Creating a Character

Ye Qingyun opened his computer and checked the official announcements.

The game, Jianghu, was designed as a highly immersive, open-world experience, simulating an ancient Eastern martial arts world.

“Oh? Can we pre-register our professions today?” Ye Qingyun wondered.

After browsing the announcements, he noticed the official website stated that character creation was available early, starting today.

Without a second thought, Ye Qingyun swiftly set up his equipment.

He inserted his account card, then picked up the virtual helmet and placed it on his head.

He leaned back into his chair, relaxing his mind as he waited for the game to begin.

Initially, his vision was consumed by darkness.

However, as the game started, the environment around him slowly began to shift.

[Entering the world of Jianghu. Please wait…]

A system notification chimed in Ye Qingyun’s ear.

Before him, a temporal tunnel seemed to materialize, guiding his consciousness into another world entirely.

In moments, his vision settled upon a magnificent, gilded ancient palace.

Within its grand halls stood a stone sculpture, representing the character’s basic form.

[Welcome, player, to the game Jianghu. Thank you for your support. Tomorrow marks the official open beta, and we are ready to present you with an entirely new world. Would you like to pre-create your character now?]

The system announced in a highly professional tone.

“Create immediately,” Ye Qingyun replied, his words concise.

[Character creation initiated. Scanning player’s appearance…]

[Please wait…]

As the prompt appeared, the stone sculpture rapidly began to transform.

Like a figure molded from clay, it started to shape itself.

This was the game’s inherent creation system, designed to generate a character based on the real-life appearance of the player.

The appearance of in-game characters was always based on real individuals.

Even if modifications were desired, only a thirty percent adjustment was permitted, preventing any drastic changes.

This offered a novel experience, a stark departure from previous games.

“Not bad at all. The technology is far more refined than during the last test,” Ye Qingyun remarked, observing the sculpture before him with considerable satisfaction.

Having participated in the previous closed beta, he was quite familiar with the game.

The sculpture swiftly materialized, quickly transforming into a living, breathing person.

It bore a 99% resemblance to Ye Qingyun.

The only discernible difference was the character’s lack of soul, making it appear somewhat lifeless.

[Notification: Character creation successful.]

Gazing at the person before him, an exact replica of himself, Ye Qingyun offered a faint smile.

He prepared to adjust the character’s appearance.

However, just as he was about to begin, a problem arose.

[Warning: Data error. Player account data shows male, but system scan determines appearance to be female. Initiating automatic data correction.]

This sudden turn of events momentarily stunned Ye Qingyun.

Immediately, the character’s physique before him began to shift.

From its originally flat, masculine form, it transformed into a graceful, curvaceous figure.

In short order, the body changed from male to female.

[Notification: Data correction complete. If the player has any objections, please contact official support for modification. Thank you.]

The system notified him.

This unexpected development left Ye Qingyun utterly speechless.

“System, you’ve made a mistake. I’m a man,” Ye Qingyun told the system, a wry, helpless smile on his face.

The female image before him, surprisingly, didn’t feel out of place.

Wasn’t this just his sister’s appearance?

[Apologies. This system makes judgments based on facial features, and currently determines the player to be female. If the player has any objections, please take your account card to the Fantasy International headquarters or a branch office for correction. Proceeding into the game now will mean no further changes can be made.]

The system replied.

Fantasy International, as it was called, was naturally the developer of Jianghu.

“Damn it, this is how it’s going to be?” Ye Qingyun rolled his eyes.

Appealing for a modification would take time, and the server was launching tomorrow.

Where would he find the time to make changes?

“A female character it is, then. It’s not like I haven’t played as a cross-gender character before,” Ye Qingyun consoled himself.

It was quite normal for male players to use female characters; they were aesthetically pleasing, after all.

Thus, he felt no particular psychological burden.

[Basic character creation successful. Would you like to modify the appearance?]

The system prompted.

The basic appearance had been successfully created.

Now, he could proceed with adjustments, or choose not to.

Ye Qingyun pondered for a moment, deciding it would be better to make some adjustments.

This was a virtual reality game, unlike the old PC games.

If he used his own face while inhabiting a female body, and his true gender were ever revealed, it would become quite the laughingstock.

And so, Ye Qingyun began to modify the character.

For a man, when looking at a woman, naturally, the prettier, the better.

As an art professional, he possessed an intimate understanding of human anatomy.

He knew precisely how to make a character more beautiful and perfect.

Those who studied art typically had a far keener aesthetic sense than the average person.

First, he addressed the hair.

The base color was black and, under normal circumstances, could not be changed.

After all, this was an Eastern game.

However, hair length could be altered.

For someone like Ye Qingyun, women naturally looked more beautiful with long, waist-length hair; he wasn’t fond of girls with short hair.

Thus, Ye Qingyun directly adjusted the hair to reach the character’s waist.

Next came pupil color, and so on.

The customization options for female characters were far more intricate than for male characters.

The face alone presented numerous areas requiring modification.

Ye Qingyun approached the task with the seriousness of an artist painting a masterpiece.

Although only 30% could be adjusted, it was enough to clearly differentiate himself from the game character.

It took him roughly half an hour to complete the character creation.

“Done,” Ye Qingyun declared, gazing at the character before him with a look of utter satisfaction.

Before him now stood a captivating and mature beauty, exquisitely alluring.

Her figure was perfectly proportioned, undeniably top-tier.

However, the resemblance to Ye Qingyun himself was still too strong.

This made him feel a little awkward, as the woman before him looked like a feminine version of himself.

[Character creation complete. Automatically implanting identity. Please wait…]

[Identity implantation complete. Protagonist identity: A fallen princess of the Tang Kingdom, now a dancer in Sweetwater Lane, the capital of the Song Kingdom.]

The moment this identity appeared, Ye Qingyun nearly choked.

Why had he been assigned the identity of a courtesan, and a fallen princess at that?

The setting of Jianghu was ten years after the fall of the Tang Kingdom, placing it in the era of the Song Kingdom.

“System, can I not choose my own identity?” Ye Qingyun inquired.

This was certainly not the identity he desired.

What kind of situation was this, for a man to experience life as a courtesan?

[Apologies. Identities are randomly assigned and cannot be changed.]

The system replied.

This answer, however, was somewhat within Ye Qingyun’s expectations.

If players could freely choose their identities, the game wouldn’t feel as realistic.

“Alright, so be it,” Ye Qingyun conceded.

He had no other choice.

[Understood. Character creation successful. Please enter your name. As per requirements, you may only select a surname from the Hundred Family Surnames, and the given name cannot exceed four characters. The system will automatically verify; names that do not meet the requirements cannot be created.]

Since the name couldn’t be changed, Ye Qingyun had to choose carefully.

After much thought, he decided to enter “Ye Qingrou.”

“Sigh! Since it’s a female character, I might as well make the name a bit more feminine,” Ye Qingyun muttered.

[Character creation successful. Please wait patiently. The official server launch is tomorrow at 10 AM.]

Character creation was now complete.

As for other details, they would only be revealed once he entered the game.