Troublemaker’s Guide to Immortality

Trying to act like a proper master, Yun Jin put on a serious tone and called out, "Cheng'er..."

Ye Cheng: "???"

Gu Jinghong: "???"

Gun Gun: "Awoo awooo! These pills are delicious!"

Yun Jin cleared her throat. "Hmm... that sounds a little weird. Xiao Cheng? Cheng-cheng?"

Ye Cheng was quiet for a moment, then replied gently, "Whatever Master prefers..."

What an obedient child.

Yun Jin smiled at him with an elder's warmth. "Xiao Ye, here's the thing. You've called me 'Master,' so I should teach you something real. Otherwise, wouldn't that be unfair to you?"

Ye Cheng's eyes lit up immediately.

Was she finally going to teach him planting techniques?

Yun Jin continued slowly, "As for swordsmanship, you're probably not cut out for it, so we won't waste each other's time."

Ye Cheng nodded enthusiastically.

Exactly! He had no interest in sword techniques. Let's get to the planting!

"So, I've decided to teach you something you need the most," Yun Jin said with a mysterious smile.

Usually calm and reserved, Ye Cheng actually felt a little excited.

This had to be planting techniques!

Yun Jin's face turned serious. "I'm going to teach you... how to deal with people."

Ye Cheng was stunned.

Yun Jin spoke earnestly, "Look at you. You've been in Tianxing Sect for years, yet still ended up getting schemed against. Now look at me. Who in this sect dares mess with me anymore? Is it because I'm strong? No. It's because I'm incredibly gifted at handling people. Everyone is captivated by my charm, so naturally, they don't cause trouble for me."

Ye Cheng hesitated. "Is... is that really the reason?"

"Of course," Yun Jin said, eyeing him with mock suspicion. "What, are you saying I don't have personal charm?"

Ye Cheng froze.

Agreeing would go against his sense of truth. Not agreeing... would be disrespectful to his master.

The poor, honest boy was trapped.

[+50 Emotional Value.]

Yun Jin laughed internally as the system notification chimed.

She had even managed to extract emotional value from this upright disciple.

She, Yun Jin, had truly ascended!

She cleared her throat and waved it off. "Alright, I was just teasing."

Ye Cheng looked dazed.

Teasing?

For a moment, he seriously questioned whether this master was reliable.

"I know you're most interested in planting techniques. As it happens, I've done a bit of research myself," Yun Jin said calmly. "You've probably heard rumors—I've made a few small innovations with Little Cloud Rain Technique, Soil Control Technique, and Pest-Eradicating Finger. Now, I'll teach you my upgraded versions."

Ye Cheng's eyes immediately lit up with genuine excitement.

This time, Yun Jin wasn't bluffing. She had used the system's simplification feature to recreate all three techniques. After simplifying and upgrading them, she had spent a few more uses to push them up to lower-tier Mystic Grade.

The benefits? Much stronger.

The downside? Much harder to learn.

Ye Cheng would likely have to start from scratch.

"Among your three spiritual roots, your water root is the strongest," Yun Jin said. "So start with the new Little Cloud Rain Technique."

She handed him a jade slip.

Ye Cheng looked overwhelmed. "Master, I... I just started studying under you..."

He had heard about this improved technique. It wasn't something you'd teach a disciple without years of testing.

But Yun Jin didn't care about formalities. She genuinely recognized Ye Cheng's potential. And she also wanted him trained up fast so she could stop doing all the fieldwork herself.

"No worries. You're my senior disciple—and right now, my only disciple. If you don't learn my signature techniques early, how will you guide future junior disciples?"

Ye Cheng looked visibly moved. Something shifted in his expression, a quiet determination forming.

"I will heed Master's guidance."

"Good. Review the jade slip. Ask if anything confuses you," Yun Jin said.

"Yes, Master."

Ye Cheng focused intently.

Watching the Master-Disciple Bond climb to 70%, Yun Jin felt quite pleased.

Such a pure, gullible... no, teachable disciple!

With the bond rising so quickly, she figured it wouldn't take long to reach full return value. Once that happened, everything Ye Cheng cultivated would grant her a full system bonus.

As Ye Cheng immersed himself in the new Little Cloud Rain Technique, he felt like a new world had opened up.

It was based on the old method, but the improvements went far beyond.

Planting techniques could be cultivated like this?

He was captivated, but soon ran into difficulty. This version was Mystic Grade, far beyond the basic Yellow Grade manuals he was used to.

He stalled, frowning in confusion.

The moment Ye Cheng hit a bottleneck, a notification popped:

[Ding. Disciple Ye Cheng has encountered a cultivation block. Spend Simplification Points to assist breakthrough?]

Yun Jin's eyebrows shot up.

She could directly help him?

The system explained:

[A teacher passes on knowledge, answers doubts, and clears confusion. All system-simplified techniques shared by the host can now be advanced through simplification uses. Ye Cheng's Little Cloud Rain Technique is currently at Grade 2. Using simplification will raise his version to Grade 2 as well. Additionally, the host's corresponding technique will always remain one grade higher than the disciple's. For example, when Ye Cheng reaches Grade 2, the host's version will be upgraded to Grade 3.]

Yun Jin reread the message three times.

Then her jaw dropped.

Holy scheming heavens.

The system had created a closed-loop exploit.

She could turbocharge her disciples—and their growth would force her skills even higher, letting her push them further, which would again boost her, and so on...

An infinite cultivation glitch!

If she recruited disciples of all talents and trained them, she'd become omnipotent!

Worth every damn world-hopping grind.

This system? Broken.

Then came the fine print:

[Due to 70% Bond Level, assisting Ye Cheng costs 30% extra Simplification Points. Increase Bond to reduce waste.]

Yun Jin's eye twitched.

30% markup?!

But imagining Ye Cheng's future value, she sighed.

Worth it.

Her Emotional Value stash was decent for now.

And if she ever ran out?

Well, her Top Simp (Gu Jinghong) was always around.

Plus, the male lead would appear soon—Yun Jin knew he'd become her Second Top Simp.

Two sugar daddies funding her grind?

Emotional Value bankruptcy would never happen!