Chapter 3
Heavenly Maiden
Heavenly Demon Chi Yulang stared intently at the screen.
“Is this… me?”
An aged, wild hermit was reflected there.
His hair was a disheveled mess, and his clothes were so tattered they were barely distinguishable from a beggar’s rags.
The ten years spent on this island had been enough to transform him from the revered leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult into a pitiful old beggar.
Though he had occasionally caught fleeting glimpses of himself in the spring’s waters, seeing his appearance so clearly for the first time was a shock.
Chi Yulang, with a stunned expression, touched his face.
At that moment, a viewer entered.
[DeerHunter has entered.]
- Holy crap, what a shock.
[DeerHunter has left.]
“….”
[Viewers: 0]
Chi Yulang roughly tidied his hair and stared at the screen.
If someone donated, he could use the funds to buy Dongpo Pork, but at this rate, it was a complete failure.
Yet, Chi Yulang wasn’t fazed in the slightest.
Who was he?
The one and only supreme being under heaven and earth.
The leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the greatest in the world, Heavenly Demon Chi Yulang!
Though ten years had passed, he was once the figure who commanded the martial world.
No martial artist would be unaware of his name.
It was only because the stream had just started. Surely, if he waited a little longer, people would flock to him like clouds.
Imagining throngs of people rushing in, shouting “The Heavenly Demon has returned! All demons bow!” made his chest swell with pride.
Time passed.
Five minutes, ten minutes.
And then, finally!
[OakTwig has entered.]
A viewer had arrived.
[Viewers: 1]
Here we go!
Perhaps drawn by the stream title, the viewer immediately asked a question.
- Yo, are you really the Heavenly Demon?
Chi Yulang calmed his excitement and steadied his voice.
Of course, looking like a beggar, it’s no wonder they don’t recognize me.
If someone had shown him this image of himself and said, “This is you ten years from now,” he would have roared, “Nonsense!” and dismissed it.
With understanding, Heavenly Demon Chi Yulang responded in a dignified tone.
“Indeed. I am the Heavenly Demon.”
Right now, there was only one viewer, but he was certain that soon, like the top streamers, thousands or tens of thousands would flock to his broadcast.
The beginning may be humble, but the end will be grand!
- Yeah, right lol.
[OakTwig has left.]
“….”
[Viewers: 0]
Chi Yulang stared at the screen in despair.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes, an hour passed.
[Viewers: 0]
No viewers came.
Even when someone occasionally joined, they’d ask if he was really the Heavenly Demon, scoff, and leave with mocking laughter.
Chi Yulang gazed blankly at the screen, his expression one of shock.
Has the world forgotten me?
Thud!
The screen went black.
The darkened screen reflected an old, haggard man.
Thud!
Soon after, the lights in the streaming room went out as well.
“….”
Heavenly Demon Chi Yulang sat alone in the darkness for a long time.
———-
[Broadcast Statistics]
- Peak Viewers: 1
- Average Viewers: 0
- Followers: 0
———-
Click.
Chi Yulang opened the door and stepped out of the darkened streaming room.
The chirping of crickets and the lonely moonlight greeted him.
He looked up at the moon, which seemed to gaze down at him with pity, and let out a sigh.
Then, he carefully examined the now-unlit streaming room.
Why did it suddenly turn off?
There was a chance it had malfunctioned.
The thought brought a sudden sense of urgency.
This device was his only connection to the outside world.
He could not afford to lose it.
Chi Yulang inspected the streaming room closely, examining every detail.
Despite appearances, he was well-versed in mechanisms and contraptions.
The cause of the issue was soon found.
Click.
He pulled open a small door on one side of the room, revealing a crudely cut, oval-shaped gem inside.
Chi Yulang took it out and examined it closely.
“This is…”
He wasn’t entirely sure, but it seemed this gem served as the fuel powering the streaming room.
Just as firewood is used to stoke a fire in a hearth, this small gem powered the room.
To think such a tiny stone runs this entire room.
What was this thing?
The gem, which had been faintly glowing, soon lost its light entirely in his hand.
“Wait a moment. This looks familiar.”
It felt strangely familiar.
Chi Yulang retrieved a stone from beside the pile of straw and compared the two.
The two stones, now devoid of light, were vastly different in size but similar in material and color.
“…Could it be?”
A spark of realization flashed through his mind.
Whoosh!
He immediately leapt up and dashed off like the wind.
Whooosh!
His speed was so great that a gust of wind followed, violently shaking the branches in his wake.
At the end of his path was a beast, howling at the moon.
ROOOAR!
Thud!
Crash!
A three-headed lion collapsed, its massive size rendered meaningless.
“It’s got to be around here somewhere…”
Chi Yulang muttered as he tore into the beast’s chest.
“Found it!”
Covered in blood, Chi Yulang extracted a brilliantly glowing gem from near the beast’s heart.
This gem, brimming with immense energy, was known in this world as a magic stone.
The larger and more radiant, the higher the quality of the magic stone. The one he pulled from the beast’s chest was incomparably larger and brighter than the one in the streaming room.
“So this was that gem.”
Chi Yulang muttered, holding the magic stone up to the moonlight and turning it this way and that.
It felt familiar, yet so different from what he knew that he hadn’t recognized it at first.
After all, these were the very stones he casually chewed on as snacks when bored.
Collecting them had been a hassle, so he often left them behind after hunting beasts, but now he saw the need to gather them.
“Just in case, I’d better collect a few more.”
Muttering calmly, Chi Yulang vanished with a burst of light movement skill.
That night, the forest echoed with the cries of unknown beasts for quite some time.
————
Clatter, clatter—
The Heavenly Demon returned to his dwelling and dumped a pile of magic stones in one place.
Thanks to washing them in the stream, the stones gleamed brilliantly.
“That should do it.”
Chi Yulang dusted off his hands, muttering with satisfaction.
He picked up one of the stones and headed to the streaming room.
Opening the compartment, he inserted the magic stone and closed it.
Wooong!
A familiar hum sounded, followed by the whir of the machine starting up.
“Perfect.”
Humming a tune, Chi Yulang re-entered the now brightly lit streaming room.
The lights were so bright they almost hurt his eyes.
“Shall we continue the broadcast, then?”
But as he connected to Kwitch and prepared to start streaming again, he paused and withdrew his hand.
If I start the stream now, will I be able to eat Dongpo Pork?
The answer was “no.”
He knew it.
It would only repeat the same failure as before.
The world had forgotten the Heavenly Demon.
He needed a different approach to attract viewers.
Chi Yulang keenly felt the harshness of the streaming world.
Cold indifference.
Streamers without competitive appeal were quickly weeded out.
This was a true world of survival of the fittest.
So, what should he do?
To draw in viewers, earn donations, and buy Dongpo Pork, what must he do?
It was a matter of attitude.
He hadn’t taken it seriously.
“Alright, I’ve decided.”
Heavenly Demon Chi Yulang glared at the screen with a serious expression.
His eyes quietly blazed.
They were the eyes of a predator sizing up its prey.
“Kwitch. I shall conquer you.”
Just as he had brought the martial world to its knees, he would make the streaming world kneel before him.
And then! He would eat Dongpo Pork until his stomach burst!
And while he was at it, he’d find out what happened to the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Chi Yulang began his conquest immediately.
He watched top-ranked streams with high viewership, analyzing their success factors.
He scoured forums, absorbing information about this new world.
He spent entire days holed up in the streaming room, watching broadcasts and reading forums.
When hungry, he munched on magic stones like snacks.
As a result, Chi Yulang discovered why people hadn’t flocked to his stream.
Why would anyone watch an old man’s broadcast?
Most top-ranked streams were hosted by pretty young ladies.
As the saying goes, ‘A red skirt is always better’—just as butterflies are drawn to flowers, people are naturally attracted to beauty.
It was instinct, a natural reaction.
And another thing:
Most streamers, like the foreign mage he first saw, focused on fighting others.
But streams featuring charming young ladies chatting casually received far more frequent and larger donations.
Fighters might battle fiercely for a mere thousand cookies,
But a pretty lady could earn ten thousand cookies with a single cute gesture.
When Chi Yulang realized this, his eyes lit up.
This is it!
He needed to capture people’s attention!
By any means necessary!
Just as a flower emits fragrance to attract butterflies, he too needed to become a flower.
If I’m going to do this, I’ll do it properly.
That was the way of the demonic path he envisioned!
Click.
Having attained enlightenment, Chi Yulang left the streaming room, grabbed a handful of magic stones, and sat cross-legged in front of a bodhi tree.
Crunch!
He chewed and swallowed all the magic stones he’d brought, then closed his eyes and began regulating his energy.
He was finally undertaking the rejuvenation process he’d postponed out of laziness.
Normally, rejuvenation meant merely returning to one’s youthful state, but Chi Yulang was different.
Having delayed it for years out of laziness, he had developed a unique constitution.
This allowed him to finely control the process.
Seven days and nights passed.
“Hoo…”
With a deep exhale, Heavenly Demon Chi Yulang opened his eyes.
His gem-like purple eyes shimmered with unfathomable power.
When he opened his eyes again, the figure seated before the bodhi tree was no longer an aged hermit.
“It worked.”
Chi Yulang muttered with satisfaction.
His voice was a beautiful, melodic tone.
Heavenly Demon Chi Yulang.
Reborn as a beautiful young maiden!
————
Kwitch username: HakoDigger13.
Today, too, he was on the hunt for adorable “hako” (low-tier) streamers.
“Let’s see…”
Scroll, scroll—
Scrolling to the bottom in search of a cute hako streamer to shower with donations, his eyes widened.
He spotted a thumbnail featuring an adorable twin-tailed maiden.
[HeavenlyMaiden’s Kwitch Conquest: Day 1]
“Ehh?! So kawaii(cute)!”
HakoDigger13 followed his heart without hesitation.
He entered her stream immediately.
“Whoa.”
Seeing HeavenlyMaiden on the big screen, he was even more stunned.
Her skin was so flawless it seemed to glow, without any filters.
Or maybe the lighting was just too bright? It didn’t matter much.
What mattered was that HeavenlyMaiden was impossibly cute. Cute enough to want to pinch her cheeks.
[HakoDigger13 has entered.]
The maiden Heavenly Demon greeted him with solemn dignity.
[Welcome, HakoDigger13. It’s a pleasure to meet you.]
Thump!
She looked like an adorable girl, but her speech was impossibly dignified.
HakoDigger13 felt his heart race.
What was this gap moe?!
Tap, tap—
He typed in the chat.
- HeavenlyMaiden, got any donation reactions?
HeavenlyMaiden tilted her head arrogantly and spoke in a haughty tone.
[If you’re curious, make a donation. Then you’ll find out.]
HakoDigger13 gasped.
A newbie with this much confidence?
Was she hiding something? What was this self-assurance?
He couldn’t resist.
HakoDigger13 immediately donated ten thousand cookies.
[HakoDigger13 has donated 10,000 cookies!]
- HeavenlyMaiden, reaction please!
Instantly, the haughty HeavenlyMaiden’s expression changed.
The Heavenly Demon pressed both fists to her cheeks, striking a cute pose.
A bright smile was a bonus.
[Heavenly Nyan~ Thank you, nyan!]
“Gahhh!”
HakoDigger13 clutched his chest involuntarily.
His heart was pounding wildly.
“Uwooooh! HeavenlyMaiden, daisuki da yo!”
[LuluLulu has entered.]
[RunYe has entered.]
[StarMoon136 has entered.]
Following suit, viewers drawn by the thumbnail of the adorable HeavenlyMaiden flooded into the stream at a terrifying pace.
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