Chen Fan, the least promising disciple of Qingxiao Temple on Mount Zhongnan, arrived in the dazzling, chaotic city of Shanghai with a magnetic card from thirty years ago and his master’s parting instruction to “enter the world and comprehend the Dao.”
He wanted to practice qi beneath an overpass, but the city enforcement officers chased him until he ran for his life. He tried telling fortunes to earn a little food money, only to find that the “fellow fortune-teller” at the next stall was even better at bragging. It wasn’t until he met Lin Wan, a popular livestreamer from the broadcasting department, that he discovered the truth: watching short videos could build up qi sensitivity, drinking cola could reveal spiritual energy, and even the lock on a shared bike contained a faint trace of metal-element spiritual power.
And things only got more outrageous from there:
Su Qingyuan, a top student in the archaeology department, used Han dynasty talismans as bookmarks and said they were “easier to understand than the textbooks.” Chen Fan could see clearly, though: the cinnabar patterns on those talismans were the long-lost “Thunder-Summoning Spell.”
Chu Yao, the proprietress of an antique shop, used a Qing dynasty bronze mirror as a makeup mirror. Its surface reflected not only her face but also the translucent spirit floating behind her. Chen Fan felt a prickling sensation all over as soon as he approached. The mirror was actually an ancient magical artifact, the Demon-Reflecting Mirror.
From not knowing the difference between WeChat and Alipay to building up qi sensitivity with livestream tips; from thinking JK skirts were “strange outfits” to learning “urban survival skills” from the girls:
“Chen Fan, look! The rounder the pearls at the bottom of this milk tea cup roll, the purer the earth-element spiritual power!”
“Don’t just stand there. Help me move this package. The books inside are full of the spiritual energy of ink. I’ll give you an ice-cold cola when we’re done!”
“Look at this trending topic! Someone says they fished a glowing object out of the Huangpu River. Could it be the ‘water-spirit-root artifact’ you mentioned?”
Chen Fan gradually realized that his master had been lying when he said spiritual energy was scarce. Shanghai was
