CHAPTER 83: 083 SHOW-OFF BY IMMORTAL LIN

By the time everyone had retreated, only the players remained on the scene as the dawn gradually brightened.

The bodies on the ground had long since vanished, leaving behind glowing Copper Coins, scattered weapons, and the bowl Jimmy Navada had thrown.

Lin Bai activated Morning Flight and slowly rose into the air under the astonished gazes of the crowd.

Once he stabilized himself, he looked down at the players below. "Little Deng, you stay and clean up the scattered coins. The rest of you, head to West Mountain at full speed. I will assign your positions within the gang based on your abilities."

After he finished speaking, Lin Bai activated Curve Body Single Shadow.

WHOOSH!

The moment it activated, he shot off like an arrow loosed from a bow, instantly vanishing from everyone’s sight.

Damn!

The players present were utterly dumbstruck.

"Boss Gu, was the BOSS we were trying to take down yesterday really that powerful?" The Iron-Headed Immortal asked, his neck feeling a bit stiff as he looked in the direction Lin Bai had disappeared.

"Is he actually the Novice Village BOSS?" Lumberjack No.1 swallowed hard.

"To be precise, he should be a plot NPC," Bitter Melon Vine said. "Never mind his ability to fly; what Crossbow Arrow could even keep up with his speed?"

"We’re a bunch of idiots," Mad Man said.

"No. If we hadn’t attempted to take down the BOSS yesterday, Lin Bai would never have crossed paths with us, and we’d still be struggling newbie players in Jiamucheng." The Lonely Old Man gazed longingly in the direction Lin Bai had vanished. "Now, we’re ahead of everyone, joining what might be a Famous Sect that usually only appears in the mid-game. We’ve already succeeded."

"It could also be an Evil Sect," Silver said.

"What’s the difference?" The Lonely Old Man glanced at him. "Isn’t an Evil Sect more interesting? As players, we shouldn’t join a Righteous Sect and be tied down by all those rules and regulations."

"Boss Gu, even if players join a Righteous Sect, they won’t blindly follow the rules, right?" Lumberjack No. 2 chimed in.

The Lonely Old Man ignored him. "I finally understand what that statement from the game developers meant."

"Which statement?" Mad Man asked.

"’Before breaking the rules, you must first understand and adapt to them; only then can you create your own.’" The Lonely Old Man replied.

Mad Man fell into deep thought.

"The developers already told us: when you enter the game, you must first understand this world, then abide by and adapt to its rules. Only when you become powerful can you act as you please!" The Lonely Old Man chuckled. "Treating this like any other game and getting cornered by Lin Bai... we were simply asking for it..."

"So, if we join a Righteous Sect and then cause trouble, we might get crippled?" Bitter Melon Vine asked.

"Correct," the Lonely Old Man replied. "The NPCs in this world are incredibly intelligent. They might not be used to players at first. However, once they understand our capabilities, they won’t coddle us. No matter how high our Level, if we carelessly offend someone powerful, we could very well be corpse-camped by NPCs and killed all the way back to the Novice Village."

"Then this game is too frustrating to play!" The Iron-Headed Immortal complained.

"Frustrating?" The Lonely Old Man snickered. "Players are effectively immortal, respawning and leveling up incredibly fast. Natives cultivate for hundreds of years, yet players can surpass them in mere hundreds of days. Now, who do you think is truly frustrated? Once players fully understand this world, it will be doomsday for the NPCs and a disaster for this world. That’s when players will be the ones defining the rules..."

"Boss Gu, shouldn’t we get going? Some people have already started running towards West Mountain," Lumberjack No. 3 said, noticing the thinning crowd.

"Let them run. The city gates aren’t even open yet! How could they possibly fly out right under the noses of the City Guard Army? There are always fools who don’t use their heads." The Lonely Old Man sneered, looking at the group of black-clad, masked players. "We should at least go back and change our clothes first!"

"What about the dropped coins? Should we collect them?" Iron-Headed Immortal asked, glancing at Dumbelldore, who was silently picking up coins from the ground.

"Those are Lin, the Storekeeper’s spoils. If you want them, go pick them up!" The Lonely Old Man shot him a glare. "I’d much rather contribute some assets to the Beggar Gang to increase Lin, the Storekeeper’s goodwill towards us. Picking up money he set aside? If you want to die, then die alone—don’t drag me down with you! Remember, from now on, everything Lin, the Storekeeper, does could be a test. No one is to mess this up..."

After three uses of Curve Body Single Shadow, Lin Bai floated above the dense jungle of West Mountain.

Morning in the forest—this was his true home turf.

He hadn’t chosen West Mountain merely to assign their positions in the gang based on their strength.

The main goal was to awe these players, make them acutely aware of the vast gap in power between him and them, and, incidentally, provide another pillar of support for the Righteous Door to reassure them.

Lin Bai had no desire to fight endless BOSS battles.

Besides, Xu Longyun was observing him in secret. He had fed her an External Rejuvenation Pill and poached her Hidden Guards; what if she harbored ill intentions? A display of his capabilities might make her reconsider...

It was a multi-beneficial move; why wouldn’t he do it?

He was just a little early; the city gates hadn’t opened yet.

However, under the circumstances back then, returning to the shop to rest would have meant losing not only the opportune moment to show off but also the entire significance of his grand display.

Hovering above the dense forest, Lin Bai, thoroughly bored, began organizing his current System tasks.

As the founding Sect Master of the Righteous Door, what secret Cultivation Techniques could he possibly possess?

To convince the players to work for him, he needed to amass as many resources as possible, and the System was his only way to acquire them.

With the players joining, Big Brother’s predicament was resolved. Lin Bai’s Qi Yun had increased by 10, giving him a little more assurance in facing future disasters.

The follow-up task was to help Big Brother establish order within the gang, rewarding three Qi Yun points. That shouldn’t be too hard; he could handle it in passing when the players arrived.

The Good Mentor System hadn’t issued any new tasks, so he could ignore it for the time being.

Dumbelldore had effectively become a high-capacity power bank, refunding thirty percent of his Inner Strength daily. Lin Bai could harvest a year’s worth of Inner Strength from Little Deng in just three days—more than enough.

He could spend some time conditioning Little Deng, perhaps try to raise his virtue stat, but those were minor details. Waiting for Little Deng’s Inner Strength was less crucial than waiting for the Heavenly Remnant Collection to truly show its worth.

The Matchmaker System and Emotional System could also be ignored for now.

The remaining tasks beneficial to his development were the Pill Medicine tasks from the Peerless Divine Doctor System and the Love Words Endlessly task from the Great Language System.

The unexpected BOSS battle had made Lin Bai aware of his numerous shortcomings.

Firstly, he lacked Detoxification Pills and Pill Medicine to recover Inner Strength.

With these two types of Pill Medicine, he would gain the ability to endure prolonged battles even when his Inner Strength was insufficient.

Of course, he also needed Pill Medicine for internal injuries.

The External Rejuvenation Pill was also somewhat problematic...

Therefore, no matter how difficult, he had to grit his teeth and complete the tasks from the God Doctor System; they were his lifeline.

He would have to press on with the Great Language System’s tasks as well.

The incantation for Palm Thunder was simply too terrible.

Yesterday, when those players submitted to him, most didn’t speak aloud, but the ’damn’s in their private chats were practically non-stop.

Back then, if even a few of them had actually voiced the ’damn’ command, the entire image he had painstakingly built would likely have crumbled.

Oh well, it wouldn’t matter much if his image was destroyed. The Good and Evil Words tasks had already shattered it long ago. He was even labeled a bugged NPC, prone to erratic behavior, which players considered normal for him.

But being forced to use Palm Thunder was a real pain.

If Palm Thunder were merely powerful, that would be fine—he could strike anyone who dared try to control him. But it could only scorch their hair... what a joke!

The problem had to be solved by its creator.

To override this incantation, it seemed he had no choice but to continue with the Great Language System’s tasks.

"Love Words Endlessly for a whole day? Who on earth should I say them to?"

Facing the morning glow, Lin Bai sat cross-legged on a treetop. He took a porcelain vial of Belly Filling Pills from his robes, tipped one out, and casually tossed it into his mouth.

After the night’s exertions, he was indeed a bit hungry. Though the effects of a Belly Filling Pill were brief, it was fragrant and, more importantly, could temporarily sate his hunger.

The moment he opened the vial, a sweet fragrance wafted out.

An instant later, Lin Bai sensed a gaze from the jungle fixated on him. He instinctively looked down. Sure enough, a white fox stood beneath the tree, looking up at him.

More accurately, it was eyeing the vial of Belly Filling Pills in his hand.

Startled by Lin Bai’s gaze, the white fox panicked, turned, and darted into the woods.

Lin Bai’s eyes lit up. He snapped his fingers. Perfect! The System never said sweet nothings had to be spoken to a human...