---
The morning passed quietly in the Xiao Clan estate. Beneath a flowering apricot tree, Tianzun stood with Chitoge beside him, her arms folded as she scanned the horizon with narrowed eyes.
A servant boy passed them and stumbled, whispering to another child.
> "Who is that girl? She's always around Fourth Young Master…"
> "He says she's from outside Wu Tan City. A friend. But she doesn't look like the others..."
Tianzun ignored the whispers.
He'd already circulated the story through carefully staged dialogue—she was a friend from a merchant family visiting for trade, staying under his care for a season. Her strange mannerisms? "Foreign customs." Her battle aura? "Inherited body constitution." Any deeper questions? "Not your concern."
People believed what they were told—when the one speaking said little.
---
That evening, after returning to his room, Tianzun sat still in meditation. His spiritual sea opened, and the familiar celestial interface shimmered before him.
> "System," he spoke silently, "I want to know about crafting."
---
[CRAFTING FEATURE UNLOCKED]
🔓 Tier 1: Soul Forge Access – Active
🧪 SYSTEM EXPLANATION INITIATED…
---
> 「Crafting is the Host's private soul-space dedicated to creation, innovation, and manipulation. Accessible only through spiritual projection. No one may enter but you.」
> 「Categories include:」
Alchemy Room: Simulated furnaces, pill-forming resonance arrays, spiritual herbs, elemental mixers.
Technique Chamber: Empty scrolls for designing Qi Methods, Dou Techniques, movement arts, seals.
Weapon Studio: Energy forges, design blueprints, material simulation fields.
Integration Panel: Allows combination of different skills, traits, and artifacts into experimental hybrids.
Simulation Field: Test environment to observe results before implementation.
Essence Distillery (Locked until Dou Shi: 3 Star)
> 「Time inside moves 5x faster than outside. The deeper your soul cultivation, the slower time flows inside — up to 50x in future tiers.」
> 「WARNING: Crafting consumes Soul Force. If overdrawn, Host risks coma or permanent spiritual damage. Proceed wisely.」
---
Without delay, Tianzun commanded: "Enter crafting space."
His body remained still in meditation posture. But in the next instant, his soul-form stepped into a vast black void—then light bloomed beneath his feet.
A circular white platform, suspended in infinite starspace. Dozens of glowing floating chambers hovered in the distance, each marked by ancient scripts: 丹 (Pill), 技 (Technique), 器 (Weapon), 封 (Seal).
And in the center—an elegant, low-burning furnace of celestial iron.
> "This…" Tianzun whispered, looking around, "is more than a lab. It's… a kingdom."
A glowing orb hovered beside him — Ling Yuan, the System Soul.
> 「Looks better than last time. Didn't have scroll simulators back then. Damn system keeps evolving like a living creature.」
> "It's alive because I'm feeding it. I'm the center node."
> 「You catch on fast. You'll be living in here before long. Everything in this realm will shape you more than any enemy ever will. Technique design, pill innovation, trait merging… this is where power's really made."
Tianzun approached the pill chamber. His hand brushed a holographic array.
> [Begin Simulation – Tier 1 Flame Pill]
Ingredients required: Red Grass Root, Flame Crystal Dust, Powdered Beast Claw.
Status: Unstable – 43% fusion rate
> "Poor fusion rate. Weak root quality. Recipe unoptimized."
He moved to the scroll array.
> [Begin Dou Technique Design]
Input: Blazing Wind Step
Add: Micro-pulse redirection, ankle-flame acceleration
Result: Flame Spiral Dash (Incomplete – 52% structure stability)
> "If I remove the third pulse loop… increase tendon torque resonance…"
> System: 「WARNING: Host soul force at 72%. Extended time may cause fatigue.」
Tianzun: "Noted. Set alarm at 35%."
---
After two hours inside, Tianzun withdrew his soul back into his body.
His eyes opened slowly.
Breathing calm. Focus unbroken.
He knew, now, that this realm would be the true battlefield. Here, time was his weapon. Failure was repeatable. Experimentation — infinite.
> "This place… is where I will create what the world has never seen."
---
That afternoon, he and Chitoge walked through the garden.
He looked at her thoughtfully.
> "You move well."
> "Better than most of the soft-skinned kids I've seen here," she smirked.
> "You'll need to move better."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Training orders?"
> "No. A gift."
He turned to her, and for the first time, his voice softened.
> "I'm going to call you… Yoru."
> "Yoru? What's that mean?"
> "Night."
> "Hmph. Mysterious and edgy. I like it."
She smirked again, but her eyes shimmered faintly.
---
That night — Tianzun stood atop the clan's tallest tower.
He looked out over the quiet city.
The stars above were beautiful. Infinite.
But inside?
He felt... weak.
Not physically. Not mentally.
> "But it's like… I can't control anything. Not truly."
He clenched his fists.
> "Even Chitoge — Yoru — is stronger than me. If she turned against me now, I couldn't stop her."
> System: 「Affirmative. Host currently lacks physical authority over subordinates beyond 1-level margin.」
Ling Yuan: 「And power means control. If you can't make your people obey, then you're just… trusting them. Trust, kid, is a weak man's sword."
Tianzun closed his eyes.
> "Then I'll become someone they can't disobey."
His grip tightened.
> "Not out of fear... but because the very world bends when I command it."
---