Congratulations on securing second place

In the command room of the demonic faction's war council.

Lu Ze gazed calmly at the relentless advance of the Limitless Sword Sect, his expression unreadable.

By sheer numbers alone, the odds were stacked against him—so much so that even victory seemed nearly impossible.

Lu Ze had already realized that if he relied solely on economic superiority and overwhelming force to secure wins, he wouldn’t earn any rewards.

So, he forced himself to strategize differently.

He chose lower-tier troops, fewer in number, aiming to triumph against the odds.

At first glance, the situation seemed dire.

But Lu Ze wasn’t the least bit worried.

His sect still had vast reserves of spirit stones left unused.

Even if he lost this battle, it wouldn’t matter.

The Qingshan Sect still had a secondary base under his control.

He had immense financial resources at his disposal.

And he had plenty of unorthodox tactics up his sleeve…

In short, he was destined to win this competition.

The outcome of this small skirmish meant little to him.

If Chen Feng could actually defeat him, it would only prove the other’s skill.

After all, developing such strength in such a short time was a rare talent compared to others.

Lu Ze lifted his eyes to the sky in the distance.

Dragons darkened the heavens, their massive wings blotting out the sun.

Given his current forces…

Victory would be difficult.

Unless…

Something unexpected happened.

Just then, Lu Ze’s brow twitched—

The dragons, which had been moving in perfect sync with the ground forces, suddenly accelerated ever so slightly.

That tiny discrepancy created a gap between the aerial and ground troops.

A faint smile curled at Lu Ze’s lips.

His hands moved faster, his commands sharper.

All his forces gathered behind a narrow mountain pass near his sect.

In an instant, they were divided into over a dozen squads, arranged meticulously by unit type and formation.

The moment the dragons flew over the pass, Lu Ze swiftly selected the [Heavenly Mystic Array Master] and activated its skill.

A wall of mystic ice erupted, splitting the Limitless Sword Sect’s army in two!

……

……

Outside the battlefield.

"The Limitless Sword Sect launches their assault! The dragons take the lead!!!"

"Lu Ze’s forces are clustered together, but at this rate, Junior Brother Lu is about to pay for his arrogance…"

"The [Heavenly Mystic Array Master] summoned an ice wall!?"

"What’s happening!? The Limitless Sword Sect’s troops are divided by the wall!!!"

"Every unit except the dragons is stuck behind the ice!!"

"The dragons are right in their faces… but now it’s just the dragons!!"

"Lu Ze’s forces focus all fire on the dragons—they can’t hold out!!"

"The remaining troops try to bypass the wall… but they’re too scattered! Lu Ze annihilates them in seconds!!!"

"What’s going on!? The Limitless Sword Sect is collapsing!!!"

"The ice wall vanishes, but over half the dragons are already dead. The tide has turned…"

"The demonic faction begins a merciless slaughter!!"

"No way!! Losing with dragons in their faces!?"

……

Zhong Yi, the commentator, was stunned.

His sharp mind quickly pieced together the reason—the slight misalignment in the troops’ movement.

But he couldn’t understand why.

Chen Feng had maintained perfect synchronization up until that moment. What caused the sudden lapse?

It didn’t make sense.

Zhong Yi frowned in confusion.

If his reasoning was wrong, why had his [Sage’s Insight Root] activated just now?

……

By now, the battle had become a one-sided massacre.

The four great sects had exhausted their resources, only to be crushed by Lu Ze at minimal cost.

If Lu Ze wished, he could systematically dismantle each sect one by one.

But he didn’t.

This competition was being broadcast live across all five major sects—a rare opportunity to farm rewards.

His earlier battle against the four sects had already netted him plenty of cultivation experience and assorted skills.

He felt the righteous cultivators still had more to offer.

……

In the war rooms of the four sects.

The core disciples were disheartened.

Being defeated by Lu Ze—outnumbered and outmatched—was a heavy blow.

Now, the final decision of their fate rested in Lu Ze’s hands.

Whichever sect he chose to eliminate first would fall.

Though resentful, they couldn’t deny his skill.

There was no way around it.

No matter what they tried, they couldn’t win.

Yet Lu Ze showed no signs of advancing.

"Why hasn’t he attacked yet?" Zhang Shifei muttered gloomily.

"Hmph! As righteous cultivators, how can we bow to the demonic path so easily? Keep recruiting troops—fight to the death!" Chen Feng snapped, displeased by Zhang Shifei’s defeatist attitude.

"Um… Lu Ze is also a righteous cultivator," Li Yuluo reminded softly.

By now, the [Shadow Veil] effect had faded, and the Lingxiao Sect’s [Divine Eye Pavilion] regained full vision of the battlefield.

Guo Yunwen glanced at the map and froze.

"Holy—!! Lu Ze is using the Lingxiao Sect’s [Artificers] to build towers… so many of them!"

He rubbed his eyes, zooming in on Lu Ze’s territory.

"Wait… why does the shape look like…"

He adjusted the camera angle, viewing it from above.

A massive character—"TRASH"—was faintly visible.

The four core disciples flushed with fury.

"No way, we’re not done yet!"

"Let’s fight him to the end!!"

"If we can’t win strategically, we’ll challenge him directly!!"

"Take him down!!"

……

……

In the late stages, the basic towers built by low-tier disciples couldn’t keep up with the escalating power of the troops.

But the Lingxiao Sect’s [Artificers] could construct formidable defensive towers.

Most wouldn’t attempt this—towers were expensive.

But Lu Ze had no such concerns.

He covered the map in towers while picking off the core disciples one by one.

Several skirmishes later, he finally decided to end things once he’d squeezed all the rewards he could from the righteous factions.

First, the Limitless Sword Sect fell.

Then the Heavenly Mystic Gate, the Lingxiao Sect, and the Cloud Immortal Palace.

One after another, they met their doom.

……

……

The competition concluded.

Aside from the Qingshan Sect—dead last in both rounds—the other four sects were eliminated in the reverse order of their first-round performance.

When the points were tallied, all four were tied for first place.

Incredible.

This competition only had two rankings: first place… and first place.

Lu Ze, as the creator of the illusionary realm, cheerfully announced the results.

The four core disciples, now "winners," stared at Lu Ze handing them their medals, their expressions conflicted.

Though they held the title of champions, they couldn’t shake the feeling that Lu Ze was the real victor…

This victory tasted anything but sweet.

"Congratulations on your second-place finish!"

Lu Ze clapped merrily, grinning at Xu Huoyao of the Qingshan Sect.

"You—!!" Xu Huoyao’s eyes burned with rage, his dark purple flame aura flickering menacingly.

Before the competition, the Qingshan Sect had placed high hopes on him.

Who could’ve predicted his humiliating defeat in the Lingxiao Sect?

His pride was in tatters.

"All you do is scheme… Fight me for real if you dare!" he snarled.

"Elder Brother Xu seems dissatisfied. Challenging a Foundation Establishment cultivator as a Nascent Soul expert—isn’t that a bit unfair?" Guo Yunwen frowned, stepping between them.

He was an upright man by nature, so such behavior naturally disgusted him.

"I happen to be itching for a fight. If Elder Xu wishes to spar, why not let me accompany you?"

Chen Feng sneered.

Several sword forms, forged from spiritual energy, hovered behind him as he took a step forward.

Though resentment festered in his heart, believing he should have claimed the top spot,

he held genuine respect for Lu Ze.

At least in Immortal Realm Domination, he admitted defeat.

Lu Ze watched the two with mild surprise.

He hadn’t expected Immortal Realm Domination to hold such sway over them.

Even after he’d put them through such torment, they were still willing to stand up for him.

Of course,

even if no one had stepped forward, he wouldn’t have been worried.

With countless techniques and spells at his disposal, bolstered by his formidable immortal physique,

even if he couldn’t win, he had means to ensure his survival.

In the worst case, he could sacrifice all the cybernetic souls painstakingly nurtured in his Ten Thousand Souls Banner to forcibly break through to the Golden Core realm.

Then, a fight might not be entirely out of the question.

"Silence!"

A wave of oppressive force swept from the elders’ platform.

The black flames surrounding Xu Huoyao and the spiritual sword projections behind Chen Feng were instantly crushed.

Neither dared to resist, quickly retreating a step and bowing toward the elders.

"The martial demonstration is meant for exchange and learning. As fellow righteous cultivators, do not let discord take root."

Zhao Wendao narrowed his eyes, his words carrying clear intent.

The core disciples promptly lowered their heads. "This junior understands!"

"Hmph! Frankly, this illusion realm is unreasonable!"

Even now, Yang Zhengxin refused to let go of his grievances, desperately searching for flaws in Immortal Realm Domination.

"In the great war between righteousness and demonic paths, victory hinges on the leading powerhouses! Since when do ordinary disciples decide the outcome?"

Hearing Yang Zhengxin’s complaint,

Lu Ze couldn’t help but grin.

After all, this was still being broadcast live across the five great sects.

This was practically free publicity for Immortal Realm Domination.

"Elder Yang makes an excellent point! Since this is a war between righteousness and demonic forces, how could the mighty experts, with their extraordinary skills, not take part?"

Before Zhao Wendao could respond, Lu Ze clapped his hands and took over with a smile.

"Which is why Immortal Realm Domination will soon introduce an even more challenging mode..."

"Fellow cultivators, you’ll be able to command the legendary powerhouses of each sect, leading disciples into a decisive battle against the demonic path."

"Stay tuned for—Competitive Mode!"

[Every day, someone asks about Naraka: Bladepoint. When tackling this theme, it’s the first thing that comes to mind, so of course it’ll be included. Originally, I planned to release it later, but given the constant inquiries, I’ve decided to move up the timeline—expect it around June.]