A Mortal's Guide to Staying Alive

Updates at least every other day. I'll try to update daily whenever I can. (I have no backlog.)

Chen Yuan is a teenage high school student with neither brains nor abilities. Armed with a stunning face and an unstoppable spirit, he transmigrates to the cultivation world.

With the plot in hand and an all-knowing perspective, Chen Yuan is confident he'll make a name for himself in the cultivation world.

He'll become a mighty cultivator, find success in both love and career, trample the male lead, and reach the top of the world surrounded by beauties. But reality hits him hard: he's a mortal, and for everything he does, he has to rely on his own two legs.

What should a mortal do?

That's right: keep his head down and survive.

Staying alive is what matters most.

It's fine that he's a mortal. He just needs to cling to someone powerful.

And that powerful person really is impressive: ruthless and a man of few words.

But why does it feel like the male lead is getting weirder and weirder around him?

After much hesitation, Chen Yuan asks,

“Are we sure we should be doing this?”

Shen Lin answers without changing his expression, “This is how good brothers do things where I'm from.”

Chen Yuan is only half convinced.

“Do good brothers where you're from all sleep together naked?”

A month later, Chen Yuan finally sees the light. The male lead is gay! Haha, he's so clever. Wait... the male lead is gay... but he's straight! To escape the male lead's clutches, Chen Yuan decides to run.

He makes a loop around the place and realizes the outside world is a bloody mess, and he's got nothing but two skinny arms and legs. The male lead gently tries to lure him in.

“Everyone out there is bad. Come with me.”

Reading guide: The tropes are familiar, but I wanted to take a crack at this kind of story. If it doesn't suit you, please remove it from your bookshelf, repeat “This isn't for me” three times, then open your favorite book.

Content warning: The original female lead appears in the story, and the protagonist once had a one-sided crush on her and pursued her. I'm not sure if that counts as a warning. (I can't think of anything else for now.)

The characters are all pretty awful, to put it briefly.

You could also call it: He didn't steal the male lead's wife, but decided to be his wife instead.

Theme: With enough effort, anything is possible