New players in the lifestyle category of the game, most of whom had just joined, were still donned in basic equipment and hadn’t quite figured out all the items in the game. When they received quests, they were clueless about what these entailed, resorting to taking screenshots and posting them on the game forum with three burning questions:

“What is this thing?”

“Is it useful?”

“Is it valuable?”

Besides the rewarding leaderboard discovered by Qiao Zhihui, they also noticed another feature: a progress bar for a two-day period. This, naturally, was orchestrated by Xie Shuangxue. The rewards weren’t just for the top three; not every player had the energy or capability to vie for the top spots. If the chances seemed slim, ordinary players wouldn’t feel motivated. Therefore, Xie Shuangxue set up a more general reward system as well. The game stated that within these two days, lifestyle players who contributed significantly to the development in the Northlands could collect up to three vials of poison produced there. Simply put, it was about setting targets to push progress, relevant to players of all kinds.

As for the source of these rewards, that was something Xie Shuangxue could handle himself. Quantity wasn’t an issue; the poison wasn’t considered rare, and he could concoct a large batch at a time—and it wasn’t just him working on it.

During his time behind the scenes, Xie Shuangxue wasn’t idle. Thinking he now had manpower at his disposal, he decided to maximize their use. The NPCs here were all from the Demon Clan, naturally adept at crafting poisons. He passed down the now-lost art of poison-making from the extinct family of poison experts. Modifying other NPCs wasn’t new to him, and learning this relatively simple poison wasn’t difficult. Many in the Northlands had already mastered the craft, including Yun Ruwei.

He had been preparing ahead of time, and now it proved useful. Xie Shuangxue would have liked to give more, but resources were limited, and he had to plan their use carefully. The storehouses in the Northlands were nearly empty; he couldn’t fabricate rewards that didn’t make sense. Only with active player participation could the Northlands gain more confidence, using limited resources where they mattered most.

Whether to attract players or for the world quest, the Northlands needed to enter a beneficial cycle without delay. And all this required active player participation.

The benefits of high-end weapon refinement were obvious just by looking at the players’ expressions. Qiao Zhihui’s eyes practically popped out of his head, and Cherry Tomato was the quickest to react, having already spread the word.

The poison from the Northlands was a game item. Normally, it wouldn’t see much use, but during large group battles or city sieges, when paired with in-game tactical items, it became incredibly effective. Enemies would continually lose health upon entering a poison zone and have their speed reduced, making it perfect for ambush strategies.

The system’s reward description showed that the poison produced here was even more effective than previous versions and was also tradable.

New lifestyle players were initially confused, thinking these items were useless since they didn’t engage in combat. However, the forum quickly filled with messages:

“Useful, sell to me, good price. Newcomers just…”

“If you’re willing to grind these two days to climb the leaderboard, contact me. Top ten guilds, providing support.”

“Free mentoring, just give me the poison you collect.”

“This is the support my wife provides silently while I fight in front! Who dares say Xie Shuangxue isn’t my beloved wife now!”

“Our Baby Xue became a Demon Lord and is the most awesome one!”

The forum was always chaotic, but many new players quickly caught on to the key information—this stuff was valuable and useful. Why wait to rush it?

However, not all lifestyle players in “Gods and Demon” were newcomers; there were also experienced ones who didn’t rush in, choosing to first re-examine the quest requirements carefully.

The first to post in the Xie Shuangxue dedicated thread was Cherry Tomato, a lifestyle player. She chose Alchemy and Merchant as her two lifestyle skills, already somewhat famous in-game as the leader of a guild that consistently topped the leaderboards due to her focus on lifestyle skills, contributing heavily to her guild’s warehouse.

She carefully reviewed the rules, noting that the leaderboard was based on contributions from land-reclamation tasks. The Northlands offered a variety of such tasks, mostly tailored for new lifestyle players, considering the rapid improvement in skill levels, which gave newcomers a somewhat greater advantage.

But veteran players had their own advantages. Cherry Tomato had always been insightful, finding the lifestyle skills in “Gods and Demon” different and intriguing, notably for their complex interdependencies. For example, crops grown could be used in Alchemy, Poison Making, or Cooking; materials mined were essential for Blacksmithing; merchants could set up shop in-game to handle large-scale transactions of materials and finished goods, while mines, estates, and shops needed buildings for maintenance… Each player could choose two lifestyle skills, and together, these eight skills formed a robust network, each benefiting from the others.

Originally, “Gods and Demon” didn’t focus much on lifestyle skills, making them a less popular choice among players due to the slow and costly process of leveling these skills compared to combat ones. Unlike traditional keyboard games, where players could run multiple accounts simultaneously, here, lifestyle skills remained secondary.

Cherry Tomato, driven by her interests and a gut feeling, persisted and her gamble paid off.

Qiao Zhihui was already responding to several messages from Shi Jiu Jianghu, but Cherry Tomato had finished her analysis. She then glanced at Xie Shuangxue, noticing that he was also looking at her.

“Do you recognize me, Ah Xue?” Cherry Tomato thought to herself.

She wasn’t a combat player, so she couldn’t really get involved in the major story developments at Lu Yun Platform, but now she was in her element.

If there was anything she learned from being a fan of Xie Shuangxue, it was that players could afford to be more audacious in the new version, not strictly following the rules but seizing opportunities for themselves.

After a moment of thought, she took a step forward and said, “Demon Lord, may I speak with you privately for a moment?”

She was a bit nervous and unsure, as she had hardly interacted with Xie Shuangxue before. But he recognized her, keeping track of the more active members in his dedicated forum thread, even remembering their professions and specialties.

Xie Shuangxue, appearing quite reasonable, nodded and gestured for her to come over: “Of course.”

Standing nearby, Qiao Zhihui was puzzled:

“Wait, what is she doing? She just went over there?”

“I want to listen too!”

He immediately stopped replying to messages and hurried after them, but it was too late to catch their conversation clearly.

Cherry Tomato’s idea was sparked by the mention of the poison. This item, compared to the twenty-four slots on the leaderboard, offered broader possibilities and clearly indicated ongoing opportunities. One of her lifestyle skills was Merchant, which seemed lackluster since players could trade one-on-one, and items could be listed in the system’s market. However, she always believed this role was useful.

One-on-one trades usually involved rare items, requiring lengthy price negotiations, while the market was cluttered with varied pricing. But player-run shops could offer consistent pricing and handle bulk transactions.

For instance, the poison currently had no set price, and with just two days of game time and lots of newcomers around, the market could get chaotic.

On another note, as lifestyle players strived to complete tasks and improve their skills, they would produce a range of materials. Given the newcomers’ abilities, these materials were basic, and the system store offered them in unlimited quantities at low prices, so they were mostly sold back to the system for little money.

But Cherry Tomato knew of another use.

These materials could be contributed to the guild, exchanging them for points. Although the points per item weren’t high, they added up over time. Once a guild grew, the items purchasable with these points increased.

Guilds willing to take in new lifestyle players were few, and those that did were small with limited resources. Even if some large guilds were currently interested in them for equipment refinement opportunities, it was usually just for a one-time trade, not a long-term commitment.

She relayed all this to Xie Shuangxue, expressing her thoughts. As an experienced lifestyle player, she was well-positioned to speak on this matter. These people could be brought into the guild.

“I’m willing to lead everyone in building up the Northlands,” Cherry Tomato said, “Of course, with just a little help from the Demon Lord.”

She wasn’t boasting.

Over the years, if nothing else, the guild’s warehouse was well-stocked—high-level players might overlook these items, but they were valuable to newcomers. A guild could only house so many members, but there were ways around this, similar to how the White Wall guild had set up a mid-sized guild linked to it like a subsidiary.

She could select promising lifestyle players within and help them quickly get on track.

Who says lifestyle skills can’t be mainstream? This was a rare opportunity.

It was better to unite sooner rather than later; otherwise, other players might seize the initiative. “Gods and Demon” was a miniature world, very much like reality, where many things mirrored actual life.

Xie Shuangxue listened and seemed very pleased, asking her, “So, what do you need?”

Cherry Tomato replied, “I’d like to borrow a guild base in the Northlands.”

Qiao Zhihui, who hadn’t caught the earlier part of their conversation, understood these last few sentences. He was stunned, thinking, Isn’t this just like getting a City Building Order for free? True, it wouldn’t continuously provide resources like an actual City Building Order from a guild-controlled area, and the location provided by the Northlands might not be prime… but she was directly asking an NPC for resources!

But the next second, he heard the Demon Lord’s response.

“You’re the first Continental Wanderer to speak to me like this,” he said. “I admire you and am willing to trust you. So, go ahead and do it.”

Qiao Zhihui’s live stream chat was stunned.

“Is that even possible???”

“Are the Northlands really that open and liberal? I’m tempted.”

“Can I just say, that’s my kid? Nothing is impossible in front of him.”

“Damn, I should try my luck too!”

But such a path to success couldn’t be replicated by others; it remained unique to the first to dare.

You see, smart players need just a little guidance to plan and execute things even better on their own.

Xie Shuangxue saw how the once aimlessly wandering lifestyle players suddenly became energized, rushing out of the city to undertake quests.

By the time Bai Qiuyan logged in, it was somewhat late.

He wasn’t one to slack off in official settings, usually busy till late because of his real-world obligations. He had only heard bits and pieces about the game today, not having had the chance to update himself fully.

He knew what the world quest in the Floating Dreams Cloud Realm entailed and understood the considerations of the entire White Wall guild.

Though Bai Qiuyan was fond of Xie Shuangxue, as a guild leader, he couldn’t just consider his own preferences. Competing in the dominion line wasn’t new to him in “Gods and Demon”; usually, the whole guild would make decisions together, uniting to maximize rewards. Currently, the Northlands really wasn’t the best option for the White Wall.

Realizing this made Bai Qiuyan feel somewhat guilty, as if he was letting Ah Xue down by not being able to support him at this moment. So far, he didn’t even know how to broach the subject with Ah Xue.

But when he finally had time to log in and check the guild messages, he discovered that all the keywords were about the Northlands.

Even his sister Bai Qiuheng, who usually stayed out of guild affairs, had raised her hand.

“Let me go. I was planning to visit the Northlands to be with Ah Xue anyway, and I want to build our connection.”

“I participated in the previous tasks too. Let me go!”

Bai Qiuyan was puzzled. Weren’t they all previously adamant about not choosing the Northlands, fearing he wasn’t thinking clearly?

When he hurried to find out what had happened, Xie Shuangxue was still in the Northlands, not having left. The dusty and plain City Lord’s Mansion was suddenly crowded.

Other players, knowing he wore a mask to hide his identity, followed suit and addressed him as “Demon Lord,” a secret they shared with Xie Shuangxue.

But Bai Qiuyan’s focus was elsewhere.

Upon entering, he hadn’t even begun to speak when he noticed that the mask on Xie Shuangxue’s face was very similar to Yu Haiqing’s, although the style was different, even the patterns matched!

How could this be?

He certainly didn’t think this was Xie Shuangxue’s own choice. His first thought was that Yu Haiqing was again using his authority for personal gain, marking Ah Xue with his own stamp.

What kind of person was Yu Haiqing?! It was one thing to be tough at the negotiating table, but this level of possessiveness over an NPC seemed excessive.

Xie Shuangxue seemed to sense Bai Qiuyan’s mood the moment he walked in, looking at him and asking, “Are you unhappy?”

Bai Qiuyan snapped out of it. He realized that for Xie Shuangxue, this might be their first meeting in years since reuniting, and it shouldn’t be unpleasant. So, he quickly changed his expression, coaxing, “It’s not that I’m angry with you… Demon Lord. I’m just worried that you might be getting deceived.”

He meant Yu Haiqing.

But Xie Shuangxue misunderstood. He thought Bai Qiuyan was referring to his agreement with Cherry Tomato and giving her a City Building Order. Not only people from the White Wall were present, but he also recognized many from the other three major guilds and numerous well-known guilds that had sent representatives.

At the time, everyone knew that competing at Lu Yun Platform was tough, but now, the Northlands seemed worth fighting over.

But exactly how to compete, the players hadn’t yet decided.

Should they join the Northlands faction? And what to do about the lifestyle players there? They were all discussing fervently, now waiting to hear what Xie Shuangxue had to say.

“I’m doing this for you,” Xie Shuangxue knew what the familiar guilds’ representatives came to ask. He sighed and continued, “I’m well aware of the situation outside, but it’s precisely at this moment that I hope you don’t rush to join the Northlands. If there are better places out there, by all means, go there.”

“I just want to prove that the Northlands has its own value, that it can stand on its own two feet and survive in the great world,” Xie Shuangxue said. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

Bai Qiuyan was momentarily speechless.

Those rewards were tradable, and trade wasn’t restricted by faction. Lifestyle players who couldn’t use them would definitely sell to them, and if they could trade through a stable channel, these major guilds wouldn’t need to expend effort, focusing instead on analyzing the competitive situation.

The rewards given by the Northlands were benefiting them at this moment; lifestyle players could use this to build their initial wealth, exchanging needs, a win-win for all.

“So, you don’t need to ask me anymore. This is what I mean,” Xie Shuangxue said. “The Northlands doesn’t demand anything from you, but it will always support you.”

Bai Qiuyan, standing close, also heard Xie Shuangxue sigh softly: “As long as you still trust me, that’s enough.”

His heart softened tremendously.

Ah Xue, how could you not be endearing!

But these words were precisely meant for him to hear.

If there was one thing he had learned from dealing with players for so long, it was always to maintain their sense of achievement and novelty. This was the source of their enjoyment and happiness in the game.

There was no need to harm anyone’s interests because this was a game, where it was possible to have the best of both worlds.

As long as he planned correctly, he could make everyone feel accomplished.

“Rest assured, I will never make things difficult for you,” he said. “The Continental Wanderers have always been important to me, and I hope we remain friends.”

His words were always half-true, not entirely reliable, but given the circumstances, Bai Qiuyan and his followers had no doubts.

Ah Xue was always considerate of them.