Chapter 158: Level Up Success, Film Crew Faces An Obstacle

The book’s yellowed pages reflected its age. Be that as it may, it was still a well-preserved book. Gu Xiqiao’s face was solemn when she held it in her hands. She knew that keeping this book must’ve been no easy feat. Though, she quickly detected something off upon flipping through its pages.

She had read through countless books in the virtual space of the system. Many ancient books and scriptures were stored in it and she had read through most of them, regardless of the literature’s category.

There was nothing wrong when she scanned through the first few pages of the book. However, it soon became obvious that someone had tampered with the middle part of the book. It’s fine when you’re just reading it for educational purposes but if someone was actually cultivating themselves according to its contents, a lifetime’s worth of effort would go down the drain, just like that.

Jiang Shuxuan was in a state of disbelief after hearing what Gu Xiqiao said. “How do you know it’s fake?”

This was an ancient piece of literature from thousands of years ago, handed down the Baili family through countless generations; it was their religion. There were no problems with it in the past so why did Gu Xiqiao claim that it was a fake the moment she held it?

Jiang Shuxuan began flipping through the book. Despite being well-read about formations, he scratched his head at what was wrong with the book.

“Brother Jiang, you should stop reading that book. I swear, it’s really a fake.” If it wasn’t for her seeing the real one herself, she would not realize that this was a fake.

Slowly, Jiang Shuxuan lowered the book he was holding. Jiang Shuxuan denied the possibility of this book being tampered with the moment she made that claim. Why? Number one, even if someone was plotting to do such a thing, no way that rascal would dare commit such a sin under his watchful eyes. Number two, this book was incredibly old; it was near impossible to be able to replicate parts to match up with the rest of the book itself.

After eliminating these possibilities, he was left with one single explanation—the book was a fake from the very beginning. If this was true, then the ancestors of the Baili family must’ve been deceived by some great power. The tampering seemed so perfect that even he was unable to distinguish between what was real and what was false. Apart from the almighty ones, no one else could pull this off so flawlessly.

A false ancient scripture. No wonder the Baili family was unable to rise up and become a member of the ‘big three’ families in the ancient martial arts world in the past millennium. Perhaps it was due to its existence that their family was cursed to eternal stagnation.

Jiang Shuxuan’s heart skipped a beat. “You’re not joking are you?”

Gu Xiqiao wanted to say that the real one was kept within the system’s virtual space but because it was currently still in the middle of leveling up. Perhaps the time has finally come for her to do this. “Let me think where the real one’s at.”

Jiang Shuxuan shot her a glance. “I’ll inform Grandpa Baili immediately.”

“Be more gentle when you speak, alright? It’s bad to shock older people.” Gu Xiqiao reminded him. Seeing how well-preserved this book was, no doubt, the Baili family must’ve placed incredible importance on it.

How could descendants of a millennium-old family ever doubt the legitimacy of a book that was passed down through generations by their ancestors? If anything, they would only doubt their own abilities.

Jiang Shuxuan picked up his phone and went into his study room. Since he was the one who unveiled the book’s dirty secret, the responsibility of dealing with it naturally fell on his shoulders.

Gu Xiqiao followed him upstairs. Though, she went straight back to her room to take a shower.

A cold, robotic voice suddenly echoed through her mind.

“[Ding! System has successfully levelled up! Congratulations to the host for obtaining [Evolution Talisman*1] for the Virtual Arena!]”

“[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully reaching the Elite Level! System reward: 500 points!]”

“[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing a random mission! System reward: 300 points!]”

“[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing a daily mission! System reward: 20 points!]”

“[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing a random mission! System reward: 100 points!]”

Finally, a level up.

In the bathroom, Gu Xiqiao wrapped herself with a bathrobe.

She wiped the condensation off the mirror and squinted to look at her own reflection. A pair of ink dark eyes stared back at her. Her face, which had been sprayed with steaming hot water, appeared clear and bright. Her pale, colorless lips were now a deep shade of red. Silently, she wiped the surface of the mirror with her delicate, pale fingers.

[Beauty Qiao, stop being so silent. I’m scared when you’re all serious like that,] said the system, who was crouched down in the virtual space. The moment felt like this was its first time returning to this world.

Gu Xiqiao slowly pulled the bathrobe up, covering her collarbones. Her head was lowered and her lashes were trembling slightly. Finally, when she raised her head, a serene expression returned to her face. Pushing the bathroom door open, she sighed. “Little system, you have no idea how much I missed you. Life without you was pure hell.”

The system’s beady eyes lit up the moment it heard Gu Xiqiao’s words. It was so moved that it flew out from its space. It was about to express how much it missed her too but pulled the brakes after hearing what Gu Xiqiao had to say after that. “It’s a major hassle, having to look things up on the internet myself.”

“…”

The system was speechless.

‘F*ck!’ It thought to itself.

What a waste of emotions. In the end, you’re still a lazy slob and nothing more.

Gu Xiqiao dried her hair with the towel. She peered up at the system floating in mid-air, at its icy-blue hair, its transparent wings and those crystal-clear eyes. It was then that Gu Xiqiao realized how pretty it was. That made her change her tone instantly, as it would be disrespectful to continue speaking the way she normally would. “Little system, have your restrictions been lowered after leveling up?”

The system flapped its wings and circled around Gu Xiqiao before opening its mouth. “Has my body become more solid?”

The voice echoing through the air sounded soft and cute. Gu Xiqiao thought to herself, if the system could continue appearing right in front of her, she would cease teasing it endlessly.

“Yeah, a bit.”

“…”

“I will love you much more from now on,” added Gu Xiqiao with a smile.

“… I’ve checked the database,” said the system expressionlessly. “I think I have a hunch on finding out the secrets behind the virtual space as well as my existence.”

Gu Xiqiao raised her brows upon hearing this. “Tell me about it.”

“I seem to be a living entity, from a much more advanced world…” The system’s gaze was a little listless. “Beauty Qiao, your speculation might turn out to be true. This virtual space isn’t as simple as it may look on the surface.”

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What the system did not say was that this domain might possibly belong to an almighty one from a long long time ago.

This was against the laws of nature. With this, Gu Xiqiao could shape her own fate with her own two hands, she could even alter the flow of time if she wanted to. Its own very existence remained a mystery. For some reason, it could feel that a part of its memory was locked away. Perhaps it would have to level up before the truth can be uncovered. And so, it refrained from revealing too much to Gu Xiqiao. She was far from being powerful enough; nothing good would come out of telling her about this.

“Beauty Qiao, you must continue hoarding points. Increase your power.” The system’s tone suddenly turned dead serious. In order to face uncertainties the future would bring, it must safeguard Beauty Qiao at all costs.

Gu Xiqiao glanced back at it. “You should issue more missions then.”

After that, she let out a sigh. “It’s been over half a month and levelling up in ancient martial arts seems almost impossible.”

The system: “Have you been slacking off?!”

“Aren’t you the one who forced me into acting?” asked Gu Xiqiao while she glared at the system.

“… this isn’t an excuse for lazing around.”

Gu Xiqiao rubbed her chin. “Maybe I’ve reached a bottleneck.”

“Then next month it is! If you don’t level up by then, don’t even think about ordering me around like a dog!” The system spirit threatened.

“Don’t do that,” Gu Xiqiao rose up. Her face was all serious. Without the system, there would be no joy in her life. “I will work hard and level up by the end of next month.”

People from the ancient martial arts world typically would spend 8-10 years trying to achieve what Gu Xiqiao was planning to complete in a month. No doubt, they would feel like strangling Gu Xiqiao if they ever heard her conversation with the system.

Half a months’ time? Wasn’t it incredibly normal for people to not level up after ten whole years?!

“Help me find a book.” Gu Xiqiao suddenly remembered this issue. She searched her memory before repeating a name to the system.

Just as she finished saying its name, an ancient-looking book materialized in front of her. It was almost identical to the one from before, that Jiang Shuxuan showed her but this one was exuding a bizarre aura, like a forbidden treasure would.

Gu Xiqiao knew that this book itself was where a formation was located. The moment you turn over the first page, your mental ability would become fully immersed in its contents. Without the need to flip the pages over, you would still be able to understand what was written in its pages. This was a testament of how brilliant its creator was. It was also how she was able to make out that the book Jiang Shuxuan gave her was a fake copy.

“Beauty Qiao, did you not read this one the last time? There are others similar to this, would you like me to get them for you?” Right after the system said that, books started falling from mid-air.

Gu Xiqiao looked at them briefly before responding. “Leave them here. I’ll use them to smack whoever that pisses me off in the future.”

“…”

The phone at her bedside table rang. Picking it up, Gu Xiqiao discovered that it was a message from Cheng Zhou.

Cheng Zhou: “Little Gu, I just wanted to discuss with you about the second female lead. That Peng Zixian, do you think I should pick her?”

Gu Xiqiao figured that Cheng Zhou probably was aware of the rumors about Peng Zixian. It wasn’t the business part about her family that was scary. It was her family’s ties to politics that terrified him. A phone call to the right department and the film project, regardless of what it was about, would grind to a halt without questions asked. This was probably the thing that worried Cheng Zhou.

For A Millenium: “If she isn’t relying on her own abilities, then make her.”

Cheng Zhou’s brows remained furrowed after seeing Gu Xiqiao’s reply. It was easy for her to say that. Considering how someone from ‘up above’ has already spoken out about the matter, he had no choice but to give Peng Zixian some face.

Cheng Zhou was going to call Gu Xiqiao directly but she sent him another message before he could do that.

For A Millenium: “Director Zhou, pick whoever you think fits the roles best. There’s no need to fear any other thing. Leave the rest to me. I am aware of Peng Zixian’s background. Even if someone decides to back her up, they would not dare to make a move against anyone in the film crew.”

Cheng Zhou’s hands trembled after reading Gu Xiqiao’s reply. He lit up a cigarette and began a contemplation session. He was aware of who Peng Zixian was and it was precisely because of that, that he was struggling to make a decision. The relationship between forces in the Imperial Capital was nothing short of complex. What he feared most were families who had participated in the war that founded their nation. These people wielded great power. Even billionaires were not as terrifying as these people.

Peng Zixian was one of their descendants.

So why was Gu Xiqiao so confident that Peng Zixian wouldn’t dare mess with the film crew, even with someone behind her back? Cheng Zhou understood that Gu Xiqiao was no bag of wind so could it possibly mean that she has something up her sleeve? Just what kind of a person was she?

Cheng Zhou couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he tried. He then remembered the man who had accompanied her to the filming set. For even Xiang Kun to be wary around him, he must be someone who possessed formidable authority.

On the second day, Cheng Zhou received a call. “Hello Director Cheng, my name’s Mu Zong. Miss Gu has asked me to speak to you about the next joint-project. We have already prepared the costumes and the funds are limitless. It is up to you how large the budget will be. Though, you will have to pick on your own, which filming studio you will be using.”

“…”

He should’ve known that Gu Xiqiao would never handle matters herself.

He was moved the moment he heard from Mu Zong that the funds would be limitless. How on earth did he manage to find such a great sponsor?

The director and Mu Zong began discussing the project after meeting up. Cheng Zhou thought that his counterpart was just an ordinary middle-aged man.

It was until a week later that he read a financial news report about Mu Zong. The finance paper was a pretty significant entity and yet this report about him took up almost one-quarter of the entire paper. It was then that Cheng Zhou realized Mu Zong was the man behind all the ruckus caused by Nine Heavens in the Imperial Capital recently.

Auditions for the cast of River’s Lake had already ended. The actors and actresses chosen to star in this film were all according to Cheng Zhou’s personal tastes. In the end, Peng Zixian was not chosen as the second female lead. Many had their popcorn ready in anticipation of a spectacular show following this. They shook their heads at how foolish Cheng Zhou was. You could choose to hold your ground any other day but you still have to give Peng Zixian some face.

And yet, Cheng Zhou continued doing things ‘his way’, which prompted another close friend of his, who was also a director to talk some sense into him. “Old Cheng, didn’t I remind you that this is Peng Zixian we’re talking about. You can’t just leave her hanging like this! Did you ignore what I said?”

Cheng Zhou understood that his friend was just concerned about him. He lifted his coffee cup up to his lips while smiling.

“Our boss promised to handle this issue.”

“How on earth is she going to do that?! Is your boss retarded?!” His friend started suspecting that Cheng Zhou must’ve developed Alzheimer’s. “Cheng Zhou, you absolutely must understand that there are powerful figures behind Peng Zixian. If things go on like this, you’ll be nothing but a homeless pauper the next time I meet you!”

 The old boys in the entertainment industry knew precisely what Cheng Zhou’s friend was talking about. Upon seeing the obsessive look in Cheng Zhou’s eyes, they couldn’t help but let out a huge sigh. What a shame that the entertainment industry would be losing one more talented director.

It was at this moment that another problem presented itself. The actor who was supposed to play the second male lead suddenly announced that he was refusing to work in this project. His excuse was that his schedule was too tightly packed. However, Cheng Zhou saw through his lie. That actor must’ve thought that this movie, like a stillborn child, would end up failing even before it was completed.

“Mu Xing, this is Director Cheng’s film you’re talking about. Many pray hard and still fail to land a role in his films. What’s more, your role is guaranteed to build up your fanbase. No doubt, you’d become famous overnight. It’s no easy job, impressing him so why are you turning this opportunity down?” The manager was shocked by the look in Mu Xing’s eyes.

Mu Xing laughed mockingly. He pointed at the top of his head. “What second male lead are you talking about. I’ve just caught wind that Cheng Zhou’s pissed some big shot off. This crew’s done for I tell you. You think I’m just gonna sit here on this sinking ship?”