"Lin, the Storekeeper is proficient in Martial Arts, Immortal Technique, Alchemy, Artifact Refining... and now, he has demonstrated excellent eloquence, discussing various aspects of modern knowledge in his debate. Tell me, how can a young man in his early twenties possibly acquire so many Skills at the same time? Only NPCs, only programs, can quickly instill so much knowledge and Skills in him! Anyone who says that person over there is from a real world, please step forward and face the music..."
"It's absolutely impossible for him to be a real person. To be honest, Lin, the Storekeeper's initial 'a white horse is not a horse' argument almost made me dizzy; it took me a long time to figure it out."
"This game is freaking epic. Its plot is always beyond expectation. Hats off to the game developers! Although Lin, the Storekeeper isn't a real person, the game developers have certainly made the most of him. I wonder how the consortiums will deal with such a powerful Lin Bai?"
"The Justice League has already secured a solid foundation. With the current strength of the Players, there's no way they can defeat Lin Bai in a head-to-head confrontation. They can only outsmart him."
"The consortiums never intended to oppose Lin, the Storekeeper. The strategies of the several consortiums are clear now: stabilize the current situation first and buy time for their own development. If the Players don't establish their own factions, they will never have a say in the game. They will either be used as tools or treated like dogs."
"I suspect the poster above is alluding to the Beggar Gang..."
"No need to allude. Lin, the Storekeeper's control is growing stronger, and the Beggar Gang's presence is waning. The Justice League Army later formed by Lin Bai, Little White Fox's Demon's Country, and the Supporting Group led by Jiang Qingqin are all tools Lin Bai uses to counterbalance the Beggar Gang. Once these forces develop, the Beggar Gang can be discarded. The era when the Beggar Gang could passively make money is over. Without their own unique features and strength, they are bound to face difficult times ahead."
"I hope the consortiums step up. I don't want to see Lin Bai continue to run rampant. Players should have their own voice in the game..."
"You all are fortunate. Lin Bai's existence in this game is unique. In just two months, you've been able to interact with the game's top rulers. In our Continent of Gods and Demons, Players are severely restricted by NPCs and can't develop at all. You should be grateful to Lin Bai. He has created a chaotic world for you, a fantastic opportunity for development..."
"Is the poster above from the Continent of Gods and Demons? What's the highest Level there?"
"Level 51, a Holy Knight named Arthur, equivalent to our Golden Core Monk. There's a video online; Western Players are very frustrated. They are basically tools for the NPCs. All Players are under NPC surveillance. They've attempted several revolts but were suppressed by the Religious Knights. Playing the game is incredibly depressing for them. Compared to them, Players on our side are indeed more at ease."
"I've also watched the video. Over there, Players wanted to emulate us and run advertisements in the game, but they were branded heretics and burned alive more than thirty times, to the point of deleting their accounts. Players in the Continent of Gods and Demons have protested more times than we have. This shows that this pot-stirrer, Lin Bai, is indeed a blessing for us."
"Players in the Continent of Gods and Demons have already changed their strategies. It's said they want to learn from our Lin, the Storekeeper, and instigate conflicts among the various factions in the Continent of Gods and Demons to profit from the chaos."
"Do you think there will be national Wars in the future?"
"Who knows? The NPCs in the Immortal World and the Continent of Gods and Demons are completely unaware of each other's existence. Those at the Great cheng realm are capable of Flying to the sky and escaping into the ground; it's impossible they wouldn't have discovered each other in tens of thousands of years. That's unreasonable. How can they talk about a War if they can't even find each other?"
"That's plausible. Remember the cosmic background during the Ninth Ancestor's projection? Perhaps the Xianxia Continent and the Continent of Gods and Demons aren't on the same planet. That could explain why they remained unaware of each other for tens of thousands of years. If this trend continues, the future might not hold a national War, but an interstellar War. Our perspective has been too narrow."
"Whoa! Now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense! Such subtle foreshadowing, hinting at events a thousand li away—you've managed to glimpse the future from a simple background detail. If you're right, I'll hail you as the Prophet!"
...
Lin Bai always set the trend for public opinion on the forums.
Inside and outside the game, he constantly topped the trending charts. Players and viewers alike enjoyed speculating on the game's trajectory based on Lin Bai; it had become a source of entertainment. After all, Immortal World was currently the most popular game.
In just over two months, the game company had issued more than 300,000 accounts, temporarily silencing the calls for a public beta. At this rate, a public beta was inevitable. However, the game company seemed deaf to the voices on the forums, and there was nothing the anxious players could do. Besides, everyone realized that in this game full of unknowns, there wasn't much difference between entering early or late. Each approach had its advantages, and success ultimately depended on individual capabilities.
Nowadays, recruitment ads from major groups on the forums had begun to favor professional talent. The primitive method of laborious grinding and Leveling up was clearly unsuitable for this new type of game...
「...」
Figures like Crispy Rice, Silver, and Bitter Melon Vine, who held power in the Beggar Gang, constantly monitored the game's developments. Naturally, they knew the Beggar Gang's progress had reached a bottleneck. If they didn't change course now, even if they weren't eliminated by Lin, the Storekeeper, they would be by Players who joined the Righteous Seven Sects and the Demonic Five Sects. The world's top Sects possessed far superior resources and Cultivation Techniques than the Beggar Gang.
The Justice League integrated lower-level Sects. Even though Pill Medicines and Cultivation Techniques from the Medicine King Valley and the Patent Office of the Justice League were available to them, their outdated Cultivation Techniques and Pill Medicines would only widen the gap between them and other Players. The problem was that Lin, the Storekeeper's Way of Law lacked universality, and no Players could learn it...
Moreover, with the entry of large consortiums and the increasingly prominent issue of in-game advertisement conversion rates, securing advertisements was becoming more difficult. Plus, Xu Longyun's consolidation of the Beggar Gang's financial power had made life for Beggar Gang Players far less comfortable than before. The Beggar Gang still had savings to sustain itself for now. But once they ran out of money, no Players would be willing to remain mere cheerleading lackeys for Lin, the Storekeeper!
The financial groups were offering increasingly high sums to attract Players. Individuals like Silver and Bitter Melon Vine had actually been privately contacted by HR from the financial groups. But having grown accustomed to earning easy money, they were reluctant to switch to working for the consortiums... After all, Lin Bai and the Justice League were still leading in the game, and the Beggar Gang was in the top tier. There was no reason to admit defeat before the fight even began.
「...」
Through Xu Longyun's intelligence department and private chats with Players, Lin Bai quickly grasped the current situation.
"The Poison Sect and Blood Sect have joined forces and are stationed in Yimucheng. The Pill and Spirit Sect and the Tool Refining Sect have also united. The Valley of Thousand Souls and Sky Demon Mountain have allied. The Beast Control Sect is currently in Fiore City..." Xu Longyun summarized the current intelligence. "These forces, led by Great cheng experts, are all stationed in the basic cities surrounding Zhen City. Although they haven't attacked, they've tacitly formed an encirclement. Once they decide to launch an offensive, they could reach Zhen City in as little as half a day, or a full day at most. We must be prepared."
"Alliance Hierarch, their current positions are all within Justice League territory. They haven't touched our assets, but frankly, they've already encroached upon our domain. If we don't respond, I'm afraid they'll push their luck further," Crispy Rice said, seemingly eager to stir up trouble.
The Beggar Gang was in a perilous situation. The Players didn't want Lin Bai to organize some cooking competition; they'd rather he go out and expand their territory. This time, fighting Zhou Zhu and Master Forget in Zhen City had allowed the Players to earn money through advertisements. However, in their view, it was a losing proposition. After all, Lin Bai had let Zhou Zhu and Master Forget escape. He neither turned them into Puppets nor obtained their Cultivation Techniques...
"Exactly! The Poison Sect and the Blood Sect have been secretly recruiting our Disciples remaining in Yimucheng. Many Disciples, attracted by their Cultivation Techniques, have chosen to defect. Those who didn't defect are no match for them. If this continues, our hard-won businesses will be suppressed again," Bitter Melon Vine added. "Many operations can no longer continue."
"Alliance Hierarch, it seems we've been continuously winning, but if we don't secure our foundation, we won't be able to absorb new blood. I'm afraid the Justice League will be slowly strangled," Wild Wolf said, aligning himself with Crispy Rice.
"Alliance Hierarch, Jiamucheng is the Beggar Gang's foundation. Once the Poison Sect and Blood Sect send people to control Jiamucheng, we'll be confined to Zhen City," Crispy Rice said. "Lao Mi and more than half of the Beggar Gang's Disciples are in Qian City. They have no ability to resist Great cheng experts. If an attack is launched on the Beggar Gang's headquarters, we won't have time to rescue them."
"And there's another crucial problem. This time, a large number of Heaven-Sent individuals are being directly taken by the Righteous Seven Sects and the Demonic Five Sects for training. Once they become a formidable fighting force, neither the Beggar Gang nor the Justice League Army will be their match. After all, our Cultivation Techniques and Pill Medicines can't compare to those of the Righteous Seven Sects," Bitter Melon Vine said. "Alliance Hierarch, you know the talent of these Heaven-Sent individuals. Before long, an army that fears no death could attack us. You can't be expected to handle everything personally all the time!"
Dragon Breath said, "Alliance Hierarch, forgive my bluntness, but He Qin and the others have reached their growth ceiling; their combat power cannot be significantly improved in the short term. We Players should be the main force in future battles. The Justice League should invest more in us, transforming us into the sharpest blades for the Alliance Hierarch..."
The Players took turns voicing their opinions on the current situation, completely dominating the post-battle meeting. He Qin and the others could barely get a word in. Although they were reluctant to admit it, the Players were right. Even though they were key members of the Justice League, they were no match for enemies at the Great cheng realm. Consider the occupied Yimucheng and Fiore City. If Lin Bai sent them to retake those cities, who could guarantee success? Going there would be tantamount to suicide.
The Justice League's current predicament was a lack of high-end combat power. They couldn't defend the territories they had captured. For instance, if Lin Bai were to leave on an expedition now, Zhen City might be lost again... If this continued, the Justice League would remain an isolated force, doomed to be worn down and eventually defeated over time.
Once the Players had finished speaking, Xu Longyun finally turned to Lin Bai, "Master, they're right. We do indeed need a base to cultivate talent. For long-term development, guerrilla warfare isn't sustainable. Crucially, if this continues, our resources will dwindle, and eventually, we won't be able to keep up."
Lin Bai remained silent.
The Extreme Kill-Back System's mission to "fight for a way out" had not yet registered as complete. This indicated his current crisis was far from over. The battle with Zhou Zhu and Master Forget hadn't been enough to deter the Righteous Seven Sects.
Lin Bai asked, "How are the preparations for the cooking competition progressing?"
Everyone was stunned.
Xin Shang said, "Alliance Hierarch, with Great cheng cultivators at our doorstep, I believe we should postpone the cooking competition for now and focus on securing our foundation. Perhaps we should mobilize immediately and go defeat two more Great cheng cultivators..."
"The cooking competition is to promote the Way of Cooking; it's no small matter," Lin Bai interrupted him. "Sect Leader Xin, the Justice League's founding purpose has always been to promote the Way, not to fight for or seize territory. Our success lies in drawing more people to our side through the Way. Losing one or two towns occasionally is insignificant. Mobilizing now would only make it seem like we fear them. We should proceed with our plans as usual, responding to all changes by remaining unchanged."
Xin Shang pursed his lips and said no more.
Xu Longyun said, "The chefs from Geng Metal City, Jiamucheng, Dinghuo City, and Xu Earth City are still en route and won't arrive until the day after tomorrow at the earliest. If we don't wait for them, the cooking competition can begin tomorrow. If we wait for everyone, it can start the day after tomorrow at the earliest. And according to the Beggar Gang's competition format, the entire event, from start to finish, will take at least two days."
"Starting tomorrow, let those who have already arrived begin the preliminary rounds," Lin Bai looked at Xu Longyun and said. "Don't waste time verifying their identities. Keep it simple; start the competition directly. No one can assassinate me during the cooking competition."
"Alright." Xu Longyun nodded. She would simply carry out Lin Bai's instructions without imposing her own will. Experience had shown that Lin Bai's abilities far exceeded her own, and she didn't understand the Way of Law, so it was best to listen to him.
"Silver, Wild Wolf, get 'Justice Weekly' and the 'Heavenly Review' moving. Publicize today's events and let more people know about the power of the Law of Love—the sooner, the better." Lin Bai looked at the whispering Players and said, "Don't worry about Zhou Zhu's and Master Forget's reputations. Directly inform the public that they fell for each other because they were affected by my, the Alliance Hierarch's, Way of Love. Emphasize their ignorance..."
"Is the Alliance Hierarch trying to pressure them into joining the Justice League?" Wild Wolf asked.
"Precisely. No one can offend the Justice League and escape unscathed," Lin Bai nodded affirmatively. "Also, convey to those Great cheng experts outside: ask them if they are prepared to accept new marital Fates? The 'Heavenly Review' can conduct a survey to see which pairings the public is most eager to see."
"Yes!" Wild Wolf responded enthusiastically. A Lin, the Storekeeper willing to stir things up is a good Storekeeper! I just hope he doesn't neglect his primary responsibilities!
Lin Bai pondered for a moment, then said, "Also, send out invitations. Invite those Great cheng experts to observe the cooking competition."
HISS!
A collective gasp went through the onlookers.
Xu Longyun looked at Lin Bai with concern. "Master, are you sure you can handle ten Great cheng experts simultaneously? Perhaps we should play it safe and avoid such a risk!"
She couldn't help but worry. After all, while Lin Bai had seemed to have the upper hand against Zhou Zhu, once Zhou Zhu attacked, Lin Bai had mostly been on the defensive. Xu Longyun had personally witnessed the Chaos Jade being activated several times.
"What's there to fear? The Ninth Ancestor is watching from the heavens; I'll be fine," Lin Bai said with a confident smile. "My only concern is that they won't dare to come!"