The Senior Brothers Are Sure to Be Very Surprised

Zhong Yi had never imagined, even in his dreams, that his master, Chao Wendao, the Grand Elder of the Spirit Cloud Sect, was also playing "Plants vs. Zombies."

The guide post Zhong Yi had made earlier had become so popular that even Chao Wendao had seen it.

From the image posted by Genius Cultivator, Chao Wendao recognized his disciple's drawing style and thus deduced the other party's true identity.

As it happened, he was stuck on the third level and had been unable to clear it, so he came to Zhong Yi in person and asked him for help.

Chao Wendao projected the screen into the outside world, while Zhong Yi guided him step by step on where to plant each spirit plant.

In no time at all, Chao Wendao finally cleared the level.

"So this is how you clear it... Not bad, not bad. Your comprehension truly is the best among my direct disciples."

Chao Wendao stroked his beard. The boulder weighing on his chest had finally been lifted, leaving him immensely satisfied.

"It is all thanks to Master's excellent teaching!"

Zhong Yi answered humbly.

"Right... If Elder Lin comes to ask you for advice too, you mustn't tell him!"

Chao Wendao instructed him.

Zhong Yi froze. "Third Elder too...?"

Now he was even more confused.

Yesterday at the plaza, Elder Lin had been the first to criticize Lu Ze's illusion as childish, leading the others away with a dismissive flick of his sleeve.

And yet he had started playing it too...

"That's right." Chao Wendao nodded. "That old bastard has been mocking me for being unable to clear the third level... Once I clear it, I'll definitely give him a good ribbing!"

"This disciple understands."

Zhong Yi hurriedly agreed.

No matter what, he had never expected two elders of the Spirit Cloud Sect to become so engrossed in it. That showed just how alluring "Plants vs. Zombies" was.

If Lu Ze had known about this, he probably would not have been particularly surprised.

In his past life, during the year "Plants vs. Zombies" had burst onto the scene, even many middle-aged and elderly people who viewed video games as a scourge had become players who cleared the game.

It truly appealed to all ages.

"You are not allowed to rest tonight. Remain on standby at Azure Cloud Pavilion! If I have any questions, come help me whenever I need you!"

"This disciple obeys!"

The next day.

Numinous Ascent Peak, Enforcement Hall.

Ding Mingcang paced back and forth through the hall, his mind unsettled.

He was panicking like crazy.

He had originally thought that the illusion Lu Ze made was nothing more than a childish fruit-slicing game.

Who could have imagined that there was such hidden complexity behind slicing fruit!

After an entire hour yesterday, not a single disciple present had managed to clear it!

Rumor had it that both Inner Disciples and Outer Disciples had gone mad over it yesterday.

The Illusion Training Hall at the Artifact Forging Hall had been opened for free, and all the Outer Disciples had spent the entire night inside;

The Inner Disciples' dormitories were also brightly lit, with every last one of them fighting zombies.

If things continued at this rate...

he would be sent to Repentance Valley to face the wall in reflection!

That would not do!

"Elder Ding, I have already looked into it. The situation is not as serious as you think."

Just as he was beside himself with anxiety, Qian Yutang, the Steward of Numinous Ascent Peak, hurried over.

"How is it?"

Ding Mingcang quickly asked.

"Quite a few disciples did enter the illusion last night, but there isn't much content in it. They can clear it in one night."

"Some disciples have already cleared it. Once everyone clears it, surely they won't go back in to repeat the training, right?"

"Over the next six days, the disciples' interest will likely drop significantly, and the time spent using the illusion will also decrease greatly... So Elder Ding need not worry."

Qian Yutang explained.

"That's good."

Ding Mingcang nodded.

The worry hanging over him still had not eased.

Ordinarily, no one would want to keep repeating the same thing.

Even if there were, they would only be a minority.

But he still could not set his mind at ease.

Because that brat Lu Ze clearly never played by the rules.

Normal people could easily associate sword practice with slicing fruit.

But what kind of normal person could connect slicing fruit with planting plants?

Most absurdly, the plants you planted even had to fight zombies???

This world was too crazy.

"Elder Ding need not worry. No matter how well-made the illusion is, the disciples will eventually grow tired of it."

"Swinging a sword three thousand times a day—could an illusion really make them do that?"

"Setting everything else aside, most Outer Disciples can't manage it... There are only so many of them. In the end, that brat is bound to lose!"

When Ding Mingcang heard that, it actually made some sense.

The most basic part of cultivation, swinging a sword, was also the most dull and tedious.

No matter how excellent Lu Ze's illusion was, the disciples would eventually grow bored.

But to be safe, he still instructed them, "You're familiar with Danqing Peak's stewards. Have them increase the intensity of the disciples' lessons."

"Oh, and bring in Sword Inquiry Peak as well... Tell them Lu Ze's illusion is an insult to the sword path."

"As long as the disciples' coursework becomes more demanding, they'll naturally have no mind to immerse themselves in the illusion!"

Lu Ze had not been idle these past two days.

The Artifact Forging Hall was packed every day.

People were not coming to ask him to repair their Dharma artifacts, but to ask for tips on clearing "Plants vs. Zombies."

Some Inner Disciples even spared no expense, offering Spirit Stones in exchange for valuable information.

Lu Ze refused every one of those requests.

What a joke.

This period was the only precious window in which "Plants vs. Zombies" could earn Demonic Value.

Once the players figured out the game's underlying logic and gained a new understanding of how to arrange the various plants, nearly all of them would be able to play for a long time on a single life.

According to Lu Ze's observations, After the first day of exploration, more and more disciples had begun clearing Adventure Mode.

Even those who had not cleared it were mostly stuck on the Barbarian Zombie in the fifth stage, or at the final Boss.

Survival Mode had begun to enter the players' sights...

This progress more or less matched Lu Ze's expectations.

After all, Adventure Mode and the five Normal Mode Survival Mode stages had been recreated one-to-one according to the difficulty curve from his previous life.

He had merely made slight changes to the plants' names and the zombies' appearances.

The difficulty curve of the original work was a classic in game design.

It was smooth and easy to pick up.

Even a group of ancient people who had never encountered a tower defense game could quickly get the hang of it.

After releasing "Plants vs. Zombies," he had buried himself in the Artifact Forging Hall, developing the later stages.

He had deliberately left some content unfinished in the first version released a few days ago.

At present, Survival Mode only had Normal Mode for five locations.

The more advanced Hard Mode and the final Endless Mode had yet to be released.

The reason they had not been released was that

Lu Ze was still adjusting the data.

After all, his original purpose in making games was not truly to benefit cultivators, but to obtain Demonic Value.

If he had not needed to win the Sect Covenant he had made with Ding Mingcang, he definitely would not have chosen "Plants vs. Zombies" as his second game.

The reason was simple—

They died too slowly.

If they followed the original levels exactly, even the hardest Endless Mode would be completely conquered before long.

So he simply adjusted the levels himself.

Zombie attributes, monster density, Zombie type distribution...

The emphasis was on making it outrageously brutal.

Even Lu Ze would break out in a sweat when he went in to play.

"Mm, this should be about right."

After several rounds of testing, Lu Ze nodded in satisfaction.

The first few stages were still fairly normal.

But after the fifth stage, it jumped straight to the difficulty of the later stages from his previous life.

After the thousandth stage, the Zombies' numbers and strength would rise even further...

However, he kept all of it within an extreme limit.

It looked incredibly difficult, but there were still ways to solve it.

The various formations from his previous life were still effective.

Thinking of what was about to happen, Lu Ze felt a surge of delight. "When Senior Brothers reach this point, they'll definitely be in for a surprise..."