Your father will give you another gift.

[Ding!]
["Superstar System" reminds you: Darkness covers all things, but you are the dawn within it, shattering the night with thunder!]
[Children are the future of the world. Masked Gourd Hero, you will become the light for those children lost in darkness!]
[Filming "Masked Gourd Hero" reward: You may purchase skill talents used during the shoot.]
[Reputation Shop is now open.]
[Available talent skills for purchase include: Photography (Beginner), Film Pyrotechnics (Beginner), Basic Action Choreography (Beginner)...]

He chuckled.
The dog system was once again reminding him at night that filming "Masked Gourd Hero" would earn rewards, but Li Jie had already bought all the available talent skills long ago.
No new goods...
It was a difficult situation for him.
He treated it like a lullaby.
The dog system would just "ding," and if Li Jie moved a muscle in response, he counted himself defeated.
Besides, he had no intention to hone his acting skills; as long as he could make money now, why bother polishing his craft?
What’s more, filming "Masked Gourd Hero" wouldn’t improve his acting anyway, so there was even less reason.

That evening, Lu Xiaoguan finally came to meet Li Jie. Upon seeing Li Jie’s appearance and style, he said immediately, "Li, I still have an idol drama about sports, something to do with basketball. With your looks, you’ll absolutely become a hit."
"Director Lu, does it demand much acting skill?"
"Well, you’ll still need a bit of acting, of course."
"..."

Ah, seems this film is not fated for me!
Acting required?!
Then I simply can’t do it.
Still, Li was curious. For a money-driven director like Lu Xiaoguan, could he be planning to shoot a local version of "Basketball Fever"?
Even Michael Jordan would only be a benchwarmer.
Lu Xiaoguan may be laid-back in other respects, but he kept his mouth tightly shut, revealing nothing about the plot or subject matter to Li Jie.
"Don't forget the costume fitting tomorrow. Get some rest. Tsk tsk, this 'White Dog God Ao' really found the right person."
Whether Lu Xiaoguan’s praise was sincere or influenced by Li Jie’s adoption of Ai Shoujin as his godfather was anyone's guess.

The next day, the makeup artist and stylist arrived, and the props team proved themselves quite professional, crafting costumes and props that fit Li Jie perfectly.
In common imagination, the "Howling Celestial Dog" is a black greyhound, but in some versions of the legend, the dog beside Erlang Shen is the "White Dog God Ao," a white greyhound.
In any case, whether black or white, it’s always a greyhound.
Li Jie was dressed in white robes and leather armor, with gold studs that, up close, gave off a "shamate" vibe. Heavy smokey eyes and thick greasepaint transformed him into a color-swapped "Demon Lord Chonglou."
Of course, the strong version.
Thanks to Li Jie’s muscular arms and abs, Lu Xiaoguan planned to subtly "sell the physique" as well.
Money-making wasn’t shameful.
The weapon was a silver bone club, which could be one or several joined together, forming a rod-whip.
Standing with the weapon, the actor playing Erlang Shen, Ding Wei, couldn’t help but twitch his lips: "Director Lu, who’s the real greyhound here?"
"Hahahahahaha..."

The entire crew burst into laughter.
Lu Xiaoguan laughed and said to Ding Wei, "That’s exactly the contrast effect I wanted. Commercial films need as many selling points as possible. Ding Wei, this is a comedy, lighthearted and humorous. You and Li Jie as a duo are a major highlight."
"Now people know why you shouldn’t mess with Erlang Shen."
"Hahahahahaha..."

Another wave of laughter, and Lu Xiaoguan was thoroughly amused. "Alright, alright. If this film succeeds, I’ll give you a big bonus."
"Thank you, Lord Lu!"
Ding Wei, holding his three-pronged spear, bowed and nodded to Lu Xiaoguan, displaying the utmost sycophancy—a sharp contrast to the imposing "White Dog God Ao" nearby.

At this point, Li Jie was the only one unfamiliar with the script.
His role was minor, but included action scenes, mainly to set up the comedic side of "Erlang Shen, the True Lord."
For instance, "White Dog God Ao" fights someone in the Heavenly River who refuses to submit to Erlang Shen. Then the Heavenly River Navy Marshal’s office comes knocking, and Erlang Shen retorts, "If you can’t even defeat my dog, you’re not worthy to meet me."
Unfortunately, the martial arts instructor was hospitalized with food poisoning, so Lu Xiaoguan let Li Jie improvise, playing around with the weapon as he pleased.

Unexpectedly, Li Jie was now "exceptionally skilled," having harvested plenty of cool action moves from the dog system.
A brief demonstration left Lu Xiaoguan thoroughly impressed.
Goodness, this is a "hidden gem"!
"Director Ai, why didn’t you tell me your son knew martial arts?"
"......"

I just found out myself!
Wait, this kid knows how to box and kick?
He seemed quite practiced.
His fists whistled, and his staff moves radiated power.
Impressive.
"So, what do you say, Xiaoguan? How about my eldest serving as your assistant martial arts instructor?"
"Absolutely! Sounds great!"
"We’ll need to pay him separately as an assistant martial arts instructor, and add another insurance policy."
"......"

Lu Xiaoguan’s face twitched, thinking this "hidden gem" was worth far more than eighty thousand yuan.
He forgot that Li Jie grew up knowing Ai Shoujin, and the old man now only had this one son.
"Master Ai, come now, would I shortchange your boy?"
"Business is business, and work is work. We all want to make this film the best it can be. Besides, my eldest isn’t much of an actor—who knows if he’ll ever make a living at it? But if he’s got this talent, we ought to nurture it. If he achieves anything in the future, he’ll owe you gratitude for your support today..."

That was music to his ears.
Lu Xiaoguan felt that paying extra for an assistant martial arts instructor was nothing.

After the costume photos were taken, Ai Shoujin proudly told his son, "Son, do you realize how good I am to you?"
"Dad, are you planning to give me a flat in downtown Huating?"
"......"

Ai Shoujin glared at him. "Still dreaming of a downtown flat? I don’t even have that kind of luck."
He folded his hands behind his back and assumed a self-important tone: "Just now, I told Xiaoguan to give you an assistant martial arts instructor position, and pay you extra for it. So, your old man... is still useful, isn’t he?"
"Dad, maybe you could ask Director Lu to let me play the Jade Emperor. I’m not keen on playing a dog."
"......"