Transforming the Bell of Righteousness

As Lu Ze put down his brush, the large characters on the white paper drifted into the sky, shimmering with a golden light.

[Serial Number: 749]

[Participant: Lu Ze]

[Illusion Type: Cards and Board Games]

Seeing this result, the more than seven hundred cultivators on the stage erupted in excitement.

"What? Cards and board games?"

"Playing cards... in the tower? Playing chess?"

"Playing cards is fine, playing chess is fine... but under the theme of climbing the tower, this is utterly ridiculous!"

"Are they insane? Who on earth would like this kind of illusion?"

"Only because it's Lu Ze."

"Even Old Demon Lu won't pull this off! Cultivators aren't fools—Old Demon Lu is ruining his own reputation!"

"Haha, looks like Old Demon Lu didn’t get a combat illusion and has given up!"

"Not bad, not bad—having Old Demon Lu accompany us to our doom, this trip is worth it!"

...

...

Deep within the Carefree Cloud Manor, in the Tower in the Sky.

"What? That kid chose [Cards and Board Games]?!"

"He's gone mad!"

"Haha! He must have had all other illusion types snatched up, so he had no choice but to pick [Cards and Board Games]!"

The three elders of the Illusion Alliance were beaming with joy, each feeling certain of their victory.

To ensure Lu Ze had no options left, they had long arranged for people to occupy all the illusion types that could yield results.

They hadn’t even spared early-stage illusions like Demon Sect Escape or Spirit Plants vs. Zombies!

The only types they hadn’t occupied were This Demon Cultivator Isn’t Too Cold and Three Kingdoms Kill.

The former was locked down at its roots by restricting the illusion scope, as even they couldn’t create it.

The latter was ignored because cards and board games simply had nothing to do with climbing the tower.

"So it is cards and board games..."

[Heart Demon]’s gaze was deep, a faint smile curling at his lips.

The unease that had been gnawing at him finally settled.

Under the combined blockades, Lu Ze’s choices had been narrowed to two—

Either cards and board games, or something else.

He had dreaded the possibility that Lu Ze might pull out something new that would shatter the cultivators’ understanding—that would have been the hardest to handle.

But now, there was no more need to worry.

"It seems even a genius of this era can’t break the deadlock..."

[Heart Demon] sneered, slowly rising to his feet.

"This time, the Illusion Alliance wins."

...

...

By the Carefree Cloud Lake’s center.

As the cultivators finished selecting their themes, [Rakshasa] waved his hand. The massive platform suspended above the lake instantly displayed 749 large-scale illusion towers.

"These are the specialized illusion towers for illusion masters prepared by our Illusion Alliance for you all... If any of you require additional equipment, just report it to me, and the Illusion Alliance will fulfill your needs within three days."

As soon as [Rakshasa] finished speaking, the two onlookers by the lakeside, Nangong Yuan and Chao Wendao, suddenly released their auras, their voices booming like thunder:

"If something goes wrong with these illusion towers and affects the creation of illusions, what then?"

This had been agreed upon with Lu Ze earlier.

After considering all the potential pitfalls in the conditions, Lu Ze had concluded that aside from tampering with the illusion towers, no other methods could restrict him.

It was best for Chao Wendao and Nangong Yuan to raise this point, as Chao Wendao was considered the strongest under the Integration Realm, and the Illusion Alliance’s elders wouldn’t dare to brush him aside.

"Elder Chao, what kind of talk is that? How could the creations of our Illusion Alliance ever have problems?"

[Rakshasa] smiled, then turned to face the participating cultivators.

"I swear to you all in the name of the Illusion Alliance..."

"If the Illusion Alliance’s towers malfunction, you may temporarily switch to your own equipment, and the illusion creation time will be reset. There will be no delay in your competition!"

At these words, Nangong Yuan and Chao Wendao exchanged a glance, nodded silently, and said nothing more.

Nangong Yuan waved his hand, and a tea pavilion rose from the ground.

The two sat leisurely inside, clearly intending to observe for an entire month.

[Rakshasa] remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was silently relieved.

Before this exchange event, he had indeed proposed tampering with Lu Ze’s illusion tower to ensure his failure.

That idea had been flatly rejected by [Heart Demon] for two reasons:

First, if Lu Ze couldn’t create an illusion, how would they obtain a tower marked with his spiritual trace?

Second, outright sabotage on the tower would be too blatant, damaging the Illusion Alliance’s expansion efforts.

Looking back now, if [Heart Demon] had adopted that suggestion, he might well have ended up beaten by Chao Wendao...

[Rakshasa] breathed a sigh of relief and then announced loudly:

"Now, everyone may inspect your illusion towers. If you have any equipment needs, report them to me in advance."

"In one hour, once you enter the towers, the competition officially begins."

"Until the illusions are completed, no one may leave the towers except for equipment requests. Otherwise, you will be disqualified!"

...

...

"How strange—no foul play at all?"

After thoroughly inspecting Illusion Tower No. 749, Lu Ze couldn’t believe his judgment.

Not only was there no problem with the tower, but its quality was even better than usual.

This was completely out of character for the Illusion Alliance.

Lu Ze touched his chin in confusion, muttering quietly, "So what exactly are they trying to do..."

After mulling it over for a while with no answers, he decided to stop thinking about it for now.

"Junior Brother Lu, you actually chose cards and board games?!"

Zhong Yi patted Lu Ze on the shoulder, exclaiming in astonishment.

"What, Senior Brother Zhong doesn’t believe in me?"

Lu Ze asked with a smile.

"Absolutely not! With your talent, I’m actually looking forward to it... because with cards and board games, I can finally trounce Old Zhou again, hahaha!"

Zhong Yi let out a proud laugh.

"And you, Senior Brother Zhong? What type did you pick?"

Lu Ze inquired curiously.

"Strategy,"

Zhong Yi replied, then let out a few helpless sighs.

"The fellows ahead of me were so enthusiastic that they grabbed every illusion type you’d ever made... By the time it was my turn, even the options I had would have cost me ninety percent of my score as a last resort... So I settled on strategy."

"Oh? How do you plan to handle it?"

Lu Ze’s interest was piqued.

When it came to the "tower climbing" type of game, aside from combat, everything else tied into strategy.

Because games were all about either skill, fun, or intellect.

Since skill was banned and fun was out of reach, strategy became the top choice.

Even the cards and board games he had chosen were essentially strategy games, just wrapped in a card-based shell.

The fact that Zhong Yi had thought to pick strategy already showed a certain talent.

"Well... I..."

Zhong Yi paused, trying to organize the scattered thoughts in his mind.

"I originally wanted to create an illusion like Spirit Plants vs. Zombies, using the positioning of creations to conquer the tower challenge..."

"But tower defense illusions were already full, so I settled for strategy."

"For strategy... hmm... what I’m thinking now is... puzzles?"

Zhong Yi briefly described his idea for a strategy-based tower climb. It roughly involved trap-based escape rooms, which, while not particularly novel, still had some sophistication in trap design.

Clearly, Zhong Yi was naturally inclined toward designing levels.

“Senior Brother Zhong, if you put aside all the restrictions set by the Illusion Alliance, when it comes to tower-climbing illusions, what element comes to mind first?”

After hearing Zhong Yi’s thoughts, Lu Ze suddenly asked in return.

“Uh… combat?”

Zhong Yi answered without a second thought.

Lu Ze smiled and nodded.

“Exactly. It’s combat.”

“So… if we can’t choose a combat type, even Junior Brother Lu thinks our chances are slim?”

Hearing Lu Ze’s reply, Zhong Yi’s expression dimmed slightly.

“Not at all,” Lu Ze said, shaking his head with a smile.

“Combat is just the surface, not the core.”

Zhong Yi’s breath caught. “What do you mean, Junior Brother Lu?”

Lu Ze glanced around.

Zhong Yi had already cast a soundproof barrier here, keeping their conversation from prying ears.

Facing his future right-hand man, Lu Ze was generous with his guidance, leading him step by step.

“Is Plants vs. Zombies about combat?” he asked.

“No. But all kinds of plants with various functions and abilities are the heart of the illusion.”

“Is Celestial Realm Conquest about combat?”

“No. But the strategic interplay between different troop types is what makes it compelling.”

“The form of combat doesn’t always have to be combat itself.”

“It can be illustrations, text, numbers, or even card games or board games…”

As Lu Ze spoke, Zhong Yi’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

“I understand now, Junior Brother Lu!”

Zhong Yi’s heart surged with excitement. He clenched his fists, a newfound clarity shining in his eyes.

“Thank you for the lesson, Junior Brother Lu! I’ve already figured out the solution to this problem!”