The reason Lu Ze chose Slay the Spire II as his template was largely due to the unique team mode exclusive to the second generation.
Aside from the ever-changing roguelike elements that kept players coming back for more, friends were also an indispensable part of the experience. After all, no matter the game, friends are always the most precious part.
"Hey, Senior Brother, you like playing Iron Armor Sect Cultivator too? Want to spar a couple of rounds at Quenching Gold Peak after we finish climbing the tower?"
Mu Yawen, seeing Zhong Yi had chosen the same character as her, happily waved at him.
"No need to spar... but today, Senior Brother is going to teach you a trick. Watch closely and learn well."
Zhong Yi mysteriously patted Mu Yawen on the shoulder.
A few days ago, he had taught Mu Yawen quite a bit about playing the Iron Armor Sect Cultivator, but looking back now, some of those theories were pretty outdated.
He glanced at the other two.
Zhou Qiaoling had chosen the Crown Prince, while Zhou Yue picked the Malfunctioning Spirit Puppet.
"Oh? Lao Zhou, why'd you pick that little thing?"
Zhong Yi found it amusing to see the yellow little spirit puppet marked with Zhou Yue's nickname.
Compared to the fourth strongest character in the first generation, the malfunctioning robot in the second generation was actually quite a bit stronger. Especially at the beginner level, it was much easier to win with than characters like the Bone Sister or the Crown Prince.
But as players climbed to higher difficulties, the Malfunctioning Spirit Puppet's power started to fall behind. Around this time, a vague group of people bashing the Malfunctioning Spirit Puppet began to appear on the forums.
The term "the fifth favorite character" seemed to be slowly spreading...
"What do you know... I think this little guy is a lot like me."
Zhou Yue crossed his arms, putting on a deep expression.
Zhou Qiaoling immediately cracked up: "Your brain's broken too?"
"Bah!"
Zhou Yue shot Zhou Qiaoling a glare.
"It's called rising to the challenge and gaining strength through accumulation! Just wait—this time I'm going to prove it to you!"
"Alright, alright, enough talk. Let's start climbing already."
Zhong Yi chuckled to himself, planning to show off a new set of strategies to Zhou Yue and blow his mind.
What chance did he have to get started?
Once Zhong Yi got his build online, he wouldn't give Zhou Yue that opportunity!
The team mode wasn't too different from single-player. The main difference was that monster health was multiplied several times over, and attacks were area-of-effect damage.
As a result, certain cards that performed average in single-player mode were much better in team mode, especially debuff cards that inflicted status effects on monsters.
Zhong Yi didn't play team mode often, but he had a decent understanding of the general rules.
Players didn't play cards in order of their turn number; instead, it was based on card speed.
"Wait up, I can apply Vulnerable first and—Lao Zhou, you already played all your cards!?"
"Uh, I'm too used to solo climbing, I forgot... Next time, tell me you have Vulnerable sooner!"
"Are you some kind of Fiora? Hitting all five strikes in one second!!"
...
"Junior Brother Mu, I can apply Vulnerable—don't block. Just throw out your highest-damage cards, Strength-stacking ones are best... What the hell is [Fight Me]!?"
"Huh? Didn't Senior Brother say Strength-stacking damage cards were best?"
"But [Fight Me] gives the monster Strength too!!!"
"It's fine—he gets one, I get two. I'm stronger than him."
"It's a multi-hit monster... and we don't get any benefit from it, dammit!! That hit hurts way too much!!!"
...
"Hee hee, I've never seen this artifact before... What's Sulfur?"
"No, don't—"
"I got two more Strength, Senior Brother Zhong!"
"And the monster got one more Strength, Junior Brother Mu!!!"
...
"Lao Zhou, what are you doing..."
"Hold on, I'm about to get started."
"And you, Junior Sister Qiaoling, what are you doing..."
"I'm waiting for the monster to get low on HP. I have [Greedy Hand]—killing it gives me extra gold... Let me take the last hit!"
"And you, Junior Brother Mu... Stop playing [Fight Me] already!!!"
...
...
Slay the Spire II's team mode could, in certain situations, be called a "friendship-ending simulator."
Take this moment, for example. Zhong Yi came out of the campfire room after resting and saw his three teammates all at low health. The corners of his mouth twitched violently.
"Don't look at me, Lao Zhong. I'm in this state—if I don't upgrade cards, I'll have even less damage..."
Zhou Yue avoided eye contact.
"Senior Brother Zhong, you know me. If I don't upgrade [Greedy Hand], I'd be betraying my reputation as the ultimate greedy player of Spirit Peak Sect!"
Zhou Qiaoling also looked down, not daring to meet Zhong Yi's gaze.
Only Mu Yawen stared back with big, bright eyes, grinning widely as he showed off his white teeth. "Senior Brother Zhong, last time you taught me—Iron Armor Sect Cultivators don't have HP bars; they have red block bars!"
"Dammit!!!"
Zhong Yi clutched his forehead and let out a wail.
"I can't carry this team anymore..."
"I can't do it!!!"
...
...
All joking and messing around aside.
After giving a few instructions, the team got back on track and stumbled their way to the first floor's big monster room.
Though it was clear that Zhong Yi was doing all the heavy lifting.
As the battle neared its end, Zhong Yi couldn’t help but find it almost comical watching the nearly idle faulty spirit puppet that had done next to nothing the entire fight.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had gotten lucky this round, drawing the powerful gold card [Crimson Cape] early on to hold the line, the four of them probably would have been eliminated by now.
Now that he had weathered the pressure and taken down the first-layer great demon, he grinned at Zhou Yue and teased, “Lao Zhou, where’s your damage output?”
“Well... you can’t put it that way…”
Zhou Yue flushed, immediately turning around.
“The monster only has so much HP. The more you take, the less I get. What’s the point of obsessing over damage output? Just give it another ten thousand HP, let me ramp up, and we’ll see.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll wait for you to ramp up.”
Zhong Yi laughed heartily, not pressing Zhou Yue further on the sore spot.
After all, Zhong Yi had seen Zhou Yue’s card draws for himself.
Just watching them was painful enough... anyone who could stick with that kind of luck and keep playing was a true legend.
“Here goes nothing…”
Zhong Yi rubbed his hands together, closed his eyes, and suddenly grabbed toward the golden energy sphere bursting from the great demon.
“Haha!! [Add Fuel]!! It’s [Add Fuel]!!! I’ve hit the jackpot!!!!”
Seeing the gold card in the middle, Zhong Yi couldn’t contain his excitement and burst out cheering.
“Senior Brother Zhong, once you burn through that card, what are you going to play?”
Mu Yawen scratched her head, puzzled.
“Don’t worry, you’ll understand once we get to the third layer…”
Zhong Yi wore a mysterious expression, eager to see the look of shock on everyone else’s faces when they witnessed his endless stream of card plays.
After defeating the first-layer great demon and resting at the start of the second layer to choose their artifacts, the four continued their challenge.
The moment they opened the map, Zhong Yi was dumbfounded.
All the rooms at the bottom of the map funneled into a single treasure room at the center, clearly indicating someone had secretly chosen the [Treasure Map] event.
“Shouldn’t we, as Lao Zhong said, pick the lower option since our combat power is stretched thin?”
Zhou Yue muttered, then quickly caught on, his gaze snapping toward the figure nearly hiding behind him.
“ZHOU!!! QIAO!!! LING!!!”
“You’re a bottomless pit in human form!!!”
[Been on the road all day, pretty worn out, and not in the best shape. I was going to rest, but I pushed myself anyway. These two chapters were written in a bit of a rush—I’ll tweak them after I wake up. Don’t want to miss a single day before hitting a million words.]
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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.
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."
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
