You Are the Mute [Comprehensive Martial Arts] - Chapter 1

Every generation has its talents, and the martial world is no exception.

The tides of the martial world are ever-changing, and no one can truly decipher the past or the future. No one could have predicted that a fortune-teller would appear out of nowhere a few years ago.

She could accurately recount people’s pasts and predict their futures—every word she spoke was true. Naturally, such a fortune-teller was hailed as a divine oracle.

But though her predictions were flawless, she only spoke three times a day and never uttered another word beyond that. No matter how others pressed her, she would simply wave her hand and remain silent, as if mute. Thus, the martial world began calling her the Mute Oracle.

Though she bore the title of “oracle”, being called “mute” was hardly flattering—after all, who would willingly accept such a label? Those who referred to her this way were either disgruntled for failing to secure one of her three daily readings or resentful when her prophecies brought them misfortune.

Thus, the derogatory nickname spread far and wide.

As for the name itself, Qiao Yiying couldn’t have cared less. Call her mute if they wanted—she knew she wasn’t, and that was all that mattered. What others thought was their business, not hers. Her real problem was far more frustrating—she couldn’t speak freely!

Being restricted to a limited number of words each day was pure torture for a chatterbox like her. If she could turn back time, Qiao Yiying would shake her fist at the heavens and scream, “I don’t want this transmigration! Send me back—I want to talk!”

Qiao Yiying had been a little chatterbox since childhood. Although she was well-behaved in class and rarely spoke during lessons, the moment the bell rang, she would start babbling nonstop. From elementary school onwards, she went through countless deskmates.

At first, teachers tried pairing her with quieter students in hopes of keeping her silent, but it never worked. No matter who sat beside her—outgoing or introverted—she could always strike up a lively conversation. Eventually, the teachers realized that this little chatterbox could even get children with mild autism to speak.

This revelation thrilled them, and soon, the reason for changing her seatmates shifted entirely. Though the teachers’ motives had changed, Qiao Yiying was happy—she loved talking, especially with other people.

That endless stream of words—what could be more fun?

For someone who could get a mildly autistic child to yell, “Shut up!”, being deprived of free speech was practically a death sentence. Sure, she could talk to herself when she was alone, but what was the point? She wanted to chat with real people!

So, even though she had become the martial world’s revered oracle, Qiao Yiying was far from content. She wanted to talk. She wanted to gossip with others—desperately.

Slumped lifelessly on her bed, Qiao Yiying displayed none of the dignified bearing expected of a divine oracle.

“Ding.”

A familiar, mechanical voice rang out in her mind, devoid of emotion—but she didn’t even twitch.

“Host, take the ‘Fame Across the Land’ mission seriously—no slacking off.”

Qiao Yiying rolled her eyes silently. “How does this not spread Fame Across the Land? Don’t push it, System—I’m already famous throughout the martial world. What more do you want?”

“Only by being renowned throughout the world can one truly become famous.”

Qiao Yiying simply stared, wordless.

Truly, listening to your words is like… listening to your words.

“Anyway, host, please work hard so we can go home.” The previously mechanical voice turned into a pitiful childish tone by the end, sounding like a poor little girl just starting kindergarten.

“Do you think I don’t want to? Huh? I’ve already tried hard enough, and you’re still saying I haven’t achieved ‘Fame Across the Land’—is that my fault?” Qiao Yiying rolled her eyes. “And whose fault is it that we’re in this mess? Tell me, tell me!”

The system’s voice grew sheepish. “I didn’t mean for this either. I was just trying to go home—who knew you’d be there? Wait, I saved you! Otherwise, you’d be dead.” As it spoke, the system’s tone grew more confident. “If it weren’t for me, you’d already be in the crematorium by now.”

Qiao Yiying slumped in defeat. “Even if I ended up in a crematorium, at least it’d be a modern one. I’d be buried in a modern grave.”

Hearing this, the system faltered. “Well, I didn’t mean for this either. Who knew things would turn out like this, right?”

The system was one that had completed its mission and was preparing to return to the main system. But on its way back, it encountered a rare celestial alignment—the Seven Stars Convergence. Normally, this would only cause minor magnetic disturbances, and it could have powered through to return.

But by sheer coincidence, at that very moment, Qiao Yiying had been pushed off a train platform and was about to collide with an oncoming bullet train. In that split second, instead of crashing, she was whisked away by the system into a transmigration.

However, due to the magnetic interference, the system’s navigation malfunctioned. Carrying an extra passenger, it failed to return to the main system and instead ended up in a fictional wuxia world. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t have been a big deal—it could have just gathered energy and tried again.

But then, another coincidence struck—the system somehow formed a contract with Qiao Yiying and even triggered a new mission. Completing the “Fame Across the Land” task would provide enough energy for the system to return home—and take Qiao Yiying back with it.

At first, Qiao Yiying was enthusiastic about the mission. But she soon realized how absurd the conditions were. First, she had to achieve fame as a fortune-teller, but with a strict limitation, she could only speak to others three times.

If that were the only restriction, Qiao Yiying might have endured it. But there was another condition that pushed her from enthusiasm to utter resignation—the mission description consisted solely of the words ‘Fame Across the Land’, with no further details.

Even though she was already quite famous now, it still didn’t count as ‘Fame Across the Land’. With little hope of completing the mission and no way to freely converse with others, how could she not feel disheartened? At this point, she had fully embraced defeat.

“Anyway, I’m done with this mission. Do whatever you want.” Qiao Yiying flopped over, proving that even if a salted fish flips over, it’s still a salted fish—just one that knows how to flip. “Don’t expect too much.”

“Huh?” The system was dumbfounded. What could it do if the host didn’t want to complete tasks? In the past, it could have opened the system store to tempt the host with items inside, but now its energy was too low to even access it.

A system bound to a host couldn’t slowly recover energy through time and sunlight—it had to rely on task progress. But their mission was stuck at a strange point, and its energy was barely enough to speak occasionally. There was no way it could open the system store.

As a legitimate system, it didn’t resort to threats like elimination to force the host. So, if the host refused to do tasks, there was nothing it could do.

“Well… fine then.” The system’s childish voice was full of dejection. “Let’s just stay in this world together.” If the host wouldn’t do tasks, what else could it do? Though it really wanted to return, it had no choice.

Mom… I’m sorry. I’m a useless system. I can’t go back.

Qiao Yiying had genuinely intended to slack off, but now that the system had given up, she suddenly perked up. She abruptly sat up in bed. “Hey, don’t give up! You might not want to go back, but I do!”

“But you’re the one refusing to do the tasks,” the system accused.

Qiao Yiying retorted, “That’s because the system’s task descriptions aren’t clear enough! What am I supposed to do?”

For a moment, both the human and the system fell silent.

“Whatever, forget it.” Qiao Yiying waved her hand helplessly. “Let’s just keep working on the tasks. Maybe we’ll get lucky and succeed one day.” Her system might be useless, but it had still saved her life—she couldn’t be completely heartless.

She might as well try. Who knew? Maybe it would work out. Despite her confusion, Qiao Yiying steeled herself. People were often like this—when others gave up, they suddenly found motivation. Just like now.

“Host, you’re really the best.” The system was moved beyond words.

“Ahem, of course I am.” Tricking a system without even a kindergarten education made Qiao Yiying feel a little guilty—though not too much.

Knock knock knock.

The door was rapped.

Qiao Yiying was about to speak but remembered she couldn’t waste her limited chances to talk. She swallowed her words, stood up, straightened her clothes, and went to open the door.

Outside stood Luyi, the maid she had hired to assist her. Seeing Qiao Yiying, Luyi curtsied. “Miss Qiao, a guest has come to visit.”

Qiao Yiying raised a brow. It seemed someone had come to consult her—the “mute”—for a fortune-telling.