Chapter 320: Who Is Whose Thigh to Hug?

Although Lin Bai told everyone that they could ask the Heavenly Descended for food, drink, and supplies, no one did so.

With the lightning tribulation overhead, it was only natural to seize the time to cultivate; who had the heart for eating, drinking, and playing?

But Lin Bai did not stand on ceremony with them; his disciples' cultivation was enough to make his own cultivation base rise steadily.

He did not care about practicing a little more himself, and besides, the improvement of his personal strength relied more on system tasks.

Xu Longyun took Lin Bai's place to organize order, and Lin Bai put forward new demands to the outside world through the Heavenly Descended.

He wanted Yuan Qing to take the lead in selecting chefs in countries such as Taiyi Kingdom, Taichu Kingdom, Taohao Kingdom, and Taishi Kingdom, first holding a culinary competition in each country, and then, at the final moment, notifying him to stir-fry a dish remotely before pre-determining him as the champion;

Then, he demanded that the elite chefs selected by each country come to the area outside the Tribulation Cloud to hold a world-scale culinary competition, and furthermore, he wanted to win the championship...

Otherwise.

He would take the Tribulation Cloud and go to each country in person to gather the chefs and hold the culinary competition.

The Chef God System task required Lin Bai to hold a national-level culinary competition, but based on the pattern of the system issuing tasks, Lin Bai had arranged the world-level culinary competition in advance.

Anyway, he didn't have to do it himself, and even if he guessed the topic wrong, he wouldn't suffer much loss.

When the news spread, the Cultivation World was furious.

Taiyi Kingdom enjoyed the benefits brought by Lin Bai and only worried that Lin Bai would die and his Dao would vanish, leading the Seven Orthodox Sects to settle scores with them later; as for the rest, it didn't matter much.

From the monarch to the ministers, countries like Taichu and Taihao hadn't gained any benefits and were still being tormented by a guy in the lightning tribulation, so their Negative Emotion came in wave after wave...

Everyone knew that Lin Bai was cultivating the Way of Cooking, yet no one dared to harden their hearts and say no to Lin Bai; even the strategies previously provided by the players—feigning compliance while secretly causing trouble—no longer worked.

After all.

Lin Bai only gave the orders, and they were the ones doing the work.

Once they made Lin Bai dissatisfied, he would bring the Tribulation Cloud over to kill them.

No one was willing to bear such consequences.

Whichever sect disagreed, they still had to go and persuade them, be responsible for the transportation of chefs, and arrange the venues; they had to do all the dirty and tiring work, as if Lin Bai had already become the supreme leader of the Cultivation World, the number one person in the world.

It was stifling.

Even more stifling than when Lin Bai was wandering around outside...

It was truly maddening.

Couldn't he just honestly wait for death?

Therefore,

Complaints were just complaints.

The work that had to be done still had to be done.

That very day.

The cultivators of the Seven Orthodox Sects and the Demonic Five Sects began to act actively.

Originally, if they had pushed these matters to the players, they would have definitely done them quickly and well, but the players were low-level, and this time the scope was wide; where the Magpie Bridge could not reach, the speed of the players was clearly insufficient.

Lin Bai had time requirements for the so-called culinary competition; by the time the players finished, Lin Bai would have long since brought the Tribulation Cloud over to kill them...

At this time, the Cultivation World's reason for comforting themselves was that this was Lin Bai's final bout of trouble; at most, he would trouble them for three months, and then everyone would be relieved.

The dead are the greatest; it didn't matter if they satisfied some of his requests...

Qingyun was protecting everyone from the sky.

After the thirty-six disciples were gathered, Xiaobai the fox taught them the profound meaning of virtue.

Afterwards, under Lin Bai's request, Tuohai and the others took turns serving tea to their master, serving tea to the eldest senior sister, the second senior sister... and helped the lower-level cultivators solve their cultivation difficulties with a pleasant demeanor.

They forcibly performed a display of brotherly love and fraternal respect, good-neighborliness, respect for elders and kindness, modesty and prudence, and positive enterprise...

Everyone's Virtue Value rose rapidly.

The highest Spiritual Power feedback even surpassed that of Deng Li Buduo, who had received specialized virtue training at the time.

When this group of disciples, whose Virtue Value had been forcibly raised, began to cultivate, the Spiritual Power fed back to Lin Bai by the Way of the Master was endless, and his cultivation base climbed steadily upward...

The lightning tribulation lasted for a day and a night before it ceased.

The thick Tribulation Cloud still covered the sky above everyone, with lightning shuttling through it, accompanied by the rumbling of thunder, as if it were accumulating a second wave of energy.

Qingyun descended from the sky; the first wave of lightning tribulation had not caused her any damage. She looked at Lin Bai and suddenly asked, "Who exactly are you?"

"Call me Master." Lin Bai flicked his hand, and a large handful of Spirit Fruit appeared in his palm.

Qingyun subconsciously reached out to grab them.

Lin Bai didn't even dodge, letting her snatch the fruit away.

Qingyun raised her hand and sent the fruit into her mouth.

Lin Bai said faintly, "Snatching fruit can only be eaten once."

Qingyun's movements came to an abrupt halt.

She held the fruit, a look of hesitation appearing on her face; her previous stubbornness had long since been worn away by the repeated calls of "Master" and the improvements brought to her by the two types of fruit.

She looked at Lin Bai and handed the fruit in her hand back: "Master, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snatched them."

After saying this, Qingyun's face flushed inexplicably.

Calling him Master in the midst of the lightning tribulation felt completely different from calling him Master face-to-face.

Although she had been asleep for most of the time, she had also experienced the world.

Even counting from the moment she gained intelligence, she had lived for tens of thousands of years; now, to actually call a twenty-something-year-old young man "Master" for a bite to eat was too shameful.

Lin Bai didn't take the fruit, but looked at her and said, "Qingyun, you saw the Virtue Value education just now; distribute the Concentration Fruit in your hand to your fellow disciples!"

Qingyun was stunned for a moment, and her brows furrowed; she could call Lin Bai "Master" for the sake of strength, and besides, Lin Bai's strength was a mystery, and she couldn't see through him.

But as for those fellow disciples of his own whom he protected, were they even worthy?

Seeing Qingyun hesitate, Lin Bai stood by her side: "Qingyun, the cultivation of the Dao of the Master lies entirely in educating disciples. The better the disciples are taught, the more refined my cultivation will become, the more benefits you will all receive, and the higher the probability that we will survive the lightning tribulation..."

Qingyun looked at the people in the midst of cultivation and said: "But this is deceiving oneself as well as others. Their so-called virtues are all fake; they are acted out. Moreover, most of the disciples you have taken in already have their own cultivation techniques; you haven't taught them anything at all. They, including myself, are merely cowed by your strength, forced or lured by you, and compelled to acknowledge you as Master; not one of them is sincere."

Of course I know it's fake, but the system accepts it, so what can I do!

Lin Bai muttered a complaint, then smiled: "I know it's fake, but throughout history, all disciples and masters go through a process of moving from strangers to acquaintances."

If a bad person can pretend to be a good person for a lifetime, then he is a good person.

Virtue is the same; although it seems fake and forced now, as long as I am around, all disciples must pretend to have virtue because they can gain benefits from it. After a long time, the fake will become real. This is the true essence of the Dao of the Master, a process of subtly influencing others."

"Sophistry," Qingyun said with a disdainful smile.

"Call me Master, or I won't give you fruit to eat." Lin Bai turned his head to look at Qingyun, another handful of Spirit Fruit appearing in his hand.

Is this guy training disciples?

Or training a pet!

Qingyun was so angry she couldn't catch her breath. She wanted to be tough, but thinking of the benefits those fruits brought her, she sighed silently and aggrievedly chose to follow her heart: "Master."

……

On the live broadcast screen, bullet comments flew across.

"Although I know Lin Bai is quibbling, I have to say, this guy's attainments in management and calculating the human heart have reached the pinnacle."

"Watching them put on airs, bowing to each other and handing over tea earlier felt amusing, but after hearing Lin Bai explain the logic behind it, I inexplicably felt a sense of displeasure. It reminds me of my stifling life working at the company."

"I actually learned life philosophy from a game character; I'm f*cking speechless."

"It's not just philosophy; there's psychology, management, political science, economics, and even literature and miscellaneous studies. Perhaps the Game Company's true purpose isn't for us to play a game, but to let us witness what the basic operating rules of this world are through Lin Bai? How dark is the Real World?"

"Such painstaking efforts!"

"Thanks to the Game Company, thanks to Lin Bai."

"Seeing Lin Bai playing more and more tricks under the lightning tribulation, I suddenly feel that this lightning tribulation won't be able to stump him at all. Once he comes out of the lightning tribulation, I'm afraid the days ahead for the people of the Righteous Seven Sects and the Demonic Five Sects will be even harder."

"The players have it even harder. What 'evil cannot prevail over good'? Lin Bai is the ancestor of all big villains. If there were such a villain in the world, all those guys acting in the name of justice wouldn't be able to make a splash at all..."

"Plus 1!"

"The person above is wrong. Lin Bai has never considered himself a villain. All along, the slogans he has used have always been to eliminate catastrophes, spread the laws, overthrow the exploitation of the world by the Righteous Seven Sects, and ultimately cultivate the Heavenly Dao to return a bright and clear universe to the world. From his perspective, he should be holding the hero template."

"A villain who thinks he is a hero is even more terrifying..."

"When the game started, I thought the players were the villains. After Lin Bai appeared, I thought the Righteous Seven Sects and the Demonic Five Sects were the villains. Later, Lin Bai slowly became the villain. So who exactly is the righteous side in this world?"

"Whoever lives to the end is the righteous side; it has always been this way!"

……

Lin Bai's efforts were not in vain.

Qingyun awakened the people in cultivation and distributed the Spirit Fruit. After the crowd thanked her in fear and trepidation,

the Spiritual Power feedback from Qingyun increased from one percent to three percent.

Lin Bai beamed with joy. One percent of the feedback had pushed his cultivation to the Golden Core, and now three percent...

He swallowed his saliva lightly and urged: "Qingyun, the lightning tribulation has paused. Why not seize the time to recover your cultivation so you can prepare for the next lightning tribulation!"

Qingyun looked at Lin Bai and said: "Master, the first wave of lightning tribulation was not very powerful. With the replenishment of the Concentration Fruit, my cultivation has almost no depletion, so there is no need to recover. Instead, this disciple has some matters, and I ask Master to clear up my confusion?"

"If you have any questions, I will tell you slowly while we undergo the tribulation. It is said that the lightning tribulation lasts for eighty-one days; seizing the time to improve your cultivation is the right path," Lin Bai said.

"Master, these doubts are lodged in Qingyun's heart. If I don't figure them out, I cannot calm my mind to cultivate," Qingyun said persistently, looking at Lin Bai.

"Fine, ask away!" Lin Bai said helplessly.

"Master, who exactly are you?" Qingyun asked. "I have lived in this world for tens of thousands of years, and I have never heard of the cultivation method of the Dao of the Master. The Phoenix Seeking Phoenix Array and the Magpie Bridge you built are also things I cannot see through. These do not seem like the divine abilities of this world. Forgive this disciple for being rude, but the power of these divine abilities is far beyond what someone of Master's age could master..."

Not far away, the Peach Ancestor quietly pricked up her ears.

The players' live broadcast cameras were aimed at Lin Bai and the other.

"These were never divine abilities to begin with, but the Fazhe Zhidao..." Lin Bai looked at Qingyun and briefly explained his law system.

His theory of laws was becoming increasingly mature, and he basically didn't need to rack his brain to answer these questions anymore.

"Fazhe Zhidao?" Qingyun frowned. "My cultivation is becoming increasingly profound, and I have gradually been able to touch the fundamentals of how the world operates. The Fazhe Zhidao should not be like this!"

Over there.

The ears of the Tuohai Ancestor also trembled slightly a few times.

On the players' live broadcast screen, a series of bullet comments drifted by:

"The truth is about to be revealed."

"I said long ago that it couldn't possibly be laws."

"Laws are time, space, they are metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, they are the art of creation; how could they be those crooked and evil things?"

"Lin Bai is clearly using the divine abilities of the Righteous Sect to fool the world..."

……

Holy crap!

Li Gui met Li Kui; this time he ran into a real big shot!

Lin Bai's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface and asked: "Qingyun, what are the laws you have touched like?"

"Master, I have not yet touched the laws, but I can vaguely glimpse the Wood Law." Lin Bai's domestication was very successful; in just a short while, Qingyun was already calling him Master fluently and naturally. "Especially after Master provided me with the Concentration Fruit and Derivative Fruit from the Divine Wood, my understanding of the Wood Law seems clearer. The Wood Law implies powerful recovery and Regeneration. I feel that the end of the Wood Law is the Dao of Longevity, or perhaps the Dao of Creation..."

Recovery?

Regeneration?

Am I about to possess a Puppet that masters the Wood Law?

Lin Bai's heart surged with excitement. He looked at Qingyun and said: "The Wood Law is indeed a type of law, suitable for spirits of the plant lineage like you, but not suitable for humans.

Of the three thousand laws, each is different. The Fazhe Zhidao I have mastered is a method of Law Cultivation that the seniors of my sect realized by observing the San Qian Shi Jie. No one has ever successfully cultivated it before, so it is normal for there to be some strange divine abilities."

You have not yet truly comprehended the Wood Law; perhaps you do not understand that a law has a characteristic called uniqueness.

My law may have all sorts of flaws, but as long as it conforms to the rules of the law, it cannot be destroyed or resisted.

It is just like the Way of the Master; becoming my Disciple will accelerate your cultivation by fifty percent, regardless of whether you are at the Golden Core stage or undergoing Tribulation Transcendence, the rule will not change.

Like 'Phoenix Seeks Phoenix', even a lightning tribulation cannot interfere with the process of courtship; this is the true profound meaning of Fazhe Zhidao. Only by understanding this point can you truly comprehend Fazhe Zhidao; otherwise, even if you feel the restorative power and Regeneration of the Wood Law, you will be unable to truly penetrate the essence of Fazhe Zhidao, let alone master it."

Qingyun looked thoughtful, as if she were attaining enlightenment, and after a long while, she looked at Lin Bai again: "Thank you, Master, for clearing up my confusion; this Disciple understands."

What have you understood?

I haven't understood yet!

Lin Bai smiled mysteriously: "If you understand, then go and cultivate! Otherwise, what does it matter if you know the profound meaning? If you cannot survive the lightning tribulation, it will all be in vain in the end."

Qingyun hesitated for a moment and said: "Master, could you let me see those two divine trees? I feel that communicating with those two divine trees would be more helpful to my cultivation."

How can I let you see things that are in my mind?

Lin Bai shook his head: "You cannot see them; they are at the Justice Sect. After you survive the lightning tribulation, I can take you back to the Justice Sect to see them."

Qingyun said: "But after I ate the fruit, I could vaguely feel that those two divine trees are on your person..."

On my person?

Lin Bai was stunned for a moment, looked at Qingyun, and Being Read Mind was activated.

In Qingyun's mind, Tai Shang Lao Jun appeared again, and as he waved his hand, the stars shifted.

Two trees rooted in the universe, surrounded by planets, appeared; one was an enlarged version of the Spirit Fruit Tree, and the other was an enlarged version of the Temperament Fruit Tree, appearing before Qingyun.

The trees were laden with fruit, starlight circled between the branches, and they were extremely majestic.

Tai Shang Lao Jun said: "Silly child, these are the two divine trees. After seeing them, set your heart at ease and undergo the tribulation. I think highly of your potential; one day, you will also be like these two divine trees, traversing the world and looking down upon thousands of worlds."

Afterwards.

The image disappeared.

Qingyun shook violently and sobered up, but the shock in her expression did not dissipate for a long time; she murmured: "So this is what a divine tree is?"

"What divine tree?" Lin Bai asked, knowing the answer.

"Master, who is the old man riding the green ox?" Qingyun did not answer Lin Bai and asked urgently.

"He is the first-generation ancestor of my Justice Sect—Tai Shang Lao Jun. After he left behind the 'Tao Te Ching' for the sect, he escaped into the Great Thousand Worlds and never appeared again," Lin Bai said. He paused for a moment and asked in surprise, "You saw him?"

"Yes, he has already guided me twice," Qingyun nodded, absent-minded. She looked at Lin Bai, her gaze gradually becoming firm, and said softly, "Under his guidance, I have already seen the true forms of the two divine trees. Master, don't worry, I will definitely do my best to survive this lightning tribulation..."

To the side.

Ye Song, who was cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes wide. His heart was pounding fast; the old ancestor riding the green ox, Tai Shang Lao Jun, the first-generation ancestor of the Justice Sect...

So the reincarnation of Ziwei Dijun really refers to Lin Bai.

The case is solved!

This time, I've really hit the jackpot!

(End of this chapter)