That was Mei Ling.
The librarian's assistant, the quiet girl with social anxiety. His first subscriber..
@MorningDewDisciple.
One of the few people who'd shown him genuine kindness after his disaster at the trial.
"Y-yes?"
"I saw your video, I wanted to ask about your Qi circulation method in person. The technique you demonstrated yesterday looked different from orthodox methods, and I've been researching alternative cultivation for my thesis..."
She paused.
"Are you... are you streaming right now?"
[VIEWERS: 203]
[@MorningDewDisciple: "WAIT THAT'S ME AT THE DOOR"]
[@OuterSectGossip: "This is better than any stage play I've ever seen"]
[@RandomFan: "PLOT TWIST"]
Lin Wei's mind raced in pure panic. "I'm... I'm in the middle of... it's a flexibility demonstration for..."
"Why are you shirtless?"
The comment section exploded:
[@ThirstyDisciple: "SHE ASKED THE QUESTION"]
[@Anonymous47: "This is the best content I've ever seen"]
[@ConfusedViewer: "Is this scripted? This feels too awkward to be scripted"]
[@InnerSectJade: "I can't look away"]
"It's for proper form demonstration! You can't see muscle engagement through robes!" Lin Wei's voice came out higher than intended.
Silence from outside the door.
Then, quieter, almost hurt: "Oh, I'm sorry.. I should have messaged first instead of just showing up, I'll... I'll go."
Her footsteps retreated.
Fast.
[VIEWERS: 267]
[@MorningDewDisciple has left the stream]
Lin Wei felt guilty, she sounded embarrassed, maybe even hurt. His first subscriber, one of the few people who'd been genuinely kind to him, and he'd just...
[HOST! FOCUS! You're losing the audience's attention! Finish the routine!]
"Fuck the routine," Lin Wei muttered, but he was too far in to stop now. Two more stretches, just two more.
He forced himself through the fourth exercise, a hip flexor stretch that looked far more suggestive than intended.
The comments immediately reflected it:
[@OuterSectGossip: "I—"]
[@RandomFan: "Is this allowed on the sect network?"]
[@ModeratorBot: "Content reviewed: Educational cultivation material. No violations detected."]
[@ThirstyDisciple: "BLESS YOU MODERATOR BOT"]
[@SeriousCultivator: "Setting aside everything else... his hip flexibility is actually impressive for someone with meridian damage. That takes serious dedicated training."]**
"And that's the fifth stretch," Lin Wei said quickly, moving through the final position as fast as possible while still demonstrating proper form. "Remember to breathe steadily, hold each position for thirty seconds minimum, and focus on feeling the Qi flow through the affected meridians. Thanks for watching."
He launched forward and finally found the livestream disable button.
The array went dark.
The stream ended.
Lin Wei collapsed onto his sleeping mat, breathing like he'd run a marathon.
[MISSION COMPLETE!]
[DAILY MISSION: MORNING FLEXIBILITY ROUTINE - SUCCESS!]
[REWARDS:]
- [+5 Qi Purity (now 30/100)]
- [+0.3 Attraction Rating (now 6.3/10)]
- [Flexibility +2 (actual physical benefit!)]
- [BONUS: Livestream Engagement Multiplier x2.5 - +127 Subscribers!]
- [ADDITIONAL BONUS: Peak viewership exceeded 250 - Confidence +1]
[CURRENT SUBSCRIBER COUNT: 330]
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Accidental Streamer" - Livestreamed content to 250+ viewers without planning to]
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: "Awkward Encounter" - Had your subscriber show up at your door mid-stream. Bonus: Made it weird.]
Lin Wei stared at the ceiling of his shack.
Three hundred and thirty subscribers.
Two hundred and sixty-seven people had watched him stretch half naked.
In real time too.
Including Mei Ling, who'd left the stream after he'd made things awkward.
"I can never show my face in the sect again."
[Nonsense! You're MORE visible now! This is GOOD for cultivation! Your Lust Qi accumulation rate just tripled thanks to all that attention!]
It was true, Lin Wei could feel it—a warm current of energy flowing through his meridians faster than before. The attention, the views, the comments, even the awkwardness... it was all converting into actual power.
His damaged pathways were responding. Healing, slowly but surely.
[See? The embarrassment is WORTH IT! Your meridian integrity should hit 30% within the week at this rate. That's MASSIVE progress! Now get dressed, you need to go apologize to that girl.]
"Apologize?"
[YES! She's your first subscriber! She showed up in person because she's genuinely interested in your cultivation method! And you made her feel embarrassed and unwelcome! That's bad for audience retention AND it makes you an asshole!]
Lin Wei frowned but the system was right, Mei Ling sounded hurt when she left.
"What do I even say?"
[The truth? 'I'm sorry, I was panicking because I didn't know I was livestreaming and you caught me off guard.' She'll probably understand. She has social anxiety too—I can see it in her comment patterns. She'll relate to awkward situations.]
Lin Wei groaned but forced himself to stand, he pulled on a clean robe and checked his communication jade one last time.
Three hundred and eighty-nine messages had become six hundred and twelve.
Most were comments on the livestream. Some were genuine cultivation questions, several were... propositions that made his face burn.
And one message from @MorningDewDisciple, sent five minutes ago:
["I'm sorry for interrupting. Your technique is really interesting though, If you want to talk about it sometime (when you're not busy), I'm usually in the library. -Mei"]
Lin Wei stared at that message.
She was apologizing to him. When he'd been the one who made things weird.
He typed back quickly:
["No, I'm sorry, I didn't know I was livestreaming and panicked. Your research sounds really interesting, I'd like to talk about it. Can I meet you at the library later today? -Wei"]
He hit send before he could overthink it.
[Good! Now go get breakfast. You need calories, your body is burning energy from all the cultivation progress.]
Lin Wei pocketed the jade and headed for the door.
As he stepped outside, three disciples walking past immediately stopped and stared.
One nudged the other and whispered—not quietly enough: "That's him, that's TrashPhoenix."
"Holy shit, it is. The livestream guy."
"Dude, your hip flexibility demonstration was actually really helpful, fixed my lower back pain."
Lin Wei blinked. "It... did?"
"Yeah! Been doing it wrong for months. Also, uh, brave of you to stream that early.. Respect."
They walked off, leaving Lin Wei standing there confused.
[See? You're not just creating thirst content—you're actually HELPING people with their cultivation. Feel better now?]
"...Slightly."
[Good! Now go eat. You have another Daily Mission in 23 hours.]
"What's tomorrow's mission?"
[Oh, you'll find out tonight! It's a surprise! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]
That tone made Lin Wei's worried. "I don't like surprises."
[Too bad! Now move. You need to maintain your energy levels. Also, you should check your cultivation, you're about to break through to Qi Gathering Stage 5.]
Lin Wei paused mid-step. "What?"
[Your meridian integrity improved enough that your Qi circulation is approaching the threshold for breakthrough. Probably tonight, if you do some proper cultivation. Congratulations! Four days ago you were crippled trash. Now you're functional trash with a future!]
Despite everything—the humiliation, the awkwardness, the viral streams, Lin Wei felt something warm in his chest.
PROGRESS.
As Lin Wei entered the dining hall, conversations stopped. Heads turned, someone whispered loud enough for him to hear: "That's the livestream guy... TrashPhoenix."
He kept his head up and walked to the food line.
Behind him, at least five disciples were pulling out their jade slips, probably checking if he'd posted new content or announced his next stream.
His life had become a performance.
But the reward was worth it.
Lin Wei grabbed a bowl of rice porridge and found a corner to sit in.
His jade slip buzzed.
[New message from @MorningDewDisciple: "Library, second floor, east wing. Anytime after lunch. I'll be there. -Mei"]
He smiled despite the moment.
Maybe he could fix the awkwardness, maybe he could actually make a friend in this insane new life.
His jade buzzed again.
[New follower: @QuietObserver]
[New follower: @CuriousNovice]
[New follower: @MorningPractitioner]
[New follower: @DefinitelyNotAnElder]**
The numbers kept climbing.
This Was Crazy.