Feng Xi called the roll and gathered his people, ready to make a grand showing.
It was an entirely new game, one he had never played before. After arriving, it took him only three minutes to become hopelessly addicted.
It taught through entertainment, demonstrating the principles of cultivation in a game. By arranging rulers, ministers, assistants, and aides, it appeared to be a game about managing a kingdom—governing at home and expanding its territory abroad—but was actually a special method of allowing the True Spirit to take control, integrating and commanding the spiritual soul's will and the divine abilities and power within the body while participating in the Great Dao.
On top of that, it manipulated sensory perception and used subtle techniques to create an illusion of time and space, making it feel like a strange dream. Time was warped a thousand or ten thousand times... A single day of work was equivalent to decades or centuries of painstaking cultivation.
With tens or hundreds of thousands, even millions, of teams participating, their auras either blended together or clashed. Their individual powers simulated the cosmos, evolved the furnace of Heaven and Earth, and tempered one another's True Spirit and Dao nature... Cultivators gathered together, complementing and strengthening one another. Their efficiency was hundreds of times greater than cultivating alone!
And if any team could defeat all its opponents and stand out from the rest, that ultimate tempering, that exhilarating, unstoppable victory, would provide an even greater push and elevation to their state of mind!
Thus, after three consecutive days and three consecutive sweeping victories, Feng Xi had completely mastered the divine abilities and power bestowed upon him by the Ancestral Witch. It was as if he had become a True Immortal through millions of trials and tribulations, without the slightest weakness caused by an unstable foundation.
At present, his progress placed him among the very best of his batch in the Witch Clan.
Those at roughly his level numbered no more than a few million.
Of course, achieving this level was not only due to the inexplicable familiarity he always felt while playing the game—as if he had once possessed and then forgotten memories of developing it, while instinct had preserved a few traces that erupted into inspiration whenever danger struck, allowing him to escape impossible situations...
He also had to thank his formidable teammates!
This was the least troublesome online social experience Feng Xi had ever had in his life.
Jun, Boyang, Zixiu, Jiran, Yuchen, Lilu, Qingxuan, Darong, and Qiongsang—every one of them was an incredible teammate!
When the strong joined forces, they could roam unhindered!
The ten influential figures swept through Houtu Department Zone 1404, destroying anyone they encountered. For a time, they ran rampant, leaving the witches furious but afraid to speak out.
The Ancestral Witch Houtu learned of it during her leisure time. She casually looked over the ten of them, gazed slightly longer at a few individuals, and smiled lightly. "Very good."
"My Witch Clan needs bold and resourceful young men like them... After all, they will be going to war in the future."
"However, being so arrogant and looking down on everyone is not appropriate either."
"They must understand that there is always someone better, and that there is always a higher heaven."
"They must learn humility and understand the importance of building a solid foundation step by step."
"Then how should we handle this?" Dayi, the administrator of Houtu's department, asked his leader for guidance, his gaze shifting.
"Give them some rewards first... As victors, they deserve commendation." Houtu spoke casually. "I am a very fair and reasonable person."
"And besides the usual material rewards, they will also be allowed to come before me... I will suppress my realm to match theirs and personally guide and cultivate them."
"Give them a good beating from society... Oh, no, I mean teach them the principle that 'pride brings loss, while humility brings benefit'..."
"Make them put aside their mental arrogance and restlessness, and improve themselves with their feet firmly on the ground."
Dayi clicked his tongue as he listened.
"Why trouble yourself over a few youngsters?" He bowed slightly. "You handle countless affairs every day, laboring over matters concerning the Human Dao... Such a minor matter is more than enough for your subordinate to handle."
"You..." Houtu suddenly laughed and shook her head. "That wouldn't be very safe."
"I'm afraid you might slip up and capsize in a ditch."
"How could that happen?" Dayi was stunned. "Even if I suppress my realm to the same level, my experience is still thousands or tens of thousands of times greater than theirs... My perspective and knowledge won't change. How could I lose?"
"Only a Great Luo can defeat a Great Luo..." He suddenly understood, and the corner of his mouth twitched violently. "Could it be...?"
With the corner of his eye twitching nonstop, Dayi lowered his voice and drew a finger across his neck. "Those who come are not kind, and the kind do not come. Should I...?"
"No need..." Houtu waved her hand. "A Great Luo can manifest countless incarnations and scatter alts throughout the past, present, and future... Killing one would accomplish nothing."
"Besides, some may have exposed themselves, but who knows how many are hiding in the shadows?"
"What's more, some are simply abandoned pawns used to mislead us."
"For example, someone may clearly be Zhang San, yet use Li Si's name for an alt... Would you take your anger out on Li Si?"
"Everyone is pretending not to understand what they clearly do understand... None of us has the standing to criticize the other." Houtu yawned. "Take me, for instance. I'm even considering infiltrating the upper echelons of the Demon Clan!"
Dayi was speechless.
"The Great Luo each make their own moves, harboring their own schemes."
"Some come as spies to sow discord and specialize in sabotage. Others are actually betting on both sides, setting up an enterprise within our Witch Clan." The Ancestral Witch Houtu smiled with great amusement. "If the Demon Clan gets played into the ground, they can simply switch sides, log back in with the alt they opened in the Witch Clan, and continue having fun."
"This is the game of the Great Luo."
"The former must be targeted and suppressed. The latter, however, must be won over as much as possible... We should turn these fence-sitters into bystanders and keep them from obstructing our great undertaking."
"Of course, regardless of which situation they fall into, a warning or two is indispensable."
"Don't let them get too carried away!"
"Your wisdom is unparalleled, Ancestral Witch!" Dayi praised admiringly. "By drawing a clear red line and establishing rules, you can sufficiently warn those with ulterior motives."
"Precisely." Houtu accepted her subordinate's flattery without reservation. "Since their alts are using the identity of the Witch Clan, they must do what members of the Witch Clan ought to do."
"They may fish in troubled waters and put in a token effort... But they must never stir up trouble!"
"If they get too carried away, I will personally act and kill their main accounts!"
The Ancestral Witch Houtu radiated killing intent, exuding an aura that looked down upon the world.
It was the absolute confidence born of her strength. The Primordial World might be vast, but there were only a handful of beings qualified to stand against her.
And Dayi had not the slightest doubt about it.
"I'll go make the arrangements." He bowed. "Should news of their rewards be publicized on a large scale?"
"Of course." Houtu smiled faintly. "Let them make the headlines in the Witch Clan's internal network."
"Those who don't know the truth will envy them and gain a whole new source of motivation."
"And those who do know the truth? They'll settle down and be honest, low-key witches."
"Congratulations, everyone!"
The ten influential figures of Houtu Department Zone 1404 received congratulations from workers in the Witch Clan's personnel department.
"With the Ancestral Witch taking notice of you... You're sure to rise rapidly through the ranks from now on!"
"We're indebted to your kind words! Truly indebted!" Feng Xi's face was filled with delight, his smile blooming like a flower.
The people beside him were smiling as well, but their smiles... were somewhat strained.
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