The sun had barely crested the horizon over Pyradine City, casting long, pale shadows across the cobblestones. Normally, this was the hour of heavy silence, broken only by the occasional yawn of a city guard.
But today, the silence was shattered by the frantic thud of boots.
"Slow down, Wu Feng!" Lu Dong shouted, his green robes fluttering wildly as he wheezed. His usually immaculate hair was a bird's nest. "Are we being chased by debt collectors or a jealous husband?"
Beside him, Bai Fan struggled to keep pace, his breathing sounding like a dying ox. "Lu Dong is right… what is this madness? It's not even breakfast time!"
Wu Feng didn't bother looking back. "Stop talking nonsense. If we're late, we'll have to wait in line!"
"Wait for what?" Lu Dong snapped his fan open dramatically, despite his lack of oxygen. "A miracle? A celestial maiden bathing?"
Wu Feng skidded to a halt and turned. His eyes weren't tired; they were manic. "Better. A world, Lu Dong. An entirely different world."
Lu Dong and Bai Fan exchanged a long, concerned look.
"Ah," Lu Dong nodded solemnly. "He's finally gone mad."
"En," Bai Fan agreed. "Cultivation deviation. Tragic, really."
Wu Feng's face darkened. "You idiots. If I didn't consider you brothers, I wouldn't even share this with you. You'll understand in five minutes."
The West District
Inside a certain run-down shop, Yuan Bi had just slid the bolts back with a long, bone-cracking yawn. "Too early," he muttered, scratching his head. "Even the chickens aren't this hardworking."
He had barely opened the door when three shadows loomed over the threshold. He raised an eyebrow. "You again?"
Wu Feng stood there with a stiff, determined smile. "Can we go in?"
Yuan Bi glanced at the sky, then at the three of them. "Did you camp outside all night?"
"…Maybe," Wu Feng coughed.
Lu Dong immediately pointed a finger at him. "Don't look at me, I slept! He's the crazy one! He woke us up before dawn. I thought the city was under siege."
Yuan Bi sighed and stepped aside. "Come in."
The moment they entered, Lu Dong and Bai Fan's eyes landed on the small blackboard. They read the fees. Then they read them again.
"Seven spirit crystals?" Lu Dong's smirk froze. "Are you selling immortality pills in the back?"
"Even high-grade spirit artifacts don't cost this much to maintain," Bai Fan added, his voice regaining its usual calm composure.
Yuan Bi leaned against the counter, his expression as flat as a stagnant pond. "Then don't play."
The bluntness caught them off guard. Lu Dong's eyebrow twitched. "What kind of shopkeeper are you? Shouldn't you at least try to trick us into a sale?"
Yuan Bi shrugged. "You don't look easy to trick. Why waste the breath?"
Bai Fan nodded thoughtfully. "He has a point."
Wu Feng didn't wait for the debate to end. He tossed a heavy pouch of crystals onto the counter. "I'll pay for all of us. Six hours each."
Lu Dong's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?!"
Bai Fan peeked into the pouch and nearly choked. "Wu Feng, are you trying to bankrupt your clan?"
Wu Feng ignored them, moving straight to an Illusion Throne and donning the helm. Yuan Bi's eyes lit up for a split second as the crystals hit the wood, then dimmed as the "System" automatically siphoned off its lion's share.
Bandit, Yuan Bi thought bitterly, watching his mountain of gold dwindle to pocket change.
Lu Dong and Bai Fan watched Wu Feng curiously. "What's so special about a metal hat—"
Before Lu Dong could finish, Wu Feng's body went rigid. Simultaneously, the shimmering projection above his head flared to life. A dark, endless forest stretched across the screen. The roar of a mechanical beast—a "helicopter," though they had no name for it—filled the shop.
"What is this?" Bai Fan whispered, leaning in. "The detail… it isn't an illusion. I can see the veins in the leaves."
"This is dangerous," Bai Fan murmured, his pupils shrinking. "This isn't magic. It feels like… a memory."
"Go try it yourselves," Yuan Bi smirked.
A few moments later, a piercing scream echoed through the shop.
"AHHHHH—!!!"
Wu Feng tore the helm off, stumbling backward, his face as pale as a sheet. "That… thing… it almost had me."
Lu Dong blinked. "What thing?"
Wu Feng pointed at the helm with trembling fingers. "It tried to bite me. I could feel the coldness of its teeth."
"You're joking," Bai Fan frowned.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Wu Feng snapped.
"…Yes," Lu Dong said immediately. He scoffed, stepping toward the second seat. "I refuse to believe something in this shabby shop can scare a disciple of the Lu family."
He sat down confidently. He put on the helm.
Silence.
Ten seconds passed.
"WHAT IN THE—!?"
BANG! Lu Dong fell off the chair, crawling backward across the floor. His fan was thrown into a corner, forgotten. "That thing has no face!!" he shouted, pointing at nothing. "NO FACE!!"
Bai Fan and Yuan Bi watched in silence. Wu Feng crossed his arms, looking satisfied. "Told you."
Unlike the other two, Bai Fan approached the chair with a terrifyingly calm focus. He sat. He donned the helm. He didn't scream. He stayed under for five minutes, then ten.
When he finally removed the helm, his expression was deadly serious. "This place," he said quietly, looking at Yuan Bi, "is not just a shop. It is a crucible."
Within the hour, all three were fully immersed. The quiet shop was now filled with the shouts of the young masters.
"WHY WON'T IT DIE?!" Lu Dong roared.
"Hit the head, you idiot!" Wu Feng yelled back from the next seat.
"I AM HITTING THE HEAD!"
"THEN HIT HARDER!"
Meanwhile, in the projection, Bai Fan's avatar stepped back calmly. He observed the shambling corpse, timed his breath, and struck precisely. The creature collapsed.
"…So that's the method," he murmured.
Wu Feng grinned. "Now you understand. You don't just grow your Qi here. You grow your combat effectively."
Yuan Bi leaned back, fanning himself as he watched his three new 'test subjects.' Fear, shock, and excitement—the perfect ingredients for an addiction. He chuckled softly to himself.
"This is just the beginning."
Outside, Pyradine City continued its daily hustle, oblivious to the fact that inside this broken shop, a new path of power was being forged. Not through pills or ancient scrolls, but through facing death, again and again, and learning to smile back.
End of Chapter 5