Among the gods, there is a laughing stock of the three realms.
He soared and became a god three times.
The first time: he became the martial emperor

Eight hundred years ago, the pure-blooded and noble Crown Prince, Xie Lian, was a well-regarded child of heaven with unlimited boundaries. However, who knew that after ascending, achieving immortality and becoming a Martial God that thousands of people worshipped, that his life would only go downhill. He was demoted and fell down the ranks until he reached rock bottom.

Eight hundred years later, Xie Lian has ascended once again, but this time he has neither the followers nor any incense burned in his name. One day, on his way back from collecting trash, he picks up a mysterious youth and takes him home. This particular youth however, actually turns out to be Hua Cheng, the infamous Ghost King known throughout the three realms who could change both his gender and appearance at the flip of a dime.

Eight hundred years ago, the pure-blooded and noble Crown Prince, Xie Lian, was a well-regarded child of heaven with unlimited boundaries. However, who knew that after ascending, achieving immortality and becoming a Martial God that thousands of people worshipped, that his life would only go downhill. He was demoted and fell down the ranks until he reached rock bottom.


Eight hundred years later, Xie Lian has ascended once again, but this time he has neither the followers nor any incense burned in his name. One day, on his way back from collecting trash, he picks up a mysterious youth and takes him home. This particular youth however, actually turns out to be Hua Cheng, the infamous Ghost King known throughout the three realms who could change both his gender and appearance at the flip of a dime.

After his death, Shen Yuan found himself in the world of a Xianxia (supernatural martial arts) novel that he likened to trash shortly before he died. As per the genre, one would expect him to reincarnate as the protagonist, right?

Wrong. Instead, he transmigrated into the body of Shen Qingqiu, the titular "scum villain" who, in the novel's canon, eventually gets killed by the actual protagonist Luo Binghe for being a sadist teacher. Determined to avoid the same fate, Shen Yuan uses his knowledge of the novel's plot and tropes to endear himself to the characters (especially to the protagonist), to ensure that he keeps his life.

Unfortunately for him, he's accompanied by a video game-like "System" that monitors and grades his actions, keeping him from taking too many liberties with how his character acts and how the story progresses. And if he ignores its warnings, the consequences will be deadly. Thus his foray into the world of cultivation begins...

Note: "Scumbag System" is the official English title. This is based on the novel The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System.

Animated adaptation link