Currently, Lin Bai had sealed eighteen Golden Core cultivators with Cards. Among them, Qing Yu, Qing Shan, and Lady Hua Xi were sealed using Silver Edge Cards, while the remaining fifteen people were sealed with one-time-use Blank Cards. It could be said that at this moment, Lin Bai alone was enough to start a small-scale war in the Cultivation World.

The one-time-use Blank Cards were consumables. Whether they possessed Spirit Intelligence was irrelevant to them and not worth investing an Enlightenment Pill in. Out of the remaining three Silver Edge Cards, Lin Bai thought for a moment and chose Lady Hua Xi as the experimental subject. Firstly, her strength was low, making her easy to control; secondly, her strength was low, so if there were problems, destroying her Card wouldn't be a great loss.

Ignoring the Players, Lin Bai released Lady Hua Xi, approached her, and stuffed an Enlightenment Pill into her mouth. The Little White Fox and the Players watched Lin Bai's strange actions, not understanding what he was doing.

A moment later, the dull-eyed Lady Hua Xi blinked. Her pupils gradually focused, settling on Lin Bai's face. Then, she showed a horrified expression and took a step back, "Is it you?"

"It's me." Lin Bai looked at her curiously, decisively terminating the Great Language System's task. Though bragging was his talent, bragging could affect communication, and Lin Bai understood the principle of trade-offs best. From Lady Hua Xi's reaction, it was clear she had recovered all her wits and memory, rather than being like a newborn who merely gained the ability to learn. This situation was much better.

In Lin Bai's mind, Lady Hua Xi's existence as a Card character was still there; it hadn't disappeared because she had regained her senses. The options were still attack, defend, and retreat; no other options had appeared. Obviously, although the by-products of the two Systems would affect each other, they wouldn't affect basic operations.

With hundreds of years of Inner Strength and sharing Qing Yu's and Lady Hua Xi's Spiritual Power and Skills, Lin Bai could easily control Lady Hua Xi. However, for safety, the moment Lady Hua Xi regained her senses, he still issued her a 'defend' order while holding the Blank Card for sealing Lady Hua Xi in his palm.

Lady Hua Xi looked at Lin Bai, then suddenly turned. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, she soared into the night sky. She knew she was no match for Lin Bai. The moment she woke up, her first instinct was to escape. But she had barely flown ten meters when Lin Bai spread out the Card in his hand. A huge suction force emanated from it, and Lady Hua Xi, with a scream, was involuntarily pulled back into the Card. Then, Lin Bai released her again.

Lady Hua Xi looked at the Blank Card in Lin Bai's hand, trembling with fear. "What...what did you do to me?"

"You've regained all your memories, haven't you?" Lin Bai didn't answer her question, asking instead, "Including the memory of me bringing you to the battle with Return to Dragon View?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Hua Xi's expression changed dramatically. With a flip of her palm, a dozen ice cones hovered above it. But as she looked at Lin Bai, her face reddened, yet she found herself unable to launch the ice cones. Like a person full of contradictions, her expression pained and conflicted, she dismissed the ice cones, watching Lin Bai in bewilderment. "You...why can't I attack you?"

As expected. Card characters in 'defend' mode couldn't attack their owner. Lin Bai's heart relaxed considerably. He smiled faintly and said, "Because your life was given by me. I've placed restrictions on your soul."

"You turned me into a Puppet?" Lady Hua Xi asked, her voice trembling.

"Close enough!" Lin Bai glanced at her, pointing to the dazed Daoist Qingyu nearby. "To be precise, *he's* the one who looks like a Puppet. After I turned you into a Puppet, I restored your senses. Theoretically speaking, I gave you a new life, so it wouldn't be wrong for you to call me 'Father'..."

Lady Hua Xi didn't hear anything Lin Bai said after that. Upon seeing Daoist Qingyu, her entire attention shifted to him. Moving to Daoist Qingyu's side, Lady Hua Xi reached out to touch his face. Two lines of clear tears fell down her cheeks as she said softly, "Qingyu, I never thought a man would risk his life for me, nor did I ever imagine I would find a cultivation partner in my life..."

Ugh! Such is the power of the Matchmaker God's red thread! The newly awakened Lady Hua Xi was instantly conquered by love. Lin Bai remained silent.

The Players, including [Dragon Breath], were dumbfounded. "It's definitely 'Spoken Law Follows'! The power of rules forcibly brought them together. There's no better explanation."

「...」

"...Qingyu, you're too foolish. You shouldn't have stayed for me; you clearly had a better future." Lady Hua Xi clung gently to Daoist Qingyu, burying her face in his chest as she sobbed softly. "Why? Why is fate so unfair, making us endure such suffering before we could meet..."

Without me, if you had met him, being cleaved to death by his sword would have been the best outcome for you.

"COUGH!" Lin Bai coughed lightly, interrupting Lady Hua Xi's public display of affection, oblivious as she was to everyone else. "I can make him regain his senses as well."

Lady Hua Xi shuddered and whipped her head towards Lin Bai, her face filled with disbelief. "Really?" Then, she quickly composed herself. Looking at Lin Bai, then at Daoist Qingyu, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Lin, the Storekeeper, help him regain his senses. I'm willing to do anything for you!"

Lin Bai shook his head and issued her an 'attack' order.

The very next moment, Lady Hua Xi's eyes widened as she uncontrollably launched an ice cone attack on a nearby tree. In the blink of an eye, the tree, thick enough for two people to encircle with their arms, was riddled with holes by her ice cones.

Lady Hua Xi looked at Lin Bai in horror, unable to stop the ice cones continuously shooting from her hands. "What... what did you do to me?"

"I told you already, your life was given by me, and I placed a restriction on your soul." Lin Bai smiled, standing beside her. "So, whether you like it or not, you will do anything for me. Any conditions you try to negotiate are meaningless. You should understand one fact: whether or not your senses are restored is up to me, not you. If I wished, I could even make you kill Daoist Qingyu..."

"No! No, please don't!" Lady Hua Xi shook her head desperately. The ice cones continued firing uncontrollably until the tree began to wobble, making creaking noises, and slowly started to tilt...

Feeling the various negative emotions emanating from Lady Hua Xi, Lin Bai sighed. "I think I understand now why those sealed by the Cards had their senses destroyed. To be conscious yet unable to control one's own body... it's too terrifying."

All of this is your doing, so what are you sighing for? Is it really that terrible? Then why did you restore my senses? Lady Hua Xi looked at Lin Bai, unable to utter a word, but her trembling body and furious gaze clearly expressed her inner turmoil. She was a master of the Evil Sect and had once harmed ordinary people to advance her cultivation. She didn't care about the opinions of those worldly ants. But compared to Lin Bai's actions, she felt as innocent as a newborn. The man before her, seemingly gentle and refined, was a true Evil Spirit, rotten to the core!

"What do you want?" Lady Hua Xi asked.

Lin Bai looked at her. "What I just said were my own feelings. But what about you? What are your true thoughts? Would you prefer to be a carefree Puppet like Daoist Qingyu? Or would you rather be a living person who can perceive the world, experience your own joys and sorrows, yet occasionally find your actions constrained?"

Carefree? Lady Hua Xi looked back at the dazed Daoist Qingyu. Occasionally constrained in my actions? She then looked at the large tree, nearly severed by her own ice cones... The tree, as if to complement Lady Hua Xi's sorrowful mood, finally gave way. Its riddled trunk could no longer support the massive canopy, and it collapsed with a loud CRASH, startling countless night birds into flight...

Having experienced the Sword Rain at Return to Dragon View, Lin Bai was already indifferent to such minor disturbances. He casually took a step back, avoiding the flying debris. "Little Flower, what do you say?"

"Little Flower?" Lady Hua Xi flinched, turned towards Lin Bai, and looked at his teasing, smiling eyes. She stammered, "Of course, it's better to regain my senses. Who would want to be a thoughtless Puppet if they had a choice!"

"Just as I thought. That's why I helped you regain your senses. I am fully aware that helping all of you regain your senses will bring me much trouble and introduce more uncertainties..." Lin Bai sighed, gazing up at the Starry Sky, and said empathetically, "Little Flower, in this world, who isn't living in pain? Who isn't a Puppet?"

That bastard! Lady Hua Xi cursed silently in her heart. If she could attack Lin Bai, her ice cones would have already riddled him with holes. What a scumbag! Does he really think saying that will make me empathize with him? If we switched places, and you still had the gall to say such things, then I might actually admire you...

「...」

"He's breaking her will!" [Dragon Breath] said. "Back in Jiamucheng, he fooled me the same way. He's about to state his conditions..."

"Don't you think Lin, the Storekeeper's words are philosophical?" [Daluo Golden Immortal] remarked. "All beings suffer!"

"Philosophical my ass! He's just psychologically manipulating her. After using the Card to enslave Lady Hua Xi, he wants to completely conquer her mentally," [Mountain Tiger] retorted. "The character design for Lin, the Storekeeper, is too awesome. This personality, this intellect, this rigorous logical thinking—he could crush a lot of people even in the real world."

"I've always suspected this game is a real world," [Iron-Headed Immortal] said. "Everyone has flesh and blood. Is there really a server capable of handling such massive computations?"

"No, this is just a game." [Daluo Golden Immortal] looked at Lin Bai, shook his head, and said, "Did you guys catch anything from the last sentence Lin, the Storekeeper, said?"

"What?" [Dragon Breath] asked.

"He said, 'who isn't a Puppet?'" [Daluo Golden Immortal] paused. "Do you think there's a possibility that Lin, the Storekeeper, realized he's an NPC, or a piece of code, with his fate being controlled by someone else? Hence his lament about also being a Puppet?"

The Players were all simultaneously struck dumb.

"Holy shit, that makes sense!" [Iron-Headed Immortal] exclaimed. "A game character realizing he's a game character—that's kind of terrifying. He would definitely fight against his fate, right?"

"And you don't think he *is* fighting back?" [Daluo Golden Immortal] countered. "Everyone thinks Lin Bai is driving the game's progression, but from another perspective, isn't Lin Bai also disrupting the game's balance? Almost every game event connected to him has gone completely haywire."

"The more you think about it, the scarier it gets," [Dragon Breath] said, looking at Lin Bai. "Old Luo, I think you should post this viewpoint on the forums. It'll definitely attract a huge following..."

「...」

I was never a game character to begin with! And I've never resigned myself to fate! Lin Bai glanced sideways at the Players who were privately chatting, offering no comment on their theories. His lament about being a Puppet was simply directed at the Systems he carried! As more and more Systems demonstrated their powerful functions, Lin Bai had become somewhat infatuated with the immense power they granted him. He had to constantly remind himself not to get lost in it. The sweeter the bait, the more terrifying the trap hidden behind it might be! Of course, the prerequisite for everything was to survive first!

Gathering his thoughts, Lin Bai continued, "Little Flower, your choice was correct. Actually, looking at it from another angle, being sealed inside a Card isn't entirely without benefits. No matter how badly you're injured, as long as I retract you into the Card, you'll slowly recover. Although your strength might not improve much, in a way, you've indirectly achieved longevity."

Lady Hua Xi's lips twitched; she couldn't bear his shameless remarks any longer. "What if you die?"

"If I die, you will still live within the Cards," Lin Bai replied shamelessly, "and no one will be able to harm you ever again."

Lady Hua Xi, at the end of her patience, burst out, "Lin Bai, what on earth are you trying to do?"

"Little Flower," Lin Bai said.

"Don't call me Little Flower," Lady Hua Xi retorted.

"Little Stream," Lin Bai glanced at her, casually changing the nickname, pretending not to see the anger that made Lady Hua Xi's face tremble. He continued, "I want your help. I am the Righteous Door's representative in the world. Although I possess extraordinary capabilities and profound skills, I am ultimately just one person. A single tree doesn't make a forest, and a single thread cannot form a line. There are too many things waiting for me to do, but I'm truly stretched too thin!"

Too many things? More like too many enemies! Lady Hua Xi grumbled inwardly, then asked, "And then?"

"I want you to help teach the Beggar Gang Disciples their techniques." Lin Bai looked at Lady Hua Xi with sincerity. "In return, I will give you the greatest possible freedom. Unless you are very severely injured, I will try not to retract you into the Card, allowing you to live like normal people, to re-experience this colorful world and beautiful love." Speaking of which, he turned to look at the still dazed Daoist Qingyu.

Following Lin Bai's gaze, Lady Hua Xi asked tremblingly, "Are you serious?"

"Otherwise?" Lin Bai smiled.

"But by gathering Skills from all the Sects under heaven in this manner, you will eventually become a public enemy. No one will spare you," Lady Hua Xi said after a moment of silence.

"As long as I'm strong enough, everyone will sincerely help me, just like you," Lin Bai said with an unconcerned smile. Under the pressure of numerous Systems, he had already strayed too far down the path of becoming a public enemy, with no way to turn back.

There's no shore to return to. Turning back means hell! Therefore, he just had to walk this path to its dark end; the way forward was the only path to survival...

"Do I have a choice?" Lady Hua Xi revealed a bitter smile, then looked towards Daoist Qingyu. "Help him regain his senses too. I'll convince him for you."

"Little Stream, when my strength is great enough to dominate the world, if you are still alive then, perhaps I will consider setting you free." Lin Bai looked at Lady Hua Xi and made his solemn promise.

In this world, Lin Bai had no attachments. Villains or heroes, in his eyes, there wasn't much difference. Everything he did was merely for the sake of surviving better. If it were possible, if he had the ability, he really wouldn't mind restoring their freedom. He wasn't a born Demon, after all; he had a benevolent heart too... Of course, what Lin Bai found most comfortable was the feeling of not having to speak the truth with every sentence. It felt so damn good! The Great Language System... one truly had to love it and hate it at the same time!