"Slander! You immature brats, resorting to such despicable tactics! Unworthy sons!" Shen Kuang's face was as black as ink; the torn pieces of *Justice Weekly* lay scattered before him.

The expressions on Xin Shang, Ge Feiyun, Zhao Tulong, and Pei Yanzong's faces were also unsightly. After hundreds of years of cultivation, they believed there was little that could shake their resolve.

The so-called Qian City Cup was merely something they could laugh off, dismissing it as the antics of a buffoon.

However, this deluge of slander from *Justice Weekly* had truly caught them off guard.

Although the Righteous Seven Sects had labeled them Demon Cultivators, that was merely due to their cultivation techniques; it didn't mean they themselves were twisted or perverse.

When Immortals fight, who resorts to spreading rumors among the common folk beforehand?

Damn it, this is completely off script!

Alright then!

They were lofty Evil Sect Leaders; they could feign indifference to public opinion.

But the occasional glances from their sect disciples and the hushed whispers behind their backs were becoming unbearable.

If the rumors were true, they could accept it. But these were entirely baseless.

To publicly refute them would only make it seem like a cover-up.

Do we still have any dignity left?

...

"Brother Shen, were you truly once called Shen Simshui?" Xin Shang flipped through *Justice Weekly*, his expression somewhat peculiar.

"Brother Xin, are you looking for a fight?" Shen Kuang glanced coldly at Xin Shang, took a deep breath, and said, "I have been Shen Kuang since the day I entered the sect. Moreover, I was immediately accepted as a direct disciple of the Sect Leader and was never an outer disciple. It also claims that Brother Xin crawled through someone's legs for a bite to eat. Is that supposed to be true as well...?"

"Of course, that's false too. However, the stories about you and Lady Hua Xi... Ahem..." Feeling Shen Kuang's increasingly icy gaze, Xin Shang gave a dry laugh and shook his head. "Brother Shen, don't be angry. I'm merely reminding you to calm your mind before the great battle. If these baseless accusations unsettle you, you'll fall right into Lin Bai's scheme."

"..." Shen Kuang fell silent for a moment.

"We've underestimated him." Ge Feiyun, who was the subject of scandalous rumors, had surprisingly shed her coquettish demeanor and appeared much more dignified. She frowned slightly. "To resort to such despicable acts under the banner of justice... Lin Bai is the true Devil's Head. I am no match for him..."

"If the elders of the Five Demon Sects had possessed such tactics during the great war between Good and Evil, perhaps the Evil Sects would now be the Seven Righteous Sects," Zhao Tulong stroked his beard and laughed. "'He who slaughters nine million is a hero among heroes.' Not bad, this youngster's words do have a certain ring to them that suits my temperament..."

"Once word of your infamy for slaughtering millions spreads, I fear many renowned righteous factions will come hunting you to make a name for themselves," Pei Yanzong sneered.

"The dirty water has been thrown. There's no point arguing about it now. Gentlemen, we should focus on how to respond," Xin Shang asked.

"If we kill Lin Bai, we'll control the Beggar Gang. Then *Justice Weekly* will become our mouthpiece, and we can naturally set the record straight." A voice came from outside, and a Player named Human Disqualification strode in.

Approaching the Sect Leaders, Human Disqualification cupped his fist in salute. "Sect Leaders, everything the Heavenly Chosen of the Beggar Gang do is orchestrated by Lin Bai. Unless he is eliminated, the initiative will forever remain with him. There are no secrets among the Heavenly Chosen. Their undying nature means they are destined to change the world's landscape. If we continue to operate as before, we will inevitably be phased out. Sect Leaders, you must adapt to these Heavenly Chosen and embrace innovation and change."

"How should we innovate and change?" Shen Kuang glanced at him and asked.

"Once Lin Bai is dead, I will naturally offer the Cult Master sound strategies," Human Disqualification stated. "As long as Lin Bai lives, the Heavenly Chosen of the Beggar Gang will pin all their hopes on him. Anything else we do will be a futile illusion, pointless to even discuss."

"Young man, you're too cautious," Ge Feiyun laughed.

"'I've already lost once; I don't wish to gamble again.' Human Disqualification glanced at them, his tone flat. 'I have already disclosed all of Lin Bai's methods. I came here today merely to remind you not to let his schemes disrupt your state of mind before the decisive battle.'"

He paused, looking towards Qian City. "To be frank, if you are defeated this time, I will completely defect to Lin Bai, follow him wholeheartedly, and assist him in unifying the world, without a second thought. If you are victorious, I will likewise do everything in my power to help you Sect Leaders leverage the Heavenly Chosen to achieve great deeds..."

...

[Create your own media outlet (Completed); Reward: Press Card (Issued)]

[Establish the media as *Justice Weekly* magazine and publish the first issue (Completed); Reward: Five Voice Recorders (Issued)]

[Increase the magazine's influence (Completed); Reward: Five Cameras (Issued)]

[Hot topics are crucial for reader retention. Please identify a hot topic to stir public debate; Reward: One Printing Press]

...

The adage goes: "Don't strike a person's face; don't expose their flaws."

A person skilled in communication makes others feel as if they are bathed in a pleasant spring breeze, turning bad things into good ones.

Let emotional intelligence be your ally in communication. Master the art of delicate interaction: employ humor, offer sincere praise, criticize tactfully, persuade with reason, and refuse skillfully. Maintain this high emotional intelligence in your interactions for the next 24 hours, ensuring your conversation partners feel pleased.

Reward: One Look and You'll Smile (When you smile, people around you will be affected by your mood and smile unconsciously.)

...

Daoist Master Dao Xu was indeed very helpful.

「Nearing Qian City.」

Having completed the task of infuriating his opponent with a single sentence, Lin Bai received the rather useless "Shared Anger of Man and God" reward. The Great Language System then issued a new task.

This reward seemed even more useless, though perhaps slightly better than "Shared Anger of Man and God."

After all.

Lin Bai was often cheerful. Forcing enemies to smile while fighting was actually an interesting prospect; it seemed it could disrupt their attack rhythm.

However, as the System's rewards grew increasingly strange, Lin Bai felt his own style was also veering further off course.

If this continued, Lin Bai suspected that his opponents might go mad during a fight, even before being defeated.

...

With the Players' help, several "Media Tycoon" tasks were automatically completed. Lin Bai received the Press Card reward: a red booklet with blank inner pages.

Considering its ability to grant access to any location, Lin Bai decided to keep one. His name and a small, dashing two-inch headshot photo automatically appeared on a blank page.

Only then did Lin Bai realize the Press Card was bound to him; it wasn't something anyone who found it could use.

If the Press Card already felt out of place in the Immortal World, the subsequent rewards of voice recorders and cameras seemed even less like products of this realm.

When he took out a voice recorder and a camera, the native NPCs showed no reaction, but the surrounding Players looked as if their eyes would pop out.

Technological products... in the Immortal World? Crazy Man swallowed hard a couple of times, his gaze fixed on the voice recorder and camera in Lin Bai's hand. "Shopkeeper Lin, what are these?"

"A voice recorder and a camera." Lin Bai calmly introduced the items. "Upon learning I had started a periodical, an ancestor from the Righteous Door teleported these two Magic Treasures to me. The voice recorder can capture sound in real-time, and the camera can preserve images of the past..."

Of course, I know what they are! But isn't this supposed to be an Immortal cultivation game?! Could the Righteous Door be some hidden Technology Sect?

Crazy Man's mind was filled with complaints against the game developers, his outlook on the game's future growing increasingly dim. This is just pure nonsense!

Looking at the voice recorder in his hand, Lin Bai finally confirmed something: his System was definitely not related to the game developers.

Otherwise, he should have received items like "Sound-Recording Stones" or "Image-Capturing Stones"—things that sounded appropriate for the Immortal World setting, not such jarringly out-of-place technological products.

Since it wasn't related to the game company, that meant it was an enemy.

Interesting!

...

"The Magic Treasures from the Righteous Door are truly ingenious, perhaps even surpassing those of the Tool Refining Sect!" Daojing exclaimed, marveling at the exquisite voice recorder. Never having seen such a technological device, he naturally assumed it was a sophisticated Magic Treasure. "And teleporting items across space... that must involve the Power of Rules!"

"It's not just teleportation." Dao Kong, once again, inadvertently broke his concentration on cultivating Spoken Law Follows. He looked at Lin Bai in astonishment. "Senior Brother, Shopkeeper Lin had just established *Justice Weekly* when the Righteous Door sent these Magic Treasures. The Righteous Door's Art of Divination must be incredibly profound!"

"Indeed. The seniors in the Righteous Door have diverse interests. Even I don't know what the elders of my own sect are usually tinkering with." Lin Bai smiled and put away the voice recorder. "However, my every move is indeed under the observation of my sect. After all," he added with a wry smile, "with my rather unpleasant personality, my Master and the others are probably worried I might do something outrageous that could harm the world!"