You're Actually Looking Down on the Master's Cultivation

"Old fool, are you going to play your card or not!?"

"I can't take it anymore... I've run out of eggs to throw!!"

"I still have some left here!!!"

...

When Lu Ze followed Nangong Yuan into the council hall, he saw several elders gathered in a circle playing a round of "Military Eight."

Seven elders were unanimously pelting Lin Anzai—who was playing as the Strategist Zhuge Liang—with eggs, creating a rather spectacular scene.

"You old coots, what's the rush?"

Lin Anzai spoke leisurely, seemingly unfazed by the barrage of eggs raining down on him.

"I'm thinking, very seriously thinking... understand?"

The Strategist Zhuge Liang's skill, "Insight," allows any black card in hand to be used as a "Nullify."

This means that every time a scheme card is played on the field, Zhuge Liang can "ponder" for a while.

In simpler terms, he’s the equivalent of a "time-wasting troll" from card games in his past life.

Lin Anzai was playing this way because he had just pulled a new skin for Zhuge Liang, complete with flashy animations and background effects that played during his thinking phase.

He couldn’t resist showing off to his buddies.

"Ah, never mind, I won’t Nullify it~"

After a long pause, Lin Anzai finally declared.

But when the "Barbarian Invasion" card shifted from him to Zhao Wendao...

"Old Zhao isn’t in the best health, maybe I should think a little longer~~"

"Boom—!!"

Danqing Peak’s elder, Lin Qingxuan, had finally had enough. With a surge of spiritual energy, he forcibly disconnected from the game.

"Old Lin, I brought the stuff you asked for."

Nangong Yuan, ever the instigator, grinned and tossed a storage ring his way.

"Excellent!"

Lin Qingxuan’s eyes lit up as he channeled spiritual energy into the ring.

Instantly, hundreds of eggs floated behind him, transforming him into an egg-wielding warrior.

Lin Anzai sensed the danger and hastily exited the illusion, paling at the sight of the egg-filled sky.

"Let’s talk this out! There’s no need to—"

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

...

...

"Esteemed elders, what did you summon this junior for?"

Lu Ze struggled to suppress his laughter as he asked.

"Perhaps one of you should explain..."

Lin Anzai wiped egg residue from his face and nudged another elder from the Tianxuan Sect.

"Can we buy eggs in-game from now on? Running out mid-match is quite inconvenient!"

Gu Tianheng stroked his chin, making the suggestion with utmost seriousness.

"Eh?"

Lu Ze blinked, then nodded.

"Of course, I’ll make the change right away."

Lin Anzai scowled. "Is that really the issue here!?"

"Oh right, it’s about the recharge system..."

Gu Tianheng smacked his forehead and corrected himself.

Lu Ze quickly grasped the problem.

Currently, the recharge system relied on exchanging contribution points from the Lingxiao Sect.

But they were outsiders!

To recharge, they had to find someone to convert spirit stones into contribution points for them.

At first, it wasn’t a big deal.

But after the limited-time gacha pool launched yesterday, demand skyrocketed.

A single skin could cost hundreds or even thousands of contribution points, flipping the supply-demand balance upside down.

Prices soared accordingly.

By this morning, some unscrupulous merchants were even demanding rare treasures or magical artifacts in exchange for contribution points...

At this rate, even elders couldn’t afford to keep playing!

The problem was...

They genuinely loved "Three Kingdoms Kill."

So, they wanted to enable Tianxuan Sect’s contribution points as an alternative recharge method.

"Without a server—or rather, a Divine Resonance Array—this will be difficult..."

Lu Ze deliberately furrowed his brow and sighed.

The five Tianxuan Sect elders exchanged glances, their opinions seemingly divided.

"Ahem, a new 'Nation Wars' mode is about to launch, and we’re planning an online tournament..."

After Lu Ze explained the Nation Wars gameplay, even the hesitant elders grew intrigued.

Because Nation Wars sounded even more fun than the standard Identity mode!

Dual generals, faction battles, lone wolves...

The mechanics sparked their imaginations, and they were already brainstorming powerful general pairings.

"Top-ranking cultivators will earn naming rights for new skins~"

Lu Ze’s words were like a devil’s whisper.

When the Tianxuan Sect elders looked at each other again, their resolve was unanimous.

They desperately wanted to slap the Tianxuan Sect’s name on a Zhuge Liang skin!

For such a tournament, more participants meant more prestige.

Surely, they couldn’t have the entire Tianxuan Sect traveling to the Lingxiao Sect just to compete—how undignified!

After some haggling, the elders agreed to deploy the Divine Resonance Array.

"You brat... since you’re getting such a sweet deal, how about gifting us old-timers a Zhuge Liang skin?"

Lin Anzai was still hung up on the skins.

He’d spent 10,000 spirit stones yesterday and still failed to pull the coveted "Starborn Crane Sovereign" skin, leaving him heartbroken.

"Elder Lin, you misunderstand. The spirit stones I earn from the illusions are reinvested into them."

Lu Ze politely declined.

The elders didn’t press further.

After all, the production quality of "Three Kingdoms Kill" and "Immortal Realm Domination" spoke for itself.

Creating illusions of this caliber required staggering resources.

"Oh? You didn’t pull it either? Didn’t you consult the divinations first?"

Zhao Wendao teased.

"Hmph! Disciples of Tianxuan Sect would never debase our divination arts for such trivialities!"

Lin Anzai snorted disdainfully.

In truth, he had tried—but the divination failed. He’d been forced to rely on sheer luck.

For some reason, he couldn’t divine anything related to the illusions.

Lin Anzai wasn’t too surprised.

Given Nangong Yuan’s craftsmanship, it made sense that the crystals would have anti-divination wards.

A higher-tier divination that consumed divine energy might break through, but it wasn’t worth the effort.

Of course, no one knew the truth—it was all thanks to Lu Ze’s system-acquired treasure, the "Heavenly Veil Sigil Disk."

...

...

With the Tianxuan Sect server plan settled, the group prepared to depart.

As the array’s creator, Nangong Yuan naturally had to accompany them.

But Lu Ze was puzzled about being dragged along.

"You could handle the array setup alone, Master. Why bring me?"

"Old Lin said the Tianxuan Sect’s Grand Elder wants to meet you."

"Please tell me it’s not another skin request..."

"Hah! You think our elders are that childish, obsessed with your silly skins!?"

"Then, Master, would you like one as a gift?"

"..."

Nangong Yuan fell silent.

Given Lu Ze’s usual antics, he suspected an ulterior motive.

"Tch. Which of my treasures are you eyeing this time?"

"Not a treasure, but... shouldn’t you focus on improving your cultivation, Master?"

Lu Ze spoke bluntly, grinning at Nangong Yuan.

He desperately wanted a server network spanning the entire cultivation world.

So, he kept nudging his master to quit obsessing over artifact forging—a "side path"—and prioritize his own power.

"How about this—every time you advance a minor realm in cultivation, I'll gift you the most premium skin available. What do you say?"

"??? Are you actually dissatisfied with your master's cultivation level???"