Shen Tian sat cross-legged in the training room, ignoring the two women nearby as he focused on absorbing cosmic energy.
Wisps of glowing energy floated toward him, pulled in by his body like a magnet.
His muscles tensed, his breathing slowed, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
He was using all his strength to absorb as much energy as possible.
But even after half an hour, it wasn't enough.
He opened his eyes slowly, his face a little pale.
No matter how much energy he pulled in, it wasn't filling him. His hunger came back faster than expected.
"It's no use," Shen Tian sighed and smiled bitterly. "I should've asked my big and second sisters to prepare some lord-level beast meat earlier."
Hearing his words, Fu Junyu and Tang Xiang exchanged a quick look.
Without saying anything, they stood up.
"Let's go," said Fu Junyu.
"Yes," Tang Xiang nodded. "He needs something stronger. Beast general meat won't help anymore."
The two didn't wait for Shen Tian's approval. They grabbed their gear and rushed out of the room, heading toward the city gates.
They understood that Shen Tian's body was evolving quickly, and ordinary beast meat couldn't meet his needs anymore.
Only powerful lord-level beasts had enough energy to help him now.
With the recent changes in the world, lord-level monsters had started appearing closer to the city. Finding one wouldn't take long.
Inside the room, Shen Tian watched them leave.
He wanted to stop them. Even if they brought back a powerful monster, he didn't have the tools to process it. It might go to waste.
He took a step forward, thinking of following them.
His strength had grown, and he wanted to try fighting a real monster too.
But then, the hunger returned—sharp and painful.
He touched his stomach and sighed. "If I go out like this, I'll collapse before I even reach the forest."
He gave up on chasing after them and sat back down.
Instead, he opened his personal device and browsed through the major online stores:
the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, the Lightning Martial School, the military's store, and the HR Alliance's online shop.
He needed to order materials—energy supplements, food storage containers, monster meat processors, and some injections to help reduce hunger for now.
But everything was expensive.
A portion of mid-level materials cost one million credits. High-level materials were at least ten million per portion.
If he used three portions of mid-level items a day, that would be three million credits daily—over one billion credits a year.
If he used high-level materials, the yearly cost would jump to ten billion.
For normal people, this was an impossible number.
But for strong cultivators, it was just a small cost.
A junior War God-level fighter could earn hundreds of millions by killing one lord-level beast. A senior War God could earn tens of billions.
And Planetary-level warriors? They were priceless. Countries would fight just to recruit one.
Shen Tian understood this. His current hunger was a sign that his power was growing fast. And that power came with a price.
He didn't complain. Instead, he calmly placed the orders, knowing this was only the beginning.
After finishing with the supplies, he opened the weapons section of the HR Alliance store.
As a newly awakened Psychic Master, he needed a specific kind of weapon—flying knives.
These weren't ordinary blades. They had to be special, connected to his mental energy.
The materials needed were rare—Black Spirit Steel, Void Crystals, and other hard-to-find ores.
Even a simple set cost millions. Custom sets cost even more.
But Shen Tian had no choice. If he wanted to grow stronger, he needed the right tools.
After a moment of silence, he confirmed his purchases and closed the screen.
Then, leaning back against the wall, he closed his eyes for a moment.
"I hope they come back soon… with enough meat to stop this hunger."
While browsing through the HR Alliance's online store, Shen Tian suddenly remembered something from his past life—back when he was a powerful cultivator, roaming the world with a sword on his back.
Back then, wielding a sword wasn't just about strength or battle. It was about elegance, confidence… style.
Compared to that, using flying knives felt a little underwhelming.
"Flying knives just don't look as cool," Shen Tian muttered with a sigh. "Power is temporary, but being handsome lasts forever."
In his past life, he had always believed that a true expert should look as amazing as they were powerful.
Just throwing out tiny blades didn't match that image. And carrying just one or two swords wasn't enough for him, either.
But he couldn't exactly carry twelve or thirteen long swords on his back—he'd look like a porcupine with steel spikes.
That thought made him laugh softly.
Then, an idea popped into his mind—the Unparalleled Sword Box.
It was something he had seen in an old cultivation manual.
A powerful item that could carry multiple flying swords, store them neatly, and even serve as a flying platform.
"Perfect," Shen Tian grinned. "Why settle for flying knives when I can fly with swords?"
Without hesitation, he placed an order for a custom-made sword box, large enough to hold thirteen flying swords, with an extra function that let him step on it and fly.
That way, he wouldn't need a separate flying board or shield—his sword box would serve both purposes.
Not only were flying swords cooler, they were also more powerful.
Using the same high-grade material, a sword had much more mass than a tiny knife—meaning, once launched, it would carry more kinetic force, making it deadlier on impact.
Sure, flying knives were smaller and slightly faster, but when fighting massive monsters—ones as large as buildings or mountains—a little more agility didn't really matter.
What he needed was destructive power.
Still, there was one major problem.
"…It's ridiculously expensive."
Shen Tian looked at the price list and nearly choked on his own breath.
An SS-grade flying sword cost 1.2 billion credits.
And that was for the basic model. If you wanted advanced features—things like energy boosters, elemental enhancements, or tracking systems—the price could go up tenfold.
Just look at some of the legendary weapons owned by top-level warriors, like Hong in the original world data.
The Liquid Nitrogen Mystic Ice Blade, the Electromagnetic Demon Whip—each of those weapons easily cost tens of billions of credits.
And now, Shen Tian had just ordered thirteen SS-grade flying swords, custom-forged with alloy cores, built-in control chips, and reinforced spiritual bindings.
The final cost?
15.6 billion credits.
Shen Tian stared at the total with a complicated expression.
"Being cool sure costs a lot," he muttered. "But hey, if you want to be the strongest and the most handsome… it's worth it."