We must not harm harmony.

The whispers inside and outside the Hall of Lingering Spirits naturally did not escape the ears of the elders from various sects.

"Heh, the disciples seem quite enthusiastic about the rankings, don't they?" Zhao Wendao stroked his beard with a chuckle.

"They're just a bunch of youngsters who haven't seen much of the world. It's normal for them to enjoy a bit of excitement," said Lin Anzai, the elder of the Tianxuan Sect, shaking his head with a smile as he fiddled with two dull prayer beads in his hand.

"Surely none of you elders are thinking of competing with Elder Yang for supremacy like these disciples, are you?" Li Jiujian, the elder of the Infinite Sword Sect, narrowed his eyes and glanced meaningfully at the others.

"Pah! At our age, why would we care about such vain reputations? If it weren't for the fact that this martial exchange is a century-old tradition, my Cloud Immortal Palace wouldn't have bothered making the journey here," Wen Lingwu, the elder of the Cloud Immortal Palace, scoffed disdainfully.

"It's all my rebellious disciple's fault for stirring up trouble… I'll discipline him properly when we return!" Nangong Yuan said sternly.

"That would be for the best. No need for things to escalate and ruin the harmony between us," Zhao Wendao sighed in relief before pulling out a stack of tokens and distributing them among the elders.

"These are the Lingxiao Sect's illusion tokens. Since the upcoming martial exchange will use illusions instead of secret realms, you may take these days to familiarize your disciples with the various illusionary trials."

After some more casual conversation, the elders dispersed with their disciples in tow.

……

The Moonlit Pavilion—

A temporary residence for the Tianxuan Sect disciples.

"Elder Lin, what are your orders?"

"I just performed a divination. Today, the Tianxuan Sect's aura is at its peak, making it the perfect time for competition… Quick! Gather the disciples and head to the Hall of Lingering Spirits immediately. Our Tianxuan Sect must claim the top spot!"

"As you command!"

"Oh, and keep it quiet. No unnecessary commotion!"

"Understood!"

……

The Raincloud Tower—

A temporary residence for the Infinite Sword Sect disciples.

"Elder Li, the disciples are eager to try 'A Cultivator’s Descent of 100 Floors' and bring glory to our sect…"

"Oh? That’s exactly why I summoned you! Rumor has it that our Infinite Sword Sect is only good for swordplay and nothing else… Today, we’ll prove them wrong—at the very least, we’ll outperform that Qingshan Sect, which only cleared two floors!"

"I couldn’t agree more! I’ve memorized all the tricks of those trials. We’ll make everyone take notice!"

"Good… But remember, keep it under wraps. Catch them off guard!"

"Don’t worry, our disciples’ concealment techniques won’t disappoint you!"

……

The Shattered Rain Pavilion—

A temporary residence for the Cloud Immortal Palace disciples.

"Have you understood my instructions?"

"Perfectly! The Cloud Immortal Palace excels in movement techniques. If we can’t stand out in this kind of trial, wouldn’t it disgrace our sect’s reputation?"

"Precisely my point. Let those brute-force fighters see what our Cloud Immortal Palace is truly capable of… Oh, and keep this operation confidential. No outsiders should know."

"Understood!"

……

The Hall of Lingering Spirits—

"Heh, the heavens truly favor our Lingxiao Sect! Since the disciples are so eager, why not ride this wave?" Zhao Wendao’s eyes gleamed with excitement, his face flushed.

"Indeed! I’ll return at once and have that rebellious disciple of mine work overnight to duplicate the illusion crystals!" Nangong Yuan immediately caught on.

"Yes—produce as many crystals as possible! Give them out for free, no charge! Deduct the material costs from the sect’s treasury!" Zhao Wendao clapped his hands in exhilaration.

The Lingxiao Sect boasted a vast number of disciples, granting them an overwhelming numerical advantage.

Now that Yang Zhengxin had performed poorly in 'A Cultivator’s Descent of 100 Floors,' many were eager to prove themselves—and by extension, their sect.

Thus, inter-sect rivalry was inevitable.

After traveling so far to gather here, every sect was vying for prestige and supremacy.

With a ready-made trial illusion at their disposal, none would let the opportunity slip.

The rankings on the leaderboard represented the face of every major sect!

And the Lingxiao Sect, with home-field advantage, was determined to claim the top spot.

"Zhong Yi!"

"Your disciple is here!"

"Put your cultivation aside for today and focus on conquering the trial… You are the Lingxiao Sect’s hope!"

"This disciple will not fail you!"

……

……

[Demonic Path Value +1.2]

[Demonic Path Value +7]

[Demonic Path Value +8.3]

[Demonic Path Value +10]

[Demonic Path Value +1.2]

……

The system’s notifications chimed incessantly.

Lu Ze couldn’t stop grinning.

"One old fool leaves, and a whole bunch of old fools arrive… Oh, and let’s not forget that gem of a senior brother, Zhong Yi."

Lu Ze chuckled to himself.

The elders had clearly suffered greatly in 'A Cultivator’s Descent of 100 Floors,' showering him with Demonic Path Value in the process.

But the most diligent contributor was Zhong Yi.

That recurring +1.2 was impossible to miss, popping up at an absurdly high frequency.

Undoubtedly the work of the all-talk-no-skill Zhong Yi…

When Yang Zhengxin shamelessly quit halfway that morning, Lu Ze had felt a twinge of regret.

Fortunately, he’d been quick-witted enough to add a [Leaderboard] feature and [Sect] tags, successfully igniting the disciples’ competitive spirit.

Now, it wasn’t just Yang Zhengxin supplying him with Demonic Path Value.

An entire sect,

Along with a host of elite cultivators,

Were fueling him with an endless stream of Demonic Path Value!

Once a cultivator's defenses are completely shattered, they even trigger an extra critical hit of Demon Path Points—truly a point-farming cheat!

In just one night, he had harvested ten thousand Demon Path Points.

This directly propelled him to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

And the Demon Path Points kept pouring into his system nonstop!

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he advanced to the late-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Thinking about it, the Golden Core realm wasn’t far off either!

The thought filled Lu Ze with excitement.

The creation of illusions had a slight connection to one’s cultivation level.

But the main factor was the size of the area.

With Lu Ze’s current Foundation Establishment cultivation, the range of his illusions only spanned a few hundred meters in radius.

And that was with the amplification of his Ten Thousand Phantoms Demonic Immortal Body.

If he reached the Golden Core realm…

The range would expand to a full kilometer.

That would unlock even more game possibilities!

By then, the speed of milking Demon Path Points would skyrocket!

The thought made Lu Ze’s lips curl into a smirk.

He reopened the backend of "Cultivator’s Descent: 100 Floors" and began editing new maps.

That morning, he had only uploaded 500 pre-made maps.

But it wasn’t enough.

He needed to be even more ruthless…