Brother Lu, I made it

"Defense-breaking function? Negative emotions can also earn Demonic Path points?"

Lu Ze grinned inwardly, delighted:

"Damn, this system is practically forcing me to torment people..."

That said, Lu Ze had no intention of focusing solely on making games like Getting Over It.

Not only was there a real risk of life-threatening consequences, but the Demonic Path point gains weren’t particularly impressive either.

Lu Ze’s philosophy was to create large-scale, sustainable games—that was the system’s ultimate purpose.

Of course, the defense-breaking function did provide a nice boost to the accumulation speed of Demonic Path points.

It was like activating a double XP card.

Add the Cyber Ten Thousand Soul Banner into the mix, and it became a triple XP card.

"With two sect servers available, the next game should be something multiplayer..."

Lu Ze stroked his chin, already plotting his next move.

......

......

That night, the Tianxuan Sect was in turmoil.

"Did you hear? Senior Brother Shen fell victim to the illusion yesterday!"

"Who hasn’t heard? Even his inner demon manifested!"

"What’s the deal with that Lu Ze? A mere illusion actually forced Senior Brother Shen’s inner demon out?"

"What Lu Ze? Show some respect—call him Old Demon Lu!"

"Yesterday, I saw Elder Chi personally go over and detain Old Demon Lu and his master... This matter won’t end well!"

"What do you think Elder Chi will do to punish Old Demon Lu?"

"In my opinion, he should be thrown into that illusion himself—no release until he clears it!"

"Seconded."

"Seconded!"

......

......

The next day.

Lu Ze noticed that the pavilion where he was staying had suddenly become surrounded by Tianxuan Sect disciples.

Judging by their gleeful expressions, they were probably here to revel in his supposed downfall.

Then someone shouted, "Why is Senior Brother Shen here?"

Lu Ze looked up and indeed saw Shen Yan soaring toward him at breakneck speed—riding a flying hammer.

Wait…

A flying hammer?

Lu Ze rubbed his eyes.

He wasn’t seeing things.

Shen Yan, who had always been ashamed of his hammer’s unrefined appearance and avoided showing it in public, was now proudly riding one?

Just yesterday, when giving Lu Ze a tour of the Tianxuan Sect, he had gone out of his way to cast an illusion, disguising the hammer as an elegant green flying sword.

How could his attitude change so drastically overnight?!

Whispers erupted among the crowd.

"Am I seeing things? Senior Brother Shen is actually riding a… flying hammer?"

"Not exactly the image befitting a holy son, huh?"

"Is he here to settle the score with Lu Ze?"

"Definitely! Old Demon Lu is the one who triggered his inner demon!"

"This is the first time I’ve seen Senior Brother Shen use a hammer."

"Rumor has it the hammer is Senior Brother Shen’s strongest weapon. Looks like he’s serious this time."

"Hahaha! Time to collect Old Demon Lu!"

......

Watching Shen Yan’s aggressive approach, Lu Ze couldn’t help but wonder:

Was Shen Yan really here for revenge?

He quickly ran through possible countermeasures in his mind.

In terms of cultivation, Shen Yan was slightly stronger than Zhong Yi and Zhou Yue—even with cheats, Lu Ze stood no chance.

Though his master, Nangong Yuan, was resting inside the pavilion, given the old man’s temperament, he’d probably think Lu Ze deserved a little discipline.

No life-threatening danger, sure, but a brutal beating was inevitable.

‘Should I use the jade pendant the old coot gave me?’

Lu Ze instinctively pulled the pendant from his storage ring, rubbing it thoughtfully.

Then he suddenly remembered—the words inscribed on it were still ["Hahaha"], not yet changed back to ["Spare me, hero!"].

That wouldn’t do.

If he activated it now, his alternate identity would be exposed.

Given the things his alt-account had said in yesterday’s livestream, Shen Yan might just beat him to death...

As his mind raced, Shen Yan waved from above and called out cheerfully, "Brother Lu!"

The crowd of Tianxuan Sect disciples outside the pavilion stared in shock.

No one could understand why, after being tortured into manifesting an inner demon by Lu Ze, Shen Yan wasn’t resentful—but instead seemed overjoyed?

Honestly, Lu Ze was just as confused.

Had Shen Yan lost his mind?

Or had the inner demon taken over?

"Brother Lu! I’ve succeeded!!! Hahaha!!!" Shen Yan laughed heartily.

With his sharp senses, he was well aware of the murmurs below, so he deliberately raised his voice:

"Thanks to Brother Lu’s illusion… my inner demon has been eradicated!"

Lu Ze blinked. "Huh?"

Shen Yan also paused. "Huh? Wasn’t the illusion… deliberately designed to help me overcome my inner demon?"

"Oh… that."

Lu Ze instantly adopted the demeanor of an expert, clasping his hands behind his back with an air of indifference:

"Naturally. It was but a trivial effort."

"Thanks to you, Brother Lu, I’ve now achieved the state of Hammer-Man Unity…"

Shen Yan landed gracefully, twirling the hammer in his hand.

He had battled his inner demon all night.

In the end, he embraced the hammer as his true soul weapon, conquering his inner demon.

Though he didn’t demonstrate any Hammer-Man Unity techniques, no one doubted the weight of his words.

Or rather—

The moment he proudly displayed the hammer in public, Lu Ze knew he had reached that realm.

Hearing this, the surrounding Tianxuan Sect disciples were stunned.

No one had imagined that what seemed like a mere torture illusion actually concealed profound wisdom!

Not only had Shen Yan achieved Hammer-Man Unity, but he had also shattered his inner demon!

This thing was a treasure!

Someone took the lead, and soon, disciples swarmed Lu Ze’s pavilion.

"Brother Lu, can you sell me an illusion crystal of Getting Over It?"

"I want one too—don’t cut in line!"

"I’ll pay ten times the price! Give me one!!"

"I always knew Brother Lu had an upright aura—his illusions must be miraculous!"

......

Faced with their enthusiasm, Lu Ze was thrilled.

This was a goldmine of Demonic Path points!

As it happened, he did have some illusion crystals on hand.

The night before, Zhong Yi had sent him a message asking for a few copies—apparently for Zhou Yue and Mu Yawen.

Since they were cheap and easy to make, Lu Ze had prepared extras.

"No need to fight, there’s enough for everyone..."

"Ten times the price? Do I look like that kind of person? I create illusions solely to help fellow cultivators ascend to immortality!"

"Here you go—10 spirit stones each. Take it… and make sure to clear it!"

......

......

Watching the disciples march off with their illusion crystals, full of fighting spirit, Lu Ze felt deeply satisfied.

Now all he had to do was wait for the harvest.

"Brother Lu is truly wise, instantly recognizing my weakness..." Shen Yan sighed.

He had cared too much about others’ opinions, making it hard to follow his true path.

Last night’s inner demon ordeal had been his awakening.

Looking back, the more he thought about it, the more he believed Lu Ze had been guiding him deliberately—especially by making him livestream.

Without the pressure of countless sectmates watching, Shen Yan wouldn’t have broken so thoroughly.

Yet precisely because of this, he turned misfortune into fortune—not only severing his inner demons but also achieving unity between man and hammer, even solidifying his Dao Heart further than before.

"Honestly, I didn’t do that much..."

Faced with Shen Yan’s praise, Lu Ze’s face flushed with embarrassment.

If Shen Yan knew the truth, he might not believe it—Lu Ze had created "Climb the Mountain" purely to break his spirit...

"And then there was that guy named [Conquering Illusions with Senior Brother Shen Yan]. If not for him, I wouldn’t have given up so easily... By the way, Brother Lu, do you have a way to find out who he is? Which peak of the Tianxuan Sect does he belong to?"

Shen Yan suddenly recalled the barrage of heart-piercing comments from yesterday and couldn’t help but ask.

"Brother Shen, I am a righteous cultivator! How could I casually expose someone else’s identity?"

Lu Ze refused with righteous indignation.

"You’re right..."

Shen Yan nodded regretfully.

"Oh, Brother Lu, didn’t you mention earlier that after I achieved unity between man and hammer, you’d craft a special illusion to temper my sword path?"

"I think I did say something like that... Wait here, I’ll make one for you right now."

"There’s no need to rush..."

"Here, it’s done."

"So fast!? What kind of trial is inside?"

"You’ve been sealed in a jar by demonic cultivators again, and this time, you’re holding a sword."

"...On second thought, specializing in the hammer path sounds just fine."

......

After chatting for a while, the communication jade slip at Shen Yan’s waist suddenly received a message from Chi Shengtian.

"Brother Lu, my master has requested your presence."