Chapter 135: The Gradually Changing World

"Hahaha, Huilong Temple is written in big letters as 'miserable'."

"Lin 'Small-Minded' Bai, he really offends people to death."

"He wouldn't be able to recruit anyone even if he didn't offend Huilong Temple; a Golden Core True Person was turned into a card by Shopkeeper Lin, players would have to be stupid to join."

"Blood Shadow Sect is the same, beaten one-against-seven by Shopkeeper Lin; no matter how loud their advertisements are, I'm afraid they can't attract players."

"Why can't the NPCs figure out this logic? To attract players, you must have dazzling battle records!"

"What's the point of a recruitment fair? They should gather all the players together, hold a martial arts tournament, and show off their own talents."

"A martial arts tournament? It's always been NPCs setting job-transfer quests for players; this game has reversed it, it's eerily realistic."

"The NPCs don't know that players have a live-streaming system. Their every move in the past has long been seen by the Heavenly Descended. Only an aura of invincibility can attract players."

"Yeah, if they knew the consequences caused by Shopkeeper Lin, Lan Nuotian of the Blood Shadow Sect wouldn't have come to give gifts, but would have simply and cleanly killed Shopkeeper Lin."

"If the NPCs knew that players were live-streaming their lives at any time, I'm afraid they would immediately point their spears at the players. No one wants to be treated like a monkey by others, including Shopkeeper Lin."

"Poor Shopkeeper Lin, he thought he controlled everything, but in the end, he was still treated like a monkey."

"It depends on how you interpret it. I think the game being overly realistic is actually bad; one wrong step, and it triggers a global disaster, causing the game to collapse."

"Compared to others, Shopkeeper Lin is actually the most like an NPC. He plays a role in promoting the integration of players and the natives."

"Integration my foot. Without him, everyone would develop step-by-step. Wherever he is, there is chaos. He's just here to stir things up. To this day, I still don't know what the point of designing him was."

"To rake in money for the Game Company."

"+1"

"+1"

"By the way, when will the fifth batch of Pioneer accounts be released? The interval this time is a bit long. Does anyone have any inside information?"

"Same question, same anticipation."

"Last time they released 100,000 accounts at once; they probably have to wait for the game world to digest it, otherwise, the NPCs might not be able to handle it."

【Gelige】 stood behind Huaxi Furen, looking at 【Golden-Haired Lion】, 【Living Under the Crotch】, and others who had formed an alliance with him, feeling a bit nervous in his heart.

The Beggar Sect made their recruitment area too crude...

But on second thought, it made sense. The recruitment of Beggar Sect Disciples was actually completed in Jiamu City. Having monopolized a Basic City, Lin Bai really didn't need to offend other sects for this...

However, with Huilong Temple and the Blood Shadow Sect, his plan should succeed!

Lin Bai is an NPC after all; he doesn't know how much influence the coolness he once showed had on the players. The cooler he was back then, the more serious the consequences would be!

He thought that making the Beggar Sect's sign crude would be enough?

Impossible!

He doesn't understand the players' nature of fawning over the powerful and trampling on the weak at all...

【Gelige】 watched Lin Bai strolling around the venue and quietly clenched his fists. The money had already been spent, and success or failure depended on this one move. As long as he could take down Lin Bai, and as long as he put the detailed plan and video data on the forum, he would still be a game god.

And a god who changed the progress of the game...

"Can God Ge's plan succeed?" 【Little Cat Doesn't Eat Fish】 connected to 【Zhuge Zhuifeng】 nearby and asked in a private chat.

"Whether it can or not, we're both making money, who cares!" 【Zhuge Zhuifeng】 looked indifferent.

"You aren't going to slack off on God Ge's plan, are you?" 【Little Cat Doesn't Eat Fish】 asked.

"No, I will execute God Ge's plan seriously." 【Zhuge Zhuifeng】 snorted, looked at the hot air balloons floating outside the venue, his eyes full of naked jealousy, and gritted his teeth, "The people of the Beggar Sect are too fat; such an organization shouldn't exist."

【Little Cat Doesn't Eat Fish】 nodded, expressing deep agreement.

Lin Bai walked in the middle of the venue, occasionally nodding and greeting people he knew, his mind processing a lot of messy information at high speed: income from Positive Emotion, income from Negative Emotion, the content of the players' conversations, various tasks issued by the system...

At this moment.

Lin Bai was like a supercomputer running at high speed, processing many things simultaneously, and in an orderly manner, without crashing at all.

This made him have to suspect that it was the credit of the Spirit Fruit and the Physique changed by the Peerless Divine Doctor System...

If it were when he had just transmigrated, the messy sounds around him and the pop-up windows jumping out of his mind from time to time would have caused him to collapse.

In his current state, if he removed the system and returned to Earth, he could be a little superman.

The sun was high in the sky.

A noisy sound suddenly came from outside the venue.

The players from Binghuo City arrived first.

The City Guard and Beggar Sect Disciples responsible for maintaining order let them in one after another.

"They're here, get ready." Many voices sounded at the same time. Whether it was sects or players with ulterior motives, they all perked up in unison.

"Holy crap, so grand. The Beggar Sect is indeed worthy of being the richest sect, it's so damn enviable."

"Finally saw Shopkeeper Lin in person, the little white fox is so cute."

"Lin Bai is so handsome."

"It's a pity Shopkeeper Lin doesn't say nice things anymore, otherwise I would definitely have to try."

"Which sect are you joining?"

"Do I even need to choose? It has to be the Beggar Sect! Following Shopkeeper Lin, you won't suffer a loss."

"What 'Lin Bai must die'? Let me get the benefits first. With my ability, becoming a Nine-Bag Elder in the Beggar Sect shouldn't be a problem!"

"No one can stop me from going to Hundred Flowers Valley. I want to fall in love with an NPC, I want a fairy sister to call me to wake up."

"The slogan of the Chaoyuan Sword Sect is really domineering, I'm going to become a Sword Immortal..."

……

Players spent most of their time in private chats; other NPCs didn't really matter.

But the moment hundreds of people surged into the venue, Lin Bai felt as if he had suddenly entered a vegetable market, his mind flooded with chaotic, messy voices.

His complexion turned slightly pale; he couldn't process any of the information.

Lin Bai quickly plucked two Spirit Fruits from the Spirit Fruit Tree and stuffed them into his mouth; only after his head cleared did he feel much better.

At this moment, Lin Bai began to admire X Jiaoshou; without experiencing it personally, one could never realize how high that guy's Mental Power was—he was someone who could control all the humans on Earth!

It seemed necessary to keep popping Spirit Fruits.

Perhaps in the future, he could also become an X Jiaoshou, directly using brainwaves to interfere with others' thoughts and control their actions.

Xiaobai noticed something wrong with Lin Bai, gave him a strange look, raised its head, and rubbed against his chin: "Master, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Lin Bai smiled and stroked its head, just about to speak.

Suddenly.

A team of over twenty people stepped out from the crowd, rushed to the center of the venue, quickly took their positions, and arranged themselves into the character for "Flower."

They raised their hands high, channeled their Internal Energy to the fullest, and said in unison: "A crop is a flower, relying entirely on the fertilizer master; Huali Pill Compound Fertilizer, number one in sales for four consecutive years, the good fertilizer you can always trust..."

The sudden scene caused the chaotic venue to fall into a moment of silence.

The NPCs from various sects had been excitedly waiting for the Heavenly Descended to come and sign up.

But at this instant.

Everyone turned their gazes toward the fertilizer team in unison.

Lin Bai froze.

Well, it seemed not only the Beggar Sect had received advertisements; the combat style of the Xianxia World was indeed going to change!

The game was filled with advertisements.

It would surely drive away quite a few players!

……

Hundred Flowers Valley.

Jiang Qingqin was dumbfounded, looking awkwardly at the fertilizer-selling team, and muttered: "When I watched the Beggar Sect, I didn't feel anything was wrong, so why is it so awkward watching them?"

Jiang Yuru had a dark face: "In a while, if this group of people comes to Hundred Flowers Valley to sign up, turn them away."

……

Blood Shadow Sect.

Qian Jinzu's pupils shrank suddenly, bad memories flooding his mind; he leaned close to Lan Nuotian and whispered: "Master, if that group comes to the Blood Shadow Sect in a while, can we not take them?"

Lan Nuotian ignored him, instead looking back at 【Golden Lion】 and asking with a frown: "Xiaojin, was this what you meant when you told me about changing the sect's uniforms?"

"Yes." 【Golden Lion】 nodded sheepishly, feeling inexplicably sad; why could others take advertisements to make money, and why was his life so bitter?

Lan Nuotian pondered for a moment: "Xiaojin, fetch a pen; I have decided to add one more sentence to the promotional slogan: those permitted to enter the Blood Shadow Sect are allowed to advertise during sect activities."

"……" Qian Jinzu.

"……" 【Golden Lion】.

……

Medicine King Valley.

The corner of Cao Ru'an's eye twitched inexplicably: "Peng Ze, I thought only the people from the Beggar Sect were flighty, but I didn't expect these Heavenly Descended to be so excessive. Pill Refinement requires quiet; won't this group of Heavenly Descended ruin Medicine King Valley?"

Peng Ze swallowed his saliva: "Whether they ruin it or not, we have to recruit them; their talent is too good. At worst, we can isolate them from the other Disciples in the sect!"

Cao Ru'an looked at Lin Bai: "I think I understand why the Justice Sect pushed Lin Bai out and let him establish the Beggar Sect in the mundane world; it's too noisy..."

Peng Ze was stunned for a moment: "How about we go back and ask for instructions, and we follow Lin Bai's lead and do the same!"

Cao Ru'an's eyes lit up: "You mean like the Beggar Sect, establishing a branch valley in the mundane world?"

Peng Ze said: "It's just that it would be more troublesome for us, but since the Heavenly Descended have good talent, it's the same wherever they practice Pill Refinement..."

……

"Damn it, the competition is here!" 【Gugao Laoren】 looked at the fertilizer group in the middle of the field, suddenly straightened his body, and said in astonishment, "Laoluo, we overlooked a business opportunity..."

"What business opportunity?" 【Lao Mi】 asked.

"An advertising alliance," 【Gugao Laoren】 said. "In the future, when the Beggar Sect does big projects, we should negotiate terms with everyone who borrows our spotlight and take a cut from them. We put on such a big show and let them take advantage for free; it's too much of a loss."

"That's right." 【Lao Mi】 nodded heavily. "Shopkeeper Lin plans to hold the Tiancan Cultural Festival in Jiamu City; we can use it next time. It's time for our Beggar Sect to establish a marketing department and an advertising department. I'll go tell the Disciples at the recruitment office to keep an eye out for elites in advertising..."

……

【Gelige】 had a face as dark as water and gritted his teeth: "This game is completely ruined."

【Jinzhao Wujiu】 smiled bitterly: "Indeed, even killing Lin Bai won't change it back; we can't just kill whoever advertises!"

【Ding Gouzha】 said: "We can't just quit the game! It's such a fun game, just getting started; quitting because of advertisements is too big a loss."

"Disgusting." 【Wind Bird】 spat on the ground in frustration.

【Gelige】's mouth twitched; he looked at the few underlings beside him, his eyes drifting and his face feeling a bit hot.

He couldn't very well tell his underlings behind him that in order to break even, he had also accepted an advertisement!

At this moment, 【Gelige】 even had the heart to break the contract and not air the ad, but thinking of the penalty fee, he wanted to cry; it was truly a dilemma!

After pondering for a moment, 【Gelige】 took a deep breath and said: "Brothers, I must confess something to you; I also accepted an advertisement..."

"……" Everyone.

"Boss, you?" 【Wind Bird】 widened his eyes in astonishment.

"I had no choice." 【Gelige】 was full of pain. "Lin Bai let the players participate in the planning, and those bastards were blinded by greed and turned on us on the spot. I had no choice but to give them thirty thousand each. To break even, I... I accepted an advertisement... I was wrong... If you look down on me because of this, I'll risk the breach of contract and cancel the ad..."

【Jinzhao Wujiu】 looked at 【Gelige】 leisurely: "Boss, you should have told me sooner."

"……" 【Gelige】 froze.

"Advertisers have already contacted me," 【Jinzhao Wujiu】 said with a bitter smile, "but for the sake of my dream, I didn't take them! You brothers cover for me; I'm going offline to find an advertiser and see if I can pull the ad back..."

"Be quick, I'll take over when you get back," 【Ding Gouzha】 said, "Even the boss has broken his vow; we can't just watch others make money!"

"..." 【Gelige】

"..." 【Wind Bird】 looked at 【Gelige】 and shook his head, saying, "Great God Ge, has the dragon-slaying warrior finally become the dragon? Don't you feel guilty about killing Lin Bai?"

【Gelige】 looked at Lin Bai gloomily: "Wind Bird, you go pull ads too. The game environment has already become like this; earn what you can. Killing Lin Bai can bring us traffic, so we still have to kill him. If you don't have time to find an advertiser, cooperate with me to run ads, and I'll split my sponsorship fee with you in half..."

【Resentment from Gelige; +1+1+1+1】

【Pleasure from Wind Bird; +1+1+1】

Lin Bai knew 【Gelige】 was plotting something, so he spent most of his time wandering near the Profound Underworld Sect.

Then.

Hearing 【Gelige】's face-slapping conversation, he almost laughed out loud. Dragon-slaying warrior, my foot. Corrupted from top to bottom, what right do you have to fight me?

At this moment.

More than ten girls rushed in front of Lin Bai.

A girl called 【Lin Bai Support Group Captain】 stepped out from the crowd, looked at him, and said expectantly: "Shopkeeper Lin, I am your fan. Can you help me sign your name?"

As she spoke.

She handed over a charcoal pencil and a beautifully crafted Q-version doll of Lin Bai: "Just sign your name on the doll..."

The little white fox looked at the girls vigilantly, but its attention was quickly drawn to the dolls, and its eyes lit up: "Master, I want a doll too."

"Do you like them? We have even cuter Q-versions, we can give them to you." 【Lin Bai Support Group Captain】's eyes lit up, and she quickly pulled two small dolls out of her pocket, one of Lin Bai and one of the little white fox, "Xiaobai, there's one for you too!"

Lin Bai looked around at the support group, where everyone was holding a doll, and harvested the Positive Emotion values they provided.

The unpleasantness 【Gelige】 brought him vanished without a trace.

See?

How could everyone in the game be hostile toward him?

Aren't there still those who like him?

He readily took the charcoal pencil and signed his name on the doll: "Lin Yue".

The character "Bai" was naturally missing a stroke. Even a mosquito's leg is meat; he had to earn the fans' Internal Energy too...

But 【Lin Bai Support Group Captain】 clearly didn't care about this small Flaw. She took back the doll, cheered excitedly, and hugged the doll tightly to her chest.

The other fans saw this and swarmed over, before they could even speak.

Ding!

A soft sound.

A new system appeared in Lin Bai's mind:

"Super Idol System: The power of an idol is infinite. Being pursued and admired, a successful idol can enrich the spiritual world of your worshippers, inspire them to move forward, and help them grow faster. Likewise, your worshippers can also help you become more outstanding. This is a two-way power. Bravely accumulate worshippers and climb to the peak of a superstar!"

【Possess your first fan; Reward: Faith 1】

【Possess your first fan (Completed); Reward: Faith 1 (Distributed)】

【Fan count exceeds 10; Reward: Faith 10】

(End of chapter)