What are your intentions

While Zhong Yi was deeply engrossed in the battle, a heated argument erupted inside the Spirit Condensation Hall among several elders.

“Nonsense! What kind of battlefield simulation is this? You call this a war? Since when is war something you observe through a tiny microscopic world?” Yang Zhengxin pointed his finger at Lu Ze’s nose, scolding furiously.

“How is this not a war? Didn’t you just see the projection I sent out? The clash of forces between the righteous and demonic paths — isn’t that more like a war than just some ordinary fight?” Zhao Wendao argued loudly, his face flushed.

“Elder Li, Elder Lin, you two tell me… does this simulation meet the requirements I set?” Yang Zhengxin, frustrated, quickly tried to rally support.

“This…” Li Jiujian clicked his tongue thoughtfully.

Earlier, when he watched the disciples of the Wuji Sword Sect leading troops into battle, he had unintentionally been drawn in.

The only thing that bothered him was that the sword cultivators inside seemed a bit weak.

But then he learned that the foot soldiers could level up.

He found himself looking forward to seeing if the sword cultivators would become unstoppable after upgrading.

“Let me take another look, just another look…” Li Jiujian’s ambiguous response left Yang Zhengxin somewhat confused.

“If you ask me, this simulation is really well done! It truly captures the atmosphere of a battlefield!” Lin Anzai expressed his admiration without holding back, nodding approvingly.

Back in the ancient era of the righteous-demonic war, their Tianxuan Sect had used similar methods to simulate battlefield information and preview battle scenarios.

They compressed the simulation data into a small space and continuously used magical techniques to run through and predict the flow of battle.

So compared to everyone present, Lin Anzai was the most accepting of the presentation style of *Celestial Realm Conquest*.

Moreover,

Lu Ze’s simulation was extremely refined; the visual effects were exquisite, far surpassing those of their sect’s own magical techniques.

This made Lin Anzai itch with curiosity, eager to experience it firsthand.

“See? Everyone’s eyes are sharp!” Zhao Wendao chuckled.

He really hadn’t expected the other elders to unanimously praise it.

“You guys…” Yang Zhengxin was dumbfounded.

He never imagined that a simulation with no actual fighting would earn the elders of both the Wuji Sword Sect and the Tianxuan Sect’s respect.

“Ridiculous!”

“This kind of thing doesn’t even deserve to be called a simulation!”

“Where’s the fighting? What kind of war is bloodless, fought sitting in a room?”

Just as Lu Ze was about to speak, Zhao Wendao cut in first:

“You old fogey, your mind’s stuck on fighting… You never said the simulation had to include actual combat!”

“Besides, if it’s about strength, why not just have disciples directly compare their cultivation realms? Why all these extra complications every year?”

Before Yang Zhengxin could retort, Lin Anzai chimed in:

“Hey, Elder Zhao makes a good point. For us cultivators, everything is about realm, but you can’t look at realm alone.”

“War tests not only strength but also strategy and big-picture thinking.”

“I think *Celestial Realm Conquest* really challenges the disciples’ strategy and courage. As a way to solve the ‘war’ problem, it’s quite impressive!”

With two elders speaking up in his favor, Lu Ze was stunned.

Well, that saved him the trouble of wasting his breath.

Yang Zhengxin was momentarily speechless and shot Li Jiujian a glance, silently asking him to speak on his behalf.

No way.

The other party cleared his throat a few times, pretending: “Ahem, take another look, take another look…”

“……”

Yang Zhengxin absolutely refused to accept this outcome and kept finding excuses:

“Besides the theme of [War], none of the other requirements are met. I don’t approve of this illusion!”

“Oh? May I ask Elder Yang, which part doesn’t meet your standards?”

Lu Ze asked with a smile.

“All the disciples are acting as behind-the-scenes commanders. Where’s the distinction between sects? Don’t forget, I said the illusion must showcase the unique characteristics of each sect!”

Yang Zhengxin said boldly and confidently.

“Each sect base has its own specialty. After upgrading the sect, you can recruit cultivators unique to that sect… Elder Yang, are you satisfied now?”

Lu Ze explained with a smile.

Every sect has its own unique passive trait.

For example, the Lingxiao Sect, famous for its magical artifacts and immortal treasures, has a passive that grants extra attribute bonuses to treasures produced by the Artifact Refining Pavilion.

The Wuji Sword Sect gains additional sword damage bonuses, the Tianxuan Gate’s formations have enhanced effects, and the Yunxian Palace enjoys increased movement speed bonuses.

The Qingshan Sect, renowned during the great battle between righteousness and demonhood, gains extra damage against demonic cultivators.

All these details are embedded within the sect bases, but most cultivators simply haven’t noticed.

“Hmm…”

Yang Zhengxin hesitated slightly, then gritted his teeth again:

“What if the disciples participate in the war together? Every one I saw was independently fighting against the demonic path!”

“That’s even simpler. Once the seniors pass the [Campaign Mode], they can jointly resist the demons in [War Mode]… or even fight amongst each other.”

Lu Ze said with a teasing smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Jiujian and Lin Anzai both raised their eyebrows simultaneously.

Each sect has unique troops and formations? And they can unite to resist the demons?

Their desire to play “Celestial Realm Conquest” just grew stronger.

“Alright, alright, arguing here is pointless… Why not let the parties involved decide if they want to interact and compete within this illusion?”

Wen Lingwu, who had been watching from the sidelines, suggested.

“Good idea!”

Yang Zhengxin’s eyes lit up, and he quickly patted the disciple behind him.

“Uh, uh, hmm…”

The disciple who was patted let out a reluctant hum, clearly busy with operations and unable to respond.

“……”

Yang Zhengxin sighed and patted another disciple.

This one was his highly regarded direct disciple, Xu Huoyao.

“Damn! Dead again!!!”

Xu Huoyao had just lost a round and came out grumbling as soon as Yang Zhengxin called him.

After hearing Yang Zhengxin’s explanation, Xu Huoyao hesitated for a moment, then said, “I… don’t really approve of this illusion. Ideally… no, it definitely needs to be changed.”

His tone sounded a bit uncertain.

“How about this, we hold a secret ballot, okay?”

Zhao Wendao sensed the situation, waved his hand, and a golden light formation appeared beside everyone.

The disciples who had exited the illusion voted one after another.

The final result was:

23 to 6.

The approval votes overwhelmingly led.

Lu Ze was not surprised by this result.

In a world completely untouched by video game culture, the RTS (Real-Time Strategy) style is absolutely a dimensionality reduction strike.

Moreover, after being localized, these cultivators immersed themselves even more deeply than players from their previous lives ever could.

Especially in the end, once the honor and disgrace of their sects were at stake, there was no escaping the pressure.

“It seems everyone is quite satisfied,” Lin Anzai said with a pleased expression.

He had specifically instructed his disciples to vote in favor.

He was very interested in Lu Ze’s creation, *The Celestial Realm Conquest*. If it were rejected, he feared Lu Ze might withdraw the illusionary realm, and they would lose the chance to experience it in the future.

Most importantly,

in this kind of strategic contest, he believed the disciples of the Tianxuan Sect would definitely hold the upper hand.

He was already tired of those clichéd martial arts battles and duels.

Lu Ze’s *The Celestial Realm Conquest* was refreshingly original.

On the other side,

the disciples of the Qingshan Sect whispered among themselves, exchanging hushed words.

Suddenly, Yang Zhengxin’s face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly stood up to question:

“Wait a moment!”

“I’ve heard from my disciples that within this illusion, the strength gap between the righteous and demonic paths is enormous. Our disciples simply can’t defeat the Demon Sect?”

“Lu Ze, what are your true intentions!?”