Eternal Continent, a remote region in the Eastern Continent, Yichuan City
As dusk settled, wisps of cooking smoke curled slowly from the Su Family courtyard. Several Su family servants scurried back and forth in the kitchen, each trip carefully carrying platters of freshly cooked, steaming dishes.
Their expressions were a mix of urgency and caution, as if they feared disturbing the Su family elders and young masters' meal, yet also worried about accidentally spilling the food.
"Xin Ci, we're running out of firewood. Go to the woodpile and get a bundle," Master Wang called out.
After lifting a plump, tender fish from the pot and placing it onto a smooth white jade plate, he immediately started stir-frying the next dish. Noticing the dwindling firewood, he turned to the roughly fourteen-year-old boy standing by the stove, his clothes mended in multiple places and his face smudged with charcoal.
"Sigh, when will the male lead wake up? When will the main storyline begin?"
"Xin Ci" heard Master Wang's call, shook his head helplessly, and sighed, looking utterly dispirited. He muttered something under his breath before agreeing and heading to the kitchen for firewood.
The boy’s name was not Xin Ci at this moment, but Mu Qingqing.
Mu Qingqing was a transmigrator. After complaining about a fantasy novel, she was whisked away by an unknown force into the world of the very novel she was reading. While others transmigrated to become dragon-king protagonists or female cultivators of immense power, she found herself in a peculiar situation: upon transmigrating, she had become the second personality of the male lead in a male-oriented fantasy novel.
She learned from the system that to return to her original world, Mu Qingqing had to wait until the male lead, Xin Ci, achieved eternity and the novel's plot was concluded.
The cultivation system on the Eternal Continent was divided into nine layers of Body Refining, followed by the four realms of Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow, then King, Heavenly Venerable, Saint Emperor, Great Emperor, and the legendary Eternal Realm.
Unfortunately, Mu Qingqing, as Xin Ci's second personality, could not cultivate spiritual energy. However, she could cultivate soul power, and the system had provided her with a divine soul cultivation technique called the [Myriad Manifestation Star Wheel Scripture]. With this technique, Mu Qingqing’s soul power had reached the one-star realm, equivalent to the Yellow Realm in spiritual energy cultivation.
Under the system's guidance, Mu Qingqing, as the male lead's second personality, could only fully control Xin Ci's body if the male lead was unconscious or voluntarily relinquished control. Otherwise, even if her cultivation level was significantly higher than Xin Ci's, she could only barely gain control of his body for ten seconds. During these ten seconds, Xin Ci would have no memories, and upon gaining control, Mu Qingqing's cultivation would be limited by the capacity of Xin Ci's body, preventing her from unleashing her full strength.
"Sigh!" Mu Qingqing sighed again, feeling utterly speechless. It seemed the consequences of transmigration were quite severe. When she transmigrated, the male lead had just fallen off a cliff while chopping wood. The main personality had still not woken up. This left her, the second personality, to temporarily take over the body. The trouble was, nearly ten days had passed, and the main personality, Xin Ci, showed no signs of waking up.
Mu Qingqing was starting to panic. What if the main personality, Xin Ci, was already dead? If that were the case, what would she do? The system had stated that the novel's plot must be initiated by the male lead's main personality. Otherwise, even if she, the second personality, managed to fulfill the story's ending, the system would not allow her to return to her original world.
Mu Qingqing emerged from the woodpile, carrying a bundle of firewood, and walked towards the Su Family kitchen. As she walked, she shook her head in annoyance, muttering to herself, "Sigh, male lead, oh male lead, please wake up soon." "Otherwise, I'll be stuck in the novel world forever."
As she spoke, she reached the entrance of the Su Family kitchen with the firewood. At that moment, two servants who looked like petty thugs blocked her path. Mu Qingqing, still lost in her frustration, ignored them and walked straight past. One of them, with a pockmarked face and cloudy eyes, became enraged when Mu Qingqing ignored him. He suddenly grabbed her collar and sneered, "Yo, isn't this 'Charcoal Head' Xin Ci, freeloading meals at the Su family's?"
The two men were tall and sturdy, towering over Mu Qingqing and almost making her body bend. However, Mu Qingqing calmly brushed his hand away, acting as if she was dismissing a child. "Go play, kid, your sister is busy."
"You! You!!" The two men were stunned by Mu Qingqing's words. They quickly reacted, their faces contorting with rage, their eyes burning with a desire to tear Mu Qingqing apart. "You little brat, you think you've lived long enough to insult us as children?" "And Xin Ci, you call yourself 'sister'? Have you lost your mind?"
In the original novel, the male lead's parents were both servants of the Su family. They had died years ago in the Su family's mine, leaving only the main personality, Xin Ci, behind. Out of necessity, he had to work as a firewood cutter for the Su family. But he was still a servant's child, and his cultivation talent was not exceptional. To this day, he hadn't even reached the Body Refining realm and was often ridiculed by the Su family's servants. These two men, in particular, had been constantly bothering him.
Mu Qingqing originally had no intention of dealing with these two minor characters, but it seemed she had to teach them a lesson. With that thought, the corners of her lips curved into a wicked arc. A hint of mischief flickered in Mu Qingqing's eyes. Seeing the expression on Mu Qingqing's face, the two men shivered, a feeling of extreme unease washing over them.
"Xin Ci! How dare you act tough in front of us!" "You little scoundrel, I'll teach you a lesson today!" The pockmarked man cursed, raising his fist to strike Mu Qingqing. Before his thick hand could touch Mu Qingqing, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness overwhelm him, and he lost consciousness. He was kicked away, falling to the ground with a cry of pain. "Ah!!" The other man, seeing this, was startled and stumbled backward. He stared fearfully at the seemingly frail youth before him, trembling uncontrollably. "Body... Body Refining ninth layer! You, you said you can't cultivate? How did you advance to Body Refining ninth layer so quickly!"
Mu Qingqing lazily swept her gaze over the two men, her eyes filled with amusement. "Little friends, it seems we need to have a good talk." Mu Qingqing clenched her fists, making cracking sounds, and said with a smile, her tone as gentle as if she were joking with good friends. "You, you, you, don't do anything rash! We are servants of the Su family, you can't do anything to us!" The two men's hearts pounded wildly as they looked at Mu Qingqing's innocent face. "I won't do anything rash. Your sister here is kind-hearted and will give you a bit of unconventional education." Mu Qingqing said with a chuckle, a sly glint in her eyes.