Then we'll just have to make a little adjustment.

At this moment, murmurs of discontent rose from the audience below.

"Blowing up mines, killing laborers, disguising as villagers to steal troops... which part of this looks like something a human would do?"

"This guy is more demonic than actual demonic cultivators!"

"This is utterly shameless!!!"

"It's pure cheating..."

"If he wins with such underhanded tactics, I refuse to acknowledge it!"

"Not a single proper duel... this is anything but righteous!!"

"Still, you gotta admit, it's kinda hilarious..."

"I bet these strategies will show up in our matches tonight."

......

Meanwhile, Lu Ze remained completely unaware of the outside commotion.

Truth be told, he had already gone easy on the righteous factions.

Back when he seized the Qingshan Sect's spirit mine, he could have swiftly crushed and slaughtered them all.

Had he not been aiming for extra rewards from the spectators by converting spirit stones into troops, he could have steamrolled the competition long ago.

After securing a substantial economic advantage, he deliberately let the others develop for a while.

Otherwise, he could have deployed more "Painted Skins" to steal half the spirit stones from the Tianxuan Sect, Yunxian Palace, and Lingxiao Sect as well.

But he only targeted the Wuji Sword Sect.

Well, what could he do? Aside from their troops, the Wuji Sword Sect had nothing else worth stealing.

He already anticipated that the sects now flush with spirit stones were frantically amassing troops to launch an all-out assault against him.

Lu Ze wasn’t the least bit worried.

In fact, he still held a large stockpile of unused spirit stones.

He pondered for a moment.

If he simply overwhelmed them with sheer numbers, he probably wouldn’t earn those extra rewards from the cultivators.

Even if he messed up and lost this round, the remaining spirit stones would be more than enough for a comeback.

But losing in such a low-stakes match would be downright embarrassing for him.

A faint smile curled on Lu Ze’s lips. "Guess I’ll have to put on a little show then..."

......

Just as he predicted.

The four great sects were currently scrambling to stockpile troops.

They knew all too well that Lu Ze, who now controlled the Qingshan Sect’s main mine and multiple sub-mines, was growing his economy at least twice as fast as theirs.

The longer they delayed, the worse their odds became.

They had to leverage their numerical advantage as soon as possible.

The Tianxuan Sect, Lingxiao Sect, and Yunxian Palace launched a preemptive strike!

Chen Feng, however, claimed he had occupied a newly spawned spiritual realm and would join the battle later after mustering more forces.

Considering the Wuji Sword Sect’s aerial units could serve as a wildcard, the other three agreed it was a decent backup plan and set off from their sects first.

"His home base has fewer troops than expected. Let’s split into three prongs and attack simultaneously! He can’t possibly defend all three fronts at once—he doesn’t have three heads and six arms!"

Guo Yunwen’s proposal was met with approval from the other two.

"I’ll feed you intel!"

Guo Yunwen’s Celestial Pavilion, enhanced by the Tianxuan Sect’s upgrades, granted full map vision once the sect reached level 3.

But the moment he finished speaking—

The sky abruptly darkened.

His minimap froze.

"Oh no! It’s the demonic path’s [Shadow Veil]—he’s spotted us!"

Guo Yunwen frowned.

Every faction had its unique trump card.

The demonic path was no exception.

[Shadow Veil] blinded all enemy players’ minimaps while slightly buffing demonic troops.

Compared to the righteous factions’ high-damage grand formations, it seemed underwhelming—usually reserved for tactical setups.

Its only advantage was a longer duration.

"No time to waste, charge!"

At his command, the trio split into three routes and launched their final assault.

They had no vision of Lu Ze.

But Lu Ze could see them perfectly.

Earlier, he had stolen the Tianxuan Sect’s technology using Painted Skins, and now his Celestial Pavilion revealed the entire map.

Their every move was laid bare before him.

Lu Ze smirked calmly.

With two fingers formed like swords, his hands danced across the interface at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

......

East flank.

The Tianxuan Sect’s [Celestial Array Master] weaved formations with his hands, gathering radiant spiritual energy...

West flank.

The Yunxian Palace’s [Cloud Immortal Maiden] advanced gracefully, her jade sword gleaming...

South flank.

The Lingxiao Sect’s [Artificer] hammered away beside a Blazing Rhinoceros, golden runes igniting across its body...

"Now!"

At Guo Yunwen’s signal, the battle erupted!

......

Outside the arena.

"Junior Brother Lu still has so many spirit stones left—neither building troops nor towers, barely any tier-3 units... What’s his plan?"

"[Shadow Veil] is active! The righteous players lost all vision—is this the final showdown!?"

"The three true inheritors are attacking! Junior Brother Lu is about to be overwhelmed!"

"True Inheritor Guo’s side—wait, what!? The [Celestial Array Master]’s formation attacks can be dodged???"

"But how can he dodge so many units simultaneously!?"

"Whoa! True Inheritor Zhang’s side is intense too!"

"The Blazing Rhinoceros, enhanced by the [Artificer], charged in—Lu Ze’s Shadow Rhinoceros is retreating while fighting..."

"What’s happening!? Why is True Inheritor Zhang’s rhino dying so fast!? Lu Ze’s near-death Shadow Rhinoceros just won’t fall!!"

"What about True Inheritor Li? How’s she doing?"

"The [Cloud Immortal Maiden] broke through! Lu Ze’s Blood Curse Masters are scattering at insane speed!"

"Oh no! The [Cloud Immortal Maiden] can’t decide who to chase!"

......

The audience erupted in shouts.

Everyone realized—

The scales of victory.

Had begun to tilt!