Between one heartbeat and the next, the world thinned; a soft chime sounded not in air but in attention, and a gold-lit interface unfolded in Tian's mind like a fan opening to show a painted river . Text etched itself in clean lines. [Ding! Welcome, Host. Tycoon System initialized. Profit equals power. Wealth converts to cultivation. Build, and rise] .
He closed his eyes, counting breath, testing sanity's edges as if they might fray at a touch. "If this is delusion, it is an attractive one," he said dryly . The interface pulsed once, amused without a mouth. [First Task: Earn ten silver within three days through legitimate business. Reward: cultivation points, minor unseal progress] .
"Ten silver," Tian murmured. "Then we will buy a blade out of copper coins" . Somewhere deep, where the sealed qi slept like a winter pond, a ripple answered .