Chapter 160: One Must Learn to Be Flexible in Life

"Good, if they don't listen, lock them up first." Daoxu looked at Lin Bai, his tone surprisingly gentle, "Use this reason to keep Xiaobai first, and we can resolve the rest slowly..."

The words were cut off halfway, and the sound stopped abruptly.

Damn it!

Why did he say his inner thoughts out loud again?

Daoxu looked at Lin Bai, embarrassed beyond measure.

Lin Bai seemed not to have heard his subsequent words; he smiled slightly at him and nodded, saying, "I understand."

A single smile made Daoxu understand Lin Bai's intentions. He was in a great mood, swept his gaze over the Disciples of Huilong Temple, and said loudly, "You have already heard Lin Bai's words. Everyone must follow them. If you accomplish this good deed for this old Daoist, everyone will be rewarded. If anyone dares to cause trouble, don't blame me for being impolite..."

Under the effect of the True Word Spell, Daoxu Zhenren's performance was exactly that of an arbitrary and dictatorial villain.

The group of Daoists at Huilong Temple showed expressions of despair and completely gave up resistance. Daoxu Zhenren was determined to protect Lin Bai, so their resistance was meaningless.

A Yuan Ying True Person is an existence that simply crushes those at the Golden Core stage. Fortunately, Daoxu still retained a portion of his sanity and did not truly intend to take action against them.

However, the fact that their fate was actually in the hands of that monster Lin Bai was truly frustrating!

"Senior Brother Daoxu, he is a man!" Daojing was heartbroken and roared unwillingly.

The Xianxia World has the Charm Technique.

But in most cases, the Charm Technique is an exclusive Skill of fox demons, snake demons, or flower demons.

Occasionally, humans practice the Charm Technique, but most are women.

Moreover, when they use the Charm Technique, they target the opposite sex.

How could there be someone like Lin Bai, who is indiscriminate and uses the Charm Technique on an old man?

Does he not feel ashamed?

"I know, I don't care," Daoxu Zhenren said proudly.

Behind him, Lin Bai's face was so dark it looked like it could drip water. It was too disgusting; he would never let such matchmaking happen to himself again.

Huaxi Furen, who was guarding Lin Bai, looked at Lin Bai's clear eyes and then at the bewitched Daoxu. Her hands trembled involuntarily. She did not lose unjustly; if the Profound Underworld Sect and Lin Bai were to clash in the future, they would likely be unable to take down this cunning brat.

"Daoxu, my safety is now in your hands," Lin Bai narrowed his eyes, looked at Daoxu's back, and said softly, feigning weakness.

"Just set your heart at ease," Daoxu laughed heartily.

"I want to be the Deputy Temple Master of Huilong Temple," Lin Bai continued.

"I'll let you be it," Daoxu agreed very readily. He looked at the pale-faced Qingyu beside him, "But major matters must still be decided by Qingyu."

In Lin Bai's mind.

The Negative Emotion of the Huilong Temple Daoists had already exploded!

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and he asked softly, "Daoxu, do you want to be with me forever?"

"Naturally." The effect of Cupid's Arrow was extraordinary. Daoxu looked at Lin Bai and gave his answer without even considering it.

"I also want to be with you forever," Lin Bai smiled, "Daoxu, you just said you were willing to do anything for me, is that true?"

"Of course." Daoxu's old face blossomed with a smile; there was nothing more pleasant than the person he loved also loving him back.

"Close your eyes, I'll give you a surprise, okay?" Lin Bai looked at Daoxu Zhenren and lowered his head slightly, "Promise me, and you can do anything you want, and we can be together forever, right?"

"Good!" Daoxu laughed and decisively closed his eyes.

He had seen through Lin Bai's cultivation at a glance; his Yuan Ying cultivation made him confident that Lin Bai could not harm him. Unilateral infatuation is the most terrifying thing, enough to make one lose their reason.

The moment Daoxu closed his eyes, a golden card flew from Lin Bai's hand, and golden light enveloped his figure.

"Master!" Qingyu was shocked. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Lin Bai flipped his hand, and he had already been retracted into the card.

"Temple Master, don't!" Some Daoists who had fled back from Qian City saw Daoxu being enveloped by the card's light and shouted reflexively.

But it was all too late.

With the golden card's thirty percent success rate, plus Lin Bai's super high Qi Luck Value, the probability of sealing was far over fifty percent.

The most critical point was that Daoxu was infatuated and had no intention of resisting; the moment he was covered by the light, he was taken inside and his consciousness was sealed.

The notification of the mission's success sounded.

Lin Bai obtained 10 Blank Cards, 5 Silver-Edged Cards, and three rare Gold-Edged Cards.

【Your luck is not bad; you successfully sealed a Yuan Ying True Person and became a true Card Master. A Card Master is an army unto themselves. Try to organize the cards in your hand into a ten-person squad and practice commanding them in group combat; Reward: 10 Blank Cards】

The Card System gave a new mission, and the reward returned to ordinary one-time-use cards.

However, the pressing matter was the situation at Huilong Temple.

Lin Bai ignored the new mission for the time being.

Forming a ten-person squad was simple, but he only had three Silver-Edged Cards and one Gold-Edged Card that could be recovered.

The rest of the cards were one-time-use; it wasn't worth it just to grind a mission.

He would complete this mission during the next battle.

"What did you do to Senior Brother?" Daojing asked in terror.

Lin Bai flicked his finger and released Qingyu and Daoxu Zhenren from the cards.

Qingyu looked at the wooden-faced Daoxu Zhenren, tears streaming down his face, and muttered, "Master, it was I who harmed you."

"As you can see, I have turned him into a Puppet." Lin Bai snapped his fingers lightly, imitating Daoxu Zhenren's manner, and stretched his hand forward. Above the heads of the Huilong Temple Daoists, golden talismans gradually took shape, a fire dragon faintly formed within the talismans, and the momentum began to build.

"Fire Dragon Talisman!" Daojing was horrified, "How do you know Senior Brother's Fire Dragon Talisman?"

"Because I am a genius. Any Martial Art used in front of me once, I can learn just by looking at it." Lin Bai smiled confidently, his figure flashed, and he had already arrived above the Huilong Temple Daoists. He looked down, releasing the momentum of a Yuan Ying expert to his heart's content, "I might as well tell you, my cultivation has long reached the Yuan Ying realm. Teasing Daoxu just now was merely to save a little effort. Without absolute certainty, how would I dare to come and challenge Huilong Temple alone?"

The crowd was in an uproar.

"Impossible!" Huaxi Furen blurted out.

If he were Yuan Ying, at the Qian City recruitment fair, he wouldn't have needed to rely on the Heavenly Descended to fight them; he probably could have suppressed them all with a wave of his hand.

But everything Lin Bai displayed before her eyes forced her to believe it; that was truly the might of a Yuan Ying.

What exactly is Lin Bai's strength?

Huaxi Furen was puzzled.

She was not the only one who did not understand.

Longxi and the others were equally confused; every time a fight occurred, Lin Bai's strength would skyrocket by a large margin.

It was too unreasonable!

On the live broadcast screen, the barrage exploded once again!

……

"I thought Daoxu was lusting after Lin Bai's body, but I didn't expect it to be Lin Bai lusting after Daoxu's body."

"Iron-clad facts tell us that when a man is out and about, he must protect himself well."

"Not only will women lie to you, men will lie to you too."

"A knife hangs over the word 'lust'."

"One day, when Daoxu recovers his sanity, will he feel ashamed for today's actions?"

"Not only did he lose face, he even lost his freedom."

"To actually deceive the feelings of an old man several hundred years old, Shopkeeper Lin is too vicious; is a sunset romance easy to come by?"

"I will never believe in love again."

"Shopkeeper Lin's strength is upgrading in leaps and bounds; this is too much of a BUG!"

"It's the cards. The cards aren't Lin Bai's summoned beasts; while he seals the opponent, he also absorbs their strength and Skills."

"That's right, back when Qingming Daozhang came to the Beggar Sect to stir up trouble, Lin Bai was so high-profile; if he really had his current strength, he definitely wouldn't have been so down-and-out back then."

"Doesn't that mean Lin Bai will get stronger the more he fights?"

"It's confirmed, Lin Bai is the final BOSS. He is constantly enriching his Skills and strength every moment. By the time the players grow up, he will already possess endless Skills. The irony is that he grew up right under the players' noses..."

"Right, everything Lin Bai does is that of a standard villain—ruthless, unrighteous, unscrupulous, reckless, and causing trouble everywhere. If such a person doesn't turn dark in the future, even ghosts wouldn't believe it."

"If you want to defeat him, you can only do it while he is weak."

"Having absorbed Daoxu, he is no longer weak. Back in Jiamu City, when Gugao Laoren led the players to besiege him, that was the best opportunity. Unfortunately, the players back then were too weak."

"What are you afraid of? In games throughout history, which big BOSS isn't strong? That's what makes it challenging!"

"Wrong, this is a strategy game; you shouldn't think about challenging the BOSS. The best plan for dealing with a BOSS like Shopkeeper Lin in the early stages is to cooperate with NPCs, leak Shopkeeper Lin's Skills, and let NPCs deal with NPCs. Players lying low to develop is the true path..."

……

"I am not a murderous person. Now I give you two choices: submit voluntarily or be subdued by me."

The Fire Dragon Talisman took shape in the sky, and three fire dragons circled. Lin Bai could drop them with a single thought. He stood with his hands behind his back, experiencing the power of a Yuan Ying True Person, and an unprecedented sense of self-confidence burst forth in his heart.

At this very moment.

Lin Bai finally felt he had a certain degree of self-preservation power in this world.

"Dream on! I would rather die than choose to submit to a despicable person like you," a Daoist said, stiffening his neck.

"I like hard bones like you," Lin Bai smiled slightly. "Then do you want to experience the feeling of Daoxu Zhenren? First fall in love with me, then be sealed into a card by me, and finally be used by me. Compared to you unstable factors who possess freedom remaining in Huilong Temple, I prefer obedient thugs like Daoxu who have been sealed into cards by me!"

"……" The Daoist's face changed drastically. He looked at Lin Bai with grief and indignation, trembling all over with anger, "Shameless!"

"How is it shameless?" Lin Bai sneered. "I was minding my own business in Qian City managing my Beggar Sect. Who was it that provoked me again and again, finally forcing me to this point?

I come from the Righteous Sect and have always advocated harmony as the most important thing.

Back in Jiamu City, Qingfeng Daozhang attacked my door for no reason. I defeated him, yet I still chose to step back and even gave him ten percent of the shares in my shop.

But what did you all do?

I entered Qian City; we had just finished talking nicely, and the next moment your Qingming Daozhang came to launch a sneak attack and was killed by me in return. Then Qingyu brought over a hundred Golden Core cultivators in a grand manner to kill me. What mistake did I commit that was worth you all making such a big fuss to get rid of me? If I didn't have some ability, I'm afraid I would have been ground to dust by you all long ago! Is it me who is shameless, or you?"

"It was clearly you who snatched our Huilong Temple's Lingjie Fengxi first," Qingfeng Daozhang, cowering in the corner, gathered his courage to argue.

"What a 'I snatched your Lingjie Fengxi'? Qingfeng, let me ask you, was the land deed not bought by me? Was the shop not built by me? Everything is mine; from where does it follow that I snatched your Lingjie Fengxi?" Lin Bai smiled. "Besides, I already took a step back and promised to develop it together with you when the Lingjie Fengxi opened. It was you, a petty person who goes back on his word, who turned around and bit me back, ultimately leading me and Huilong Temple to this current state. Don't you feel guilty?"

"I..." Qingfeng Daozhang opened his mouth to speak but was forcibly interrupted by Lin Bai.

"You what? These fellow disciples of yours not surrendering—either being beaten to death by Daoxu, beaten to death by Qingyu, or sealed by me—it's all caused by you. You started the war between the Righteous Sect and the Heavenly Dao Sect; can you bear this responsibility?" Lin Bai unceremoniously shifted all the blame.

"……" Qingfeng was stunned.

"Qingfeng, I once thought you were just lacking in ability; I didn't expect your mind to be unclear as well." Lin Bai looked at Qingfeng with pity. "Have you ever thought that if you hadn't left Jiamu City, how would there be so many things happening now? Perhaps in a few years, you would already be a wealthy man."

Qingfeng's face turned extremely ugly in an instant.

"Qingfeng did that, and our Huilong Temple's Lingjie Fengxi was also occupied by you!" Daojing said coldly. "Compared to you, he is the hero of Huilong Temple."

"A hero? That hero not only caused you all to lose the Lingjie Fengxi, but now even Huilong Temple is almost gone." Lin Bai gave a scoffing laugh. "Are you proud? Are you happy? I ask you, is it worth it?"

Is it worth it?

Daojing looked up at Lin Bai, then looked at the dazed and foolish Daoxu beside him. He wanted to say something but swallowed it back. He had cultivated for several hundred years and was on the verge of breaking the Golden Core to form a Nascent Soul; he really didn't want to die so miserably!

It really didn't seem worth it!

"I used dishonorable means to take down Daoxu, and I know you are unconvinced in your hearts, but have you ever thought about what would have happened if it were people from the Demonic Five Sects?" Lin Bai shook his head and sighed. "You should be glad that you met me. My methods might be evil in your eyes, but my heart is bright. Having won against you, I am still willing to recruit you; otherwise, for the things you have done, if it were someone else, dying eight hundred times would be more than enough!"

Lin Bai let out a long sigh and looked at the Daoists below with pity, saying: "One must learn to be flexible! The world is not just black and white! Qingfeng, look at your Disciple; seeing that the situation was bad, he immediately turned around and joined the Beggar Sect. In the future, he can still live a prosperous life. This is what it means for a cultivator to have a clear mind!

Look at you all; you don't dare to fight, and you don't dare to surrender. Aren't you tired of living?

Even if you chose to submit temporarily, you could take advantage of when I'm not paying attention to go report to the Heavenly Dao Sect, or find your Li Zhenren who is wandering outside to come and deal with me; that would still be better than throwing away your lives for nothing like this!

The Heavenly Descended have descended into the world. If you still retain your previous ways of doing things, even if you hadn't met me today, the foundation of Huilong Temple would not have been preserved in the future.

As long as the green hills remain, there is no need to worry about firewood.

Submit!

Falling to this point is all because you don't have a qualified sect leader. Qingyu is stupid, and Daoxu is even stupider. From now on, I will lead you, teach you how to build a real sect, how to develop and grow a sect, and how to gain a foothold in this chaotic world? Everyone, I have said all I have to say. I hope you give yourselves a chance, and also give Huilong Temple a chance. Leave the rest to time, and let time verify right from wrong..."

……

This works too?

The Daoist priests of Huilong Temple were stunned once again.

What on earth did this guy want to do, teach them how to feign compliance while acting in opposition?

Was he really this unscrupulous and fearless?

"Qingyu, take Longxi and the others down," Lin Bai said, having stirred up the emotions of the many Daoist priests with his generous and high-spirited words. He no longer paid any attention to the dazed priests and gave his instructions naturally, "Find some people to set the toppled mountain gate back up and write the sign of my Righteous Sect on it. From this moment on, this place shall be the mountain gate of my Righteous Sect."

(End of this chapter)