"What the is a thirst trap?"
[Content specifically designed to be sexually appealing. Showing skin, striking attractive poses, generally looking like someone people want to bang. It's VERY effective for the Lust path! Unfortunately, your Shamelessness stat is 2/10, so you'd probably just stand there looking uncomfortable and ruin it.]
Lin Wei's face heated. "I'm not doing that."
[I know, that's why I recommended option five. Combine personal story with cultivation demonstration, show vulnerability, show determination, show struggle. People connect with that. Right now, you're 'that guy who exploded out of his clothes' But if you frame it right, you can become 'the underdog fighting impossible odds.' MUCH better brand.]
"Brand," Lin Wei repeated flatly. "You want me to think of myself as a brand."
[You're building an audience, Host! That means you need a PERSONA. An angle. Something that makes you memorable. Trust me—I've guided 47 previous hosts through this process. Well, 12 survived long enough to matter, but still! I know what I'm doing!]
"TWELVE SURVIVED?!"
[The other 35 quit or died! Lust cultivation is dangerous! But you're desperate enough to succeed where they failed. Probably. 60% confidence. Now stop stalling and START RECORDING. You have 21 hours left and you're wasting time being anxious!]
Lin Wei took a deep breath. The system was right, he was stalling. Scared of being vulnerable, scared of being mocked again, scared of failing.
But he'd already failed yesterday in the most public way possible, what did he have to lose?
"Fine," he muttered. "I'll do it your way."
He activated the recording array. The jade slip glowed softly, capturing his image.
Lin Wei looked at it for a moment, gathering his thoughts. His heart hammered against his ribs. This was harder than he'd expected, being vulnerable on purpose, knowing strangers would watch.
He started talking.
"Uh... Hello, my name is Lin Wei. Outer sect disciple of Azure Cloud Sect, you... you probably know me as Trash Wei."
The words felt like swallowing glass, but he pushed through.
"Yesterday I failed the Meditation Trial, Again. For the fourth year in a row. My Qi backlash was so bad I literally exploded out of my robes in front of two hundred people. Complete humiliation, everyone laughed."
His hands clenched in his lap. The memory burned.
"I'm the son of Lin Hao. The alchemist who was executed three years ago for researching lust Qi cultivation, everyone thinks he was a pervert who deserved death. Everyone thinks I'm a pervert by association, a failure. Trash."
The anger started creeping into his voice.
"My meridians are damaged, have been since I was twelve. Traditional cultivation doesn't work for me, It never has, I can barely circulate basic Qi without it tearing me apart from the inside. And yesterday... yesterday I couldn't even manage the simplest meditation exercise without it all going catastrophically wrong."
He looked directly at the recording array. Met its unseeing eye.
"I should quit, everyone says so. The sect says so, even I think so most of the time. I should just become a farmer or a shopkeeper and forget about cultivation entirely. Accept that I'm just... not meant for this."
A pause.. His voice dropped lower, harder.
"But I'm not going to."
The words came out with more conviction than he'd expected.
"Because my father believed there were other paths, alternative cultivation methods for people who can't follow the orthodox way. He died trying to prove that people like me, people with damaged meridians, no talent, no advantages could still become strong if we were willing to try something different. Something unconventional."
Lin Wei leaned forward slightly, and for the first time in years, there was fire in his eyes.
"So I'm going to prove he was right, I don't care if it's unconventional, I don't care if it's embarrassing, I don't care if the entire sect mocks me. If there's a way for people like me to cultivate, I'm going to find it and I'm going to document the whole fucking thing."
He held the pose for a while, then reached forward and deactivated the array.
Silence filled the shack.
Lin Wei sat there, breathing hard, his hands still shaking. Being that honest, that vulnerable felt like he'd just stripped naked in front of the entire sect. Worse, actually—at least yesterday had been an accident.
[...]
[Okay, that was actually good.]
[Like, genuinely good. You've got the 'tragic underdog' angle down perfectly, the anger at the end was a nice touch—shows you're not just wallowing, you're FIGHTING. Well done, Host. I'm genuinely impressed.]
Lin Wei exhaled slowly, surprised by the praise. "So... do I post it?"
[ABSOLUTELY. Upload it to the Sect Jade Network right now. Public forum, anonymous posting allowed. Use a memorable username.]
Lin Wei pulled out his communication jade, the standard one every disciple carried for sect business and gossip, and accessed the network. The interface was simple: text posts, images, and video uploads. The feed was constantly moving with cultivation questions, gossip, and the occasional drama.
His finger hovered over the upload button.
"What if no one watches it?" The fear crept back in.
[Then you get the Humiliation Aura and your life gets worse. So let's hope your tragic backstory resonates with someone! No pressure! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]
"You're really bad at encouragement."
[I'm a system, not a therapist. Now POST IT before you lose your nerve and we have to do this all over again!]
Lin Wei took a breath and pressed upload.
[PROCESSING...]
[Username required. Suggestion: @TrashPhoenix]
"TrashPhoenix?"
[You're trash trying to rise from the ashes of your father's execution and your own failures! It's poetic! It's memorable! It's perfect!]
"It's embarrassing."
[You literally exploded out of your pants yesterday in front of 200 people, I think we're past embarrassment. Username confirmed: @TrashPhoenix]
[UPLOADING...]
[VIDEO POSTED TO: Sect Jade Network - Public Forum]
[Tags: #AlternativeCultivation #OuterSect #PersonalJourney #TrashToTreasure]
[Current Views: 0]
[Current Engagement: 0]
The screen updated in real time, showing his video now live on the sect's network. His first piece of content, his first step toward... whatever the fuck this path led to.
Lin Wei stared at it, his stomach churning with anxiety.
"Now what?"
[Now we wait. The mission requires at least ONE engagement. A view, a comment, a like—anything that proves someone actually watched it. That's all we need to activate your Lust Core.]
"And if no one does?"
[Then in 21 hours, you'll have a permanent aura that makes people instinctively want to mock you. Your Attraction Rating will drop to 2/10, your Charisma will go negative, and your already slim chances of staying in the sect will become nonexistent. Also, I'll be very disappointed in you.]
Lin Wei's stomach twisted into knots.
"That's... really not helping."
[Look, Host. You've taken the first step. You've put yourself out there. That's more than most people ever do. Most people just accept their lot in life and die quietly. You're FIGHTING. That matters. Now: Go wash up. Eat something, you smell like depression and your Attraction Rating is actively dropping from poor hygiene. We need you presentable in case someone DOES watch the video.]
He looked down at himself, his robes were wrinkled and stained with sweat from yesterday's disaster. He genuinely couldn't remember the last time he'd properly bathed.
"Fine," he muttered, grabbing a cleaner set of robes from his pathetically small collection. "But if this doesn't work..."
[It'll work! Probably! Maybe! 70% chance! That's better than the 0% chance you had yesterday!]
"SEVENTY PERCENT IS NOT REASSURING."
[Look, I'm being honest with you! That's better than false confidence, right? Besides, your video was actually good. Vulnerable, determined, relatable. Someone will watch it. Now GO. You have 20 hours, 52 minutes until mission failure, and I'd really prefer not to deal with the Humiliation Aura. It makes my job so much harder.]
Lin Wei shook his head and headed for the door.
As he stepped outside into the morning light, he felt the system's presence settle into a comfortable background seat. Still there, still watching but giving him space to breathe.
The sect was already awake and moving. Disciples walked through the pathways, heading to morning training or the dining hall. A few glanced at him and whispered, yesterday's failure was still fresh gossip.
Lin Wei kept his head up and walked toward the communal washing area.
He had a video uploaded. A mission active, a perverted system in his head promising power through attention.
It was completely insane, but it was the only chance he had.
Twenty hours and fifty minutes until he found out if he was about to become an even bigger joke, or if maybe, just maybe, his father's research had been right all along.
[That's the spirit, Host! Cautious optimism! Now hurry up. Time's ticking, and we have an audience to build! One person at a time! ♪(´▽｀)]
Lin Wei walked faster, ignoring the stares.
Twenty hours.
He just needed one person to watch his video.
Just one.
That couldn't be too much to ask.
Right?