Strange, Where Is the Spirit Stone I Picked Up

Seeing the system notification, Lu Ze gasped and exclaimed, "Holy shit! This is insane!"

According to the description, as long as he could make others genuinely impressed by his game, he could randomly obtain one of their attributes from their stats panel.

"So, he actually improved his movement technique while playing the game?"

Lu Ze was slightly surprised.

He had some impression of this guy named Zhang Ming.

Since Zhang Ming picked up the game quickly, Lu Ze had paid a bit more attention to him.

As the game's designer, Lu Ze could easily gauge a player's movement proficiency just by observing their gameplay.

If a player had only just begun mastering the "Cloud-Shattering Steps," their movement would be clumsy and awkward.

At the intermediate level, they could move smoothly.

Players who reached advanced mastery or higher would move noticeably faster.

However, the demonic sect monsters chasing them would also speed up accordingly, maintaining a constant sense of danger.

The upside was that covering more distance in the same amount of time would yield higher scores.

Well, it couldn’t be helped—since the game was framed as a training exercise, it had to at least look the part.

Initially, Zhang Ming’s movement technique was only at the intermediate level, but now it seemed he had broken through to advanced mastery.

"Could this actually work?"

Lu Ze stroked his chin, muttering to himself.

This was an unexpected boon.

For his future gaming endeavors, it was definitely a good thing.

Just like in his past life, when the video game industry was just starting out, they still marketed consoles as "educational tools."

At least this way, he wouldn’t immediately face backlash and ruin his reputation.

"If I can get the elders to play my game and make them genuinely impressed..."

The mere thought of that scenario sent a shiver down Lu Ze’s spine.

Who knows? He might actually become the number one righteous cultivator just by making games.

...Tch.

Lu Ze had forgotten again—he was already a member of the demonic sect.

......

Somewhere within the illusory realm of "Demonic Sect Escape,"

Zhang Ming was running endlessly.

Behind him, a grotesque black monster pursued relentlessly.

"Whoever designed this trial must be incredibly powerful... No! This might even be an ancient secret realm passed down through generations!"

Even while fleeing for his life, Zhang Ming couldn’t help but marvel.

He could clearly feel his movement technique improving drastically—likely reaching advanced mastery.

According to his "Cloud-Shattering Steps" instructor, breaking through from intermediate to advanced mastery usually took at least two months.

Yet here, in this illusory realm, after just an hour and a half, he had already achieved it.

The reason had to lie in the profound mysteries left behind by the supreme expert who created this trial!

The more he thought about it, the more awestruck he became.

Zhang Ming glanced at the upper-right corner—his distance had surpassed 2,000 steps.

A new personal record.

As the distance increased, the scenery shifted, and the difficulty ramped up.

Beyond 2,000 steps, Zhang Ming sometimes entered demonic sect barriers, where thick fog obscured his vision and made navigation difficult.

Other times, arrows rained from the sky, forcing him to dodge left and right while maintaining his sprint—all without straying from the path, or the barriers on either side would instantly kill him.

Or he might step on earth-type talismans, triggering tremors that made movement arduous...

Of course, it wasn’t all hardship.

Some areas were rich in spiritual energy, allowing him to absorb it as he passed.

Once his spirit energy gauge was full, he could activate a speed boost.

After 1,000 steps, besides spirit stones, he could also collect magical artifacts and items.

Some artifacts could disable nearby traps, some talismans automatically absorbed scattered coins and spirit energy, and some pills granted temporary invincibility...

In short, playing—no, training—was exhilarating.

After a dizzying barrage of consecutive traps, Zhang Ming finally reached his limit and was caught by the demonic sect monster.

[Trial Complete!]

[Score: 5,336]

[Escape Distance: 2,407 Steps]

[Current Rank: 1]

Seeing his first-place ranking, Zhang Ming was thrilled.

Though he had already claimed the top spot half an hour ago, his current score and distance were now far beyond what any other outer sect disciple could hope to achieve.

"Huh? There’s a leaderboard?"

Only now did Zhang Ming notice that, aside from his results, the interface also displayed [Leaderboard] and [Return to Home] options.

He checked the leaderboard.

Sure enough, his score was nearly double that of the second-place player, filling him with satisfaction.

Seeing the arrogant Wang Ba languishing in fourth-to-last place made it even sweeter.

"Return to Home? What’s this?"

Curious, he tapped it immediately.

A chibi-style male cultivator appeared on the screen, bearing a slight resemblance to him.

"Artifacts? Mounts? Techniques? What are these?"

Zhang Ming was utterly baffled.

These concepts were completely foreign to him.

Below the character, he saw two grayed-out slots labeled [Artifacts] and [Mounts], both empty.

There was also a slot labeled [Techniques], which contained a small manual.

When Zhang Ming opened it, he saw the title: "Rocket Technique."

Whoever named this clearly didn’t put much thought into it.

A quick skim made its purpose clear.

The technique corresponded to the speed boost he had used in-game after filling his spirit energy gauge.

"So, there are other functions? What do mounts and artifacts do then?"

His curiosity grew.

These mechanics were so advanced that he couldn’t even begin to comprehend them.

Fortunately, he soon found answers in the in-game store.

The spirit stones collected during gameplay could be spent here to purchase items—artifacts, mounts, and techniques were all available.

In short, they provided stat boosts and skills.

These mechanics were commonplace in Lu Ze’s past life, a staple of every gacha game.

Lu Ze hadn’t implemented them to earn real spirit stones but to improve player retention.

Without goals, disciples would play once and leave—how would that reflect on him, a member of the demonic sect?

Lu Ze needed to give players something to strive for!

Not satisfied with your run?

Buy a divine beast to run alongside you!

Later stages too difficult?

Grab a protective artifact for an extra life!

Think the default speed boost is weak?

Come, come—buy a better one and soar through the skies!

Lu Ze’s intention with the store was purely to keep players engaged.

All purchases used in-game spirit stones, not real ones, making it effectively free.

However, the prices were exorbitant, designed to grind players into endless farming.

The stat boosts weren’t game-breaking either, ensuring balance so players wouldn’t lose interest.

After browsing the entire store, Zhang Ming stared at his meager spirit stone count in despair.

"This is strange... I definitely collected over ten thousand spirit stones, so why do I have less than a thousand now?"

Zhang Ming muttered in confusion.

He hadn’t paid close enough attention—what he picked up in-game were "spirit stone fragments" and "spirit stone dust."

Ancient folks who’d never been scammed by shady marketing tactics were truly naive.

"Never mind, that Golden-Horned Immortal Beast only costs 1,000 spirit stones. I’ll be able to afford it soon enough."

Zhang Ming’s thoughts were simple, and he quickly reassured himself.

The Golden-Horned Immortal Beast was a purple-quality Divine Transformation-stage mount, with special effects that increased movement speed by 10% and spirit stone acquisition by 20%.

Zhang Ming’s plan was that once he bought the Golden-Horned Immortal Beast, it would help him accumulate spirit stones faster, allowing him to purchase other items sooner.

Above the Divine Transformation stage, there were golden-quality Void Refining-stage mounts—their special effects were even more impressive.

"Just a few more hours, and I’ll have the 1,000 spirit stones..."

Though Zhang Ming was diligent, he wasn’t careful enough.

The spirit stones in his inventory had gray borders—they were low-grade spirit stones.

The spirit stones required to purchase the Golden-Horned Immortal Beast, however, were purple-bordered high-grade spirit stones.