Fire! Fire! Fire!...
An asteroid orbited a massive life-sustaining planet, its interior hollowed out and built into a resplendent palace.
The fat man flipped up from a custom oversized virtual bio-pod, his voice booming and echoing endlessly.
A stern, old-fashioned butler hurried over with a group of charming maids, looking flustered. "Young master, what's wrong?"
The fat man swept his gaze around, his eyes sparkling with newfound confidence and pride that had never been there before. "I've received guidance from an unparalleled interstellar master and have become an interstellar cultivator! Now this senior wants to spread his teachings across the stars. Since he's been in seclusion for so long, he has to start from scratch by answering questions on the Myth Forum to build popularity—it's truly beneath his lofty status. To show my gratitude, I'm going to make him famous and let more people see the supreme path he imparts!"
His tone was impassioned, as if he'd taken a stimulant.
Hearing such exaggeration, the butler looked stunned. He knew that although this young master was often called a waste in the family for lacking cultivation talent, he was sharp-minded. At a young age, he'd used his wits to amass a considerable fortune and even owned a life-sustaining planet.
Now, having become an interstellar cultivator, his future in the family was boundless.
If he continued to grow, he might even become the primary heir to the clan leader!
Who was this cultivation master with the power to turn decay into magic?
"Hurry, open the Myth Forum!" the fat man urged from the side. His usually lazy, bulky frame now darted over like lightning, startling everyone.
He opened the Myth Forum, followed the account "Hongjun," and scrolled through the records.
The butler leaned in for a look and was equally stunned.
The "Hongjun" account had only been registered for three days, yet it had already answered over a thousand questions, nearly all of them correctly. Beneath the account, a flood of grateful comments poured in.
"Thank you so much! I've decided to choose the wind-and-thunder gene evolution path. Grateful for the master's guidance!"
"This answer is perfect! I'm very satisfied. The star coins have been transferred. Let's be friends!"
"The master solved a puzzle I've been stuck on for ages. Thank you!"
...
"This one's right!"
"This one's right too!"
"All correct—how is this possible?"
...
The butler and the others were astonished as they looked at the questions Hongjun had answered.
The sheer volume of answers was beyond imagination, and the accuracy rate was terrifyingly high. After scanning through, they couldn't find a single mistake.
This was utterly incredible.
The Myth Forum was the largest interstellar exchange platform. Its paid Q&A questions were highly professional, touching on the essence of various cultivation methods—not something just anyone could answer. And to have answered so many in just three days was unheard of.
The fat man, however, looked as if it were only natural. After all, this was Hongjun, the founder of the Myth Gene Society.
A true big shot! A legend!
"Quick, from now on, publish Hongjun's ID and all these answers everywhere. Keep advertising nonstop. I want the entire interstellar community to see the profound teachings of Patriarch Hongjun!" the fat man raised his voice.
"Such a massive advertising investment—isn't the cost too high?" the butler hesitated.
"What do I care? I've got money to burn!" the fat man said willfully. "Master Hongjun made me an interstellar cultivator, so I'm going to make him famous across the stars!"
To him, this cost meant nothing. The fat man had his eyes on the supreme mythic path in Hongjun's hands, though he couldn't tell anyone that!
"Oh, right!" He didn't forget himself. "I want to advertise too. I want everyone to know that I, Zhu Tiangang, have become an interstellar cultivator! Let all those who called me a waste open their dog eyes and see!"
Born into the Zhu family, the wealthiest in the Chinese Interstellar Republic, the fat man had never been one for keeping a low profile.
He'd only held back before because he had no cultivation talent and nothing to say.
Now that he'd turned his life around and become an interstellar cultivator overnight, he couldn't stay quiet any longer!
Was he the type to take a loss without fighting back?
A gentleman seeks revenge, ten years is not too late.
A petty man seeks revenge, from dawn till dusk!
The fat man gritted his teeth, ready to vent all his pent-up resentment.
As he poured out star coins by the handful, advertisements spread like snowflakes across the entire interstellar network.
"There's no such thing as a waste gene, only a waste person. You see only my wealth, but not my sweat. You have your rules, I have my choices. You deny my present, I decide my future. You mock me as fat as a pig, unfit for cultivation; I pity you for always being shortsighted and narrow-minded. You can look down on our talents, but we'll prove whose era this is. Dreams are a lonely journey, filled with doubt and ridicule along the way—but so what? Even if bruised and battered, live brilliantly. Become an interstellar cultivator in a day! I am Zhu Tiangang, and I speak for the wastes."
"Want to know the secrets of myths? Want to understand the meaning of life? Want to truly... live?... Myth Forum, Hongjun preaches!"
...
It blew up!
Feng Lin had just logged off and opened the Myth Forum, with only one thought in his mind.
A shocking number stared back at him.
Followers: 1,583,723
A full 1.58 million followers—far beyond expectations, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
This was...
A hit!
Feng Lin had planned to build the "Hongjun" ID into a myth-level influencer, but he never expected it to happen this fast. It was almost unbelievable.
If he had to accumulate followers one by one, when would he ever break a million?
He hadn't expected that fat man to be so effective. Both his status and abilities exceeded Feng Lin's assumptions. He thought he'd already rated him highly, but it seemed he'd still underestimated him!
Now, private messages kept flooding into his account.
"Are you the Patriarch Hongjun who guided interstellar influencer Zhu Tiangang? Can you give me some advice? A thousand thanks!"
"Are you really a cultivation master?"
"Fake! How could a waste become a genius? Becoming an interstellar cultivator in a day—how is that possible?"
...
The messages were a mixed bag—doubt, admiration, slander...
Feng Lin remained unfazed, caring about none of it, focusing only on one thing.
New influencer Zhu Tiangang?
He searched online and quickly found results. When he saw Zhu Tiangang solemnly declare, "I am Zhu Tiangang, and I speak for the wastes," he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
City folks sure know how to have fun!
This Zhu Tiangang really wasn't one for keeping a low profile!
Feng Lin also saw his overwhelming ads: "Want to know the secrets of myths? Want to understand the meaning of life? Want to truly... live?... Myth Forum, Hongjun preaches!"
No wonder his follower count was skyrocketing. This advertising was insane—like a full-front-page interstellar promotion!
Indeed, to become a myth-level influencer, hype was the way to go.
Followers kept surging, and comments multiplied, all filled with requests for guidance.
"Big shot, can you give me some advice on my cultivation? I've read all your answers—they're brilliant!"
"Master, I'm a gene cultivator, but I don't know where to go next. Can you calculate a gene formula for me? If you can evolve obesity genes into primal genes, you should be able to handle my lignification gene too!"
"Senior, I'm a cute girl—I can warm your bed, fold your blankets. Just help me with my cultivation, and I'll do anything!"
...
It was a mess, with all sorts of comments.
Feng Lin blocked these spam accounts one by one, but it didn't end.
Beep beep beep!
Sharp, piercing sounds kept ringing out as another flood of private messages poured in, every moment, never-ending, impossible to delete fast enough.
Feng Lin noticed the follower growth rate accelerating.
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million...
Soon, his follower count broke through the small goal of 100 million, still climbing rapidly.
It came down to those same three words...
Fire! Fire! Fire!...