["In this world, respect is earned with power. I'm here to earn power by disrespect." – Wu Feng]
-
The last thing Wu Feng remembered was tripping over a cup of noodles during a livestream rant about fake martial arts.
The irony wasn't lost on him.
He died mid-rant, insulting fictional cultivators—and woke up in one.
Broken Root Sect.
It sounded powerful. It wasn't. A low-tier sect in a backwater realm with spiritual density worse than an abandoned hotpot shop.
His identity? Orphan 98.
No spirit root. No background. No future.
Just tattered robes, a useless body, and a courtyard full of arrogant disciples waiting for someone to bully.
He opened his eyes to a circle of them.
"Back from the dead?" one sneered.
Wu blinked at the speaker. Glossy robes. Jade talisman. Hair like a sponsored ad.
Fang Muchen. Core disciple. Sect darling. Arrogant as a young master in a discount drama.
"Back to your stable, trash," Fang said.
Wu Feng stood, stretching. "Apologies. I didn't hear you over your insecurity."
Gasps.
Fang stepped forward. "What did you say?"
"I said," Wu replied, walking up to him, "you're overcompensating."
And slapped him across the face.
CRACK.
Fang reeled. The courtyard froze.
[+10 PP – Public Face Slap (Ranked Disciple)][Style Rating: 3/5 – Clean, crisp, echoed in three directions]
Fang's lip curled. "You want to die?"
"Not today. I have a tight schedule of being better than you."
[+5 PP – Verbal Disrespect to Rival (Level 1)]
System Activation
[Petty System Installing… Complete.]Welcome, Wu Feng. You have been bound to the Petty Path.Power will be earned through disrespect, subversion, and humiliation.Cultivation will occur through disruption of spiritual narrative.Do not seek balance. Seek chaos.
Wu grinned. "Now this is a cheat I can work with."
A gong rang across the sect.
The outer disciples lined up in the practice fields. The morning ritual had begun.
Elder Han, the discipline instructor, descended from the sect's main stairway, robe billowing like he thought it meant something.
"Today, we continue with spiritual body tempering. Orphans and rootless trash will observe. Only those with proper meridians may enter the cleansing spring."
Wu yawned.
"Elder," he said, voice raised, "what's the point of cleansing the body if your mind's already rotten?"
Gasps again. Someone dropped their spirit broom.
Elder Han slowly turned.
"Wu Feng."
"Present," Wu replied, cupping his hands with exaggerated formality.
"You dare question sect doctrine?"
"No, Elder. I'm just surprised we're still using doctrine from 600 years ago when the realm changed 500 ago."
[+5 PP – Sarcastic Disruption (Elder Tier)][+10 PP – Public Spiritual Authority Challenge]
"You insolent—!"
"I'm just saying," Wu continued, "if wisdom came with age, you'd be enlightened by now."
The Plan
Later that night, Wu sat outside the outer sect storeroom, scribbling with borrowed ink on cheap scroll paper.
The system buzzed softly.
New Quest: First SchemeObjective: Instigate sect-wide unease using false spiritual propaganda.Reward: Petty Shop Access + Cloak of Disguise I
He wrote:
"To the disciples of Broken Root Sect—You have sinned against the principles of true cultivation. You cling to hollow structure and blind tradition.We see you.You have been marked.– Executor of the Heavenly Meme Cult"
He dripped illusion powder on the scroll to make the text glow faintly. Then left it in front of Fang Muchen's door.
Next, he used Stolen Identity Scroll (Tier 0) from his System's freebies and painted a mark on the wall:
☯ – Heavenly Meme Cult
He vanished into the shadows.
[+10 PP – Forged Message (Sect Targeted)][+10 PP – Narrative Subversion Ritual][+10 PP – False Cult Identity (Feared)]
The Next Morning
Chaos.
Fang Muchen stormed the training grounds, waving the scroll.
"Who dares?!"
Elder Han read the text aloud, face going pale.
Disciples whispered behind cupped hands.
"They say it's a rogue cult…""Maybe they're ancient?""They strike prideful disciples first…"
[+15 PP – Fear-Induced Cult Myth Propagation]Heavenly Meme Cult Reputation Tier: I – Whispered Threat
Han turned to the crowd.
"Who has done this?!"
Wu Feng yawned from the back, holding a peach.
"Whoever did," he said, "they've got style."
Han's eyes narrowed.
But he couldn't prove it.
System Update:
Petty Points: 70New Unlock: Petty Shop Tier 1
Disguise Talismans
Bluff Scrolls
Illusion Mark Dust
Narrative Mask Technique (Lv. 1)
Wu grinned. "Finally. Toys."
That night, he sat on a rooftop under the stars.
"In this world, they cultivate with roots, pills, and ancestors.I'll cultivate with scripts, schemes, and disrespect."
"This is my Dao."
"I'm not the hero. I'm the glitch in the cultivation system."
"And if you see a Heavenly Meme Cult scroll on your door tomorrow—
…you deserve it."