My Master Only Cares About Ascension

I used the no-couples tag because the shizun has had many relationships and doesn't care about gender. Neither the romance nor the danmei tag would fit. Besides, I don't think the shizun has ever had a lover in the usual sense. His relationships are more like ambiguous flirtations, a form of cultivation, so I think the no-couples tag works too. Of course, if you think I'm misusing the tag, I sincerely apologize.

This isn't about casually getting involved with men or women. Every relationship is unique, and each person is a wing that helps the shizun overcome his tribulations and ascend.

Also known as The Shizun Cultivates the Way of Passion

"The end of the Way of Passion is detachment, while the foundation of the Way of Detachment is deep affection.

"All things have feelings, and everything is imbued with them. Feelings aren't good or evil, right or wrong. They simply exist naturally.

"To enter the Dao through emotion is to test your heart, reflect on it, and temper it amid the endless mortal world. Every relationship begins and takes hold naturally, and ends and fades away just as naturally.

"Mingzhi, you're aloof, hard to approach, and guarded. You seem heartless, as though the heart in your chest were a stone encased in ice. But that ice melts easily. Once this stone is bound by threads of affection, it will remain so for thousands upon thousands of years. That is the deepest kind of devotion. So I won't teach you the Way of Detachment or the Way of Passion. I'll teach you the Way of Protecting Those You Love, so the people you care about and think of won't be held back by your pursuit of the Great Dao.

"But I will be, Mingzhi. Neither my nature nor my path is worthy of the sincere heart you want to entrust to me. I won't love someone forever, nor will I love only one person. And love won't be the only thing in my life. I told you that you can do whatever you want, as long as your shizun can bear the consequences. But a steadfast, unchanging love is the one thing your shizun and his Dao can never bear. Mingzhi, I know how sensible you are, so please don't cling to these feelings anymore, all right? They will do you no good. Do you understand?"

The shizun's hand rested on my head and stroked it gently, just as he always had. He still looked at me with the same warmth and sincerity, as if even my unreasonable behavior would be met with understanding. But in that moment, I finally understood that this couldn't go on.

Even if I threw away my dignity and made a scene, I still wouldn't get what I wanted. The shizun would still gently, sincerely, and patiently explain what he'd just told me all over again, piece by piece.

The shizun already loved me enough as his disciple. But he truly couldn't give me any more love than that.

So why make a scene and burden the shizun with worry?

I bowed deeply, pressing my love for him deep down as well. "...Thank you for guiding me, shizun. This disciple understands."

"I want to see a shizun cultivate the Way of Passion (bold words), step into the mortal world, drink and feast, visit lantern festivals and brothels without missing a thing, and even flirt with young women from his carriage. Everyone thinks he's naturally amorous, but actually, the end of the Way of Passion is true detachment [finally single doge]?"

The above is a comment from the Bilibili rant video The Sixth Jinjiang Rant: Cultivation? What Are You Cultivating? Go Home and Farm! I thought, this person makes a good point, so I decided to create a little shizun who embodies "passion leading to detachment," to satisfy everyone's desires, including my own.

P.S. I got the commenter's permission. A screenshot of the permission is on Weibo under the same name.

The early chapters are mostly told from the perspective of the young disciple, Lin Mingzhi. He's a stubborn, guarded, obstinate, sensitive child who quietly watches everything around him.

The shizun is gentle, considerate, and sincere. He would never cheat while he was in a relationship. He visits the flower streets and flirts with young women during the times when he's single. He goes there to see an old friend who made a fortune on the flower streets and became obsessed with earning money, and he flirts with a gloomy young woman to make her smile.

Theme: Enter the Dao through emotion, and use the mortal world as a ladder to heaven.