“Coat your fist in qi or use a martial technique if you want, just remember to hold back.” Hao instructed.
“Alright, boss.” Mo Xixi nodded seriously.
Mo Xixi would never think of hurting Hao. The boss had taken care of her, gave her a home, and more than that… he felt like family.
But she was also curious. She wanted to see it too.
The two stood facing each other.
Hao stood upright, his hands behind his back.
He straightened like a kid posing for a picture.
Mo Xixi drew in a breath and lowered her stance.
Her right fist clenched, and a black, thick aura began to crawl up from her knuckles, creeping slowly toward her elbow like spilled ink.
Hao’s smile twitched slightly.
’Wait… is Little Xixi really holding back?’
’That aura got ’instant death’ written all over it!’
This was the Cursed Burial Fist, a well-known basic technique from Ashen Curse Cult.
It wasn’t flashy, but it was deadly in its own way.
A strike to the chest could seal a cultivator’s qi flow for minutes.
Even hours, depending on the gap in strength.
And right now, that terrifying aura was aimed right at Hao.
Mo Xixi moved.
Her fist blurred, crashing forward. Even though she tried to hold back, the strength behind it still carried the weight of a 5th or maybe even 6th Stage of Spirit Awakening Realm cultivator.
She had clearly underestimated herself.
But Hao had already acted.
The moment her stance shifted, his focus locked onto his chest. He didn’t wait. Timing was everything in a real battle.
Better to glow early than get flattened later.
A golden shimmer bloomed across his chest, bright and warm, almost blinding in that instant.
Swiishh.
Mo Xixi’s fist passed straight through.
No resistance. No impact. It felt as though her fist had touched nothing at all.
She quickly pulled back. The thick black aura vanished from her arm the moment the technique disengaged.
Hao exhaled, a drop of sweat trailing down his temple as he stepped back.
His eyes lit up.
’Heck yeah. I knew it. I really pulled it off.’
He had done it.
His chest had turned into pure light for just a second. Just long enough to avoid a strike that could’ve seriously injured most cultivators in his realm.
It cost him more than he expected.
The moment his chest transformed to light, he felt his spiritual qi drain like a broken dam.
Nearly three-fourths of his entire reserve vanished in an instant.
If he had waited even a breath longer, if the timing had been off, he might not have had enough to pull it off at all.
So it worked. But it came with a heavy price.
Still, Hao didn’t regret it. This ability… it was worth it.
He just needed to raise his realm.
More cultivation meant more spiritual qi. And with enough reserves, this ability could become his main shield.
That was… if he could react fast enough in a real fight.
Hao smiled, turning to Mo Xixi.
“Good job, Little Xixi.”
“And thanks.”
Mo Xixi blinked, her cheeks puffing up slightly before she turned her head away.
“I wasn’t even being serious…” she muttered, crossing her arms. “It was just a basic strike, boss.”
Her eyes flicked back toward Hao’s chest.
“That technique though… not bad.”
“It’s strange. But it’s strong.”
Mo Xixi’s words echoed in Hao’s heart.
If someone like Little Xixi, an extremely talented prodigy who had seen far more than he ever had, said the technique was “not bad”… then it had to be something special.
One heck of an ability.
As expected of a constitution that came from the system.
Solar-Ascendant Constitution – there was still so much he didn’t know about it. This was only the beginning.
He had barely scratched the surface, maybe not even that.
If he could already phase a part of his body into light at Spirit Awakening Realm, then what else could this constitution offer once he reached higher realms?
Speed that bent the eye?
Light-speed attacks?
Complete transformation into light itself?
The possibilities were endless. His thoughts burned with curiosity.
But now wasn’t the time to fantasize.
He sat down cross-legged in the corner of the store and began cultivating again.
But not long after, his mind began to wander – his attention span rivaled that of a goldfish who forgot it was even swimming.
’System, I should be able to step outside now, right?’
’With Little Xixi on shift?’
Hao was itching to go out.
Even just a short peek would do.
The door of the Dimensional Convenience Store was connected to a true cultivation world – a place unlike anything back on Earth.
What did the streets look like? Were spirit beasts lazily prowling around like stray dogs?
Did cultivators zoom through the sky on flying swords?
Were sects nearby, filled with disciples in flowing robes shouting things like “You dare?!”
He imagined one possibility first: a rural dreamland of immortal fantasy.
Old stone roads winding through misty valleys. Wooden houses with curved rooftops. Bamboo forests rustling with qi.
Maybe rice paddies, spirit chickens, and farmers wearing straw hats feeding oxen under a rising sun.
Peaceful. Quiet. Ancient.
But then his mind pivoted to something else.
Sovereign City.
The name alone sounded like it wore a crown.
What if it was actually a massive spiritual metropolis? Sky-piercing towers made of glowing jade.
Flying boats docking at mid-air platforms. Streets paved with spirit stones. Thousands of cultivators walking around in robes that cost more than a car back on Earth.
Did they ride flying swords like motorbikes?
Were the restaurants made of floating jade and qi fire?
Would he even be allowed to step outside without being asked what sect he was from?.
Then again, all Hao wanted was a little fresh air.
Something that didn’t reek of instant noodles, industrial smoke, and city-level light pollution.
Just a small walk.
A few breaths of spiritual air.
Just that much might be enough to scratch the wanderlust gnawing at his core.
[Host, you must reach the Saint Apprentice Realm before you are permitted to step outside the store.]
…
[Author’s Note: Alright y’all, quick poll time! I’m adding a new entertainment feature to the store – should it be a Pool Game or an Arcade Fighting Game? Head over to the character section and just like the one you want. ]
[Whichever gets the most likes gets added first.
And if it’s a tie… or no one votes? Welp, we’re flipping a coin.]