Strange, Where Are the Spirit Stones I Picked Up?

Looking at the system prompt, Lu Ze sucked in a cold breath. "Holy shit! That's awesome!"

According to this description, as long as he could make others genuinely concede defeat to his game, he could randomly obtain one of their attributes from their status panels.

"So, he improved his movement technique during the game?"

Lu Ze was slightly surprised.

He had some impression of this Zhang Ming.

The man had picked up the game fairly quickly, so Lu Ze had paid him a few more glances.

As the game's designer, Lu Ze could easily judge a player's movement technique level from their status.

If the Cloud Shattering Art was only at the beginner stage, players would most likely stumble and stagger as they ran.

At the minor mastery stage, they could basically play smoothly.

Players at major mastery or above would move a little faster.

But likewise, the Demonic Monsters behind them would also move a little faster, always maintaining a dangerous distance.

The benefit was that they could cover more ground in the same amount of time and earn a higher score.

It couldn't be helped. Since the game was supposedly made for coursework, he had to put on a decent show.

Zhang Ming's movement technique had initially only been at minor mastery. Lu Ze had not expected it to reach major mastery now.

"Could it really work?"

Lu Ze muttered to himself, stroking his chin.

This was an unexpected delight.

It was a good thing for his future gaming career.

Just like in his previous life, when the video game industry had first taken off, it had still flown under the banner of one learning machine or another.

At the very least, people would not start screaming for his head and ruin his reputation.

"If I can draw Elders into playing my game, then make them completely convinced..."

Just imagining the scene made Lu Ze feel terrified.

Maybe he really could become the number one cultivator of the Righteous Path by making games.

Pah.

Lu Ze had forgotten again that he was already a member of the Demon Path.

Somewhere within the Illusion Realm world of "Demonic Path Escape,"

Zhang Ming was running without end.

Behind him, that hideous black monster was likewise chasing him to the death.

"The person who designed this Trial must possess unfathomable cultivation... No! Perhaps this is a Secret Realm passed down from ancient times!"

Even as he fled, Zhang Ming could not help marveling.

Because he could keenly feel that his movement technique had improved enormously, likely reaching the major mastery stage already.

According to the teacher who had taught him the "Cloud Shattering Art," advancing from minor mastery to major mastery required at least two months.

Yet now, after spending only a brief hour and a half in this Illusion Realm, he had actually broken through.

The reason for this must lie in the profound mysteries left within by the Grandmaster who created this Illusion Realm!

The more he thought about it, the more incredible he found that person.

Zhang Ming glanced at the upper right corner. His distance had already exceeded two thousand steps.

For him, it was an entirely new record.

As the distance increased and the scenery changed around him, the levels became more and more difficult.

After two thousand steps, Zhang Ming would sometimes enter a Demonic Path Barrier, where mist blinded his eyes and made it difficult to tell direction;

Sometimes, a rain of arrows would pour down from the sky. He had to keep running while dodging left and right, yet he could not leave the road's boundaries, or the Barriers on either side would kill him instantly;

Or he might step on some earth-element Talisman, making the ground quake and mountains shake until every step became difficult...

Of course, it was not all difficulty.

For example, some stretches were rich in spiritual energy, which he could absorb as he passed through them.

Once the character's spiritual energy bar was full, he could unleash one acceleration Skill.

For example, after a thousand steps, he could collect not only Spirit Stones, but also some Artifacts and items.

There were Artifacts that could disable nearby traps, Talismans that could automatically absorb nearby gold and spiritual energy, pills that could make him immune to all damage for a short time...

In short, playing... no, cultivating like this felt incredibly satisfying.

After a dazzling barrage of consecutive trap attacks, Zhang Ming finally reached his limit and was caught by the Demonic Monster behind him.

Trial Complete!

Score: 5336

Escape Distance: 2407 steps

Current Rank: 1

Looking at his first-place result, Zhang Ming was in high spirits.

Although he had already been in first place half an hour ago.

His current score and distance, however, were clearly beyond the reach of the other Outer Disciples.

"Huh? There's even a Leaderboard?"

Only then did Zhang Ming notice that, aside from his results, the interface also had options for the Leaderboard and returning to the Home Page.

He looked at the Leaderboard.

Sure enough, his score was a full two times higher than second place, which made him feel immensely satisfied.

When he saw that the previously arrogant and overbearing Wang Ba was actually fourth from the bottom, he felt even more delighted.

"Return to Home Page? What's this?"

His curiosity was piqued again, and he hurriedly clicked it.

A Chibi Male Cultivator appeared before him, bearing some resemblance to himself.

"Artifacts? Mounts? Cultivation Methods? What are these?"

Zhang Ming was completely dumbfounded.

He had never even heard of such things.

Below the character, he saw two gray squares labeled Artifact and Mount. Both were empty.

There was also a square labeled Cultivation Method, and inside it was a small book.

After Zhang Ming opened it, he found the words "Rocket Art" written on the little book.

He had no idea who had named it, but the name was far too casual.

After opening it and taking one look, he understood.

Cultivation Methods were the Skills he used after accumulating enough spiritual energy in the game. The "Rocket Art" corresponded to the acceleration Skill he had just used.

"So there are other functions as well? Then what effects do Mounts and Artifacts have?"

Zhang Ming became increasingly interested.

These settings were far too advanced for him. He could not understand them at all.

However, he quickly found the answer in the Shop.

The Spirit Stones obtained in the game could be used to purchase items in the Shop.

Artifacts, Mounts, and Cultivation Methods could all be bought there.

Simply put, they gave players attributes and Skills.

In Lu Ze's previous life, such settings had long become commonplace. Every pay-to-win mobile game had them.

Lu Ze had brought these things over not to earn Spirit Stones, but to improve player retention.

If there were no goals, the disciples would leave after playing. Where would that leave the dignity of a Demon Path cultivator like him?

Lu Ze had to set goals for the players!

Didn't get enough of running?

Buy an Immortal Beast to run alongside you!

Is the later difficulty too high?

Buy a Protective Artifact and gain an extra life!

Think the starting acceleration Skill is too weak?

Come, come, come—buy a better one, and you can fly into the heavens!

Lu Ze's original intention in setting up the Shop was to boost retention.

All purchase currency was in-game Spirit Stones rather than real Spirit Stones, making it effectively free.

However, the prices were all outrageously high, with the sole purpose of forcing players to grind themselves to death.

The attribute boosts were not too excessive either, lest they ruin the game balance and make everyone unwilling to play.

After browsing every item in the Shop, Zhang Ming looked at his Spirit Stone count with boundless melancholy.

"How strange. I clearly picked up over ten thousand Spirit Stones, so why do I have fewer than a thousand now?"

Zhang Ming muttered to himself in confusion.

He had never looked carefully at all. What he had picked up in the game were called "Spirit Stone Fragments" and "Spirit Stone Dust."

Ancient people who had never been brutalized by Pinduoduo were just so innocent.

"Forget it. That Golden Horned Immortal Beast only costs one thousand Spirit Stones. I'll be able to buy it before long."

Zhang Ming was simple-minded, so he quickly consoled himself.

The Golden Horned Immortal Beast was a purple-quality Spirit Transformation Stage Mount. Its special effect increased movement speed by 10% and Spirit Stone acquisition by 20%.

Zhang Ming thought that after buying the Golden Horned Immortal Beast, he could accumulate Spirit Stones faster and purchase other items sooner.

Above Spirit Transformation, there were also gold-quality Refining Void Stage Mounts.

Their special effects were even more outrageous.

"One thousand Spirit Stones. I can earn that in just a few more hours..."

Zhang Ming was steady enough, but not nearly attentive enough.

The Spirit Stones in his Backpack had gray borders and were called Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The Spirit Stones required to purchase the Golden Horned Immortal Beast had purple borders: High-Grade Spirit Stones.