Lin Wei woke to the sound of notifications.
Not system notifications—though those were there too, but his communication jade buzzing non-stop on the shelf beside his sleeping mat.
He cracked one eye open.
[Good morning, Host! You have 247 unread messages! Popular already! ♪(´▽｀)]
"Two hundred and forty-seven?"
[Yep! Mix of comments on your video, private messages from admirers, and—oh, this is fun, three separate threats from Huo Liang's lackeys. Your viral success has made ENEMIES! Growth!]
Lin Wei groaned and pulled his blanket over his head.
"I want to go back to being invisible."
[Too late! You're FAMOUS now! Well, 'infamous.' Still counts! Now get up—you have a Daily Mission to complete.]
The blanket was yanked off by an invisible force.
"Hey!"
[No laziness allowed! Your mission timer started at dawn. You have 12 hours to complete it or suffer Qi stagnation. That means NO CULTIVATION for an entire day. Up! Up! Up!]
Lin Wei sat up, rubbing his face. Through the gaps in his shack's walls, he could see it was barely past sunrise. The sect was still quiet.
"What's the mission again?"
A screen materialized:
[DAILY MISSION: Morning Flexibility Routine (Shirtless)]
Objective: Demonstrate basic stretching and flexibility exercises to improve Qi flow. Must be shirtless to show proper form and muscle engagement.
Requirements:
- Minimum 2 minutes of recorded content
- Must show at least 5 different stretches
- Must be shirtless (non-negotiable)
- Must be posted to public forum
Rewards:
- +5 Qi Purity
- +0.3 Attraction Rating
- Minor boost to flexibility (actual cultivation benefit!)
Failure Penalty:
- Qi Stagnation (24 hours - cannot cultivate)
- Subscriber disappointment (may lose followers)
- System mockery (I will not let you live this down)
Time Remaining: 11:47:23
Lin Wei stared at the screen.
"Shirtless," he said flatly.
[Correct! The Lust path requires VISIBILITY, Host. People need to see what they're subscribing to. Think of it as... marketing.]
"Marketing my body."
[Exactly! You're getting it!]
"That was sarcasm."
[I know! But you're doing it anyway, so the distinction doesn't matter. Now come on—do it early before the sect fully wakes up. Less chance of interruption!]
Lin Wei wanted to argue, wanted to refuse..
But yesterday's success had been... real. For the first time in six years, his Qi had flowed smoothly, his meridians had responded. He actually felt like a cultivator again, not a broken failure.
And all it had cost was his dignity.
"Fine," he muttered, pulling off his sleep shirt. "But I'm doing this INSIDE. Privately, no one needs to see this live."
[Agreed! Set up your recording array. Make it quick and professional. In and out, easy mission.]
Ten minutes later, Lin Wei stood in front of his recording array, shirtless and deeply uncomfortable.
The morning air was cool, his skin grew with goosebumps.
"This is humiliating."
[This is... CULTIVATION. Now start stretching! Remember: explain what you're doing. Make it educational. You're not just flexing—you're teaching!]
Lin Wei took a breath and activated the array.
"Morning," he said to the recording device, trying to sound casual and failing. "Lin Wei here. Today I'm demonstrating basic flexibility exercises that help improve Qi circulation, these are especially useful for people with... damaged meridians."
He bent forward into a simple toe-touch stretch.
"This stretch opens the back meridian channels. Hold for thirty seconds, breathe steadily."
[Boring! Add some personality! Smile! Make eye contact with the camera!]
Lin Wei grinded his teeth but complied. He looked at the array and forced something resembling a smile.
"These stretches might look simple, but they're actually really effective for—"
The shack door suddenly rattled.
Lin Wei froze mid stretch.
A voice from outside: "Wei? You in there?"
It was Zhang Min—one of the few outer disciples who didn't actively mock him. More of a neutral acquaintance than a friend.
"Uh... yes? What do you need?"
"Just checking if you're alive. You haven't been to the dining hall in two days, some people are taking bets on whether you died of shame."
[DON'T STOP RECORDING! The array is still running!]
Lin Wei's eyes widened. "I'm—I'm fine! Just busy! Thanks for checking!"
"Busy with what?"
"Cultivation practice!"
"Oh...Well. Good luck with that."
Zhang Min's footsteps retreated.
Lin Wei exhaled and returned to stretching, hyperaware that the array had captured that entire awkward exchange.
[Perfect! Authentic moment. Audiences love that behind the scenes realness.]
"That was not perfect.."
His communication jade buzzed.
Then buzzed again.
And again.
"What now?"
[Uh. Host? I think we have a problem.]
Lin Wei grabbed his jade slip and opened it.
His heart stopped.
The recording array... was livestreaming.
Not just recording. Broadcasting live to his subscriber feed.
[CURRENT VIEWERS: 43]
The comments were rolling in real time:
[@MorningDewDisciple: "Is this happening RIGHT NOW?"]
[@RandomFan: "He's actually shirtless. I thought the mission title was a joke."]
[@OuterSectGossip: "SOMEONE SCREENSHOT THIS"]
"LÚ TǏ!" Lin Wei hissed. "Why is this LIVE?!"
[I don't know! The array must have auto connected to your subscriber feed! It's a feature I didn't realize was enabled!]
"TURN IT OFF!"
[I can't! You have to manually disable it from the array settings!]
Lin Wei lunged for the recording array, but the moment he moved, more comments exploded:
[@ThirstyDisciple: "The way he moves though 👀"]
[@Anonymous91: "Why is this cultivation content? Why am I still watching?"]
[VIEWERS: 67]
"This is a disaster—"
[This is OPPORTUNITY! You're getting MASSIVE engagement! Just—just finish the stretches! Complete the mission! You're already committed!]
Lin Wei stood there, half bent toward the array shirtless with sixty seven people watching him live.
He had two choices:
Run away and fail the mission (Qi stagnation for 24 hours, potential subscriber loss).
Or finish what he started.
"I hate you," he said to the system.
[Noted! Now STRETCH!]
Lin Wei straightened, took a breath and turned back to face the array.
Sixty seven people were watching.
Seventy-three now.
Eighty-one.
"Right," he said, voice shaking slightly. "Where was I? Flexibility exercises."
He moved through the next stretch—arms overhead, side bend, holding the position.
[@InnerSectJade: "His form is actually really good?"]
[@SwordDisciple: "I'm taking notes. This is legitimately helpful."]
[@HuoLiang: "This is pathetic. Trash Wei is so desperate for attention he's stripping on the sect network."]
[@DefenderOfJustice: "@HuoLiang You're literally watching this. Sounds like YOU'RE the desperate one."]
[VIEWERS: 94]...