Xu Ming stared at the papers scattered on the floor as if they were venomous snakes ready to strike.
The crooked, exaggerated lyrics, full of strange metaphors and forced rhymes, seemed to scream, 'Sing to me if you dare.'
Xu Ming sighed deeply and threw himself onto the bed.
He had already understood the general situation, had already accepted that he had transmigrated, had even given a mental protagonist speech thanking the heavens…, but now he couldn't play around anymore.
These lyrics weren't just bad.
They were dangerous.
"If I sing this tomorrow, the only thing I'll get is secondhand embarrassment, if I don't get killed instantly."
He ran a hand over his face, feeling the butterflies in his stomach finally appear. Until then, everything had been excitement, curiosity, and that typical animation of a web novel reader who just got a free isekai. But now… now it was real life.
And with an audience.
Xu Ming took a deep breath and began to organize his thoughts.
"Okay… let's recap. Important visitors are arriving tomorrow. Very important!"
He bit his nails as he closed his eyes, recalling the information he had just absorbed from the body's former owner.
These visitors came from another relevant sect, the Cloud Harmony Sect, which, unlike the Heavenly Martial Path, wasn't only known for breaking rocks with their foreheads.
They had a good reputation, talented young people, award-winning artwork… basically, the kind of sect that others pointed at and said, "See? That's elegance!"
And worst of all, this visit wasn't just a courtesy visit; it was an attempt at partnership.
A diplomatic bridge.
A real chance for the Heavenly Martial Path Sect to stop being seen as "the sect of brainless brutes" and start gaining some respect.
This opportunity only came because Xu Ming's master has a long-standing friendship with an elder from Cloud Harmony.
Xu Ming slowly opened his eyes.
"In other words… if I mess up tomorrow…"
He swallowed hard.
"I'm dead."
He stood up and began pacing the room, gesturing as he talked to himself.
"Okay, okay, calm down! Let's take it one step at a time. First, who exactly is coming?"
He stopped in the middle of the room.
"I know elders are coming… but those guys usually just stand there blankly, analyzing everything as if they were judging an invisible painting, or at least that's how it's portrayed in the stories."
The real problem was the others.
The young people.
Xu Ming frowned.
"I need to know who will be there."
Without wasting any time, he left his cave and began walking out of the mountain. Luckily, he was already in the first layer of Qi Gathering, allowing him to walk quite fast.
The Heavenly Martial Path sect had a simple and robust architecture and almost no delicate ornamentation; everything screamed brute force.
"Yeah… we're definitely not an artistic sect," he thought, somewhat resigned.
Luckily, before needing to reach the sect's plaza, he encountered a disciple passing by, a tall, broad-shouldered man with arms that looked like tree trunks.
"Hey, Senior Brother," Xu Ming called.
The disciple stopped and looked at him, somewhat confused.
"Hm? What is it, Brother Xu?" The young man knew Xu Ming; after all, he had been accepted specifically to elevate the artistic value of the sect. When he joined the sect a week ago, he quickly became a topic of conversation among everyone.
Xu Ming smiled politely. "Do you know exactly who will be visiting the sect tomorrow? Like… names, how many people, that sort of thing."
The disciple scratched his head. "Ah, I don't know that off the top of my head… but the people in the Administrative Hall should have the list."
"Perfect!" Xu Ming nodded. "Could you check that for me? I just arrived at the sect, and I still don't know where everything is."
He asked somewhat awkwardly.
"Sure!" The disciple replied promptly. "Wait a minute, I'll ask Senior Brother Chen, he always knows these things."
As the disciple walked away, almost running, Xu Ming sighed.
The Heavenly Martial Path Sect might have many flaws. They could be brutish, uncultured, stupid, impulsive, stubborn… cough cough! Anyway, despite everything, they are very honest and helpful.
There don't seem to be many internal fights and intrigues in the sect, thank goodness.
"Okay, first step: information gathering and basic strategy."
A few minutes later, the disciple returned, holding a small scroll.
"Here! I got the summary list."
"That fast?" Xu Ming blinked, surprised.
"Brother Chen already had everything memorized," replied the disciple, with an air of almost religious admiration.
Xu Ming took the scroll, thanked his older brother, and quickly returned to his cave.
He opened the scroll and his eyes scanned the information… and gradually widened.
"Oh."
"Oh."
"Ah… I understand."
Besides the elders of the visiting sect, there were several famous young cultivators. Some names were even highlighted with small notes such as exceptional talent, artistic genius, and popular among disciples.
And then he saw the final notes.
"Renowned young ladies…?"
Xu Ming swallowed hard again.
And then he read the ages.
"…Okay."
He slowly closed the scroll.
"This way, everything becomes easier."
Xu Ming wasn't a saint, but he wasn't an idiot either. He understood very well how young audiences, especially teenagers, worked.
And he understood even better the impact music had at that stage.
He began to laugh quietly to himself.
"If I were to perform only for a conservative elder, I would play a long classical piece, full of deep meanings and difficult notes…"
He shook his head.
"But if I do that, these girls will fall asleep sitting up."
Xu Ming took a deep breath and put his hand on his chin.
"I need something that's… captivating, something that sticks in your head, something that makes these young girls' hearts beat a little faster."
He went back to his room and sat down near the guzheng.
"We're in another world… but the human heart is still the same."
He closed his eyes.
And then, almost like a flash, a memory surfaced.
Illuminated stage, screams from the audience, synchronized choreography, catchy chorus.
Xu Ming suddenly opened his eyes.
"…K-pop."
He stared at the ceiling in silence.
"K-pop has managed to conquer the entire Earth… why wouldn't it work in a cultivation world?"
The more he thought about it, the more the idea made sense.
Handsome boys (himself), upbeat music, simple but addictive melody.
Lyrics are not very profound, but full of positive energy, youth, dreams, that sort of thing.
Xu Ming started to laugh.
"This is perfect."
He could already visualize the reactions.
The elders trying to maintain their composure, the shocked disciples, and the young cultivators… "…with shining eyes."
Xu Ming clapped his hands alone.
"This isn't just a performance. This is a diplomatic strategy and my first step to stardom."
He sat down again and pulled out paper and a brush.
"Now, which song?"
He began mentally listing styles.
Too aggressive? No.
Too childish? Also no.
"It needs to be something charismatic that touches the hearts of the young cultivators… Something slightly poetic would be good."
He scratched his head.
He already had an idea of which song to use; he just needed to make some small adjustments to the lyrics to make more sense in this world.
He also needed to transpose the entire melody so that it matched the guzheng, but maintained a modern rhythm.
While writing, he would stop every now and then, staring into space, imagining the performance.
Several hours passed without him noticing.
He picked up the sheet where he had written the new version of the lyrics and reread it.
"…This is really good."
Xu Ming threw himself back in his chair, exhausted but satisfied.
Writing the lyrics hadn't been that difficult; the changes were minimal.
What was truly tiring was writing the guzheng melody, in addition to refining its execution.
"Okay… now I just have to avoid dying of nerves tomorrow."
Xu Ming chuckled softly.
"Who would have thought… I transmigrated to a cultivation world, and I'm going to save a sect using K-pop."
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"If this goes wrong… I hope I don't get killed."
And with that unsettling thought, Xu Ming began mentally rehearsing the performance that could change the future of two entire sects.