Location: The Celestial Void – 10 Minutes Prior
The Sovereign hovered over the [Character Creator] interface, watching the wireframe model of Li Mu descending toward the Noodle Shop.
"Sir," Alpha interrupted, her avatar shimmering. "You are deploying a Golden Core entity into a Starter Zone. If he has no motivation, he will simply destroy the plot."
"Correct," The Sovereign muttered, his fingers flying across the holographic keyboard. "A Master without pain creates a boring Student. He needs a reason to drink. He needs a reason to teach."
The Sovereign dragged a file named [Narrative_Pack_Tragedy.zip] into Li Mu's soul slot.
"Let's give him the 'Survivor's Guilt' package," The Sovereign narrated as he coded.
Origin: The Thunder-Crash Sect (Wiped out 200 years ago).
Role: The Prodigy Brother of the Sect Leader.
The Trauma: He was passed out drunk in the wine cellar when the Blood Demon Sect attacked. He woke up to find everyone—his brother, his students, his lover—slaughtered. He survived only because he was useless.
The Goal: Find a successor before his liver fails.
"And his power?" Alpha asked. "The Coin at the shop has a gravity seal of 50,000 catties."
"Set his Strength stat to Max," The Sovereign grinned. "Let the Hero see what the summit looks like."
[UPLOAD COMPLETE]
Location: The Golden Coin Noodle Shop – Present Time
Li Mu blinked. The download hit him like a physical blow. The memory of burning cedar and screaming disciples flooded his mind. The taste of ash was real.
He looked at the Golden Coin he had just slammed into the floor. He was able to lift it because his muscles were forged from a century of tempering that—to him—felt completely real.
"Are you paying?" Li Mu asked Zhang Wei, his voice rough with a grief he hadn't felt ten minutes ago.
Zhang Wei fumbled for copper coins, placing them on the counter. The City Guard Captain was still staring at the hole in the floor, terrified by the sheer physical might required to do that.
"Let's go," Li Mu grabbed Zhang Wei by the collar. "This place is too loud."
He dragged the boy and his sister out the back door, leaving a legend behind them.
Location: A Damp Alleyway
Li Mu kicked open the door to an abandoned coal shed. He gestured to the straw pile.
"Put her down. Give her the pill. Now."
Zhang Wei laid Zhang Yan down. She was blue, her breath rattling in her chest. He opened the Nine-Turn Phoenix Pill. It radiated heat like a dying star. He fed it to her.
The reaction was violent.
Steam exploded from her pores. The frost on her skin hissed and evaporated. Her back arched as the medicinal energy clashed with her blocked meridians.
"She's dying!" Zhang Wei shouted.
"She's adapting," Li Mu said, uncorking his wine gourd. "That pill is burning away the mortal dust. She has the Supreme Ice Phoenix Body. The cold was killing her because her body was too weak for this power. The pill upgrades the body."
WHOOSH.
Zhang Yan's eyes snapped open. They were a piercing, glowing blue. A shockwave of sub-zero air blasted through the shed, freezing the water in a bucket solid.
She sat up, gasping. "Brother... it stopped. The cold... it feels like armor now."
"Good," Li Mu nodded, taking a drink. "She's safe. Now, outside. It's time for your check-up."
In the alley, Li Mu circled Zhang Wei. The beggar looked like a wreck, but his eyes were sharp instruments.
"This is the manual for Thunder Breathing," Li Mu said. "Read the first line."
Zhang Wei opened the book. "Thunder is the scream of the air when heat expands."
"I don't understand," Zhang Wei admitted. "Is it a spell?"
"No," Li Mu spat. "It is Biology."
He poked Zhang Wei's chest.
"Cultivators use Qi. They borrow energy from the world. If the world runs out of Qi, they are powerless. I teach the body. The body is an engine."
Li Mu placed a hand over his own heart.
"Listen."
Thump-thump. (Normal). Thump-thump-thump. (Fast). HUMMMMMMMM.
Zhang Wei stepped back. The sound coming from Li Mu's chest wasn't a heartbeat. It was a revving turbine. Li Mu's skin turned a dark, violent shade of red. Veins bulged on his neck, glowing like blue lightning.
"I am currently forcing my heart to beat at 320 beats per minute," Li Mu's voice vibrated, sounding metallic. "I am hyper-oxygenating my blood. My muscles are contracting faster than the human brain can process images."
He looked at a brick wall ten feet away.
"Don't blink."
CRACK.
It sounded like a whip breaking the sound barrier.
Li Mu didn't seem to move. But suddenly, there was a fist-sized hole in the brick wall. And Li Mu was standing exactly where he started, steam rising from his shoulders.
"That is First Gear," Li Mu exhaled, his skin returning to normal color. "I moved to the wall, punched it, and returned before your retina could send the signal to your brain."
Zhang Wei stared at the hole. "Teach me."
"I can't," Li Mu said. "If you try that now, your heart will explode. The static electricity generated by your nervous system needs a ground. You need a weapon made of Thunder Steel."
He kicked Zhang Wei's rusty axe. "This junk will melt."
"Thunder Steel?" Zhang Wei asked.
"The City Lord has a spear made of it," Li Mu grinned, his yellow teeth showing. "He's auctioning it tonight. We're going to steal it."
Location: The City Gates – The Industrialist Arrives
While the Master taught biology, the Villain arrived with technology.
A black carriage with the Iron Blood Sect insignia (a Gear and a Sword) rolled up to the gates. The guards stepped forward to block it, but stopped when the window rolled down.
Lin Fan sat inside. He wasn't wearing robes. He wore a suit tailored from Shadow Silk.
"The city is closed!" The guard shouted.
Lin Fan held up a badge. It was a perfect replica of the Golden Coin's pattern.
"I am here to investigate the anomaly at the Noodle Shop," Lin Fan lied smoothly. "Old Man Liu sent for me."
The guard paled. Everyone knew about the Coin now. "Pass!"
As the carriage rolled in, Lin Fan looked at his display screen.
[Seal 2: Sovereign's Blueprint – Active]
The city was a grid of data. He saw two massive energy spikes in the slums.
Blue Spike: Ice Phoenix Awakening.
Gold Spike: A Golden Core Master suppressing his power.
"The Beggar," Lin Fan whispered. "He's not an NPC. He's a player piece."
"Do we engage?" Su Mei asked, checking the magazine of her Type-2 Assault Musket.
"No," Lin Fan checked the time. "We are here for the Thunder Steel Spear. I need that metal for the Railgun project. If the Beggar interferes... we'll see if a Golden Core can stop an armor-piercing round."
He pulled out a map of the City Lord's Manor.
"Prepare the Heist gear. We go in through the roof."