"So awesome!"

"Lin Bai is a total bug!"

"Is it really appropriate for a Boss of his Level to appear in the Novice Village?"

"Holy heck, this is insane!"

"What damn good is being shocked? Lin, the Storekeeper's mana is practically limitless. Trying to exhaust his mana by 'being shocked' just makes you look like a clown."

"I want to join the Beggar Gang!"

"Lin, the Storekeeper, is too cool!"

"Damn it! Last time Lin, the Storekeeper, fought Daoist Qingming, I thought that was his limit. I didn't expect him to take on five at once this time!"

"Just how much strength is he hiding?"

"I suspect this isn't even his upper limit; after all, he's completely unscathed."

"Rather than saying he's hiding his strength, it's more like Lin, the Storekeeper, is constantly growing. Looking at all of Lin, the Storekeeper's battles, he uses the same methods. Last time, when he fought the seven disciples from the Blood Shadow Sect, he didn't even use his powerful Palm Thunder, and in the end, he even let the Blood Shadow Sect people go."

"It really does seem like growth. Back when Lonely Old Man and his group ambushed Lin, the Storekeeper, if he had possessed even half of his current skill, he could have wiped out all the Players effortlessly, without needing any outside help."

"Too terrifying! What on earth were the game designers thinking, creating a character like this?"

"To draw out the Righteous Door. Judging by the current situation, the Righteous Door must be the final Boss."

"Will Players even be able to keep up with Lin Bai's growth rate in the future?"

"It's impossible for regular Players. Maybe the big financial consortiums have a chance."

"Although Lin, the Storekeeper, has the upper hand, he's also offended NPCs. His days ahead might not be easy."

"What's not easy about them? Haven't you noticed? After Jiamucheng, Lin Bai has practically monopolized all the Players in Qian City and the Novice Villages below it."

"MBD! This crappy game has been all about Lin Bai's show from start to finish! Where's the Players' moment to shine?"

"..."

"All the Players have been overshadowed by Lin Bai's brilliance."

"The game might as well be renamed 'Immortal Biography of Lin Bai'."

"Players will only get their chance when Lin Bai is dead."

"If you want to take Lin Bai down, you have to wait until he's alone! A bunch of Beggar Gang disciples chanting tongue-twisters can summon a Lightning Storm at the slightest provocation. No matter how high your Level, you can't withstand that!"

"Even if we can't withstand it, we must! The game can be lost, but Lin Bai must die!"

"Enough from the guy above! Even the great Greg, who first shouted that slogan, has had all his escape routes cut off now."

* * *

"The Beggar Gang has found a real treasure!" Lonely Old Man ignored the barrage messages in front of him, his gaze falling on Lin Bai as he sighed and mumbled to himself.

"Yeah, I always thought Lin, the Storekeeper's Palm Thunder was a bug. I never expected it to be his ultimate killing move. This kind of setup is unheard of," Crispy Rice said.

"I wonder when I'll be able to learn Lin, the Storekeeper's Palm Thunder," said Dumbelldore.

"You?" Crazy Man glanced disdainfully at Dumbelldore. "Even if you did learn Palm Thunder, could you afford to use it? Two thunderbolts, and your Inner Strength would be completely drained."

"..." Dumbelldore fell silent for a moment, then said, "I think Master's Palm Thunder is related to the length of the incantation, not the content. Master suddenly learned Palm Thunder after speaking nonsense for an entire day..."

Lonely Old Man and Crispy Rice looked at each other and said in unison, "Spoken Law Follows!"

After saying this, Lonely Old Man's expression instantly turned solemn. He pulled the few people around him into a private chat channel. "Regarding the connection between Palm Thunder and Spoken Law Follows, no one is to leak this information. It must be kept within the Beggar Gang. We will practice it in secret."

Bitter Melon Vine looked at everyone. "Does it even matter if it's leaked? Lin, the Storekeeper, doesn't seem to care about this Cultivation Technique at all. He even taught it to Jiang Qingqin."

"It's different." Lonely Old Man shook his head. "The Cultivation Technique of Spoken Law Follows has been passed on, but after all this time, has anyone actually practiced it? Silver and Well Does Not Move, who were the first to know about this Cultivation Technique, didn't think much of it, did they?"

"I've practiced it," Silver said with a bitter smile. "But I can't succeed. I get distracted without noticing, and I always feel like a lunatic when I practice. Things like proficiency levels don't even appear on the Skills list."

"It's most likely a hidden Skill!" Lonely Old Man said. "We can't rule out the programmers' twisted sense of humor; perhaps certain conditions must be met before the Skill is revealed. I think it's worth trying in secret. If we fail, at worst we've just wasted a day talking nonsense. If we succeed, we profit immensely. If it truly is Spoken Law Follows, then his arsenal of Skills definitely isn't limited to just Palm Thunder."

The Players all voiced their agreement.

* * *

[Challenge Beyond Your Level: Defeat an opponent stronger than you with your cards; Reward: 10 Blank Cards, 3 Silver Edge Cards, and 1 Gold Edge Card (Can seal an opponent one level higher than you, 30% success rate, recyclable, becomes ineffective upon character death)]

[Fight alongside your pet and develop combat synergy (Completed); Reward: 10 Enlightenment Pills (Distributed)]

[Engage in and win brutal battles alongside your pet (Completed); Reward: 10 Enlightenment Pills, 1 Transformation Pill (Distributed)]

[Allow your pet to Transform; Reward: 1 Transformation Pill]

[Minor Idol: Possess one thousand fans (Completed); Reward: 10 Faith (Distributed)]

[Town Superstar: Possess three thousand fans; Reward: 20 Faith, Primary Idol Aura (When with your fans, increases their combat power by ten percent)]

* * *

War is indeed the best way to accumulate wealth.

This battle not only netted Lin Bai six Card assistants but also a heap of miscellaneous rewards. He even unexpectedly acquired two new Temperament Fruits and an unknown quantity of Spirit Fruits.

Acquiring positive emotions is clearly much harder than negative ones.

However, overall, the gains were substantial.

Besides the Card assistants, the most valuable reward was likely the Transformation Pill from the Pet System. Waiting for Little White Fox to Transform on her own would take who knows how long; the Transformation Pill made things much more convenient. As an ambitious youth of the new era, Lin Bai was actually quite interested in things like beast-eared ladies...

As for the Primary Idol Aura, Lin Bai considered it rather useless. His fans were mostly girls who weren't keen on leveling up anyway, so an extra ten percent combat power was largely irrelevant. They'd be better off practicing their tongue-twisters!

When you have multiple systems, some are bound to be less impactful. Lin Bai didn't dwell on these less important systems, preferring to let things take their natural course.

* * *

Opposite them, the Morning Yuan Sword Sect and the other Righteous Factions were deathly silent.

Each of them stared at Lin Bai, utterly bewildered.

No one had expected a simple recruitment fair to escalate to this point...

The members of the Evil Sect who shared the venue with them, along with their disciples, had been completely wiped out!

Heaven knows, these people had come to Qian City at Lin Bai's suggestion. If their respective sects found out what happened in Qian City, they would undoubtedly hate Lin Bai to the bone!

Lin Bai's methods were alarmingly similar to those of the Demonic Way, yet he had single-handedly decimated all the Evil Sect members. You couldn't just label him as part of an Evil Sect based on his Martial Arts style!

Most importantly, if the five Evil Sects couldn't defeat Lin Bai, they [the Righteous Factions] certainly couldn't either, especially now that they were short one sect, the Return to Dragon View!

Alright then! Even with the Return to Dragon View, they would still lose. When fighting the Evil Sects previously, Lin Bai had only sealed Daoist Qingming as a Puppet. Now, he had at least six Puppets at his command...

Now, everyone finally understood why Lin Bai had claimed the Righteous Door wasn't afraid of group battles. He truly grew stronger the more he fought! How could anyone reason with that?

Why had they never heard of such a domineering Righteous Door before?

If they had known the Righteous Door was this tyrannical, they would never, ever have used Lin Bai as a pretext to recruit the Heaven-sent individuals!

Damn it all!

Tong Cha and the others knew why Lin Bai hadn't wiped them out: he was keeping them as scapegoats.

After all, Lin Bai had annihilated the entire recruitment contingent of the Evil Sects; he couldn't afford to offend the Righteous Factions as well. Otherwise, even if he were made of iron, how many nails could he withstand? But leaving them alive was a different matter.

The Evil Sect members were all dead, while the Righteous Faction members remained. Once word of this spread, the Evil Sects would inevitably see it as a premeditated trap.

It's like getting yellow mud on your crotch—even if it's not shit, people will say it is.

The thought that the long-standing balance had been shattered by Lin Bai's impulsiveness made Tong Cha and the others want to tear him to shreds.

But right now, they didn't even dare utter a harsh word.

Lin Bai's formidable Martial Power was one reason.

There was an even more crucial point.

Lin Bai was, after all, a lone wolf. They didn't even know where the Righteous Door's headquarters was. If the situation truly became unmanageable, Lin Bai could just pack up and leave.

They would be left to face the Evil Sects' revenge. Who could withstand that then?

So, Lin Bai staying with them, and their sects keeping Lin Bai, was actually the best option...

As for whether this would trigger a war between the Righteous and Evil Factions, they couldn't worry about that now. They had to clean up the current mess first. What was done, was done. Thinking so far ahead was pointless. They would take it one step at a time!

But the thought of being forcibly tied to Lin Bai made these members of the Righteous Factions extremely uncomfortable. At this critical juncture, with the Heaven-sent individuals causing chaos, why did someone like Lin Bai, such a troublemaker, have to appear?

* * *

At the City Lord's Manor recruitment office.

The aide asked the Scholar in a daze, "Mr. Zhao, are we still having tea with him?"

"Tea, my foot!" The Scholar wiped the sweat from his forehead, but the more he wiped, the more it flowed. "Killing Lan Nuotian was one thing, but how could he kill all the Evil Sect members? This kid is too impulsive. He's brought huge trouble upon Qian City! You handle things here. I'm going back to the City Lord's Manor to discuss with the City Lord what to do next. If anything develops, send someone to inform me immediately."

"Yes," the aide replied in a low voice.

The Scholar turned and hurried away.

* * *

The first to break the silence were the Players present.

Actually, their private chats hadn't stopped. After all, Lin Bai was too impressive; both his fighting style and his overwhelming aura had crushed everyone present.

Witnessing this battle alone was enough material for them to discuss for a long time.

Players were different from the natives; they didn't have so many entangled interests. Their principle was simple: follow whoever is strongest. Their ultimate goal was to one day learn Lin, the Storekeeper's Skills and wreak havoc just like him.

"Lin, the Storekeeper, is your offer for the Beggar Gang to waive the registration fee still valid?" a Player named [Ink Spills Everywhere] asked loudly, looking at Lin Bai with anticipation.

"Of course," Lin Bai replied with a smile. Times had changed. His personal strength now completely suppressed everyone present; why should he still compromise?

Except for Jiang Qingqin, the other members of the Righteous Factions were continuously supplying him with negative emotions, each one resentful and indignant towards him. If he didn't teach them a lesson, how could they lower their proud heads?

Moreover, Big Brother's enterprise still needed to develop, so the more members the Beggar Gang had, the better.

Whether it was the Card System or the success rate of the Blacksmith's six-piece set, both were inextricably linked to Qi Yun. And Qi Yun was precisely what the Chief Supporting Role System rewarded him with.

Although his role as a supporting character had completely overshadowed Big Brother, the System clearly didn't care about that...

The moment Lin Bai finished speaking, all the Players present formed long queues in front of the Beggar Gang's stall. Even Players who had already registered with other sects rushed out of their lines and ran towards the Beggar Gang's recruitment point, without so much as a word of notice...

They didn't care about principles at all!

Lin Bai's backend positive Emotion Value instantly maxed out.

The faces of the leaders of the several Righteous Factions turned extremely ugly in an instant. Only then did they understand Lin Bai's "kind" intentions.

So, if the Beggar Gang didn't impose restrictions, they wouldn't even make it in time for the hot food!

And they had pathetically used Lin Bai as an excuse to recruit Heaven-sent individuals...

* * *

"Brother Lin, didn't you just say you wanted to negotiate the allocation of the Heaven-sent individuals?" Tong Cha asked, breaking out in anxious sweat as he watched the queue in front of the Beggar Gang grow longer and longer, forcing a smile.

"Yes, if all the Heaven-sent individuals go to the Beggar Gang, it would violate the original purpose of holding this recruitment fair!" Wang Jingtian chimed in. Among everyone present, he was the most wary of Lin Bai.

The Spirit Artifact Pavilion was renowned for its Magic Treasures. When going out to fight, they competed on the intricacy and sharpness of these treasures. But the weapons Lin Bai used to smash people terrified him. Any Magic Treasure, no matter what kind, would be wrecked with a single blow. Who could bear that?

Pei Lie was right; Lin Bai's few Magic Treasures were the nemesis of the Spirit Artifact Pavilion.

To make matters worse, his Magic Treasures looked like a Blacksmith's tools. This left him even more speechless. The very tools for forging weapons had become weapons that destroyed Magic Treasures! Where could one even go to reason about this?

"I saw you were all silent for a long time, so I assumed you didn't want to talk anymore! Actually, lifting the restrictions and letting the Heaven-sent individuals choose freely is true fairness." Lin Bai glanced around at the crowd, his gaze lingering on Jiang Yuru's face for a moment before he subtly shook his head.

Jiang Yuru was extremely embarrassed. She looked back at her disciple, reached out, and unsealed her acupoints. Jiang Qingqin, like a fledgling bird leaving the forest, darted out from the Hundred Flower Valley's stall and flew to Lin Bai. She looked him up and down, tears welling in her eyes, "Lin Bai, are you alright? I... I was immobilized by my master earlier. I couldn't come to help you..."

"I know. And I think your master regrets it even more than you do now!" Lin Bai smiled reassuringly.

[Resentment from Jiang Yuru; +1+1+1]

Jiang Qingqin looked back at Jiang Yuru, her expression somewhat complex. After a long moment, she let out a soft sigh, "Lin Bai, I want to withdraw from Hundred Flower Valley and join the Beggar Gang!"

"Stand aside for now. We'll discuss your matter later," Lin Bai said with a smile, giving her a surprised look.

Jiang Qingqin nodded and quietly stepped to the side.

Jiang Yuru's face turned even more unsightly.

"Brother Tong, if I were you, I'd be trying to recruit some Players now, instead of waiting for me to arrange things. Otherwise, wouldn't I hold all the cards?" Lin Bai looked at the flustered leaders of the Righteous Factions and shook his head. "For example, your Morning Yuan Sword Sect could announce that joining to learn swordsmanship immediately comes with a gift of one hundred taels of silver, guaranteed room and board, comprehensive training, and even assistance in forming a Golden Core..."

[Resentment from Tong Cha, Wang Jingtian, Cao Ruan...; +1+1+1]

Tong Cha froze, the veins on his forehead bulging. He desperately wanted to draw his sword and strike Lin Bai down.

This was too much!

Why should your Beggar Gang charge disciples a fee, while we have to pay them to join?

Comparing the two, wouldn't it make my Morning Yuan Sword Sect seem inferior to your shabby Beggar Gang?

Besides, if we do exactly as you say, wouldn't that make us lose face?

* * *

Unlike Tong Cha and the others, after Lin Bai offered his advice, the Players provided only positive emotions.

After all, Lin, the Storekeeper's ideas were for their benefit.

Now, the Players present found Lin, the Storekeeper, increasingly endearing. It was rare to see an NPC who helped Players fleece the game company...

"Exactly, exactly! If they pay for signing up, I don't care what I learn," a Player, who clearly enjoyed stirring up trouble, chimed in.

"I'll join whichever family offers the best conditions!" another Player shouted.

Although the Beggar Gang was good, too many people were joining. There was no guarantee of getting any money. It might be better to try their luck with other sects!

Isn't the point of playing games to do whatever you want?

What's the point if everyone just becomes a Beggar?

Amidst the rising clamor of the Players, Lin Bai looked at the dumbfounded leaders of the Righteous Factions. He plucked the two ripened Temperament Fruits from the Positive Emotion Tree and popped them both into his mouth. He smiled, "Brother Tong, Brother Wang, times have changed. If you keep clinging to your old, outdated doctrines, even without me, you'll eventually be abandoned by the Heaven-sent individuals. Spending some money to attract Heaven-sent individuals to join you is far better than having all Players join the Beggar Gang, leaving you unable to report back to your sects, right?"

Looking at the increasingly vocal Heaven-sent individuals, then back at Lin Bai, Cao Ruan and the others exchanged glances and sighed in unison. Although Lin Bai seemed quite detestable, his words were undeniably reasonable.

Tong Cha took a deep breath and said sullenly, "Esteemed Heaven-sent individuals, those who join my Morning Yuan Sword Sect will receive a sect reward of 100 taels of silver and a Green Steel Sword upon enrollment..."

Cao Ruan, not to be outdone, announced, "Join my Medicine King Valley, and not only will you receive a silver reward, but you will also be gifted a bottle of Qi Refining Pills to help you sense Qi and enhance your True Qi..."

Jiang Yuru said, "Join my Hundred Flower Valley..."

Although they each announced new recruitment terms, their hearts were filled with a complex mix of emotions, an indescribable taste, knowing they originally wouldn't have had to offer so much...

Lin Bai's backend system clearly registered everyone's emotions:

[Resentment from Tong Cha, Cao Ruan, Su Yuru...; +1+1+1]

[Joy from Little Sweetheart, Feather Pen Fly to the Sky, Unbeatable Handsome Guy...; +1+1+1]

A smile touched Lin Bai's lips. Players or natives, they might win some or lose some, but with him, it was never a losing deal!