World’s End: My Keyword is One More Than Others - Chapter 284: Strike first

Du Ge ignored Luo Fan and brought the topic back to Sheng Wenhua. “Did Sanqing Hall leave behind any secret techniques or manuals after integrating the strengths of various sects?”

According to typical story tropes, failed heroes often leave behind a treasure trove or secret techniques for their descendants or some fortunate person to find, allowing them to rise again and stir up the cultivation world.

“I don’t know,” Zhang Ziqing replied. “That was a long time ago, and the legends passed down in the sect are limited.

But over a thousand years have passed, and the cultivation world has remained peaceful. Even the last person who went into seclusion hasn’t caused any trouble. It’s highly likely that no useful secret techniques were left behind.”

“I’ve heard my master analyze the reasons,” Zhong Xie said. “The techniques of various sects have been passed down for thousands of years and have been verified by countless people. Following the prescribed path of cultivation generally doesn’t result in any major issues. However, Sheng Wenhua and his group forcibly integrated the strengths of various sects into a single technique within a few years, which inevitably led to numerous flaws.

Cultivation is never a trivial matter. A single misstep can lead to complete failure. Those who initially practiced Sanqing Hall’s techniques likely ended up as cripples, so it’s normal that the techniques weren’t passed down.”

Cripples?

Du Ge pondered.

Qingsong seemed to have thought of something and quickly explained, “Junior Brother, I didn’t mean to harm you. Just because Sheng Wenhua failed doesn’t mean you will. After all, you mentioned that the Heavenly Demon has extraordinary regenerative abilities.

Even if there are conflicts between techniques, they can be instantly recovered. If a technique is practiced incorrectly, it can be adjusted at any time. If anyone in this world can integrate the strengths of various sects, it would be you, Junior Brother.”

“Senior Brother Qingsong, I’m not blaming you,” Du Ge smiled. “Actually, even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I was planning to do the same. Not for myself, but for my close brothers.

My goal is simply to eliminate the Heavenly Demons from this world. But if I can develop a technique that integrates the strengths of various sects, it would be truly beneficial for everyone.

I value loyalty above all. As friends, I can’t just leave everyone to face punishment from the sect after all the effort we’ve put in.

If possible, after unifying the cultivation world, I hope my friends will be the ones in charge…”

Everyone was moved.

“Brother Cheng, you’re too kind,” Zhong Xie said. “I’ll share the ‘Maoshan Heart Technique’ with you later. With your talent, you could probably master it in a day…”

Before he could finish, his phone rang.

Zhong Xie took out his phone and frowned, then showed the screen to Du Ge. “Brother Cheng, we have a problem.”

Du Ge glanced at the screen. It was a message: “Stall Cheng Yu, the Special Affairs Bureau is on its way.”

“Brother Cheng,” Zhang Ziqing frowned, sensing something was wrong. “The Special Affairs Bureau is involved.”

The Special Affairs Bureau is a national institution responsible for overseeing various cultivation sects, similar to the supervisory institution on the Alien Star Battlefield.

But in this world, the Special Affairs Bureau is composed of elite members from the national cultivation department and various sects, serving as both regulators and self-regulators.

Du Ge looked at the message. Were they coming to capture him?

Their response was a bit too quick!

He quickly realized that this simulation field was full of people flipping tables.

Candidates ranked lower might not want to follow the main storyline and would find it more advantageous to use extreme measures to eliminate other candidates.

After all, less than three days into the simulation, aside from him, all the other candidates were still in the attribute-grinding stage and wouldn’t be a match for the locals.

In this situation, the Special Affairs Bureau likely found candidates with “scouting” keywords or, worse, had already been infiltrated or controlled by candidates.

Keywords like “charm,” “confuse,” and “control” could achieve this, and some unreasonable skills could control people beyond their level.

In any case, the other side would choose to strike first.

And as the top Heavenly Demon, he was naturally a prime target.

To verify his thoughts, Du Ge took out his phone and logged into Weibo.

Sure enough, his account had been locked, preventing any actions.

The latest post was an apology letter: “I had no intention of discriminating against anyone. Everything I did was to cooperate with the production team for promotion. This was a misunderstanding. If it caused any mental distress, I sincerely apologize.”

The attached picture was a promotional shot for the production, titled “Traffic,” featuring the director, producer, main cast, and supporting cast.

A comprehensive attack!

They even used the weakening keyword.

Unfortunately, the other side wasn’t familiar with how the internet worked.

A scandal caused by a celebrity couldn’t be smoothed over with a simple apology.

Moreover, his previous Weibo post had struck a nerve with many, drawing their ire…

So far, his attributes hadn’t dropped at all.

However, Du Ge felt fortunate that he had chosen the right person for body possession and had been proactive in grinding keywords and cultivation.

Otherwise, if he had possessed someone randomly, this series of attacks might have been too much to handle.

Modern society’s fast communication and transportation were advantageous for candidates, but the downside was that once targeted, there was no escape.

His own tactics being used against him, Du Ge felt a bit uncomfortable.

A single misstep could lead to a series of setbacks, leaving no room to breathe. It was no wonder that the Alien Star warriors, used to hiding, couldn’t cope.

…

The simulation field’s rehearsal also served as a reminder for Du Ge.

The Alien Star Battlefield three months later would likely be just as chaotic. Without an early advantage, there might be no future.

Two keywords might not be enough.

After all, keyword distribution was too random. Who knew what useless keywords might come up, like Chen Ziyong’s “confession,” which couldn’t develop without fame.

To be fair, Chen Ziyong had done quite well.

“Brother Cheng, my video has also been blocked,” Chen Ziyong said, showing his phone. “The Special Affairs Bureau must have been controlled by the Heavenly Demons.”

“The Special Affairs Bureau controlled by Heavenly Demons?” Luo Fan finally reacted, exclaiming.

“What else? When have you seen the Special Affairs Bureau react so quickly?” Zhang Ziqing said. “Brother Cheng caused a huge commotion this morning, and they only applied some pressure. There’s no reason they’d come to arrest him by evening. The Heavenly Demons are more rampant than we thought!”

“Brother Cheng, what should we do?” Shi Dashan asked. “Avoid them? The Special Affairs Bureau’s members are elite from various sects, with cultivation levels far above ours. Normally, they wouldn’t notify us in advance when executing missions. The fact that they sent a message to Zhong Xie means they know about your combat strength. In other words, the Special Affairs Bureau is already aware of our battle situation.”

Du Ge frowned and thought for a moment. “Contact your sect elders immediately and tell them not to follow any orders from the Special Affairs Bureau.”

Everyone understood and quickly took out their phones to call their sect leaders.

But soon, exclamations of surprise filled the air.

Du Ge, with his keen hearing, didn’t need them to relay the messages to hear the voices from their phones.

Half an hour ago, the leaders and elites of various sects had been summoned to the capital for a meeting to discuss subduing the Heavenly Demons.

Damn!

Du Ge cursed inwardly. The person infiltrating the Special Affairs Bureau was a master, executing a flawless series of moves that had outpaced him.

Du Ge checked his personal interface. He was still ranked first.

This meant that the other person’s influence hadn’t surpassed his yet.

But if that person controlled the sect leaders, the top rank could change.

There were capable people in the simulation field!

Unfortunately, such a person hadn’t been sent to the battlefield.

It had to be said that Qi Yuan Star’s talent selection system had serious issues.

“Brother Cheng, what should we do?” Zhang Ziqing asked anxiously. “The sect leaders have been tricked into going to the Special Affairs Bureau, and they’ve issued orders prohibiting the use of communication devices to prevent eavesdropping by Heavenly Demons. We can’t intercept them.”

“Let’s go raid their headquarters,” Du Ge said, looking around. “If the Special Affairs Bureau wants to capture the elites, we’ll do the opposite and take control of the sects’ bases first.”

“But the Special Affairs Bureau has taken all the sect elites. Even if we take over the sects, we won’t be able to match them!” Zhong Xie said. “Brother Cheng, you might not know this as you’re new to the cultivation world, but each sect has powerful inherited artifacts. These artifacts are incredibly powerful and can suppress an entire sect if used properly.”

“What are you afraid of?” Du Ge smiled. “As far as I know, the Tianshi Sect still has a group of experts, right?”

“…” Zhang Ziqing frowned. “I don’t know about that.”

“Isn’t there a Demon Sealing Cave in Tianshi Mountain?” Du Ge smiled. “The Special Affairs Bureau can take the sect leaders and elites, but they can’t release the demons from the Demon Sealing Cave, can they?”

Everyone’s expressions changed, realizing the audacity of the Heavenly Demons.

Zhang Ziqing swallowed. “Brother Cheng, the demons sealed in the Demon Sealing Cave are at least a thousand years old. After being sealed for so long, their hostility must be immense. If we release them and can’t control them, countless people could die. We can’t do that.”

“You underestimate the Heavenly Demons,” Du Ge shook his head and looked at Confession Brother Chen Ziyong. “Don’t forget, we have an expert in eliminating hostility here!”

“…” Chen Ziyong was stunned. He had thought his skill was useless in this world and wouldn’t achieve anything.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Yu had found a use for it, and if used well, it could indeed turn the tide.