Event: Battle of the Gods

"Look at you... just look at you!!"

Zhao Wendao's beard bristled with anger as he pointed a teaching rod at Zhong Yi, who knelt on the ground with a guilty expression.

"Master, this disciple admits his mistake," Zhong Yi said, his face flushing red as he hurriedly apologized.

Earlier, on a whim, he had dragged Mu Yawen into playing Scoundrel's Teahouse.

To his surprise, the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm had recovered quickly, rendering their communication jade slips useless.

Zhong Yi then sent Li Moran to inform the elders that they were safe.

But in that short span of time, Zhong Yi had managed to doom himself with his own jinxed words.

It started with a careless laugh—"Hahaha, six chances, how could I possibly get it on the first try?"—and ended with a single, fatal shot, sealing his fate.

As if that weren’t enough, Chi Shengtian, outside the secret realm, had just divined an ominous sign:

"A true disciple has fallen."

The elders were frantic.

They had assumed that even if a Golden Core cultivator practiced forbidden arts or demonic techniques, they’d be no match for a Nascent Soul expert.

Yet three had entered, and now one was dead?

Especially Zhao Wendao—these were all disciples of the Lingxiao Sect, the pride of their sect!

Dozens of elders, their bodies drained and blood trickling from their noses and mouths, forced their way in, ready to avenge their fallen disciple…

And so, the scene unfolded.

Lu Ze, the real instigator, stood behind Zhong Yi, struggling to suppress his laughter.

The mighty Nascent Soul senior brother, kneeling pitifully before everyone, being scolded—it was downright comical.

I have to recreate this legendary moment with Zhong Yi’s digital soul in the secret realm later, Lu Ze thought. I’ll make sure he understands what "eternal classic" means.

"You’ll get what’s coming to you when we return!" Zhao Wendao glared at Zhong Yi before turning a meaningful gaze toward Lu Ze.

"So, you’re saying you killed the sect leader?"

"Indeed. Though the demonic cultivator’s realm was high, his foundation was unstable. I exploited that," Lu Ze answered calmly.

"I see."

Zhao Wendao nodded thoughtfully.

Inside the secret realm, they had captured eight demonic cultivators.

The strongest among them was at the late Golden Core stage, nearing Great Perfection.

Zhao Wendao’s discerning eyes could easily gauge their cultivation levels.

A sect leader would undoubtedly be stronger than a late Golden Core cultivator—certainly not someone with a shaky foundation.

In other words, Lu Ze, at mid-Golden Core, had slain a half-step Nascent Soul demonic cultivator.

And judging by his unscathed appearance, he likely hadn’t even gone all out.

Zhao Wendao sighed inwardly:

The Lingxiao Sect has truly birthed another peerless genius.

……

……

After the secret realm incident, two noticeable changes swept through the five great sects.

First, the crusades against demonic factions surged once more.

Second, Scoundrel’s Teahouse exploded in popularity, becoming an instant sensation among cultivators.

Disputes over treasure rights or luck-based decisions were now frequently settled through the game.

Riding the wave, Lu Ze introduced a marketplace feature.

Spirit stones could buy outfits, crossbow skins, arrow skins, death effects…

Players could even play background music or request songs during matches.

The most iconic was the 1-spirit-stone voice pack.

The thickly accented "Your cards are just too good!" was guaranteed to tilt opponents and ruin their judgment…

……

If Three Kingdoms Kill was the epitome of heavy monetization, relying on whales to sustain the game,

Then Lu Ze’s approach with Scoundrel’s Teahouse was low-cost, high-volume sales.

And it worked.

At the very least, the paying player base grew, helping cultivate spending habits among cultivators.

They can’t all be freeloaders, right?

With Scoundrel’s Teahouse running smoothly, Lu Ze prepared to step back and focus on developing a new online game.

But something felt missing.

After some reflection, he realized—when he thought of Scoundrel’s Tavern, the first thing that came to mind was those rubber-fruit-eating giraffes from his past life…

"Ugh."

Lu Ze found it absurd.

In his past life, Scoundrel’s Tavern had once been wildly popular, with player counts soaring.

Yet no one could’ve predicted—

A casual card game would fall victim to cheaters!

The game had essentially been killed by hacks.

Still…

Those infamous cheating moments were so bizarrely hilarious that even Lu Ze couldn’t forget them.

Just recalling those surreal scenes made him chuckle.

Though Scoundrel’s Tavern had been ruined by hacks, it had also birthed countless legendary memes.

In this life, Lu Ze didn’t have to worry about cheats.

With the Heavenly Dao’s remnant spirit overseeing things, creating "hacks" was near impossible.

"BOOM—!"

An explosion rang out—the sound of someone forcibly expelling themselves from the illusionary realm after losing control of their qi.

Lu Ze turned to look.

"Damn it!! Is this illusion rigged or what?!"

Zhou Yue roared, the black-and-red flames behind him flickering dangerously.

After being one-shot for the umpteenth time, he’d finally snapped.

His qi surged uncontrollably, disconnecting him from the game.

"Come on, Brother Zhou, don’t be sore—let’s play a few more rounds!"

Zhong Yi cheerfully exited the illusion and patted his shoulder.

In Scoundrel’s Teahouse, Zhong Yi had rediscovered the confidence shattered by Bed Wars, thriving like a fish in water.

On the Lingxiao Sect server, his accumulated score was the highest.

Though everyone who matched with him begged him to shut up…

"No! Never again! I’d rather die than play this trash!"

Zhou Yue’s lips twitched with rage.

While he didn’t die on the first shot every time, his odds were suspiciously higher than most.

It made for a miserable experience.

"Brother Zhou, listen to me—there’s skill to this game…"

Zhong Yi continued consoling his sworn brother.

"Skill my ass! If I could use my real abilities, you’d be toast!"

Zhou Yue scoffed.

"Pfft. Even in reality, I’d wipe the floor with you!"

Zhong Yi shot him a disdainful look.

Whether in strategy or spells, he was brimming with confidence.

"Uh… Senior Brothers," Lu Ze interjected, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"What if I tweaked the illusion… and let you bring some of your cultivation into the game?"

Zhou Yue sneered. "Then I’d blast his jinxed mouth to bits!"

Zhong Yi smirked. "Oh? Then I’d make sure you die in one shot even if you win!"

Lu Ze grinned.

A brilliant idea struck him.

For cultivators in the illusionary realm, "hacks" were just their real-world abilities.

What if…

He turned "hacks" into an event and loosened the restrictions a little?

With that, he posted an announcement:

[Server Announcement:]

[Starting tomorrow, a new illusionary event—"Battle of the Gods"—will begin!]

[Duration: Three days.]

[Event Details:]

The Illusory Realm will temporarily unlock the cultivation function. Players may bring one spell below the Nascent Soul stage into the game. Duplicate spell effects are prohibited within a single match.

All combat actions are forbidden in the Illusory Realm. Players are encouraged to strategize wisely and enjoy the game in a civilized manner!