Gao Linzhi's Decision: Change the Heart, Keep the Skin

"Proceed with this plan." Lu Zheng nodded. "Immediately urge guild members to level up as quickly as possible; we need as many high-end combatants as possible."

"Also... there's still no movement from Chongxing's side?"

"Yes, speaking of this person, players have indeed noticed recently that the Cheater who had long dominated the experience leaderboard seems to have frozen in time."

While other players' levels were steadily climbing, his level remained stuck at level 79, completely unchanged.

"Various speculations and rumors have already begun to fester in the shadows."

"The specific experience required to reach level 80 is still unknown, but his lack of progress for over a week is truly unusual."

"A definitive judgment will likely only be possible after Captain Qin Xiao reaches level 79."

"Let's hurry up and move forward."

"If his talent has truly been exhausted, then the next generation of leaders must come from our side." Lu Zheng smiled coldly.

He wasn't surprised at all; he was just a lucky guy.

The major powers had already noticed the anomaly of the stagnation in the Chongxing.

Rumors have been circulating privately that his talent and potential have stalled before level 80, and that he is now at the end of his rope, unlikely to regain his former domineering presence.

Although they didn't know the specifics, they guessed it perfectly.

When Zhang Mingzhen's talent is on cooldown, he naturally can't kill monsters quickly, and thus his progress stalls.

Furthermore, since he now needs to elevate his Life Level, he has even less time to increase his experience.

Therefore, in this Territory War, not only did some covet the Deep-Sea Dragon Palace itself, but there were also those who intended to take this opportunity to test whether this former number one had truly... fallen from grace.

The various rumors surrounding Chongxing have stirred up a huge wave among players, and the debates on the forums have never stopped. Zhang Mingzhen naturally saw these discussions as well.

Trying to test his abilities? Those people are overestimating themselves.

However, he used to disregard these guys.

But now, the system has added a cooldown to his talent, which is really frustrating.

If the opponent catches him during his cooldown period, he's doomed.

He's now been elevated to a position of immense power by the "Aura of the Strong."

He can't stand the scenario of a genius falling from grace.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

I regret that I violated the system's principle of "sustainable development" in the past.

Think about it, and you'll understand. The game designers were "raising fish"—blending the game world with reality. They directly killed off important NPCs and depleted the resources of a key race's holy maiden. Isn't that a slap in the face to the game designers?

The planners will definitely target him; it's entirely possible they'll have the operations staff ban his account.

Just like those players who used to cheat in online games, it's one thing to spend money, but to use bugs without spending money is just asking for trouble, isn't it?

Alas, he was blinded by talent, his mind clouded by power, and the devil robbed him of his morality...

"The pro player has his reasons for suppressing his level! What are you all guessing for?" another player flattered.

"Ridiculous. Didn't they always say that Chongxing relied solely on his level advantage? Now they're going to prove their strength with the same level. Just wait and see."

"But it's unrealistic to not gain experience at all; wouldn't that just be a waste of time?"

"Saving experience points just to collect Amulet seems like a bad trade-off."

"It's true that without a team to advise you, it's easy to go astray."

"It seems the top spot on the experience leaderboard is about to change hands. Is the streak of Chongxing wins finally about to end?"

Two weeks later, the competition on the cross-server experience leaderboard has become increasingly fierce, with the top players' levels gradually approaching Zhang Mingzhen's stagnant level of 79.

Cross-server experience ranking

"First Place: District 3 - Chongxing (79)"

Second Place: Qin Xiao Youhui (76) of the District 3

"Third: District 77 - Sunshine (76)"

"Fourth: District 3 - Dragon Diagram Frenzy (76)"

"Fifth: District 19 - Raphael (76)"

"Sixth: District 3 - War Sky (75)"

"Seventh: District 1 - Pengpeng's Hair (75)"

"Eighth: District 3 - Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven (75)"

"Ninth: District 19 - Shiyade (75)"

"Tenth: District 17 - Guandong Quake (75)"

The most noteworthy things during this period were twofold: first, Chongxing's experience points remained stagnant; and second, the previously inconspicuous "Sunshine" suddenly rose to second place, directly challenging Qin Xiao Youhui's position.

Everyone speculated about what kind of extraordinary adventure or mission could enable the members of the Holy God Followers to achieve a comeback.

"Holy God, we have failed to complete the task you entrusted to us... Please punish us."

They had hoped to win the first-place reward in the Beast King Trial and offer it to the Holy God, but the leader was simply invincible, and in the end, their efforts were all in vain.

"Hmph, I never had high hopes to begin with."

"Your player with the highest combat power didn't participate in the Beast King Trial, right?"

"Yes, we paid close attention, and he indeed never showed up from beginning to end."

Sunshine knelt in the room, head bowed, replying without noticing the "Evil God's " meaningful expression.

"I never expected that someone in such a lowly world could trigger such a high-level Beast King quest... I'm actually quite interested in meeting this top-ranked player."

"My lord, it is not convenient for you to move around freely at the moment."

"For safety's sake, should we go and bring him here?"

"You are no match for him," the Evil God said coldly. "This time, I will personally investigate his strength."

"Take me there during the Territory War."

"I will attach myself to your body, undetectable to ordinary people."

"I'd like to see just how capable this unconventional player really is."

This surviving member of the Yaksha Race completely disregarded Chongxing and his ilk.

In his view, the players in this world haven't even reached the first Life Level, and when the game is fully integrated, they will only become one of the sacrifices for the fusion of the God's Domain and the real world.

His current goal is to restore his strength as much as possible before the fusion is completely completed—by relying on the foundation of Third-Tier Life form and gathering the Source Energy of an entire world, he may be able to break through to the realm he desires before the final moment!

He was determined to uncover the secrets surrounding Chongxing.

He knew perfectly well that Zhang Mingzhen might just be a pawn, bait pushed out by others to hunt down these superior beings.

It holds the same status as Sunshine.

On the eve of the Territory War, Zhang Mingzhen had been in seclusion in the wild, clearing out monsters.

Fortunately, the cooldown time for the talent isn't too long.

Only 24 hours.

He needs to be more careful from now on and can't be as reckless as he was before.

If he successfully captures the Undersea Dragon Palace in this battle, he will be able to synthesize the Amulet again.

If he fails again, he will have no choice but to trade with other players—he simply can't wait any longer.

I originally planned to rob it while masked, but I'll trade it instead.

As for whether others are willing to trade... that's not up to them.

At that moment, Zhang Mingzhen thought, "If I can't touch the NPCs, can't I at least touch the players?"

Players are not resources for the Game System, but rather resources exploited by outsiders.

As long as you comply with the system rules, the Game System cannot forcibly restrict your strength.

Today, he is still grinding monsters in the wild with the Wildsea Candle Dragon, while Flower Spirit continues to accumulate experience for him.

At this moment, the experience stored within the Dragon-Eye Spirit Pearl was nearly full, and he was about to level up.

"Master, a new member of the clan has been born."

The voice of "Lan Yue" suddenly rang in his mind.

After becoming his subordinate, Lan Yue can contact him at any time.

"Oh? They've finally arrived!" Zhang Mingzhen immediately stopped fighting and turned to rush towards the Dragon Palace City.

Besides Lan Yue and Shius, there were more than ten other people standing quietly. Their appearances were no different from those of ordinary Azurewave Clan. They were all adults, unlike Lan Yue who had appeared as a child.

"Master, they are the new generation of our race."

Lan Yue, whose complexion had slightly recovered from its paleness, finally felt a sense of relief upon seeing her true kin.

There were exactly ten new students, making a total of eleven including Lan Yue.

However, Lan Yue's condition was clearly unsustainable and she needed to recover.

Ultimately, these ten people will be the ones who can provide long-term support.

Zhang Mingzhen's expression softened as he said, "You should all know your responsibilities."

"What I need is a continuous supply of Spirit Core."

"If any of you slacken your efforts, I can wipe you all out in an instant. Do you understand?"

Among the ten, one young man stood out with his exceptional demeanor, and the rest of the group subtly regarded him as their leader.

He already knew the temperament of this "master" through the inherited memories and Lan Yue's instructions—useless things would never be kept.

"Xichen understands, and will certainly not fail his master's trust." This young man named "Xichen" was indeed good at judging the situation.

He was planning to rebel later; in any case, he couldn't let this slave owner, that damned human tyrant, continue to Enslavement his people.

Overthrow human tyranny... The world belongs to the Holy Race!

He made a silent vow in his heart.

Zhang Mingzhen's gaze inadvertently swept over Shius, who was standing to the side. In his mind's eye, the former was much more sensible than the latter.

He is still young and naturally doesn't know that the more obedient a person is, the more rebellious they can be.

Because these people set longer-term goals early on, they can naturally tolerate all kinds of unfairness in the present.

"Master, Xichen has been established as the new Holy Son of the Azurewave Clan. With his guidance, the clan will surely be of great use to you."

Lan Yue's life force is waning, and she needs to recover slowly; everyone knows that she doesn't have much time left.

Perhaps due to the natural repulsion between the Holy Son and the Holy Daughter, Xichen did not show any extra emotion when facing the weak Lan Yue.

In fact, this was something he did deliberately, with the aim of deceiving his new master.

He was actually bleeding inside.

You have to understand, the saintess was his destined wife and harem. Now his wife has become an old woman, adding an extra word. How painful must that be for a man?

Naturally, even if he harbored rebellious intentions, Zhang Mingzhen didn't really care at the moment.

After all, for him, the only value of a tool is its output.

The system's warning only made him slightly more restrained.

Upon seeing this, Gao Linzhi couldn't help but shake his head.

It seems this piece will need to be replaced one or two times in the future.

Of course, it's a change of heart, not skin.

The other party's reputation is still quite useful.

Just like Guan Yutian in the game "Demon Sword and Life and Death Chess," who has never won, while Murong Hua's skin has never lost, the opponent still chooses to Guan Yutian, simply because the former has a resounding reputation and can intimidate many people.

"Xichen, you lead your people to focus on cultivating your Spirit Core."

"Lan Yue, you will accompany me in this Territory War."

This wasn't some special favor; rather, he realized that Lan Yue was no longer able to produce Spirit Core. Since there was still some value left, he decided to take her to the battlefield and make the most of her resources.

He was defending the city alone, but manpower was ultimately insufficient.

As the Holy Maiden of the Azurewave Clan, Lan Yue can exert even greater strength in the Undersea Dragon Palace environment, making her an additional layer of protection for the central crystal.

Time flies.

The second Territory War commenced as scheduled.

Zhang Mingzhen, along with the Wildsea Candle Dragon and Lan Yue, teleported to the Undersea Dragon Palace.

As the current owner of the territory, once you enter the battlefield, you can directly teleport to your territory to set up defenses.

"Your mission is to defend the crystal to the death."

"Even if you die in battle, the crystal cannot be broken before you, do you understand?"

After the central crystal was installed, Zhang Mingzhen ordered Lan Yue to guard its side and report immediately if any enemy approached.

"Yes, please rest assured, Master," Lan Yue said, her voice aged.

She knew that the other party's previous decision to let her recover in her home was merely a drop in the ocean, essentially just to prolong her usefulness.

Meanwhile, other cities are also urgently reinforcing their defenses, with a particular focus on protecting against tower systems used by flying and stealthy units.

Previously, an assassin had infiltrated the city using special methods and summoned the entire guild into its heartland, thus dismantling its defenses from within.

From then on, all cities raised their vigilance against assassins to the highest level.

The First Legion did not launch a rash attack, but instead attempted to stabilize the defenses of Fragrant Cloud City first.

"Reporting to the commander, air defense and anti-stealth equipment have been fully deployed, and the troops in all directions are in position!"

"Very good."

"The forward reconnaissance teams have been sending back intelligence on the guilds intending to attack, among which... the movements of the Starlight Merchant Guild are quite surprising."

The First Legion's high command stood by, puzzled:

"Isn't the Starlight Merchant Guild always focused on commerce? They've had many business dealings with my Legion in the past, so why are they getting involved this time?"

"They're completely overestimating themselves! These merchants are far too naive."

"That mysterious guild leader never does anything without a certainty; since he dares to challenge us, he must have something to rely on."

"And they immediately targeted Fragrant Cloud City... Could it be that they've discovered some ancient ruins or treasures?"

"Even so, the Zone 30 where the Starlight Merchant Guild is located mostly consists of second-rate guilds, whose combat strength is far inferior to ours. What makes them think they can attack the city? In my opinion, they might be pawns sent by other forces to test us."

"It's not impossible."

"Continue to intensify reconnaissance; do not let your guard down!"

At the same time, within the Tomb City, which was occupied by the Evil God Faction, the atmosphere was quite different from that of the other guilds.

Although anti-stealth devices were deployed, none of the Evil God Faction players dispersed to defend the four city gates.

Unaware that the Sunshine had been possessed by Evil God, they still obeyed his commands and set off to attack another stronghold—the Deep-Sea Dragon Palace that had been Chongxing.

If it were members of other guilds, hearing such an order would likely immediately raise doubts, "Instead of defending their own cities, they are launching a preemptive attack on someone else's territory. This is definitely not a wise move."

However, the players of the Evil God Faction have long since become puppets of the so-called "Evil God," and their personal will has become insignificant.

So-called modern people are actually quite prone to falling into a state of collective unconsciousness, so there's no need to laugh at the ancients in this regard.

An experiment has shown that a group of modern college students can be trained into puppets in just three weeks.

"The Holy God's target this time is the Deep-Sea Dragon Palace."

"There's no need to stay here; the Tomb City has lost its value."

"Once the event begins, everyone must immediately head towards the Dragon Palace! Upon conquering the Dragon Palace, the Holy God will bestow another reward!"

"We vow to conquer the Deep-Sea Dragon Palace!"

"All is dedicated to the Holy God!"

The countdown to the territorial battle has reached zero.

The battle has officially begun, and the countdown to the final bells has started...

This time, it's impossible to sweep through the jungle as easily as before.

Zhang Mingzhen placed the two Flower Spirit at the Dragon Palace City, and then stepped onto the silvery-white beach outside the city with the Wildsea Candle Dragon.

This time, he will personally lead the battle, while the Wildsea Candle Dragon will be responsible for wiping out the scattered remnants of the enemy.