Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Ning Fei’s first webcast began. He felt quite awkward as he watched himself on the screen.
He glanced at the number of viewers on the app.
0.
This was his first webcast, and naturally, he would have no viewers. Someone had once talked for eight hours, and by the end of the webcast, there were zero viewers.
People often claimed that online celebrities earned a lot of money, but what they were referring to were those popular ones or those who worked in a team.
Usually, before his or her first webcast, an aspiring, hopeful amateur would enlist the help of people to create some hype by taking videos. Or perhaps they would choose to create parodies or something sentimental. Or he or she would make a flamboyant display of themselves to attract and accumulate viewers to watch their webcast.
In the case of Ning Fei, who began his webcast right away, it was certain that he would have no viewers.
Ning Fei had already named his webcast room “Light Breeze Temple’s Webcast Room”.
He contemplated for a while as he thought of what he should perform. He had watched webcasts before, and they mainly were focused on games or competitions. Occasionally, he had chanced upon one or two pretty webcasters doing a sexy dance or performing a ballad.
“Forget it. I should be myself. If I do something that is too deliberate, I would be lost and awkward.” Ning Fei shrugged to himself.
Taoist priests were particular about genuineness.
Thus, he set the webcast display to the view from the drone. He then chose the option of the drone tailing him automatically and began with his tasks.
The structure of Light Breeze Temple was simple. There was a flight of stairs made of limestone. It was five meters wide and spanned 18 stories. This flight of stairs had weathered storms and the blazing sun, and was beginning to darken. Trees lined both sides of the stairs, and the bottom steps, which were in the shadow of the trees, had moss growing all over them.
The stairs looked primitive and were considered the facade of this shabby temple. After climbing them, one would arrive at a dilapidated-looking courtyard. There was a signboard that had almost been corroded by the harsh weather containing three big words written in Chinese calligraphy.
Light Breeze Temple.
Ning Fei had just eaten his dinner, and according to his usual routine, it was time for him to retire for the night. He had nothing to do, so he took out the wooden sword that he usually used for practice every day.
Real martial arts weren’t anything like what was described in martial arts novels. In real life, wielding a sword didn’t actually look that formidable; neither could it slice a path to the underworld nor open a path to the Heavens.
If Ning Fei had to describe his style of martial arts, it would look more like those old masters in the park who practiced with a sword.
His movements were slow, but every move was correct and exact. Every move he made seemed as though he had naturally blended with Earth and Heaven.
At this time, Ning Fei hadn’t noticed that the number of viewers was rapidly increasing.
The numbers rose from 6 to 52, to 231, and then 320…
In just a matter of minutes, the number of viewers had surged past 300!
Someone even began to post comments.
‘What is this place? The surroundings look nice!’
‘It looks like a temple? Oh let me see… Light Breeze Temple’s Webcast Room?’
‘What the… Do real priests even exist nowadays? He has to be a fraud!’
‘Don’t come to a conclusion so quickly. The priest’s movements look legitimate, and he does exude charm.’
‘This is strange… His moves resemble those old men at the park. But why is it such an enjoyment watching him perform?’
‘I’m curious what this priest looks like!’
And so, the number of viewers who watched Ning Fei’s webcast rose substantially.
The drone acted as though it possessed artificial intelligence as it would very quickly find the perfect angle to film.
It descended and captured both Ning Fei and the setting sun in a frame.
A priest in his robes, against the setting sun, engrossed and absorbed in his training…
The scene was beautiful. It gave off the aura of an ’80s martial arts film, with him as the noble swordsman.
The viewers were simply amazed as they were too used to watching female webcasters doing seductive and coquettish poses while addressing their viewers as “hubby” and “darling”. The viewers had also gotten used to false pretenses behind the screen. This refreshing and refined way of livestreaming was new to them, and they had never experienced anything like it before.
Someone even began to record the webcast.
‘What the… I’ve been watching for almost 15 minutes. And I’m still enjoying it!’
‘To the person in front, I’ve been watching for more than 20 minutes. This webcaster is simply incredible.’
‘This place doesn’t look fake. I’ve lived near a mountain before, and this place is definitely tucked in the depths of a mountain.’
‘Impressive! I want to reward this webcaster by giving 100 bird pellets.’
‘Same. I’m giving 200 bird pellets.’
Life in urban cities was fast-paced and stressful, especially for the young generation. Thus, they watched these livestream shows to unwind and relax. Some preferred to watch games, while others enjoyed watching female hosts or eating or singing shows. All they wanted was to pass the time in enjoyment.
The audience soon realized that watching Ning Fei practicing with his sword had given them a sense of calmness. This was simply indescribable.
Thirty minutes later, Ning Fei finished his sword practice.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve practiced. My skills have gone rusty.” Ning Fei wiped his perspiration off his forehead.
Although practicing movements with a sword was slow, and unlike vigorous exercises, it wouldn’t leave him panting for breath. But if he wanted to display every move with precision and beauty, it would indeed tire him out.
Ning Fei recalled that he was still in the midst of a webcast, so he picked up the phone to switch it off before resting.
However, he realized with a jolt of shock that he had 1,000 viewers in his webcast room!
He had that many?! Ning Fei was perplexed.
At this time, the screen fully captured Ning Fei’s face closely, and the viewers saw how he looked.
And the comments rushed in like violent waves.
‘Oh god. The host is so good-looking! Is he also one of those hosts who live off their looks?’
‘He has revealed his face! I thought he would do that only when he had 10,000 viewers!’
‘He looks so refreshing! Are all young priests so handsome these days?’
‘The sword practice was fantastic! Can you do it again?’
‘Wow! I’ve unearthed a treasure!’
‘Did he beautify his looks?’
‘I would still accept him even if he had indeed beautified his looks.’
‘Look at the beads of perspiration on his face closely! It’s too real! He definitely didn’t do anything!’
Ning Fei read the comments.
He merely shrugged as he had nothing to say about his looks. To put it simply, he had received hundreds of love letters since he was a boy.
In university, he was also considered the school “prince”, and there were indeed throngs of girls who tried to woo him.
“Hello, everyone. I’m the 28th master of Light Breeze Temple. My name is Ning Fei, and I’m twenty-two years old. Welcome to my webcast room.”
“This is the first time I’m doing a livestream show. I don’t have any experience, so I want to thank all of you for your support. Today, I shall introduce my temple to everyone.”
Ning Fei waved his hands as he introduced himself. His voice was masculine and manly, and it attracted a wave of enthusiastic responses from the viewers.
Ning Fei had no idea what he should say next. Now that there were more than a thousand people watching him, he was rather uncomfortable. Therefore, he switched the camera view from his phone’s to the drone’s.
The drone flew behind him as he walked towards Light Breeze Temple.