Tongtian's Gaming Routine

The flood crisis in Qinglan Gorge had been thoroughly resolved thanks to the successful implementation of Gong Gong's "groundbreaking design"—even if it was the watered-down version. The villa was therefore blessed with a few rare days of peace and relaxation. Gong Gong still grumbled that "mortal construction crews have shoddy workmanship," but the unmistakable smugness between his brows was so obvious that even the slowest mimosa in the backyard, planted by Jumang, could sense it. He had even refrained from smashing the rockery into a shower of sparks during his morning exercise for once, settling for a few symbolic punches to loosen up.

Lin Fan savored this hard-won peace, feeling that life had finally returned to normal—if he ignored the occasional miniature explosions from Jumang's kitchen, where he was trying to slow-cook spiritual chicken eggs over low heat with Samadhi True Fire, and the dazzling rainbow glow that burst forth whenever Goddess Nüwa gave the latest holographic beauty device a "humanitarian makeover."

However, the villa's peace, much like the balance of Heavenly Dao in the Primordial Era, was always fleeting. No sooner had the old conflict subsided than a new focal point quietly emerged. This time, the eye of the storm belonged to the Interception Sect's leader, who had once cowed the Sages with the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, but was now hopelessly mired in the "quagmire of probability"—Tongtian.

In the morning, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting mottled shadows across the living room floor. Lao Tzu still occupied the sunniest spot, eyes closed as he roamed in meditation. Wisps of steam curled from the purple clay teacup before him, creating a world of their own. Nüwa sat across from him, delicate fingers working at a tablet as she studied a rotating 3D model of the human meridians. She seemed to be planning her next product: "The Great Dao in Simplicity: A Serum for Inner Balance and Outer Radiance."

On the other side of the living room, the atmosphere was entirely different.

Master Tongtian was sunk deep into a soft beanbag chair—his insistence had compelled Lin Fan to buy it as his "throne for comprehending the Dao." His brow was furrowed, and a palpable gloom hung over his handsome face. Clutched in his hand was not the Qingping Sword, capable of forming the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, but a smartphone whose screen had nearly been rubbed smooth. Brilliant effects flashed across it, accompanied by rousing background music and... a crisp little "ding" that, to his ears, was unbearably grating.

Another streak of blue light flashed.

"An R Card! Another R Card!" Master Tongtian practically ground out the words, his fingers whitening as he clenched them. "My thirteenth ten-pull! A full one hundred and thirty draws, and all I got was the guaranteed SR?! And it's a duplicate 'Qingfeng Child'! That useless wretch isn't even worthy of guarding the latrine at Biyou Palace!"

He abruptly raised his head. Tiny sword lights seemed to flicker in his eyes as he glared at Lao Tzu, who was peacefully sipping tea across from him. His voice brimmed with grief and confusion. "Lao Tzu! Tell me! What is the logic behind this Heavenly Dao... no, this 'probability'?! Back in the day, I had a seat in Zixiao Palace. Countless spiritual treasures went to those with the proper affinity! When have I ever had to endure such an insult?! Could the will of this world be deliberately making things difficult for me?"

Lao Tzu slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the woebegone "Qingfeng Child" on Tongtian's screen. "Those blessed with deep fortune need not seek; blessings come of their own accord. Those with restless hearts seek in vain. Daoist Tongtian, you are attached to appearances."

"Spare me the talk of tranquility and nonaction!" Master Tongtian irritably raked a hand through his hair, disheveling his once-flowing locks. "You don't understand! This newly released limited banner for 'Chaos Demon God Hou' is unbelievably strong, and the looks... suit my tastes as well! If I miss it, who knows how many years until it returns! I can't swallow this!"

Lin Fan happened to emerge from the kitchen with a plate of Qingxin Glazed Cake made by Jumang. Its color looked relatively normal—supposedly, it had been made with lotus seeds and morning dew. Hearing Tongtian's complaint, he couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth. Ever since this Sage had become obsessed with the gacha game, his vocabulary had kept pace with the times. He even knew all about "strength," "looks," "limited banners," and "reruns."

"Master Tongtian," Lin Fan said, setting the cake on the coffee table in an attempt to console him. "Gacha's all about your face... I mean, luck. How about taking a break and playing something else? Or... topping up for a 648-yuan bundle?" He sounded a little guilty at that last part. After all, the money Tongtian had spent topping up had all been "borrowed" from him—and never repaid.

"A break?" Master Tongtian snorted. "That word doesn't exist in my dictionary! As for topping up..." His gaze swept over Lin Fan, sizing him up. "Xiao Lin, you've been looking rosy lately. Gong Gong's flood control must have earned him merit, and you must have gained some of that good fortune as well. Why not lend me a little to help me through this tribulation? I'll repay you handsomely someday!"

Lin Fan: "..." Thank you so much! Could I just not have that good fortune?

He could see it clearly now. Master Tongtian had fallen into a state of superstition over gacha. A few days ago, during the flood crisis, he'd been too preoccupied to play and had casually landed a decent SR with a single draw. Now, with nothing on his mind but the game, he was sinking ship after ship. Maybe that was what they meant by "mysticism can't save the unlucky, and spending can't change your fate."

"Master, you can't force a melon to be sweet," Lin Fan coaxed. "Why not try some gacha superstition? Like drawing in a place with good feng shui, or bathing and changing your clothes, then burning incense and praying..."

"Superstition?" Master Tongtian narrowed his eyes slightly, as if Lin Fan had touched a nerve. "I'm the forefather of mysticism! Why would I need to ask someone else for their tricks?!"

He sprang up from the beanbag chair. The Sage's ethereal yet cutting aura began to spread uncontrollably. The light in the living room seemed to distort, and invisible sword energy appeared to weave through the air.

"I refuse to believe this!" Master Tongtian held his phone and swept a sharp, swordlike gaze across the living room. "This place's energy is mediocre. It's no auspicious spot for pulling cards! I'll find a spiritual acupoint and set up a 'fortune-gathering formation.' Then let's see if probability can still stand against me!"

With that, he ignored Lin Fan's horrified expression and Lao Tzu's faintly furrowed brow, and strode straight toward the backyard.

Lin Fan's heart sank. It had only been a few days since the crisis of Gong Gong tearing down the dam, and now Master Tongtian was about to start messing with "feng shui formations"? Who knew whether his so-called "fortune-gathering formation" would throw the surrounding network signal, power grid, or even the earth's spiritual energy into chaos!

He hurried after him. Lao Tzu seemed curious—or perhaps just worried—and set down his teacup before following at an unhurried pace. Seeing them go, Nüwa put away her tablet and rose gracefully to join in the spectacle.

In the backyard, Jumang was crouched beside his spiritual herb garden, carefully infusing a moonlit orchid that was about to bloom with the essence of plants and trees. Gong Gong sat on the weather-beaten ruins of his rockery, engrossed in a book called An Analysis of the Structures of the World's Ten Greatest Dams.

Both men gave Master Tongtian a puzzled look as he emerged, his expression murderous.

"Tongtian? Why aren't you in there tinkering with that box of yours"—he meant the phone—"and what are you doing out here?" Gong Gong asked in his deep, rumbling voice.

Master Tongtian ignored him. Like a feng shui master searching for a dragon vein, he paced back and forth across the backyard, sometimes gazing up at the sky, sometimes bending down to inspect the ground, his fingers constantly working through calculations.

"The earth energy here is strong... but the sharp metal energy is too intense. It's not good for gathering fortune."

"This spot... is full of water vapor. Too damp; it could sully the spiritual flow."

"Hmm... this place is decent. Backed by the rockery"—Gong Gong: "What?"—and facing the herb garden, it conceals the wind and gathers energy, with the life of plants and trees to nourish it... It's not top-tier, but it'll do for now!"

He finally chose an open space near Jumang's herb garden. It was well-lit, and the spiritual energy there—mostly the energy of plants and trees—was indeed more abundant than elsewhere.

"This is the place!" Master Tongtian declared. He carefully placed his phone on a flat stone he had just cleared. Then he took a deep breath and began forming a series of intricate, profound hand seals.

Lin Fan's heart leapt into his throat. As Master Tongtian moved, the air around them began to tremble faintly. Tiny streams of spiritual energy, imperceptible to mortals but exceptionally potent, converged from all directions, drawn by an invisible force toward the stone beneath the phone. Faint sword chimes even seemed to ring through the air!

Jumang was the first to notice something was wrong. His herbs began to stir without a breeze, and the dewdrops on their leaves quivered as if they couldn't bear the sudden influx of energy. "Daoist Tongtian! Easy! My plants are delicate. They can't withstand you roughing them up like this!"

Gong Gong set down his book and frowned at the energy currents Tongtian was drawing in. "What are you playing at? It's just a draw. Is there really a need to use the Small Heavenly Cycle Spirit Guiding Formation? That's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!"

Lao Tzu stood under the eaves and shook his head slightly, but didn't intervene. He seemed to want to see what Tongtian would come up with.

Nüwa covered her mouth with a soft laugh. "Daoist Tongtian is certainly taking this seriously. He's treating it like a demonstration of the Dao."

Master Tongtian was completely focused and paid no attention to the commentary around him. He kept adjusting his hand seals, trying to make the gathered spiritual energy circle the phone along a particular trajectory of "fortune" that accorded with his calculations. Gradually, an invisible vortex of spiritual energy formed around the phone, about a meter in diameter. It turned slowly, giving off a faint glow that could be clearly sensed with divine awareness.

"The fortune-gathering spirit formation is complete!" Master Tongtian murmured. Beads of sweat had appeared at his temples. Using such a delicate formation to "bless" a phone, while making sure not to refine it into ash, was evidently a delicate task even for him.

He held his breath, solemnly extended his index finger, and tapped the "Ten Pulls" button on the screen.

At that moment, even Lin Fan unconsciously held his breath. Jumang stopped his work, and Gong Gong leaned over curiously. Lao Tzu and Nüwa focused their eyes on the little screen as well.

Light blazed! It was as if a rainbow had been crushed and scattered across the screen!

One... two... three...

Nine consecutive blue lights, like nine resounding slaps, smacked Master Tongtian across the face.

The final light was purple.

An SR! Another guaranteed SR! And it was a weapon! Not the "Chaos Demon God Hou" he'd been dreaming of!

The backyard fell silent. Only the wind stirred the herbs, whispering through them as if silently mocking him.

The expression on Master Tongtian's face shifted from anticipation to stillness, then turned livid before finally becoming an incredulous fury.

"Outrageous—!!!"

His roar made the backyard ring. Even the loose stones on the rockery came tumbling down. The carefully laid "fortune-gathering spirit formation" instantly collapsed, and the out-of-control spiritual energy spread in an invisible shockwave, making Lin Fan stumble, flattening a swath of Jumang's herbs, and whipping Nüwa's skirts into the air.

"My formation! The spiritual energy I drew from heaven and earth! And it still couldn't get me a single SSR?! The laws of this world! You dare bully a Sage!!!" Master Tongtian trembled with rage, sword energy surging around him. Fine marks appeared across the ground, carved by his invisible sword intent. He abruptly raised a hand, seemingly about to smash that "insolent" phone—and this "unjust" world along with it!

"Tongtian! Calm down!" Lin Fan was terrified out of his wits. Without thinking, he lunged forward and grabbed Tongtian's arm, once again feeling the despair of an insect trying to topple a tree. "The phone's innocent! Master, think of your account! Think of all the money you spent!"

Lao Tzu spoke at just the right moment. His cool voice soothed the restless spiritual energy and Tongtian's fury. "Daoist Tongtian, the time for your opportunity has not yet come. Forcing it will only invite trouble. Using such methods to interfere with the workings of a mere object is a poor choice. It's only natural that you should suffer a backlash."

Master Tongtian kept his hand raised, his chest heaving. Fury and frustration mingled in his eyes. He looked at the phone on the ground, unharmed and still displaying the results of the draw, then at the people around him—including the herbs—whose expressions ranged from sympathy to helplessness to amusement. At last, his overwhelming anger turned into a long sigh full of defeat.

His hand dropped limply. He picked up the phone and stared at the glaring SR weapon, muttering, "Could it be... that I really have no affinity with this 'probability'?"

Only after seeing him calm down did Lin Fan let go. He wiped the sweat from his brow, still shaken. That had been close. He'd just prevented another "Sage's Wrath" that might have affected the entire neighborhood's network.

After this failed experiment with "formation-assisted pulls," Master Tongtian seemed to have temporarily accepted reality—or perhaps he had simply bowed to probability. He stopped trying to challenge the game's rules with extraordinary methods, but that didn't mean he gave up. He merely... switched tracks.

If luck wasn't on his side, then he'd rely on his skill to make up for the losses!

He turned his attention to another core feature of the game: the PVP arena.

If gacha tested one's elusive luck, then the arena tested genuine skill, awareness, strategy, and understanding of the game's mechanics. For the leader of the Interception Sect, who had once set up the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, contended with the Sages, and presided over a gathering of ten thousand immortals, this seemed like... a perfect opportunity to put his talents to use.

Master Tongtian began studying the skills, attribute matchups, and team compositions of every character in the game with obsessive dedication. His powerful ability to calculate and deduce, along with his terrifying speed of learning—both gifts of a Sage—were on full display.

Several times, Lin Fan got up for a drink of water in the middle of the night, only to see that Master Tongtian's room was still lit—or perhaps it didn't need a light at all, since he gave off one himself. Tongtian sat cross-legged before his phone, his fingers moving so quickly across the screen that they left afterimages as he muttered to himself. "Here, use Po Jun Style to charge in, follow with Yao Guang Slash to control the field, then finish them off with Tian Shu Seal... Hmm, this lineup is vulnerable to control. I need a support who can dispel it..."

He was no longer satisfied with simple auto-battles or reckless charges. He began studying positioning, skill timing, energy management, and even how to exploit the subtle features of the game maps. In an astonishing way, he blended his understanding of formations, swordsmanship, and even the laws of Heavenly Dao into his gameplay.

As a result, Master Tongtian's arena ranking skyrocketed.

From the beginner tier, he fought his way through match after match and swept into the upper ranks. His opponents were horrified to discover that the player named "Supreme Purity Sword Master"—a name Tongtian had chosen himself—had an extremely vicious, tricky fighting style. His predictions were so precise that they seemed to rely on a full-map hack, and his control was so meticulous it was maddening. He often beat stronger opponents with seemingly unremarkable character combinations, pulling off astonishing team plays and damage.

Posts about "Supreme Purity Sword Master" began appearing on the forums.

"Holy crap! I ran into 'Supreme Purity Sword Master'! Is that movement scripted? His skills never land!"

"Any advice on countering 'Supreme Purity Sword Master's' Three Talents Sword Formation Style? He wiped me out with one combo. I couldn't fight back at all!"

"Word is, 'Supreme Purity Sword Master' might be a pro player's alternate account. His game sense and control are terrifying!"

Lin Fan occasionally came across these posts while browsing the forums, and his feelings were complicated. He knew perfectly well that it wasn't a script or a pro player. It was a Sage playing a mobile game in the same way he comprehended the Great Dao...

Thanks to his outstanding performance in the arena, Master Tongtian earned a large amount of in-game currency and rewards. He still couldn't draw the "Chaos Demon God Hou" he wanted most, but at least he could exchange his winnings for other powerful characters and equipment, making up for his terrible luck in gacha. He even began experimenting with how to use his "free" resources to build the strongest possible arena team, and he couldn't get enough of it.

Master Tongtian could once again often be seen engrossed in arena matches in the villa's living room. The difference was that before, he had worn a gloomy look while pulling cards; now he was full of confidence after winning—though he still occasionally got so angry about network lag or useless teammates that he wanted to send Immortal Slaughtering Sword energy through the internet.

"Hmph. Mere mortals dare to challenge me?" After a satisfying victory, Master Tongtian set down his phone and picked up the chrysanthemum tea Lin Fan had made him to cool his temper. He shot a smug glance at Gong Gong, who was reading the news nearby. "Gong Gong, have you seen what 'skill' looks like? How could it compare to someone like you, who relies on brute force?"

Gong Gong looked up from An Analysis of the Seismic Resistance of the World's Most Famous Bridges and snorted. "Cheap tricks! You've got the guts to come out and fight me with real weapons!"

"What a barbarian's argument!" Master Tongtian scoffed.

Lao Tzu looked at the two of them, shook his head, and continued sipping his tea. Nüwa, meanwhile, was more interested in the dazzling skill effects on Tongtian's screen. She thought they could help her improve the lighting effects for her "Nine Heavens Jade Dew Beauty Mask."

Watching them, Lin Fan suddenly felt that perhaps Master Tongtian's gaming addiction... wasn't entirely a bad thing. At least he was venting his destructive urges in a virtual world, and he had also become a top player in the game, bringing glory to the Interception Sect's name—in the game, at least.

Still, seeing Master Tongtian's face grow slightly pale from his long gaming sessions—even Sages could suffer mental fatigue—and his dark circles getting worse—unless Lin Fan was imagining it—Lin Fan couldn't help reminding him, "Master Tongtian, games are fun, but you should take care of your Sage's health."

Master Tongtian waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing! A little mental fatigue is easily fixed with a short meditation. I'll rest after I reach the Apex of Kings tier and get that limited-edition profile frame!"

Right. He was completely hooked.

Lin Fan sighed. Getting these big shots to live entirely "normal" daily lives was clearly going to be a long and difficult task. He felt the little slip of paper in his pocket, the one with the registration instructions for the "City of Light Community Talent Show," and mused to himself: Could Master Tongtian's godlike gaming skills count as... a talent?

Even Lin Fan found the thought absurd. Then again, in this villa, what could be more absurd?

Tongtian's gaming routine continued, caught between the bitter frustration of gacha and the glory of the arena, as his legend as "Supreme Purity Sword Master" unfolded. Everyone else in the villa had long since grown used to having a gaming-addicted Sage nearby, sometimes irritable and sometimes smug, forever locked in battle with his phone screen.

And so the days passed, full of chaos and commotion, yet with a peculiar... charm of their own.