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Surprisingly Enough(NOT), Common Sense Is Overpowered in a Cliché Cultivation World
🕑 Added 2023-11-14 17:08:34 +0000 UTC52. Correct Way of Opening~
Ning walked out of the Mission hall, his space pouch filled with another thousand low-grade spirit stones and a few spiritual crop seeds. They were the rewards he got from the recent mission.
However, Ning's mind was occupied by another matter altogether.
Ever since completing his hunt, Ning couldn't help but find some things increasingly strange.
The rewards were too abundant. Even though one had to face a foundation-building soul for the reward, the harvest was too substantial.
The mission process was so smooth that even Ning couldn't help but wonder if he was also a 'protagonist.' But that can't possibly be true, right?
But after seeing Xiao Fan, who seemed to have taken the mission, Ning was equal parts relieved and terrified.
"I totally hijacked the protagonist plotline, didn't I?" Ning never considered himself to be dumb, not like anyone does, he hopes. So, from the brief encounter, it was not hard to see that this chance was obviously meant for the protagonist.
If they go by the normal route, Xiao Fan would defeat the rat, kill the soul, and receive a bountiful harvest. He might even subdue the soul or make the rat his contracted beast.
But it just so happened that Ning was a step faster than Xiao Fan, and he was able to take the chance meant for the protagonist.
That was a surprising thing.
Normally, such chances will always end up with the protagonist, no matter the convoluted process involved. Even if someone stumbles on an opportunity first, it will always somehow find itself in the hands of the protagonist.
But now, Ning found himself with the power to directly intervene in such matters.
"Is it because I am someone who doesn't belong to this plane, a transmigrator?" On top of his head, this was the only thing that Ning could think of.
This was both a blessing and a curse for Ning.
While it was nice to get some goodies by c*ckblocking the protagonist, if he ever needed to do so, it also meant that at any moment he may find himself in huge trouble.
While this mission seemed smooth sailing, the power required to complete it was well above the standard of a normal cultivator. Not only did they need to fight someone of higher cultivation, hunt it, and then even have a rare soul-dispersing technique in their hand. Otherwise, they could only become food for the other party.
Ning was not kidding. From the fragmented memories, he knew that Li Tianhe had originally planned to steal the body of whoever killed the beast. The only reason he did not immediately do such an act toward him was that he seemed to have somehow scared Li Tianhe off.
"Rude." Remembering those memories painting him as some kind of maniac, Ning's lips couldn't help but twitch slightly.
But the overall gist was from now on, Ning had to be extra careful. Since he didn't seem to be bound by the 'plot,' he could very well walk into an extremely dangerous situation.
A normal mission may turn into a world-ending prevention mission that only the protagonist could solve, while somehow he could find himself in the middle of it solely because he seemed to be 'free.'
"I think I have become too overconfident. I should have realized the very moment I was offered a rat extermination quest. Those are the fundamental beginner protagonist RPG quests. I was too blinded by the scroll." Ning sighed as he pondered upon his own shortcomings.
"Speaking of the scroll, it's weird Xiao Fan needed it since he had already reached the fourth stage." Ning's thoughts turned quickly before he shook his head, "Then again, protagonists are always weird."
Ning then pondered about Xiao Fan and the Luo Family.
"Since I am not there now, I would not put it behind Xiao Fan to find the mystery of the spiritual lake of the Luo family. After all, its appearance did hint some treasure being born there if we go by normal tropes." Ning shrugged, "Well, not that it matters to me right now. Xiao Fan can take care of it, and will probably handle the matter regarding Patriarch Luo as well."
Ning was not blind enough to not notice that Patriarch Luo was cooking something up. So, not wanting to get involved in it more than he already had, he made a tactical retreat. After all, as a certain Jojo once spoke to the whole world, Nigurendayo~
Ning's thoughts turned towards something weird as he suddenly thought of something.
"Speaking of which, Thunder Dog really is quite an embarrassing Daoist name. I hope I get something cool when I get one."
...
"Master, I have returned." After sorting out his gains and storing them inside his house, Ning quickly visited his master.
As usual, his master was busy with alchemy, and a medicinal smell wafted through the air.
Ling Huang looked at the fourth with those golden eyes of his and then nodded, "It seems this trip, you really gained a lot."
Facing those golden eyes, Ning always had a feeling of being seen through.
"Yes, master. I was able to advance to the third floor of the sutra before breaking through the next stage." Even though he knew that his master could probably see that, Ning nonetheless informed him.
"Good! Very good! It was not in vain to give you my token." Ling Huang nodded in appreciation.
"It's thanks to master's teaching. Also, speaking of tokens, Master, I did not need to use the token." Ning took out the token with 'Ling' written on it.
"Oh? Did something happen?" Ling Huang became serious.
"Yes, master." Ning quickly recounted his experience of the trip.
Of course, matters that should be hidden were carefully not spoken. He can't just say that he 'devoured' the soul of the foundation-building cultivator, right?
Ling Huang nodded from time to time and then finally informed, "Then you can keep the token yourself. When visiting some city or facing someone related to our sect, they would give you some face."
"Thank you, master." Ning happily accepted the token.
This was another layer of security added. When meeting some unbeatable enemy, he could at least bring out the name of his master this way.
Seeing his master, who seemed so generous, Ning also started the next step of his plan. "Master, there seems to be a problem with my senses when I broke through to the fourth stage."
Ning had just finished speaking when his wrist was quickly caught.
"You! If something went wrong, you should have said so quickly." Ling Huang's previous joking mood was completely gone as he carefully scanned through Ning's body.
Hmm? Besides the pure Qi, a stable foundation, Ling Huang couldn't see anything else.
"Master, I have not finished speaking. It's a problem with my spiritual sense." Ning could only helplessly explain.
"I see. No wonder, I could not find the problem. So, what's the problem, fourth?" Ling Huang also released his strong grip.
"Master, after I unlocked my spiritual sense, I tried it, but I could not hold the spiritual sense for a long time. Only after 16 seconds, I was quickly overwhelmed and felt my mind go blank, but during those seconds, my perception just skyrocketed." Ning vaguely described those matters.
Listening to the matter, Ling Huang also frowned. "This seems quite weird. Let's see."
...
For the next hour or so, it was spent testing his spiritual sense. From trying to differentiate various materials to checking the sensitiveness of his senses using some weird materials, Ning swiftly passed all those experiments with flying colors.
Ling Huang looked at the results wide-eyed before he suddenly laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! I have struck gold." Ling Huang couldn't help but feel
"Um, Master?" Ning asked slowly, taking a step back. As usual, his master was weird.
Cough
"I got too excited for a moment." Ling Huang coughed and regained his composure, but the excitement in his eyes didn't diminish at all.
"I can see the 'problem' within your spiritual sense. Your spiritual sense is too sensitive, so it is picking up too much information at once, leading to mental overload." Ling Huang talked about his findings. "Your spiritual sense is very different."
The world of cultivation was infinitely mysterious; there would always be some kind of weird physique being born. They might be born with some spiritual body or weird mental ability. The fourth was obviously the latter type.
"Master, is it bad?" Ning asked 'seemingly' worried about the implications it might have.
Ling Huang looked at his fourth disciple with a look of 'you still don't know your luck,' before sighing and explaining, "Not only is this not bad, but this is very good for you. You must know in alchemy, the spiritual sense not only needs to be precise but also must be sensitive to process various materials in heaven and earth. The reason you cannot hold on to your spiritual sense for a long time is simply because your spiritual sense is too good at its job, so much so that your mental energy could not hold on."
"I see. This is a good thing then." Ning nodded in realization.
"Yes! You don't know how lucky you are."
Ling Huang never expected the disciple he had casually accepted to give him such a special surprise. He had only selected a disciple due to the sect's rules, but now he genuinely felt that this was a good thing.
"If master says so, then it must be true. But master, what should I do about the time limit?" Ning drew the attention of his master to the most important matter.
Ling Huang also nodded; this was indeed tricky. "I have two ways to solve this issue. I plan to use the first method. I will refine you a special Tier Two soul-strengthening pill. That should help strengthen your spiritual consciousness enough for you to hold on for a little bit longer."
"Master..." Ning was grateful and seemed moved.
Of course, inwardly, Ning also rejoiced. "All according to plan."
Ning didn't share his special situation thoughtlessly. Currently, he can only maintain his spiritual sense for less than 16 seconds. This time was not nearly enough for even the simplest of alchemy. So, with his master being the fanatic of alchemy he is, he would gradually notice something amiss. Thus, he took action first.
Ning didn't want to fall into the cliché of hiding so many things that it would cause severe misunderstanding.
If he really acted like a standard protagonist, then he would hide this specialty, which would later cause a misunderstanding that he was inept at alchemy. Like that, he would get provoked by arrogant bastards left and right. Only after he finished strengthening himself would he face-slap those bastards.
All that was too cumbersome, so Ning just came clean.
Some people are just born different.
And I, Ning, just happen to be one of them, okay?
Of course, while coming clean, he just acted ignorant about the reason for his specialness so that he would not have to explain anything about it. People always like to guess the most and always believe what they guessed themselves.
So, Ning just showcased his talent and let his master form his own opinion. In the end, his master only saw a sliver of the true potential of his unique talent. In this way, he could not only undermine his unique talent but also get much-required insight from his master.
Just like this special pill he was going to acquire.
"Master, how much would the pill cost?" Ning knew that alchemy was expensive, and it would be too much for the master to bear the cost for him.
Ling Huang chuckled, and looked at fourth in appreciation, "You don't have to pay me anything. Consider this as my gift for reaching the fourth stage. You should just focus on improving yourself first."
"Master..." Ning cupped his fist and bowed slightly, "Thank you."
"It's what I need to do." Ling Huang laughed elegantly.
At the same time, Ning realized.
I think I found the correct way of opening in the cultivation world...
...
Thanks for reading~
Suggest some Daoist names for Ning(Totally not because I suck at coming up with names). Will probably use the most-voted one or something. Thanks~
Comments
Sinfinite
Daoist Alchemy Archer
Sinfinite
Daoist Dog on Them
Sinfinite
“Daoist Parasitic Fate” It’s a play on his poison and hijacking the story capabilities.
ShadeByTheSea
Daoist Peeping Owl, or um Daoist All-seeing Owl
MagicWafflez
I also think Smiling Ghost is a good name... it's also something that other people would conceivably come up with for him, since he is so affable and has a sneaky fighting style. He didn't really use a bow in his tournament debut right? so it wouldn't make sense for others to even realize he's an archer
Should_be_working
Daoist smiling ghost (he would be called that because he will eventually become famous and with his way of doing things, he will probably mostly have a polite and kind smile on his face when interacting with people but when he fights? He's like a ghost haunting you in a fight never letting you see or touch him while you are gradually injured and inevitably die... it includes both his personality and fighting style while being edgy enough to fit in a cultivation world :P) I also think his fighting style in the future should be more "exotic". I've never understood why cultivation novels only focus on swords, fists and stuff? It's literally a world where you can bend space and time or bring the dead back to life, why wouldn't the fighting styles be just as unique? Say for this mc, he could somehow gain a unique treasure like a giant lotus (cliche ik) and from that he could use it to travel or make the petals scatter into thousands and use them as nodes to create various formations (which would bring out his 5 element talent + his space/time one). This would normally be super costly and impractical but with his alchemy? He doesn't need to worry about it + it could be super draining or hard to keep your mind active enough to controll all of it but with his special spiritual sense it becomes plausible for him and help him match the OP mc's he meets Anyone something cool and unique focusing on spells, Treasures and formations would be appropriate to use all his talents and more fun to read + it would make sense to graduate from the bow to spells and formationsand stuff once he reaches foundation establishment but use the bow during qi refinementrealm :p
Lon
You don't know how happy I am that Ning just came clean and asked for his master's help. Like , a big problem and plots and face slaps were just avoid with just talking with your own master. Simple amazing. Now, about Ning's daoist title... From Thunder Dog being a name you don't get to choose your own daoist title... I don't have a name per se but maybe use something from his personality that is show and seem by others + what he is most known for. Like is he going to be more famous as an Archer or as an Alchemist? Or maybe both?
Lon
"Ling Huang looked at the fourth with those golden eyes of his and then nodded, "It seems this trip, you really gained a lot.". " - Maybe change what master says to "It seems you gained a lot in this trip" makes the phrase more smooth I guess?
ScarletIce
I'm really curious what Ling Huang's second solution was, and am a bit disappointed in Ning for not expressing any curiosity about it. For someone so meticulous, knowing all of his options should be super important, even if he has no expectation of the second option being better, or even available to him.
Zara Impala
I would name him something related to his spiritual abilities, but doesn't sound too on the nose or too over powered Because of the way he ferries souls Shining Heart, Guiding Arrow (because he not only guides souls, he kills them first too), Guiding Heart, Gentle Repose (repose for its meaning of posture and attitude, as well as its relation with death), Phantom River, Soothing Shade (to convey his ability to conceal himself, and the way he soothes the undead)
Narasan
daoist hidden hunter daoist poison fang daoist three steps ahead daoist calm judgement daoist eye of the storm daoist something chameleon but as a hunter something
Joshy14-06
yes, but he could take steps to make others chose this name for him by "playing" the the correct "role".
Noah
It depends on if he’s given his name by others, or whether he chooses it himself. No one else knows he can see peoples roles.
Noah
I was thinking something like “Placid Phantom” or “Placid Shadow”. The “placid” bit because, from everyone else’s perspective, he acts super relaxed and calm, but has unseen depths (like a deep, placid lake). The “phantom/shadow” bit is obviously because he sneaks around, but also because his calm exterior hides a sinister (according to his opponents) side.
Francisco Javier Ortega Tejada
Subtle Presence
Adam Baumgardner
Silent but deadly! 😂🤣
Joshy14-06
Given that Ning can see the "roles" everybody else is "playing", 'Pear Garden Phantom'( referencing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pear_Garden ) would fit.
Kurotoshiro
Eccentric Shadow/Ghost/Spirit. He is kind of an oddball. Add the stealth element and going out of his way to stay out of people way, it seems fitting
Eli Gray
Why not something simple, like Shadow Bow?
blackwar789
daoist serene storm (he's calm and will probably use the lightning element) Daoist hidden flame (he operates from the shadows and is an alchemist) Daoist/Buddhist paradox duality (he follows both paths)
Soppingmango664 __
I’m think something with hidden seeing as how low key he is
Anthony Maxwell
(The mission process was so smooth that even Ning couldn't help but wonder if he was also a 'protagonist.' But that can't possibly be true, right?) If the glove fits why not?? As a lot of cultivation protagonists are reincarnated people that have gamer SQ powers or call them systems for some reason these days so much so it's a clich trope now.
Ekko
Also an idea would be BowFist Phantom/BowFist Spirit (totally not stolen from Bowblade Spirit...)
BookDragonling
Considering how he's polite/kind to everyone rather than falling into the young master role his Daoist name will probably have the word 'kind' in it or something similar. He hasn't done enough or become well-known enough to have a Daoist name for himself quite yet so that's all I've got.
Ekko
Well unless, he doesn't plan to keep this built
Ekko
Hmmm with the Information he's given out till know, people only know he is a stealth archer and he is an alchemist and looks scholarly... PhatomBow/PhantomScholar? It also is the kinda name that makes you think that his whole shtick is being a stealth archer and sounds kinda underwhelming, just as keikau'd
Charlie Staner
Ning shall forever be known as RatBoi
Chocolatemilkpug
I think u pasted the chapter twice
