Lin Wei tried to ignore the comments and focused on the exercises. Third stretch: seated forward fold. Fourth: spinal twist.
[VIEWERS: 124]
His heart hammered, over a hundred people were watching him do stretches in his underwear.
"This one targets the lower dantian area," he explained, forcing his voice to stay steady. "Important for energy circulation in the—"
The shack door rattled again.
"Lin Wei?"
Different voice this time. Female, it sounded familiar.
His blood ran cold.
That was Mei Ling—The librarian's assistant, the quiet girl who'd wished him luck before his disastrous trial.
One of the few people who'd shown him genuine kindness.
"Y-yes?"
"I saw your... your video yesterday, the one with the meditation. I wanted to ask about your Qi circulation method, the technique you used looked different from what the sect teaches."
[VIEWERS: 156]
[@MorningDewDisciple: "Is someone at his door?"]
[@OuterSectGossip: "This is better than a stage play."]
Lin Wei's mind raced. "I'm... I'm actually in the middle of something right now—"
"Oh! Sorry. I can come back—"
"No! I mean—yes. Later. Definitely later, thank you for the interest!"
Silence from outside.
Then in a quieter tone: "Are you... are you doing cultivation practice shirtless?"
Lin Wei wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
"It's a flexibility exercise! For meridian health!"
"...Right. Okay, I'll... I'll go."
Her footsteps retreated quickly.
[VIEWERS: 203]
The comments were chaos:
[@RandomDisciple: "Did she sound interested or horrified? I can't tell."]
[@ThirstyFan: "She's DEFINITELY coming back later"]
[@HuoLiang: "This is a new low even for Trash Wei."]
[@Anonymous47: "I think it's brave. He's being authentic."]
Lin Wei stared at the array, face burning.
Two hundred people had just watched that interaction.
Two. Hundred.
[HOST! You're at 203 viewers! This is INCREDIBLE engagement! Finish the last stretch and complete the mission!]
"I'm going to die of embarrassment."
[You'll die of Qi stagnation if you DON'T finish! FIFTH STRETCH! GO!]
Lin Wei forced himself through the final exercise, a simple hip flexor stretch that unfortunately looked far more suggestive than it actually was.
The comments immediately reflected this:
[@OuterSectGossip: "I—"]
[@RandomFan: "Is this allowed on the sect network?"]
[@ModeratorBot: "Content reviewed: Educational cultivation material. No violations detected."]
[@ThirstyDisciple: "THANK YOU MODERATOR BOT"]
"And that's the fifth stretch," Lin Wei said quickly. "Remember to breathe steadily, hold each position for thirty seconds, and...and that's it. Thanks for watching."
He lunged forward and finally managed to disable the livestream.
The array went dark.
Lin Wei collapsed onto his sleeping mat, breathing hard.
[MISSION COMPLETE!]
[DAILY MISSION: MORNING FLEXIBILITY ROUTINE - SUCCESS!]
[REWARDS:]
- [+5 Qi Purity]
- [+0.3 Attraction Rating (now 6.3/10)]
- [Flexibility +2 (actual physical benefit!)]
- [BONUS: Livestream Engagement Multiplier - +50 Subscribers!]
[CURRENT SUBSCRIBER COUNT: 150]
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Accidental Exhibitionist" - Livestreamed content to 200+ viewers without planning to]
Lin Wei stared at the ceiling.
One hundred and fifty subscribers.
Two hundred people had watched him stretch in his underwear.
Including Mei Ling.
"I can never show my face in the sect again."
[Nonsense! You're MORE visible now! This is GOOD for cultivation! Your Lust Qi is already accumulating faster thanks to all that attention!]
It was true. Lin Wei could feel it—a warm current of energy flowing through his meridians, stronger than before. The attention, the views, the comments... they were converting into actual power.
His damaged pathways were responding. Healing, slowly but surely.
[See? The embarrassment is WORTH IT! Now get dressed—you need to go to the dining hall. You haven't eaten properly in two days and your body needs fuel.]
"Everyone's going to stare at me."
[YES! And that attention will feed your cultivation! Win-win!]
Lin Wei groaned but forced himself to stand. He pulled on a clean robe and checked his communication jade one last time.
Two hundred and forty seven messages had become three hundred and ninety two.
Most were comments on the livestream, some were genuine cultivation questions. A few were... propositions.
And one message, from @MorningDewDisciple:
["That was actually really helpful. Thank you for sharing. Also—are you okay? You seemed stressed."]
Lin Wei stared at that message for a long moment.
At least one person had gotten something genuine from his humiliation.
That was... something.
He pocketed the jade and headed for the door.
As he stepped outside, three disciples walking past immediately stopped and stared.
One nudged the other. "That's him. That's TrashPhoenix."
"Holy shit, it is."
"Dude, your stretching video helped me fix my shoulder tension. No joke."
Lin Wei blinked. "It... did?"
"Yeah! The spinal twist thing, I've been doing it wrong for months. Thanks, man."
They walked off, leaving Lin Wei standing there confused.
[See? You're not just creating thirst traps—you're actually HELPING people. Feel better now?]
"...Slightly."
[Good! Now go eat. You have another Daily Mission tomorrow.]
"What's tomorrow's mission?"
[Oh, you'll find out! It's a surprise! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]
Lin Wei's stomach sank.
"I don't like surprises."
[Too bad! Now move. Your Attraction Rating drops when you look malnourished.]
Lin Wei walked toward the dining hall, hyperaware of every glance, every whisper.
But underneath the embarrassment, underneath the mortification...
His meridians flowed with energy.
Real genuine cultivation progress.
Maybe the system was insane, maybe this whole thing was humiliating.
But it was working and that was all that mattered.