Lin Wei dropped into plank position.
Immediately, his core engaged. The flexibility training had helped—his form was solid, his body aligned properly.
Zhao's form was... less good, his hips were too high and his shoulders were tense.
[He's going to burn out fast with that posture. Just stay steady.]
Thirty seconds passed.
Lin Wei's arms started to burn but it was manageable.
Zhao was already sweating.
One minute.
People in the crowd started timing them aloud.
"Sixty five seconds... seventy..."
Two minutes.
Zhao's arms were shaking visibly now. His form was breaking, hips sagging, shoulders hunching.
"Two minutes fifteen... twenty..."
Lin Wei focused on his breathing— In through the nose, out through the mouth. His core was screaming but he'd felt worse pain during Qi backlash.
This was nothing.
Three minutes.
Zhao collapsed with a grunt, rolling onto his back and gasping.
The crowd murmured.
Lin Wei held his position.
[Keep going! Show them how much better you are!]
Three minutes thirty seconds.
His entire body was shaking now, but he held firm.
Four minutes.
The crowd was actually cheering now.
"Four minutes! Trash Wei is at four minutes!"
"Holy shit, he's still going!"
Four minutes thirty.
Lin Wei's vision started to blur at the edges. His arms felt like they were going to give out but he held.
Five minutes.
The cheering got louder and then finally, his strength gave out. He collapsed onto the ground, chest heaving.
The crowd erupted.
"FIVE MINUTES!"
"Trash Wei held a plank for FIVE MINUTES!"
"Zhao only made it to three!"
Lin Wei lay there, arms completely useless, breathing hard but through the exhaustion, he felt... good.
He'd won.
Zhao sat up, face red with humiliation and exhaustion. "That was... you cheated somehow—"
"No Qi," Lin Wei gasped out. "Pure endurance, and you lost."
[MISSION COMPLETE!]
[Bonus: ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED IT!]
The system notifications flooded in:
[SPECIAL MISSION: DEMONSTRATE PHYSICAL CULTIVATION SUPERIORITY - SUCCESS!]
[REWARDS:]
- [Strength +3]
- [Endurance +2]
- [Core Stability +5]
- [NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: "Flex Appeal"]
- [Flex Appeal: Temporary +2 Charisma when demonstrating physical achievement]
[RECORDING QUALITY: EXCELLENT]
[Uploading to sect network...]
Lin Wei's communication jade buzzed immediately.
The video was already posted and it was already getting views.
One of the disciples in the crowd—the one who'd said his stretching helped with shoulder tension, stepped forward and offered a hand.
"Damn Wei, that was impressive."
Lin Wei took the hand and let himself be pulled to his feet, his arms felt like jelly.
"Thanks."
More disciples were nodding, murmuring approval.
Even Zhao's friends looked uncomfortable, not sure how to react.
Zhao himself stood up and walked away without a word, face burning with shame.
[FIRST OFFICIAL FACE SLAPPING COMPLETE! How does it feel?]
"Exhausting."
[But SATISFYING, right?]
"...Yeah. A little."
His jade buzzed again, the video was blowing up.
[@OuterSectGossip: "I did NOT expect Trash Wei to win that."]
[@SwordDisciple: "Five minutes is actually really good for someone at early Qi Gathering."]
[@DefenderOfJustice: "Maybe he's not trash anymore?"]
[@HuoLiang: "It's a party trick. Means nothing in real cultivation."]
[@RandomFan: "Cope harder, Huo Liang."]
Lin Wei checked his subscriber count.
Almost two hundred.
He'd gained about fifty subscribers in the ten minutes since posting the video.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Underdog Victory"]
[BONUS REWARD: Reputation shift - Some disciples now view you as "Determined" instead of just "Trash"]
[Also! Check your physical stats!]
Lin Wei pulled up his status screen:
[PHYSICAL STATS:]
- lStrength: 12 (+3 from mission)
- Endurance: 15 (+2 from mission)
- Flexibility: 8 (+2 from daily training)
- Core Stability: 14 (+5 from mission)
- Attraction Rating: 6.3/10 (but +2 temporary from Flex Appeal = 8.3/10 while buff is active)
"Eight point three?"
[Flex Appeal is ACTIVE! You just demonstrated physical superiority in front of 60+ witnesses. Right now, you're riding the high of victory. People find confidence VERY attractive.]
[Use it wisely—buff lasts for 2 hours.]
Lin Wei looked around. Several disciples were still watching him and their expressions weren't mocking anymore, some looked impressed. A few looked... interested.
"That was new."
"Wei?"
He turned.
Mei Ling stood at the edge of the crowd, holding a small medical kit.
"Your arms are shaking, you should let me check for muscle strain."
Her face was slightly pink.
[She's interested. VERY interested. Your Flex Appeal buff is working overtime, Don't be an idiot, accept her help!]
"I—uh—yeah, Sure."
Mei led him to a bench at the edge of the training grounds, as she examined his arms, carefully checking for injury, more disciples walked past and nodded at him.
Actual respectful nods.
Not pity. Not mockery. Respect.
It felt... strange, good but strange.
"Your muscle tone has improved," Mei said quietly, running her fingers along his forearm to check the tension. "Have you been training differently?"
"Sort of.. Flexibility exercises, core work."
"It shows." She looked up at him and for a moment their eyes met. "The video you posted yesterday, the meditation one. I've been studying Qi circulation methods for my research, your technique was... unusual but effective."
"My father developed it, for people with damaged meridians."
"It works." She smiled slightly. "I tried it this morning, my Qi flow improved by fifteen percent."
Lin Wei blinked. "Really?"
"Really. So... thank you for sharing it."
[She's VERY interested. Like 'might subscribe to your content' interested, Possibly 'might want to collaborate' interested. READ THE ROOM, HOST.]
"I'm planning to post more techniques," Lin Wei said. "If you want, I could... show you some others? Privately, I mean. Not livestreamed."
Mei's smile widened. "I'd like that."
[SMOOTH. Color me impressed.]
"Tonight? After evening training?"
"Okay."
She finished checking his arms, pronounced them "strained but fine" and stood up.
"See you tonight, Lin Wei."
She walked away.
Lin Wei sat there watching her go, brain trying to process what just happened.
[Congratulations, Host! You just:]
- [Won your first physical challenge]
- [Gained 50 subscribers]
- [Earned actual respect from peers]
- [And potentially recruited your first cultivation partner]
[THIS is what the Lust path can do. Attention becomes power, power becomes attraction, attraction becomes opportunity.]
[You're not trash anymore. You're... INTERESTING.]
Lin Wei looked down at his hands, they were still shaking from the challenge but underneath that, he felt quite strong.
His meridians flowed with Lust Qi energy accumulated from all the attention, all the views, all the people watching him succeed.
"I'm still not doing porn," he said.
[We'll see! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]
"I'm serious."
[So am I! But baby steps. For now, enjoy your victory. You've earned it.]
Lin Wei stood up, his arms protesting and walked back toward his shack.
Disciples nodded as he passed.
Some even smiled.
Two hundred subscribers.
Real cultivation progress. And a date, no, a "collaboration session" with Mei Ling tonight.
Maybe this insane system wasn't so bad after all.