Chapter 23: Ride The Waves, Write The Waves

Han Xuhan put down the pen from his hand and stared at the recent calculations on the sheet in front of him.

He had just tried to calculate his optimum monthly expense.

Altogether, he'd need nearly a thousand spirit stones per month to cultivate at a decent speed. This expense was not a constant, of course, the higher his cultivation got, the more spirit stones he would require. And the increase wasn't small either. Every two or three layers later, the expense would multiply, forming an exponentially increasing graph.

Based on what elder Cai had said, thousand spirit stones per month would be the barest minimum requirement for his physique to maintain a decent cultivation speed.

So Xuhan knew that he was currently broke and facing expulsion even though he had more than 500 spirit stones left. Even if he cultivated desperately and managed to break through to the second layer of the Physique Transformation realm within the next three weeks, he wouldn't have any resources to continue further afterwards.

So his first priority right now was to find a method to earn spirit stones. After that, he could cultivate in peace for a while.

Han Xuhan put the sheets aside and examined a leaflet he had acquired from Xiao Wu. The leaflet contained a list of almost all the ways to earn spirit stones in the sect.

There were multiple choices that had been marked by Xuhan on the list. At the moment, however, the number one choice he was inclined to pursue was...writing books.

Literature was a common hobby to dabble in among cultivators. Due to their long lifespan and attraction towards flair and style, novels, poems, and dramas were quite popular among the younger generations.

Upon seeing that particular way of earning spirit stones, Han Xuhan had gotten excited initially. Why would he not?

He had been a novel addict in his previous life. He could copy all of those popular novels from earth and with a bit of editing, he could earn cash faster than breathing.

However, in his excitement, he had decided to take a peek into the business. He had contacted many disciples to run a survey.

He had wanted to figure out what the popular genres among this generation of cultivators were. With the results of the survey in hand, he had felt like somebody had slapped his face very hard.

His martial brothers and sisters had given him a list of popular stories and poetry styles that were in the vogue these days...

Stories

1- The overbearing sect master and the introverted female disciple

[ Known for having broken all the sales records, even though nobody knows who bought the copies. ]

2- The wolf demon is my fuckbuddy

[ Again, all the copies of this book had disappeared from the shelves soon after coming out, and the publishers have no idea who had taken them. The thief had apparently left an appropriate amount of money before taking the books. ]

3- My scheming husbands want my attention

[ This novel was banned in six of the seven regions. But that ban only spiked the sales. ]

4- Lord of the Nine Rings

[ A classic, written by an anonymous person with the pen-name Ladykiller42069. ]

5- Hai Ri Po Te and the Heavenly Stone

[ Extremely popular with children, this huge saga has been read by almost every cultivator born in this century. The author had left this world (literally) before it got popular. ]

6. The Fault in Our Blackholes

[ Written by the illustrious, mysterious master of a powerful, foreign sect named Abyss Guild. ]

7. Invisible Dragon

[ Not even the publishers of the original copies knew who wrote this. But the content of this novel is extremely popular as a gift to one's enemies. ]

8- The Avenger Cultivators

[ The only book in the list that uses pictures instead of only words to tell its story. It has been praised for bringing revolutionary ideas into the fashion field. Also, the unanimous author of this book wrote their opinion at the back of the book, stating that Tai Niu Si was indeed right about the lack of resources in the universe. ]

9- Fifty Trillion Shades of Green

[ Everyone who has read this claims to have hated it. But that doesn't explain why its sales record remains within the top 10 every year. ]

Han Xuhan had stomped on the list after reading the ninth entry and hadn't even bothered to look at the popular poetry list. He was sure it would be filled with similar writings stolen from Earth.

This also confirmed one suspicion of his. There really were other transmigrators and reincarnators in this world from earth. But sadly, most of the authors of these books were anonymous.

Now that his head had cooled down a bit, Xuhan massaged his forehead and thought hard about what else he could write that would earn him any cash at all.

He would have to ditch the previous plan. If he went to the publishers with the manuscript of a novel from earth, it might get published. But that would land him in a different sort of minefield.

Who could guarantee that the transmigrators and reincarnators on this planet were friendly, or good-natured? They could be a sinister person as well. Hell, the chances of the latter being true were more realistic.

Most of these people were bound to be powerful and influential. If they had an unfriendly attitude towards other 'special' cultivators...Han Xuhan would be shooting himself in the foot by revealing his secret.

All in all, it was better not to write anything too closely related to earth. And it would be best if he could keep his identity a secret when the book gets published...

Moving on to the content of his book, if he aimed for anything original or unusual, it would take a long time to generate any profit even if it was a masterpiece. And he didn't have that much confidence in his writing ability anyway. So that was out of the question.

Following the general flow wouldn't work either. Books of that sort wouldn't get him any profit when he was a mortal nobody knew. Which publisher would give a flying fuck about a random copycat? His competitors were way more educated and experienced than he was.

Half an hour later, Han Xuhan was still lost in his thoughts when he heard a knock on his door. He walked out of his room and saw Mu Ran standing outside his hut with a rather strange smile on his face.

"Yeah, boss. Need anything?"

Mu Ran wasn't exactly aware of his situation, as Han Xuhan hadn't spread the details.

Mu Ran just felt that his lackey wasn't very talented and had to cultivate harder than most disciples.

He didn't seem very concerned about his underling's future prospects. Occasionally, he helped Xuhan with practical problems during cultivation and gave him pointers. In his words, that would be enough to boost Xuhan's cultivation level to a passable height.

Passable for what exactly...Mu Ran had never made it clear.

Han Xuhan had his suspicions, but Mu Ran hardly seemed like the type to concoct insidious schemes. So he didn't put too much concern on that rabbithole of paranoia.

"Underling Xuhan, I've reached the peak of the first layer of physique transformation realm. I came to invite you to a celebratory feast! You've been working too hard these days. Take a break and come with me to the kitchens. I'll pay for your shares and you'll pay for mine!"

Exuberant, Mu Ran dragged Xuhan out of his hut and started boasting about how powerful he was now compared to before. Xuhan absentmindedly listened to his ridiculous boasts knowing most of them must be true. After all, this was another protagonist like those anonymous authors...

"Xuhan, are you going to buy anything from the auctions? "

Mu Ran's question interrupted his musings.

Auction?

Wasn't that just another cliche to make the protagonist strike gold by giving him priceless treasures that no one could identify?

"I'm in a tight situation, boss. Can't spend much on anything right now."

"You should at least buy a weapon for self-defense you know? As your boss, I can help you in a fight provided the opponent isn't stronger than a cultivator at the sixth layer. But above that, you'll need to rely on your own capabilities as well. If you don't even have a weapon, how would you protect yourself when I'm not around?"

"Sixth layer of the physique transformation?" Han Xuhan's eyes widened.

"Haha, I'm not exaggerating, but I can definitely say that I'm unmatched below the sixth layer of physique transformation realm!"

Xuhan was just about to nod mechanically with a well-placed "sigh of admiration" when an incensed voice came from behind them.

"Not exaggerating? That's really funny. How about you prove that?"

Both guys turned around and saw a very pretty girl holding a sheathed sword in her hands and staring at Mu Ran with flames spewing from her eyes figuratively.

Han Xuhan suddenly felt a bit more awake.

What a familiar chain of events!

Ah, our protagonist has encountered his first waifu in the sect, the tsundere type with anger issues.

"And the trope starts..." Xuhan muttered under his breath as Mu Ran and the unfamiliar girl started squabbling. Slowly, more and more disciples started gathering around them, attracted toward the commotion.

"You pervert! You peeked at me while I was bathing on the way to the sect that day. I have finally gotten the chance to get you back for this! I've broken through to the second layer this morning.

I challenge you to a duel at the arena. If you're a man, then accept!"

The yell of the furious girl was heard by all the disciples present. An uproar among them followed her shout.

"That was absolutely accidental! How was I supposed to know you were bathing there? I was just passing by! How is that my fault?"

Mu Ran completely denied her accusations. But no one gave a damn about what he had to say anyway. Everyone got the gist of the story. These two had met on the way to the sect's selection ceremony in an awkward situation and the girl was furious about it. Now she wanted revenge.

The male disciples were envious. The female disciples were snickering and giggling.

Han Xuhan sighed again as he saw Mu Ran accepting her challenge because he was "definitely a man who could back up his boasts", even though he still insisted on his innocence.

The two bickered their way towards the duel arena, with the crowd following behind.

Han Xuhan shook his head and returned to his hut. He wasn't interested in the results of the duel. It didn't matter in the bigger picture.

Mu Ran would steal his waifu's heart regardless of whether he won or lost.

Cliches, cliches, all around...

Sitting on his bed, Xuhan picked up a few sheets and a pen full of ink. His inspiration had hit him moments ago.

He was going to write a book alright, a book that would be remembered in the legends of the Crimson Snow Sect. A book that could change the life of all cultivators who read it. A book that was going to overturn the lives of this Crimson Snow sect's disciples.

A book that was going to bring a revolution.

With steady hands, he wrote the title of the book on the first page...

How To Make A Harem: A Guide To A Blissful Marital Life