Chapter 16: The Reborn Master Writer 8

Mu Yin had not expected to uncover such information. Suddenly, the sense of aimlessness regarding her mission vanished. If everything in this world was predicated on a highly developed entertainment industry, what would happen if that industry were to lose its significance?

As this thought took hold, Mu Yin grew excited. If she could achieve this, she would not only resolve the issue of the current female lead but also effectively dismantle the world's plot.

But where to start? Since entertainment served to alleviate the mental strain of the "Explorers," surely there was a reason for that. Mu Yin felt she needed to understand the Explorer profession.

She decided that after finishing her current manuscript, she would become an Explorer herself. After reviewing relevant footage, she realized that Explorers were essentially this world’s evolved humans. While they hadn't awakened supernatural powers, their physical fitness and mental fortitude far exceeded those of ordinary people.

Her own physical conditioning was at least up to the task. Explorers were actually quite rare. After the catastrophe, humanity had fled the harsh environment by creating energy shields, protecting cities built along the coast. Consequently, when the spiritual energy surge arrived, most people were safe inside these shields, missing the transformative rain. The search teams that had been out scavenging for food became the predecessors of today’s Explorers.

The first generation of Explorers possessed certain abilities, but the second generation had regressed, retaining only enhanced physicality and mental strength. Mu Yin suspected this was because their evolved genes had not been stabilized—much like how a cultivator needs time to consolidate their realm after a breakthrough. Without stabilization, genes would inevitably degrade. Most importantly, they lacked any cultivation methods beyond physical training, which was the primary reason they couldn't advance.

Furthermore, Mu Yin noticed that despite the world being in a stage of spiritual resurgence, the ambient energy was far scarcer than it should have been. Clearly, something was preventing the spiritual energy from reaching its expected levels. She suspected it had to do with the "Source Stone," likely hidden within the main plot. It seemed that unless she disrupted the plot, the world's spiritual energy would never truly recover.

Although she had hidden the Source Stone from her previous world within her own soul, her plan was to retrieve it and sink it into a river once she found the next one, keeping only the new stone within her soul. This way, she wouldn't affect the stability of each world's spiritual energy, and she wouldn't be suppressed or lose her memories due to the influence of the plots in the worlds she transformed.

She decided to dismantle the plot as quickly as possible. She gathered her character designs, along with those of Shui Yueran’s family, and created even more concept art and background illustrations. She intended to isolate the female lead’s story, primarily to introduce the concept of "body arts."

She had already published various cultivation techniques in her web novel and manga, but cultivation methods were difficult to grasp without a background in ancient texts; they were not as accessible as body arts. She believed many people would enjoy learning through television shows or animations. Once they started practicing body arts and realized their efficacy, they would naturally begin to explore the cultivation methods featured in works by the same author.

This was why Mu Yin chose to spin off her story into a separate manga. According to the plot, the female lead appeared far too late. Furthermore, the male lead’s perspective would never focus on body arts, as they were no longer useful to him.

After finalizing the character and background designs, she uploaded them to the manga platform’s backend, created a new folder, and began drawing. Since these were events she had personally experienced, the memories remained vivid even if the emotions had faded over time.

Drawing proceeded smoothly. By the Lunar New Year, Mu Yin still hadn't managed to suppress the popularity of the female lead, but she no longer cared. During this time, the female lead even contacted her under the manga, speaking ill of Shen Mu, but Mu Yin ignored her entirely.

Before the winter break ended, she had stockpiled a significant number of chapters for her new manga, "The Guardian," and prepared to publish it on the "Ten Thousand Gods Network." She had informed her editor beforehand. The editor, having seen the drafts, realized it wouldn't spoil the later plot and didn't mind. He had long known Mu Yin was a girl, so he wasn't surprised by her focus on the female lead; he didn't care about the spin-off manga.

After returning to school, aside from her daily updates, Mu Yin focused on graduating early. She wanted to explore the uncharted regions, and she couldn't just take a leave of absence—her parents would likely kill her. Graduating early was the only way. She was only a sophomore, but the Manga Department was less rigid than others; as long as one produced a high-quality, standard-compliant manga and a thesis, graduation was possible. She was working toward this.

During this period, her novel also reached its conclusion. Its data improved toward the end, and the manga climbed the "Ten Thousand Gods" rankings. Even the talismans depicted were intricate and authentic, far surpassing other cultivation-themed manga.

Of course, when the female lead first appeared, she was met with disapproval. The story had seemed like a non-romance, and the sudden introduction of a female lead caused dissatisfaction. Mu Yin was flooded with messages in her fan groups.

"Shen Mu, come out! Why did you suddenly introduce a female lead to get in the way?"
"Exactly, wasn't it great without a romance?"

Some even demanded she turn it into a harem story for the male lead: "Shen Mu, since there’s already a female lead, why not just include this one, that one, and the other one?" These were popular female cultivators in the story who had initially been overshadowed by the female lead. As the manga progressed, Mu Yin had even drawn character designs for them, attracting even more fans.

Mu Yin ignored all of this. When everyone finally accepted the female lead, she had the female lead dump the male lead, who then ascended to immortality in solitude. For this, she was bombarded with criticism, and even "The Guardian" was dragged into the crossfire. Mu Yin ignored it all, finishing the work and moving on without starting anything new.

Both manga concluded shortly thereafter. "The Guardian" had initially gained attention due to "Asking Heaven," but it gradually cultivated its own fan base. Since the female lead—her own identity—remained unchanged, many fans even demanded a sequel featuring stories from other worlds.