The next day.
Linxian Peak, Law Enforcement Hall.
"How did things go yesterday?"
The moment Qian Yutang appeared, Ding Mingcang immediately grabbed him and asked.
"Bad news... After the disciples cleared the previous stage, there’s a new one."
Qian Yutang feigned seriousness, but as soon as he saw Ding Mingcang’s face darken, he quickly waved his hand and added:
"Don’t panic, Elder! The good news is, the new stage is extremely simple. I heard the disciples cleared it with ease."
"Really?"
Ding Mingcang’s furrowed brows instantly relaxed.
"Absolutely true!" Qian Yutang nodded emphatically. "Apparently, that kid worked overnight to design the new stage, completely unprepared for how quickly the disciples would clear it!"
Hearing this, Ding Mingcang felt much more at ease.
"If it was rushed, it must be shoddy work. It probably won’t win any favor later."
"But letting him keep exploiting loopholes to refine the stages is no good. Go to the Artifact Refining Pavilion and warn him—no more changes to the illusion realm!"
"And one more thing..."
"Visit Danqing Peak and the Sword Inquiry Peak. Coordinate with their stewards to expedite the addition of new courses. It must be done quickly!"
"Seeing swordplay and spiritual herbs being disgraced by some ordinary disciple must have infuriated them."
"Once academic pressure increases, the disciples will naturally have no time to waste on illusions..."
……
……
Thunder Lord Peak, Qingyun Pavilion.
"DAMN IT!!!!!"
A violent shockwave erupted within Qingyun Pavilion as Zhong Yi’s roar echoed.
The surrounding barrier trembled violently, on the verge of collapse.
[The zombies ate your brains...]
Staring at the floating words in the air, Zhong Yi was furious.
Even if the stage was labeled "Hard Mode," this difficulty was downright absurd!
The first three stages were manageable—just slightly stronger zombies than the normal version.
But after the third stage, the sheer number of enemies was on a whole other level!
Annoying ice chariot zombies and acrobat zombies kept harassing him.
The spawn rate and frequency of enemies had multiplied.
By the fifth stage, there were even barbarian zombies with boss-level strength!
In just a short while, his brains had been eaten over a dozen times!
Where did that leave the dignity of a [Genius Cultivator] like him?
Zhong Yi was seething.
He opened the forum, only to find it flooded with despair.
[This Survival Mode is insane! Has anyone cleared it yet?]
[Barbarian zombies in the daytime stage? I dread to imagine what comes next...]
[Feels like fighting a Nascent Soul monster right after reaching Foundation Establishment.]
[Wasn’t Survival Mode supposed to be fun? Only a saint could enjoy this!]
[Lu Ze must be doing this on purpose!!]
[Calling the Genius Cultivator—only he can save us now!]
……
Zhong Yi, who had been on the verge of losing it, saw how highly he was regarded on the forum and instantly reignited with fighting spirit.
"Fellow disciples, wait for me to conquer this challenge and return to aid you all!!"
……
……
Late at night.
[Evil Path Value +1.2]
[Evil Path Value +10]
[Evil Path Value +1.2]
[Evil Path Value +10]
……
The endless stream of system notifications was music to his ears.
Lu Ze lay in bed, thoroughly pleased.
"This master-disciple duo is truly a gift!"
Now, advancing from early to mid Foundation Establishment required a whopping 50,000 Evil Path Value.
Without the contributions from this treasure pair, reaching that point would’ve taken ages.
The forum post rallying disciples to call for the "Genius Cultivator," declaring only he could save them, was actually Lu Ze’s alt account.
All to provoke Zhong Yi into obsession.
If he didn’t get obsessed, how else would Lu Ze level up?
The original Hard Mode wasn’t nearly this brutal.
Lu Ze had redesigned it based on Endless Mode’s difficulty.
All to ensure disciples died repeatedly, feeding him Evil Path Value.
As for whether some might quit from frustration...
Lu Ze wasn’t worried.
First, cultivators in this world had never seen anything so entertaining—once hooked, they wouldn’t leave even if driven away.
Second, his difficulty balancing was precise.
Brutally hard, utterly sadistic, but never impossible.
So even after countless failures, players would stubbornly persist.
And once they finally cleared Hard Mode...
They’d discover Endless Mode waiting for them.
That was the real trap.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
