Shitai, I Don't Want to Work Hard Anymore!

The mountains and rivers of the Shu region were often beautiful, strange, and perilous, with Emei being especially so. Its peaks overlapped, shrouded in drifting clouds, like a realm of immortals.

Emei Mountain was also the foundation of the Emei Sect, a highly renowned force in the martial world.

The Zixia Palace lay hidden amid the sea of clouds atop the peaks, while Qingyin Pavilion dotted the forest springs in the mountain ravines, presenting a tranquil, immortal scene. Yet today, that tranquility had been broken.

At the foot of Xuanwu Peak, before the thousand-yard stone steps paved with bluestone, people crowded together, their clamor rising straight into the clouds.

The morning mist had yet to disperse when several hundred people, braving the cool mountain wind, waited along the steps, their eyes filled with longing and unease toward a famous great sect.

Among the crowd were daughters of wealthy families in brocade caps and fur coats, peasant girls in thorn hairpins and plain skirts, and young women from martial arts clans with determined expressions and traces of arrogance between their brows.

Yet nearly all of them were eleven or twelve years old.

Today was the Emei Sect's once-in-a-decade opening of its mountain gate, when it selected Outer Sect disciples.

Yet atop the mountain, people's gazes kept drifting toward a corner.

That was because Xuanwu Peak was filled with young women as far as the eye could see, while the lone person in that corner was a boy.

The boy was around eleven or twelve. He wore a somewhat worn dark-blue coarse-cloth jacket, but his skin was fair and his features handsome. He carried the refined air of a scholar, not at all like someone from a poor household.

Perhaps because he was the only male present, or perhaps because of his composed demeanor, several Shitais could not help but direct their attention toward him.

Gu Shao'an's gaze passed over the shifting crowd and settled beneath the towering jade archway at the end of the stone steps.

Several figures dressed in Emei's plain white robes stood there proudly, their bearing solemn and steady.

At their head stood a middle-aged woman with a lean face and eyes sharp as lightning. She was Abbot Juechen, the Elder-in-charge of the External Affairs Hall, famed for her strictness.

As her gaze landed on Gu Shao'an, an elder beside Juechen said, "I didn't expect senior sister to bring back a boy this time."

Abbot Juechen said softly, "This child originally came from a scholarly family in Jiangnan. Three months ago, when I passed a temple in the wilderness, he shared food with me."

"Who would have thought that the very next day, they would encounter Mountain Bandits? His entire family died at their hands."

"By chance, the sect leader had ordered us to seek suitable disciples outside. I saw that this child was alone and destitute, yet strong-willed, learned, and sensible, so I brought him back to give it a try."

The elder who had spoken earlier looked at Gu Shao'an and nodded unconsciously.

"His temperament is excellent, and his appearance outstanding. I like him as well, but Emei has been entirely female from top to bottom these past years. And you know, ever since..."

At this point, she paused before continuing, "Ever since that person died, the sect leader has never said it outright, but none of the boys who came for assessment in previous years received her approval to join Emei. I'm worried this child won't get past the sect leader."

Abbot Juechen naturally understood this. After thinking for a moment, she sighed.

"If it truly doesn't work out, I'll take him to another sect. If all else fails, I'll bring him to a nearby town and leave him some money."

Perhaps sensing Abbot Juechen's gaze, Gu Shao'an looked up at that moment.

When their eyes met, Gu Shao'an bowed toward Abbot Juechen in the distance.

Abbot Juechen responded with a slight nod, a trace of a smile flashing through her eyes.

Seeing Abbot Juechen's subtle nod, Gu Shao'an relaxed inwardly.

Sure enough, it worked.

Two months ago, Gu Shao'an had still been sitting before a company computer, staying up late to perfect a game. Then he smelled something burning, blinked his eyes shut and open, and found himself transported to the Great Wei Kingdom on the land of Jiuzhou.

After digesting the memories of this body's former owner, Gu Shao'an discovered that Zhang Zhenren of Wudang had only just concluded the Sixty-Year Demon Subjugation ten years ago.

The Five Mountains Sword Sect and the Sun Moon Divine Sect were locked in a fierce struggle.

The Ming Cult and Demonic Cult grew more renowned by the day.

When the scattered fragments of memory were pieced together, Gu Shao'an guessed that he had been transported into a game.

Another thing confirmed that Gu Shao'an had indeed entered the game.

Nun's Favor (Gold): You could always draw the goodwill and attention of Shitais.

One of the defining features of the Great Jianghu game Gu Shao'an had developed was its integration of "traits."

Players could acquire new traits through different methods in the game, thereby gaining enhancements.

From lowest to highest, traits were divided into nine grades: gray, white, green, blue, red, purple, gold, orange, and rainbow. It was enough to remember the red, purple, gold, orange, and rainbow grades.

Every game character could obtain one talent trait for free.

And the talent trait Gu Shao'an carried was Nun's Favor.

As the game's designer, Gu Shao'an naturally knew exactly what kind of game he had created.

For players, it was absolutely full of fun.

But for the natives of this martial world, it was absolutely dangerous.

If you walked down the road, glanced at someone one time too many, and said, "What are you looking at?" what came at you might not be "What are you gonna do about it?" but a blade straight to the face.

If you passed by the roadside and ran into two experts fighting, you might get caught in the crossfire and take a slash for no reason.

The fact that the former owner's parents had both died at the hands of Mountain Bandits also proved this point from another angle.

By chance, the Emei Sect was recruiting disciples this year. Gu Shao'an's talent trait was also the most useless thing in the early stages, and since he had encountered Abbot Juechen, he had come here to try his luck.

Shitai, I don't want to work hard anymore!

As long as I pass this Outer Sect examination, I'll have a place to stay for the time being.

"Silence!"

At that moment, a cold, clear voice rang out.

It was not loud, yet it sounded like clashing gold and stone, instantly suppressing all the noise.

Thousands of eyes converged on Abbot Juechen.

However, Gu Shao'an did not know that behind the window of a pavilion suspended halfway up a cliff above, a figure stood still like an ancient frost-covered pine.

Her gold-and-white Daoist robe was spotless. She looked to be just over forty, with beautiful features, though her exceptionally long brows lent her otherwise lovely face an added air of coldness and severity. A chill glimmered deep within her eyes.

She was the current leader of Emei, Abbess Miejue, renowned for her iron-blooded ruthlessness and mercilessness.

When Juechen's voice fell, her gaze swept casually across the people below.

The stone steps resembled an ant nest, and those eager faces were blurred and indistinguishable.

Until Gu Shao'an's eyes, tempered like steel, and his pine-straight figure inadvertently entered her sight.

With just one glance, the withered fingers concealed within Abbess Miejue's broad Daoist sleeves suddenly tightened!

It was not only because of the persistence and resilience in his eyes. Gu Shao'an's bearing below, his posture, the straight line of his back, and his stone-like calmness gave Miejue a sense of familiarity that had endured for years.

In an instant, a shadow surfaced without warning from the deepest, most painful, most untouchable corner of her heart.

Then.

It rapidly overlapped, for a fleeting moment, with the cloth-clad boy beneath the stone steps!

"Senior brother Guhongzi?"