Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!

Although the title rank of a Young Master is higher and comes with new features like "establishing a sect" and "recruiting disciples," the benefits of being a Heavenly Pride are the best in the entire game.

Once a player becomes a Young Master, they no longer enjoy the benefits of an Inner Sect Disciple.

This is quite reasonable, as "disciples" are nurtured, while "masters" are the nurturers.

After becoming a Young Master, the benefits one receives as a disciple are gone, and the benefits as a master are not as cost-effective. One must rely more on self-sufficiency.

By cultivating more outstanding disciples, one can obtain more resources from the sect.

Heavenly Pride can be seen as an "enhanced version" of an Inner Sect Disciple, enjoying even better sect benefits without the responsibilities of training disciples like a Young Master.

Heavenly Pride has very strict age requirements for cultivation; if one is overage, the title is automatically revoked.

In other words, one must be an Inner Sect Disciple of the Six Major Sects, achieve high strength within the age limit, and be recognized as Heavenly Pride to receive extra resources and focused training.

Additionally, this title looks cool! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

If you hang a title of ’Young Master of Erosion Spirit Heavenly Palace’, it doesn’t seem that impressive.

But if it’s ’Heavenly Pride of Erosion Spirit Heavenly Palace’? Anyone who sees it would exclaim, "Wow!"

Although in typical cultivation novels, the so-called "Heavenly Pride" often becomes a stepping stone for the protagonist, this also indirectly reflects the high value of this title.

Instructor Ding is determined to win this title.

After finishing today’s sect tasks, Instructor Ding checked and found that he was already eligible for the "Heavenly Pride Assessment."

To undergo the Heavenly Pride Assessment, some specific conditions must be met.

First, one must be an Inner Sect Disciple of the Six Major Sects, secondly, the age must not exceed the limit, and then the cultivation realm, spell, and magical treasure scores, along with sect reputation, must all meet the requirements.

After completing today’s sect tasks, Instructor Ding’s sect reputation met the standard.

The cultivation realm, spell, and magical treasure scores also passed the minimum threshold. Although he couldn’t ensure 100% success, at least he could enter the assessment instance and give it a try.

Instructor Ding certainly didn’t want to wait even a moment because, so far, no one has become the Heavenly Pride, and he wanted to be the first in the entire network.

He arrived at the assessment site and found the corresponding NPC.

Unexpectedly, before the official assessment began, he triggered a special cutscene.

The NPC who previously managed the Elixir Room ran over and revealed some "insider information" about the Heavenly Pride Assessment to him.

"Junior brother’s cultivation progress is truly incredible, congratulations!

"Are you going to take the Heavenly Pride Assessment? Oh dear, once you become the Heavenly Pride, your future will be limitless, and I can benefit from your glory as well.

"However...

"Before you take the Heavenly Pride Assessment, I have some insider information to share. This is because I see great potential in you and you are an old customer of mine."

Seeing the mysterious expression on the Elixir Room NPC’s face, Instructor Ding was a bit surprised.

Insider information?

Could there be loopholes in the Heavenly Pride Assessment?

He hurriedly clicked on the dialogue option on the screen to read on seriously.

"Junior brother, the Heavenly Pride Assessment is extremely difficult, incomparable to any big competition or sect task you’ve encountered before.

"Moreover, this Heavenly Pride Assessment can only be taken once every seven months. If you fail, you’ll have to wait seven months before trying again.

"I know what you’re thinking, you want to train a bit longer to improve your strength before the assessment?

"Let me tell you, it’s useless. The difficulty of the Heavenly Pride Assessment dynamically adjusts based on your current cultivation level.

"In other words, if you practice for an extra month or two, although your strength increases, the assessment’s difficulty also scales up accordingly.

"This is why the Heavenly Pride Assessment is so hard. Otherwise, the sect would be full of Heavenly Pride disciples, wouldn’t it?"

Instructor Ding couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow; this was something he hadn’t considered before.

The seven months mentioned correspond to one month in real life.

If he fails the Heavenly Pride Assessment this time, he would have to wait until next month to try again. By then, being the "first Heavenly Pride in the whole network" would no longer be possible for him.

Moreover, the Heavenly Pride Assessment has dynamic difficulty.

No matter how he trains afterward, the difficulty will increase accordingly. So training for another two or three months to improve strength before the assessment is futile.

"So, it all comes down to skill? Well, this might be a bit tricky."

Instructor Ding felt a bit regretful.

His skills were decent, as he had played many action games before, but the issue was his unfamiliarity with the game "Reverse Heaven" and its combat system.

Because he had spent heavily in the early stages, he had easily defeated most enemies without showcasing many skills.

As a result, Instructor Ding wasn’t very familiar with the game’s combat mechanics, such as the invincibility frame of dodging and the timing of various attacks.

If the Heavenly Pride Assessment required complex operations in a high-difficulty instance, Instructor Ding thought there was a high probability of failure.

"Wait, since this person approached me proactively, is there a special solution?"

Instructor Ding quickly skipped through the meaningless dialogue, and sure enough, the screen displayed relevant dialogue options.

"Please help me, senior brother!"

The Elixir Room NPC beamed, "Of course, of course.

"I will naturally assist you in succeeding.

"Junior brother, there’s actually a simple solution. You just need a few ’Clearing Waste Pills’ to significantly enhance your strength in a short time.

"Moreover, unlike other elixirs that temporarily boost strength, these Clearing Waste Pills won’t be detected during the Heavenly Pride Assessment, so they won’t affect its difficulty."

Instructor Ding was surprised, "Clearing Waste Pills?"

This was the first time he’d heard of such an elixir. Without subtitles, he might have mistakenly thought it was a "Lung Cleansing Pill" or something similar.

According to the Elixir Room NPC, the Elixir Room also had some elixirs that could temporarily boost strength.

For example, during a previous sect competition, Chen Tingquan’s opponent, a disciple of the Qingming Medicine Furnace, used this kind of elixir in front of everyone.

But the Heavenly Pride Assessment was extremely strict. If such elixirs were used, the dynamic difficulty would change accordingly, and it wouldn’t serve as a shortcut.

If what the Elixir Room NPC said was true, then the Clearing Waste Pills were the only aid that could help in passing the Heavenly Pride Assessment.

"Senior brother, what is the principle of these Clearing Waste Pills?"

Instructor Ding clicked the screen option to inquire further.

Actually, he could have gone straight to buy the pills at this point; these dialogue options were optional.

But Instructor Ding was also curious, so he asked.

The Elixir Room NPC explained with a smile, "As the name suggests, the Clearing Waste Pills quickly remove the waste from your body.

"You know, we cultivators often have various wastes in our bodies. The amount is considerable, and it’s hard to completely purge them using conventional methods.

"These wastes are part of our energy circulation and Body Refinement.

"Having these wastes in our bodies makes us heavy and sluggish, becoming a burden.

"Although everyone has them, and there’s no way to completely expel these wastes, so normally we don’t pay much attention.

"But during crucial moments like the Heavenly Pride Assessment, whether you expel more or less waste can make a huge difference.

"The key point is, after removing these wastes, your strength will significantly increase, but it won’t affect the assessment’s difficulty.

"So the Clearing Waste Pills are a must-have for disciples taking the Heavenly Pride Assessment."

The main option on Instructor Ding’s screen was "Please prepare some Clearing Waste Pills for me," but additional inquiry options changed.

"Are there any side effects of the Clearing Waste Pills?"

This new option asked exactly what Instructor Ding was wondering.

The Elixir Room NPC coughed twice, "Well, junior brother, as senior brother tells you, all medicines have some level of toxicity. The Clearing Waste Pills, like the Nine Dragon Elixir, naturally have some toxicity.

"Frankly speaking, the so-called ’waste’ in our body is part of our mortal flesh, forcibly removing them certainly causes some damage to our bodies.

"But then again, we cultivators defy the heavens. You should understand this after consuming the Nine Dragon Elixirs for so long, right?"

Instructor Ding understood.

"Oh, got it.

"So it’s basically a diuretic!"

Exactly right.

By now, players had discovered that "Reverse Heaven" was absolutely inspired by bodybuilding. The sense of déjà vu with the Nine Dragon Elixir and various settings was too strong to ignore.