Chapter 171: Coerced Public Opinion

"You... you have selfish motives. If you are like this, you will never be able to master 'Words Manifesting into Law'."

"What selfish motives? This is purity. The Sect Leader has said it before: when doing things, one must face the true thoughts in one's heart..."

The two young Daoists each held their own opinion.

Lin Bai had sharp ears and keen eyes; he heard their conversation clearly. He took a moment to glance back, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

Correct.

This is the effect he wanted.

When everyone starts taking it seriously, the fake cultivation method becomes real.

When they fail to master it, everyone will also look for the reasons within themselves.

After all.

In the end, only one person can master the laws. It is a case of thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge; it is only normal for the selection criteria to be harsh.

In a short while.

The commotion stirred up by Lin Bai and Daoxu alarmed many people.

Players and Daoists ran out one after another to watch the excitement.

"Senior Brother?" Daojing looked at the furious Daoxu, stunned for a moment, and asked subconsciously, "Have you regained your sanity?"

"Daojing, you've come at the right time. Quickly kill this demon! Otherwise, he will surely lead Huilong Temple to a dead end." Seeing Daojing, Daoxu felt as if he had seen a savior. "Never mind whether he can defeat the Evil Five Sects; even the Heavenly Dao Sect would not allow someone to usurp a sect subordinate to the Righteous Sect."

"Senior Brother, the world is so beautiful. We should be calm and peaceful, appreciating the sunrise, the sunset, and the prosperity of the world." Daokong glanced at his senior brother and quickly wrote on a cardboard sign. A moment later, he held it up: "Senior Brother, stop making a scene. The laws are the Righteous Sect's path."

There were many affairs to attend to before the expedition, so Daojing found it troublesome and temporarily gave up on the cultivation of 'Words Manifesting into Law', but Daokong had not given up.

Whether he could master the laws was secondary; the key was that he felt he could temper his heart and mind in the process of practicing 'Words Manifesting into Law'...

"To hell with the laws! Do you really think this brat will teach you all the tricks?" Seeing the cardboard, Daoxu was so angry his nose went crooked. "By the time you finish practicing, you will be nothing more than his stepping stones."

"Continue to bewitch people, and I will have you running naked in front of the two armies," Lin Bai said, looking unhurried.

【Anger from Daoxu; +1+1+1】

"Sect Leader, you have already helped him regain his sanity, why must you provoke him with your words?" Daojing looked at Lin Bai in confusion and shook his head. "Let me help you persuade Senior Brother. In this Great War of Righteous and Evil, if the Sect Leader can contribute..."

"Elder Daojing, do not persuade him," the little white fox interrupted Daojing and explained, "Master is in the seventh stage of practicing 'Words Manifesting into Law'..."

"What is the seventh stage?" Daojing asked reflexively.

"Provoking the opponent with a single sentence." The little white fox inherited Lin Bai's style of answering every question; she never thought of hiding anything. She could not hold her master back.

"So that's how it is."

Many Daoists who had been provoked by Lin Bai suddenly understood the reason. They stopped trying to persuade Lin Bai and instead cast envious gazes toward him, pricking up their ears to memorize his words carefully, hoping that one day when they reached this stage, they would be able to use them.

As for Daoxu's emotions, being used by Sect Leader Lin to practice 'Words Manifesting into Law' was his honor, right!

Watching his disciples and grand-disciples abandon their support for him because of a single sentence from the little fox, True Person Daoxu felt a dull ache in his chest. He looked around at his surroundings, feeling that they were so strange, and felt like a monkey being watched by others.

He wanted to control his emotions, but no matter what, he could not. Daoxu's blood rushed to his head, and his lips trembled: "You idiots, you are playing with fire without knowing it! One day, you will face retribution!"

"Daoxu, at least they still have a chance to practice the laws, while you have nothing left," Lin Bai continued leisurely.

"Ah!" Daoxu let out a painful cry, held his head, and squatted on the ground, angry and desperate, as helpless as a child.

"Yulang, let's stop going against Shopkeeper Lin." Lady Huaxi's face was pale, and she said timidly. She swallowed, her throat dry. "I feel like he is capable of anything. In order to become the Heavenly Dao, he has already gone mad."

"Hmm," Qingyu nodded. "Now, I actually hope he becomes the Heavenly Dao sooner. Otherwise, if this continues, he will surely become a great World Destroyer who harms the world. Why did the Righteous Sect let him out?"

"To counter the Heavenly Descended, I suppose," Huaxi Furen sighed and said.

"The Heavenly Descended haven't been driven away by him, but I fear the Cultivation World will be destroyed by him first," Qingyu said with a pained expression.

"Yulang, let's practice the Love Dao!" Lady Huaxi looked at Daoxu, then at Lin Bai, and suddenly said.

"Lin Bai said we are Puppets and cannot practice the laws," Qingyu said.

"I don't believe what he says," Huaxi Furen said. "Let's try. Let's try it; we can't cultivate anyway. What if we can rely on the laws to break free from Lin Bai's shackles! Lin Bai said that between Heaven and Earth, the laws are supreme..."

"Hmm!" Qingyu nodded vigorously.

"Too cruel." 【Longxi】 swallowed and silently turned on the livestream, thinking to himself that in the novice village, Shopkeeper Lin definitely held back. Otherwise, given his ruthlessness toward Daoxu, he feared he would have been provoked into deleting his account and restarting right then and there.

"..." 【Deng Li Buduo】 mourned for himself for having such a master. This morning's incident was truly his own fault; who told him to be blind and walk right into the line of fire!

"If one day we reach this stage, who should we practice on?" 【Wo Bu Shi Xiao Hao】 asked blankly. "Compared to provoking people into a rage, 'sending warmth' is simply too easy. I originally thought the hardest part of practicing 'Words Manifesting into Law' was the first hurdle, but now it seems each hurdle is harder than the last!"

"We can only find NPCs. If players know the rules, it would be strange if they could be provoked," 【Feng Zi Nan】 said, silently watching the crazed True Person Daoxu. "However, practicing on NPCs is risky; it's easy to get beaten to death. Hidden Skills are indeed not so easy to obtain." He paused. "However, the server can directly detect our emotional fluctuations. Does that count as hacking into our brains?"

【Longxi】 swallowed: "If the server can hack into our brains, could it read, delete, or change our memories? Or even, as long as the Game Company wants, cause our brain death at any time?"

"..." Several players froze at the same time, looking at each other, their faces not looking very good.

"They wouldn't dare do that, right!" 【Di Yi Jian Xian】 said.

"Perhaps the Game Company uses brainwaves to judge our current emotions," 【Wo Bu Shi Xiao Hao】 said. "Brainwave measuring instruments can do that."

"It wouldn't really be like what the forum says, that the Game Company wants to destroy the world this way and trap us all in the game, would it!" 【Tie Tou Xian】 said. "Suddenly I'm a bit panicked; I don't want to play this game anymore."

"We are just ordinary commoners, why worry blindly?" 【Bai Yin】 said. "If there were real danger, the government would have jumped out to stop the Game Company long ago and wouldn't let it develop to such a scale. Maybe it's just a new technology, using the game for experiments first before expanding it to all aspects of life. As for reading memories? I feel that living in this world, there isn't really any privacy anyway..."

"That's true." 【Feng Zi Nan】 gave a sheepish laugh. "Thinking about it that way, there's really nothing to be afraid of."

"Exactly, it's just playing a game; how could there be so many conspiracy theories." 【Wo Bu Shi Xiao Hao】 also felt relieved. He gestured toward Lin Bai with his chin. "Being trapped in the game is actually a good thing for us. After all, we are the pioneers, and we have such a big backer."

"Right, right, play the game with peace of mind. If the sky falls, there are taller people to hold it up! So many Groups are preparing to enter the game, what are we afraid of?" 【Bai Yin】 chuckled. "At least for now, I'm earning more in the game than outside. Just for this point alone, I won't quit the game."

【Bai Yin】 was right. When it came to making money, the Beggar Sect did the best. After all, compared to Lin Bai's dazzling and flashy operations, the players in other novice villages were all overshadowed and dull.

Even a Group with the scale of Shanlu could not catch up to the Beggar Sect in a short time.

Entering a new world without a star product, how could it be easy to break into the market in the early stages?

Lin Bai had been at ease these past few days.

Relying on a money-based offensive, the Shanlu Group had controlled a novice village, but without a powerful escort like Lin Bai, how could it be easy to develop by relying solely on economics?

These days.

Through Yinmucheng, the Shanlu Group transported some key personnel into various sects around Zhen City to learn their arts, hoping to use this opportunity to expand the Shanlu Group's influence in the Cultivation World; they even deliberately propagated the dangers of Lin Bai and the Beggar Sect, hoping to incite them to go to Qian City to fight Lin Bai, or to notify the Heavenly Dao Sect about the issues with Huilong Temple, allowing them a chance to come into contact with the highest levels of the world.

But those sects clearly did not take the words of these Heavenly Descended seriously; they were more inclined to snatch up the Heavenly Descended to increase their Loyalty to the sect, hoping to use the Heavenly Descended to improve their own strength...

Regarding this.

The Shanlu Group was at its wit's end.

Compared to the massive cultivation sects, their influence was too low.

They still did not dare to send more people into the cultivation sects. Because they faced the same problem as the Beggar Sect Disciples: sects located in deep mountains and old forests were disconnected from the secular world, and leveling up within a sect did not provide much help to the Group's expansion.

Yet, if the levels were raised, who knew how far the Beggar Sect would have left them behind!

Their opponent was flying, while they were strolling like snails; the leaders of the Shanlu Group could not have been more frustrated.

Why couldn't every novice village be equipped with an aggressive NPC like Lin Bai?

Especially when the news of Lin Bai's Gancheng Cup came out.

All the advertisers, sponsors, and traffic were quickly drawn to Lin Bai's side. The several main leaders of the Shanlu Group were about to go crazy, wishing they could immediately travel across thousands of mountains and rivers to stir the so-called Gancheng Cup into a mess and completely drag down the Beggar Sect's reputation...

"Continue to lobby the high-level officials of the NPC sects, and use every possible method to make them take a trip to Qian City, even if it doesn't matter if they arrive late." Shanlu Luzong said with a sunken face as he arranged tasks for the Group's high-level officials, "We must make them realize the danger of Lin Bai."

"Sect Leader, what if Lin Bai fails?" Shanlu Lujiao hesitated for a moment and asked.

"Do you think that's possible?" Shanlu Luzong snorted, "Have there been any results from contacting the people of the Beggar Sect? Is anyone willing to join our Group?"

"Yes," Shanlu Lurong said, "but most people are watching from the sidelines, and many are unwilling to deal with Lin Bai. Sect Leader, should we increase the stakes?"

"No need, just maintain contact," Luzong waved his hand, "The mountains are high and the emperor is far away; Lin Bai is currently in his prime, so they won't be of much use. When we possess strength equivalent to Lin Bai's and confront the Beggar Sect head-on, that is when they will truly be of use."

The Beggar Sect's movements were fast.

That very day.

Simple flyers were distributed one after another.

The news of the "Gancheng Cup" spread through every street and alley of Qian City.

In less than half a day, the Immortal-Demon War entered the streets and alleys of Qian City, becoming a hot topic of discussion for everyone.

The flyers distributed by the Beggar Sect detailed the backgrounds, Dao Methods, and Martial Arts of the Five Righteous Sects and the Evil Five Sects, and also explained the reason and purpose for the Righteous Sect hosting the Gancheng Cup...

The high and mighty Cultivation World had, for the first time, reached deep into the common people at close range.

The Beggar Sect players were playing quite boldly.

On the flyers, they created a questionnaire to vote for the most perfect cultivation sect in your heart.

On the questionnaire.

There were all sorts of strange questions, such as:

"If given a chance, which sect would you be willing to join?"

"Do you think immortal arts should penetrate into the common people?"

"In this war between righteousness and evil, who do you think will win?"

"If an evil sect slaughters the city, would you feel more at ease with the City Guard protecting you, or the Righteous Sect? Or the Beggar Sect?"

"In the future, if there are ranking competitions similar to those between immortals, how much money would you be willing to spend to watch?"

"Do you think Hundred Flowers Valley will participate in the war?"

"Do you think the Chaoyuan Sword Sect will participate in the war?"

The questionnaire was a prize-based model; after answering the questionnaire and dropping it into the Beggar Sect's ballot box, there was a chance to receive an exquisite gift after the war.

Through such a fresh method.

The news of the war between righteousness and evil was completely ignited.

"You brat, you brat, does he want to put my Qian City on a fire to roast?" Guo Yuan's hair and beard stood on end as he slapped the table heavily, "He is trying to stir the world into a mess!"

"City Lord, what should we do?" the scholar asked with a bitter smile.

"Mobilize the City Guard to set up the Immortal-Extinguishing Cannons and be ready to activate the city-protecting array at any time to prevent the Evil Five Sects from getting angry and slaughtering the city. Let those bastards fight in the forests outside the city," Guo Yuan said, "Close the doors and decline visitors. If the sect leader of an evil sect comes to see me, make the excuse that I am seriously ill and cannot see guests. Help me grind the ink; I want to write a letter to the Duke of the State. This boy Lin Bai is no longer someone that the County Princess and I can handle."

"Lao Gu, is the commotion we're making too big?" In the camp of the Evil Five Sects, Lao Mi asked Gugao Laoren, "Shopkeeper Lin won't blame us, will he?"

"Big?" Gugao Laoren shook his head and smiled, "I even think it's small! Laoluo, you have to figure out the temper of our Shopkeeper Lin; if he can make things big, he will absolutely never make them small. Do you remember what he said? Cultivation is of no benefit to the people's livelihood; promote the Righteous Sect, get close to the masses, and mingle with the common people. Listen to these keywords; our Shopkeeper Lin is very likely to place the development focus of the Righteous Sect among the common people."

"The common people?" Lao Mi was stunned.

"Yes, the common people," Gugao Laoren nodded, "The Cultivation World of the past was high and mighty; if Shopkeeper Lin's Righteous Sect wants to break through this situation, it must find another way. I guess Shopkeeper Lin wants to use this method to force the Taiyi Kingdom to unite with him and tie the Taiyi Kingdom to his warship."

(End of chapter)