Tan Shuchang's Cultivation Diary, Part One:
Today, my two senior brothers got into an argument. No matter how much I tried to talk them down, neither would kill the other.
Demonic cultivators really are hypocrites.
Tan Shuchang's Cultivation Diary, Part Two:
The junior sister from the neighboring mountain was crying and making a fuss because the childhood sweetheart she was engaged to had married the daughter of a wealthy family in his town after she went up the mountain to cultivate. When I found out, I comforted her, saying that although she hadn't achieved great fame in this life, at least she'd been cheated on, so she ought to be content.
But not only did she refuse to listen, she drew her sword and tried to cut me down. Demonic cultivators really are heartless and fickle.
Tan Shuchang's Cultivation Diary, Part Three:
It was the junior sister from the neighboring mountain again. She was so intent on throwing her life away that she ran up to Repentance Cliff, so I hurried to tell her that jumping off Repentance Cliff wouldn't kill her—and it certainly wouldn't kill a demonic cultivator.
She didn't believe me, which would have been bad enough, but then she drew her sword and tried to cut me down again.
A dog bites Lü Dongbin and fails to recognize kindness.
Demonic cultivators really are savage and cruel.
After picking up the cultivation diary and tossing it aside, Tan Shuchang wasn't too bothered that someone damned had made hundreds of copies of it and spread them all over Blackheart Mountain.
There was something else troubling him far more at the moment.
After observing and testing things repeatedly, and combining that with the message about "Ultimate Bliss" his second senior brother had sent him through a secret treasure before he died, Tan Shuchang had confirmed one thing: he was a consumable.
And it wasn't just him. The dozens of senior and junior brothers and sisters who'd entered the sect alongside him were consumables too.
It was just that his cultivation stood out among his fellow disciples, so he was going to be the third consumable his master, Blackheart Elder, used up!
The first two had been his eldest senior sister, a once-in-a-thousand-years talent of astonishing brilliance, and his second senior brother, whose aptitude was above average but who cultivated with incredible grit and determination—and was utterly ruthless.
Blackheart Elder had already refined both of them.
One could only say that the old devil was committed to gender equality, treating everyone alike and making no distinction.
Blackheart was a branch of the Demon Sect, and disciples on the mountain were ranked by cultivation.
The two ranked ahead of Tan Shuchang were one peerless prodigy, unmatched among the younger generation in the Jia Five Realm, and one who had worked so hard that Tan Shuchang's scalp tingled just thinking about it. On top of that, Tan Shuchang had never been able to bring himself to kill innocents. After all, they had no grudge against him. So he'd barely, more or less, by scraping by... managed to rank third among his fellow disciples.
"How am I supposed to... kill my esteemed master, Blackheart Elder?"
Tan Shuchang wore a troubled expression.
With his current strength, his odds against Blackheart Elder were less than fifty percent.
"Too bad I've never been able to find a vengeful ghost overflowing with malice..." Tan Shuchang sighed.
Though such a ghost could be made through human effort, that sort of deed went against the natural order. And even if he did it, the chances of success were absurdly low. He might as well wait for one of his fellow disciples to do it...
Unfortunately, before he could wait for one of them to act, he found out that Blackheart Elder was going to make a move against him.
Just then, a strange status window appeared before Tan Shuchang. He couldn't help but freeze. In all the years since he'd transmigrated, this was the first time he'd seen anything like it.
Player: Tan Shuchang.
Level: Ding Nine (universal starting level).
Malice Resistance: Jia One (highest level for game players).
Corruption Resistance: Jia One.
Destruction Resistance: Jia One.
Supernatural Resistance: Jia One.
Overall Assessment: ???
Loading error...
New patch added...
Installation failed...
Failed to report loading error...
Activating emergency measures...
Adaptation period canceled. Entering the game directly!
"Congratulations. You have been selected to become a player in this round of the Weird Game." After a jumble of data flickered for a while, an emotionless voice, neither male nor female, rang out. Tan Shuchang then watched the scene before him twist for a moment before changing completely.
He was no longer on Blackheart Mountain, where the sun never shone and the black wind howled without end. The surroundings were still somewhat gloomy, but they were far more pleasant to look at than Blackheart Mountain's jagged rocks and scattered bones.
Most importantly, Tan Shuchang saw a dormitory building!
And it was a women's dormitory.
Tan Shuchang looked around and realized that this was most likely a school. But strangely, black fog filled the area. It seemed to block the way, and even Tan Shuchang could only barely pierce through a little of it with his eyesight, making out the blurred outlines of buildings within.
Then Tan Shuchang's eyes filled with surprise and suspicion. He'd actually seen several people appear out of thin air.
And before that, there'd been no sign at all!
Tan Shuchang immediately went on guard.
But when he got a good look at how they were dressed, his expression turned odd.
Their clothes seemed both familiar and strange to him. Some wore short sleeves, shorts, and sandals; others wore sneakers, suits, long skirts, and high heels...
Combined with the voice he'd heard at the start, Tan Shuchang could now be sure: unless something unexpected had happened, he'd been selected across worlds by this Weird Game because of some kind of data error...
Once he understood this, a thought stirred in Tan Shuchang's heart.
"There should be some really vicious ghosts in this Weird Game, right?"
Thoughts raced through Tan Shuchang's mind.
As Tan Shuchang examined the newcomers, they were also sizing everyone up. When they saw him, they all froze in unison.
He wore gorgeous brocade robes, had a face as warm and smooth as jade, and sharp brows and bright eyes. An air of wealth and imposing force washed over them.
Some of them had done quite well outside the Weird Game, but they'd never seen anyone dressed like this, much less someone with such an imposing presence!
Just then, lines of blood-red text appeared on the ground in front of them.
[You have come to a place where you do not belong. This is an abandoned women's dormitory, but it is also a forbidden zone for the living. Unimaginably cruel things once happened here, leading to even more terrible things.]
[Find the truth behind what happened and awaken the last remnants of her humanity. You will obtain the only way to survive.]
[Be careful. There are ghosts here!]
[There really are ghosts!!!]
As the lines of blood-red text appeared, the people there all looked afraid. They'd prepared themselves long before arriving and had spent a long time honing themselves during the adaptation period, but now that they were really here, they couldn't help being frightened. Some even felt their legs go weak and wanted to use the bathroom.
After all, those were ghosts!
"We..." The first to speak was a young man in an expensive suit, clearly someone who'd done quite well outside the Weird Game. He wanted to discuss things with his teammates.
But he'd barely begun when the young woman in their group wearing a long skirt and high heels raised a hand and said in shock, "H-he went inside!"
She was pointing at the women's dormitory in front of them.
The others had been focused on the suited young man, but when they heard her, they hurriedly looked over and saw the women's dormitory with its front door already kicked open.
In the dim surroundings, the entrance to the dormitory looked like the gaping maw of a vicious beast, making their hearts quail.
At that moment, the shoeprints left on the dormitory door somewhat spoiled the effect.
The group exchanged glances. Was this teammate, dressed in ancient-style clothes and looking less like he was role-playing than like a powerful noble from a bygone era, really that brave?
Kicking down a ghost's door?
Just then, blood-red text appeared in front of them again.
[Game over.]
[Ghost detected as vanished. This instance will now be permanently closed. Players, please note: you may experience adverse effects when leaving. Drink plenty of warm water to recover.]
Huh?
It was over just like that?
The group had no idea what had happened, but a moment later, they were all excited and overjoyed.
It was the joy of having survived a disaster.
And at that very moment, Tan Shuchang was happy too.
Before you continue