Acting Tough, Huh? I'll Let You Act Tough!

"Brother Lin Hao, I won't allow anyone else to hurt you. Stay here for now. I'll go wipe out those bandits."

After lying in his arms for a while, Jin Ling'er seized the opportunity and gazed at Lin Hao affectionately as she spoke.

The moment she finished, she left reluctantly.

Leaving Lin Hao standing there in a daze.

"Director Team: Jin Ling'er, what are you doing? Why aren't you following the script? The villain hasn't even appeared yet."

Seeing Jin Ling'er's reaction, the director team could no longer sit still.

But Jin Ling'er had no time to care about that now.

She had just obtained a fortunate opportunity. She needed to confirm it properly.

"Sorry, Director. I suddenly need to use the bathroom. I can't hold it in. Sorry, sorry."

After walking somewhere Lin Hao could not see, Jin Ling'er spoke to the director team, sounding rather anxious.

Unexpected situations were unavoidable.

The director team could not say much either. They could only add a scene where Jin Ling'er angrily slaughtered the bandits, while patching things up for the other disciples.

"Strange."

Lin Hao rubbed his head and glanced at the disciples watching nearby.

He kept feeling that something was off, but he could not put his finger on it.

Still, Jin Ling'er treated the former owner of this body quite well.

As for Senior Brother Yi, he would deal with whatever came his way.

Inside an unknown little house.

Jin Ling'er thoroughly searched every corner. Only after confirming there were no cameras did she sit down in a chair and let out a long breath.

Although their program was called Acting Cultivation World, cultivation simply did not exist. Every person and object was fake.

Could technology at its current level transmit cultivation techniques out of thin air?

That was impossible!

Then this could only be a fortunate opportunity!

A genuine cultivation technique!

Her heart raced, and she felt as though the blood throughout her body was boiling. Her excitement was impossible to conceal.

Following the guidance of the so-called Qi Refining Formula, she immediately sat cross-legged and began cultivating.

Meanwhile, inside another inner sect cave dwelling.

A handsome man dressed in a pale green robe sat cross-legged in cultivation, his expression cold and detached.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked toward a disciple who had just approached.

"Speak. What is it?"

He was extremely aloof, as though nothing in the world could interest him.

"There aren't any cameras here, so who are you acting for? It's your turn to appear. Hurry up."

However, the disciple who had come was clearly unwilling to play along and instead urged him on.

"Huh? So soon?"

Senior Brother Yi was dragged away before he could react, already pulled out of the cave dwelling.

He could only ask while running.

"The female lead has something to deal with, so you need to appear early. Remember your lines. Tens of millions of people are watching."

"Okay, okay."

Senior Brother Yi answered meekly, without a trace of his earlier coldness.

A moment later, the two arrived at their destination.

Inside the dormitory area.

The outer sect disciples were still pointing and whispering.

Hiding behind a fence, Senior Brother Yi peeked through a gap and saw Lin Hao tidying up his room.

"Director Team: Villain in position. Go."

Hearing the director team's command, Senior Brother Yi straightened his clothes and rose from a blind spot nearby, his expression returning to its former coldness.

"Senior Brother Yi is here!"

"I knew Senior Brother Yi would definitely hear about this."

"That Lin guy is done for now."

"I heard Senior Brother Yi's master is an inner sect elder. Someone with that kind of status is worthy of Jin Ling'er."

The dedicated extras immediately perked up upon seeing Yi Changge enter and began discussing animatedly.

Their voices were as loud as they could be.

Even Yi Changge could hear them.

The extras still need to improve their acting.

Gu Yuan silently added that in his heart, then glanced at Yi Changge.

Now, he could not even be bothered to inspect information on these NPCs. It would simply waste energy.

"Who is Lin Hao? Lin Hao, get out here."

Yi Changge stood in the middle of the courtyard. At some point, several lackeys had appeared behind him—though calling them dogs would work too.

One of them, a plump lackey, arrogantly swept his gaze around and spoke.

"Inner sect Senior Brother Yi is here. Why hasn't Lin Hao come out to pay his respects? Do we need to invite you personally?"

Another lackey continued.

A typical fantasy novel plot, and one of the most classic ones at that.

In Gu Yuan's previous life, not many people enjoyed this sort of plot anymore. All he could say was that the people in this world had quite a high tolerance for it.

This villain was truly villainous. If he were Lin Hao, he would have slapped him across the face.

"I am Lin Hao. May I ask what Senior Brother wants with me?"

Lin Hao walked out of the room carrying some trash, casually tossed it outside, then looked at Yi Changge's attire as he replied.

He had already mentally prepared himself after hearing the others gossip earlier.

But he had not expected him to come so quickly.

At least wait until his cultivation broke through to the initial Qi Refining stage.

He had no cultivation at all right now. Wasn't he just going to get bullied for nothing?

"Who did I think it was? Just a piece of trash who hasn't even reached Qi Refining."

"With your looks, you dare compete with me for a woman?"

Yi Changge fanned himself with his folding fan, then snapped it shut with a sound. Looking Lin Hao over, he mocked him.

What was there to say?

Lin Hao indeed had not reached the Qi Refining realm, but he had never stolen anyone's woman either.

Those novels really were quite realistic. He had not expected there to truly be people like this in an actual cultivation world.

So what should he do now?

After thinking about the novels he had read, for some reason, a line suddenly surfaced in Lin Hao's mind, as though it wanted him to say it.

"Senior Brother, Junior has never provoked you, nor has Junior ever competed with you for a woman."

"If Senior Brother truly intends to bully the weak with the strong today, then Junior can only accept his fate."

"But I have one thing to say to Senior Brother."

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never look down on a poor young man!"

As Lin Hao spoke each line, his entire aura changed.

When he reached the final sentence, his expression was exceptionally calm and composed, his gaze sharp as he stared straight into Yi Changge's eyes.

The moment those words were spoken, the entire dormitory area fell silent.

Not only the set, but even the director team fell quiet.

The livestream comments were different. After a brief stunned pause, they began flooding the screen.

I'm freaking amazing.

Lin Hao did not know how he had managed to perform like that, but he silently praised himself.

"Good!"

"'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never look down on a poor young man.' What a line."

"Today, I'll show you what it means to be poor when you're young, poor in middle age, poor when you're old, and still poor after you die and reincarnate!"

Lin Hao's show of bravado had instantly stolen the spotlight from Yi Changge, even though it was supposed to be Yi Changge's scene. His expression turned extremely unpleasant.

"Men, teach him a harsh lesson. I won't act personally, lest someone say I bully the poor."

Giving the lackeys beside him a look, Yi Changge chuckled, turned away from Lin Hao, and walked toward the exit.

Soon afterward, wave after wave of miserable screams sounded behind him.

These lackeys were all genuine boxing athletes. Dealing with Lin Hao, who had not even successfully reached Qi Refining, could not have been easier.