Huh? Hold on — there are actually options to choose from?
Gu Chengming stared at the semi-transparent box floating before his eyes and felt a sudden, almost overwhelming wave of happiness wash over him.
First a CG gallery, then gorgeous character art, and now dialogue options. What's next?
Was this place actually a dating sim?
Whatever the case, the appearance of all these familiar elements put Gu Chengming in an excellent mood. As a seasoned veteran of visual novels, nothing was more reassuring than seeing a familiar system interface.
He reined in his wandering thoughts and began carefully examining this new passive ability called [Piercing Insight].
Objectively speaking, all three options looked perfectly fine at first glance.
Based on Gu Chengming's years of experience romancing fictional girls, all three were probably "positive options" — picking any of them would almost certainly not cost him any affection points.
But their effects? Those were bound to be worlds apart.
The three options were clearly a response to the Qingxin Formula's recent words — that faintly sour little speech — offering three different approaches.
If he were dealing with the Huiyuan Sword Art, options one or two would definitely work best. But the Qingxin Formula was different.
Given the Qingxin Formula's personality, it probably wouldn't appreciate anything too saccharine, Gu Chengming mused, rubbing his chin.
Perhaps [Piercing Insight] wasn't meant to hand him the correct answer directly. Instead, by making the options visible and concrete, it helped him break down the other party's personality and figure out a strategy for winning them over.
Some personality traits were nearly impossible to pick up on through ordinary observation. With Piercing Insight, though, he'd have a significant advantage whenever he was trying to win over cultivation methods whose personalities he wasn't yet familiar with.
Thinking it over, Gu Chengming felt he'd really hit the jackpot this time.
He mentally kicked himself for not grinding the Qingxin Formula's affection sooner — his starting cultivation method came with hidden mechanics he hadn't even suspected.
Then he selected option three.
"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you — two extra DLC story arcs," he replied in his mind.
No more wasting words. Ignoring the aching soreness all over his body, he immediately set to work plotting out the DLC content for part three of the story.
Sure enough, the effect was spectacular.
[The Qingxin Formula had been wallowing in self-pity a moment before, but the instant it heard this, its mood did a complete one-eighty.]
[It thought to itself: sure, this guy can be pretty oblivious sometimes, but his instincts in certain areas really are impressive.]
[Since he was being this sincere about it, it would be gracious and forgive his neglect. Now hurry up and write — it wanted to read.]
Heh. Women.
Wait, no. Cultivation methods.
With the Qingxin Formula sorted out, Gu Chengming's mood lifted considerably, and even the pain radiating from his injuries seemed to ease up a little.
He propped himself against the headboard and divided his attention between plotting new story content in his mind and idly chatting with the Huiyuan Sword Art.
The Huiyuan Sword Art had reverted to its original name by now, but ever since the "Flowing Light, Sword Shadows" incident, it had clearly grown a little more confident in itself.
It no longer hedged everything it said. Every so often it would even trade a joke or two with Gu Chengming — a change that genuinely warmed his heart.
The sun's shadow slid westward. As the afternoon approached, a rapid clatter of footsteps sounded outside the small courtyard.
"Senior Brother Gu! Senior Brother Gu, are you there?"
The voice was bright and clear — anyone could tell without looking that it was Jiang Lu.
Gu Chengming had barely called out a response before the bedroom door was shoved wide open.
Jiang Lu came charging in, and the moment he caught sight of Gu Chengming lying pale-faced on the bed, medicine bottles arranged all around him, his expression went from lively to horrified in an instant.
"Senior Brother?! What happened to you?"
Jiang Lu's eyes went wide. Then something seemed to click in his mind and he gasped:
"Did that senior sister from Daoning Gate actually stuff you in a sack and beat you half to death?!"
Gu Chengming was at a loss for words.
What kind of reputation did Daoning Gate even have in Wenjian Sect?
"Stop making things up," Gu Chengming waved a hand — which tugged at his injuries — and covered a short cough:
"It was just a cultivation mishap. A backlash. Nothing more."
"A cultivation mishap?"
Jiang Lu's expression turned a little strange as he looked Gu Chengming up and down.
What kind of mishap could leave someone looking this half-dead?
Senior Brother wouldn't be saving face by refusing to admit a female cultivator beat him up, would he?
Jiang Lu grumbled about it silently but kept his face carefully neutral — no point wounding his senior brother's pride.
He quickly changed the subject and stopped pressing about the origin of the injuries.
"Anyway, Senior Brother, the main reason I came was to tell you about the upcoming disciple evaluation."
Jiang Lu pulled a stool over and sat down, his expression settling into something a little more serious:
"I just picked up some information from the Steward Hall. The evaluation has actually changed its rules this year — quite a departure from the usual. Rather than simply ranking disciples by cultivation realm the way it's always done, they've added a lot of new assessment categories, with a heavier focus on Dao-heart and practical sword technique."
He glanced over at Gu Chengming and added:
"Which is absolutely great news for you, Senior Brother. Your cultivation realm might be a bit on the lower side, but your sword technique is the real deal."
Gu Chengming gave a small nod.
"I'd say the odds of you passing the evaluation are pretty solid," Jiang Lu continued, voice carrying a note of excitement:
"But if at all possible, try to put on as strong a showing as you can."
"After all, there are rewards involved. Setting aside the value of being noticed by elders, the top finishers get resources the sect has prepared in advance. And even if you don't place at the top, a good performance still earns you something worthwhile."
Gu Chengming nodded again, the picture clear in his mind.
He had already been thinking along these lines. Setting aside any talk of resources, he owed Elder Ren a debt of gratitude — he couldn't afford to embarrass himself at the evaluation.
Jiang Lu genuinely meant well for his senior brother, and his excitement showed. But when his gaze fell on Gu Chengming's pallid face and the pervasive smell of medicine, his brow creased with worry again.
Getting himself into this state right before the evaluation — even if he said it wasn't serious, by the look of things, getting out of bed was a struggle in itself.
Would it affect his performance when the time came?
That female cultivator from Daoning Gate really was merciless. The senior brothers had been right about that.
Gu Chengming had no idea how elaborate Jiang Lu's imagination had gotten.
He shifted his position slightly and turned the question around:
"By the way, Jiang — do you know why the evaluation rules changed specifically this year?"
Wenjian Sect was an institution where traditions could go untouched for a thousand years. A sudden change in rules meant something had happened.
Jiang Lu glanced left and right at that, then leaned in conspiratorially, dropping his voice:
"This one I only heard through the grapevine."
"Apparently the neighboring Yunyue Sect produced a sword technique prodigy — the kind who goes completely unnoticed and then explodes onto the scene out of nowhere."
"This person spent years in the First Realm grinding away at their sword intent in obscurity, never attracting any attention at all — and then one day, they had a flash of enlightenment. Their realm shot up like a rocket and left every one of their peers completely in the dust."
"When the news reached our sect, the elders were absolutely seething with envy — eyes practically red. They started going on about how this was supposed to be Wenjian Sect's story, how we're the true sword cultivators, how dare those people steal our moment, that sort of thing."
"Then came the endless rounds of reflection meetings, internal reviews, and finally, a conclusion: our disciple evaluation system is too rigid, it buries this kind of slow-burning talent, it needs to change! It has to change!"
"And so — it changed. Into what we have now."
Jiang Lu told the whole story with great relish, clearly delighted by the gossip from the great sects.
The more Gu Chengming listened, the stranger his expression became.
He could practically picture Elder Ren Wencai slamming his fist on the table at some sect conference, spittle flying, bellowing "We need our own bitter sword cultivator!" at the top of his lungs.
And this storyline... why did it sound so strangely familiar?
Gu Chengming was starting to suspect that Ren Wencai's intense interest in him went beyond simple talent-appreciation — that there was probably a healthy dose of one-upmanship with Yunyue Sect thrown in as well.
After all, the two great sects had been competing openly and covertly for years. Neither side could afford to fall behind on something like this.
If he really did make a splash at the evaluation, Elder Ren was going to have people green with envy on his behalf.
The two of them chatted a while longer, and the conversation gradually drifted back around to Gu Chengming's injuries.
Watching Gu Chengming wince and clench his jaw against the pain every so often, Jiang Lu eventually couldn't hold back anymore.
"Senior Brother — your injuries. Are you really sure you're alright?"
Before Gu Chengming could even open his mouth, Jiang Lu pressed on, his tone earnest as it could be:
"I still have some savings — merit points I earned when the sect recognized my original technique, the 'Sea-Overturning' form. It's not a huge amount, but it would be more than enough to exchange for some quality healing medicine at the alchemy hall. Take them, Senior Brother. Getting your body right has to come first — you can't let this hold you back at the evaluation."
Gu Chengming looked at the small pouch on the table and thought: this kid Jiang Lu — he's good people. Worth keeping around.
In a cultivation world where self-interest ruled above all else, having a junior brother who genuinely had your back was no small thing.
He was about to open his mouth to decline — to say he was fine, that Elder Ren had sent over some top-grade medicine and there was nothing to worry about.
And then his vision blurred.
That familiar semi-transparent box popped up again.
[Piercing Insight activates.]
Three options materialized clearly before Gu Chengming's eyes:
[Option 1: Junior Brother Jiang, that's very kind of you. My injuries aren't serious — Elder Ren actually left me some top-grade healing medicine right here on the table. Keep your merit points for your own cultivation.]
[Option 2: Then I'll accept them. Jiang, you're the man.]
[Option 3: Skip the medicine. Just Venmo me the merit points.]
"?"
Gu Chengming reflexively rubbed his eyes. Once he confirmed he wasn't seeing things, a large question mark slowly materialized over his head.
Wait. This triggers just from talking to him too?
That's not how these games are supposed to work!
...
Note from the original author: This section of the plot is purely for fun — the protagonist will only ever be romancing cultivation methods!
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