Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Stirring a Sensation, Gaining Recruitment Slots
Most viewers watching Han Tian’s video were still cursing Jing Bao Tian for losing his mind.
But a small group had started to doubt.
Because if this was staged filming, there would be edits. Cuts. Tricks.
Han Tian’s footage had none of that.
It was one long take—smooth, continuous, the sway of the camera matching a real body moving through space.
Then a spirit-stealing mouse appeared.
It looked alive in a way modern CG never did—too quick, too present, too naturally imperfect. It was vaguely squirrel-like, but not any squirrel species that existed in the real world.
Han Tian narrated casually, as if it were obvious. “That’s a first-rank demon beast spirit-stealing mouse. We’ve planted a lot of spiritual herbs lately, so spirit-stealing mouse sneaks over to scout.”
He tried to move closer, to capture it in detail.
The spirit-stealing mouse vanished in a blink.
Han Tian sounded genuinely regretful. “We’re only Qi Refining Stage early-phase. spirit-stealing mouse is too fast. We still can’t catch it. Otherwise we’d love to raise a few.”
It took him half an hour to reach the mountain’s foot.
Half an hour of footage—no padding, no cutaways, no time skips.
Without Han Tian’s occasional commentary, it would’ve been painfully boring.
But the scenery was undeniable.
No filters. No cinematic tricks. Just raw, unvarnished beauty. Every plant and animal appeared from different angles, never repeating like a staged shot.
As Han Tian drew closer to the lowlands, Wangan County entered the distance—large enough to make people swallow.
When he passed through the county gate, the camera opened onto a bustling street.
Han Tian lowered his voice deliberately. “This is a mortal town—Wangan County. I’ve posted the info about Wangan County on my site, so go check it. I won’t explain too much. There are a lot of cultivators here. I need to be careful.”
Cultivators?
So there really was cultivation?
If this was staged, it wasn’t “a big production.” It was insanity.
People immediately started searching. Satellite maps. Tourism sites. Film cities. Someone, somewhere, wanted to match the footage for that one million, certain the place had to be fake.
It looked like it might be in China. It was huge. Maybe a film studio?
But which one?
One hour wasn’t long enough to show everything.
And since Wangan County didn’t allow fighting, the biggest “shock” came near the end.
A senior sister from Flying Sparrow Sect swept into view—flying on a massive pink tassel fan.
If someone could ride a flying treasure like that, she was at least Foundation Establishment Stage.
Han Tian didn’t dare provoke her. The camera simply watched.
She landed. With a casual flick of her hand, the enormous fan vanished.
The motion was effortless. Smooth. Natural.
No wire work. No post-production wobble. Nothing that looked like special effects.
The senior sister herself was striking—beautiful in a way that didn’t feel like makeup. Ancient-style dress, steps light as wind, and a hard, heroic edge in her eyes.
Even celebrity-level faces would struggle to match her.
Bullet comments poured in.
“The mask finally falls.”
“Professional actors for sure—she’s too pretty.”
“Wait… she looked stable on that fan. I didn’t see any rigging…”
If this was CG, what kind of budget could even do it?
Near the end of the video, Han Tian dropped his real bomb.
He went to a shop that bought demon beast materials and filmed the corpse of a first-rank demon beast toad snake.
He flagged it as a high-energy segment and warned people with weak stomachs not to watch.
No censoring.
Up close, it was violently bloody. The texture was wrong in the way reality is wrong—thick, wet, horrifying. Some viewers really did throw up.
Han Tian’s voice stayed steady. “This is a toad snake. A species that absolutely does not exist in reality. If you still think this game is fake after this, then I have nothing to say.”
“I’ll say it again: find this place. Find the people you saw in my video. If you can find them in real life, I’ll pay one million.”
“Up to now, I still find it hard to believe it’s a game. But where it comes from… I can’t be sure.”
The video ended.
A lot of viewers sat there in stunned silence.
A game world?
Could that possibly be real?
And still, plenty refused.
“This is hype.”
“No country on Earth has this tech.”
“Trash game marketing.”
“Only fifty slots and you still won’t open more? What a joke.”
But the shockwave had already hit.
In the group chat, players were losing their minds.
[Born Emperor: Holy crap, is this real? That video was too convincing. What’s the difference from reality?]
[Philanthropist: @Han Tian no jokes. If someone finds it, you’ll pay one million?]
[Han Tian: Forget one million. If you can find a real place that matches it, I’ll give you my entire net worth. Deal?]
[Philanthropist: Heh. I don’t believe it. Blue Star can’t have this tech. You’re a Big Shot—if you dare say this, the game company paid you to hype it, right?]
[Han Tian: …Go ask Zhou Xiao or the others. I’m done arguing. I still have to go help the players watch the spirit fields so spirit-stealing mouse doesn’t eat everything.]
The players had divided the labor now. Some built houses. Some guarded the spirit fields.
And the video—despite all the disbelief—was undeniably explosive.
With that title, with that one-million promise, and with Han Tian’s reputation, people swarmed it. Not because they believed it was real.
Because they believed it was fake—and that meant one million was waiting for whoever proved it.
Before long, the video shot to the top of the trending list.
#How feasible is a full-dive VR game?
#start with a broken sect#
A shocking scam OR game hype?
A one-million marketing stunt
Who is Song Jiu Lai?
At the very least, the sensation had already surpassed the five thousand Han Tian spent by a ridiculous margin.
And inside the game, Song Jiu Lai received a sudden message.
[An unexpected energy fluctuation has been detected. After evaluation, it can be converted into game energy.]
[You have gained permission to access the internet of the connected world Blue Star.]
[You may continue to recruit 20 sect disciples.]
Song Jiu Lai’s mind went blank.
Even the System sounded shocked. “Holy crap… there’s something this good?”
Song Jiu Lai jolted upright, eyes shining. “Yes! I can finally finish the TV drama I’ve been watching!”
The System fell silent.