I'm Not a Core Formation Old Monster!!!
Baek Woo stared at Baek Cheong's fingertips without so much as a twitch, frozen like a statue. His ten-year-old little sister, who had seemed utterly clumsy even pretending to hold a brush just moments ago, was flawlessly deducing the meridians he'd demonstrated in the Fierce Flame Talisman and drawing it out in bold red ink.
Swoosh. As the final stroke completed on the paper, a scorching heat filled the dining hall. The thick fire-attributed spiritual energy emanating from the finished Fierce Flame Talisman heated the air. It rivaled the high-grade talismans Baek Woo painstakingly crafted with his usual devotion.
"Th-this is..." Baek Woo's lips trembled.
Only then did his father and mother snap out of their daze, approaching Baek Woo cautiously. His mother wrapped her arms around his shoulders, speaking in a gentle voice.
"Woo-ya. I'm sorry for startling you. The truth is, while you were away, something tremendous happened in our Baek family."
Baek Mujin cleared his throat awkwardly and began recounting Baek Cheong's miraculous achievements to his son, one by one. How she'd independently grasped the Five Elements mutual generation cycle and reached the 4-star Refining Qi stage. How she'd caught the eye of the pill refiner and learned alchemy, producing high-grade pills. The hidden truths poured out like a burst dam.
Baek Woo listened intently, mouth agape. The youngest sister he'd believed doomed by her trashy mixed Five Elements spiritual roots was, in reality, a once-in-millennia prodigy shattering the common sense of the cultivation world. Having witnessed the overwhelming results of her genius with his own eyes, there was no way he could deny it.
"The heavens... the heavens must envy Cheong-i's intellect and bestowed those mixed spiritual roots upon her."
Baek Woo sighed and nodded. But his eyes soon filled with deep relief and joy.
"Yet even that mixed root talent was surpassed by her unparalleled genius, wasn't it? Cheong-ah, your big brother is truly happy that your fate isn't so harsh."
Baek Woo sprang to his feet and pulled Baek Cheong into a tight hug. As sincere congratulations and praise poured out, Baek Cheong grinned bashfully, playing the part.
"Thank you, big brother. But drawing talismans is really fun. Teach me more!"
Baek Cheong's eyes sparkled, utterly hooked on the allure of talisman crafting. Baek Woo laughed heartily and spread out fresh talisman papers on the table.
"Alright, today I'll teach you the essence of all the 1st circle talismans I learned from my master. With your talent and intellect for handling energy, you'll pick it up in no time."
Baek Woo's enthusiastic one-on-one tutoring began. Light Body Talisman, Guardian Talisman, Invisibility Talisman, and more. The diagrams and meridian circulation methods for these basic yet practically useful talismans were passed down in detail.
Baek Cheong absorbed it all like a sponge, leveraging her divine sense and focus without missing a single explanation.
Just two or three hours later. That was all the time it took for Baek Cheong to perfectly replicate every 1st circle talisman Baek Woo had shown her, infusing them with her own energy to produce results at high-grade or better.
"Heh heh... This father of yours has no energy left to even be surprised."
Baek Mujin shook his head in awe. Baek Woo, too, set down his brush with a dazed expression.
"Cheong-ah, you really are... a prodigy among prodigies. Talisman crafting is so difficult that even ten years of study barely builds the foundation. To surpass 1st circle talismans in just a few hours..."
Baek Woo wore a complex smile, a mix of bitterness and pride. He was deeply impressed by his sister's freakish genius, yet as a cultivator, he couldn't help feeling his own talent seemed pathetically inadequate by comparison.
But the star of the show, Baek Cheong, reacted differently. The initial thrill and curiosity from her first brush strokes had cooled after a few hours of work. Drawing lines and infusing energy was simple and yielded instant results, which was fun—but ultimately, it was just repeating preset diagrams. Compared to pill refining, it was easier on the body but mentally dulling.
Getting boring now. Time to hit the gallery instead.
It was a rare day of freedom from the hellish pill refining room, thanks to Baek Woo's visit. She couldn't waste this precious time doodling talismans.
Baek Cheong quickly feigned fatigue, putting on an act.
"Mm... Big brother, my wrist hurts now. I think I've used up all my energy too."
As she set down the brush and rubbed her tiny wrist with a pitiful look, Baek Woo startled and checked on her.
"Oh no, I pushed you too hard. You're still just at Refining Qi, and focusing on talismans for hours must have strained your meridians. Hurry back to your residence and rest well."
"Yes, big brother. Rest well before your long journey too!"
Baek Cheong bowed deeply and bolted out of the dining hall. Ignoring the worried gazes from her parents and brother boring into her back, she hurried away.
The moment she reached her residence, Baek Cheong locked the door latch securely. She flung herself onto the soft bed and immediately connected her divine sense to Moomyeongbang. A smile crept across her lips at the thought of stirring up trouble. She began crafting a provocative post, fully utilizing her newly acquired talisman knowledge.
This was a malicious provocation directly undermining one of the cultivation world's revered professions: talisman crafting.
Less than ten seconds after posting, the familiar red notifications lined up.
Instead of the rage and condemnation she'd hoped for, the responses were lukewarm mixes of resignation and mockery. Moomyeongbang's users had long since pegged Dou(913.14) as a malicious Core Formation old monster. No matter how astonishing her boasts, they dismissed them as typical trolling from such a figure. The prevailing opinion ignored her completely.
"Ugh, so frustrating."
Baek Cheong punched the bed in irritation. The explosive reactions and hate from talisman crafters were her sole joy in gallery trolling. But this cold indifference and "Core Formation old monster" treatment scratched severely at her community ghost pride.
She needed a game-changing pivot to overhaul her stubbornly negative image on Moomyeongbang.
"How do I make them believe I'm not a Core Formation old monster?"
Baek Cheong propped her chin, racking her brain. A safe bet was to log off Moomyeongbang and go dark until people forgot her. But cultivators had long lifespans and sharp memories. Even months or years of ghosting wouldn't erase the association—seeing the realm ID (913.14) would instantly recall the malicious old monster.
Above all, she lacked the willpower to abandon her life's sole joy, gallery trolling, even for a day.
"Ghosting rejected."
Another option: burn 15 sheets of divine sense paper on an image post for visual proof. Showing her youthful face or Refining Qi 4-star aura could flip public opinion overnight.
But it wasn't foolproof. Even with 15 sheets, the image manifesting in Moomyeongbang was fist-sized at best. Fitting irrefutable proof of her identity into that tiny frame was tricky. Plus, the cultivation world was vast; naive folks who assumed "looks young = actually a kid" were rare. Most importantly, Baek Cheong upheld one ironclad rule as a community ghost.
"No direct personal exposure."
Revealing her true self in the anonymous sea was like begging to die. She knew her lower realm ID (913.14) was exceedingly rare in Moomyeongbang history, but that slim "what if" variable terrified her. There might be a lurker from her own realm silently browsing. Or enraged Transformation stage or higher cultivators, driven mad by her endless aggro, could breach restrictions and cross realm barriers to slit her throat.
"Selfie proof rejected too."
Baek Cheong tore at her hair, deep in thought. She had to shed the old monster image without exposure or ghosting. She needed a clever breakthrough for this deadlock.
"Can't change the realm ID either..."
As she rolled on the bed, staring blankly at Moomyeongbang, enlightenment flashed in her eyes.
"...Guess that's the only way."
Baek Cheong sat up, steeling herself with resolve. Explaining directly that she wasn't an old monster would seem lame and unconvincing. Time to approach Moomyeongbang with a new mindset.
Sincere gallery posting.
The basic tactic of opinion manipulation she'd witnessed and executed countless times in her past life's internet communities: steadily posting wholesome content to launder her image.