You Can Actually Battle Now?

By the time Xiao Hongzhi returned to his quarters, night had fallen.

As usual, he sat cross-legged on his bed and began cultivating.

He had barely completed one Lesser Celestial Circuit when a restless agitation began gnawing at him.

"No! I really can't accept losing to a Qi Refining Stage cultivator!"

Xiao Hongzhi stopped circulating his energy and thumped his thigh.

"If I don't untie this knot in my heart, it may become an obstacle to my cultivation... I have to break through it today!"

His loss to Zhang Ming still rankled.

How could a Golden Core Stage cultivator lose to someone at the Qi Refining Stage?

Xiao Hongzhi, who had spent his whole life refusing to be outdone, took out the Mini Illusion Tower and the Illusion Crystal Stone he had bought from Lu Ze.

"A quarter of an hour... No! Half a quarter!"

"If I can stay alive for just half a quarter of an hour, I'll surpass Junior Brother Zhang's record."

"That won't hold me up at all!"

Xiao Hongzhi nodded, poured spiritual energy into the Illusion Tower, and began playing "Demonic Path Escape."

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

A rooster's cry rang out from the summit of Ten Thousand Beasts Peak.

That meant dawn had come.

Xiao Hongzhi exited "Demonic Path Escape" and stared at the sunlight outside his window, dazed.

One round of "Demonic Path Escape" took no more than half a quarter of an hour.

How had it suddenly become morning?

He had only just started playing... No, cultivating...

Most importantly, he still had not beaten Zhang Ming's record.

"What a sin, what a sin..."

Xiao Hongzhi muttered the words over and over, feeling deeply guilty.

He had less than half an hour before class.

As a Golden Core Stage cultivator, going one night without sleep would not affect him at all.

But having missed an entire night of cultivation, he felt as though he had lost a day's worth of progress.

"Ah, I can't get anything done in half an hour... I might as well continue the Trial, surpass Junior Brother Zhang as soon as possible, and finally settle this knot in my heart."

He entered "Demonic Path Escape" again.

The Training Hall of the Artifact Forging Hall.

Lu Ze rubbed his eyes as he walked out of the Control Room.

He had not rested last night either.

After seeing how enthusiastically the sect disciples had played "Demonic Path Escape" yesterday, he felt it was not difficult enough.

He had spent the night sharply raising the difficulty beyond three thousand steps.

While he was at it, he had added two features: battles and a Forum.

If it remained a solo experience, the disciples would inevitably grow bored, even with a Leaderboard.

Battles changed everything.

The urge to outdo one another would be far stronger than any Leaderboard.

With the technology he currently had, though, Lu Ze could only make face-to-face challenges work.

For now, that was enough.

As soon as he stepped out of the Control Room, he found a crowd of Outer Disciples playing "Demonic Path Escape," their faces alight with excitement.

Quite a few Inner Disciples had stayed here playing all night as well.

It was not that they could not afford a Mini Illusion Tower. The atmosphere here was simply better.

Lu Ze nodded in satisfaction.

The demonic value the Outer Disciples provided might be no more than mosquito legs, but he was not picky.

Besides,

these Outer Disciples were the best publicity he could ask for.

He walked to the Illusion Tower in the center and inserted the modified Illusion Crystal Stone.

Before long, the Training Hall was buzzing.

"Whoa, where did this battle feature come from?"

"I've trained day and night and passed the Thousand-Step Barrier! Who dares fight me?"

"Make it onto the Leaderboard first, fellow cultivator."

"Anyone under a thousand steps want to spar?"

"You can even battle in teams? Can someone carry me? I'll pay!"

"Hey, who was that I just battled? Fight fair and get off your mount!"

"Damn it! Which vicious bastard used a hidden weapon on me during our battle?"

"Fellow cultivators, hear me out. Cultivation is about refining one's character. How could we let a mere Trial damage our harmony? If we resort to any means for victory, how are we any different from the Demon Path—what the hell! Who threw a pebble at me? I just picked up a dart, and if you won't show mercy, neither will I!"

Lu Ze had made a few changes to the game he remembered from his previous life.

As in his previous life, battling players ran side by side on two separate tracks.

But Lu Ze had placed special battle items at random points along both tracks.

There were pebbles, darts, and even spittoons.

Farther along, the items grew nastier and nastier. Talismans that summoned all kinds of traps even began to appear.

A Stone Talisman could summon a stone formation that slowed opponents, while a Wood Talisman could summon vines that briefly bound them.

More vicious options included Fire Talismans and Wind Talismans. The traps they released were far deadlier than those already on the course.

And because players chose when and where to unleash them, the battles had suddenly become much more challenging.

Lu Ze watched the scene of refined courtesy and gentle camaraderie in the Training Hall, deeply gratified.

If things kept up like this, his task would soon be complete.

Thunder Peak, Disciple School.

Chao Wendao looked at the disciples below and furrowed his long white brows.

Were there fewer students in class today?

He was the Grand Elder of the Spirit Cloud Sect.

Not only was he highly respected, his lessons were entertaining. His classes were packed every time he taught.

Yet the classroom felt oddly empty today.

"There seem to be unusually few disciples attending today?"

Chao Wendao stroked his beard.

"I heard a new Illusion Realm Trial came out. Many Inner Disciples are struggling to overcome it and must be looking for a way through."

The disciple who bowed and answered from below was Xiao Hongzhi.

"I see."

Chao Wendao nodded, assuming some Grandmaster had left behind a spectral image for the students to challenge.

Among the Inner Disciples, only a few special courses were mandatory.

The elders of each branch regularly taught the Way, but they did not insist that disciples attend.

Inner Disciples were free to arrange their own cultivation schedules.

Chao Wendao's teachings were known for being entertaining. Disciples usually fought over places in his classes.

So many were absent today that he felt the difference keenly.

Had my recent lectures become too dull?

Would the students rather seek enlightenment through Illusion Realm cultivation than listen to me teach?

Chao Wendao silently resolved to pull out everything he had kept at the bottom of the chest for his next class and defend his standing as the most popular teacher.

"Hongzhi, judging by your complexion, were you studying all night again?"

Chao Wendao looked at Xiao Hongzhi and suddenly smiled.

"I... was."

Xiao Hongzhi hurriedly lowered his head.

"You may have reached the Golden Core Stage, but you still need to rest. Balance work with leisure. You mustn't be too impatient in your pursuit of the Way!"

Chao Wendao nodded approvingly and motioned for him to sit.

Xiao Hongzhi was a regular in his classes.

His talent stood out even among the Inner Disciples, and he worked hard at cultivation.

"Yes, Master!"

Xiao Hongzhi sat down in a hurry, unable to meet Chao Wendao's eyes.

He had indeed been up all night.

But he had not been cultivating. He had been lost in "Demonic Path Escape."

Only when Chao Wendao continued teaching without suspecting anything did Xiao Hongzhi breathe a sigh of relief.

He steadied his breath and began transmitting messages with his Spiritual Sense.

During class, the students below generally used Spiritual Sense to talk among themselves.

The teachers at the front had profound cultivation, so they naturally knew at a glance what the students were doing.

But the elders knew the character of Spirit Cloud Sect disciples. Surely they were discussing their studies and sharing insights without disturbing the lecture, so the elders did not interfere.

In the past, the students really had discussed what they had learned about cultivation.

Today, however, every message passing through the classroom was about "Demonic Path Escape."

"Is 'Demonic Path Escape' really as fun as you say?"

"Fun? It's downright addictive!"

"I'm starting to suspect this is some scheme by the Demon Path to unsettle our Dao Hearts..."

"Nonsense! A design this ingenious could never be the work of those uncouth Demon Path brutes!"

"I heard one of our Inner Disciples lost to an Outer Disciple in there?"

"What a disgrace! I'll win back our honor today!"

"You're all making me want to try it."

"I heard from someone who returned from the Artifact Forging Hall this morning that 'Demonic Path Escape' added a battle feature today. You can challenge other cultivators."

"Why doesn't my 'Demonic Path Escape' have that feature?"

"I heard you have to go to the Artifact Forging Hall and ask Junior Brother Lu, who manages it, to update your Illusion Crystal Stone."

"Good! At last, I can test myself against you all!"

Hearing all this, Xiao Hongzhi could barely contain himself.

He wanted to rush to the Training Hall and update "Demonic Path Escape" right now.

After practicing hard all night, he could now easily run two thousand steps.

He had been itching for a chance to show off.

The thought of battling others filled him with excitement.

He had always been diligent and eager to learn. He sat in the front row for Chao Wendao's classes every day and could never get enough of the elder's teachings.

For the first time, he could not wait for class to end.

Over the next few days, a strange phenomenon appeared at the Spirit Cloud Sect.

Absences from the elders' usually packed classes grew more and more common. Even the most popular Grand Elder was no exception.

Meanwhile, the Outer Disciples' enthusiasm for taking on tasks soared. If a task paid spirit stones, they scrambled for it no matter how filthy or exhausting it was.

The Inner Disciples, renowned for their relentless competition, suddenly stopped competing.

At the same time, the Outer Disciples were all short of spirit stones.

It was utterly baffling.

But Lu Ze, the one responsible for it all, was not surprised in the least.

To the people of this world, the arrival of battles and the Forum was like an attack from an entirely higher dimension.

It had taken "Demonic Path Escape" to a whole new level.

Today was the fifth day since "Demonic Path Escape" went live.

Once today was over, his task would be complete.

That meant he would no longer have to live in hiding.

At the thought, Lu Ze breathed a sigh of relief.

These past few days, he had needed to avoid prying eyes whenever he updated "Demonic Path Escape."

He had also needed to set up Array Talismans around him to conceal his aura.

Otherwise, if anyone sensed the blood-soaked baleful intent clinging to him, even a hundred lives would not be enough to save him.

Only when the task was complete and others could no longer discover his Demon Path identity would he be able to rest easy.

At the thought, Lu Ze's spirits soared.

Over the past few days, with the Inner Disciples and Outer Disciples working together, his demonic value had risen rapidly.

His cultivation had also reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

He needed only 200 more points of demonic value to advance to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"Huh? What's this?"

While cleaning the Training Hall, Lu Ze spotted a notebook lying in a corner.

He thought it was a fellow disciple's cultivation notes, but when he stepped closer, he found it was a diary.

Reading someone else's diary was hardly the act of a gentleman, and Lu Ze had no intention of doing so.

Just then, a light breeze blew in from outside the hall, rustling the diary's pages and laying its contents bare before Lu Ze's eyes.

April 7: Fleeing.

April 8: Fleeing.

April 9: Fleeing.

April 10: Xiao Hongzhi, oh, Xiao Hongzhi! How could you sink so low? You're the hope of the whole village. You can't go on like this!

April 11: Fleeing.

"..."

Lu Ze suddenly wondered.

Had I gone too far?