Daoist Qingming had now become an unfeeling battle machine. When Lin Bai issued an attack command, he flicked his horsetail whisk, casting Immortal's Guidance, which enveloped all members of the Blood Shadow Sect.

"How dare you, presumptuous whelp!" Lan Nuotian blanched, raising his hand to form a protective aura of blood qi for his disciples.

"What's there not to dare? You want to kill me, and you expect me to let you off easy? Do you really take me for a pushover?" Lin Bai laughed, throwing out a Blank Card that enveloped Daoist Qingling, who lay on the ground, his breathing faint as a thread.

The young Taoists from Return to Dragon View had rushed over to feed Daoist Qingling medicine, but before they could get the pill into his mouth, the soft light emanating from the Card pushed them aside.

Before everyone's incredulous eyes, Daoist Qingling was sealed into the Card, which then spiraled back into Lin Bai's hand.

A thirty percent success rate, plus an unknown Luck Value.

The sealing was successful on the first try.

At the same time, the Little Fox had finished reciting her second tongue twister.

Lin Bai raised his hand again, launching another Palm Thunder at Lan Nuotian, who was battling Daoist Qingling.

Lan Nuotian was already on guard. The clothes on his body instantly billowed out, emitting a layer of red, blood-like light that shielded his head.

CRACK!

The Palm Thunder struck the clothing.

The clothing was scorched black in one area, and the blood-light thinned considerably but didn't shatter.

Lan Nuotian waved his sword, once again unleashing a wave of blood qi to force Daoist Qingming back.

Daoist Qingming, in his Puppet state, had completely abandoned defense. Even though his body was riddled with wounds, he remained fixated on attacking, prepared to fight to the death, relentlessly.

Lan Nuotian roared angrily, "Liu Mingshan, Pei Lie, what are you fools standing around for? Are you waiting for Lin Bai to pick you off one by one and turn you into puppets?"

The various sects stirred uneasily. The reason was simple: they had already offended Lin Bai. Lin Bai's methods were too audacious; he dared to strike even when facing ten sects from both the Righteous and Evil factions. Moreover, his Martial Arts style was so brutal, felling Daoist Qingling in a single move. Merely felling him would have been one thing, but he even used a Card to seal him as a puppet.

This couldn't help but instill a profound sense of crisis in their hearts. This was especially true for the members of the Evil Sects. They still needed to recruit disciples in Qian City in the future. Allowing Lin Bai to ride roughshod over them would inevitably lead to being constrained at every turn...

The Little Fox's chanting grew smoother and smoother.

Lin Bai once again smashed down a Palm Thunder, leaving another scorched mark on Lan Nuotian's protective Magic Treasure.

At this moment, he shared his strength with Daoist Qingming, so he didn't need to worry about the consumption of Palm Thunder. The true qi stored by the Golden Core cultivator and his own inner strength were completely interchangeable.

"I, Lin Bai, value peace above all. By not attacking you, I've already shown considerable restraint." Lin Bai looked down on the crowd below with an arrogant expression. "Anyone who dares to help Lan Nuotian will be my lifelong enemy. If you can kill me in one fell swoop, so be it. But if I survive..."

He waved the Card containing Daoist Qingling and chuckled, "Once sealed into a Card, you might have been my enemy a moment ago, but the next, you're my helper. The Righteous Door fears group battles least of all..."

There was no need to hide the Card System; it couldn't be hidden even if he tried. It was better to reveal it openly, even if he was branded a Devil's Head for it...

Lin Bai had long seen that these members of the Righteous faction were quite cowardly, rigidly bound by their rules. Moreover, with people from both Righteous and Evil factions present, they would inevitably hold each other in check.

This was his opportunity.

The Card System was currently his strongest asset. After fighting alongside Daoist Qingming, the System had rewarded him with three more Blank Cards. Combined with the Luck Value from the Beggar Gang, the success rate of sealing was quite high.

If these fellows truly didn't know what was good for them, he could just seal a few more into Cards.

One must be ruthless to gain a firm foothold.

To carve out a piece for himself in this complex situation, people would have to die. It couldn't be helped. If things went south, he could always retreat. With a Golden Core fighter providing Wind Control, escape shouldn't be an issue...

But just as Lin Bai had predicted, those present had too many scruples. For a moment, everyone simply looked up at the sky; no one made a move.

"Senior Sister Su, should we act against Lin Bai?" Tong Cha's expression was conflicted, but he had already drawn his sword, poised to attack.

Su Yuru was somewhat unsure what to do. Everyone knew that the Hundred Flower Valley's combat strength wasn't formidable. Lin Bai's sheer power far exceeded her expectations.

Too tyrannical!

To possess such martial power at such a young age, he was hardly inferior to the prodigies of the seven great Righteous sects. Was the Righteous Door, which could cultivate such a young talent, truly a sect that Hundred Flower Valley could afford to provoke?

"You imbeciles!" Lan Nuotian intensified his assault. "The Players are watching! If you let him show off his might to his heart's content, who among them will choose your sects?"

BANG!

With a wave of Lin Bai's hand, the Anvil, one of the Blacksmith's six-piece set, plummeted from the sky, smashing into Lan Nuotian's protective blood-red robe.

RIP!

The blood robe, which had withstood two Palm Thunders without breaking, was instantly torn open with a large hole. Its blood qi completely dissipated, and it transformed into a tattered rag, fluttering to the ground.

The Anvil, its momentum undiminished, whistled through the air as it bore down on Lan Nuotian's head.

Lan Nuotian was startled by this dark, hulking object and hastily dodged to the side.

The Anvil, weighing over a thousand jin, slammed into the ground with a deafening THUD...

"My Bloody Cloud Robe!" Lan Nuotian glanced at the Anvil, cried out in anguish, then slashed Daoist Qingming aside with his sword and, enveloped in a Blood Cloud, shot towards the sky.

Daoist Qingming latched onto him, refusing to let go.

Just then, Little White Fox fumbled a word in her tongue twister and got stuck.

Forced to act, Lin Bai took a step back using Wind Control, ordered Daoist Qingming to defend, drew his kitchen knife, and unleashed a Six Color Frost attack at Lan Nuotian. He then recalled the Anvil, aimed it at Lan Nuotian's head, and threw it once more.

Simultaneously, he began to chant the incantation: "Before the mountain stands Cui Thick Leg..." enunciating each word clearly and precisely, so everyone could hear distinctly.

Currently, his inner strength was equivalent to nearly two hundred years, and he was also sharing Daoist Qingming's true qi. He practically wished everyone would recite the Palm Thunder incantation for him!

The Anvil circled Lan Nuotian's head, suddenly vanishing and then reappearing...

The tongue twister about Cui Thick Leg reverberated through the sky.

This bizarre combat style left all the Players and local cultivators below utterly dumbfounded!

What in the world?

[Lonely Old Man] gulped. "If I'm not mistaken, isn't that the platform Shopkeeper Lin uses for artifact refining?"

[Crispy Rice] said with a dark expression, "Cui Thick Leg should be the incantation for the left-hand Palm Thunder. Damn it, this is too much! It's even more outrageous than just yelling 'Damn!'"

[Crazy Man] said, "Shopkeeper Lin really isn't afraid of others learning his secrets!"

[Bitter Melon Vine] said, "He's doing it intentionally! The Palm Thunder is incredibly powerful; he's practically begging for others to chant it!"

Scarcely had he finished speaking when Lin Bai reached the end of his tongue twister.

CRACK!

Another Palm Thunder erupted. Lightning shot towards Lan Nuotian's head.

In his haste, Lan Nuotian once again produced a ring-shaped Magic Treasure. But this time, accompanying the Palm Thunder was the Anvil, weighing over a thousand jin. While the Magic Treasure blocked the Palm Thunder, the Anvil landed on the ring-shaped artifact, smashing it to pieces...

At the same time, Qian Jinzu and the others soared into the sky, attacking Lin Bai from all directions to aid their master. However, they had barely taken flight when Daoist Qingming's Heaven and Earth Net enveloped them all, slamming them back down to the dust. The power gap between them and a Golden Core cultivator was simply too vast...

"ARGH!" Lan Nuotian roared in exasperation. He had never encountered such a bizarre fighting style. The Anvil was too uncanny; it seemed to specialize in destroying Magic Treasures. Moreover, it appeared and vanished erratically, making it impossible to defend against. Without his Magic Treasures, if he charged in for close combat, his opponent's Martial Arts were nearly as fast as lightning, and he still had to be wary of that omnipresent Palm Thunder...

It was utterly infuriating!

Watching Lin Bai dominate the sky, [Greg] yelled, "DAMN!"

If his master wouldn't act, he would! Reciting the "Cui Thick Leg" incantation would help Lin Bai. But shouting "DAMN!" should definitely interfere. However, when he shouted "DAMN!", Lin Bai remained unfazed, even glancing at him with contempt.

[Greg]'s expression changed instantly, sweat pouring down his face.

Did the incantation fail?

No!

He'd been tricked!

Shopkeeper Lin could control Palm Thunder at will! He did it on purpose...

Lady Hua Xi's attention was entirely on the sky, so she hadn't noticed [Greg]'s unusual behavior. Her expression was grave; she felt it was necessary to intervene. Otherwise, Lin Bai would truly gain complete control of the situation. His fighting style was too bizarre; she doubted she could defeat him in a one-on-one fight...

The members of the Evil Sects, after all, had different temperaments from those of the Righteous faction. Upon recognizing a threat, their first instinct was to eliminate the opponent and remove any future trouble. The people from the Evil Sects had arrived late and didn't know about the Righteous Door's matters.

"Pei Lie, let's attack together!" Lady Hua Xi narrowed her eyes, inviting Pei Lie, who was beside her.

"Alright!" Pei Lie nodded.

Feng Mingshan inconspicuously took a step forward, intending to join them. They didn't trust Lin Bai in the slightest.

"Let's all attack!" Luo Linger flicked her wrists, and the tinkling of bells sounded as a crimson cloud lifted her into the air. "This boy must not be allowed to live."

Seeing the movements of the several Evil Sect members, Lin Bai frowned slightly. "Good, you've come." He then said, "Disciples of the Beggar Gang, when Little White Fox recites the Palm Thunder incantation later, chant along with her."

The Little Fox understood and raised her voice, "Before the mountain stands Cui Thick Leg, behind the mountain stands Cui Leg Thick..."

「At the recruitment fair venue.」

A cacophony of unevenly recited tongue twisters quickly arose. Not only the Beggar Gang disciples but even the Players who had come for the recruitment fair joined in with gusto.

"Stop! Don't chant along!" [Greg] screamed in terror, too panicked to even use private chat. "Don't help Lin Bai! Master, stop the Beggar Gang disciples from chanting the tongue twister..."

But before he could finish speaking, the Anvil materialized above his head.

Caught off guard, [Greg] was smashed by the Anvil, leaving behind a pile of gore as he went to resurrect.

[No Wine Today] and the others gulped, instinctively taking a step back. Even though it was a game, seeing a living person smashed into pulp by an Anvil right before their eyes inflicted severe psychological trauma on them.

URRGH! Several Players retched involuntarily.

Too brutal!

Pei Lie and the others, who had been planning to join the battle, couldn't help but freeze.

What in the Nine Hells?

Lan Nuotian's expression changed drastically. A terrible premonition arose in his heart. He slashed a wave of blood qi at Lin Bai with his sword, then bit the tip of his tongue, spat out a mouthful of essence blood, and turned to flee.

But it was too late. Little White Fox had just finished her tongue twister.

CRACK! A Palm Thunder descended upon his head.

Lan Nuotian shrieked miserably, spiraling down into the dust. In the next second, a Card had already enveloped his body, sucking him inside.

For a long moment, not a single bolt of lightning appeared from the crowd. The "Cui Thick Leg" tongue twister was too difficult. Without practice, reciting it correctly in one go was nearly impossible. The Players below attempting to recite the tongue twister kept making mistakes, dissolving into fits of laughter.

Lin Bai sighed, plucked a Spirit Fruit from a nearby tree, and tossed it into his mouth. "Xiao Bai, again. Slower this time."

Little White Fox nodded. This time, she slowed her pace, "Disciples of the Beggar Gang, recite with me: Before the mountain stands Cui Thick Leg..."

As Little White Fox led the Beggar Gang disciples in reciting the tongue twister, Lin Bai looked at the five Evil Sect members surrounding him from all directions and chuckled, "Do you all really intend to make an enemy of me? Lan Nuotian is dead. The recruitment fair can actually continue..."

"Though your techniques are bizarre, your cultivation is only at the Golden Core realm. You cannot defeat the four of us working together!" Pei Lie raised a pair of iron rings. With a light clang, blue flames instantly erupted from his body, making him resemble a Saiyan.

Lady Hua Xi of the Mysterious Darkness Cult now wore blue gloves. Dozens of ice awls hovered around her hands, ready to be launched at any moment.

Liu Mingshan of the Blood Separation Sect held a banner adorned with numerous skulls, with strands of blood qi coiling around it. His methods seemed similar to those of the Blood Shadow Sect.

As for Luo Linger, a golden bell adorned her wrist. She looked at Lin Bai coldly. "Your influence is too great. With you around, the Players' hearts will be unsettled. You few from the Righteous faction over there, do you intend to just stand by and watch Lin Bai grow stronger? You've all seen his abilities. If the Players learn them, how will we survive?"

Pei Lie goaded, "Spirit Artifact Pavilion, Lin Bai's iron Anvil specializes in breaking Magic Treasures! It's your nemesis..."

Before his words fully faded, a warmth surged in Lin Bai's Dantian. He laughed heartily, "Too late!"

The Players from Fiore City and Yimucheng had been careless when reciting the tongue twister, but the Beggar Gang disciples had their entire fortunes riding on Lin Bai. Each one of them concentrated intensely, terrified of mispronouncing a single word. Furthermore, as they recited the tongue twister, they weren't just led by Little White Fox. The livestream audience, who loved nothing more than a good spectacle, were typing out the correct sequence in the live chat. The disciples merely had to read along.

In the time Lin Bai had been speaking, out of more than sixty members, at least twenty had recited the incantation correctly. The instant the incantation was completed correctly, Lin Bai raised his hand.

A continuous torrent of lightning bolts poured forth from his palm. For a moment, lightning flashed brilliantly, forming an unbroken sheet that enveloped all four leaders of the Evil Sects.

"Damn it!" The group hastily raised their Magic Treasures.

But Lin Bai had already learned this trick during his battle with Lan Nuotian. The Blacksmith's five-piece set—hammer, Pliers, Anvil, and furnace—had descended upon their heads the moment the lightning erupted.

Their Magic Treasures shattered instantly. The Series of Lightning rained down on their heads as if it cost nothing.

THUD!

THUD!

In the blink of an eye, the few leaders of the Evil Sects were turned into charred husks, tumbling to the ground.

Lin Bai didn't waste the remaining lightning. Bolt after bolt struck down, cleanly wiping out the rest of the Evil Sect members, not even sparing Players like [Golden Lion] and [Live under the crotch] who had schemed against him.

Instantly, the recruitment venue was filled with nothing but the dazzling glare of electricity.

Pei Lie and the other leaders, being of Golden Core Cultivation, still clung to a breath of life after being struck by the Palm Thunder. However, the remaining disciples were merely at the Foundation Establishment realm; hit by the lightning, they were reduced to charcoal, undeniably dead. As for the Players, each lightning strike meant a death. They didn't even have a chance to retaliate...

"Stop! No more chanting! If you continue, the lightning will start falling on your own heads!" Lin Bai shouted, his voice amplified by his inner strength.

The sound of the tongue twisters immediately ceased. The entire venue fell deathly silent.

All eyes were fixed on Lin Bai in the sky and the battered, tattered Daoist Qingming beside him.

Perhaps Daoist Qingming's true qi had been exhausted by the Palm Thunder, or perhaps his battle was simply over. The moment the lightning ceased, he dissipated with the wind.

Having lost his Wind Control skill, Lin Bai, holding Little White Fox, drifted gently to the ground. He glanced at the dumbstruck members of the Righteous faction and shook his head disdainfully. "Satisfied now?"

Saying this, he tossed out four Blank Cards, which enveloped the charred leaders of the Evil Sects below.

Two succeeded. Two failed.

Pei Lie and Luo Linger were absorbed into the Cards.

The sealing of Feng Mingshan and Lady Hua Xi failed; they had narrowly escaped disaster.

Lady Hua Xi struggled to sit up. Looking at Lin Bai, she said weakly, "Shopkeeper Lin, spare me. I am willing to be your servant, your slave..."

"Alright. Seeing as you know how to speak, you'll get a higher standard. I'll reward you with a Silver Edge Card!" Lin Bai chuckled, glanced at her, and threw out a Blank Card along with a silver-edged Blank Card.

The Blank Card was a reward from the battle with Daoist Qingming. The Silver Edge Card had just been issued after sealing Pei Lie and the others.

[System Notification: Collected three Card characters (Complete). Reward: Five Blank Cards, one Silver Edge Card (Can be used to seal beings at Golden Core level or below defeated by you. 50% success rate. Card characters retain memories during combat, are recyclable, and become invalid upon death.) (Issued)]

"No! If you dare kill me, the Mysterious Darkness Cult will never forgive—" Lady Hua Xi shrieked in terror, struggling to escape. But in the next instant, she was enveloped by the Card's silver light and drawn inside.

The unconscious Luo Linger also couldn't escape the fate of being sealed by a Card for the second time.

After collecting all the Cards, Lin Bai's confidence soared. He looked towards the members of the Righteous faction and asked with a smile, "Well? Do you still want to fight? If not, let's discuss the allocation of the Players. If you do, then I'll have no choice but to reluctantly accept all the Players into the Beggar Gang..."