The Lonely Old Man deeply agreed. Ever since he had known Lin Bai, the man had been like a mystery; one never knew how many hidden cards he possessed.

Therefore, the Lonely Old Man felt he had been worrying unnecessarily.

Perhaps when Lin Bai truly encountered an insurmountable danger, a Dao Protector True Master might suddenly pop out from some unexpected corner.

Never overestimate the integrity of the game developers. If they didn't want an NPC to die, they had countless ways to prevent it.

"Old Refiner, continue to make the weapons you forge flawed," Lin Bai instructed, looking at the Artifact Refining Master after the Lonely Old Man had departed.

The Artifact Refining Master's hand trembled; the formation array he was in the process of engraving was now missing a segment...

[Lin Bai's Inner Strength +1 day]

[Resentment from the Artifact Refining Master; +1]

「...」

"Should we move against Lin Bai, God Greg?" In the Mysterious Darkness Cult's base, a few players gathered for a private chat. A player named Ding Gouzha asked Greg.

Greg was a prominent player and the originator of the "Lin Bai Must Die" thread. He hailed from Fiore City and began leveling up as soon as he entered the game. He joined an organization called Thorn Star and initially thought he was ahead of most players.

But later, Golden Lion was kidnapped by people from the Waning Sun Gate, making him realize that following the sect route would eventually cause him to lag behind everyone else.

So, Greg, along with a group of players, preemptively left Fiore City before the guards from the five major sects arrived. They departed voluntarily and were subsequently captured by the Mysterious Darkness Cult.

Greg had excellent gaming intuition. Back when he was in Thorn Star, he had keenly sensed the disparity between players and NPCs. Joining a Cultivation Sect even a day earlier meant gaining influence in the Cultivation World sooner. He didn't care whether he joined a righteous or an evil faction.

He was a professional player who enjoyed gaming above all else.

He cherished this particular game, which was almost completely realistic, even more.

Therefore, when Lin Bai, with his unconventional methods, massively disrupted the game, Greg instinctively felt a sense of disgust. This feeling intensified, especially when advertisements began to appear, striking a raw nerve.

Greg knew that once advertisements were introduced, they would never disappear. But this wouldn't stop him from venting all his anger on Lin Bai. Killing this instigator would at least make him feel somewhat better.

Players' emotions were easily swayed, especially when their interests were at stake. Thus, the "Lin Bai Must Die" thread concocted by Greg easily incited the feelings of a large number of players.

The group gathered around Greg were his fervent supporters. They even planned, after annihilating the Beggar Gang, to next target the corporations that were similarly undermining the game's fairness.

Lin Bai was their first battle.

For this, Greg had watched almost all videos related to Lin Bai to analyze his personality and Martial Arts techniques.

In this game that pursued realism, Greg didn't believe in invincible plot NPCs; otherwise, it would contradict the game's fundamental design philosophy.

After all, even real-world advertisements have infiltrated the game. This is sufficient proof that the game officials maintain a laissez-faire attitude towards all players and NPCs. It's like the collision of two worlds, which is also a realistic portrayal. If it's real, then no one is immortal.

After sifting through all the information on Lin Bai, Greg found that although Lin Bai's abilities were unpredictable, they consistently showed linear growth.

The most puzzling aspect was that Lin Bai's growth and learning speed far exceeded that of the players.

From his first appearance in Jiamucheng to his suppression of Golden Core cultivators a few days ago, his strength was as if he were a completely different person...

If the Righteous Door truly existed in the game, then Lin Bai was undoubtedly a peerless genius chosen by them. Considering Lin Bai's claim of being a 'Man of Destiny,' Greg concluded that Lin Bai was the individual the Righteous Door had put forward to deal with the players... Since Lin Bai is a genius, he cannot be allowed to continue growing. Otherwise, with his growth rate and cunning methods, it wouldn't be long before he develops into the ultimate boss.

"God Greg..." Ding Gouzha waved his hand in front of Greg's eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

"We can't do it by ourselves." Greg regained his composure, glanced at the dozen or so players gathered around him, and shook his head. "Lin Bai already possesses the strength to kill Golden Core cultivators. We've just reached the Qi Refinement Realm and haven't even achieved Foundation Establishment. If we attack, we'd just be serving ourselves up on a platter. Remember that professional Mage from outside Qian City? Disciples of the Beggar Gang forced him to delete his account. If we fail to kill Lin Bai, we will undoubtedly face his endless retaliation."

"What should we do then?" No Wine Today asked. "We finally made it to Qian City; we can't return empty-handed!"

"Use the NPCs," Greg said.

"Provoke NPCs from the Blood Shadow Sect and Return to Dragon View to fight Lin Bai?" Ding Gouzha asked.

"That's an inferior strategy. With Lin Bai's intelligence, it would be too easy for him to divide and conquer them." Greg looked at everyone and shook his head. "If we're going to make a move, let's make it big. Let's push all the NPCs into opposing Lin Bai."

"Boss Greg, that sounds a bit difficult to pull off!" No Wine Today said. "NPCs won't listen to us. They brought us to Qian City this time to convince more players to join their sects..."

"Exactly, that's enough," Greg smiled. "These cultivators came to Qian City to recruit more players. But what if all the players join the Beggar Gang?"

"..." No Wine Today, IAmYourRealFather, and the other nearby players were stunned.

"Holy shit!" Ding Gouzha's eyes widened, and he blurted out, forgetting they were in a private chat.

"It's a feint to ensnare them." Greg glanced at them with a smile. "The Beggar Gang thinks organizing a job fair will win them the friendship of the five major sects. However, if all players join the Beggar Gang, then everyone—whether it's the Righteous Faction members who cleared the roadblocks or the members of the opposing factions who finally managed to obtain qualifications—will view Lin Bai as a thorn in their side. At that point, we won't even need to instigate them; they'll likely be eager to eliminate Lin Bai as quickly as possible."

Gulping, No Wine Today gave Greg a thumbs-up. "God Greg, you're truly amazing! With one move, you've backed Lin Bai into a corner..."

Greg said, "Everyone, remember these points. This plan must be kept highly confidential. Don't post it on the forums. We can't let those traitors in the Beggar Gang find out and allow Lin Bai to prepare. Strive to conduct all communication online..."

"God Greg, counting the players from the three main hubs, plus those unwilling to join a sect, we're talking two to three thousand people! It'll be a bit difficult to coordinate without using the forums!" Ding Gouzha frowned.

"Then go to the forums and promote the benefits of joining the Beggar Gang. Boost all the posts that praise the Righteous Door as well," Greg said. "Let's subtly influence a batch of people first and see how it goes."

"But that won't work either!" No Wine Today said. "Surely, some people will still join other sects!"

"What are we here for?" Greg smiled. "Lin Bai's mistake was holding this job fair. At the job fair, we'll privately message all players who come to apply to our sects and steer them towards the Beggar Gang. Since they didn't choose the Beggar Gang initially, they must harbor some resentment towards Lin Bai. It shouldn't be hard to get them to join the 'Kill Lin Bai' plan. We don't need everyone. If over sixty percent of players choose the Beggar Gang, our plan will essentially be a success."

"Players from the other sects are easy to contact, but we don't have any allied players in the Morning Yuan Sword Sect yet," Greg continued. "When the job fair begins, we'll just have a few of our own people join them first. That solves it. Let's aim to turn the Beggar Gang's job fair into their memorial service."

"What if some players can't be controlled?" Ding Gouzha asked.

"A sixty percent chance of success is enough to proceed. We can't ensure every detail is perfect," Greg glanced at him and said. "Alright, nobody stand idle. Figure out how to spread our plan. I'll go have a word with our master, try to sway him, and say some bad things about Lin Bai."

「...」