A week passed quickly.
On the day the results were to be revealed, the entire Lingxiao Sect gathered once again at the Lingxiao Plaza.
This time, the spectacle was even grander than the day "Plants vs. Zombies" was released.
After all, compared to watching "an outer disciple get his cultivation crippled by a sect elder,"
the prospect of "a sect elder being punished by an outer disciple to meditate in Reflection Valley" was far more thrilling.
As for the quality of "Plants vs. Zombies," everyone in the Lingxiao Sect knew it well.
Its coverage exceeded 90%, and at the very least, every disciple had cleared the adventure mode.
Based on the conditions Ding Mingcang had set a week ago, it was clear he had lost.
At this moment, countless disciples whispered among themselves in the plaza.
"Who do you think will win today?"
"Is that even a question? Elder Ding is definitely losing!"
"Really? I feel like swinging a sword 3,000 times a day is kinda tough..."
"Looks like someone’s been too addicted to the game and didn’t keep count. If you spend more than two hours inside, you’ll easily swing 3,000—no, even 4,000 times!"
"Oh no, I think I can spend five hours in there a day..."
"That just means you’re quite disciplined, fellow Daoist."
"By the way, what names do you all use in the illusion realm? Should we exchange them?"
"Do you think Elder Ding will honor the bet and go meditate in Reflection Valley?"
"Based on my years of experience, absolutely not. Junior Brother Lu will probably give the elder some face, and both sides will compromise."
"Really? I don’t think Junior Brother Lu is that kind of person..."
"I agree. I feel like Junior Brother Lu enjoys tormenting people more."
...
Before long, Lu Ze and the elders of the Lingxiao Sect arrived one after another.
Lu Ze remained as calm and indifferent as ever.
On the other hand, Ding Mingcang wore a dark expression, not saying a word.
"To ensure fairness, I will personally reveal the results of the illusion realm!"
Elder Zhao Wendao cleared his throat and stepped forward to the towering Illusion Tower at the center of the plaza.
He retrieved the main illusion crystal of "Plants vs. Zombies" and held it in his right hand.
Extending his fingers, two golden threads of spiritual energy coiled around the crystal.
Zhao Wendao closed his eyes, extracting the data from the crystal while projecting it into the air with a spell.
"First metric—the disciples' daily usage time!"
His voice boomed like a bell.
A white light formed numbers floating midair:
[Average daily usage time among sect disciples: Three and a half hours.]
The moment this data appeared, the crowd erupted in chatter.
"What? Only three and a half hours? Who’s dragging the average down? Step forward!"
"Three and a half hours per person is insane. If other sects heard, they’d think we’re slacking off."
"Huh? Who said we’re slacking? Aren’t we practicing swordplay?"
"Exactly! Fellow Daoist, don’t speak carelessly. We’re training our swordsmanship—planting and fighting zombies are just side activities."
...
Zhao Wendao continued, "Second metric—the disciples' daily sword swings!"
A second set of data appeared:
[Average daily sword swings among sect disciples: 7,328 times.]
This number left even the disciples in disbelief.
"What? I swing my sword that many times a day? No way!"
"Turns out, you never know your limits until you’re pushed."
"The key is, we did it every day without even feeling tired..."
"If we didn’t have classes, I bet this number could break 10,000!"
...
Both figures were undeniably staggering—far exceeding the conditions Ding Mingcang had set.
"As for the creativity of the concept... I personally believe 'Plants vs. Zombies' undoubtedly embodies both ingenuity and depth. There’s no question about it."
Zhao Wendao spoke as if to himself.
"Do either of you have any objections?"
He then looked at Lu Ze and Ding Mingcang.
Lu Ze smiled and gestured for Ding Mingcang to speak first.
Ding Mingcang seethed with anger but forced himself to remain composed.
Clearing his throat, he declared,
"I believe outer disciple Lu Ze cheated during this challenge! These results should not count!"
His tone was firm and accusatory.
"Oh? How exactly did I cheat? Please enlighten us, Elder Ding."
Lu Ze was amused.
He had expected this backstabbing and was ready to enjoy the show.
"I’ve heard that two days after the challenge began, Lu Ze openly sold new illusion crystals at the Artifact Refining Pavilion... meaning the disciples experienced more than one illusion realm. These two metrics are inaccurate!"
"Let me correct you—those weren’t new illusion crystals, but additional levels."
"What difference does that make? You clearly misjudged the difficulty and panicked when the disciples were about to clear it, so you hastily added new levels! Isn’t that cheating?"
Lu Ze found Ding Mingcang’s argument laughable.
The man’s desperation was palpable as he grasped at straws.
"The rules we agreed on beforehand didn’t include this clause."
Lu Ze stood his ground, unwavering.
"Besides, what do you mean by 'panicked'? You can ask any of the senior brothers—were the icons for Survival Mode and Endless Mode not there from the start? I just hadn’t unlocked them yet!"
Lu Ze’s explanation was immediately confirmed by the disciples below.
Before the update, many had wondered about the gray question marks in the game.
"But you—"
Ding Mingcang faltered, scrambling for a rebuttal.
"But the difficulty of the later levels was clearly different!"
"Can you honestly say you didn’t design them to be unbeatable? You never intended for them to clear it!"
"If it’s an unsolvable puzzle, then you cheated! You exploited your fellow disciples’ trust and their competitive spirit to win this challenge!"
"That so-called 'Endless Mode'... is impossible to clear!!"
Ding Mingcang’s words resonated with some disciples, sparking heated debates.
"Elder Ding might have a point..."
"I also think it’s unbeatable!"
"If that’s the case... was it just to keep us playing longer and help him win?"
"That’s way too underhanded!"
"Fellow Daoists, don’t jump to conclusions. I always felt like I was just one step away from clearing it..."
...
Seeing the disciples begin to turn against each other, Ding Mingcang seized the moment to play the magnanimous elder.
"I understand your concerns."
"You were just afraid I’d cripple your cultivation and expel you from the sect."
"But cheating is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Given your talent, I’m willing to nullify this sect contract. I’ll explain it to the sect leader on your behalf."
The rehearsed lines nearly made Lu Ze burst out laughing.
The man was clearly backing down—accusing first, then offering a compromise.
Most disciples would take the out and save face for an elder.
But not Lu Ze.
His mission to defeat Ding Mingcang wasn’t complete yet!
And the greater the damage he inflicted, the greater the rewards!
How could he possibly escape punishment?
As a true disciple of the demonic path,
wasn’t it only natural to show no mercy?
Without a second thought, he cut off Ding Mingcang’s words:
“Who said anything about meeting halfway?”
“Even before joining the sect, my tutor taught me that a bet is a bet—fair and square!”
“If I can prove today that the Endless Mode isn’t unbeatable, Elder Ding, will you honor your word?”
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
igrating to the cultivation world for two hundred years, I've managed to lie low and reach the Nascent Soul stage. Only now does my golden finger arrive? ...
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
