Lu Pingjiang was the first player to clear the ascension ending in the full-dive online game Seeking the Dao. Along the way, she flirted with six NPC wives from afar, then happily retired from the game, completely satisfied. But one day, the game publisher suddenly came knocking.
They said the NPCs in the game had undergone inexplicable changes. To keep the game world in balance, they had no choice but to ask Lu Pingjiang, a top player, to come out of retirement.
Lu Pingjiang: “I don't understand. Why does it have to be me? I've already deleted my account and quit.”
The person in charge: “We can give you access to the console.”
The person in charge: “We can create any in-game identity for you.”
The person in charge: “We can pay you more.”
Lu Pingjiang: “Deal.”
And so Lu Pingjiang, the player who cleared the first cycle, the great villain with the console in hand, the game-balance controller disguised as an NPC, and a superior who achieved financial freedom through gaming, felt pretty great.
But when she logged in, she came face-to-face with one old acquaintance after another...
The roving thief who had once promised to share poetry and wine with her while they were young had never left this continent. Every year, she went to challenge the instructors at the martial arts school in the starter village, searching for someone who didn't exist.
The sword cultivator senior sister, once determined to help the whole world, had become the cold-hearted sect leader of the Sword Sect. She shut herself away atop the snowbound peak of Heartless Peak, where the ice had endured for a thousand years, and perfected the Heartless Dao, never to return to the mortal world.
The demoness of the Demon Cult, once so particular about her tastes, began flitting from flower to flower. Give her a present and she'd let you into the Demon Cult's sacred grounds. She'd always smile, complain that the gift wasn't to her liking, and then snap your neck.
The empress, who bore the fate of all living beings, gathered cultivators to wage a final battle against the Demon Cult. But this time, the land was devastated and life was laid waste for thousands of miles, all for the sake of the one promise the empress had never managed to fulfill in her life.
The Valley Master of Heartbreak Valley, who had devoted herself to healing the world, went into seclusion for three years. She burned the valley's treasured books, grew delirious, and refined a furnace of Heavenly Mandate Pills. Whether those who took them lived or died was left to fate.
The hope of the entire server was reborn five times over. At last, she saw the heavenly tribulation of ascension and wept with joy. The whole thing was livestreamed for everyone to watch. Click to see it: there really was an Immortal Venerable in the Ninth Heaven!
The Immortal Venerable looked back. Her face, which should have been free of joy or sorrow, was filled with loneliness. “So in the end, I still couldn't wait for you.”
The players: “??? Refund us!”
Lu Pingjiang: “Well, would you look at that. Is this what they mean by inexplicable changes? The players in this generation have it rough.”
So Lu Pingjiang decided to make a new account: a wandering healer who had just arrived in the starter village, beautiful and kind, delicate and gentle, and seemingly easy to approach.
Lu Pingjiang: “Come on, let me redeem you. I'll be your light!”
The players and certain NPCs: “Sure!”
Lu Pingjiang: “?”
1. Split personalities: the NPC exes are all essentially one person. They'll get jealous and fight over her, and they're extremely possessive.
2. Lu Pingjiang is a universal heartthrob, with official cheats and max level from the start.
3. My take on cultivation, with plenty of made-up details and a big mix of elements.
Theme: Long live freedom!