The streets of Stonewind City were beginning to quiet down, the merchants packing up their stalls and cultivators returning to their courtyards, caves, and cultivation chambers. Lanterns lit the roads in gentle hues of red and gold, and the scent of spirit herb-infused noodles drifted through the air.
Zhao Tian's stomach rumbled. He'd been so focused on gathering information about the cultivation world that he'd forgotten one very mortal need: food.
"I might be a Peak Spirit Awakening expert," he muttered, "but I still need to eat."
He spotted a modest building tucked between a weapons shop and a talisman merchant. A wooden sign hung above the entrance, creaking gently in the wind. Cloudmist Crane Inn, it read.
"Sounds like a place that serves spirit chicken soup," he murmured. "I'll take it."
Inside the Inn
Warm yellow light filled the inn, illuminating carved wooden tables and a handful of guests. At the far end sat a few rogue cultivators quietly sipping spirit wine, while the kitchen rang with clinks and clatters.
Zhao Tian picked a seat by the wall and waved a hand. "Waiter!"
A short young man with sweat dripping down his brow hurried over, carrying a tray with bowls of rice and roasted meat. "Welcome, senior! We have spiritual pork stew and five-element rice wine today!"
Zhao Tian nodded. "Bring both. Extra meat."
Just as the waiter was about to retreat, a loud voice shattered the calm.
Enter the Young Master
"What the HELL is this garbage?"
Everyone turned.
A young man in ornate red-and-gold robes stood at the center of the room, face twisted in disgust. His cultivation robe was embroidered with the insignia of a golden dragon spiraling around a lotus—the symbol of the Scarlet Lotus Sect, one of the Ten Earthly Sects.
"Oh no," the waiter whispered, paling. "Not him again…"
Zhao Tian raised an eyebrow, watching with a mixture of interest and amusement.
The arrogant young man held a spoon in one hand and a bowl of spirit porridge in the other, which he promptly threw to the floor. It shattered.
"Do you know who I am?!" the youth bellowed. "I'm Lu Fan, inner disciple of the Scarlet Lotus Sect! I'm at the Early Core Formation Realm, and you serve me THIS?! Trash! Absolute trash!"
The inn grew still.
A few guests quietly tried to sneak out, heads bowed.
The waiter dropped to his knees. "Please, Senior Lu! Forgive us! The kitchen was out of cloudbeast marrow! I'll replace it with phoenix bone soup, just please don't—!"
"SHUT UP!" Lu Fan snarled, raising his hand.
Zhao Tian: Professional Opportunist
Zhao Tian blinked.
Then grinned.
"Wait… did he just say he's at Early Core Formation Realm?"
"This guy… this walking buffoon of arrogance… is technically stronger than me?"
"Jackpot."
His chair scraped the floor as he stood up.
The waiter flinched. Lu Fan paused mid-air.
Zhao Tian walked forward casually, smiling as if he'd stumbled across a sack of spirit stones lying in the street.
"Hey," he said to Lu Fan. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size? Or… actually, why don't you try picking on me?"
Lu Fan's mouth hung open. "...Who the hell are you?"
The room collectively gasped. A few guests peered from behind furniture, others whispered frantically.
Zhao Tian patted his robes. "Me? Just a guy who's suddenly in the mood for a breakthrough."
Ding!
[DING!]
[Warning: Host is being targeted by an Early Core Formation cultivator.]
[Boundless Ascension System Activated.]
[Upgrading Host Cultivation to: Mid Core Formation Realm.]
[Congratulations! You have been rewarded the following:]
Art of Eternal Void (Supreme Void Technique; bends the fabric of space)
Eternal Heavenly Emperor Manifestation (Summon Heavenly Dharma Body of ancient emperor)
World-Splitting Sword Intent (Before this sword intent, all swords bow in fear)
Void Sword (A weapon capable of cutting through the void itself)
Zhao Tian's grin nearly split his face.
His cultivation surged.
The spirit energy in the room trembled. Wind howled from nowhere. Dishes clattered on tables as Zhao Tian's aura exploded, forming a cyclone of spiritual pressure.
Lu Fan took a step back, suddenly pale.
"Y-YOU—what's your background?! What kind of freakish cultivation technique did you use!?"
Zhao Tian cracked his knuckles, laughing.
"Background? I'm from the Heavenly Sect of Random Trash-Luck."
He manifested his Void Sword, a sleek, pitch-black blade that shimmered with spatial rifts. One swing carved a thin line into the floor—and space itself twisted.
Lu Fan Regrets His Life Choices
"I–I am a disciple of the Scarlet Lotus Sect!" Lu Fan yelled, his earlier arrogance replaced by panic. "Harming me is tantamount to declaring war!"
Zhao Tian took a step forward.
"Oh no," he said cheerfully. "Anyway—die."
Lu Fan unleashed a fiery lotus from his palm, its Core Formation Qi burning crimson.
Zhao Tian casually raised his finger.
"Eternal Heavenly Emperor Manifestation."
Behind him, the inn walls shattered as a towering Dharma body emerged—a golden-robed emperor hundreds of feet tall, his eyes glowing with eternal wisdom.
The guests outside screamed and ran.
Lu Fan tried to backpedal. "WAIT—!"
Zhao Tian pointed.
The dharma body struck. The lotus was obliterated, and Lu Fan was embedded into the wall like a decorative painting.
He slumped, twitching. His fancy robe was now just glorified rags.
Aftermath of Awesome
The inn was half-destroyed, and the waiter was kneeling, trembling.
"Senior… y-you're not from the central plains, are you? Are you a hidden elder from one of the Nine Heavenly Sects?"
Zhao Tian sheathed his sword, casually pulling a stool from the debris and sitting down.
"Nah. Just a passing cultivator," he said, sipping spirit wine as if nothing happened. "Your food's good. Tell the cook not to worry about the furniture."
The waiter's mouth flapped uselessly.
One of the surviving rogue cultivators whispered, "He… he defeated a Core Formation cultivator like swatting a fly…"
Another added, "He didn't even draw his sword fully. What kind of monster is that?!"
The Comedy Continues
Zhao Tian stretched. His aura now settled, though even suppressed, it gave off the pressure of a peak expert.
He pulled out the World-Splitting Sword Manual from his system inventory and flipped through it like a bored student glancing at homework.
"Hm. So this sword intent is supposed to make all other sword cultivators kneel. That's cool."
The Void Sword in his lap hummed as if pleased with its new master.
He muttered, "Now if only I had some nice fried dumplings."
As if the heavens answered, a second waiter burst from the kitchen, dropping a fresh tray of steaming dumplings with trembling hands.
"Please! Eat as much as you like, senior! It's all free! Just don't destroy the inn!"
Zhao Tian laughed. "Finally. Some real respect."
Lu Fan's Last Words (For Now)
From under the rubble, Lu Fan coughed. "You… you won't get away with this…"
Zhao Tian walked over and crouched beside him. "Let me guess. 'My senior brother is stronger than you.' 'My sect will kill you.' 'My master is a Nascent Soul cultivator.' All that, right?"
Lu Fan nodded.
Zhao Tian grinned.
"Good. Send them my regards."
He casually kicked Lu Fan out the front door, where he rolled across the street like a discarded spirit melon.
Nightfall in Stonewind
The inn was cleaned up surprisingly fast. Cultivators with formation tools stabilized the walls, and a few customers even returned once they saw Zhao Tian wasn't randomly killing people.
He was back at his corner seat, sipping tea and nibbling dumplings.
Mid Core Formation Realm…
A sword that cuts space…
A dharma body that dwarfs buildings…
A sword intent that bends reality…
He sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
"Being the protagonist is great."