Exquisite Skin, Only Six Yuan

"Junior Sister Li, how is your moving attack so fluid?"

Zhou Yue glanced at Li Moran's gameplay during a break while returning to base to replenish supplies.

Two words: silky smooth.

Last-hitting and lane pressure, all executed without a hitch.

It made Zhou Yue feel as if Li Moran wasn’t restricted by her cultivation at all—like she was playing as her true self.

"Simple—rhythm!" Zhong Yi, who was currently locked in a fierce battle with the red buff, chimed in first.

When Lu Ze developed Immortal-Demon Rivalry, he implemented sweeping reforms to preserve the essence of MOBA games from his past life while ensuring the immersive experience of the illusion realm remained intact.

The most crucial change was the concept of "action validity."

In short, players could perform most actions—like attacking while moving, attacking while jumping, and so on.

However, most of these actions either had no practical effect or were significantly weakened.

Take "attacking while moving," for example.

If players could freely attack while moving, the fundamental mechanics of many MOBA games would need to be overhauled.

The entire mode would shift from MOBA-style combat to a battle of cultivation techniques and martial skills.

Thus, in the illusion realm, attacks performed while moving deal minimal damage.

Players can execute the action, but it’s practically useless.

To deal proper damage, they must follow the combat rules:

Move, attack, move.

Otherwise known as "orb-walking" or "stutter-stepping."

The more skilled the player, the smaller the gaps between actions, making the sequence appear seamless.

This way, the core mechanics of illusion realm battles remain rooted in MOBA principles while preserving the fluidity of player control.

Zhong Yi gave a detailed yet accessible explanation of "animation canceling" and "orb-walking"—techniques long familiar in Immortal Domination, though he never expected Lu Ze to adapt them into the illusion realm this way.

Li Moran gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

When it came to theory, Zhong Yi had never been wrong.

In the ten days since Immortal-Demon Rivalry launched, the ID [Genius Cultivator] had become legendary on the forums.

Posts like:

[Analyzing the Core Mechanics of the Illusion Realm: The Importance of Orb-Walking]

[Hot Take: The Most Cost-Effective 400-Gold Item is the Vitality Crystal]

[Is 2-1-2 a Version Trap? The Jungle Might Become the Fourth Lane!]

…all came from Zhong Yi’s pen.

The Immortal-Demon Rivalry forums were flooded with traffic, and newcomers poured in daily.

As countless rogue cultivators joined the game, the forums evolved beyond a small sect circle, and [Genius Cultivator]’s identity as a true disciple was no longer common knowledge.

Newbies often gushed:

[Wow, another guide from Genius Cultivator!]

[Genius Cultivator must be insanely strong, right? Once ranked matches drop, they’ll be uncontested #1!]

[Facing Genius Cultivator in-game sounds terrifying…]

[I’d definitely feed… I mean, me!]

[My idol!]

Occasionally, players who had matched with Zhong Yi would criticize his skill level.

But of course, no one believed them…

After Zhong Yi’s lengthy analysis on orb-walking theory, Zhou Yue teased, "Old Zhong, when will your skills match your mouth? Hah! You kept saying there’d be a dedicated jungle role, yet you ended up three levels behind the support three games in a row…"

"What do you know? This is called innovation—understand? Maybe Lee Sin and Master Yi just aren’t suited for jungling…"

Zhong Yi coughed awkwardly, swinging his sword with renewed vigor.

"Senior Brother Zhong, I’m so strong now! They can’t even 2v1 me!"

Mu Yawen was dominating the top lane.

After ten days of play, everyone had found their favorite champions.

Zhong Yi, for instance, had fallen in love with [Master Yi] and [Nasus] alongside his beloved Yasuo.

Especially [Nasus]—stacking damage with [Siphoning Strike] on minions was downright addictive.

Mu Yawen, meanwhile, had discovered her soulbound spirit in [Sett].

Grab the enemy and brawl—two punches in, and whoever backed down was a coward.

Against female champions in the top lane, her brutality was unmatched…

"Heh, see? My Sett guide worked like a charm, didn’t it?"

Zhong Yi grinned, nearly dying to the red buff before chugging three health potions in a panic.

"Or maybe… Junior Brother Mu got stronger because you left the top lane?"

Zhou Yue chuckled.

"You—! Old Zhou, you’ve got a real problem with me, huh? Wanna settle this in a 1v1?"

Zhong Yi gnashed his teeth.

"Bring it. Loser plays support next game!"

Zhou Yue accepted instantly.

……

Twenty minutes later.

The mid-lane duel between Zhong Yi and Zhou Yue ended in under three minutes.

"Not that I couldn’t beat you… I just suddenly felt like playing support. Got the itch, y’know?"

Zhong Yi's face flushed red as he coughed awkwardly in explanation.

Just then, a notification popped up right in front of his eyes.

[First recharge of 6 spirit stones grants free Hero Souls and Rune Fragments! Click to claim→]

"These old tricks again..."

Zhong Yi's lips twitched slightly.

He remembered the first time he saw a similar prompt—back in Three Kingdoms Kill.

At first, it was just a measly 6 spirit stones.

But who could’ve guessed,

that within half an hour, he’d blown an entire month’s worth of his elite disciple stipend on it…

Sure, it felt amazing while playing, but every time he cooled down afterward, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

That was real money down the drain!

"No, no, I absolutely can’t fall for it this time!"

Zhong Yi kept warning himself internally.

But the temptation of free Hero Souls and Rune Fragments was just too strong.

Sure, the gold earned per match was generous, but with so many heroes to collect,

grinding them all would take at least two months.

"Just 6 spirit stones, no more!"

After much deliberation, Zhong Yi steeled himself—he’d only fall for it once.

After recharging the 6 spirit stones, he selected [Blind Monk] from the sea of Hero Souls.

Zhong Yi had a hunch this guy’s skill mechanics would shine in battle.

Just as he was about to exit the recharge screen, another prompt suddenly popped up:

[Nightbringer Yasuo, only 6 spirit stones! Limited-time offer→]

Zhong Yi’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.

That Yasuo, shrouded in darkness, exuded an unparalleled aura of sinister charm—it was downright irresistible!

At this moment, Zhong Yi felt his hands moving on their own.

Almost instinctively, he tapped into the offer.

Each skin came with a 3-minute trial. The moment Zhong Yi tried it, he was blown away by its quality.

Especially when that jet-black blade unleashed a crimson-black wind slash—

The ambiguous, anti-heroic vibe sent Zhong Yi’s blood boiling!

"This is the quality you get for just 6 spirit stones???"

Stunned, Zhong Yi immediately hit purchase.

"Lu Ze must be running a charity here!!!"

The moment the transaction went through, yet another message slapped him in the face:

[Premium skin you won’t want to miss! Jade Fang Master Yi, yours for just 6 spirit stones→]

"......"

Zhong Yi’s lips twitched again.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was peeking at his hero pool…

"Fine, it’s just 6 spirit stones… But if I buy even one more skin today, I’ll play support for Old Zhou for a whole month!!"

[P.S. Adjusted the previous operating system and auto-attack mechanics.]

[Some feedback mentioned that the real-body integration still had pre/post-attack delays, which felt jarring. I’d considered this issue before but hadn’t found a good fix. Now it’s resolved—balancing free movement for cultivators in the illusion realm while adhering to MOBA combat rules. Pure free-for-all brawls would be a different game entirely.]

[All games will shift focus from pure combat to "gameplay" as the core. Core mechanics won’t change, and games of any genre may appear.]

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