Competition Day, Day Eleven.

Due to Lu Ze joining midway, the discussion surrounding today's competition was several degrees higher than usual.

Early in the morning, several visitors arrived at Lu Ze's Lingyu Pavilion.

"Junior Brother Lu, you're finally willing to participate?"

Zhou Yue said with a hearty laugh, punching his palm in a display of high fighting spirit.

Regarding Lu Ze's strength, there were many rumors in the outside world.

Some said Lu Ze was formidable, while others said he wasn't up to much.

In his heart, Zhou Yue felt that Lu Ze should be powerful.

Therefore, as an Illusion Realm expert, he, like Li Moran, looked forward to crossing swords with Lu Ze.

"Haha, when the time comes, I'll take you on a Knife-Run and give you all the supplies!"

Zhong Yi was also very much looking forward to facing Lu Ze in the Illusion Realm after such a long time.

Of course, he didn't know that Lu Ze had already carried him to many victories under the identity of "Anonymous."

"You can't form teams in this competition, and you might not even be matched with Junior Brother Lu!"

Mu Yawen gave a simple, honest smile.

He had no desire for rankings or prizes.

He only joined because he saw Zhou Yue and Zhong Yi participating, joining in the fun and finding it quite entertaining every day.

"Then if we're not on the same team, how about we use a secret signal? We can help Junior Brother Lu get some points?"

Zhong Yi suggested again.

"Old De— Junior Brother Lu, would he really respond to a signal? I feel like we'd just get backstabbed..."

Zhou Qiaoling, standing at the very back, muttered in a small voice.

"There's no need for signals; with so many eyes watching, it wouldn't be good."

Lu Ze shook his head.

As the game designer, whether it was sending or receiving signals, it wasn't appropriate to do so in an official setting.

Otherwise, it would be easily twisted by players into an official rule.

Moreover, the System's requirement for him was to "act using Demonic Path means."

If he really encountered an acquaintance giving him a signal, he would definitely strike them down with a fierce backstab.

"That's true..."

Zhong Yi nodded, then smiled at Lu Ze and said:

"By the way, Junior Brother Lu. Tonight is your first match, and everyone is very excited... We've agreed beforehand to play fewer matches tonight so we can all go to the scene and cheer for you!"

Lu Ze took a deep breath: "All of you??"

"That's right! Me, Old Zhou, several Elders from the Sect, and..."

Zhong Yi was high-spirited, listing them off one by one.

Lu Ze's scalp tingled, and cold sweat broke out.

"Maybe we should forget it? I can't let everyone delay their climb up the rankings..."

"What are you talking about? You are the pride of our Lingxiao Sect!"

"If I delay everyone and cause you to miss out on the Heavenly Dao rewards, I won't be able to bear the responsibility..."

"You are a Saint! Even an Early Saint is still a Saint! we must show our support!!"

"Old Zhong, the term 'Early Saint' sounds a bit strange..."

...

...

Evening.

Before the Hour of the Rooster arrived.

Over 100,000 viewers had already gathered in the Heavenly Dao Livestream Channel.

If this number were in his previous life, it would have to be multiplied by at least ten.

After all, no matter how prosperous the age of cultivation, the number of Cultivators could not be compared to ordinary people.

In the previous days, although the audience could exceed 100,000, they always gathered slowly.

There had never been a day like today, where such an exaggerated number was reached before the competition even started.

The bullet chat was overwhelming, and their goal was very unified.

【Where's Old Devil Lu? When is he coming?】

【Hahaha! We, the Ten Heroes of Loose Cultivators, are already prepared. As long as Old Devil Lu dares to enter the Administrative Palace, we'll make sure he dies in a spot he'd never expect!】

【Fellow Daoist, are you the Ten Heroes of Loose Cultivators or the Ten Beasts of Demonic Cultivators?】

【Once Old Devil Lu makes a move, it'll be a server-wide manhunt!】

【Is he scared? Doesn't he dare to come?】

【That's unlikely, right? He's the one who created the Illusion Realm, after all.】

【So what if he created the Illusion Realm? Creating an Illusion Realm and fighting in one are two different things!】

【Wait, that's not right? I remember Old Devil Lu having an undefeated record in Illusion Realm combat...】

...

Lu Ze's strength in the Illusion Realm had always been an uncertain factor.

This was because there were pitifully few records of matches where Lu Ze participated under his real identity.

In Spirit Plants vs. Zombies, he had played the infinite mode once.

Back in the ancient era when no one in the Lingxiao Sect could pass Level 30, he easily surpassed Level 100.

In Immortal Realm Hegemony, he had played in the finals once as the "Demonic Path BOSS."

Even when the true Disciples of the Five Great Sects joined forces, they were easily wiped out by him.

During Liar's Tavern, he had played cards with three true Disciples from other Sects.

According to those three true Disciples, Lu Ze's manipulation of the human heart was too abnormal; they hadn't managed to get a single point from him.

Then there was The Way of the Devil Slaughter, where he participated in the grand finals as a guest.

Despite a disastrous start, he perfectly deceived everyone and achieved the feat of a desperate comeback.

It certainly looked like he was undefeated,

But if players observed closely, they would find that except for Immortal Realm Hegemony, Lu Ze's extraordinary operations all relied on intellect and strategy.

So for the netizens, Lu Ze's strength in the Illusion Realm had always remained in an ambiguous state.

Some said he was powerful, while others said he was average or even a noob.

As the number of Realm Masters increased, the general opinion gradually leaned toward the latter.

Because there were many Cultivators who made Illusion Realms, but as long as the condition of isolating one's cultivation was added, even if the Illusion Realm was their own creation, the Realm Master who designed it might not necessarily perform better than those top-tier players.

In fact, many Realm Masters were incredibly bad, completely below the average standard.

At this moment, the bullet chat was arguing fiercely over Lu Ze's strength.

【Does being undefeated in that era even count? How many Cultivators were playing Illusion Realms back then? How many Realm Masters were there?】

【Just tell me if he's undefeated or not.】

【Except for Immortal Realm Hegemony, the other Illusion Realms are all strategy-based... At most, this just shows that Old Devil Lu is quite smart.】

【Immortal Realm Hegemony might not necessarily mean his mechanical skill is great, either. Wasn't the Genius Cultivator an expert back then? Now he's just a fallen Genius.】

【To be fair, I was at the Lingxiao Sect scene during Immortal Realm Hegemony... Old Devil Lu's hand speed was indeed frighteningly fast.】

【No matter how fast he is, Immortal Realm Hegemony is still different from combat Illusion Realms like Naraka: Bladepoint and operation xianyuan continent.】

【I don't think Old Devil Lu can be that strong. Otherwise, with his personality, he would have been tormenting us players in ranked matches long ago.】

【How do you know he hasn't?】

...

Amidst the players' arguments, the number of people in the livestream room continued to increase.

The Heavenly Dao Livestream Channel was a very special livestreaming Illusion Realm.

After Lu Ze gave the suggestion, the Fragment of the Heavenly Dao used its own Techniques to bring it to life.

In the center of the livestream room was a massive and clear projection «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» of the Illusion Realm, surrounded by a circular viewing gallery that expanded outward ring by ring.

No matter how many people came, the viewing gallery could silently change its size to accommodate everyone.

The viewing gallery was divided into many sections.

The Five Great Sects each had a large section, while the registered small Sects had their own small sub-sections. Additionally, there was a separate area for Loose Cultivators.

The major Sects required Cultivators' registration information to enter, while the Loose Cultivator area allowed anyone to come and go freely.

Currently, in the main home viewing area, the head count was still increasing, and the venue was constantly expanding.

The Disciples in the Lingxiao Sect section were gradually increasing.

The Hour of the Rooster arrived.

Players entered the matchmaking one after another, and matches began one by one.

Audiences in the venue disappeared in batches.

Every match would generate a new livestream room.

As long as a viewer selected a player in a match, they would automatically follow them.

At this moment,

The center of one particular livestream room was pitch black, yet it was crowded with tens of thousands of viewers.

They were all waiting for Lu Ze.

Just as the bullet chat was speculating whether Lu Ze had run away,

The screen in the center of the venue finally lit up.