A perfectly good battle ended so haphazardly and bewilderingly due to Lin Bai's tricks and bluffs. The Players looked at each other with a surreal feeling.

"Is it over just like that?" Great Loe the Golden Immortal asked.

"What else do you want? For Shopkeeper Lin to turn them all into Puppets?" Crazy Man complained. "All the NPCs have become Shopkeeper Lin's Puppets! What the hell are we even playing for? The battlefield is supposed to be our stage, not Shopkeeper Lin's. We play for the thrill. And what about us?

"We flew on Levitation Talismans for a whole day and night, and our greatest thrill was chanting a few tongue twisters for Shopkeeper Lin.

"Trapped inside the Sky Dome, we didn't even get near an Evil Spirit; they were all obliterated by Shopkeeper Lin's lightning. How the hell are we any different from the spectators outside?"

The Players fell into silence.

After a while, Dragon Breath commented, "Shopkeeper Lin formed the Justice League to consolidate NPCs, right? Maybe the game developers want us to witness the rise of a BOSS. Those subdued by Shopkeeper Lin will become elite BOSSes we face when trying to defeat Lin Bai later on."

"Growth history, my ass!" Silver said. "This kind of consolidation will cause endless problems. These elite BOSSes probably hate Lin Bai more than we do. Who knows when they'll backstab him."

"Shopkeeper Lin would love it if they backstabbed him!" Crazy Man said. "That way, he'd have another excuse to intervene."

"What if they backstab him covertly?" Silver asked.

"What's the difference?" Crazy Man glanced at him. "Knowing Shopkeeper Lin, even if no one backstabs him, he'll stir up trouble himself just to get involved. He's having way more fun than we are."

The Players fell silent, each deeply agreeing.

"If Shopkeeper Lin doesn't absorb these Sects, how can we learn their Skills?" Mountain Tiger asked.

"Didn't you hear Shopkeeper Lin talk about information sharing and mutual exchange?" Crazy Man said. "Just wait. We'll get to learn those Sects' Skills. Shopkeeper Lin is fixated on embodying the Heavenly Dao; he never truly cared about the Skills of the Sects he absorbed."

"Shopkeeper Lin acts just like a villain. Why is he from the Righteous Door? And he even named his alliance the Justice League! How ironic!" said Great Loe the Golden Immortal.

"It's 'Stop Justice Gate'," I'm Not an Alt Account corrected solemnly. "The character for 'righteous' without that top horizontal stroke isn't 'righteous' anymore; it becomes 'stop'. It's just pronounced similarly to Righteous Door." With that, he sighed. "If only we could be as unrestrained and audacious as Shopkeeper Lin."

"Let's wait until our Levels are higher before we talk about that!" Crazy Man said with a bitter smile. "The enemies Shopkeeper Lin provokes are too high-Level. If it were the City Guard Army, maybe we could actually help..."

[Congratulations on once again turning the tables in a crisis! Reward: 30 Agility (Issued)]

[Sect Fame: Launch or participate in an event in your Sect's name and achieve the top position among Sects of the same tier. Reward: Seeing Through (Issued)]

[Sect Leader's Prestige: A good leader is indispensable for a Sect's development. Enhance your reputation so that villains, deterred by your name, dare not covet the Righteous Door. Reward: Main Hall (Within the Main Hall, all your attributes are doubled.)]

[...Team Battle (Completed); Reward: Ten Blank Cards (Issued)]

[Combat is essential for a Card Master's growth. Take your Cards into more battles to cultivate synergy with your Card Characters. Reward: Ten Silver Edge Cards.]

A series of prompts flashed through Lin Bai's mind, signaling the end of the crisis.

Lin Bai finally relaxed. Accompanied by two Nascent Soul bodyguards and carrying Cupid's Bow, he elegantly descended using Wind Control before Xin Shang and the others. Smiling, he offered a cupped fist salute. "Greetings, Sect Leaders."

Xin Shang and the others tensed as if facing a formidable enemy. Glancing at the bow in Lin Bai's hand, they returned the salute respectfully. "Greetings, Sect Leader Lin. Greetings, True Man Dao Xu."

"Idiots," Dao Xu scoffed, undisguised mockery on his lips. Lin Bai was clearly using him as a tool; it would be a miracle if he were in a good mood.

The Sect Leaders' expressions flickered.

"Don't mind a Puppet," Lin Bai said with an unconcerned smile. "He's just jealous of your freedom."

"Lin Bai!" Dao Xu roared.

"Dao Xu, interested in romance?" Lin Bai glanced at the dazed Pei Yanzong beside him and said leisurely, "Pei Yanzong is the one who gave his life for you. Destined lovers will eventually be united, and I'm more than happy to play matchmaker."

"You..." Dao Xu's eyes widened. He opened his mouth as if to protest but then swallowed all his resentment.

The revulsion induced by the Arrow of Resistance was gradually supplanted by fear. Dao Xu sighed in resignation, closing his eyes in anguish. Perhaps it was time to be a silent Puppet; that way, he might suffer a little less torment.

Xin Shang and the others shot Dao Xu a sympathetic look, now even more wary of acting out. Lin Bai was a madman! At least, unlike Dao Xu and Pei Yanzong, they still had their freedom!

"Sect Leaders, if you please." Lin Bai turned back to Xin Shang and the others, smiling. "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go to Qian City. I'll have the Beggar Gang prepare food and drinks. We can sit down and discuss things slowly. By the way, your people are still detaining disciples from my Righteous Gang!"

"They won?" Guo Yuan found it hard to believe as he listened to the real-time battle report from outside the city, delivered by the Skyfallen Ones. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and muttered, "The Justice League? What on earth is Lin Bai up to? He's walking a dead-end path! Does the Righteous Door truly believe it can contend with the Seven Major Righteous Sects and the Five Major Demonic Sects?"

Previously, Guo Yuan relied on the Hidden Guards for intelligence. However, once he experienced the convenience and timeliness of information exchange among the Players, he adapted by selecting a group of them to form a new department dedicated to intelligence gathering.

The arrival of the Skyfallen Ones had subtly altered many things, compelling people to adapt to their rhythm and leverage their unique traits.

"City Lord, regardless of Shopkeeper Lin's plans, I believe the City Lord's Mansion should get involved," said a Player named Think Tank. "After all, since Shopkeeper Lin emerged, he has never truly been defeated. Moreover, the Cultivation Sects that opposed him never gained any advantage..."

At that moment, he was in charge of the largest intelligence organization in Qian City—the News Pavilion.

To win them over, the City Lord provided the Players in the News Pavilion with numerous Cultivation Techniques and various Pill Medicines to help them level up.

Few Players joined the City Lord's Mansion, but no Player who joined the News Pavilion regretted it.

The City Lord's Mansion possessed simply too abundant resources.

Moreover, with fewer Players to share these resources, they were a privileged group indeed, their Levels increasing rapidly.

This secret delight was a far cry from the experience of the Beggar Gang's Players, who were overshadowed and suppressed by Shopkeeper Lin's aura.

This was what a true hidden class should feel like.

The Players of the News Pavilion even reached a tacit understanding: no livestreaming, no flaunting their superiority. They would wait until they had secured power within the empire to make a stunning debut.

Reality proved that Taiyi Country's ability to stand firm amidst so many Cultivation Sects didn't solely rely on the protection of the Seven Major Righteous Sects.

From Guo Yuan's words, they also inferred that Taiyi Country did not wish to coexist with the Cultivation Sects. It had been scheming to break the Cultivation Sects' dominance, eliminate the uncontrollable privileged echelons, and truly consolidate power under state control.

Thus, a war between Taiyi Country and the Cultivation Sects was inevitable.

The advent of the Skyfallen Ones was Taiyi Country's opportunity to shatter the Cultivation Sects' hold.

They were waiting for this opportunity. Who said officials can't enjoy playing games?

Before returning to Qian City, Lin Bai, in full view of everyone, used his Blank Cards to capture numerous Cultivators who had been struck down from the Sky Dome by his Palm Thunder, turning them into his Puppets and replenishing his previous losses.

Xin Shang and the others were furious but dared not voice their anger.

This was because while capturing the Puppets, Lin Bai established the first rule of the Justice League:

In future battles, the victor has the right to demand that the vanquished party, if they initiated the war, compensate for all losses incurred during said war.

War reparations were intended to protect the weak. If widely adopted, this rule could effectively deter provocations made under any pretext and maintain peace in the Cultivation World.