Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

’Scattering beans to create soldiers?’

’Or did First Senior Brother dig a catacomb beneath the Lin Mansion that could hide countless soldiers?’

’I’ve been through so many reincarnations, how have I never seen so much as a shadow of them?’

(Lin Qingfeng: Because the tower defense mode wasn’t active before!)

What shattered Su Ling’er’s worldview even more was the group of scholars in Confucian robes at the gate.

These men, normally so weak they couldn’t even truss a chicken, scholars who only ever spouted classical prose, were now pointing at the fully armed soldiers outside, their spittle flying everywhere.

The soldiers outside, once so menacing, were now red-faced from the verbal assault. Some even dropped their weapons and covered their ears, while others collapsed to their knees, sobbing on the spot.

Su Ling’er’s eye twitched.

’So these are the legendary Confucian cultivators?’

In a remote place like Anhe City, Confucian cultivators were nothing more than legends told by teahouse Storytellers. Phrases like "denouncing with pen and speech" and "a battle of wits"—she had always assumed they were just exaggerated rhetoric.

’Who knew it was literal?’

Although legends said this cultivation system couldn’t grant immortality and its potential was far inferior to the great path of Cultivation, this talent for cursing was certainly something else.

’If two armies were facing off and you sent a group like this to curse them out for an hour, the other side might just kill themselves out of shame if they had no one to counter them.’

As these thoughts churned in Su Ling’er’s mind, an invisible force suddenly pulled at her.

Her right wrist twitched, and with a hum, her longsword unsheathed itself.

’It seems First Senior Brother wants me to join the fight!’

Su Ling’er’s breath hitched. She instinctively held it, terrified that in the next second her shoulders would start that damn shrugging motion again.

One breath.

Two breaths.

No breathing exercises.

No shrugging in place.

None of that turn-based combat, that ’you poke me, then I poke you’ routine that was so humiliating she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it.

Su Ling’er wanted to roar at the heavens. ’Thank the gods! Thank you, First Senior Brother, for finally acting like a decent person!’

’That previous combat style was so awkward!!! I couldn’t poke you until you were done poking me!’

’Now, I can finally take care of this group of so-called Evil Cultivators who twist right and wrong, even if they don’t have any Cultivation at the moment!’

Kill!

Her body, controlled by the plot, transformed into a streak of light. Su Ling’er shot forward, rushing toward the mansion gates.

At the same time, the martial arts heroes who had appeared from who-knows-what nook and cranny also charged forward, yelling and screaming.

Their mouths even generated lines appropriate for the current scene.

"For Mr. Lin!"

"The day to crush the wicked and protect the innocent is here!"

"The City Lord’s head is mine! Don’t anyone try to take it!"

The war cries shook the heavens and the earth.

As a native NPC, Su Ling’er stood out starkly among this crowd of generated NPCs.

Although the martial arts heroes looked fierce, with wide, sweeping moves that could cut down a soldier with a single strike...

...Su Ling’er, even with her body being controlled, was still far stronger than them.

Her sword was fast.

So fast the soldiers couldn’t even see the trajectory of its blade.

A soldier was raising his saber to cut down a hero beside him when he suddenly felt a chill on his neck. His vision spun, and only when he saw his own headless body still spurting blood did he realize what had happened.

With a light tap of her toes, Su Ling’er weaved through the crowd.

No flashy moves, no hoarse roars.

She sidestepped, dodging a spear.

A flick of her wrist, and the sword’s edge sliced across a throat.

To her, the movements of these mortal warriors were slow. Empowered by the Supreme Heart-Clearing Soul-Stabilizing Skill, their techniques were riddled with openings.

SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!

Blossoms of blood bloomed behind her, only to be instantly devoured. Her red dress was soaked in blood, her killing intent chilling.

In comparison, the slashes of the heroes next to her were far inferior. They had to strike a pose and roar "Take this!" just to cut someone down. (A system setting).

The situation outside the mansion gates had completely collapsed.

The soldiers and city guards who had come so aggressively to seize the Lin Mansion were now like pigs and sheep driven into a slaughterhouse.

At the front, heavy infantry advanced in formation, their long-bladed sabers sending limbs flying. At the rear, master archers called the roll for King Yama—anyone who dared to stick their head out would die. In the middle, a group of Confucian cultivators launched mental attacks, cursing them until they questioned their own existence.

The fat steward and the City Lord stared at the scene, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

’This isn’t the Lin Mansion! This is a den of rebels!’

’How could that sickly Mr. Lin, who’s always been so frail, afford such a private army? And how could he have laid such a deadly trap?’

’If you had such a big army, you should have said so! If you’d said so earlier, who would’ve dared to cross you?!’

"Rebellion... this is real rebellion..."

The fat steward’s lips trembled. "This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations... How does he dare... How does he really dare..."

He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn’t stand up.

Just then, a heavy infantryman, recruited and generated by Lin Qingfeng, strode over.

The soldier didn’t even glance at the begging people on the ground. He walked straight to the fat steward and lifted him with one hand.

"Ah! Don’t kill me! I have money! I have lots of money!"

The fat steward flailed in mid-air, snot and tears streaming down his face. "I’m a court official! You can’t kill me! I am..."

Before he could finish, the heavy infantryman swung his arm.

WHOOSH!

The three-hundred-pound ball of flesh flew through the air and slammed onto the stone slabs in front of Su Ling’er.

"PUH!"

The fat steward spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling as if his organs had all been displaced.

He struggled to raise his head, and through his blurry vision, he saw a pair of shoes.

Looking up from the shoes, he saw a blood-stained dress and an indifferent face.

It was Lin Qingfeng’s handmaiden, Su Ling’er.

At this moment, Su Ling’er looked just like a female demon who flayed people alive. (The [Rhythmic Executioner] title was doing its work).

The fat steward’s blubber trembled all over.

"Don’t... don’t come any closer..."

He desperately shuffled backward. "Miss... I was forced... it was all the City Lord... it was my superiors..."

Su Ling’er looked at the pathetic heap at her feet.

She had reincarnated so many times, seen this face hundreds of times, and heard this same plea for mercy hundreds of times at the auction house.

Every time, it was "I was forced." Every time, it was "I have a family to support."

’So unoriginal.’

The longsword in Su Ling’er’s hand hung down naturally.

Her wrist twitched.

SQUELCH.

A cold light flashed.

A large head flew into the air, its face frozen with the last vestiges of a desire to live.

Hot blood gushed from the neck cavity, splattering onto Su Ling’er’s skirt, where it was instantly absorbed and refined.

Meanwhile, the battle on the other side was also nearing its end.

The City Lord, who had been mounted on his tall steed, was now slumped over its back, desperately trying to turn the horse around and flee.

"Giddy-up! Giddy-up! Go! A bunch of losers! Block them!"

The City Lord whipped his horse, making it whinny in pain, but he couldn’t break through the encirclement of heavy infantry.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

He looked at his trusted men lying in pools of blood, at the handmaiden-turned-asura holding a dripping sword, and at Lin Qingfeng, who stood on the roof drinking tea and watching everything. Fear had long since overwhelmed him.

’This man is a real rebel!!!’

’He wasn’t some ignorant fool who had interfered with his business, nor was he some fat sheep ready for slaughter. He was a traitor in sheep’s clothing!’

’We were just talking! We were just pinning a label on you to justify killing you! How are you actually a real rebel?! And with such a huge private army!!!’

However, just as his warhorse was about to break free...

CLICK.

The sound of a mechanism came from atop the surrounding walls.

The City Lord subconsciously looked up.

He saw a row of dark firing ports, all locked onto his back.

In that instant, it was as if he could see Black and White Impermanence waving at him, inviting him over for tea.

"No—"

THWANG!

A giant crossbow bolt tore through the air, immensely powerful, crossing dozens of paces in the blink of an eye.

THWACK!

There was no suspense.

The bolt easily pierced the City Lord’s Heart-Protecting Mirror, penetrated his chest, and carried him off his horse, pinning him to the spirit screen wall opposite.

The frightened warhorse shrieked, broke into a mad gallop, and fled, leaving its master to twitch twice on the wall before falling completely still.

The entire area fell silent.

Only the CLICK-CLACK of the automatic arrow towers resetting could be heard, as if mocking these ants for overestimating their own strength.

Su Ling’er stood in the pool of blood, her gaze as calm as still water as she looked at the corpse pinned to the wall.

With a flick of her wrist, she sheathed her longsword.

’These people occupied high positions but committed sordid deeds. Though they didn’t bear the name of Evil Cultivators, they carried out their actions.’

’That makes them Evil Cultivators!’

’And Evil Cultivators deserve to be killed!’

...

Lin Qingfeng stood on the roof, looked down at the wreckage below, and nodded in satisfaction.

As the last enemy fell, the scene before him began to change, and system text once again flooded his vision.

[Threat in the current area has been eliminated.]

[Calculating Tower Defense Mode results...]

[Evaluation: S-Rank (A crushing victory. You have perfectly demonstrated the meaning of "money really can buy you anything.")]

[Free Attribute Points: +10]

[Cultivation Infusion: Fifty Years of Pure Spiritual Power (No side effects, can be absorbed directly)]

[Medium-Grade Spirit Stones: 5,000]

Lin Qingfeng wore a helpless expression.

’S-Rank rewards, completion bonuses...’

’Aren’t these just the damn rewards I should have gotten for topping up just now? After all, if you don’t pay, you probably can’t even beat this stage!’

’Want to get stronger?’

’Pay up!’

’Want to defy fate and change your destiny?’

’You gotta spend!’

’As long as you have enough money, the game won’t just clear the mission for you; an S-Rank evaluation will be in the palm of your hand!’

But complaints aside, Lin Qingfeng accepted it calmly.

After all, in the entire Ninth District, only the Ashen Heaven Group had this kind of confidence.

The fully immersive Xianxia game they developed was on a completely different level from its competitors, technologically speaking.

’Don’t believe me?’

’Feel free to take a look at the competing products of the same genre, which have already been crushed countless times.’

’Even if those games are fairer, cheaper, and have a smaller gap between the rich and poor, so what?’

’Once you’ve experienced *Ashen Heaven*, who could possibly tolerate that kind of fake sensory feedback and crude graphics? If you can, then no one’s stopping you.’

Besides, Ashen Heaven still held the real trump card: the "Life Repair Potion" and the "Fire Seed Plan," which covered subsequent second and third-generation products.

In comparison, although the corporations behind other tracks (be they fantasy or sci-fi game worlds) were also developing similar life-extending products, Ashen Heaven Group was still in a league of its own.

The in-game simulation continued, the timeline fast-forwarding.

「The next day: Anhe City is in an uproar.」

[In the early morning, the common folk who rose early discovered three heads mounted on the city wall. In the center was the City Lord, to the left was the fat steward of Nabo Garden, and to the right was the renowned "Ghost Hand" from the auction house, Mr. Wang.]

[Notices were posted all over the city, listing eighteen crimes such as corruption, embezzlement, and more. Every charge was backed by solid evidence, and they even came with Memory Stone recordings for all the citizens to watch for free.]

[In the days that followed, the Lin Mansion’s reputation reached its peak under your governance. You became revered as "Lin Qingtian."]

「The third day: The information blockade fails.」

[Although you control the entire city, there’s no such thing as a wall that’s completely airtight.]

[News about "The Lin Family’s young master rebelling," "The City Lord’s entire household slaughtered overnight," and "Privately raising three thousand death-sworn soldiers" spread like wildfire in all directions.]

[Surrounding commanderies and counties began to enforce martial law. Trade routes were cut off, and panic spread.]

「The seventh day: The Capital, the Imperial Palace.」

[News of you "colluding with evil spirits," "plotting a rebellion," and "carving out your own territory to become a king" was also sent by the most urgent imperial express to the palace, enraging the entire imperial court.]