Lu Ze knew plenty of games in the "tower climbing" genre.
But when it came to time sinks, the first thing that came to mind was Rogue-lite games.
The reason was simple -- they had high replay value.
What made roguelike games most appealing was their "high randomness."
From the map to the monsters, and even the player’s attributes and skills, everything was randomly generated.
In typical single-player games, players might go through three or four playthroughs at most after beating them.
But with Rogue-lite games, even after clearing the hardest difficulty, players would joyfully repeat the experience hundreds or thousands of times.
Every new run was a brand-new experience.
Among countless roguelike games, Slay the Spire was a milestone "masterpiece."
It cleverly combined deck-building with roguelike elements, pioneering the roguelike card game genre!
Before it, no one thought a roguelike could be done this way.
Just like, at this very moment, no one in the entire cultivation world imagined that card games could be linked to "tower climbing."
After writing down the four characters Slay the Immortal Tower, Lu Ze gathered his spiritual sense and began constructing the world.
"Should I go with the first generation or the second generation…"
Lu Ze stroked his chin, thinking it over.
Compared to the first generation's high satisfaction, Slay the Spire II had its satisfaction severely reduced due to overbalanced mid-game numbers, causing its reputation to plummet.
Later, the game company outright opposed the players and championed certain ideologies, leading to a complete collapse in reputation and falling from its pedestal.
Setting aside matters outside the game, Lu Ze always believed a game should serve the players and make them feel good.
Balancing numbers in a single-player game was one thing, but adopting a strategy of nerfing popular classes instead of buffing weak ones seemed like a poor move to Lu Ze.
After much deliberation, Lu Ze decided to base his illusion realm on an early version of Slay the Spire II.
That way, it would have satisfaction, a multiplayer mode, and the popular character the Crown Prince.
He would also enhance the graphics.
Even if all the other 748 illusion realms combined forces, they might not be a match for Slay the Immortal Tower, let alone beat it.
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Outside.
Most of those attending the Illusion Alliance Exchange were cultivators with some real skill.
Since the remnants of the Heavenly Dao had been in charge of illusion realms for a year, cultivators had gradually gotten the hang of it after repeatedly studying the realms Lu Ze had previously developed.
From the fifth day after the first theme was announced, cultivators began finishing their works one after another, and new illusion realms started appearing in public view.
The forums buzzed daily with discussions about these new realms.
[Finished Beast Tower Defense in three days? That quality is pretty high!]
[It’s trash, just leftover ideas from Plants vs Zombies.]
[Flying Sword Chronicle too, amazing graphics, but the gameplay is just the same old Demon Sect Escape formula…]
[No helping it, the whole cultivation world’s realm artists have to follow Lu the Demon’s lead.]
[I think Zhong’s true disciple’s Brave the Demon-Suppressing Tower has its own path, and it’s pretty interesting.]
[You played Brave the Demon-Suppressing Tower too? Its battle design has a bit of Lu the Demon’s flair, no wonder he’s from the Lingxiao Sect!]
[Not impressed, I’d rather play Han’s true disciple from the Qingshan Sect’s Linglong Tower Wonderland. I think it’s up to par with Lu the Demon.]
[Linglong Tower Wonderland is from the Qingshan Sect? Strange, when did they produce such a realm artist?]
[Don’t say that. Linglong Tower Wonderland is just a collection of Lu the Demon’s ideas, but Zhong’s true disciple has really carved his own path.]
[Always going on about Lu the Demon, as if every realm in the world is his offspring. Where’s Lu the Demon’s own realm, huh?]
[Lu the Demon registered late, so he can’t make battle realms. He’s probably still planning.]
[What? If tower climbing isn’t about combat, how does it work? What did Lu the Demon choose in the end?]
[I heard he chose a board game realm. My guess is only board games were left in that slot.]
[This time, Lu the Demon’s going to stumble…]
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Eighth day after the theme announcement.
At the Xianyun Villa, by Xianyun Lake.
"This is strange. Why hasn’t that rebellious disciple of mine come out yet?"
Nangong Yuan frowned, gazing toward the center of the lake.
On the vast platform, fewer than a hundred cultivators were still working on their realms, their tasks unfinished.
The 749th illusion realm tower stood at the edge, completely still, showing no signs of activity.
"Elder Nangong, rest assured! Junior Lu said his realm has infinite solutions. He’ll definitely take first place in this competition!"
Zhong Yi spoke confidently.
At this, Nangong Yuan’s face instantly darkened. "Bah! Don’t jinx my disciple!!"
Zhong Yi was confused. "???"
"My good disciple, how’s the battle going today?"
Ever since Lu Ze praised Zhong Yi’s realm, Zhao Wendao couldn’t stop smiling.
Every half hour, he eagerly asked Zhong Yi for updates.
After all, with illusion realms in vogue now, earning Lu Ze’s approval meant greater benefits from the remnants of the Heavenly Dao in the future.
"It’s dropped a bit from yesterday… Just as Junior Lu predicted, there’s some lack of staying power?"
Zhong Yi grinned, unbothered.
He came to this exchange genuinely for the sake of exchange, with no desire for high scores.
At the very least, Brave the Demon-Suppressing Tower had earned high praise from over ten thousand cultivators, which boosted Zhong Yi’s confidence.
As Lu Ze had said, using numbers to simulate combat was an excellent solution.
But the clearing method was limited by the numbers, so after finishing the game once, players were unlikely to play it a second or third time — that was the lack of staying power.
Zhong Yi had already started thinking about the "second generation" solution that Lu Ze had mentioned.
"How many people have entered your realm now?"
Zhao Wendao asked again.
"Reporting to Master, it’s currently eighteen thousand. I’m very satisfied with this result."
Zhong Yi answered with a smile.
No sooner had he spoken than a sneer rang out behind him.
"Tsk, satisfied with less than twenty thousand? The Lingxiao Sect really isn’t all that impressive!"
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."
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.
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
