Ten Thousand Ways To Eliminate Players

Lin Bai felt that the Heavenly Dao Sect's Sect Master must have had his head kicked by a mule. This wasn't a negotiation at all, but a condescending handout.

However, on second thought, it was normal for the Seven Orthodox Sects to have such a notion.

The indigenous people had managed this land for tens of thousands of years. Judging by the frequency of their Prodigy Competitions, a sect could cultivate a batch of cultivators at the Divinity Transformation Realm every ten years and select thirty prodigies from them. Over a hundred years, that would be three hundred prodigies. Even if only one-tenth of these prodigies entered the Hollow Realm, that would still be thirty Hollow Realm cultivators every hundred years. If one out of those thirty reached Great cheng, the foundation accumulated over thousands, even tens of thousands of years, would be incredibly substantial.

One must know that for thousands of years, even when The Northern Army of Taiyi Country secretly amassed one hundred thousand cultivators, they weren't confident in resisting the Seven Orthodox Sects above them. They had been compelled by me to act despite their reluctance...

His Justice League had only been established for two months, and all its resources were plundered. The only territories they held were two towns and eight basic cities, with no more than eight individuals at Great cheng. Each of them harbored ulterior motives and could only be stabilized by my forceful suppression.

It's like a palm-sized country developing a new weapon and clamoring to replace one of the Five Permanents. The fact that the other side grudgingly acknowledged the Justice League's status already showed they held him in high regard...

Lin Bai was analyzing Ancestor Yan Qing's thoughts.

Little did he know, his cavalier attitude also gave Ancestor Yan Qing a headache.

Regarding Lin Bai, the Seven Orthodox Sects and the Five Demonic Sects couldn't reach a consensus. The conditions he proposed were the optimal solution, synthesized from the opinions of several sect masters. Before they could devise a suitable method to counter Lin Bai's Cultivation of Rules, everyone's primary thought was to appease him first.

Moreover, after their comprehensive analysis, it was highly likely Lin Bai was bluffing.

Promoting the Cultivation of Rules, popularizing the Magpie Bridge, deploying various industries within Taiyi Country, consolidating his Justice League, and nurturing talent to defend the territory he had conquered—he had far too much to do.

All of this required time. Rushing into war was not suitable for the developing Justice League...

Suppressing his anger, Master Yan Qing said, "Alliance Hierarch Lin, don't be so impulsive. You can state your demands. We can discuss them; perhaps we might agree!"

"The terms are all written in the Justice Weekly!" Lin Bai stated. "Sect Master, the rules I've set are more aligned with human nature: the victor has the right to demand compensation from the vanquished. If, one day, you defeat the Justice League, you can also demand compensation. You are the ones complicating simple matters."

Another silence ensued.

Master Yan Qing said, "Give me an hour. Allow me to discuss this with them."

"I await your good news," Lin Bai smiled.

"Alliance Hierarch, if they provide compensation, does that mean we genuinely won't attack the Seven Orthodox Sects?" Silver asked cautiously after the live broadcast ended.

"Correct. The Justice League loves peace. If we can stably spread the path of the Cultivation of Rules, why resort to war?" Lin Bai chuckled.

"But our fundamental interests conflict. Once they recover, they will definitely target us again," Silver said with a smile. Not a single player wished for world peace, especially the Beggar Gang players. They relied entirely on Lin Bai stirring up trouble to attract attention and were the least inclined to see him seek stability.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We'll deal with things as they happen." Lin Bai glanced at him and said, "If a real war breaks out, you all won't be much help. Instead of worrying about the League's future, you'd be better off focusing more on your cultivation. Perhaps then you might be somewhat useful on the battlefield in the future..."

"Yes, Alliance Hierarch." Silver glanced back at Wilderness Wolf and sent a private message, "Looks like it's our time to shine next."

"Mhm," Wilderness Wolf nodded in agreement. "The Seven Orthodox Sects and the Five Demonic Sects can't afford more losses; they clearly don't want to fight anymore. As long as they compromise, even Lin, the Storekeeper, won't be able to stir up trouble.

The Pet System is open, and the Magpie Bridge is equivalent to a Teleportation Portal. Yesterday, someone else cultivated Spoken Law Follows to the second level, meaning the path of the Cultivation of Rules will also be opened to players. Now, the Justice League's Great cheng cultivators have been replenished. Although the League is weaker than the Seven Orthodox Sects, with the Cultivation of Rules supporting it, the two powers can be said to be comparable in strength. They'll most likely start cultivating players and giving us missions."

"The game has spent quite a long time on background setup," Silver remarked.

"Who can blame the game for striving for realism? Realism often means players have to personally experience cutscenes that could have been conveyed in a few sentences!" Wilderness Wolf said. "Perhaps this is also the game company's strategy. Through this method, players are gradually immersed into the game world, and factions form naturally. It's far superior to the previous method in games where you chose factions based on preference."

"Now that we're entering the player-versus-player stage, I fear it will become the domain of corporations. The Beggar Gang's days of making easy money by lying low are probably over," Silver sighed. "As soon as Lao Mi logs on, he goes to enjoy himself with his old flame. He occupies the Gang Leader position, takes so much money for doing nothing, and is utterly useless. I kind of miss Lonely Old Man. If he were here, the Beggar Gang wouldn't be so disorganized, without even a clear direction for the future!"

Watching the two players brazenly discuss the game's direction in front of him, Lin Bai found it somewhat amusing. If this were truly a game, under his influence, it would have collapsed beyond repair long ago. Balance? How naive!

He knew about the corporations' plans. They intended to combine real-world technology with Immortal Technique to create more powerful weapons to counter his Cultivation of Rules.

But Lin Bai also thought they were daydreaming. What kind of research doesn't require time? In three months, he had already reached a position of equality with the Seven Orthodox Sects. In another three months, he might even unify the world. In such a short period, what could they possibly research...

Once he seizes control of the narrative, he'll kick out all the disobedient players one by one, keeping only his own fans. They'll happily play house in the game world, sell his merchandise, and help him build his fame...

「An hour later.」

Master Yan Qing reconnected with Lin Bai. "Alliance Hierarch Lin, we can agree to your demands. But there's one condition."

"State it," Lin Bai replied.

Master Yan Qing said, "Your patent rights can only be limited to Taiyi Country. You cannot arbitrarily collect fees externally. After all, those so-called patent rights of yours are all our things. Just because you've occupied them doesn't make your claim legitimate..."

"Acceptable," Lin Bai agreed.

"We may not supervise the use of the Magpie Bridge, but we hope you will allow our people to set up the Magpie Bridge between the various sects, and it cannot be arbitrarily canceled," Master Yan Qing stated. "If it is canceled arbitrarily, we will consider it a declaration of war from the Justice League. This is our bottom line. If Alliance Hierarch Lin still disagrees, then we will continue to fight."

Once the Magpie Bridge is built, whether it's canceled or not will still be up to me!

Lin Bai suddenly appreciated the advantage of technological superiority. He thought for a moment and said, "Sect Master, setting up the Magpie Bridge requires an initial fee. The Cultivation of Rules is not easy, and I can't work for free..."

"No problem."

Master Yan Qing agreed readily.

Having conceded to something as humiliating as war reparations, what else could he not agree to?

The immediate priority was to stabilize Lin Bai. In the words of the Sky-fallen, they were currently being led by the nose by Lin Bai. If they continued to fight, they would only become more passive.

Paying a price was like calling a timeout, allowing them to think of better countermeasures.

Moreover, up to this point, Righteous Door effectively consisted of only Lin Bai. His Sky-fallen subordinates and the members of the Justice League had no emotional attachment to him, and he wouldn't feel the slightest pang at abandoning them.

Give him time. Let his industries grow larger, let him develop attachments to his subordinates.

With various ties and attachments, it would be like giving Lin Bai something to lose, making him vulnerable.

Then, even if he possessed the Cultivation of Rules, dealing with him would be much simpler.