The game began under everyone's skeptical gaze.
Lu Ze placed his first Sunflower with practiced ease.
He absorbed spiritual energy.
Then he planted a second one using the Imitater's Sunflower.
As usual, the horn announcing the zombies' attack sounded at this point.
Almost every sect disciple, including Zhong Yi, would save a little spiritual energy at this stage and watch to see which lane the zombies appeared in.
Then they would place a Peashooter to defend it.
Lu Ze was different.
Despite clearly hearing the warning that zombies were coming, he still planted a third Sunflower.
That move left the disciples watching around the square dumbfounded.
Only when Lu Ze buried a Potato Mine did everyone understand his approach.
"He's only using mines and Squashes to trade for kills in the first level? Saving spiritual energy to the absolute limit?"
"Great idea. I've learned something."
"No wonder I never have enough spiritual energy."
"But the Potato Mine's cooldown is so long. How will he handle the next wave of zombies?"
"And what's the point of putting a Garlic in each of the top and bottom lanes?"
"Holy crap, he's already planted two rows of Sunflowers, and that's still not enough?"
"He's ruthless."
"He's finally planting other spirit plants! A Doom-shroom, of all things? And he's putting it in the water?"
Up in the sky.
Mu Yawen's little eyes were filled with enormous question marks.
She understood less and less of what Lu Ze was doing.
At first, she would ask Zhong Yi what Lu Ze intended with each move.
But whenever Zhong Yi opened his mouth, a lengthy lecture came pouring out.
Spiritual energy expenditure, cost efficiency, and so on.
It only made her head spin even more.
So she simply stopped asking and watched for fun.
The spiritual energy bouncing all over the screen was satisfying enough to watch.
Zhong Yi, beside her, was a different story.
The more he watched, the more excited he became, as though every casual move Lu Ze made poured enlightenment straight into his head.
"The Garlic drives the zombies away, turning the two outer lanes into development lanes for producing spiritual energy."
"But if the zombies all gather in one lane, won't trading for kills become even harder? Is he going to use a Cherry Bomb?"
"Wait... Puff-shrooms... no, Doom-shrooms..."
"!!!"
"Doom-shrooms can attack multiple zombies at once?"
Zhong Yi was stunned by Lu Ze's moves.
First, he used Potato Mines and Squashes to trade for kills, ensuring the Sunflowers could develop.
Once the number of zombies increased, he used Garlic to funnel them into the two lanes beside the pool.
Finally, he planted Doom-shrooms, the upgraded version of Puff-shrooms, on the pool, using their omnidirectional attacks and area damage to reap the zombies.
Before Lu Ze demonstrated this tactic,
Everyone's approach to saving spiritual energy had been to plant two columns of Sunflowers before adding damage-dealing spirit plants.
Yet before even half the opening phase had passed, Lu Ze had already planted two entire rows of Sunflowers!
And,
He seemed to want to keep planting!
The disciples below also understood Lu Ze's moves and were instantly awestruck.
"Is Junior Brother Lu going to fill all six rows with Sunflowers?"
"Heavens, I only dare fill two columns..."
"I never imagined just two Doom-shrooms could hold off the first level's zombies!"
"Compared to that, Peashooters really are a little weak."
"Holy crap! Junior Brother Lu's spiritual energy has already passed three thousand!"
"What the hell? The most I've ever had was less than two thousand, and that was right before the end..."
The host has won over the righteous cultivator Zhong Yi with his prowess, inspiring admiration in him. One of his abilities will be acquired at random. Reward obtained: Grand Dao Truth Incantation
Lu Ze's methodical movements paused briefly.
Eldest Senior Brother really is a good man. He's dropped another reward!
He thought excitedly.
He hadn't expected his wager with Ding Mingcang to bring him such an unexpected bonus.
This time, it wasn't ordinary martial insight, but a genuine cultivation method.
Its grade was the same as the Ice Breath Technique he had "stolen" from Li Moran last time: a gold skill.
Just how absurdly powerful was the Ice Breath Technique once mastered?
While only at Foundation Establishment, Lu Ze had actually evaded the Divine Sense Probes of an entire group of elders.
That alone showed the value of a gold skill!
He had been worrying about not having a suitable cultivation method to practice, and Zhong Yi had delivered warmth right to his doorstep. He truly was a wonderful man.
Lu Ze had never imagined that, besides earning rewards when disciples experienced the game themselves and were won over by its design,
He could also earn them when they watched him play!
This was good news.
He could pull this sort of thing a few more times in the future.
With that thought, he decided to get a little more serious.
What if other disciples wanted to deliver some warmth to him too?
Even though he had already gone fairly easy in the first level, he had still saved nearly six thousand points of spiritual energy.
If he gave it his full attention, he could probably save around ten thousand.
Still, he couldn't take it too seriously. It was better to leave more things for the players to discover themselves.
Even so, this level of play had already left the entire sect gaping.
"Why did he replace the Imitater with a Pumpkin Head for the Second Level?"
"Junior Brother Lu has finally brought combat spirit plants!"
"Why did he only bring the Watermelon Thrower? Isn't the Corn Thrower the strongest? It can keep enemies controlled forever!"
"What about the Gatling Shooter? A formation without a Gatling Shooter is incomplete."
"He's already bringing Pumpkin Heads, so why isn't he bringing Wall-nuts?"
Given the players' current understanding, many of Lu Ze's choices were beyond their comprehension.
For example, although the Wall-nut series was a beginner favorite, it was actually almost useless in endless mode.
The hardest enemies to deal with, Ice Cart Zombies and Barbarian Zombies, could instantly kill any unit they touched.
Experienced players generally stopped choosing Wall-nuts after playing for a while.
Then there was the beginners' favorite, the Gatling Shooter.
Its individual DPS was indeed outstanding, but the crucial issue was its lack of AOE.
Although pairing it with a Torch gave its flaming peas a little splash damage, that was never quite enough.
Moreover, ice carts blocked the splash damage.
By contrast, the AOE and piercing effects of Puff-shrooms and Doom-shrooms made them better suited to endless mode.
Lu Ze was choosing his cards when he heard shouts rising one after another outside, all urging him to bring a Gatling Shooter.
Lu Ze considered it for a moment.
Actually, bringing that thing wasn't out of the question.
It would make things harder, which would in turn raise the learning cost for these disciples.
"Then I'll use the 97 No-Cannon Formation."
Lu Ze pondered inwardly and finally made his decision.
The screen was projected in real time.
When the disciples outside saw Lu Ze swap in a Double Shooter, they cheered as one.
"I knew it! The Peashooter Lineage is the best!"
"No, I still think the throwers are the best!"
"Wait, Junior Brother Lu seems to have brought throwers, shooters, and mushrooms..."
"What formation is Junior Brother Lu going to play? Why can't I make sense of it?"
"Maybe once your realm is high enough, you just do whatever your heart desires."
"Watching Junior Brother Lu clear the Illusion Realm like this feels amazing. It's even better than playing myself."
"You think so too, fellow Daoist? I was thinking exactly the same thing!"
"If only we could watch like this every day..."
Even inside the Illusion Realm, Lu Ze could hear the disciples' whispered conversations.
A slight smile crept onto his lips.
Wasn't this the beginnings of live streaming?
Sure enough, cultivators enjoyed this sort of thing too.
Unfortunately, he couldn't create a live streaming feature yet.
For one thing, he lacked a medium for the network. For another, he lacked the essential technical item.
But when he thought of the wager he had made earlier with his master, Nangong Yuan, Lu Ze's smile grew even brighter.
Once he beat Ding Mingcang, his master would have to keep his promise and help him make an item.
He would leave overcoming the key technical hurdle for live streaming to his venerable master.
Lu Ze put away his smile and continued playing.
With ample sunlight, even a dog could clear the next two levels by randomly pressing a few buttons.
Lu Ze had already built his formation and was now methodically changing it.
Double Shooters, Puff-shrooms, and Watermelon Throwers were planted one after another. All he needed to do was gradually turn them into Gatling Shooters, Doom-shrooms, and Winter Melons later on.
The Sunflowers were gradually replaced with Twin Sunflowers.
Pumpkin Heads were also fitted around the plants in the top and bottom lanes one by one...
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