Lin Xuan awoke not to the ringing of ancient bronze bells or the soft glow of Spiritual Jade, but to the jarring, digital screech of a cheap smartphone alarm. He had set it as a mundane ritual, a painful reminder of the tedious mortal existence he now occupied.
He lay still, assessing his meager power. After his initial cultivation cycle yesterday, his core could hold a droplet of Qi, nothing more. His grand, 15,000-year-old Divine Will felt like a caged dragon, constantly testing the brittle bars of his current, weak body.
The essence of the Heavenly Emperor is not the volume of Qi, but the Will, he reaffirmed internally. And with the Infinite Synthesis System, this weak world will soon yield to my command.
He checked the system. His Daily Synthesis Limit was reset: 3/3. His immediate need was high-purity materials to truly begin his ascent, but for now, he would have to make do with offerings.
The expected knock came precisely five minutes before the first bell, timid and tentative.
Lin Xuan opened the door to find Zhang Wei, the towering bully, standing rigid and pale. He was loaded down with two backpacks and was practically bowing, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead.
"L-Lord Lin Xuan," Zhang Wei stammered, using a tone of abject servitude. "I brought the items... and the cash."
He had done better than asked. One backpack was stuffed with wrinkled bills—the requested thousand dollars, plus four hundred more. The other contained several heavily-used, low-grade science textbooks and a single, brightly colored plastic bottle.
Lin Xuan stepped back, allowing the terrified student entry. Zhang Wei placed the cash neatly on the cheap wooden table, then presented the bottle with shaking hands.
"The books are just my old notes, mostly paper and ink, worthless. But this," he presented the bottle, "is the highest-grade 'Spirit Pill' I could find. My mom buys it—says it's a Nutritional Booster from America, very expensive."
Lin Xuan picked up the bottle of brightly packaged vitamins, examining the ingredients: Folic Acid, Vitamin D, trace minerals, and a host of synthetic binders. He suppressed a sigh of cosmic disappointment. "The foolishness of mortals is boundless. This is less than useless."
His gaze fell upon a discarded, slightly flattened soda can on the floor.
He placed the useless Nutritional Booster and the mundane Aluminum Can side-by-side.
[Synthesis Query Initiated: (Nutritional Booster (F) + Aluminum Can (F)) = ?]
[Suggestion: Minor Qi Condensing Orb (E-). Cost: 1 Synthesis Point.]
"Affordable, and useful for stabilizing my core after yesterday's exertion," Lin Xuan murmured. "Execute synthesis."
A faint, invisible hum filled the air. The can and the vitamin bottle vanished, their substance broken down to fundamental energy. A moment later, a small, black marble—roughly the size of a large bean—materialized silently on the table. It pulsed with a cold, dense pocket of energy, a miniature, portable cultivation environment.
Zhang Wei watched, transfixed, his jaw slack. He hadn't seen smoke or a light show, just things turning into other, infinitely denser things.
"Take this trash away," Lin Xuan commanded, gesturing to the empty backpacks and the remaining bills. "Now, your arm."
Zhang Wei instantly obeyed, extending his afflicted arm. Lin Xuan surveyed the limb, confirming the Heart-Gate acupoint was still sealed. He then picked up the small black Minor Qi Condensing Orb. He touched it gently against Zhang Wei's acupoint. The small spark of energy from the orb flowed into the limb, forcefully clearing the initial block.
"Move it," Lin Xuan instructed.
Zhang Wei wiggled his fingers, then flexed his wrist, a look of profound disbelief and elation sweeping his face. "It... it's perfect! Thank you, Lord Lin Xuan! You are truly a miracle doctor!"
"It is only a temporary unblocking," Lin Xuan clarified, his gaze cold and commanding. "The paralysis will return in three days if you fail to bring me useful resources. I need high-grade metal alloys, complex electronic circuitry, or any artifacts that hold unusual energy resonance. Seek out scrap, industrial waste, broken machines. Bring me junk that others fear to touch."
Zhang Wei, now perfectly mobilized and thoroughly subservient, retreated with dizzying speed.
Later that morning, during the first break at school, the class monitor, Li Mo, approached Lin Xuan's desk. Her gaze was unusually curious, tinged with respect, after witnessing Zhang Wei's transformation from predator to house pet.
"Lin Xuan? Are you... alright?" she asked quietly.
"I am perfectly fine," Lin Xuan replied, closing his history book, which he was currently scanning for historical notes on lost mines.
"Well, that's good. Listen," she hesitated, adjusting her glasses. "I overheard something this morning at the city hall office where my mother works. The city is preparing for a large-scale demolition of the old Industrial Zone 7. They say there's tons of old, pre-war equipment, high-voltage machinery, and failed R&D prototypes still buried under the complex. The demolition crew is selling access passes to companies that want to salvage metal before they level it."
Lin Xuan's blood, or what passed for it in his weak body, surged. Pre-war machinery? Failed R&D prototypes? This wasn't junk—it was a gold mine of exotic materials and rare earth components perfect for Rank C synthesis!
"Industrial Zone 7," Lin Xuan repeated, committing the location to his memory. "How does one obtain an access pass, Li Mo?"
Li Mo checked the ledger in her hand. "They're incredibly expensive. A basic access permit for the weekend costs fifty thousand dollars—it's meant for large scrap companies, not individuals."
Fifty thousand. A truly pitiful sum for a Heavenly Emperor, but an impassable gulf for a penniless high school student. He needed a strategy, and fast.
Lin Xuan stood up, his eyes locking on hers with an intense, captivating power that made her skin tingle.
"Li Mo, your information is invaluable. I need more. I need the full schematics and historical documentation for Industrial Zone 7, specifically any records on failed experimental reactors built between 1980 and 2000. Use whatever contacts you have. I need them by tomorrow."
Li Mo, utterly mesmerized by his authority, simply nodded. "I... I'll see what I can find, Lin Xuan."
"Good," he said, his smile cold and appreciative. "The road back to Immortality requires resources, and that zone is the first mountain this Emperor must conquer. Now, I must acquire the initial toll."
Lin Xuan left the classroom, his thoughts already focused on the next chapter's challenge: earning fifty thousand dollars in a world that didn't yet know his true worth