Yesterday, while testing the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Lu Ze exhausted too much spiritual energy and mental strength.
Utterly exhausted, he slept soundly.
But when he woke up, he was stunned—
"What the hell? Why did my Demonic Path points spike so much?? What the hell were these guys doing???"
Lu Ze thought he must be seeing things.
After the initial peak on the first night, the growth rate of Demonic Path points had slowed considerably by the second day.
Yet overnight, the increase had surpassed even the first night's surge...
"This doesn’t make sense. I didn’t release any new levels..."
Lu Ze was utterly baffled.
He had just taken a nap—how could he suddenly gain so many Demonic Path points out of thin air?
Then he opened the forum for Cultivator’s Descent: 100 Floors.
[Fellow Daoists, has anyone succeeded yet?]
[This is torture!! After designing it, you have to clear it yourself???]
[I managed to make one, but it’s too simple—no way it’ll stump Junior Brother Lu...]
[Is there no justice left in this world?]
[I feel like we’ve been tricked by Junior Brother Lu again...]
[I, though lacking in talent, designed an extremely difficult level. I’ve died 300 times and still haven’t cleared it... Once I do, Junior Brother Lu will taste our suffering!]
[Your determination is admirable, Fellow Daoist!]
[I’ll keep pushing... I swear I’ll make Junior Brother Lu pay in blood!!]
"......"
Lu Ze was speechless.
No wonder his Demonic Path points had skyrocketed overnight.
Turns out his dear senior brothers had all tried to screw him over—only to screw themselves instead...
The rule he had set wasn’t meant to torment them.
It was a standard restriction attached to all level-editing tools for dungeon-crawlers.
What’s the point of a level if even its creator can’t clear it?
Yet this fair-but-brutal rule had utterly wrecked these righteous cultivators.
And it wasn’t just his fellow disciples.
Judging by the system’s Demonic Path records, even elders from several sects had joined in.
Oh, and Zhong Yi.
The value "1.2" stood out like a sore thumb, impossible to miss.
Lu Ze took a peek inside the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
Sure enough, Zhong Yi’s lingering soul had grown even more robust...
......
At the temporary residence of the Qingshan Sect disciples in Fenghuo Pavilion—
"Damn it... DAMN IT!!!"
Yang Zhengxin roared, hurling the Mini Illusion Tower to the ground in fury, smashing it to pieces.
The spiritual energy around him condensed into a ferocious flaming beast.
"Master!?"
Xu Huoyao, his true disciple, rushed in upon hearing the commotion.
Seeing Yang Zhengxin’s haggard face and vacant eyes, he was shocked:
"You... what happened?"
After Yang Zhengxin explained, Xu Huoyao finally understood.
Yang Zhengxin had wanted to teach Lu Ze a lesson by designing an insanely difficult trap level.
But after finishing the map, he was forced to clear it himself before it could be submitted.
The ordeal had broken him.
After dying over a hundred times, he still couldn’t beat his own traps...
Finally, he snapped and destroyed the Mini Illusion Tower.
Watching his master slump to the floor in existential despair, Xu Huoyao felt a pang of sympathy.
He immediately thumped his chest and vowed:
"Hmph! That Lu Ze brat is far too arrogant! Don’t worry, Master—I’ll design one myself and find a way to humiliate him!"
......
Half an hour later.
"Damn it... DAMN IT!!!"
Xu Huoyao bellowed, smashing his own Mini Illusion Tower to the ground.
Now master and disciple sat back-to-back, slumped on the floor, staring blankly at the sky at a 45-degree angle, questioning their life choices.
"Senior Brother... what’s going on?"
A voice called from outside the door...
......
After internal discussions, the Qingshan Sect unanimously decided to never touch that cursed illusion game again.
They would swallow this bitter pill and move on.
Their two strongest—the elder and the true disciple—had performed terribly in Cultivator’s Descent: 100 Floors.
Though a few disciples had done decently, they still lagged far behind other sects.
Low rankings were fine—after all, the game wasn’t an official event in the martial exchange.
Now, they needed to focus on securing a good position in the actual competition.
"Master, that kid is cunning and twisted... If he’s allowed to design illusions, it’ll be disastrous for us!" Xu Huoyao spat bitterly.
His temper had always been fiery, and he’d suffered greatly in the game, fueling his hatred for Lu Ze.
"Hmph, I’m well aware. We won’t let them have their way," Yang Zhengxin sneered.
"Rest assured—since ancient times, the sect designing the secret realm has never been allowed to choose its theme."
"To prevent cheating, the theme is decided by the other four sects... You needn’t worry."
"I’ll make the rounds and coordinate with the other elders to lock in a theme in advance... They won’t refuse."
Yang Zhengxin was confident—after all, the other sects had also suffered in the game.
Lu Ze’s illusion techniques were no mystery.
No flashy skills—just a uniquely devious mindset.
If given a favorable theme, and if Lingxiao Sect got insider hints, the other sects would be reduced to mere spectators.
With a triumphant grin, Yang Zhengxin declared: "Ideally... we’ll make it impossible for him to complete the illusion!"
"But... what condition could restrict him so severely?" Xu Huoyao pondered.
Judging solely by Cultivator’s Descent: 100 Floors, Lu Ze’s techniques weren’t advanced.
But he’d heard Lu Ze had also created Escape from the Demon Sect and Plants vs. Zombies: Spirit Edition—both illusions showcased masterful craftsmanship.
What kind of illusion could Lu Ze possibly fail to complete?
"Simple."
Yang Zhengxin smiled.
A smile brimming with confidence and malice.
"The scope of the illusion..."
"That’s his fatal weakness!"
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
