This is... a game where you start in a native settlement?

Just as Su Lin was pondering, a notification appeared before his eyes.

Your role in this match is: Master of Xiaoyun Temple.

[From a young age, you have yearned for the path of immortality, wandering far and wide in search of it. You possess considerable talent, but alas, the number of beings seeking the Dao is countless, and entering the immortal realm is difficult. Even those with exceptional talent may not be qualified to obtain wondrous methods and resources.]

[You have sought immortality for over ten years, only to obtain a few wondrous techniques as a rogue cultivator and reach the Foundation Establishment stage; yet, due to your pride, you are unwilling to join a minor sect to seek the Dao, and you are also unqualified to set foot in a major sect, so you have returned home in despair.]

[Over a decade of wandering cultivation has taught you the cruelty of the path. Talent and aptitude are merely the threshold to immortality; resources, connections, and strength are indispensable. Wandering cultivators struggle to survive in this world; only those from major sects have a way out.]

Half a month ago, you built the "Xiaoyun Temple" in the countryside, hoping to recruit talented people to establish themselves and seek immortality in another way; even if you ultimately fail, it may still benefit the village and provide a place for wandering cultivators to reside.

Su Lin quickly scanned the information prompts in front of him and soon understood his starting identity and situation.

"Is this the Xiaoyun Temple?"

Xiao Linlin withdrew her gaze and looked at the plaque at the dilapidated gate beside her, which bore the three large characters "Xiaoyun Temple".

The calligraphy is quite elegant and impressive, much better than this dilapidated temple.

"It seems we're in luck this time; at least we have a place to settle down right from the start."

Xiao Linlin smiled and said, quite satisfied with her starting identity.

One shouldn't be too greedy.

How can one expect to have the same incredible luck as Jian Ge in every match, naturally placing them at the heart of the world's competitive scene?

This start is the norm for most survivors; struggling to escape from humble beginnings is even more challenging.

Su Lin smiled, but before he could speak, a new prompt appeared again.

[You have gained a new talent effect for this match: Keen Eye!]

[Insightful Eye]: Passive talent effect; You can see the future potential and limits of any living being you come into contact with (excluding survivors) (displayed in the form of follower rank); at the same time, if your follower's future potential is higher than its current rank, the follower has a greater probability of advancing on its own.

[If you successfully escape the current match, you will permanently retain the "Insightful Eye" talent effect.]

The new starting talent effect arrived, and Xiao Linlin saw it too. She teased, "Brother, we're really lucky this time. At least we didn't encounter any more of those cunning cognitive traps."

She was referring to that unfortunate Demon Lord, whose whereabouts were unknown to anyone, as Su Lin had trapped him.

"This talent effect seems ordinary, but it also seems to have a hidden meaning."

Su Lin pondered for a moment, and Xiao Linlin nodded and said, "Brother is right. Judging from the information about your character's identity at the beginning, the cultivators in this game world seem to be a bit different."

"It seems there is no shortage of geniuses and exceptional talents here, but such people can only meet the threshold of cultivation. To truly become stronger and reach a higher realm, many other factors are needed."

"Hmm... My initial understanding is that it's somewhat similar to a clan monopoly system, where a small group of people control [cultivation knowledge] and, through this monopoly, continuously profit from it generation after generation, exploiting more living beings to pave the way for their own and their descendants' path to immortality."

"Although this is unfair to most people, it is difficult to distinguish right from wrong in this kind of thing. After all, cultivating immortality is a heaven-defying act that does whatever it takes."

"So the predecessor that the older brother played had some epiphanies: he realized that individual power was not enough, and that he should follow the general trend and use any means necessary to gain more say in order to create a long-term way of acquiring resources, which is the 'class breakthrough' in the realm of cultivation."

Xiao Linlin paused, then squinted her eyes and said, "Of course, considering the role-playing experience that Sword Pavilion has gone through, my brother may not have any role-playing predecessor. The so-called role-playing identity is just something created out of thin air by the mechanism."

"So, the so-called role-playing information is actually a kind of 'game guidance' left by the mechanism for the older brother, guiding him to the more correct path in the current game in a rather subtle way."

"And brother's talent in this match seems to be in line with this path. He has a keen eye for talent... Shouldn't he recruit a large number of genius disciples and build a top-level sect from humble beginnings?"

"And then select the most outstanding among them and recruit them as followers? Wow, wouldn't that mean we can manually cultivate top-tier followers!"

Xiao Linlin suddenly smiled, a hint of excitement on her face: "This seems pretty exciting, it should be very rewarding!"

The other path Xiao Linlin pointed to was a different path from the power system that Su Lin was currently pursuing.

Su Lin has always pursued breaking through his own individual limits and becoming stronger. However, the path he must take in the current game is: not to blindly pursue his own limits and become stronger, but to focus on gathering and uniting more external forces to fight against the world's trend and win more immortal opportunities for the collective.

Individual and collective are two opposing paths, and it is difficult to distinguish which is better or worse.

As for the talent effects in this match... although they were a bit too perfect, it's understandable.

Apart from the time when his talent effect was very useful when he encountered the Demon Lord, Su Lin's talent effect in previous matches was quite average. Logically speaking, he should have another talent effect that fits the current match.

So, the problem is now quite obvious.

Should Su Lin temporarily choose a path that goes against his own principles in order to improve his chances of escaping the current game?

Just as Su Lin was pondering, Xiao Linlin, who was standing beside him, noticed what he was thinking and reminded him with a smile.

“Brother, some things may seem contradictory, but they are not mutually exclusive.”

"These two paths may seem to be going in opposite directions, but they are by no means impossible to do simultaneously."

"If handled properly..."

Xiao Linlin paused, then smiled meaningfully: "They can also complement each other, allowing brother to gain more benefits."