What is the best way to fry fish

Three days later.

The first round of the sect battles came to an end.

The Wuji Sword Sect claimed the top spot with their dominant aerial combat prowess.

The Tianxuan Sect trailed by an extremely narrow margin, settling for second place.

The Lingxiao Sect, which had a rough start on the first day, unexpectedly secured third place thanks to Xiao Hongzhi’s ability to "play it safe and farm quietly."

The Yunxian Palace ranked fourth, while the Qingshan Sect took fifth.

The second phase of the competition—where the five great sects would unite to attack the demonic faction—was about to begin.

The hype around Immortal Realm Domination was overwhelming. Even those from other sects who only heard descriptions of the battles could barely contain their excitement.

Some cultivators even recorded the matches with memory orbs, and there were already buyers lining up to purchase them…

Many disciples jointly petitioned their elders, hoping they could find a way for those in distant sects to witness the grandeur of this epic battle.

Lu Ze volunteered, explaining that the "live broadcast" feature of Immortal Realm Domination could fulfill this demand.

The Lingxiao Sect had its own internal network, allowing all disciples to watch.

But other sects lacked such infrastructure—if they wanted to view it, the elders would have to put in some effort.

After some deliberation, the elders gritted their teeth and agreed to act as "relay stations" for the broadcast, ensuring their disciples wouldn’t miss out.

Cultivators across the realms were electrified by the news.

The Immortal Realm Domination forum was especially lively.

[Did you hear? Tomorrow, all sects will be able to watch the matches live!]

[According to Junior Brother Lu, it’s called a "live broadcast"...]

[Quite an interesting term.]

[Fellow Daoists, which sect do you think will emerge victorious?]

[Wuji Sword Sect, no question. Their Sword Immortal units are just too overpowered.]

[I wouldn’t be so sure! Tomorrow’s match isn’t about sect vs. sect—it’s about who can contribute the most against the demonic faction.]

[Against the demonic faction? Then it has to be the Qingshan Sect!]

[The Qingshan Sect’s score gap is so wide, they’re lucky to even be in fourth...]

[What if the demonic faction wins?]

[Impossible! At our current level, five against one means we can’t lose to the demonic faction—not even on the hardest difficulty!]

……

……

The next day.

The finals arrived.

Originally, the event was supposed to take place in the Hall of Spirit Nurturing atop Thunder Peak.

But with the overwhelming number of spectators this time, the venue was moved to the sect’s grand plaza by the decree of the elders.

Long before the match began, the area was already packed.

Zhong Yi, the commentator, hovered in the air.

After three days of practice, he had grown accustomed to the rhythm of live commentary—even starting to enjoy it.

The representatives from the five great sects stood ready, entering the illusionary battlefield one by one.

Zhong Yi introduced each of them in turn.

Unsurprisingly, they were all core disciples of their respective sects, faces familiar to the crowd.

"...And now, let me introduce the demonic faction that the five great sects will unite against today!"

With a grand flourish, Zhong Yi gestured to the projection behind him—the match lobby screen.

The five sect representatives had already selected their factions and were prepared.

Only the sixth slot, reserved for the demonic faction, remained empty.

"What kind of demonic opponent awaits us? Insane? Even more insane? Or perhaps—super-duper, ridiculously, mind-bendingly insane?"

"Let’s see if this mysterious demonic force can survive even fifteen minutes against the combined might of the five great sects!"

Zhong Yi’s exaggerated commentary drew waves of laughter from the crowd.

Every cultivator present had endured the era when the demonic faction’s AI ruthlessly crushed them.

Now, the tables had turned.

The demonic faction’s AI was nothing more than a punching bag for them to dominate.

Given that context, Zhong Yi’s playful taunting only made it funnier.

"And the final opponent is—!!"

As the last empty slot in the lobby filled with a name, Zhong Yi dramatically drew out his words—

"Super… huh?"

But when he read the name, his voice faltered.

"Lu Ze???"

Not only was Zhong Yi stunned, but the disciples below were equally baffled.

"What’s going on? Junior Brother Lu is playing himself??"

"The creator of the illusionary realm isn’t allowed to compete—that’s the rule!"

"But he’s not competing—the demonic faction doesn’t have match records..."

"Does Junior Brother Lu even know how to play? Every time I’ve seen him fight other sect disciples, he’s been dead weight!"

"This is no fun. What if he just feeds kills to the Lingxiao Sect on purpose?"

"Bullshit! Our Lingxiao Sect would never do something like that!"

"Junior Brother Lu, step down! Bring in the highest-difficulty demonic AI instead!"

……

Not long ago, Lu Ze had joined Zhong Yi in participating in several inter-sect matches.

The disciples were well aware of his performance.

On the stage, the elders exchanged uneasy glances.

They had only been told that Lu Ze would arrange for the most brutal demonic opponent to appear.

But no one said he would be the one playing!

Inside the match lobby, the core disciples were equally confused.

Aside from Xu Huoyao of the Qingshan Sect, all of them had faced Lu Ze before.

They knew exactly how skilled—or rather, unskilled—he was.

Compared to the "insane" AI, he wasn’t even a challenge.

He might not even stand a chance against an average player.

"Heh, is he planning to hand free points to your Lingxiao Sect?" Xu Huoyao sneered at Zhang Shifei, the Lingxiao Sect’s core disciple.

"Nonsense! That brat and I don’t get along at all!" Zhang Shifei’s face flushed red.

"If Lu Ze is the demonic faction, then the nature of this match changes..." Guo Yunwen of the Tianxuan Sect narrowed his eyes meaningfully.

"From a cooperative battle to a competition for points... right?" Li Yuluo of the Yunxian Palace mused.

"Hah! Then there’s no teamwork today! Everyone for themselves!" Chen Feng of the Wuji Sword Sect sharpened his gaze.

A silent understanding passed between them—

The match was no longer about cooperation.

They had expected to face a "super-duper, ridiculously, mind-bendingly insane" demonic AI, forcing them to ally early before turning on each other later.

But with Lu Ze as the opponent…

Everyone knew he was no match for them.

Which meant the match would now revolve around—

Eliminating the other sects first, then farming points off Lu Ze.

Alliances shattered in an instant.

The atmosphere shifted from camaraderie to cutthroat rivalry as they sized each other up.

……

At the same time, Lu Ze was deep in thought.

Today’s match was being broadcast to all five great sects.

Based on his past experience demonstrating Plants vs. Zombies’ endless mode, he was likely to reap another wave of massive rewards.

But only if he delivered a dazzling performance—one they could understand.

He muttered to himself:

"How should I go about crushing them this time…"