Chapter 5: Startling awake from the brink of death; to learn, one must practice personally

She hailed a car online. The driver was a talkative person and greeted her very enthusiastically.

Perhaps sensing Jin Li’s cold, "don't bother me" attitude, the driver finally stopped talking. Jin Li closed her eyes and began to perform breathing exercises, inhaling and exhaling in a long, rhythmic pattern.

Half an hour later, she arrived at a small Taoist temple with only a scattering of two or three tourists.

Jin Li stepped into the main hall. Looking up, she discovered that the deity enshrined in the central position was the Taiqing Moral Heavenly Venerable, one of the Three Pure Ones of Taoism, known as "Taishang Laojun"—who happened to be her master in the Heavenly Realm.

She first lit a stick of incense, then knelt and recited her master’s name, hoping to receive a response.

As always, there was no response.

Jin Li walked out of the main hall feeling somewhat uneasy. A long, steady stream of divine power poured into her body, making her feel light and nimble once again, and the high fever she had been running immediately subsided.

She waited for a long while, but no voice came to her mind, so she had no choice but to leave with regret.

On the way back, she passed a lottery station, and Jin Li felt a sudden urge to buy a ticket.

The moment this thought arose in her mind, her heart skipped a beat, and a sense of palpitation washed over her.

Practitioners of the Way value sudden intuition and spiritual premonitions above all else. Jin Li immediately gave up the idea and headed straight home.

Lying on the bed, she soon drifted off into a dream.

In her dream, she saw her master.

Her master was shrouded in a golden light, and a wisp of ethereal mist drifted from Him, enveloping Jin Li. From it, she received some information.

In her current mortal body, she could not look directly at a deity, nor could she communicate with one; her master could only reveal information in this roundabout way.

Her master said that her current body was at the end of its rope and needed to be repaired with divine power every day, so she must be diligent in offering incense. He had already spoken to the other Taoist Lords on her behalf.

Additionally, because the luck she carried was too astonishing, it would easily cause trouble if not properly guided. Therefore, He would seal away most of her fortune and replace it with a different kind of bonus.

A flurry of adjectives floated through Jin Li’s mind—

"Loved by all, flowers bloom at the sight of you, cars blow their tires when they see you."

"Peerless voice, absolute pitch, sounds of nature."

"Athleticism maxed out, robust body, dynamic number one."

……

Her master asked her which one she wanted.

Jin Li felt ashamed.

She asked her master which one was better, but her master told her to choose for herself.

Jin Li looked for a long time, dazzled and unsure which would be good for her, so she simply pointed her finger at random.

A line of text, "Twice the result with half the effort," jumped out and happened to collide with her fingertip.

【Twice the result with half the effort】: Your efficiency will skyrocket when in a focused state (can be developed and explored).

Jin Li woke up from her dream immediately.

She pondered this text carefully, recalling the last message her master gave her before she left: besides divine power, "Twice the result with half the effort" could also stabilize her body, but it required her to study it herself.

Not wanting to wake up in an unstable physical state again tomorrow, she immediately began to experiment.

First, she cleaned the house, then organized her clothes, and finally cooked a meal.

Jin Li had done these three things before, and it usually took her an entire afternoon to finish. But today, she completed the first two tasks in just two hours.

Finally, she moved on to cooking. She ran through the recipe in her mind and felt she could finish it in half an hour.

Sure enough, it took half the time it usually did!

Her phone suddenly rang; it was a call from her agent, Sui Lingfang.

She asked first, "Are you feeling better today? How do you feel?"

Jin Li hid what happened that morning; she didn't want to make her worry, and it was hard to explain.

"It's alright. I feel pretty energetic."

"Hmm—" Sui Lingfang pondered for a moment. "The interview livestream you participated in yesterday—Maozhua Live was quite satisfied. They want to reach a long-term streaming partnership with you and invite you to join the platform."

She talked about how Maozhua Live and Wangwang Live had been competing against each other recently, desperately trying to pull celebrities onto their platforms. Currently, Wangwang Live had pulled in more celebrities and had already created a star effect.

Jin Li asked, "Does joining the platform mean I have to stream every day?"

"No, they wanted you to do a half-hour stream every week, but that’s the requirement for third-tier celebrities, so I didn't agree to it."

Sui Lingfang explained, "Although your popularity has declined, that’s only because no one is boosting your rankings. Your impression in the public eye is still high; we can't use third-tier data to benchmark you."

Jin Li asked curiously, "Then are you benchmarking me against first-tier stars?"

Sui Lingfang said regretfully, "No, you aren't at the first-tier level yet."

Jin Li laughed, "Then what should we do?"

The voice coming from the other end of the phone was sweet and soft, smoothing out her slightly regretful mood.

Sui Lingfang smiled and said, "I got you an exclusive contract between the first and second tiers. You only need to stream once every half month. If you stream more, they’ll pay you extra for each session."

"Because they specifically invited you, the gift-sharing terms are very favorable, matching those of top streamers. But since your health isn't good, I’m only letting you sign for two months."

Streaming once every half month meant four times in two months.

What Sui Lingfang didn't say was that if Jin Li didn't reach four times, the company would have to pay damages, but she didn't want to say it out loud and add pressure to Jin Li.

In case she had another incident like the time she coughed up blood during a stream... forget it, life is more important.

Jin Li asked, "Then what should I do during the stream? Sing and dance?"

Sui Lingfang’s eyelids twitched. "My dear, why would you need to sing and dance? You have to think about your health. You just need to chat and talk with your fans. You’re a star, not an internet celebrity; you don't need to dance in the livestream room."

On the phone, Jin Li’s voice was very cheerful: "OK, then let's sign."

"Wait, no need to rush."

Sui Lingfang had originally been thinking about how to persuade Jin Li to take the deal, but since Jin Li agreed so readily, she wasn't in a hurry anymore.

"Take a good look at the contract first. If there’s anything you don't understand, come ask me. Let Maozhua Live hang for a few days."

After hanging up, Jin Li took out her phone, downloaded the Maozhua Live app, played around with the software, and then clicked into their forum to watch the discussion threads.

After watching for a while, Jin Li scrolled to a post discussing her.

【How to evaluate Jin Li’s interview livestream yesterday? It dropped onto the top of the livestream site’s hot search and was promoted on the front page?】

[Jin Li, huh? I haven't seen her in so long. My past memories of youth have suddenly killed me~]

[One of the members of the Pink Girls group, the last and only girl group in Huayu Entertainment. It’s not surprising she has this kind of fame, right?]

[A girl group that faded into obscurity long ago and can never recover—why give her traffic?]

[Lol, the platform was lagging like crazy five minutes after Jin Li started streaming. Maozhua Live’s new registrations that day broke 10k+ compared to the past. If she can't do it, who can? Even internet celebrities don't have this kind of pulling power!]

[She only has a middle school diploma, what’s there to brag about?]

Seeing this comment, Jin Li’s eyes brightened slightly. She felt she had found something she could strive for in the long term.

There will be another chapter before 11 o'clock. Everyone is welcome to cast recommendation votes and monthly tickets to help the new seedling grow strong. Comments and messages are welcome~

(End of this chapter)