"A hundred pieces?"
The World Tree was utterly aghast.
"Do you plan to strip me bare?" it seemed to ask.
Its branches and leaves trembled violently in protest, radiating an unmistakable sense of refusal.
Luo Chuan didn't push the matter.
He paused, then offered, "How about ninety pieces?"
Still, the World Tree held its ground.
After several more rounds of negotiation, with Luo Chuan's persistence wearing down the ancient entity, the World Tree finally relented.
It would provide Luo Chuan with five leaves per day.
Truth be told, Luo Chuan was not fully satisfied with this deal.
It was a small amount—especially when considering that there were ten bottles of mineral water in stock every day!
However, seeing the current condition of the World Tree—its once-thriving limbs now looking weary and drained—Luo Chuan sighed and reluctantly agreed.
He was, after all, a sympathetic boss, right?
Of course, whether the World Tree would share that sentiment remained uncertain…
"What's this?"
Luo Chuan suddenly noticed something new in Origin Mall.
On the far right side of the store, near the holographic device, there was an inconspicuous decoration that he hadn't seen before.
It appeared to be… a portal of some kind.
Luo Chuan squinted, puzzled by the new feature.
Then, a thought struck him, and his eyes lit up.
"System," he asked, excitement creeping into his voice, "Is that the weapon system?"
He remembered that, before embarking on the Rising Stars mission, he had drawn up plans for a weapon system. However, it had required a forty-eight-hour renovation of the store, and he had not been able to access it until now.
The system responded succinctly.
"Yes. The weapon system has been upgraded. The host may now interact with it."
With his curiosity piqued, Luo Chuan moved toward the mysterious decoration.
Reaching out, his hand passed through a faint resistance, as though he had brushed against a thin wall of air.
Without hesitation, he stepped through.
A Shift in Reality
In an instant, the world around him changed.
Luo Chuan found himself standing on a vast stone platform.
Surrounding him was an expanse of infinite darkness, a void that seemed to stretch on forever.
But what caught his attention most was the translucent light curtain standing before him.
This setup… it reminded him of the device used in the ancient ruins to display his goods for sale.
The light curtain now showcased an array of weaponry. It was just like the setup used in the Tower of Trials—but in a much more refined, tangible form.
Luo Chuan raised an eyebrow. "Why create a space like this?" he asked, his voice full of curiosity.
"Customers can select products and test them here," the system responded. "This space has been reinforced to handle even the most intense trials. It can automatically restore itself if damaged."
Luo Chuan's expression shifted to one of understanding.
So this wasn't just for show.
Although the weapons could already be used in the Tower of Trials, that space wasn't the real world.
For cultivators, weapons were crucial—not mere tools, but matters of life and death. The real world required more thorough testing, and this dedicated space was built for just that purpose.
Luo Chuan decided to test the stability of this new realm.
He focused his energy, summoning the full force of his Wu Ying power.
The aura radiated from him like an ocean's tide, swirling around his palm before being thrust toward the stone platform.
Boom!
A deafening roar echoed through the space as a massive shockwave rippled outward.
A giant crater formed beneath his feet, its radius stretching several hundred meters.
Luo Chuan watched, satisfied. The space had withstood the devastating impact with no signs of damage.
"Impressive," he muttered to himself.
If this were the real world, such a blow would have easily torn apart the very fabric of the environment. But here, in this reinforced space, the impact was absorbed seamlessly.
Luo Chuan was now certain—the system's claim about the space's durability was no empty boast.
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