CHAPTER 375: FAMOUS MASTERS EMERGE

Worlds are not the same.

Heavenly people possess the appearance of humans, but fundamentally, they and humans are two completely different species. If one must make an analogy, the relationship between heavenly people and humans is akin to that of mortals in the Mortal World and the Monster Race. Humans look down upon the Monster Race. The Beast Control Sect even tried various means to enslave Demon Beasts for tens of thousands of years, which they saw as completely normal. Yet, after ascending to the Fairy World, they were enslaved by the heavenly people. This, without a doubt, is deeply ironic.

The fact that heavenly people possess Nameplates meant Lin Bai’s human identity could not be perfectly concealed, not even with the Body of the War God. The Body of the War God might possess all of Lin Bai’s skills, but its inherent strength is too weak. In a one-on-one fight, it might not even be able to defeat Nan Lingtian. Therefore, Lin Bai couldn’t achieve maximum results with minimal costs as he could in the Mortal World. Only through victory and sacrifice could the chasm between the two species be bridged. This was similar to how Lin Bai’s powerful rise forced the Cultivators to reluctantly acknowledge the status of the Monster Race. Only this time, Lin Bai was on the weaker side.

This was a war, unrelated to justice. In this war, no one could remain uninvolved. Even if they wished to, Lin Bai wouldn’t allow it.

"Nuclear Peace? What does Lin Bai mean by that?" asked Black Sheep.

"The meaning is simple. He’s not paving the way for us anymore. If we want to fight for our rights, we must do it ourselves," The Bright Sun replied.

"No, he’s trying to sow discord between us and the heavenly people," said Wind Rider. "Once we initiate a war against the heavenly people, it will be nearly impossible to profit from both sides as we did before. He wants to use this method to sever any possibility of us allying with the heavenly people..."

"That’s too vicious," BattleWolf remarked. "Does Lin Bai know our plan?"

"Whether he knows or not, his actions are quite normal; we were never a true coalition of shared interests," stated Far Vision Eagle. "However, launching a war isn’t a decision for just a few of us to make. Let’s see what the higher-ups think!"

Ending the private chat, Far Vision Eagle said, "Alliance Hierarch, we will convey your intentions to our leaders. What about the Players in Pine stone city now? Those they’ve captured aren’t just ordinary Players; this act is a provocation against your authority!"

"Don’t worry about Pine stone city. Once I re-establish the laws, they will naturally release the captives," Lin Bai said with a smile.

"Laws?" The Players were stunned.

"Without rules, there can be no order. This is the territory of the heavenly people. According to their rules, Ascenders from the Mortal World are inherently inferior. Their capture of Players wasn’t wrong by their standards. If I use that as a pretext to attack them, how can I command respect in the future?" Lin Bai glanced at the gloomy-faced Mad Wind Sword Fanatic and the others, continuing, "We are not mere passersby. It’s impossible to slaughter all the heavenly people in the Fairy World. Since that’s the case, we cannot act recklessly on whims. Otherwise, even if we conquer the heavenly people, this world will plunge into chaos and endless war, where no one can survive."

"Damn it! When has this guy ever followed rules?" Black Sheep complained in the private chat channel. "Isn’t he the one who brings chaos everywhere? He single-handedly threw three worlds into turmoil, and now he’s all talk about rules. It’s ridiculous."

"Old Ma, you can’t say that. Lin Bai is doing the right thing. Every nation, at its founding, operates this way," Wind Rider said. "Throughout history, there have been many rebellions. Those with rules and order survived; those without, who acted wantonly, were ultimately eliminated."

"I understand the principle, but hearing it from Lin Bai just sounds off," Black Sheep replied. "He was just instigating us to launch a war of ’Nuclear Peace’!"

"Launching a war and establishing rules don’t conflict. Besides, Lin Bai’s rules are for others to see, for others to follow," Far Vision Eagle said, his gaze towards Lin Bai filled with admiration and worship. "Lin Bai has never been a reckless brute; he always has his own plans. He binds everyone with rules, yet he himself remains outside them, even capable of changing them at will. It must be said, his methods are far more sophisticated than anyone else’s. People like him are the hardest to deal with! I’m increasingly understanding why the Righteous Door sent him..."

"Alliance Hierarch, the heavenly people have never treated us as human beings," Mad Wind Sword Fanatic suddenly stood up and said angrily. "We despise them to the point of wishing to flay their skin and feast on their flesh, to kill all the Immortals in the Fairy World! Why should we show them mercy?"

"Martial Uncle, please say less. The Alliance Hierarch has his own plans." The elder in the purple robe kept signaling Mad Wind Sword Fanatic with his eyes.

"I refuse to accept this!" Mad Wind Sword Fanatic protested resentfully. "The heavenly people are arrogant, and they could never coexist with us. We must exterminate them all..."

SLAP!

In a blur, Mad Wind Sword Fanatic found himself standing before Lin Bai, clutching his left hand. After the crisp sound, he let out a piercing scream.

"Mad Wind, considering this is your first offense, you’ll receive one strike from the Ruler as a warning," Lin Bai said, looking at him. "Later, you will inquire with your senior martial brothers and sisters about the rules of the Righteous Door. If you cannot accept them, you are free to leave the sect."

"..." Beads of sweat fell like rain from Mad Wind Sword Fanatic. He looked at the Ruler in Lin Bai’s hand; a shudder from the depths of his soul awakened the fear deep within him. He lowered his head, forcibly repressing the resentment in his heart, and said shakily, "Disciple recognizes his mistake."

Mad Wind Sword Fanatic’s loyalty: 20%.

Seeing Mad Wind Sword Fanatic’s plight, the loyalty of Xuan Yun and others also dropped by five points.

These individuals have suffered long-term abuse, twisting their psyches. Externally, this manifests as a distrust of everyone; at the slightest discomfort, they bristle like hedgehogs.

Lin Bai sympathized with their plight but wouldn’t coddle them, nor could he be bothered to console them. There were so many people in the world; why not use others? Why waste time on them?

Among the Ascenders, there were surely some who, even in adversity, could still clearly assess the situation. To be his disciple, one had to be sufficiently intelligent and resilient...

Lin Bai ignored the few Ascenders and declared righteously, "Violence is temporary; order is eternal. The mission of the Righteous Door is to dismantle this old world and establish a new order. In the new world we build, no one will be inherently superior. All things, all beings, are equal. This has always been my guiding principle. It was so when rescuing the Monster Race, and it will be so when challenging the hegemony of the heavenly people. Everyone must remember, we are not invading, nor are we avenging the Ascenders. We are enlightening, we are saving. We are the side of justice. Whatever we do, our cause must be righteous. This is the creed of the Righteous Door. By upholding the justice in our hearts, we shall be invincible..."

"General Chen, must we really go to war with the heavenly people?" Cheng Xunyun asked. "The number of professional soldiers among the Players is too small to sustain a large-scale war. The heavenly people’s martial power is equivalent to the Crossing Tribulation Realm, and their attack range can reach hundreds of miles. Many modern weapons are incapable of harming them. If we send our soldiers onto the battlefield, given their physical constitution, they would suffer immense casualties upon encountering heavenly people. Moreover, the resources in the game world are sufficient for our use; there’s simply no need to deploy troops to the Fairy World..."

"Everyone knows this," General Chen glanced at Cheng Xunyun. "But what Lin Bai wants is a stance—a stance that shows we stand with him, on the same front. Therefore, regardless of our own interests, we must send troops. We don’t need ordinary people on the battlefield. Select the military personnel from among the Players, give them some temporary training, form them into assault squads, and focus on a single breakthrough point. Whether we succeed or fail, Lin Bai won’t blame us."

"But if we antagonize the heavenly people, how would we counterbalance Lin Bai?" Cheng Xunyun pondered for a moment, then lowered his voice to ask.

"The heavenly people aren’t that fragile, and we also need time to grow," General Chen said. "Besides, if Lin Bai truly has the ability to control several worlds, there’s no need for us to antagonize him, nor do we have the capability to scheme against him. Unless Lin Bai does something to harm our interests, don’t bring this matter up again. There are too many people who can’t stand Lin Bai; it’s not our turn to step forward..."

"What if the Players have their own ideas?" Cheng Xunyun asked.

"If Lin Bai doesn’t pursue it, then ignore it. If Lin Bai asks, give him the Players’ information," General Chen glanced at Cheng Xunyun and said nonchalantly, "Everyone must be responsible for their own actions."

"The Tenth Heavenly King’s Law"

"Article One: The Heavenly King is supreme. Beneath the Heavenly King, all beings are equal. No one shall defy the Heavenly King, and no one is permitted, under any pretext, to violate the principle of equality."

"Article Two: Under the rule of the Tenth Heavenly King, all matters shall be governed by law. Administrative, supervisory, and judicial offices shall be established..."

"Article Three: ..."

Lin Bai worked quickly. He summoned a group of legal experts from Lower Realm countries like Taiyi and Taichu. In just two hours, they concocted a set of laws, based on existing Mortal World legislation, that enshrined him as supreme.

In such a world, he wouldn’t bother with notions like ’princes and commoners are equal before the law’; what he wanted was special privileges...

As soon as the laws were drafted, they were promulgated immediately via Nan Lingtian.

While the heavenly people were still scoffing at the new laws, a joint law enforcement team, composed of disciples like Qing Yun and Tuohai, along with Nan Lingtian, began precise search and arrest operations within the city. Players had a live-streaming function. No matter how well-hidden the targeted heavenly people were, the joint law enforcement team could apprehend them with pinpoint accuracy.

Harsh penalties for turbulent times. Although the Heaven King’s Law was newly created, Lin Bai showed no mercy to the heavenly people who violated it. Any heavenly person caught was executed without a hearing.

This trend of human trafficking must be nipped in the bud. Otherwise, once word of Lin Bai’s new title as Heavenly King spreads, more Ascenders will flock to him, and more Cultivators with insufficient cultivation from the Mortal World will come to the Fairy World for advanced training. If these self-proclaimed superior heavenly people are allowed to capture, traffic, and abuse them then, the impact on his authority will be fatal...

Currently, Lin Bai’s base of support isn’t the Players, but rather those Cultivators from the Mortal World caught in precarious situations. He must first guarantee their lives and interests, then select suitable representatives from the new factions to achieve a new balance.

The image of Long Tianxi being turned into a dish was so horrifying it terrified Nan Lingtian. He no longer dared to harbor any ulterior motives and did exactly as Lin Bai commanded. If Lin Bai ordered a kill, Nan Lingtian killed.

For a time, heads rolled within Pine stone city...

Lin Bai, a mere mortal, controlling Pine stone city had already made the heavenly people indignant and resentful. Now, he had also promulgated laws that made them pay with their lives for capturing some ’pigs’, without even a chance to defend themselves... When had the heavenly people ever suffered such humiliation? For a moment, they were both shocked and terrified.

Organized by the merchant association of Golden Realm heavenly people within the city, the heavenly people began to storm the Teleportation Portal on a large scale, attempting to flee Pine stone city and seek help from the outside world.

As a result, Tuohai and the others sprang into action, employing a barrage of taunts, Dazzling Cooking, and Separation of Love techniques. Before everyone’s eyes, the rebellious heavenly people were tormented to the brink of death. The Teleportation Portal was within reach, yet they simply couldn’t break through... Despair filled the hearts of the heavenly people. Realizing that capture also meant death, they turned back, risking broken necks to charge at Tuohai and the others, hoping to take at least one enemy down with them. However, they couldn’t even breach Nan Lingtian’s defenses and died one after another at his feet. The powerful heavenly people guards, through perfect coordination, compensated for the deficiency of Lin Bai’s disciples relying on single Laws. Even the heavenly people, crazed to the point of fighting for their lives, couldn’t manage to take their opponents down with them.

As the death toll mounted, the heavenly people in Pine stone city finally grew fearful. Some heavenly people who had imprisoned Players secretly released them. Others, who controlled industries within Pine stone city, came to the City Lord’s manor and presented Lin Bai with generous gifts as a sign of surrender. In less than half a day, Lin Bai’s reputation in Pine stone city soared to its peak. Although the heavenly people were still resentful, Pine stone city was now effectively under his control.

The mastery of Laws demonstrated by Tuohai and the others astounded Mad Wind Sword Fanatic and his group. Watching these disciples, whose cultivation levels were inferior to their own, slaughter heavenly people as easily as chopping melons and vegetables—accomplishing an unprecedented feat for veteran Cultivators like themselves—was shocking. Moreover, those heavenly people were severely tortured before their deaths.

They finally realized they had truly fallen behind the times. In Lin Bai’s team, they were genuinely expendable; Lin Bai had no need for the cultivation they prided themselves on...

After learning about Lin Bai’s extraordinary achievements in the Mortal World from the purple-robed elder and others, Mad Wind Sword Fanatic and his group no longer dared to act presumptuously. Their recently fallen loyalty instantly maxed out, evolving into fanaticism.

They saw hope in Lin Bai. Ascenders needed such a powerful leader to truly establish a foothold in the Fairy World! Slaying a City Lord like Lu Ying was nothing in comparison! Lin Bai, who controlled an entire city, was the one truly deserving of being called a stunning talent!

Having temporarily subdued the heavenly people of Pine stone city through slaughter, Lin Bai began to adopt a softer approach. He summoned all the wealthy merchants in Pine stone city, the controllers of various industries, and so on. He introduced them to the new heavenly people born from the new ’mother body,’ showcased the Magpie Bridge that connected to all directions and the power of its control path, described the harsh world environment, painted a grand vision for them, invited them to join the Justice League, and worked further to win them over.

Upon entering the Fairy World, the Mortal World’s arts of Alchemy and Artifact Refining were clearly outdated, offering negligible benefit to the cultivation growth of mortal Cultivators. Lin Bai had to leverage the industries of the heavenly people to empower the Cultivators of the Justice League and also use them to break open the situation in the Fairy World...

Possessing Sophistry, which allowed him to perceive their emotions, Lin Bai was virtually assured of success in manipulating people’s hearts.

「Meanwhile.」

In the real world, large quantities of modern weaponry were being transported to the Holy Extreme Sect. On the forums, Cheng Xunyun, in Lin Bai’s name, issued a conscription order, calling for Players with prior military service to join The Vanguard Army for the war against the Fairy World.

The contest between technological weapons and Immortal Techniques had always been a hot topic of discussion among Players. In the minds of most Players, even if modern weapons weren’t invincible, they shouldn’t be at a disadvantage against Immortal Techniques. The incident where infrared equipment severely damaged Lin Bai’s Soul Split had further boosted their confidence. However, a subsequent series of events left them with no opportunity to use modern weapons against Cultivators.

Now, Lin Bai was allowing them to form a ’Tech Vanguard Army’ to attack the Fairy World, instantly igniting everyone’s enthusiasm. Followers flocked in; numerous Players rushed from all over, eagerly signing up to join The Vanguard Army...

However, before the Players from the Eastern Continent could go to war with the heavenly people of the Fairy World, the West Continent United States had already fired the first shot of the real world’s invasion into another realm.