What kind of move is this It makes no sense at all

Under the skeptical gazes of the crowd, the game began.

Lu Ze deftly planted the first Sunflower with practiced ease.

Absorbing spiritual energy.

Then, using the Imitator Sunflower, he planted a second one.

As per tradition, the zombie invasion's horn sounded at this moment.

Almost all the sect disciples, including Zhong Yi, would conserve a bit of spiritual energy to observe which path the zombies would appear on.

Then, they'd deploy a Peashooter for defense.

But Lu Ze was different.

Even after hearing the warning of the incoming zombies, he planted a third Sunflower.

This move left the disciples watching from the plaza utterly stunned.

It wasn’t until Lu Ze buried a Potato Mine that the crowd grasped his strategy.

"Using only mines and Squashes to trade with zombies in the first level? Maximizing spiritual energy accumulation?!"

"Brilliant idea, I’m taking notes!"

"No wonder I always run out of spiritual energy..."

"But the cooldown on Potato Mines is so long—how will he handle the next wave of zombies?"

"And why plant Garlic on the top and bottom lanes?"

"Wait, he’s already planted two rows of Sunflowers and still isn’t stopping?"

"This guy’s ruthless."

"Finally, he’s planting something else—a Gloom-shroom? And in the water?!"

...

High above in the sky.

Mu Yawen’s small eyes were filled with big question marks.

Lu Ze’s moves were becoming increasingly incomprehensible to him.

At first, he’d ask Zhong Yi to explain Lu Ze’s intentions.

But Zhong Yi would launch into lengthy explanations—spiritual energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and so on—until Mu Yawen’s head spun.

So he stopped asking and just enjoyed the show.

The screen flickered with rising numbers of spiritual energy, and the sight alone was exhilarating.

Zhong Yi, however, was the complete opposite.

The more he watched, the more excited he became, as if every casual move Lu Ze made was an epiphany for him.

"Garlic is used to divert zombies, turning the side lanes into dedicated spiritual energy farming paths."

"But if all the zombies converge on one lane, wouldn’t the pressure be overwhelming? Is he planning to use Cherry Bombs?"

"Wait… Fume-shroom—no, Gloom-shroom…"

"!!!"

"Gloom-shrooms can attack multiple zombies at once?!"

Zhong Yi was floored by Lu Ze’s strategy.

First, using Potato Mines and Squashes to trade with zombies, ensuring Sunflower development.

Once zombie numbers increased, Garlic forced them into the two lanes near the pool.

Finally, planting Gloom-shrooms—the upgraded Fume-shrooms—in the water, leveraging their omnidirectional and area-of-effect attacks to wipe them out.

Before Lu Ze’s demonstration,

everyone’s approach to accumulating spiritual energy was to plant two columns of Sunflowers, then start adding offensive plants.

But Lu Ze had already planted two full rows of Sunflowers before the first level was even halfway over!

And it seemed he wasn’t stopping there!

The disciples below finally understood Lu Ze’s tactics and were awestruck.

"Junior Brother Lu, are you planning to plant six full rows of Sunflowers?!"

"Heavens, I only dared to plant two columns at most…"

"I never thought two Gloom-shrooms could hold off the first level’s zombies!"

"Compared to this, Peashooters really do seem weak."

"Wait!! Junior Brother Lu’s spiritual energy has already surpassed 3,000?!"

"What kind of sorcery is this? I barely reach 2,000 by the end…"

...

...

[Host has impressed the righteous cultivator Zhong Yi with his skills, earning the other’s admiration. Randomly acquiring one of the target’s abilities.]

[Reward obtained: Great Dao True Word Scripture]

Lu Ze’s smooth operation paused for a moment.

‘Senior Brother Zhong is such a good guy—another reward!’

He thought excitedly.

Never did he expect that a simple bet with Ding Mingcang would yield such a windfall.

This wasn’t just another martial insight—it was a genuine cultivation technique.

Its rank was the same as [Frost Breath Art], the golden-tier skill he’d "borrowed" from Li Moran last time.

Just how overpowered was [Frost Breath Art] at its peak?

Despite being only at the Foundation Establishment stage, Lu Ze had managed to evade the divine sense detection of a group of elders.

That alone spoke volumes about the value of golden-tier skills!

Now, just as he was worrying about lacking suitable techniques to cultivate, Zhong Yi had delivered him a gift. What a saint.

Lu Ze never imagined that aside from disciples experiencing the game and being impressed by its design—which earned him rewards—

simply watching his gameplay could also yield rewards!

This was excellent news.

He’d have to put on more shows like this in the future.

With that in mind, he decided to take things a bit more seriously.

Who knew? Maybe another disciple would send him more "gifts."

Even while holding back in the first level, he’d still accumulated nearly 6,000 points of spiritual energy.

If he went all out, he could probably reach around 10,000.

But he couldn’t go too hard—players needed to discover things for themselves.

Even so, his current performance had left the entire sect dumbfounded.

"Why switch the Imitator to a Pumpkin in the second level?"

"Junior Brother Lu is finally bringing combat plants!"

"Why only Melon-pults? Kernel-pults are the strongest—they can stun-lock endlessly!"

"What about Gatling Peas? A lineup without Gatling Peas is incomplete!"

"If he’s bringing Pumpkins, why not Wall-nuts too?"

...

Given the current players’ understanding, many of Lu Ze’s choices were beyond their comprehension.

For example, while Wall-nuts were beloved by beginners, they were practically useless in Endless Mode.

The toughest zombies—like Zombonis and Gargantuars—could instantly destroy anything they touched.

Experienced players rarely brought Wall-nuts.

Then there were the Gatling Peas, a newbie favorite.

Their single-target DPS was indeed top-tier, but they lacked area-of-effect damage.

Even when paired with Torchwoods, the flaming peas had minimal splash—still insufficient.

Plus, splash damage was blocked by Zombonis.

In contrast, Fume-shrooms and Gloom-shrooms, with their AOE and piercing properties, were far better suited for Endless Mode.

As Lu Ze selected his cards, he heard the disciples outside clamoring for him to bring Gatling Peas.

He pondered for a moment.

Bringing them wasn’t impossible.

In fact, it’d increase the difficulty, raising the learning curve for these disciples.

"Then let’s go with the 97-no-cannon formation."

After a brief deliberation, Lu Ze made his decision.

The screen projected his selection in real-time.

When the disciples saw Lu Ze swap in a Twin Sunflower, they erupted in cheers.

"I knew it! The Peashooter family is the best!!"

"No way, I still think the Kernel-pults are superior!"

"Wait, Junior Brother Lu seems to have brought both shooters, pults, and mushrooms…"

"What kind of lineup is Junior Brother Lu going for? I don’t get it."

"Maybe at higher realms, you just go with the flow?"

"Honestly, watching Junior Brother Lu clear the illusion realm is even more fun than playing myself."

"You feel that way too? Same here!"

"If only we could watch like this every day…"

...

Lu Ze, still inside the illusion realm, could hear the disciples’ murmurs.

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

Wasn’t this the embryonic form of live-streaming?

Turns out, even cultivators were into this kind of thing.

Unfortunately, Lu Ze still couldn’t develop the live-streaming feature at the moment.

On one hand, he lacked a network carrier, and on the other, he was missing the crucial technical tools.

However, thinking back to the bet he had made with his master, Nangong Yuan, Lu Ze’s grin widened even further.

Once he defeated Ding Mingcang, his master would have to honor his promise and craft a tool for him.

As for the breakthrough in live-streaming technology, he’d leave that to his venerable master.

Lu Ze wiped the smile off his face and resumed his work.

Under the bright sunlight, even a dog could breeze through the next two levels with a few random taps.

Lu Ze had already set up his formation and was now methodically rearranging it.

Twin Sunflowers, Fume-shrooms, and Melon-pults were planted one after another, waiting to evolve later into Gatling Peas, Gloom-shrooms, and Winter Melons.

The Sunflowers were gradually replaced by Twin Sunflowers.

Pumpkins were also fitted onto the plants in both the upper and lower lanes…