"After being a die-hard fan of Yang Chi's for two years, I don't know why, but seeing him flee in such a sorry state doesn't make me feel sorry for him at all. Instead, I kind of want to laugh. Is there something wrong with me?"
"No, no, no! You're not to blame!"
"Indeed. After all, it's perfectly normal for us 'lower-class people' and 'plebeians' to feel happy when something happens to our lord."
"At this point, we can make the final judgment—Yang Chi's character setting has completely collapsed. He definitely won't be able to take on similar roles in the future. Continuing to live off his past reputation is practically impossible! If he wants to continue down this path, he can only find a way to transform and develop in the direction of playing villains!"
"Transforming is too difficult. I hope he'll never recover from this."
"Holy crap! I remember you were a hardcore Yang Chi fan! You used to call him Brother Yang Chi at every turn! Is this what they mean by love turning into hatred? I'm scared, I'm scared!"
"Our expectations were too high, so the gap was too big. That's just how it is. You'll get used to it. Isn't it just a conflict between his subconscious and his role? Isn't it just his character setting collapsing? Who hasn't had that happen?"
"Lin Xuan was already very good. His performance was above passing throughout the whole thing. He only lost to Tian Guang in the final battle! You can't say Young Fortress Lord Lin Xuan was weak. You can only say Vice Fortress Lord Tian Guang was too strong!"
"Exactly. I don't really want to discuss Yang Chi's problem. It's too depressing. Zhang Guangmu is much better!"
"Ahhh! Mumu is so handsome, warm, and strong! After watching that battle just now, inspiration keeps flooding into me! Once this film, 'Wolf Fortress,' wraps up, I'm going to start drawing immediately!"
"Can someone explain this? Everyone had Flame Artifacts, so why was Zhang Guangmu able to go on an unstoppable rampage?"
"I'm curious too. I just tuned in, and for a moment I almost thought I was watching a live-action version of Ancient Warriors. Good grief, he was mowing them down like grass!"
"A class representative already explained this earlier—Zhang Guangmu and Li Xiaoxiao both trained the 'Imperial Body Forging Technique' until it became part of their bones, fused with their subconscious, and turned into instinct!"
"???"
"You call that thing the Imperial Body Forging Technique?"
"It really is the 'Imperial Body Forging Technique'! Don't be fooled by how the two of them cut through the battlefield as if they had cheats enabled, looking stylish, flashy, and cool. The moves themselves are actually pretty ugly. They rely entirely on the flame special effects to hold up the performance..."
"I always treated it like Broadcast Calisthenics. I just went through the motions every recess... So the real clown was me?"
"I suddenly feel like a dropout who slipped through the cracks of compulsory education. I spent all these years learning the Imperial Body Forging Technique for nothing!"
"Vice Fortress Lord Tian Guang's body-forging technique represents at least twenty years of practice! Blood Thorn beside him is a little less seasoned, but he doesn't seem that far behind. It's like there's only a thin layer of paper between them. Once he pierces through it, he'll enter an entirely different world!"
"You're killing me! What the hell are you hyping up? Check the actors' ages before you start showing off, will you? Those two aren't even twenty. Did they really start training in the womb?"
"In theory, with the technology of the Xuanlong Empire, forget training in the womb—even tadpoles training might not be impossible! You have to believe in the power of technology!"
"Zhang Guangmu and Li Xiaoxiao are in a different situation. Put simply, they're both martial arts prodigies!"
"Ah, the gap between people is greater than the gap between people and dogs!"
"Good roast! I'm trash!"
Compared to the audience, the Production Team was much quieter.
With Director Sun Yanwu at the center, a group of Little Black Balls remained where they were, motionless, as if they had fallen asleep. They didn't even dare breathe too loudly.
The struggle between Zhang Guangmu and Yang Chi had already been decided.
The key now was...
Would 'Wolf Fortress' collapse into a truly atrocious disaster and be judged a terrible film, or would it soar against the odds? It all depended on Zhang Guangmu's final performance.
Everyone remained silent, their attention focused on Zhang Guangmu.
Wolf Fortress.
Inside the main hall.
The numerous Flame Artifact Users and Wolf Riders stood in orderly rows, as quiet as statues.
Seated upon the Fort Master's throne, Zhang Guangmu realized from the audience's reactions that after 'Wolf Fortress,' he might really become famous.
Directors were ranked by level too!
Some elite directors could gather a huge audience even if they recruited a group of subconscious actors at passerby level.
Compared with Director Qian Yiyuan, who had filmed 'Endless Food Bag' last time, Director Sun Yanwu was several tiers higher in popularity.
Qian Yiyuan had managed to gather Zhao Zhengrong, the 'Newcomer Crusher,' and Li Xiaoxiao, one of the 'Seven Stars,' in a single production. It could practically be said that his luck had exploded and fate itself was favoring him.
Throughout the filming of 'Endless Food Bag,' the audience count had actually not been very high.
This time, because of Yang Chi, Li Xiaoxiao, and Sun Yanwu's fans, the audience count was clearly much higher.
Before long, Lin Xuan, missing one hand, was thrown in front of Zhang Guangmu, bound tightly from head to toe.
"Where's his mutated Flame Wolf King?"
Zhang Guangmu raised his eyebrows, looking interested. "It should be quite valuable research material."
The Flame Artifact User responsible for capturing Lin Xuan immediately grew tense.
Because he was wearing a Wolf Bone Mask, no one could see his expression, but his voice was clearly trembling slightly with fear. "It counterattacked too fiercely. We couldn't control it at all. If we hadn't dealt with it, this subordinate and several colleagues would probably have had great difficulty bringing the traitor Lin Xuan back, so..."
Zhang Guangmu tilted his head and glanced at him. "Don't be nervous. You've already done very well."
"You made no mistake during this operation. You have only rendered merit."
They were two perfectly ordinary sentences, but to the Pursuer, they sounded like heavenly music.
His face flushed, his heart pounded wildly, and his eyes grew misty. Choking back his emotions, he managed to force out the four words "Fort Master," but couldn't say anything else.
Zhang Guangmu gave him a comforting smile, then shifted his gaze toward Lin Xuan.
"Ugh..."
Lin Xuan, who had lost one hand, no longer possessed the lofty bearing he had shown earlier. His entire body was filthy and disheveled, sweat poured from him, and pain twisted the muscles of his face as he let out intermittent moans.
Compared with Chu Fan's performance in 'Endless Food Bag,' Yang Chi, who portrayed Lin Xuan, had performed just a little better on the battlefield.
After all, he had only decided to run after losing one hand.
Li Xiaoxiao stood beside Zhang Guangmu. Although she had given her wounds some basic treatment, she was still grimacing in pain and had barely stopped herself from crying out on the spot.
Lin Xuan was in so much pain that he wished he could pass out immediately, but he was unwilling to die such an ugly death in the dream. Thus, he forced himself to sit up.
At first, his attention was focused entirely on Li Xiaoxiao.
"You damned traitor!"
Lin Xuan's eyes bulged wide, his face filled with fury. He immediately launched into a furious tirade. "I must have been blind to treat you as my confidant!"
He firmly believed that Li Xiaoxiao might have colluded with Zhang Guangmu long ago, which was why she had caught him off guard.
Otherwise...
It made no logical sense!
How could Li Xiaoxiao have gone to assassinate Zhang Guangmu one moment, only to become his personal guard the next?
That was impossible!
As for the two Cub Wolf Guards who had betrayed him, Lin Xuan completely ignored them.
Once he put on the Wolf Bone Mask, he couldn't remember who any of the people beneath it were.
"You treated me like grass and expected me to die for you?"
Li Xiaoxiao was far inferior to Zhang Guangmu when it came to verbal attacks, but she wasn't intimidated in the slightest when trouble arose. She immediately retorted, "You couldn't even tell whether I was a man or a woman. You really are blind!"
"Besides... During the battle earlier, I noticed that some of your Cub Wolf Guards were also equipped with Flame Artifacts."
"I assassinated the king and attacked the Fort Master for you up front, while you turned around and stole my Flame Artifact blueprints from behind."
"Not only that, you also arranged for the Cub Wolf Guards to come and 'clean up,' hoping to make me 'die by accident.'"
"Is this how you treat your 'confidants'?"
"Heh... I finally understand why you lost so miserably!"
Lin Xuan lowered his head, his face flushing red under her barrage. He tried several times to refute her, but couldn't figure out how.
After all, everything Li Xiaoxiao had said was something he had actually done.
Knowing he was in the wrong, he was bombarded by Li Xiaoxiao's words until he had no way to respond.
With all his confidence gone, Lin Xuan clenched his teeth. After who knew what thoughts had crossed his mind, he simply raised his head and glared viciously at Zhang Guangmu.
Certain that he was doomed to die, he instead displayed a trace of backbone. "You're already the Uncrowned King of Wolf Fortress."
"But I still refuse to accept you!"
"I was born superior to you, my bloodline was nobler than yours, and my destiny was better than yours!"
"You merely know how to manipulate people's hearts better than I do."
Refusing to accept someone didn't actually require a reason. The things he said afterward were merely to bolster his courage.
At this point, a trace of regret entered Lin Xuan's voice. "If I hadn't listened to your nonsense at the beginning and had simply killed you, the person sitting in this position now would have been me!"
"Now that I think about it, that so-called Ten-Day Death Potion was fake, wasn't it?"
Pain, defeat, regret...
Various emotions tangled together, leaving Lin Xuan dispirited and muddle-headed. He was completely lost, saying whatever came to mind.
Zhang Guangmu couldn't be bothered to waste energy on this. He simply nodded.
"That's right."
It had been something he had casually fabricated to deceive people in the first place. Zhang Guangmu had never expected to keep the lie going forever. Now that filming was nearing its end, the plot of 'Wolf Fortress' was about to conclude and the overall momentum had been established, so filling in a few holes through his own words was a good solution.
Thus...
Lin Xuan suffered even more.
The situation was already settled. Even if the lie about the Ten-Day Death Potion was exposed, no one would rebel against Tian Guang, who had become Fort Master.
Because...
Everyone else qualified to ascend to that position had already been killed by Lin Xuan through various methods!
"As expected!"
Lin Xuan barely raised his left arm, his wolf-like gaze fixed firmly on Zhang Guangmu.
He bit down on his own wound, seemingly hoping to use new pain to suppress the old. His eyes were filled with despair.
Lin Xuan's words were not quite so bloodcurdling that they seemed to be wept in blood, but anyone could hear the sorrow in his heart. "If I could start over, I would never lose to you again!"
This Former Young Fortress Lord was clearly suffering—and clearly possessed a baffling confidence.
Although he had no idea what would allow him to win, he firmly believed that he could.
High above the sky, Director Sun Yanwu's heart stirred, and his spherical body trembled faintly.
Yes...
If only time could flow backward!
Unfortunately, the Imperial Iron Law did not permit the Production Team to physically interfere with a fully formed Film World.
Before you continue