Within the flesh-flower, the eerie pupil showed no ripple of emotion, merely watching the protected players.

The feeling was like looking at... corpses!

The players stood inside, each curiously observing the strange pupil.

"Holy shit, what the hell is this thing? Scared the crap out of me."

"My heart rate just shot up to 180, damn it! Is this crappy game starting to go down a horror route?"

"If someone had a heart condition, wouldn't they be scared to death on the spot?"

"Something's not right, guys, there's something off about this eye!"

"..."

Just then, a player, for reasons unknown, stood ramrod straight without moving. He then slowly raised his hands, one grasping his chin, the other pressed against the back of his head.

Then, with a sudden, fierce exertion of strength, his hands twisted.

"CRACK!"

A crisp sound emanated from his neck bones, drawing the attention of all the players.

Under the watchful eyes of the other players, this player twisted his own neck. His body went limp and fell to the ground, lifeless.

Dead... dead?

The surrounding players widened their eyes, completely clueless about what had happened.

But in the next moment, the surrounding players began to extend their hands, one by one. Like the first player, they twisted their own necks.

In just a short while, the players died one after another.

The Eye within the flesh-flower watched for a moment, then turned to look in another direction.

The flesh-flower re-formed. The creature on all fours turned and, swinging its limbs wildly, lunged into the distance like a pouncing cheetah.

「In the square in front of the Mountaintop Great Hall.」

The resurrected players rubbed their necks, disbelief written all over their faces.

"Hey, hey, hey, what just happened? How did I suddenly commit suicide?"

"How would I know? Right after you killed yourself, we lost control too, and then twisted our necks and died as well."

"Shit, this is so weird. Did just getting looked at kill us?"

"Wait a minute, why did my Resurrection just cost 100 Contribution Points? What the hell is going on? I've only got just over 300 Contribution Points in total!"

"..."

The players, still bewildered by their sudden deaths, were stunned when they discovered the Contribution Point cost had increased tenfold. Their eyes all widened.

Previously, it only took Ten Contribution Points to resurrect, which was why players didn't worry about sending themselves to their deaths.

But now?

Resurrection costing 100 Contribution Points?

Doesn't that mean they can't just die recklessly anymore?

In an instant, the importance of Contribution Points was fully revealed, and nearly all the Veteran Players panicked.

This was because, during the final phase of the Fourth Test, they had spent a large amount of Contribution Points.

Now, ninety percent of players had fewer than 1,000 Contribution Points. At the rate of 100 points per Resurrection, it seemed like they could only resurrect a few more times.

This didn't even take into account the strange circumstances after this System update.

Mysteriously committing suicide, then wasting 100 Contribution Points to resurrect—this was practically a death sentence!

At this time, Xu Nian emerged from the Entrance of the Great Hall. He looked at Everyone and said, "All Disciples, prepare yourselves. Come with me to greet the arrival of the new disciples."

Upon hearing this, the players perked up with a flicker of interest.

After all, every time New Players arrived, the Veteran Players could thoroughly bully the Newcomers and even earn some Contribution Points.

That was, except for the Fourth Test players, because their resolve had been too strong, and barely anyone had earned many Contribution Points from them.

As Xu Nian's words fell, the players also received a new Task.

[Task: Greet the New Disciples.]

[Introduction: A new batch of disciples from the Profound Yellow Sect is about to arrive. Greet them in the warmest way possible and let them know the rules of the Profound Yellow Sect's welcoming ceremony.]

[Reward: Defeat a New Player to receive 100 Contribution Points.]

[Note: Due to the Upper Realm's mysterious attributes, new disciples will directly attain the Power of the Tribulation Realm upon arrival.]

Seeing this Task, the Veteran Players were dumbfounded.

The Fifth Test Players must have the greatest advantage of all, starting at the Tribulation Realm and directly catching up to all of us Veteran Players? How is this even playable?

"You can't be serious! New Players start at the Tribulation Realm? That's completely unfair!"

"We've worked our asses off to earn Contribution Points for Elixirs. Wouldn't it be better to just wait a few months and then log into the game?"

"No, wait, there might be an exploit in this Task. It seems the New Players only have the Power of the Tribulation Realm but don't know the Five Elements Technique or other moves, right?"

"Hmm? Is that so? That's a bit more fair then. Since that's the case, let's give them a proper welcome."

"..."

The Veteran Players snapped to their senses, grinning maliciously as they began to rub their hands together.

This was no joke. They were seething with pent-up frustration. The New Players' advantage was too strong; they had to teach these newbies to respect their elders.

More people? What good are more people if they can't take a hit?

The mountain peak they currently occupied was far larger than those in the Cultivation Realm. Moreover, nourished by Spiritual Qi, the vegetation on the mountain was beginning to show new life, and it was believed it wouldn't be long before it returned to normal.

Xu Nian had the System make preparations. Then, he saw players emerging one after another from the Yingyang Hall and the Gathering Sun Hall.

The Veteran Players had already cleared an open space. Some sat on rooftops, others used Spiritual Artifacts to fly, while others directly used Magic to levitate.

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