The morning mist curled lazily around Miscellaneous Peak, its forests quiet except for the distant cries of spirit birds and the occasional squirrel thieving from unattended courtyards. To most, this peak was a forgotten corner of the Evergreen Sect—empty, abandoned, useless.
But within one small courtyard, the air trembled faintly, as if heaven and earth themselves were being wrung out by invisible hands.
[System Activated]
[Host: Li An]
[Age: 23]
[Cultivation: Peak Foundation Establishment Realm]
[Spirit Roots: Upper-Middle Grade Roots ×5]
Options Available:
• Multiply (3 slots available)
• Fuse
[Currently in Multiply: Aurora Technique (Peak Profound Grade) ×1440, Space Jumping Slash ×1608, Spirit Stone (Low-Grade) ×2880, Upper-Middle Grade Roots x1440]
Li An lay sprawled across the stone steps in front of his house, chewing lazily on a stalk of grass. His long black hair spilled behind him like ink, his robe half-untied and wrinkled, one sleeve sliding dangerously close to falling off entirely. He looked less like a disciple of a great sect and more like a farmer enjoying his morning break.
With a long sigh, he sat up, stretching until his back popped. "Two months…" he muttered, eyes shifting to the translucent panel before him. His lips twitched upward. "Peak Foundation Establishment, already. Didn't even have to bang my head against bottlenecks this time. Honestly, I thought I'd be stuck crawling for at least half a year."
He flicked the grass stalk aside, then leaned on one arm, staring thoughtfully at the system screen. The numbers practically glared back at him.
"One thousand six hundred Space Jumping Slashes, over a thousand Aurora Techniques, and…" He squinted. "Two thousand eight hundred and eighty spirit stones. Hah."
Li An scratched his head with a sheepish grin. "If anyone saw this panel, they'd probably faint on the spot. Or worse, they'd call me a sect-wide storage ring and start stuffing groceries into me."
He tapped his chin in mock seriousness. "Actually, that might be a decent side job. 'System Li: open for storage, only one copper per slot.'"
Of course, none of those treasures were lying around his courtyard. His shelves weren't buckling under the weight of scrolls, nor were spirit stones piled like hills. All of it rested quietly in the System Inventory, sealed away, neat and unreachable by anyone but him. To an outsider, his courtyard looked empty, bare, boring.
But Li An knew the truth. The ridiculous stockpile in his panel could probably cause a sect-wide riot if it were ever revealed.
"Still," he muttered with a grin, "better this way. If those mountains of manuals were actually stacked in my house, I'd have been crushed in my sleep weeks ago."
He leaned back again, resting his hands behind his head. His body felt sharp, steady, alive in a way it hadn't for years. Just two months ago, he had been a cripple, struggling to even sense qi. Now his meridians roared like rivers, his dantian spun with the power of late Foundation Establishment, and his every breath carried the weight of someone clawing their way back toward the heavens.
Despite the easy smile tugging at his lips, a glint of determination flickered in his eyes.
"The old Li An might've fallen," he murmured softly, "but this one… is just getting started."
"System, fuse the Aurora Techniques."
[Affirmative.]
The courtyard air shimmered.
In the next instant, one thousand four hundred and forty copies of the Aurora Technique spilled out from the System Inventory, filling the courtyard in neat rows. Bamboo slips and jade manuals stacked upon one another, stretching from the stone steps to the far wall. For a moment, Li An's eyes twitched.
"…If anyone sees this, I'll be accused of robbing the Sect Library blind."
Before he could finish his complaint, the manuals lifted into the air.
The sound was like rushing wind as the pages fluttered open, glowing lines of runes spilling free. Then, under the System's command, they surged together.
First fusion.
Ten by ten, the manuals spun, collided, and dissolved into light. The courtyard lit up as if a thousand fireflies had exploded at once. When the glow dimmed, one hundred and forty-four Earth-grade techniques floated in the air, their aura steadier, richer, the very runes on their covers trembling faintly.
Li An's eyes widened slightly. "Well, that already looks ten times more impressive. Shame nobody's here to clap."
The System did not care.
Second fusion.
Five by five, the one hundred and forty-four manuals shot together, merging in bursts of white flame. The courtyard shook, the faint hum of the sect's formations groaning in response. From the chaos, twenty-eight manuals emerged—Middle Earth-grade techniques, their glow sharp enough to sting the eyes.
A grin tugged at Li An's lips. "Now we're talking. This is starting to feel like cooking—except instead of dumplings, I'm making god-tier techniques."
Third fusion.
Again, five by five, they collided. Sparks of qi rained down like shooting stars, searing tiny holes in the flagstones before fading. From the blinding whirl, five manuals hovered into existence. High Earth-grade, each one radiating an aura that made even the nearby spirit birds screech and scatter into the distance.
Li An let out a low whistle. "Hah… I think if I just tossed one of those at someone, it'd knock them out cold without even opening it."
Final fusion.
The five manuals quivered violently, light bursting from their bindings. With a sound like a thunderclap, they smashed together, their forms collapsing into a single book.
When the glow finally settled, a solitary manual floated before Li An.
Its surface gleamed like polished jade, the ink on its cover shining with runes that pulsed in rhythm with the heavens. A majestic, dignified aura wrapped around it, neither oppressive nor wild—merely vast.
[Aurora Technique: Peak Earth Grade]
The System's chime rang flatly in his mind, but Li An's lips were already splitting into a grin.
"…One technique to rule them all."
He reached out, catching the manual with both hands. For a moment, he just held it, marveling at the weight of it—not in his arms, but in the power thrumming faintly beneath the surface.
His smile turned mischievous. "Peak Earth grade, huh? If Aurora was already fast at gathering qi… this version might just turn me into a walking sect formation."
He looked up at the mist-filled sky, eyes gleaming. "Let's see if I can drain the mountain dry before lunch."