The Medicine King Valley, Spirit Artifact Pavilion, and even Hundred Flower Valley were all encountering the same problems.

The players who were part of Qian City's administrative system also wanted to advertise but were suppressed by Guo Yuan before they could do so.

Guo Yuan told them that they could advertise within Qian City, and he wouldn't interfere.

But involving governmental affairs in the conflicts among sects violated the law, and the consequences would include dismissal or imprisonment.

With just a single move, those players who had entered politics quickly fell into line.

The reason they chose the Government Office in the first place was that they favored this mode of the game. They wouldn't jeopardize their promising futures for minor gains.

There are many Cultivation Sects, but Taiyi Country still stands after thousands of years.

If one were to say there wasn't some form of powerful control involved, nobody would believe it.

Don't you see? The Novice Villages where players arrive are cities of Taiyi Country, not territories of the various sects.

So, players who joined the government system aimed at the world's fundamental structure from the beginning.

...

When Guo Yuan understood the movements of the players in the city, he finally understood where Lin Bai had broken the game.

The existence of those players, who seemed to delight in chaos, made it almost impossible for the sects to act according to previous rules. Unless the Cultivation Sects were ready to give up these players completely, they would inevitably be swept along by their momentum…

"Interesting. That little fellow has actually managed to get ahead of everyone." Guo Yuan fondled his beard and smiled. His gaze turned towards Jiamucheng. "I really am lacking in the department of judging people compared to the Commandery Princess!"

...

Lin Bai hadn't thought that much into it.

If truth be told, at the point he reached today, he was actually forced into it by the System.

Enjoying the perks of the System, he had to shoulder these troubles as well.

Without the System, in this world full of players, he would probably be hiding in Jiamucheng as a civilian. He could not be as free and casual as he is now.

...

Operating Morning Flight and Wooden Cloud Vertical, Lin Bai hovered mid-air above the forest, drifting as if he were an immortal descended to the mortal realm. This was the ambush site arranged by the Beggar Gang and Return to Dragon View, approximately thirty miles from Qian City.

Under normal circumstances, players would have to spend at least half an hour to get here.

Return to Dragon View's plan was probably to use this time difference to kill him in the forest before the players could arrive.

In other words, they must have a way to prevent him from retreating to Qian City.

Lin Bai analyzed the ambush site, trying to gather as much information as possible.

Facing over a hundred Golden Core cultivators at once, he felt somewhat nervous. Looking through the gaps in the leaves, Lin Bai could clearly see that the greenery beneath the trees had been trampled countless times.

Yet the Daoists from Return to Dragon View who came to scout didn't notice these anomalies. They likely sent out their Divine Sense for a scan and, upon finding no ambushers, withdrew.

These holier-than-thou fellows are still not used to the players' way of fighting…

"Master, can we win?" Little White Fox looked at the forest beneath her feet, interrupting Lin Bai's thoughts.

"If we can't win, we run!" Lin Bai laughed nonchalantly. "The moment they let me escape, I'll become their worst nightmare…"

"That's right!" Little White Fox nodded in agreement. "Master, don't worry. If we really can't defeat them, we can return to Jiamucheng and find my mom and the others. Living in the forest is a lot of fun too."

"We'll go when the situation stabilizes. Xiao Bai, I'm actually quite interested in meeting your mom too," Lin Bai smiled. Not recruiting a few foxes as his bodyguards would be a waste of all the goodwill he had built up amongst the Foxes!

"Really?" Little White Fox asked in astonishment.

"Yes, really," Lin Bai nodded.

"I'll return first to explain to my mom how good you are, so she won't misunderstand you…" With that, Little White Fox suddenly burst into excitement, chattering on and on about the plans for after Lin Bai and her mom met.

While teasing the Little Fox, Lin Bai threw his left hand out, letting it creep into the dense forest.

The Technique of Separated Hand wouldn't sever the connection with the Inner Strength of his Dantian. Changing location didn't affect the use of Palm Thunder; leaving it on his body, instead, imposed many restrictions.

After all, for every launch of Palm Thunder, he had to lift his hand, which made it easy for people to prepare in advance...

「Not long after.」

A large group of Daoists came, riding the wind.

They were dressed in Eight Diagrams robes, some holding swords, some holding horsetail whisks; all of them looked more like Immortals than Lin Bai.

Players like Dragon Breath, Daluo Golden Immortal, Iron-Headed Immortal, and Mountain Tiger stood on a huge Talisman Inscription, surrounded by the Daoists and treated as primary protection targets.

Their leader was a Daoist who looked around thirty years old, wearing a bright yellow robe that made him stand out starkly among the others in their gray-blue robes.

Lin Bai singled him out at first glance. Putting this guy into a Card would be much cooler than having Qing Ling.

Daoist Qingyu also saw Lin Bai. His mouth curved in a cold smile, and he said nothing.

With a wave of his hand, an Eight Diagrams Mirror was thrown into the air by him.

As the Eight Diagrams Mirror flew up, it expanded to the size of a grinding wheel. Then, like the sun, it emitted tens of thousands of rays of light, covering an area tens of miles around.

The moment they were covered by the radiance, the speed of all the Daoists suddenly increased by a third, and they quickly approached Lin Bai, surrounding him.

...

Damn it! An Additive Type Magic Treasure!

Lin Bai looked up at the Magic Treasure floating in the air, licking his lips in envy. Look at their Magic Treasure; that's a real Magic Treasure, much cooler than his Blacksmith six-piece set.

"Xiao Bai, don't recite the tongue twisters yet. Wait for the disciples of the Beggar Gang to recite them together; the power will be greater," Lin Bai ordered, controlling his left hand in the forest to sneak towards the Daoists of Return to Dragon View. Simultaneously, he threw out two Cards with Daoist Qingling and Lan Nuotian on them, issuing them the order to guard him.

Sending these two out against nearly a hundred Golden Core Daoists was simply sending them to their deaths, and their Skills were not as useful as Palm Thunder, so it was better to focus on protecting his own safety.

After he released the two Card figures, Lin Bai shared the strength of two Golden Core cultivators.

The Dragon Rising Skill of Return to Dragon View and the Blood Shadow Divine Skill of Blood Shadow Sect suddenly became thoroughly familiar to him.

Both of these Cultivation Techniques ran in parallel with his Inner Strength in his meridians, without any conflict.

With the addition of Daoist Qingling's Huilong Jue, he could clearly see the offensive methods of the Daoists from Return to Dragon View. Lan Nuotian's Blood Shadow Divine Skill released blood Qi, which would unknowingly slow down his enemies in battle.

For the current situation, two Card figures should be enough.

The number of Card figures was limited, and Lin Bai couldn't use them all at once. He had to keep a few for life-saving purposes.

Feeling the potent Inner Strength within his body, Lin Bai laughed, activated Lan Nuotian's Cultivation Technique, letting the blood Qi surround him, and then used the Golden Middle Cover to protect his vital parts.

After preparing his defense, Lin Bai used Curve Body Single Shadow to leave his previous position, moving sideways to try and escape the encirclement of a hundred Golden Core cultivators.

Curve Body Single Shadow combined with Morning Flight created an afterimage, instantly leaving his two bodyguards far behind.

But the two mindless bodyguards were determined to perform their duty of protection and followed Lin Bai as quickly as possible.

Lin Bai frowned, somewhat regretting releasing the three bodyguards in advance.

Still inexperienced in battle. If I had known that Wind Control couldn't keep up with Morning Flight, I should have waited until the players were online before releasing them...

However, it was too late for regrets.

The characters in normal Blank Cards were disposable; once they died, they were gone.

Lin Bai could only stop and wait for the two to approach him.

"Blood Shadow Skill? Insurgent, I knew early on that you're not righteous! Today, this woodland will be your burial ground!"

From afar, Daoist Qingyu saw the aura of blood swirling around Lin Bai and Daoist Qingling standing there like a stunned chicken. His face full of rage, Daoist Qingyu mobilized his Cultivation Level and reprimanded Lin Bai.

"Daoist Qingyu, don't slander me, I…" Lin Bai looked at the rapidly approaching Daoists from Return to Dragon View, just planning to tease him. But halfway through his speech, he sharply remembered the truth-telling task he was currently undertaking, and his tone abruptly changed. "I want to seize your Return to Dragon View!"

"..." Daoist Qingyu was startled, then burst into a grim laugh. "What an arrogant youth."

"Arrogant!"

"Arrogant!"

A crowd of Daoists shouted angrily in response.

While they were distracted...

BANG!

Lin Bai had already released the Blacksmith's Hammer from a point in the sky higher than the Qiankun Mirror, letting it free-fall towards the millstone-sized Qiankun Mirror.

Such a huge target, and out of Qing Yu's sight too. It would be wasteful not to hit it.

CRACK!

The myriad rays of light that filled the sky suddenly vanished.

The Qiankun Mirror returned to its normal size and spiraled down from the sky, its treasured luster gone.

The Blacksmith's Hammer was immediately retrieved and disappeared back into the sky.

The Daoists' enhanced speed abruptly dropped.

"You insolent whelp!" Daoist Qingyu abruptly halted. Seeing the Qiankun Mirror fall into the woods, his heart ached so intensely it felt like it was bleeding.

He had never expected that even a sect-guarding Magic Treasure like the Qiankun Mirror could not withstand a single strike from Lin Bai's hammer. What kind of Magic Treasure was that hammer? It was probably already a Divine Artifact!

"My fellow disciples, unless absolutely necessary, try not to let your Magic Treasures and weapons leave your hands, lest Lin Bai take advantage of the situation," Daoist Qingyu instructed. Despite the destruction of their sect's treasured Magic Treasure, he had quickly regained his composure. "Once we kill Lin Bai and seize his Storage Magical Artifact and the Divine Artifact he wields, the restoration of Return to Dragon View's reputation will be within reach! Kill…"

Before he could finish speaking, there was a sudden rumble from the forest beneath their feet.

Members of the Beggar Gang began to log in from all over.

As they logged in, one signboard after another was erected on the treetops.

"Not of this world, yet a paradise — Dragon View Real Estate, the choice of successful people!"

"Live in a noble manor, enjoy a carefree life — Dragon View Real Estate, wishing the Beggar Gang every success!"

"Technology, leading the world's future — Big Pear mobile phone, quality wins!"

"The extinction of Return to Dragon View begins here — Beggar Gang."

...

The sudden appearance of the Beggar Gang members startled the many Huilong Observant Daoists. What's going on?

Daoist Qingyu sneered, quickly instructing, "Quickly kill those Beggar Gang players below!"

As he spoke, the sword in his hand had already chopped downward.

A large sword aura in the sky split into dozens of smaller swords, which plunged into the forest, accurately killing the Beggar Gang players who were advertising from atop the trees.

A few astute players, seeing the sword aura approach, quickly logged off and managed to dodge the fatal strike.

At that moment, the tongue twister had just begun:

"In front of the mountain, there's Cui Thick Leg, behind the mountain, there's Cui Leg Thick…"

Everything was too late.

Over a hundred Golden Core cultivators mercilessly unleashed their attacks on the players below; various sword auras and phantoms of horsetail whisks rained down.

In an instant, a large swath of the forest was destroyed.

The players, who had only been practicing the Nine-Days True Scripture for a few days, were utterly incapable of withstanding these Golden Core cultivators' attacks.

Anyone hit by the Golden Core cultivators from Return to Dragon View was instantly sent back to a Resurrection Point.

It felt like a group of level 200 bosses slaughtering a bunch of rookies fresh out of the Novice Village. They couldn't even withstand a basic attack from a boss, let alone the fact that these bosses unleashed their ultimate moves right from the start.

Damn!

Lin Bai's expression turned grim. These bastards, blinded by greed! They started advertising the moment they logged in, instead of reciting the tongue twister. They're really courting death!

...

The players led by Dragon Breath, sitting on the Levitation Talisman Inscriptions, were dumbfounded. This was not what they had expected!

Wasn't it supposed to be a Lightning Storm wreaking havoc? Where's the lightning? Where's the storm? All they saw were the Daoists from Return to Dragon View slaughtering novices!

"What should we do?" Dragon Breath swallowed and whispered to his companions. "Is this the extent of your Beggar Gang's strength?"

"I had no fucking idea Golden Core cultivators were so powerful! At the job fair, Lin, the Storekeeper, easily beat five of them!" Mountain Tiger was equally stunned.

"That was because the Golden Core cultivators didn't attack you; Lin, the Storekeeper, drew all their fire," Dragon Breath said, looking at the shattered billboards in front of him with a helpless expression. "We obviously can't count on the Beggar Gang. What about us? If we stay silent, we'll be heroes to Return to Dragon View. But if we go help Lin, the Storekeeper now, we'll surely end up like the Beggar Gang…"

"Maybe we should wait and see? What if Lin, the Storekeeper, can pull off a miracle?" Daluo Golden Immortal looked towards Lin Bai, pinning all his hopes on him. The Beggar Gang had finally become the number one gang in the world, and everyone was peacefully making money. He didn't want these good times to end before they had even truly begun.

...

"Damn, this is entertaining!"

"Congratulations to the Beggar Gang on their epic fail!"

"The advertisers really took a beating this time."

"In the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are useless."

"The Beggar Gang's current combat effectiveness rests entirely on Lin Bai. Palm Thunder has a long wind-up. At the job fair, Lin Bai defeated the five sects by a stroke of luck. This time, without the help of the Beggar Gang disciples, even with Palm Thunder, how many Golden Core cultivators can he kill?"

"Their attempt to be clever backfired; the Beggar Gang is done for."

"The number one gang in the world disbands, and the game returns to normal."

"This is the goddamn consequence of challenging those above your Level!"

"I've said it before: the Beggar Gang chose the wrong path. They didn't Level up properly and provoked the game's skill-teaching sects. That's just asking for annihilation."

"Just Return to Dragon View alone has crushed the Beggar Gang. Don't forget, Lin, the Storekeeper, has also offended five Evil Doors!"

"I knew it; the officials would never let the Beggar Gang become dominant. It completely breaks the game's balance."

"You all only see the Beggar Gang's destruction, but you're ignoring this battle's impact on the players. Return to Dragon View easily slaughtered numerous players and seized the initiative. Other sects will undoubtedly follow suit. They certainly won't be lenient or polite with players anymore."

"True, it's going to be much harder to advertise in the future!"

"One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel!"

"It's not necessarily a bad thing. At most, it means the game is reverting to its original development path. The officials probably couldn't stand the rampant advertising anymore and decided to make this move."