Even Trolling on the Gallery Requires Cultivation
Baek Cheong returned to her private residence and immediately locked the thick wooden door with its sturdy bolt. As the tension drained from her body, she felt as light as cotton candy. She flung herself onto the soft bed and promptly focused her divine sense.
The thought of embarking on a full exploration made the corners of her mouth curl up uncontrollably. The board's overall structure resembled the familiar community forums from her previous life. At the top of the screen were category tabs branching off in various directions—Chitchat, Info, Questions, Marketplace, and so on, all with straightforward labels.
Baek Cheong's gaze naturally drifted to the bustling Chitchat board, where the most activity swirled. New posts flooded in at a ferocious pace. With every blink, dozens of fresh threads poured down endlessly.
The content felt painfully familiar. Nonsensical drivel and personal diary-like ramblings, just like the internet boards from her past life, dominated the feed.
Gamblers lamenting lost spirit stones, disciples deceiving their sects for a taste of freedom, rants overflowing with gripes against stick-in-the-mud masters—they poured out without end. The eternal truth that people are the same everywhere held firm even in the world of cultivation.
"Pfft haha, now this is a proper gallery."
Baek Cheong cackled as she rapidly scrolled through the flood of posts with her eyes, committing the board's vibe and rules to memory. Playtime was over—it was time to leave her mark.
She extended her divine sense toward the Write Post button in the bottom right. An empty input field popped up, overlaid with a small red warning.
Spiritual energy will be consumed to write a post.
Baek Cheong tilted her head. How much energy could scribbling a few words really take? Born into the Gold Core Baek family with spiritual energy as abundant as air, she brushed it off lightly.
Heart pounding with excitement, she focused on the title field. She vividly pictured the first character in her mind and etched it into the blank space.
In an instant, the meager spiritual energy pooled in her dantian evaporated. A vicious pain exploded from her empty dantian, ravaging her entire body. A splitting headache hammered her skull like it was being cleaved open. Her stomach twisted, bile surging up her throat.
"Hngh... urk!"
Baek Cheong clutched her head and rolled across the soft bed. Her vision spun wildly; she couldn't even focus on objects around her. She'd never dreamed a single character could drain her dry.
Gasping raggedly amid the agony, she flailed instinctively to draw in ambient spiritual energy.
...
Only after an eternity did the throbbing headache finally ebb, allowing her to gather her scattered wits.
"A-alive..."
Baek Cheong gripped the sweat-soaked thin blanket, steadying her heaving breaths. The pathetic reality of her trash five-element spiritual roots sank deep into her bones. Absorbing and storing heaven-and-earth spiritual energy was torturously slow and sluggish. Any normal child would have panicked and logged off the Moomyeongbang right then—but Baek Cheong was an incurable community addict who never gave up.
A nameless stubborn fire ignited in her chest. Surrender here, and how would she endure the long, boring life in the cultivation world?
I'll post no matter what.
She drew a deep breath, sharpening her divine sense. Slowly absorbing faint ambient energy to trickle-fill her dantian, she forced in the next character. The familiar headache and dizziness hit, but she gritted her teeth through it.
One character, collapse; painstakingly recover energy— the grueling cycle repeated foolishly. Sweat poured like rain from her forehead; her breaths grew perilously shallow.
After a desperate, wretched struggle, she finally completed five characters in the title field.
"Huhu... success..."
A triumph born of inhuman tenacity. But now came the body text. Her planned lengthy, cheeky self-introduction had long evaporated with the sweat. She lacked even the strength to twitch a finger.
Squeezing out her limit-pushed mental fortitude, she inscribed into the blank body. Amid head-exploding pain, she scraped together every last dreg of energy.
"Just this..."
Three characters done—then her vision blacked out completely. On the verge of losing consciousness, she desperately slammed her divine sense onto the submit button.
[Logged out.]
She confirmed her post safely registered on the Chitchat board. But she could endure no more pain. No energy left to explore further. Before she could even withdraw her divine sense, a deep, heavy sleep greedily devoured her consciousness.
Her small body slumped onto the soft bed, utterly still save for faint breaths.
No telling how much time had passed. A rich, savory aroma teased Baek Cheong's nose. Even unconsciously, it made her mouth water—a scent that fiercely stirred her appetite. Her empty stomach churned violently, urging its owner to rise.
"Ugh... hungry."
She pried open her leaden eyelids with effort. In a daze, she staggered off the bed. Like a zombie, she shuffled instinctively toward the smell's source.
Unthinkingly, she unlocked the door, hurried down the long corridor. The delicious trail led to the family dining hall, Naedang, where they gathered for meals.
Right on time for breakfast—the wide round table was surrounded by the full family.
Huh...?
Stepping inside, Baek Cheong blinked at the scene. The atmosphere was oppressively heavy and somber, nothing like usual. The table brimmed with rare, lavish spirit dishes, yet no one touched their utensils, only sighing deeply.
"Cheong, Cheong-ah!"
The family turned at her cautious footsteps, eyes widening at the girl in the doorway. But her state was pitiable—cheeks hollowed, dark shadows under her eyes from repeatedly squeezing her spiritual energy to exhaustion.
"......"
The frail child swaying like she might collapse shocked them speechless. An awkward, chilly silence hung over the vast hall.
Baek Cheong belatedly clasped her small hands neatly, bowing politely to the adults. "Everyone, have you been well?"
Her hoarse voice broke the ice, thawing the frozen air bit by bit.
Her father at the head table shot to his feet. His deep voice, thick with worry, burst out urgently. "Cheong-ah, you've shut yourself in your residence for days. Do you know how worried we've been?"
Days? Baek Cheong reeled inwardly. Scribbling a few words had burned through days?
"This mother of yours tried to check on you out of worry, but turned back so many times at the sound of your sobs..."
"We couldn't eat properly either, our hearts weren't at ease."
Her mother and aunts chimed in, eyes reddening with pity, stroking their chests at the harsh trial for such a young child.
At their heartfelt reactions, Baek Cheong bowed her head, murmuring apologetically in a small voice. "I'm sorry for worrying you all."
She couldn't exactly admit she'd lost track of time trolling on Moomyeongbang. Dodging their eyes to the floor, she forced an awkward, stiff expression.
To the family, her clumsy demeanor screamed tragic misunderstanding: devastated by her trash five-element roots, she'd withered away in solitary despair.
Baek Cheong shuffled to her seat and slumped down heavily. She lacked the strength to even lift the silver chopsticks. Days of starvation plus spiritual energy depletion aftermath made her fingertips tremble faintly.
Servants' eyes filled with deep pity at the girl with gourmet delicacies before her, head bowed blankly. Compassionate gazes poured down heavily.
Unable to bear it, her mother rose quietly and approached. "Let Mother feed you."
She picked the most nutritious, tender parts of spirit beast meat, carefully bringing it to her daughter's lips.
Baek Cheong accepted the bites, chewing laboriously. Swallowing was rough from the depletion's aftereffects. She mashed the meat finely before forcing it down her parched throat.
Thankfully, the venerable Baek family's meals were leagues above ordinary fare—stews of rare spirit herbs and premium spirit beast meat rivaled great tonics. As the quality meat settled heavily in her stomach, a warm, cozy energy spread through her body. Vitality trickled back into her desiccated frame.
After a few more bites, her precarious stamina stabilized somewhat. A faint flush colored her cheeks.
The subtle, heavy mood lingered as breakfast proceeded quietly. Bowls emptied one by one; as the meal neared its end, Baek Cheong took a small breath and spoke carefully across the table.
Meeting her father's eyes squarely, she said, "Please teach me the family technique. I want to cultivate."
To post freely and communicate smoothly on Moomyeongbang, she needed ample spiritual energy at minimum. Her current frail state, where a few characters bottomed out her dantian, made normal activity impossible. She had to master a technique quickly to boost her efficiency at drawing in external energy.
Her sudden declaration startled her mother beside her, who hurriedly dissuaded. "Cheong-ah, you don't have to push yourself. With our family's power, you can live luxuriously without ever cultivating. There's no need to force yourself down that harsh, painful path."
Despite her mother's earnest plea, Baek Cheong shook her head firmly. Fists clenched on the table, her unyielding gaze shone with resolve. "No. I really want to learn the technique."
Her father stared at his young daughter with wide, astonished eyes. Even after the shocking trash roots verdict and days bedridden from the blow, she refused to abandon the cultivator's path. Her unbreakable spirit stirred hot admiration in his chest.
"Truly commendable."
Though piled with duties as family head, he couldn't ignore his daughter's resolute eyes. With a hearty laugh, he boomed in a thick, affectionate voice, "I'll make time every day to teach you the Baek family's basic technique personally."
He strode over, wrapping her small shoulders in a firm, warm grip. Deep affection flowed from his callused, rough hands.
"Our Cheong-ah has exceptional innate talent; even if cultivation progresses slower than others, you'll surely bloom brilliantly in other ways."
Baek Cheong beamed a bright, pure smile at her father's sturdy encouragement laced with warmth. But inwardly, she yearned only for the day she'd master the technique and flood Moomyeongbang with troll posts to her heart's content.