After returning to the culinary competition venue, Lin Bai issued a new order to the Justice League, asking them to provide all Rope Type Magical Implements and flexible metals.
...
The unfriendly setup of having to prepare the ropes himself took Lin Bai by surprise.
Hu Qing possessed the cultivation of the Hollow Realm.
Although he was a pet beast, his cultivation realm was evident, and the belt on his body was also a Magic Treasure. Yet, when bound by such a Magic Treasure, he easily broke free.
So what kind of rope could bind a Great cheng cultivator?
What a useless Divine Skill!
However, Lin Bai did not give up.
The blacksmith's six-piece set had the ability to upgrade Magic Treasures, so he could simply continue to upgrade the ropes' level.
The Bind the Immortal Rope in the Investiture of the Gods constrained Yang Jian, and the Bind the Immortal Rope of the Supreme Old Man restrained Sun Wukong.
These two ropes should be the pinnacle of Rope Type Magical Implements.
Currently, Lin Bai only possessed the theory of primary-level Magic Treasures. Only after the God of Craftsmen System had helped him forge weapons for famous figures, and the task to achieve Fame was completed, was he rewarded with the theory of intermediate-level Magic Treasures.
Lin Bai sighed and thought to himself, I'll probably have to wait until I master the theory of high-level Magic Treasures before I can truly refine the Bind the Immortal Rope.
It seems all systems have their own destiny. Tasks must be done, and rewards might come in handy at any time.
Since returning with Lin Bai, Xu Longyun had been blushing and seemed absent-minded. Duke Zhenguo frowned and asked, "Xiao Yun, what kind of Divine Skill has he comprehended?"
Xu Longyun was jolted back to her senses. She glanced at her father, momentarily speechless and unsure how to reply.
But Lin Bai was already collecting ropes over there. This Divine Skill was bound to debut in the upcoming battle. Watching Lin Bai's retreating figure, Xu Longyun pondered for a moment and gave the Divine Skill a pleasing name: "Bind the Immortal."
Hearing this name, Lin Bai turned back and smiled faintly, giving Xu Longyun a thumbs-up before turning to Duke Zhenguo and saying, "Just like Separation of Love, no one can escape the lock of Bind the Immortal."
"Not even those in the Mahayana Realm?" Duke Zhenguo asked.
"Not even those in the Mahayana Realm," Lin Bai affirmed confidently. "Duke, if there are any Rope Type Magical Implements in The Northern Army, you could lend them to me. Once Bind the Immortal is used, it will greatly reduce The Northern Army's losses."
"Alright," Duke Zhenguo said, glancing at Lin Bai and nodding.
Lin Bai's Laws could attack a wide area without causing any friendly fire, making them ideal for group battles. He indeed did not mind increasing Lin Bai's combat power.
In Duke Zhenguo's mind, it would be best if Lin Bai remained the main force in this war; forcing out the ancestors of the Righteous Door would be the ideal outcome...
In the Cultivation World, there were not many Rope Type Magical Implements. Most cultivators pursued destructive power. Even if they truly wanted to capture an opponent alive, various restraining arts existed, so they wouldn't necessarily refine a rope specifically for binding people.
The Taoists of Return to Dragon View and Wind Spirit Observatory possessed horsetail whisks, which could barely be classified as Rope Type Magical Implements. However, compared to the requirements for binding, horsetail whisks were too short.
Lin Bai requisitioned Rope Type Magical Implements. He ended up collecting mostly Binding Beast Ropes from the Beast Control Sect, as well as Hundred Flower Vines, Golden Bell Ropes, and other such Magic Treasures occasionally refined by female cultivators from Hundred Flower Valley and Wash Flower Valley for aesthetic purposes. Most of them were low-end Magic Treasures and few in number.
Honestly, when Lin Bai saw these Magic Treasures, he was somewhat disappointed. They were too fragile.
However, The Northern Army soon surprised him.
The cultivators of the Righteous Seven Sects and the Demonic Five Sects cultivated for immortality and to overcome their Tribulation to become immortals. However, Taiyi Country cultivated cultivators with the goal of one day breaking free from the suppression of cultivation sects. Therefore, the cultivators of The Northern Army were trained as a military force.
The Northern Army possessed many chain-type Magic Treasures, such as Falling Star Hammers capable of destroying transport vessels like Sword Boats, as well as flying hooks, flying hammers, and similar items.
In a short time, the viewing platform was piled high with various long and short Rope Type Magical Implements, adorned with hooks, cymbals, hammers, and claws. They were starkly out of place amidst the fragrant atmosphere of the culinary competition.
...
Ye Song and the undercover agents from various sects were puzzled by the ropes Lin Bai had suddenly collected.
The weakest cultivators on this expedition were at the Hollow Realm. Could Lin Bai possibly expect these low-end Magic Treasures to harm Hollow Realm experts?
If someone in the Hollow Realm could be harmed by these ropes, it would be the biggest joke in the world!
...
Collecting the equipment took some time. With less than an hour remaining before the final attack, Lin Bai no longer hesitated. On the viewing platform, he set out the blacksmith's six-piece set and began upgrading his selected ropes at top speed.
Every bit of added strength to the ropes counted.
Lin Bai possessed the Eye of the Broken, so the strengths and weaknesses of the Magic Treasures were clear to him at a glance.
Selecting the ropes with the fewest flaws, he began to forcibly meld Soft Silver, Wax Gold, and other flexible metal materials into these Rope Type Magical Implements using his hammer.
Time was short, so Lin Bai focused on refining over twenty ropes, rapidly upgrading them to improve their quality.
His crude Artifact Refining methods, boasting a one hundred percent success rate, left the Artifact Refiners from the Spirit Artifact Pavilion and Treasures Refining Pavilion speechless.
Wan Qifeng kept shaking his head and sighed, "The Alliance Hierarch is truly a genius among geniuses. With such crude Artifact Refining methods, anyone else would have destroyed the Magic Treasures long ago. Yet, in the Alliance Hierarch's hands, not a single one fails. If he were to focus on Artifact Refining, within ten years, the position of Sect Master of the Tool Refining Sect would surely be his."
"The Alliance Hierarch's talent in the Way of Elixirs is also extraordinary," Ma Changcheng said. "The Righteous Door somehow found such an excellent disciple. Compared to him, the prodigies of the Righteous Seven Sects are like fireflies trying to rival the bright moon. It is the misfortune of those prodigies to live in the same era as Lin Bai."
"Perhaps it's not that the Alliance Hierarch's Artifact Refining skills are brilliant, but that his methods conform to the underlying Principles, which is why he doesn't fail," He Qin said. "The Alliance Hierarch once said that all things have their Principles. The Way of Cooking has them, and surely, so do the Way of Artifact Refining and the Way of Elixirs."
Ma Changcheng and Wan Qifeng looked contemplative.
After a long pause, Ma Changcheng muttered, "Old Wan, perhaps we should concentrate on our own paths, rather than blindly pursuing the Love Principle or the Way of Incompleteness. We aren't prodigies like the Alliance Hierarch; those Ways are clearly not suitable for us."
Wan Qifeng nodded. "After this battle, we will ask the Alliance Hierarch about the Way of Elixirs and the Way of Artifacts."
Ge Feiyun looked at the chefs still stir-frying in the competition arena, then at Lin Bai, who was earnestly refining Magic Artifacts on the viewing platform. He sighed, "I wish I could take the Alliance Hierarch as my master! The more I interact with him, the more I revere the Righteous Door. If I could join the Righteous Door to cultivate one day, I would have no regrets in this life!"
Everyone deeply agreed.
...
This time was different from the Zhou Zhu incident.
The Justice League's Magpie Bridge involved the fundamental interests of the Righteous Seven Sects.
Both sides had adopted a stance of fighting to the death. The scope was broad and the impact profound; it could be said that this would affect the future landscape of the world.
This battle garnered extremely high attention among the Players.
Every Player's live stream room was packed with viewers, and the bullet screen comments were filled with heated speculation about the upcoming plot:
"I used to think Lin Bai was the ultimate villain, but now it seems he's clearly the world's innovator. The Righteous Seven Sects and the Demonic Five Sects represent the decadent ruling class. Helping Lin Bai overthrow them and establish a new order must be the game's main objective."
"Lin Bai is an invader; his appearance has plunged the world into chaos. I speculate that in this war, he might escape via the Magpie Bridge and continue to stir up trouble. Then, it'll be the Players' turn to choose factions: the weaker Justice League and Taiyi Country on one side, and the powerful Righteous Seven Sects and Demonic Five Sects on the other. After a massive war, the world's fate will be decided..."
"That's the setup for a typical game. In this one, Lin Bai might actually get killed!"
"Impossible!"
"Dream on."
"Absolutely impossible."
"Even if they're aiming for realism, they still have to follow normal development patterns. Lin Bai's Magpie Bridge compensates for the game world's lack of teleportation portals. This is clearly the developers patching the game, helping Players avoid tedious travel and enhancing their experience. They'd never kill off such an obvious plot-critical NPC."
"The comment above is spot on. Realism is relative. Even if the developers tout 'realism,' they wouldn't contradict themselves too much. What needs to happen for the story will happen."
"What do you guys think Bind the Immortal is? Lin, the Storekeeper, is fussing over those ropes, making them look all fancy, but they don't seem to have much killing power!"
"Judging by the name, it should be some kind of binding item, probably the key element in this battle..."
"With The Northern Army representing Taiyi Country joining the fray, we can finally expect something different, not just Lin Bai's one-man show."
"Screw the commenter above! I prefer watching Lin Bai's one-man show."
"I wonder if Lao Mi regrets backstabbing the Gao Gao elder now? I heard Lao Mi gets killed so often he can't even stay online."
"Lao Mi should be more worried about Lin, the Storekeeper, taking it out on him afterward. After all, Lin, the Storekeeper, used the Milky Way to bluff more than a dozen Great cheng experts. He clearly planned to develop steadily but was suddenly thrust into the eye of the storm. Anyone would be furious!"
"The commenter above is wrong again. The Gao Gao elder was just the catalyst. Looking at Lin, the Storekeeper's actions, he's never been one to play by the rules..."
"Counting the time, people from Sky Demon Mountain should be arriving soon! Every time we waste time waiting for them to travel, I become more certain that the Magpie Bridge will be preserved."
...
"Alliance Hierarch, these are the five chefs we've meticulously selected, along with the dishes they've prepared. The ranking is for you to decide." Silver led five people to the viewing platform.
The five individuals were dressed in clean white chef uniforms. Behind each, a Player held a prepared dish from which steam rose, carrying an aromatic scent.
To ensure the ropes were durable enough to trap a Great cheng expert, Lin Bai was cautiously infusing Mithril into three nearly flawless ropes for their final upgrade. Hearing the voice, he didn't look up and said, "Find a few people to taste their dishes and just choose a runner-up. Luck is also a part of strength. My disciples must possess great fortune."
Lin Bai had created the culinary competition to complete a task for the Cooking God System, ensuring he himself would be the champion. He didn't care about the other rankings.
As soon as these words were spoken, clear feedback of several emotions resonated in Lin Bai's mind:
[Resentment from Ye Song, Jiang Ying, Wang Chao, Huo Gezu, Shang Yi: +1+1+1+1...]
It couldn't be helped; even Ye Song couldn't stand Lin Bai's perfunctory attitude.
To join the Righteous Door, he, a dignified Great cheng expert, had honestly stir-fried dishes for two days. In his bid for runner-up, he had painstakingly crafted the most delicious dish of his life, even adding an eight-leaf fragrant herb he'd found on his travels, all to conquer Lin Bai's palate. And in the end, Lin Bai wouldn't even take a single bite?
How insulting!
Ye Song narrowed his eyes, suddenly suspecting this so-called culinary competition was merely a gimmick, not really for promoting the Way of Cooking, but perhaps a scheme to lure someone in...
...
Ye Song?
Lin Bai suddenly raised his head. Looking at the five people, he asked, "Who is Ye Song?"
He had memorized the information of the twelve Great cheng experts. The sudden appearance of someone in the culinary competition with the same name as a Great cheng ancestor of the Holy Extreme Sect naturally drew his particular attention.
"That would be me."
A chill ran down Ye Song's spine. He immediately put on a hearty, simple-looking smile and prepared to act.
At that moment, Lin Bai was only five meters away. If I choose to act now, at such a short distance, he'd struggle to escape death even with a protective Magic Treasure...
The Eye of the Broken scanned Ye Song. His body seems full of openings, but on closer inspection, there are no true flaws. He looks no different from the chefs next to him, yet any real deficiency is almost nonexistent...
In an instant, Lin Bai confirmed that the man before him was indeed Ye Song, the Great cheng ancestor from the Holy Extreme Sect.
What a character!
A Great cheng ancestor personally going undercover, even passing through rounds of a cooking competition... what is he trying to do?
Catch me off guard?
But if he wanted to assassinate me, he could have done it directly when I was refining artifacts just now!
Does he really need to wait until the rankings are announced?
If a real fight breaks out later and he makes his move then, I'll definitely be prepared. Another assassination attempt would be meaningless...
Or... did he poison the dish he cooked?
A flood of questions flashed through Lin Bai's mind. He looked at Ye Song and suddenly asked, "What is your relationship with the Great cheng ancestor from the Holy Extreme Sect?"
An uproar!
All eyes focused on Ye Song.
Sweat beaded on Ye Song's face. He looked at Lin Bai in a panic, waving his hands repeatedly and saying awkwardly, "Alliance Hierarch, I've also read Justice Weekly. I know the ancestor of the Holy Extreme Sect and I share the same name, but I really have nothing to do with him. I'm just a chef who admires you and wants to be your disciple. That's why I joined the culinary competition. It's really just a coincidence..."
"Master, he's just an ordinary person," Xu Longyun said, glancing at the bracelet on her wrist. "There are no fluctuations of Spiritual Power on him."
"Marshal, the forces from Sky Demon Mountain and the Valley of Thousand Souls have reached fifty li outside the city, within range of the Destroy Immortal Artillery. Shall we attack?" A Hollow Realm general named Ji Huo flew to the viewing platform and asked Duke Zhenguo for instructions.
"If the enemy doesn't move, we don't move," Duke Zhenguo said, glancing at Lin Bai. "We just need to protect Zhen City. Alliance Hierarch Lin will handle the rest."
"The same name, huh!" Lin Bai looked at Ye Song and gave a faint smile. He pounded his hammer on a Hundred Flower Vine, giving it one last upgrade, and said, "Alright, you're the runner-up. After I finish my dish and repel the enemies of the Justice League, I will take you as my disciple immediately."
"Thank you, Alliance Hierarch!" Ye Song was overjoyed.
"You're welcome." Lin Bai shot him a glance. Suddenly, a ring of the Milky Way appeared around Ye Song.
Ye Song froze, stuttering, "Alliance Hierarch, what is this?"
Sensing the flood of negative emotions from Ye Song, Lin Bai chuckled. "Ye Song, you're an ordinary person. You can't help much in the upcoming war, so why not stay in the city and focus on comprehending the Way of the Laws? The Way of Cooking and the Love Principle have commonalities. Don't underestimate the Milky Way; it can help you comprehend the mysteries of the Love Principle in advance..."
Comprehend my ass!
You're just fucking suspicious of me!
Ye Song cursed inwardly, almost unable to stop himself from jumping up and throttling Lin Bai then and there.
Without a loved one, the Milky Way is just a decoration.
The problem is, apart from Lin Bai, no one else can remove this damned decoration!
With this Milky Way around me, I'll be sparkling wherever I go. People will recognize me at a glance. How can I still be the Grandmaster of Metamorphosis?
Damn it all!
I'd heard Lin Bai was cautious, but I never expected him to be *this* cautious.
This is unbelievable!
This time, that girl Ye Lan will laugh herself to death at my expense...