Gamers Are Fierce

"Odd Arts?"

Bai Yongyan shook his head and smiled. "The Shu Palace teems with talent, and this banquet is no less than a den of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. As a mere Warlock from beyond the world, I won't embarrass myself by showing off my meager skills."

"Why be so modest, Brother Bai?"

The Old Spider Dancer laughed heartily. "Since there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers at this banquet, Brother Bai, you must demonstrate your skills to prove that we, the Guest Elders of the Royal Mansion, are not just useless eaters and drinkers."

The Old Spider Dancer, who always found Bai Yongyan's pompous behavior and self-proclaimed title as the Royal Mansion's foremost Magician annoying, was intentionally forcing him to show his hand.

At the banquet, Bai Yongyan couldn't reveal his best skill, alchemy. He had to resort to his second-best, the Illusion Technique. However, this technique was most vulnerable to being dismantled by a Necromancer skilled in the same art, especially amid a crowd of watchful eyes.

The Old Spider Dancer had already made thorough preparations. He was just waiting for Bai Yongyan to perform the Illusion Technique, perhaps creating a fantastical landscape with towers and ethereal fairies. Then, he would secretly act to unravel the illusion. This would make Bai Yongyan embarrass himself in front of everyone, unable to save face and forced to leave the Royal Mansion in disgrace.

"Hmm..."

Bai Yongyan frowned and pondered for a while. "Since Brother Wei has put it that way, it would be a loss of face for the Royal Mansion if I don't take action. Alright, then I shall embarrass myself."

He put down his wine cup and solemnly bowed to the attendees. "The first art I will perform is the Mental Control Technique."

"The Mental Control Technique?"

The Old Spider Dancer's brow furrowed. That wasn't right. Besides alchemy and geomancy, Bai Yongyan only knew the Illusion Technique. When did he learn the Mental Control Technique?

Moreover, the Mental Control Technique could typically be divided into two types. One involved using talismans and special drugs to bewilder ordinary people, rendering their minds muddled and obedient to simple commands from the practitioner. It was a form of Nightmare Technique, considered quite low-level. Let alone other Magicians, even vigorous young men with a slightly stronger will could resist it.

The second type of Mental Control Technique, however, was much more advanced. It allowed the affected to retain a clear mind and show no signs of abnormality in daily life. Despite this, their entire thought process would be twisted and reversed. Even if the practitioner commanded them to leap into a fire pit or eradicate their own family, they would do so without hesitation, smiling all the while.

"Didn't The Evil Extreme Sect of the Magic Gate, the only inheritors of the Mental Control Technique's Secret Manual, get annihilated by the imperial court over a hundred years ago?" At the banquet, a handsome man with a delicate and somewhat enchanting appearance, who was clear-faced and beardless, said in a soft voice, "Could it be that Mister Bai obtained the forbidden Secret Manual of the Evil Extreme Sect?"

The man speaking was Yu Qingqiu, the Qian Hu of the Xijishi Factory in charge of punishments, who was also responsible for escorting the Annam Diplomatic Corps into the capital.

"Not at all!"

Bai Yongyan's head shook like a rattle drum. "Lord Yu, you misunderstand, you misunderstand! What I just mentioned was not 'Mind Control,' but 'Kindling Control.' You know, the 'kin' in 'kindling,' for firewood."

Bai Yongyan then pulled out several thin sticks of firewood from his bosom and stood them upright on the ground. He bent down slightly, pressed the top of the sticks with his hand, took a deep breath, and whispered, "Firewood Style: Advent of a World of Trees - Youth Edition!"

The several long-dried sticks of firewood instantly sprouted fine roots that burrowed into the cracks in the wooden floor, while the tops grew branches that spread and bore leaves.

A few breaths later, a tree sprouted from the wooden floor of the hall. It grew so tall it nearly touched the dome. Its top was laden with fresh green leaves and pink, peach-like fruits, swaying gently in the night breeze.

"This, this..."

The Old Spider Dancer was immediately at a loss for words. His experience told him that the tree before his eyes was not a product of an illusion but a real tree. Since when did he learn such a trick?!

Bai Yongyan smiled and plucked a fruit from the tree. He took a bite, and juice sprayed everywhere, its fragrance wafting through the air, which was enough to prove the authenticity of the tree.

Not only that, but Bai Yongyan slapped the tree bark. Immediately, three cracks appeared on the trunk in an inverted triangular pattern, resembling a pair of eyes and a mouth on a human face. What was more eerie, the tree's eyelids were slowly lifting.

The sight was shocking! The Old Spider Dancer's face changed drastically. The guests were terrified and screamed loudly. The maids turned pale and collapsed to the ground. The only ones who remained seated calmly, indifferent, were Yu Qingqiu, along with the Monks from Yongling Temple and the Annam Diplomatic Corps.

The Tree Man raised its eyelids very slowly, revealing a pair of grey-brown eyes. It scanned the hall and said in a low voice, "I am Groot!"

A wave of confusion spread. The crowd looked at each other, bewildered. They vaguely sensed that what the Tree Man said sounded like a foreign language. Unfortunately, no one understood this foreign tongue. The Old Spider Dancer had no choice but to courageously ask Bai Yongyan, who stood casually under the tree, "Brother Bai, this is..."

"This one," Bai Yongyan began, "is a descendant of the Ginseng Fruit Tree from the Wuzhuang View on Wanshou Mountain, owned by The Immortal Zhenyuan Zi."

Bai Yongyan spun a tall tale, eyes wide open. "It is introducing itself to everyone here. I once dreamt of attending the Ginseng Fruit Banquet hosted by The Immortal Zhenyuan Zi, where I obtained a fruit pit capable of using the fruit pit to cast magic, grafting one thing onto another, turning ordinary firewood into Ginseng Fruit Trees.

"Legend says the Ginseng Fruit Tree flowers once every three thousand years and bears fruit after another three thousand. The fruits themselves only ripen after an additional thirty thousand years. Merely smelling the fruit can make a person live for three hundred and sixty years. Eating one grants them forty-seven thousand years of life.

"The fruit tree I've grown here doesn't bear life-prolonging Ginseng Fruit, just ordinary peaches. However, they are superior, with thin skins, abundant flesh, and a tender, sweet, and juicy taste. When you bite into them, they are delectably juicy. I know you're all eyeing these peaches. Come on, don't be shy."

He took a plate, picked peaches from the tree, and distributed them to all the guests and maids present. However, the guests who were given the fruits all stared at the pinkish-white peaches on the table with some hesitation.

"I am Groot!"

The Tree Man roared again.

Bai Yongyan hurriedly explained, "The fruit tree is saying that its fruits are freshly picked and priceless."

"Hmm?"

The Old Spider Dancer asked subconsciously, "But isn't this sentence exactly the same as the one before? How does it have a different meaning?"

"That's something you might not know," Bai Yongyan spoke earnestly. "The Ginseng Fruit Tree has only this one way of speaking. Outsiders hear it as the same sentence, but to Tree Men or Tree-speakers, they are completely different statements."

"I am Groot!"

The Tree Man roared once more. Bai Yongyan quickly translated, "This is the Ginseng Fruit Tree urging everyone—its fruits cannot be preserved for long and must be eaten fresh. If left uneaten, they will spoil immediately."

As if to prove Bai Yongyan's words, the fruit tree shook its branches, and the few remaining fruits on it visibly turned from white to black before their very eyes.

The crowd exchanged glances. Seeing Bai Yongyan himself enjoying the fruit, they followed suit and took a bite of their peaches. Indeed, they were as sweet and juicy as he had claimed.