After Clearing the Illusionary Realm, Senior Brother Zhong Is No Longer Alone

"Junior Brother Lu, you finally came out... You weren’t replying, and your senior brother here is a rough man who couldn’t help much. I was getting really worried."

Seeing Lu Ze leisurely descending from the Demon-Slaying Platform, Zhou Yue and Mu Yawen hurriedly ushered him away.

"What, afraid I’d lose?"

Lu Ze found it amusing.

On the third day of the competition, Zhou Yue had bombarded him with messages.

At the time, he had been busy crafting an illusionary realm and hadn’t checked them until just now.

The gist was an angry rant about how the Qingshan Sect had shamelessly copied his ideas, warning him not to let his guard down because their illusionary realm was indeed of decent quality.

"Not exactly..."

Zhou Yue’s face reddened slightly—he had worried about that.

"Relax, even if I went easy on them, that knockoff wouldn’t stand a chance."

Lu Ze shook his head with a laugh.

Zhou Yue was surprised. "You’ve played it?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"Before submitting my illusionary crystal."

After finishing his own illusionary realm, Lu Ze had finally checked Zhou Yue’s messages and casually downloaded The Demon-Slaying Chronicles from the Heavenly Dao Network.

Three minutes in, he’d already seen through it.

From the perspective of a player in his past life, it was like a shoddy Dynasty Warriors knockoff.

The hack-and-slash experience was lacking, character equipment and skill progression was poorly balanced, and the boss designs were crude...

They’d copied the surface but missed the core of what made the gameplay satisfying.

Compared to his own creation, it was worlds apart.

"Junior Brother Lu, you said this illusionary realm could help Senior Brother Zhong... Can it really?"

Mu Yawen couldn’t hold back her impatience, her voice tinged with urgency.

"Senior Brother Zhong... got locked up?"

Lu Ze glanced around, noticing Zhong Yi’s absence.

"Yeah."

Zhou Yue nodded gravely.

"The rumors are getting out of hand. To protect him, the Grand Elder ordered him to reflect in Reflection Valley for now."

"I see..."

Lu Ze nodded, then flashed a confident smile.

"Don’t worry. This illusionary realm will help him."

"How?"

Mu Yawen pressed eagerly.

Lu Ze patted her shoulder with a grin.

"Once he clears it, Senior Brother Zhong won’t be alone anymore."

......

Lingxiao Sect, Forbidden Grounds—Reflection Valley.

At the foot of a harsh, windswept cliff, Zhong Yi sat cross-legged in plain white robes, eyes shut, sealed within a spirit-suppressing formation.

Ever since the rumors of "a Lingxiao Sect disciple bewitched by a demonic cultivator" had spiraled out of control, Zhao Wendao had sentenced him to this place for solitary reflection.

He knew Zhao Wendao wasn’t truly punishing him—this was preemptive, to keep other sects from exploiting the situation with harsher demands.

Yet Zhong Yi’s mind was restless.

After witnessing the memories of that girl and the young man, his Dao heart no longer felt steady.

Suddenly, the spirit-sealing formation weakened slightly.

Zhong Yi opened his eyes and looked up to meet Zhao Wendao’s gaze.

"Ah..."

Zhao Wendao sighed.

No one understood Zhong Yi’s temperament better than him.

He believed Zhong Yi’s claim that the demonic cultivator had never committed atrocities.

But he also knew the demonic cultivator’s fatal flaw—he was a demonic cultivator.

That was the unshakable "righteous path" of their era.

No one could defy it.

Zhao Wendao pulled an illusionary tower from his sleeve and tossed it to Zhong Yi.

"The illusionary realm competition’s voting begins at midnight tonight... Consider your punishment postponed for now."

Zhong Yi caught it eagerly. "This disciple thanks his master!"

......

Once Zhao Wendao left, Zhong Yi wasted no time entering the illusionary realm.

The illusionary crystal had already been loaded inside, revealing twelve new realms.

"The Demon-Slaying Chronicles? Pfft—such crude design, the backgrounds are just plants... A blatant, clumsy copy of Junior Brother Lu’s work!"

"Guardian Immortal Sect? What even is this... A shameless Plants vs. Zombies rip-off?!"

"Righteous and Demonic? Ugh, the art style... Just bury it already!"

......

As a die-hard fan of Lu Ze’s creations, Zhong Yi immediately tore into each illusionary realm with razor-sharp critiques.

A single glance was enough to judge their quality.

"This Demon Cultivator Isn’t So Cold?"

The name made Zhong Yi’s eyebrows shoot up, a grin spreading across his face.

"Such a weird title—has Junior Brother Lu written all over it. Let’s go!"

He channeled his spiritual sense and plunged into This Demon Cultivator Isn’t So Cold.

The first thing he saw was a cinematic sequence.

A young man with round black sunglasses sat in a secluded corner of a tavern.

Before him steamed a cup of hot goat’s milk.

"A demonic cultivator?"

Zhong Yi frowned, instantly sensing something off.

Even in this illusory scene, Lu Ze had deliberately infused the young man with the unmistakable aura of a demonic cultivator.

"A demonic cultivator who drinks goat’s milk? Weirdly intriguing..."

Zhong Yi chuckled, already hooked.

Across from the young man sat a portly middle-aged man puffing on a pipe.

"Li Ang."

The man exhaled a thick cloud of smoke and addressed the youth.

"Let’s talk business..."

......

The setup was simple.

The fat man was assigning Li Ang, the demonic cultivator, an assassination mission.

No lengthy exposition—just lighting, atmosphere, and camera work that instantly conveyed Li Ang’s seasoned professionalism.

And his identity as a demonic cultivator.

Once Li Ang accepted the mission, the scene faded.

Zhong Yi’s consciousness shifted—he was now inside Li Ang’s body.

Lines of text appeared before him:

[In this illusionary realm, you will assume the role of "Li Ang."]

[Every action will be scored (positive for staying in character, negative for deviations).]

[If your score falls below 80, certain actions may be restricted.]

[Below 50, dangerous events will trigger.]

[At 0, the realm ends in failure.]

......

[Strive to stay in character and complete the story!]

[Current Mission:]

[Eliminate the vile criminal, Zhang San.]

[Reward: 100 copper coins.]

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