Mysticant
Resident Ant
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2021
- Messages
- 274
- Points
- 58
and I haven't told my readers about it yet.
Trust me, this whole concept that I have made is really confusing. It feels like self-pleasure rather than catered to reader demands.
And to be fair, I don't regret it one bit.
The end estimate of the arc is 100k words by the way, so a 100k word invisible dragon...this is one of my life goals.
These 3.2k words are basically the last 2 chapters for my show and tell, mystery xianxia novel arc. Self-fulfillment to the max.
Trust me, this whole concept that I have made is really confusing. It feels like self-pleasure rather than catered to reader demands.
And to be fair, I don't regret it one bit.
The end estimate of the arc is 100k words by the way, so a 100k word invisible dragon...this is one of my life goals.
These 3.2k words are basically the last 2 chapters for my show and tell, mystery xianxia novel arc. Self-fulfillment to the max.
Welcome to the Show and Tell Tea-room and rant zone!!!
Rant Zone
Welcome to my anti-thesis of meta-genres!! I would first thank the dear readers who reach this point by hook or by crook (yes pun intended). It is also my attempt to make a mystery then reveal the novel so that readers must read twice to get what the heck is going on underneath this deceptive writing. I know this is not a popular genre, but I will do my best.
Let me give a brief history of myself first before introducing the show and tell + ranting. I am an avid light, visual, web novel, manga, and anime reader/watcher. I have been doing it for at least the past 17-18 years for anime/manga and about 15 years for WN/LN. VNs were probably about 7-10 years depending on what you classify as a VN.
So this WN SICKMC or Signing In but Cultivators Know My Cheat is not only based on WNs, the presentation is made through my various experiences. There are many inspirations that form the very basis of this novel, some may be overt while others are subtle. Let me first say that I wish to acknowledge all the authors and their works that are mentioned here because they are what I admire from all forms of media. And yes I know being a reader does not mean one is a good writer, I know my writing itself is not special.
Now let us move on to what this novel is about. The very basis of the idea is actually formed by Invisible Dragon. Now this is a very famous Korean WN written, and I would suggest anyone that hasn’t tried it to give it a try. The idea is to use sarcasm to insult a meta-genre that you hate, or think is just too overused. The gist of invisible dragon revolves around explicit sarcasm on OPness and xianxias in general in my opinion. It is what I call a meta-genre breaker. And yes, it is made to insult meta-genres like xianxias, systems, sign-ins and everything else.
Now what is a meta-genre? Meta-genres are uber genres that are overpopularized and where authors are focused to divert their attention towards. These are for various personal interests. It could be to serialize to earn money, gain popularity via viewership or whatever else reason there is. Basically, a meta-genre is a genre that is known to have succeeded and is very appreciated by you, the readers. Now I must introduce another concept besides these two, which is the pioneers.
Pioneers are the first/one of the first novel or form of media that popularizes a genre. Let me give examples, Coiling Dragon for a stable xianxia levelling system, Battle Through the Heavens for grandpas and alchemy, Legendary Moonlight Sculptor for real-life/video game-life + a faulty MC and heroine and a very unique MMORPG concept, Invisible Dragon for very overt sarcasm, Sword Art Online for a VRMMORPG deathgame, OPman for insanely OP MCs, Mushoku Tensei for isekais in general+useless MC, Tate Yuusha for revenge heroes, ISSTH for an MC whose main mechanism is a sin (dao of scamming) and my current favorite, Losing money to become a tycoon for ‘faulty’ systems.
There are many examples, these are just the few. Every other novel that comes after is not unoriginal, but they hinge of a form on that idea to develop their originality. A novel that borrows the concept is not really a copycat unless it does not innovate any new concepts inside and blatantly copies concepts from other novels and mash them together.
Now then onto meta-genre breakers. Most meta-genre breakers are pioneers, but pioneers aren’t necessarily meta-genre breakers. Let me give an example. OPman broke the meta-genre concept that people need to progressively get stronger. They just start OP from the beginning (or close to there so no power development process) of the novel. BTTH is an example of a pioneer for a grandpa but in my opinion did not break the meta-genre of xianxias as the concept exists well before (though it helped to popularize it to some extent). If you copy a meta-genre breaker pioneer, it is likely you are already just copying a meta-genre pioneer since the breaker has turned into a genre of its own.
I do know that the way I presented my novel is not the most ideal reading format. This is especially so for the inkstone platform which WebNovel operates on. I cannot produce stylised writing for thoughts, produce tables and blue boxes for my system novel. It is very dis-immersive in that sense. I still do admit my lacking ability to produce stellar quality works.
Anyways let us move on from all the boring talk, no?
What are the features of this SICKMC that makes it a meta-genre breaker, or does it adapt from other meta genre breakers?
Let me just say that there is a lot of foiling of characters in this novel.
Foiling google definition: A literary foil is a character whose purpose is to accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of another character, most often the protagonist. This literary term is named after an old jewellery trick of setting a gem on a foil base to enhance its shine.
An example is a damsel in distress for a MC. There is another function of foiling which is to use a character to deliver a concept. Most of my non-throw-away characters here are foiled to either a meta-genre or meta-genre breaker.
So why did I write all of this and the show and tell? It is to show how the novels works firstly, next is to write an antithesis towards the current popularity of genres which I as an experienced reader abhor to a large extent (yes I am looking at you ‘Book of Authors’, a partial inspiration to all of this xianxia, system and cheats mess. I agree with it partially, but others I do not).
The last reason is to hopefully give other readers and hopefully would-be writers to obtain inspiration to write non-cookie cutter plots. I read webnovels for a long time and I can tell you most genres do not even appeal to me anymore because they are just cookie cutter rehashes. You may choose another writing style or perspective but if your plot still revolves around the same concept, it is no different in my opinion. I want more interesting novels to read, not more trash to sift diamonds from.
Lastly, I would like to thank the readers once again. The other is to urge the reader to give me an hour or two of your time to re-read the novel. But this time from my, the author’s, perspective. This will happen once you read the next segment which is the show-and-tell to find out what I have adjusted into the novel to try and create a certain ‘mystery’ atmosphere.
This novel is my attempt to make a re-readable novel after all like some newgame+ mimick.
--
Show and Tell Tea Room
Concept:
Invisible dragon- Kind of similar but instead of an invisible MC with explicit sarcasm, it is a visible MC with implicit sarcasm and invisible plot mechanics.
This novel is made to insult meta-genres.
The cover page features a character from side story instead of a MC.
The cover page fireballs refer to flaming every meta-genre and the fan represents, fanning the flames.
The title is an adaptation of the currently popular sign-in novels.
The title also says that cultivators know Liu Xun’s cheat, true but to what extent. And in converse, what does the system know about their cheats(systems)? It is all written in this show and tell.
Systems are not necessarily perfect- This is an example of a ‘faulty’ system that actually works. A very good example of this is ‘Losing money to become a tycoon’.
Simplicity in writing- most environments, interactions, skills, and fights are created to be simple and efficient, because in reality we value efficiency. Not the utter wanton waste of a fight most xianxias go through, with absurd numbers and descriptions even at low levels. There is not as much description as I would like to add, though I do add some lore in some places. A lot of unnecessary plot filler arcs are also initially excluded to streamline the reading process.
-
Protagonist:
Abbreviation- SICKMC abbreviation was made to insult OP MCs in general. The entire concept of the novel is to make everyone OP such that the MC is not really that OP but still kind of OP. There is another meaning of SICK applied for ‘Are you sick, man?’ like a person is dumb or stupid. Therefore, the aspects of writing in this novel and perspectives are dumbed down to the MC’s level.
A lot of the fights in this novel has been dumbed down to just a swing, mainly because the MC cannot recognize the profoundness of the ability due to his low cultivation base. It is also partially because it is my first time writing but I intended for it to be simple since low level fights were meant to be efficient and non-flashy.
The MC used to be an uneducated woodcutter who obtained an ‘all-knowing’ pill, he may have knowledge, but does he have wisdom? A lot of text and opinions of the MC are very immature and biased. There is also the usage of Chinese idioms very overtly to display the level of shallow thinking, such as the spicy ginger and stuff to instil a false sense of cunningness. This is also to give space for the MC to develop mentally in maturity besides his cultivation levels.
Hidden Plots- Many parts of this novel may be simple since it is from the MC’s point of view. But many hidden plots lay around. This is to mimic LOTM which hides truth from your face since the beginning, Dark Souls where lore is hidden from sight. The idea of the functions of the system not being overtly displayed, the subtle foreshadowing in this novel where things are already happening in the background, just the MC and the reader is unaware. Well, the making is still rough I admit.
-
Antagonists:
The creepiest antagonists are the ones who hide their intentions since the beginning- this has a few references and is an anti-thesis to the usual xianxia show and tell. The most prominent would-be Lord of the Mysteries (LOTM) and A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (RMJI). RMJI’s first arc villain is still one of the most insidious villains in my mind, he is the base concept for my novel’s secondary villain. LOTM hides many villain intentions and reveals them later is a concept I like as well but yet to adapt.
The green tea bitch (1)- A green tea bitch is basically something like a white lotus but inside the innocent exterior is a real bitch of a person. The sub antagonist of this novel, Liu Muyue the system user of the Corpse-Puppeteer System, is a true and blue green tea bitch. She was made and designed to be nice and innocent. But she was also designed to be so insidious to plot against the MC from day 1. This is with reference to the offer to marriage and her abilities to control corpses using her system through constant interaction. She failed to obtain a chance to control the MC from the beginning and thus leading to the villain encounter at the end of the arc when all preparations are made.
Blue boxes never lie- A faulted system function made to show affection levels. Corpses are not conscious/dead, so they are unable to have affection levels. This shows why Liu Langsheng and Liu Waner had never had any affection levels which was subtly mentioned in the novel once. Liu Ruoxue, the main antagonist was ‘supposedly’ controlled as a corpse, but she had affection levels, so is she truly controlled? This are all to hint the subtleness of the villainess, which is still detectable via the system, through a novel way. Another one is the 20-mile zone radius, Liu Xun has interacted with many of these corpses in close proximity without triggering any affection changes. So yes, based on the blue boxes from the start of the novel, Liu Langsheng and Waner were already corpses (or sus I would call it in among us). Later on, as Liu Muyue converts more people, fewer affection boxes appear.
The green tea bitch (2)- You know what is scarier that an innocent white lotus green tea bitch that looks pretty?
Another innocent white lotus that is being suppressed by a green tea bitch and helps the MC deal with the latter but is truly just another green tea bitch. Liu Ruoxue, the main antagonist of this arc was designed to hold a concept. The mantis (Liu Muyue) stalks the prey (Liu Xun) unaware of the oriole lurks from behind (Liu Ruoxue). The phrase was also mentioned by Liu Xun casually in the Pavilion scene. Liu Ruoxue is the user of the deceiver system which is the anti-thesis to system appraisal since she can disguise everything up to her system status. This increases her dynamics for being a character, she is more of what a real signing mc that hides till the final moment does. She is basically one of those steal MCs out there who hides from sight. The novel starts off downplaying the system cultivator's use as the MC is thought to be 'special' in that sense. However, later struggles are meant to imitate the proper use of systems vs suboptimal uses.
A villain(ess) that is weaker yet wins- This is my own meta-breaker; it probably exists elsewhere but I like to call it mine. Now most novels display a concept where the weak MC fights a strong villain to either win or retreat to get stronger to win the villain in the next encounter. It is also a reason for the famous, your father, elder, ancestor comes out and fight you power arcs. Now my sub-villainess barely loses to the MC and the main villainess wins the MC while both being weaker than the MC (5-6th stage qi gathering vs 9th stage). This helps to increase the depth of the villains and give room for both the MC and villains to grow. And strong females in a male MC novel is less common in my opinion, who knows why? The way they compete is just truly using their systems, so the three power levels of the main novel are shown here.
Systems+Cultivators- Can suppress others using their own system cheats and cultivator powers
Cultivators- Can suppress each other with cultivation level and skills
Unawakened/Mortals- Well kinda sucks to be this in every novel huh.
-
The system:
The system- The system plays a large interaction with Liu Xun himself. She is the guide as well as foreteller of event. Along with the fact she is just a tool to the creators and subscribers. The system plays the large part in this show and tell as most of the hidden aspects are actually subtly foreshadowed mostly by the system itself.
The system is not faulty-Losing money to become a tycoon (LMTBT)
This has been my marketed theme from the beginning despite addressing faults since the prologues. Even the great ones think their own system is faulty. A concept of this is ‘Blue boxes never lie’, it is one of the first arc’s main concepts to introduce the antagonists subtle plotting. There are other functions that lie in this ‘faulty’ system that would apply to later arcs, still in my folder. LMTBT has a great influence on the concept of this series so yes even though this novelette has ended, its second arc will be made with similar concepts.
Sign in broadcast system- I am not sure what others think about hiding for years before appearing MCs, but I think reading like 1 or 2 is enough. This gimmick is invented to induce jealousy and competition with other consumers of like gacha games in this novel. The faulty part is to also introduce trash rewards. It is more of a type of plot hype generator, but I kind of have plans to develop this in the future in another direction.
Creators and subscribers-Omniscent Reader Viewpoint (ORV)
Okay this is a pretty interesting one in my opinion. This is adapted from ORV where gods/great ones above who has some ownership of the system directly interact with the MC or other users through an interface. I loved this idea from ORV and I thought it could have had better foiling. System creators in this sense refer to content creators like novel writers who create system novels or xianxias for example. They can also be romancing systems and such to cover other genres.
The subscribers are you the readers of the novels. In this novel, the creators of systems are also subscribers and do interact with the villainesses and the MC to show how the authors and readers opinions influence the characters in a story. The concept revolving this is that even novel writers are readers. I may be writing this novel, but my experience as a reader of content far supersedes that. This is a concept that I really liked when I thought to include in my novel.
The subscribers like the Corpse Fiend and Thousand Deceivers aid the villainess through the system and as a subscriber the Thousand Deceiver’s expressions hint to the main villainess whose presence otherwise downplayed.
An insulting/bargaining system- Worlds’ Apocalypse Online (WAO)
Now, this is a kind of system I personally like. The most obvious would be WAO where the system tries to scam points from the user. It gives the system itself some life as a character in the book. Another would be the maths genius webnovel where the system sets ridiculous tasks or insults the user to show expression.
--
Sub characters:
I tried to increase the depth of both my disposable and non-disposable sub-characters.
An example would be the Vermillion Range process which emphasized a few disposable characters like Liu Langsheng and Liu Waner.
Side story lore- Now this is a sub character that is emphasized on their own arc. The Million Suns also functions as a process of learning OP skills. Her main function will truly present what I intend to deliver with this work which will be in Arc 2 and the next show and tell. I do not mind spoiling this because this was the original intention of the story. I made this story with Arc 2 in mind and Arc 1 as a starting crutch. Arc 3 and 4’s concepts to be honest are already developed if I ever reach to that point. This also provides a sort of slice of life aspect to a xianxia novel which is part of my enjoyment to both writing and reading this. Another meta-breaker in my opinion. Even simpler skills that uses memory like the shadow steps also uses lore to explain how the MC gains the skill, though it is an immediate OP rather than the gradual one like the Archaic Sun Aura.
Xuan Tie- This is one of my favorite cultivator designs. Liu Muyue is the lawful evil example of a corpse cultivator; Xuan Tie is the lawful good example of one. His prepared backstory is actually pretty interesting as he was not a corpse cultivator by choice and his coffin partner which is a small OP chicken for the contrast to OP pets or human corpses. He is a corpse cultivator from righteous factions, not two phrases you hear every day. In fact, this novel has a neutral view on corpse cultivators as many of the sub-characters who are corpse cultivators are actually pretty decent people. This refers to arcs much later past Arc 2.
Liu Ruanfeng- Now this is another of my favorite designs with a tragic backstory to display how naïve the MC is as the writing deceives the reader and him that Ruanfeng is envious of his system. His father and mother died to a system cultivator; therefore he hates Liu Xun. He is also not controlled by Liu Muyue because he is wary of her for the very same reason. Representing chaotic good.
Liu Mushang-Non-disposable character who is made to be the aid of the MC. He was removed from the exposition arc so that the secondary villainess gets to use her system. Representing lawful good.
Liu Langsheng-The disposable corpse since the first meeting that was made to be friendly with the MC. Basically a backstabbing friend, but with its own reasons.
Liu Waner-The disposable corpse since the first meeting that is to display her depth with Langsheng and the MC while foiling the famous tsundere vibe.
Minor Crutch- Qin Yeqian or Senior Qin is the MC’s crutch alongside Xuan Tie. Representing lawful neutrals. They are also characters that jump in and out of the novel in that sense.
Auxiliary Details:
Chapter Titles- Some are light-hearted with gimmicks while others are just simple. This is similar to A Will Eternal to that context.
Side Stories-Added for a different alternate flow to story. Yet, they are canon to the story. The carriage driver that appears at the start and at the end refers to the new intro of Arc 2, it is something I have wanted to do since I watched avengers.
Plotbait title- To some extent my title is a plotbait, to other extents it serves its intend function. The title is both a praise and insult to the current trend of cheats, systems and sign-in novels.
All in all, the plot was made with all of these elements, most are hidden with subtle reveal or foreshadowing. I would urge the reader to either read again or if he/she have not read this first to have a try with these facts in mind. It is kind of a new game+ gimmick that I am trying.
Rant Zone
Welcome to my anti-thesis of meta-genres!! I would first thank the dear readers who reach this point by hook or by crook (yes pun intended). It is also my attempt to make a mystery then reveal the novel so that readers must read twice to get what the heck is going on underneath this deceptive writing. I know this is not a popular genre, but I will do my best.
Let me give a brief history of myself first before introducing the show and tell + ranting. I am an avid light, visual, web novel, manga, and anime reader/watcher. I have been doing it for at least the past 17-18 years for anime/manga and about 15 years for WN/LN. VNs were probably about 7-10 years depending on what you classify as a VN.
So this WN SICKMC or Signing In but Cultivators Know My Cheat is not only based on WNs, the presentation is made through my various experiences. There are many inspirations that form the very basis of this novel, some may be overt while others are subtle. Let me first say that I wish to acknowledge all the authors and their works that are mentioned here because they are what I admire from all forms of media. And yes I know being a reader does not mean one is a good writer, I know my writing itself is not special.
Now let us move on to what this novel is about. The very basis of the idea is actually formed by Invisible Dragon. Now this is a very famous Korean WN written, and I would suggest anyone that hasn’t tried it to give it a try. The idea is to use sarcasm to insult a meta-genre that you hate, or think is just too overused. The gist of invisible dragon revolves around explicit sarcasm on OPness and xianxias in general in my opinion. It is what I call a meta-genre breaker. And yes, it is made to insult meta-genres like xianxias, systems, sign-ins and everything else.
Now what is a meta-genre? Meta-genres are uber genres that are overpopularized and where authors are focused to divert their attention towards. These are for various personal interests. It could be to serialize to earn money, gain popularity via viewership or whatever else reason there is. Basically, a meta-genre is a genre that is known to have succeeded and is very appreciated by you, the readers. Now I must introduce another concept besides these two, which is the pioneers.
Pioneers are the first/one of the first novel or form of media that popularizes a genre. Let me give examples, Coiling Dragon for a stable xianxia levelling system, Battle Through the Heavens for grandpas and alchemy, Legendary Moonlight Sculptor for real-life/video game-life + a faulty MC and heroine and a very unique MMORPG concept, Invisible Dragon for very overt sarcasm, Sword Art Online for a VRMMORPG deathgame, OPman for insanely OP MCs, Mushoku Tensei for isekais in general+useless MC, Tate Yuusha for revenge heroes, ISSTH for an MC whose main mechanism is a sin (dao of scamming) and my current favorite, Losing money to become a tycoon for ‘faulty’ systems.
There are many examples, these are just the few. Every other novel that comes after is not unoriginal, but they hinge of a form on that idea to develop their originality. A novel that borrows the concept is not really a copycat unless it does not innovate any new concepts inside and blatantly copies concepts from other novels and mash them together.
Now then onto meta-genre breakers. Most meta-genre breakers are pioneers, but pioneers aren’t necessarily meta-genre breakers. Let me give an example. OPman broke the meta-genre concept that people need to progressively get stronger. They just start OP from the beginning (or close to there so no power development process) of the novel. BTTH is an example of a pioneer for a grandpa but in my opinion did not break the meta-genre of xianxias as the concept exists well before (though it helped to popularize it to some extent). If you copy a meta-genre breaker pioneer, it is likely you are already just copying a meta-genre pioneer since the breaker has turned into a genre of its own.
I do know that the way I presented my novel is not the most ideal reading format. This is especially so for the inkstone platform which WebNovel operates on. I cannot produce stylised writing for thoughts, produce tables and blue boxes for my system novel. It is very dis-immersive in that sense. I still do admit my lacking ability to produce stellar quality works.
Anyways let us move on from all the boring talk, no?
What are the features of this SICKMC that makes it a meta-genre breaker, or does it adapt from other meta genre breakers?
Let me just say that there is a lot of foiling of characters in this novel.
Foiling google definition: A literary foil is a character whose purpose is to accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of another character, most often the protagonist. This literary term is named after an old jewellery trick of setting a gem on a foil base to enhance its shine.
An example is a damsel in distress for a MC. There is another function of foiling which is to use a character to deliver a concept. Most of my non-throw-away characters here are foiled to either a meta-genre or meta-genre breaker.
So why did I write all of this and the show and tell? It is to show how the novels works firstly, next is to write an antithesis towards the current popularity of genres which I as an experienced reader abhor to a large extent (yes I am looking at you ‘Book of Authors’, a partial inspiration to all of this xianxia, system and cheats mess. I agree with it partially, but others I do not).
The last reason is to hopefully give other readers and hopefully would-be writers to obtain inspiration to write non-cookie cutter plots. I read webnovels for a long time and I can tell you most genres do not even appeal to me anymore because they are just cookie cutter rehashes. You may choose another writing style or perspective but if your plot still revolves around the same concept, it is no different in my opinion. I want more interesting novels to read, not more trash to sift diamonds from.
Lastly, I would like to thank the readers once again. The other is to urge the reader to give me an hour or two of your time to re-read the novel. But this time from my, the author’s, perspective. This will happen once you read the next segment which is the show-and-tell to find out what I have adjusted into the novel to try and create a certain ‘mystery’ atmosphere.
This novel is my attempt to make a re-readable novel after all like some newgame+ mimick.
--
Show and Tell Tea Room
Concept:
Invisible dragon- Kind of similar but instead of an invisible MC with explicit sarcasm, it is a visible MC with implicit sarcasm and invisible plot mechanics.
This novel is made to insult meta-genres.
The cover page features a character from side story instead of a MC.
The cover page fireballs refer to flaming every meta-genre and the fan represents, fanning the flames.
The title is an adaptation of the currently popular sign-in novels.
The title also says that cultivators know Liu Xun’s cheat, true but to what extent. And in converse, what does the system know about their cheats(systems)? It is all written in this show and tell.
Systems are not necessarily perfect- This is an example of a ‘faulty’ system that actually works. A very good example of this is ‘Losing money to become a tycoon’.
Simplicity in writing- most environments, interactions, skills, and fights are created to be simple and efficient, because in reality we value efficiency. Not the utter wanton waste of a fight most xianxias go through, with absurd numbers and descriptions even at low levels. There is not as much description as I would like to add, though I do add some lore in some places. A lot of unnecessary plot filler arcs are also initially excluded to streamline the reading process.
-
Protagonist:
Abbreviation- SICKMC abbreviation was made to insult OP MCs in general. The entire concept of the novel is to make everyone OP such that the MC is not really that OP but still kind of OP. There is another meaning of SICK applied for ‘Are you sick, man?’ like a person is dumb or stupid. Therefore, the aspects of writing in this novel and perspectives are dumbed down to the MC’s level.
A lot of the fights in this novel has been dumbed down to just a swing, mainly because the MC cannot recognize the profoundness of the ability due to his low cultivation base. It is also partially because it is my first time writing but I intended for it to be simple since low level fights were meant to be efficient and non-flashy.
The MC used to be an uneducated woodcutter who obtained an ‘all-knowing’ pill, he may have knowledge, but does he have wisdom? A lot of text and opinions of the MC are very immature and biased. There is also the usage of Chinese idioms very overtly to display the level of shallow thinking, such as the spicy ginger and stuff to instil a false sense of cunningness. This is also to give space for the MC to develop mentally in maturity besides his cultivation levels.
Hidden Plots- Many parts of this novel may be simple since it is from the MC’s point of view. But many hidden plots lay around. This is to mimic LOTM which hides truth from your face since the beginning, Dark Souls where lore is hidden from sight. The idea of the functions of the system not being overtly displayed, the subtle foreshadowing in this novel where things are already happening in the background, just the MC and the reader is unaware. Well, the making is still rough I admit.
-
Antagonists:
The creepiest antagonists are the ones who hide their intentions since the beginning- this has a few references and is an anti-thesis to the usual xianxia show and tell. The most prominent would-be Lord of the Mysteries (LOTM) and A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (RMJI). RMJI’s first arc villain is still one of the most insidious villains in my mind, he is the base concept for my novel’s secondary villain. LOTM hides many villain intentions and reveals them later is a concept I like as well but yet to adapt.
The green tea bitch (1)- A green tea bitch is basically something like a white lotus but inside the innocent exterior is a real bitch of a person. The sub antagonist of this novel, Liu Muyue the system user of the Corpse-Puppeteer System, is a true and blue green tea bitch. She was made and designed to be nice and innocent. But she was also designed to be so insidious to plot against the MC from day 1. This is with reference to the offer to marriage and her abilities to control corpses using her system through constant interaction. She failed to obtain a chance to control the MC from the beginning and thus leading to the villain encounter at the end of the arc when all preparations are made.
Blue boxes never lie- A faulted system function made to show affection levels. Corpses are not conscious/dead, so they are unable to have affection levels. This shows why Liu Langsheng and Liu Waner had never had any affection levels which was subtly mentioned in the novel once. Liu Ruoxue, the main antagonist was ‘supposedly’ controlled as a corpse, but she had affection levels, so is she truly controlled? This are all to hint the subtleness of the villainess, which is still detectable via the system, through a novel way. Another one is the 20-mile zone radius, Liu Xun has interacted with many of these corpses in close proximity without triggering any affection changes. So yes, based on the blue boxes from the start of the novel, Liu Langsheng and Waner were already corpses (or sus I would call it in among us). Later on, as Liu Muyue converts more people, fewer affection boxes appear.
The green tea bitch (2)- You know what is scarier that an innocent white lotus green tea bitch that looks pretty?
Another innocent white lotus that is being suppressed by a green tea bitch and helps the MC deal with the latter but is truly just another green tea bitch. Liu Ruoxue, the main antagonist of this arc was designed to hold a concept. The mantis (Liu Muyue) stalks the prey (Liu Xun) unaware of the oriole lurks from behind (Liu Ruoxue). The phrase was also mentioned by Liu Xun casually in the Pavilion scene. Liu Ruoxue is the user of the deceiver system which is the anti-thesis to system appraisal since she can disguise everything up to her system status. This increases her dynamics for being a character, she is more of what a real signing mc that hides till the final moment does. She is basically one of those steal MCs out there who hides from sight. The novel starts off downplaying the system cultivator's use as the MC is thought to be 'special' in that sense. However, later struggles are meant to imitate the proper use of systems vs suboptimal uses.
A villain(ess) that is weaker yet wins- This is my own meta-breaker; it probably exists elsewhere but I like to call it mine. Now most novels display a concept where the weak MC fights a strong villain to either win or retreat to get stronger to win the villain in the next encounter. It is also a reason for the famous, your father, elder, ancestor comes out and fight you power arcs. Now my sub-villainess barely loses to the MC and the main villainess wins the MC while both being weaker than the MC (5-6th stage qi gathering vs 9th stage). This helps to increase the depth of the villains and give room for both the MC and villains to grow. And strong females in a male MC novel is less common in my opinion, who knows why? The way they compete is just truly using their systems, so the three power levels of the main novel are shown here.
Systems+Cultivators- Can suppress others using their own system cheats and cultivator powers
Cultivators- Can suppress each other with cultivation level and skills
Unawakened/Mortals- Well kinda sucks to be this in every novel huh.
-
The system:
The system- The system plays a large interaction with Liu Xun himself. She is the guide as well as foreteller of event. Along with the fact she is just a tool to the creators and subscribers. The system plays the large part in this show and tell as most of the hidden aspects are actually subtly foreshadowed mostly by the system itself.
The system is not faulty-Losing money to become a tycoon (LMTBT)
This has been my marketed theme from the beginning despite addressing faults since the prologues. Even the great ones think their own system is faulty. A concept of this is ‘Blue boxes never lie’, it is one of the first arc’s main concepts to introduce the antagonists subtle plotting. There are other functions that lie in this ‘faulty’ system that would apply to later arcs, still in my folder. LMTBT has a great influence on the concept of this series so yes even though this novelette has ended, its second arc will be made with similar concepts.
Sign in broadcast system- I am not sure what others think about hiding for years before appearing MCs, but I think reading like 1 or 2 is enough. This gimmick is invented to induce jealousy and competition with other consumers of like gacha games in this novel. The faulty part is to also introduce trash rewards. It is more of a type of plot hype generator, but I kind of have plans to develop this in the future in another direction.
Creators and subscribers-Omniscent Reader Viewpoint (ORV)
Okay this is a pretty interesting one in my opinion. This is adapted from ORV where gods/great ones above who has some ownership of the system directly interact with the MC or other users through an interface. I loved this idea from ORV and I thought it could have had better foiling. System creators in this sense refer to content creators like novel writers who create system novels or xianxias for example. They can also be romancing systems and such to cover other genres.
The subscribers are you the readers of the novels. In this novel, the creators of systems are also subscribers and do interact with the villainesses and the MC to show how the authors and readers opinions influence the characters in a story. The concept revolving this is that even novel writers are readers. I may be writing this novel, but my experience as a reader of content far supersedes that. This is a concept that I really liked when I thought to include in my novel.
The subscribers like the Corpse Fiend and Thousand Deceivers aid the villainess through the system and as a subscriber the Thousand Deceiver’s expressions hint to the main villainess whose presence otherwise downplayed.
An insulting/bargaining system- Worlds’ Apocalypse Online (WAO)
Now, this is a kind of system I personally like. The most obvious would be WAO where the system tries to scam points from the user. It gives the system itself some life as a character in the book. Another would be the maths genius webnovel where the system sets ridiculous tasks or insults the user to show expression.
--
Sub characters:
I tried to increase the depth of both my disposable and non-disposable sub-characters.
An example would be the Vermillion Range process which emphasized a few disposable characters like Liu Langsheng and Liu Waner.
Side story lore- Now this is a sub character that is emphasized on their own arc. The Million Suns also functions as a process of learning OP skills. Her main function will truly present what I intend to deliver with this work which will be in Arc 2 and the next show and tell. I do not mind spoiling this because this was the original intention of the story. I made this story with Arc 2 in mind and Arc 1 as a starting crutch. Arc 3 and 4’s concepts to be honest are already developed if I ever reach to that point. This also provides a sort of slice of life aspect to a xianxia novel which is part of my enjoyment to both writing and reading this. Another meta-breaker in my opinion. Even simpler skills that uses memory like the shadow steps also uses lore to explain how the MC gains the skill, though it is an immediate OP rather than the gradual one like the Archaic Sun Aura.
Xuan Tie- This is one of my favorite cultivator designs. Liu Muyue is the lawful evil example of a corpse cultivator; Xuan Tie is the lawful good example of one. His prepared backstory is actually pretty interesting as he was not a corpse cultivator by choice and his coffin partner which is a small OP chicken for the contrast to OP pets or human corpses. He is a corpse cultivator from righteous factions, not two phrases you hear every day. In fact, this novel has a neutral view on corpse cultivators as many of the sub-characters who are corpse cultivators are actually pretty decent people. This refers to arcs much later past Arc 2.
Liu Ruanfeng- Now this is another of my favorite designs with a tragic backstory to display how naïve the MC is as the writing deceives the reader and him that Ruanfeng is envious of his system. His father and mother died to a system cultivator; therefore he hates Liu Xun. He is also not controlled by Liu Muyue because he is wary of her for the very same reason. Representing chaotic good.
Liu Mushang-Non-disposable character who is made to be the aid of the MC. He was removed from the exposition arc so that the secondary villainess gets to use her system. Representing lawful good.
Liu Langsheng-The disposable corpse since the first meeting that was made to be friendly with the MC. Basically a backstabbing friend, but with its own reasons.
Liu Waner-The disposable corpse since the first meeting that is to display her depth with Langsheng and the MC while foiling the famous tsundere vibe.
Minor Crutch- Qin Yeqian or Senior Qin is the MC’s crutch alongside Xuan Tie. Representing lawful neutrals. They are also characters that jump in and out of the novel in that sense.
Auxiliary Details:
Chapter Titles- Some are light-hearted with gimmicks while others are just simple. This is similar to A Will Eternal to that context.
Side Stories-Added for a different alternate flow to story. Yet, they are canon to the story. The carriage driver that appears at the start and at the end refers to the new intro of Arc 2, it is something I have wanted to do since I watched avengers.
Plotbait title- To some extent my title is a plotbait, to other extents it serves its intend function. The title is both a praise and insult to the current trend of cheats, systems and sign-in novels.
All in all, the plot was made with all of these elements, most are hidden with subtle reveal or foreshadowing. I would urge the reader to either read again or if he/she have not read this first to have a try with these facts in mind. It is kind of a new game+ gimmick that I am trying.
Last edited:
