From the Start, I Had a Cultivation University

[Coming Soon: Becoming a Secret Realm, and Players Arrive; Sweeping Through Infinite Worlds with My Connections. Please add them to your reading list!] As the strongest cultivator in the cultivation world, Gu Zhibai has a little secret everyone knows: He wants to found a sect and become its leader, surpassing his senior brothers and sisters to make it the greatest sect in the cultivation world. Unfortunately, he started out too late. His senior brothers and sisters, who had already become leaders of the major sects, snapped up all the promising talent. He couldn't stand the sorry lot left over. Gu Zhibai: Whatever. I'll handle it myself. He tore open space, planning to reach a new world, make a name for himself, then return to the cultivation world and show them what he could do. Instead, a completely different world appeared before him. The Minister of Education, jolted awake from a dream and convinced he'd encountered a ghost: ...So that's why you suddenly appeared in front of me and said you wanted to open a cultivation university?! Are you crazy, or am I? The people who watched the university go from being founded to recruiting students and then becoming famous: We're the crazy ones! On the first day of classes at the cultivation university, Gu Zhibai stood at the opening ceremony with a list of "Fifty Things Teachers Always Say" compiled by internet users. In the spirit of fitting in, he addressed the students below: "You're the worst class I've ever taught." "If any of you lose in the sect tournament three years from now, I'll call your parents in for a chat." The students looked at each other, their faces full of question marks. We... we're not the first class? Wait, a sect tournament three years from now? What sect? We're cultivating, and you're still going to call our parents? Little Extra: Once the academy was built, Gu Zhibai, who wanted to take on disciples but not teach them, saw the eager expressions of his first batch of students. After a moment's thought, he tore open space again. This time, he wasn't alone. And so: When the disciples of the Shattered Star Sect practiced spells, Gu Zhibai said, "What a coincidence. My disciples can learn along with you." When the disciples of Penglai Island studied artifact crafting, Gu Zhibai said, "What a coincidence. My disciples can learn along with you." When the disciples of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect gathered to listen to a lecture, Gu Zhibai said, "What a coincidence. My disciples can learn along with you. Or rather, listen in." The leaders of the eight great sects were furious but dared not speak: Damn it, he's exploiting us! Reading Guide: 1. The story is mainly set in the modern world. The characters will visit the cultivation world in the middle and later parts for some comparisons. Plot-focused, with a low-presence love interest. One-on-one romance. 2. Plot-driven. The protagonist is the strongest, whether in the modern world or the cultivation world. Just enjoy the ride. 3. Updates follow the rankings before the story goes premium, then at least one chapter daily. 4. Please add this to your reading list! Coming Soon: Becoming a Secret Realm, and Players Arrive When people transmigrate, they usually become either a person or an animal. Shen Qingci, whom countless players had called a lousy game developer, was different. He transmigrated into a place. A low-level secret realm, less than a thousand acres in area, producing only mystical treasures of the Xuan rank, with no barriers at all. Anyone could enter freely, human or otherwise. Shen Qingci: I have no regrets about being born a secret realm. I want revenge. His chance came soon. After tireless exploration, he discovered that a secret realm could cultivate a human form and ascend to immortality. But secret realms didn't cultivate with spiritual energy. They relied on popularity. Every cultivator he bound to himself raised the secret realm's popularity a little. The higher their cultivation, the greater the boost, and the faster he could cultivate. The faster he cultivated, the more cultivators he could bind. But where could he find cultivators willing to bind themselves to a secret realm? Shen Qingci accidentally discovered a passage connecting to his original world. This is right up my alley. I know exactly what to do! The next day, a famous game developer announced overnight that his new full-dive game, Seeking Immortality, was opening its beta test. An open world, stunning graphics, a seamless map, total realism, and unique interactions that never repeat. Players who'd fought tooth and nail for a beta invite rubbed their hands in anticipation: Hurry up and open the servers! Let us in so we can cause trouble! After waiting ages for the beta to begin, players eagerly created their characters, imagining that they could fly through the skies and command the clouds and rain. Then they discovered, to their despair, that they had only one quest: Farming. Farming. And damn it, more farming! After a full day of hard labor, one player thought: Damn, I think I'm lining up to do some very new kind of unpaid work. Coming Soon: Sweeping Through Infinite Worlds with My Connections Lin Zhiwei, the most notorious show-off in the infinite worlds, spends all his time in beginner-level instances, chasing cats, teasing dogs, and flirting with anyone he meets. In short: he does everything except what he's supposed to. Wherever he goes, humans and ghosts alike are terrified. Campus Mystery Instance: Lin Zhiwei leads everyone in search of clues. His effort is ferocious, but every answer is wrong. The Headless Ghost speaks in a sinister voice and strikes viciously: Since you picked the wrong head, I'll use yours instead. Lin Zhiwei falls silent for a moment, then pulls out an SSS-rank exorcism token and tosses it up and down: I'll give you one more chance to choose your words carefully. The Headless Ghost: ...Come to think of it, it's been so many years that I've forgotten what my head looked like. Maybe this one really is mine. Ghost Wedding Instance: What do you do if you can't find a groom? Lin Zhiwei says matter-of-factly: If there's no groom, we'll make one! When their scheme is exposed, the ghost bride lifts her veil, revealing a skull-white face: In that case, why don't you be my groom? Lin Zhiwei immediately calls for backup, bringing in the top player on the combat rankings. The top player holds a deadly weapon and sneers: You think you're worthy of my Zhiwei? Under that murderous glare, the ghost bride quickly sparks a romance with the fake groom: This is great! I like him! Haunted Livestream Instance: Players scheme against one another, each trying to step over the others to reach the path to survival. Lin Zhiwei calmly sits on the sidelines, drinking tea and chatting with the leaders of the top three guilds, holding forth on the state of the world: What is wrong with players these days? They have no sense of fair play. The other players, hoping to join a major guild someday: Please, go ahead. After you. After Lin Zhiwei's many attempts to get himself killed, the other players could take no more and banded together to complain to the big shots. We know you protect your own, but this is too much! Ordinary players' lives matter too! The leaders of the top three guilds, the top player on the combat rankings, the top player on the wealth rankings, the black-market boss, and all the other big shots became shamelessly protective: You say my Zhiwei set you up? What are you, that you think you're even worth him setting up? All of you, get lost! When one plan failed, the players tried another. Together, they summoned the Ghost King, hoping to use him to do their dirty work. The Ghost King looked at Lin Zhiwei, strolling along leisurely before him, and sneered: How did you end up like this? Then he swept his sleeve. A hundred ghosts roamed the night, and the summoners vanished without a trace. After that fiasco, no one dared provoke Lin Zhiwei. Everyone was furious but stayed quiet, secretly hoping every day that something would happen to him. Until one day, Lin Zhiwei entered an advanced instance. Combat powerhouse gong x connections powerhouse shou Plot-driven. The big shots are not love interests, just friends. Theme: Becoming a better version of yourself