Witnessing Lin, the Storekeeper's skill and daring as he single-handedly pursued a group of Taoists, the hovering Dragon Breath and the others suddenly panicked. Return to Dragon View's situation was dire; they had already pledged allegiance to the Beggar Gang. Lin, the Storekeeper, was achieving great fame with his power, and they couldn't afford not to live-broadcast it!

"Lin, the Storekeeper, we are here! We can chant tongue twisters! Let us go and fight alongside you!" Dragon Breath, always resourceful, immediately shouted.

"Alright." Lin Bai glanced back at them and, with a flick of his fingers, performed a seal, binding the Levitation Talisman to Lady Hua Xi. Sharing Qing Yu's Skills, he effortlessly manipulated Return to Dragon View's Talisman Inscriptions. The principle of a Levitation Talisman was similar to Wind Control; Return to Dragon View used it to transport people and objects, and it required guidance from someone skilled in Wind Control to operate. The Taoists of Return to Dragon View were busy fleeing and naturally wouldn't waste energy guiding Dragon Breath and the others. Lin Bai effortlessly seized control of an unmanned Levitation Talisman. With the Super Idol System active, Lin Bai also needed exposure and was happy to have some Players join his broadcast. After the Red Thread of Fate displayed its great power, Lin Bai began to cherish every seemingly useless System.

"Traitors!" Qingshan, who was protecting Daoist Qingyu, glared at Dragon Breath and the others, ready to strike down these fence-sitters.

"Qingshan, if you dare touch them, I'll strike Qing Yu," Lin Bai threatened, raising his kitchen knife and making a motion as if to cut down Qing Yu. Now, Qing Yu was his puppet and no longer required Lady Hua Xi's mediation.

"..." His weakness exploited, Qingshan's imposing manner vanished. He trembled, "You... despicable..."

"Still better than over a hundred of you ganging up on me," Lin Bai scoffed.

Just then, Little White Fox finished reciting the tongue twister.

Lin Bai raised his hand, unleashing a Palm Thunder that struck Qingshan before him. The Taoists of Return to Dragon View had all fled, so he didn't need these living people as a distraction. It was more convenient to store them in Cards.

Caught off guard, Qingshan's weathered face was scorched black. However, he did not fall unconscious like a common Golden Core expert. After cramming a healing Pill Medicine into his mouth, he swung his sword at Lin Bai.

Daoist Qingyu raised his sword and blocked the attack.

Qingshan put away his sword in frustration. Even critically wounded, he couldn't bear to harm his beloved senior brother.

So, a single Palm Thunder can't kill a Golden Core Peak cultivator. It seems my signature Skill needs an upgrade! Lin Bai sighed inwardly and commanded Qingyu to attack, then turned to Dragon Breath and the others. "What are you standing around for? Keep chanting those tongue twisters!"

Stripped of his Spirit Intelligence, Qingyu now only obeyed Lin Bai's commands. He lifted his Hidden Dragon Sword and, with a Rifting Strike, chopped at his junior brother, Qingshan, who had always defended him.

Watching the massive sword shadow descend, a bitter smile crossed Qingshan's scorched face, and he gave up struggling. "So be it. It's better to die by my senior brother's sword than be humiliated by Lin Bai!"

Damn it! Lin Bai cursed inwardly. Such a good Character Card is about to go to waste!

In the nick of time, "Second Senior Brother!" cried a nameless Taoist. Struck by a Cupid arrow, he had rushed in front of Qingshan, shielding him with his body. He was cut in two by Qing Yu's Rifting Strike and died violently.

Lin Bai quickly changed Qingyu's command from attack to "defend." Qingyu's attacks were too fierce; if he kept this up, how would Lin Bai capture any more Cards?

As various voices chanted, "There's a Cui Thick Leg in front of the mountain," Daoist Qingshan looked at his junior brother who had died for him, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Why did you do it? I'm not worth such a sacrifice. Wait for me, I will repay this debt with my life..."

"Qingshan, rather than seeking death, why not be sealed in a Card and accompany your Senior Brother?" Lin Bai looked at Qingshan, speaking earnestly. "Even if you lose your Spirit Intelligence, at least you won't hear the world's criticisms..."

Dragon Breath and the others faltered in their chanting, misspeaking several words. Seriously, Lin, the Storekeeper, had no shame at all! The man was about to commit suicide, and he was still trying to coax him into a Card. Dragon Breath couldn't help but recall his first encounter with Lin Bai, silently sending a wave of resentment his way.

To their surprise, Daoist Chief Qingshan actually lowered his sword. He looked at Lin Bai, then at Daoist Qingyu, then back at his fleeing fellow disciples from Return to Dragon View, his face a mask of conflict.

Lin Bai looked at him and continued, "I can even place your two Cards next to each other..."

This was because he was currently under a truth-telling mission constraint. Otherwise, he would have spun a beautiful tale about their love, convincing Qingshan to willingly embrace death. The Great Language System, while enhancing his strength, also inadvertently restricted his ability to embellish...

However, love is blind.

When Lin Bai presented this tempting offer, Daoist Chief Qingshan seemed to forget even his sect. He glared resentfully at Lady Hua Xi and gritted his teeth. "Place my Card and Senior Brother's together, but keep that woman separate from us."

"No problem," Lin Bai quickly agreed.

"Lin Bai, your methods are indeed formidable. I may be powerless to use my skills now, but can you still catch my fleeing junior brothers from Return to Dragon View?" Qingshan suddenly laughed. As he laughed, tears streamed down his face. He looked at his dazed senior brother, his gaze softening. "Senior Brother, you are not alone. I am coming to accompany you."

Lin Bai was speechless. He wasn't concerned about Qingshan's little ploy. He was simply astounded by the power of the Matchmaker's red and green threads. Once tied, upon encountering the object of one's affection, a person could be controlled to the point of losing their ability to think. Terrifying!

It was a good thing he hadn't tied any of these matrimonial threads to himself. Otherwise, if he constantly sought death for the sake of another, his life would be utterly ruined.

"I congratulate you two Daoist friends on your love finally being requited." Although their tragic situation was his doing, Lin Bai still offered his most sincere blessings with a smile. Then, he took out a Silver Edge Card and tossed it onto Qingshan's head.

Silver light flashed, and Qingshan, a smile on his face, was sealed into the Card without any resistance.

This was the first time Lin Bai had sealed a conscious, living person. The effect was similar to sealing someone on the brink of death. Gazing at the Card in his palm that contained the sealed Qingshan, Lin Bai fell silent for a moment. Perhaps, he mused, I've been using the Card System incorrectly as well. If one could eliminate the target's will to resist, sealing them alive might create an even greater deterrent.

In a short while, the Taoists from Return to Dragon View had vanished completely from sight. Besides Dragon Breath and the others, only the nameless Taoist struck by a Cupid arrow remained near Lin Bai. He was infatuatedly guarding Lady Hua Xi. Having witnessed the fate of his first and second senior brothers, he was trembling, angry yet too afraid to speak, and still unwilling to leave.

Lin Bai glanced at him.

The Taoist defensively held his sword. "I would rather die than surrender!"

"Then go ahead and die!" Lin Bai patted the Little Fox. Little White Fox understood and quickly began reciting a tongue twister.

The nameless Taoist was aghast and swung his sword, intending to fight Lin Bai to the death. But under the guard of the two powerful figures, Lady Hua Xi and Daoist Qingyu, his resistance was futile.

A moment later, a bolt of lightning struck. The Taoist, now in a near-death state, was sealed into a disposable Blank Card.

"Lin, the Storekeeper, should we continue the pursuit?" Dragon Breath asked cautiously.

In less than an hour, Lin Bai had turned the tables on over 100 Golden Core cultivators from Return to Dragon View, the same group that had effortlessly decimated 3,000 Beggar Gang disciples. Lin Bai's terrifying strength had long since awed the Players watching the battle.

"We pursue. I'll go first; you follow." Lin Bai glanced at them. "Also, inform the Beggar Gang members. Tell them to find a way to catch up. If possible, we will conquer Return to Dragon View."

The "Extreme Counter-Kill" mission hadn't registered as complete yet, and Lin Bai didn't want to relinquish the hard-won spoils of victory. Moreover, the Super Sect Leader System mission to select a fortuitous land with good feng shui had been postponed for too long. He wanted to take this chance to complete it as well. After all, Return to Dragon View had fewer than 200 Golden Core cultivators in total, and now their strongest first and second senior brothers were his puppets. If he could eliminate the hundred-plus attacking Golden Core cultivators along the way, then Return to Dragon View would be left with only a few dozen Golden Core cultivators, at their absolute weakest. If not now, when they were vulnerable, then when would be the time to strike them down? If Return to Dragon View recovered and sought help from the Heavenly Dao Sect, then he would be in real trouble...

Having given his instructions, Lin Bai activated Curve Body Single Shadow and Morning Flight, leaving everyone else in the dust as he gave chase. Daoist Chief Qingshan had sacrificed himself to buy time, believing his plan had succeeded. But he didn't know that Lin Bai wasn't relying on Wind Control to pursue his junior brothers, but on the even faster Morning Flight. From Return to Dragon View's encirclement of Lin Bai to their desperate flight, less than an hour had passed. The effects of Morning Flight hadn't worn off yet. Used solely for travel, it was more than sufficient to catch up to the fleeing Taoists of Return to Dragon View.

Lin Bai went first. Daoist Qingyu, his designated protector, followed closely behind. Lady Hua Xi, slightly weaker, came next, and finally, the group of Players on the Levitation Talisman. They formed a long line as they relentlessly pursued their quarry.

Daoist Chief Qingshan was mistaken. There were indeed spectators outside the battlefield. Zhao Yi of the Morning Yuan Sword Sect, Sun Lie of the Spirit Artifact Pavilion, Peng Ze of Medicine King Valley, and Jiang Yuru of Hundred Flower Valley had witnessed the entire battle from a distance. They hadn't been swayed by their Players and, intending to delay as long as possible, had proceeded leisurely towards the battlefield. While their Players moved through the forest, these sect representatives carefully concealed their presence, fearing an awkward encounter if the Taoists of Return to Dragon View spotted them. Thus, unnoticed by the intensely fighting Taoists of Return to Dragon View, they had witnessed the entire battle, though they couldn't hear any of the sounds.

Zhao Yi asked dumbly, "What happened? Return to Dragon View clearly had the upper hand. Why did they retreat?" Unable to hear anything, they remained clueless about the actual events even by the end!

"If you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask?" Sun Lie retorted, clearly displeased. He hadn't understood the process, but the outcome was crystal clear: Lin Bai had achieved a total victory and was even now in pursuit. This forced Sun Lie to seriously reconsider his future dealings with Lin Bai. Even without the help of the Players, Lin Bai alone had managed to rout over 100 Golden Core cultivators. His strength, when compared to the prodigies of the major seven orthodox sects, if not superior, was certainly not far behind. Making an enemy of such a ruthless individual, capable of annihilating an entire sect single-handedly, was clearly unwise.

Jiang Yuru gazed in the direction Lin Bai had departed, silent for a long while. Thanks to Jiang Qingqin, Hundred Flower Valley should have had the best relationship with Lin Bai. But now, she felt she had made a terrible misjudgment.

"This has gotten serious!" Sun Lie's eyes narrowed. "We've misjudged Lin Bai's true strength. The sect must be informed of his actual capabilities immediately."

"Senior Brother Sun, how does your sect plan to deal with Lin, the Storekeeper?" a Player from the Spirit Artifact Pavilion, who had overheard them, asked curiously.

"That will depend on the sect's decision," Sun Lie replied reflexively. He then looked at the Player who had spoken and asked, "Do you Players know what actually transpired over there?" He was merely a junior disciple from the admissions office; faced with such a thorny issue, he had no idea how to handle it.

"Didn't you see it clearly? Lin, the Storekeeper, defeated Return to Dragon View and is now chasing them down to wipe them out, root and stem!" the Spirit Artifact Pavilion Player said with a smirk. While Lin Bai was displaying his might, they had been on their way, but that didn't stop them from taking a moment to go offline and watch the spectacular battle unfold. Seeing Lin Bai's heroic display, many Players suddenly regretted joining their current sects. They should have followed Lin Bai, overthrown these established sects, seized their territories, and then learned their Skills! Now, the Beggar Gang Players not only possessed Skills from the Righteous Door but would soon acquire those from Return to Dragon View as well. In the future, they were bound to sweep through the sects backing these Players. If Return to Dragon View couldn't stop Lin Bai, could their own backing sects fare any better?

Out of selfish motives, this Player deliberately withheld from the NPCs the fact that Lin Bai had used Spoken Law Follows. The power of Spoken Law Follows was immense, and it seemed one could master it rapidly. Absolutely no other NPC should be allowed to grasp such a terrifying Skill.

At that moment, the Players present appeared calm, but their private chats were already in an uproar. Everyone was discussing the repercussions of Lin Bai defeating Return to Dragon View for their respective sects and speculating on the Beggar Gang's next move. The Players were far more astute than these NPCs, who lacked any real decision-making power.

"Senior Brother Zhao, instead of just guessing wildly here, why don't we go to the battle site and see? We might find something new," No.1 Sword Immortal suggested with a slight cough. "Even though we missed the battle itself, we can still go and ride Lin, the Storekeeper's, coattails for some exposure! That place is now basically a viral hotspot. And we still haven't run our ads!" Lin Bai had vanished from the live broadcast's view, and a massive number of viewers had flooded into their live stream rooms. They saw this as the perfect opportunity to run their advertisements, as they couldn't violate their contracts.

Speaking of which, they were quite relieved they hadn't arrived at the scene earlier. Otherwise, not only would their advertising have been impossible, but they might also have ended up like the Beggar Gang disciples, collectively losing a Level. Currently, even though they had only just started learning Cultivation Techniques, their Levels were mostly quite high. Losing a Level for no reason would indeed be painful.

So, the Players from Morning Yuan Sword Sect and other sects who had taken advertising deals later rushed to the battlefield to scavenge for opportunities and promote their ads.

Meanwhile, in Qian City, the Beggar Gang Players found themselves in a predicament. They had never imagined Lin, the Storekeeper, would be so formidable as to resolve the entire crisis single-handedly. This left Lonely Old Man feeling deeply inadequate. No wonder Lin Bai had merely designated them an affiliated gang of the Righteous Door, intending to selectively recruit the best into the Righteous Door itself. The Righteous Door's standards for individual disciple capability seemed incredibly high!

"Lonely Old Man, what do we do?" Lumberjack No.1 asked. "Lin, the Storekeeper, single-handedly took on Return to Dragon View and now wants us to follow. We don't even know how far it is from Return to Dragon View to Qian City. The route is full of high mountains and dense forests; even a Golden Core master would take a full day and night to fly there. How can we possibly keep up with our current Skills?" Lumberjack No.1 lamented. "Lin, the Storekeeper, is really putting us in a tough spot!"

"Perhaps this is Lin Bai's test for us," Lonely Old Man mused. "This time, the Beggar Gang was no help at all and even hindered Lin, the Storekeeper. He's probably somewhat displeased with us, hence this difficult order."

"What should we do?" Crispy Rice asked.

"Let's talk to the City Lord and representatives from the major sects. See if we can persuade them to offer some assistance," Lonely Old Man sighed. "Operating in this Immortal World without flight Skills is truly a massive inconvenience!"

"Alternatively, how about we try to build hot air balloons?" Well Does Not Move suggested after a moment's thought. "Even if we negotiate with those sects, they have too few members remaining in Qian City. They probably couldn't transport all 3,000 of our disciples anyway."

"We don't need all 3,000 to go; 1,000 should be enough," Lonely Old Man said with an awkward laugh. "Lin, the Storekeeper, likely wants us there to take possession of Return to Dragon View. We probably won't be needed for any actual fighting..."