The Guiding □□

Proud, spirited, and slightly arrogant heroine x sunny, easygoing beauty of a male lead

Chao Lanyun, once the young proprietor of the Stargazing Inn, lost her family in a fire.

Then she awoke from the ashes.

The greatest sect in the Eastern Continent, the Taichu Sect, claimed to be her sect, and one of the Five Realms' only two surviving sword cultivators claimed to be her master.

Chao Lanyun could only feel that life had become surreal. The memories she had forgotten were so illustrious.

Then one day, she opened her jade token and discovered that her memories were flawed, and so were her five senses.

you know?

That fire had burned away the possibility of her being human.

As she followed the trail of that fire, she suddenly discovered that real gods existed in the world.

The god said: Spiritual energy is corpse water...

Second Version

The world is divided into five realms, one of which is the Eastern Continent. East of the Eastern Continent lies an inn called Stargazing.

Several years ago, the proprietor was laughing and chatting with a friend as they watched the wind and snow. In the flickering lamplight, people came crawling in.

On closer inspection, only one was covered in blood, while another was stained with it.

The uninjured one raised his head to ask for a name, but fainted before he could finish.

From then on, two children joined the Stargazing Inn, and later, two young proprietors.

But their happy life soon came to an end. A fire fueled by spiritual energy swept through the inn.

Only those without spiritual energy could escape unharmed. Chao Lanyun was consumed by the flames, until Chao Fanli, who had been taken in alongside her and was her only family, clasped her hand.

What... happened to the inn?

The next day, bewildered and at a loss, Chao Lanyun stood amid the ruins, anxiously looking around.

Third Version

This is an apocalyptic world of cultivation on the brink of collapse. The surging spiritual energy has caused strange beasts to appear. Humans, plants, and animals can all mutate without warning.

The blood of these beasts is a weapon that extinguishes life. If even a drop falls on soil that once nurtured life, nothing will ever grow there again.

Give it a few years, and even if the beasts don't kill us, we may starve to death. So say the pessimists.

The Creator God looked north, toward the strange beasts, and declared that a new species would be born there.

The old people would inevitably be eliminated or become part of the new species.

This is the age of the individual, an era in which no cast of characters can shine together. Cultivation has never given everyone the same abilities.

And so, a child who had suffered a fire, lost her family and friends, and even lost her former goal in life, emerged brilliantly from this world.

A decaying world of sects, noble houses, and clans battling each other; a brilliant world of masters, peers, and juniors fighting back.

At first, she fought the strange beasts alongside everyone else.

But what if they had only mutated after being steeped in spiritual energy? What if everyone would inevitably become a strange beast, except those without the talent for cultivation?

Yes, she remembered the two cultivation arts she had passed down in the mortal world long ago.

The legacy of humanity was never meant to remain here.

She resolved to sacrifice herself to Heaven, so that when humanity of this era eventually perished, no one would ever become a strange beast again.

But when she opened her eyes once more, the Creator God, worshipped for a thousand generations, stood before her, smiling warmly.

"Welcome! You, who are unlike all of us, have become a god."

Romance Version

The romance comes later, during the lowest point in their lives. It will be a while before we get there. They meet early and are drawn to each other, but both are guarded, so they go from strangers to friends and confidants, and finally become lovers during the lowest point of their lives.

This story probably has quite a few potential triggers, but the author has broad tastes and isn't sure what needs a warning, so there won't be a list. My apologies.

Also known as The World's Number One Book / Enemies of All / The World's Number One Chao / Undying Calamity. (The titles will keep changing as sudden inspiration strikes and I can't bring myself to give up the current title yet.)

Theme: The only one who can defeat you is yourself.