.

And sure enough, the experience was quite good.

The sunlight players needed to collect in the original had been changed by Lu Ze into automatically gathered spiritual energy.

The time originally spent collecting sunlight and choosing cards had become time spent above the Spirit Field, constantly swinging a sword to slice apart unwanted plants and fruit.

This way, There was sword practice.

There was gameplay.

There was motivation.

The only flaw was that players died too slowly in this game.

He was earning a little too little Demonic Value.

"Forget it. I'll treat it as charity."

Lu Ze sighed.

There was no time to worry about that now.

The top priority was defeating Ding Mingcang and paving the way for his future gaming empire.

Besides.

In the long run, Plants vs. Zombies would surely bring him explosive word-of-mouth, and the player count would skyrocket as well.

Once the player base grew, it wouldn't be too late to reap a huge harvest.

With that thought, he stopped agonizing over gains and losses.

After finishing the main stages, Lu Ze began working on various mini-games and Survival Mode...

Soon, the agreed-upon day arrived.

To everyone's surprise, not only did Ding Mingcang not settle the matter quietly, he instead made a huge spectacle of it.

He openly announced that today, in the sect plaza, he would join all the disciples in appreciating Lu Ze's new illusion realm.

Quite a few disciples discussed it in private, feeling that Elder Ding was "fishing."

Perhaps anyone who showed up would have their name recorded by the Enforcement Team and be subjected to special scrutiny from then on.

Suspicion was one thing.

But when the day truly came, the disciples still headed for Lingxiao Plaza as if by unspoken agreement, eager to witness the new illusion realm for themselves.

For a time, the roads leading to Lingxiao Plaza were packed with sect disciples.

"Fellow disciples, are you all going to wait for the new illusion Trial too?"

"At a time like this, you still believe Lu Ze is the designer?"

"If you don't believe it, why are you going to the plaza?"

"I don't believe it. I'm rushing over to watch the joke!"

"Honestly, am I the only one looking forward to Elder Ding getting sent to Repentance Valley to face the wall by Junior Brother Lu?"

"Shh... walls have ears."

"I just hope there's a new illusion realm to play."

"What? What illusion realm? I just saw a crowd and wanted to join the fun."

Before long, Lingxiao Plaza was packed with people, and disciples who arrived late had to queue all the way outside.

At the center of the plaza lay a vast open space.

Of the Spirit Cloud Sect's seven elders, Elder Nangong of Glazed Fire Peak was away from the sect. The other six had already taken their seats around the open space.

At its center stood an enormous Illusion Tower, large enough to accommodate half the sect's disciples within an illusion realm.

The surrounding disciples whispered among themselves.

"All six elders are gathered. Something big is about to happen!"

"Why is there still no movement?"

"Nonsense, the stars of this grand show haven't arrived yet."

"Where's Junior Brother Lu? Why isn't he here yet?"

"Does he even dare to come? That Demonic Path Escape definitely wasn't his work!"

"Then whose work was it?"

"I heard Elder Ding suspects the Demonic Path..."

"How could the Demonic Path produce such a talent? They must be mistaken."

"Anyway, it couldn't have been Lu Ze."

"If I were him, I'd have crippled my own cultivation and left the sect in private... better than losing face."

"Junior Brother Lu... Junior Brother Lu is here!"

"Did he really dare to come?"

A stir ran through the crowd as everyone looked up.

Led by two disciples from the Enforcement Hall, Lu Ze flew swiftly toward the venue from afar.

Amid countless looks of amazement, confusion, and mockery, the black-haired youth yawned as he slowly walked to the center of the arena.

It was as if the surrounding clamor had nothing to do with him.