“Give it a try?”
The martial arts choreographer felt that Jiang Nian’s suggestion made sense, so he looked at Wu Yusen and asked tentatively.
Wu Yusen thought for a moment, then nodded. “Let’s try it.”
“Alright!”
The choreographer nodded, then stepped forward and began explaining things to Xu Xinyuan, Jung Woo-sung, and the others.
When they learned that they would be swapping martial arts moves with each other, all three were surprised. But since Wu Yusen had already given his approval, they didn’t raise any objections.
Instead, under the choreographer’s guidance, they started familiarizing themselves with each other’s techniques.
Luckily, it wasn’t too difficult. After a whole night of filming, they were already quite familiar with each other’s moves.
The sudden switch did throw them off a bit at first, but after a short period of adjustment, they quickly got the hang of each other’s fighting styles and rhythms.
Seeing this, the choreographer hurried out and gave Wu Yusen an “OK” sign. “Producer Wu, we’re all set.”
“Good.” Wu Yusen nodded, raised the megaphone, and placed the clapperboard in front of the camera. “Reign of Assassins, Scene 43, Section 11, Take 9. Action!”
As his voice trailed off, the clapperboard snapped shut with a sharp crack.
Hearing the cue, Xu Xinyuan and the others instantly slipped into character, while the cameraman inside the house hoisted the camera onto his shoulder, tracking their movements and shifting the angles.
Behind the monitor, Wu Yusen, the choreographer, and director Su Zhaobin all stared intently at the live feed, eager to see what changes the adjustments would bring.
Only Jiang Nian stood off to the side, completely at ease, his face calm and composed as he watched the house.
Seeing him like this, Zhang Linyu felt a bit anxious.
He sidled up to Jiang Nian and whispered, “Brother Jiang, are you sure about this?”
This wasn’t the Swordsman crew—this was Reign of Assassins.
You, an outsider, just waltz in and start giving orders left and right.
Sure, you had the producer’s permission, but what if your directions ended up being completely off?
Hearing this, Jiang Nian looked utterly unfazed. “Relax.”
Come on, who did he think he was?
A first-class martial artist!
When it came to martial arts mastery, if he said he was second, no one in the world would dare claim first.
All he was doing here was tweaking a few moves and pinpointing a few issues.
If he couldn’t even handle that, he might as well just retire from martial arts altogether, fall on his sword, and call it a day.
Jiang Nian was brimming with confidence.
Seeing him like this, Zhang Linyu didn’t push further. After all, he wasn’t an industry insider. He knew Jiang Nian practiced martial arts and was incredibly skilled, but beyond that, he was completely in the dark about the finer details.
Zhang Linyu instinctively turned his gaze toward Wu Yusen.
And there he saw it—after staring at the monitor for a while, Wu Yusen and the others broke into delighted smiles!
“Yes! That’s it!”
Wu Yusen slapped his hand against his thigh, overjoyed.
This was the feeling he’d been after all along!
“Teacher Jiang, you’ve really done us a huge favor!”
Turning to look at Jiang Nian, Wu Yusen’s tone was filled with genuine respect. At the same time, he finally understood why his old friend Tsui Hark—who was so notoriously proud—held Jiang Nian in such high regard, even calling him a genius.
Because Jiang Nian truly had the skills to back it up!
A single sentence, and he’d cracked the problem that had been tormenting them all night long!
Wu Yusen couldn’t even imagine how much fun and how effortlessly Tsui Hark must have worked with Jiang Nian during the filming of Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.
“That old bastard really hit the jackpot!”
Wu Yusen muttered enviously to himself.
At the same time, the way he looked at Jiang Nian had completely shifted.
Before, his respect for Jiang Nian had been based solely on the cinematic miracle he’d pulled off.
But now, that respect came from Jiang Nian having won him over with sheer, undeniable talent.
Jiang Nian, however, didn’t seem to care much about any of this. He just lit a cigarette and said with a chuckle, “You’re too kind, Producer Wu. We’re all shooting in the same area, and we’re practically neighbors. Lending a hand is no big deal. Besides, I did accidentally barge into your set earlier and interrupt your shoot. It’s only fair that I make it up to you.”
Seeing how humble he was, Wu Yusen couldn’t help but start praising him in return.
For a moment, there was no trace of the typical superstar or big-shot director in either of them. Instead, they sounded more like a couple of old-timers in the office, casually trading compliments.
And that was only natural. After all, everyone likes a little flattery. It makes everyone look good, so why not?
The two chatted for a while, both beaming with satisfaction.
Jiang Nian, feeling that the time was about right, was getting ready to say his goodbyes.
But just then, as if sensing Jiang Nian’s intentions, Wu Yusen beat him to the punch: “Um, Teacher Jiang, are you… busy with work right now?”
“Hm?”
The question immediately put Jiang Nian on alert.
What kind of question was that? Are you busy with work?
“Producer Wu, is there something you need?”
Jiang Nian asked.
Wu Yusen scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. “Well, I was thinking—if you’re not too busy, would you consider joining Reign of Assassins?”
“Huh?” Jiang Nian blinked, caught off guard.
Join Reign of Assassins?
What did he mean by that?
Was Wu Yusen trying to pull the same stunt as that old fox Tsui Hark—using him as a hired gun and bringing him on as a martial arts choreographer?
Seeing Jiang Nian remain silent, just eyeing him warily, Wu Yusen wasn’t put off in the slightest. He pressed on, shamelessly: “Here’s the thing—even though we’ve already started filming Reign of Assassins, we still haven’t found the right actor for the Wheel King. Teacher Jiang, since our paths have crossed like this, it must be fate, so how about…”
Wu Yusen didn’t finish the sentence, but his meaning was crystal clear.
Jiang Nian’s mouth twitched. “Are you serious?”
He could hardly believe it.
What bothered him most was that it had been over half a month since he’d turned down the Reign of Assassins script.
And now, after more than two weeks, they were already well into filming, yet they were telling him they still hadn’t cast the key villain, the Wheel King?
That was pure nonsense!
Jiang Nian was certain Wu Yusen was just feeding him a line.
But in truth, on this particular matter, Jiang Nian had actually wronged Wu Yusen.
Despite being the main antagonist in Reign of Assassins, the role of the Wheel King still had no actor attached to it.
Well, to be more precise, they did have someone—but because of Jiang Nian, they no longer did.
The reason for all this could be traced back to Jiang Nian’s performance in Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.
As the old saying goes: compare goods and you’ll want to throw yours away; compare people and you’ll want to die.
Jiang Nian’s portrayal of Yu Huatian in Flying Swords had been simply too stunning.
That blend of effeminate grace and unyielding dominance, that world-conquering arrogance, had completely upended people’s understanding of eunuch characters.
As a result, any ordinary eunuch role that came after him just couldn’t hold people’s attention.
And unfortunately, the Wheel King in Reign of Assassins was exactly that—a run-of-the-mill eunuch character.
Which was why, a few days ago, Wang Xueqi—who had already agreed to play the Wheel King—watched Flying Swords of Dragon Gate and promptly backed out, refusing to take the role.
Listening to Wu Yusen’s gloomy tone as he explained why they were struggling to find an actor, Jiang Nian’s mouth twitched again.
Wait a minute—if he remembered correctly, in his past life, Wang Xueqi was the one who played the Wheel King in Reign of Assassins!
And now, in this life, because of his Yu Huatian, Wang Xueqi had actually walked away and refused to act?
What the hell…
“Is my influence really that strong?”
Jiang Nian muttered to himself, finding the whole situation utterly absurd.
Hearing this, Wu Yusen wore a pained expression as well. “Yeah, Teacher Jiang. Would you maybe reconsider?”
“…”
Jiang Nian didn’t answer. He just took a long drag of his cigarette and fell into thought.
To be honest, his plate was already more than full.
Between acting, training in martial arts, and preparing for the college entrance exams, his days were packed to the brim.
The only reason he hadn’t collapsed under the load was that, as a first-class martial artist, his physical and mental endurance far exceeded that of ordinary people.
And now, Wu Yusen was throwing another offer his way, inviting him to join Reign of Assassins.
That would undoubtedly add even more pressure.
But…
Jiang Nian was actually tempted.
Because right now, his efficiency in training martial arts was just too slow!
The amount of Insight required to unlock the character Lin Pingzhi was 5 points.
Jiang Nian’s current Insight was only 3—far from the requirement. He had only managed to unlock the character by throwing money at the problem.
The consequence of doing that was that every time he trained, he only gained a measly 1 point of proficiency.
After a full month of intense daily training, he had barely managed to raise his proficiency in the Evil-Warding Sword Art to “Minor Success” (430/500).
At first glance, it might seem like he wasn’t far from fully mastering the Evil-Warding Sword Art—just one more level to go.
But he had to remember—the jump from “Comprehensive Mastery” to “Great Success” required a whopping 1,500 proficiency points!
What did that mean?
Even if he trained ten hours a day and earned 20 proficiency points daily, he’d still need a full 75 days just to break through!
And that wasn’t even counting the other two “Great Success”-level martial arts Lin Pingzhi possessed—the Huashan Sword Art and the Sky-Shaking Palm!
If he didn’t find a way to raise his Insight soon, he’d probably have to spend an entire year grinding away just on Lin Pingzhi alone to finish all his skills.
Jiang Nian didn’t want that.
So…
“Alright!”
After a moment of deliberation, Jiang Nian nodded and agreed.
The way to earn Insight was to train all skills of a given character to perfection.
Even though the Wheel King in Reign of Assassins was pretty lackluster and probably wouldn’t boost Jiang Nian’s overall strength much, it would allow him to master the character’s skills in the shortest time possible, thereby gaining Insight.
And Insight was exactly what he urgently needed right now.
Hearing this, Wu Yusen was ecstatic.
Not wasting a second, he immediately grabbed Jiang Nian and had the crew draft a contract, terrified that Jiang Nian might change his mind.
Seeing him so worked up, Jiang Nian felt both amused and speechless, but he didn’t say anything. He just sat there and waited for a bit.
When the staff member brought over the contract, Jiang Nian took a look at the pay—ten million. That matched his current popularity and market value.
After that, he handed the contract to Zhang Linyu to look over. Once they confirmed there were no issues, Jiang Nian signed his name at the bottom.
“Pleasure working with you.” Jiang Nian extended his hand and said.
“Pleasure working with you.” Wu Yusen beamed and shook his hand firmly.
Then he grabbed the script for the Wheel King from the side and handed it to Jiang Nian.
Jiang Nian took it, and almost immediately—
[Character Detected: Wheel King]
[Realm: Second-Class Martial Artist]
[Skills: Water-Splitting Sword “Comprehensive Mastery”, Wheel-Turning Sword “Comprehensive Mastery”, Rainstorm Needle Shower “Minor Success” (choose one)]
[Unlock Cost: 20,000 Attention Points]
[Unlock Cost: 2 Insight]
[Unlock?]
Hearing the system’s notification, Jiang Nian was pleasantly surprised.
The hidden weapon martial art he’d been longing for but had never managed to obtain had unexpectedly come to him through the Wheel King character.
“What a pleasant surprise.”
Jiang Nian thought to himself, then selected the Water-Splitting Sword and unlocked it immediately.
After that, he opened the Wheel King’s character panel and, with a wave of his hand, unlocked the “Comprehensive Mastery”-level Wheel-Turning Sword—which had a premium price of 80,000 points—and the “Minor Success”-level Rainstorm Needle Shower—which cost 20,000 points—all in one go.
That was 120,000 Attention Points gone in an instant.
But Jiang Nian didn’t feel the least bit sorry about it.
Because ever since Flying Swords of Dragon Gate had hit theaters, his Attention Points had skyrocketed to 3.94 million!
For a long time to come, he wouldn’t have to worry about running low.
At the same time, this whole situation made Jiang Nian realize something important.
“Since I can pick up these crappy characters to quickly raise my Insight…”
“Doesn’t that mean I could just take on roles that are minor eunuchs who only appear a few times in a show?”
“That way, I wouldn’t have to put in much effort, and I could quickly farm Insight.”
“Holy crap, that might actually work!”
Jiang Nian pondered thoughtfully.
So after leaving the Reign of Assassins set, he shared this idea with Zhang Linyu.
Of course, he didn’t mention that he was doing this to farm Insight—he just asked Zhang Linyu if there were any small eunuch cameo roles available.
Hearing this, Zhang Linyu looked horrified.
Wait, hold on—you’re already at this level of stardom, and you’re still playing eunuchs? And now you want to do cameo eunuch roles too?
“Brother Jiang, are you serious?”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Jiang Nian nodded. “Obviously. Do I ever joke about things like this?”
Zhang Linyu didn’t respond. He just stared at Jiang Nian for a long time, then silently reached out, aiming for Jiang Nian’s pants.
Seeing this, Jiang Nian immediately got defensive and kicked the guy away. “What the hell are you doing?!”
Zhang Linyu wasn’t upset. He got up off the ground, brushed the dust off his clothes, and said honestly, “Nothing. I just wanted to check.”
“Check what? Are you gay or something?”
Jiang Nian glared at him menacingly.
Zhang Linyu shook his head. “No, I just wanted to confirm whether you’re actually a eunuch or not.”
“Does that even need confirming? Of course I’m not a eunuch!” Jiang Nian said impatiently.
At that, Zhang Linyu finally snapped:
“Then why are you so obsessed with playing eunuch roles? And cameos at that?! Dude, are you out of your mind?!”
“Is this something someone at your level should be doing? Huh?!”
