Midnight.
The vast, 12,000-square-foot warehouse was a pocket of absolute silence and shadow. Lin Hao sat in the dead center of the concrete floor, not as a fumbling student, but as a master in his domain.
He had been in a deep, meditative state for four hours, his body perfectly still. His new High-Grade "Azure Ocean Divine Chant" was in full, silent operation. The ambient Reiki of the industrial park, a thin but steady river, was being drawn in through the concrete walls, forming a slow, invisible, and utterly perfect vortex around him.
He was a black hole, patient and hungry, waiting for the clock to strike.
His phone, his last mortal tether, lay on the floor. Its screen lit up.
11:59:59
00:00
The ritual.
His eyes snapped open, his focus absolute. His [Weekly Cultivation Upgrade: LOCKED] timer was a prison, and he had served his time. But first, the tithe.
He had 3200 UP remaining.
He opened the [$World Upgrade$] tab.
[Daily Boost: Increase Global Reiki Density (0.01%)]? (Cost: 70 UP)
The price had climbed again, a 10% tax on his next payout. He paid it without a flicker of hesitation.
[Deducting 70 UP. 3130 UP Remaining.] [Ascension Bonus: ACTIVE. Your next daily UP gain will be 12,800 UP.]
The number "12,800" was staggering. The exponential loop was becoming a tidal wave.
And then, his salary.
[Daily UP Generation: Active.] [Ascension Bonus: Applied (x2).] [You have received 6,400 UP.]
The new power flooded his account. His 3130 UP was joined by the new, massive infusion.
[Upgrade Points (UP): 9530]
Nine thousand, five hundred, and thirty.
His first, immediate thought was of his sister, Lin Meng. He checked the number against his memory.
[Target: Lin Meng | Upgrade Cost: 10,000 UP]
He wasn't there.
His jaw tightened. He was so close. He was 470 UP short. He had the power of a god, and he was being blocked by a number, by a 24-hour clock. The familiar, burning spike of frustration returned. He would have to wait one more night. One more agonizing day, leaving his talented, naive, unprotected sister exposed.
But just as that frustration began to simmer, a new message appeared on his interface.
It was not red. It was a cool, permissive, beautiful blue.
[Weekly Cultivation Upgrade: UNLOCKED.] [New 'Realm Breakthrough' quota (1) is now available.]
Lin Hao's frustration vanished, blown away by a surge of pure, cold, triumphant anticipation.
He had served his time. The lock was broken.
He didn't hesitate for a single second. His realm was Level 6. His prodigy "rivals" were Level 4. He was about to widen that gap, to make it an unbridgeable chasm.
He opened the [$Self Upgrade$] tab.
[Cultivation: Level 6: Marrow Cleansing (Purification)] [Upgrade: Level 7: Viscera Fortification (Internal Shield)]? (Cost: 200 UP)
The cost had increased from the lower levels, but with his 9530 UP, it was nothing. It was a rounding error.
"Confirm."
[Deducting 200 UP. 9330 UP Remaining.] [Upgrading Host to Level 7: Viscera Fortification...]
The power that flooded him was not a violent, purging itch like the Marrow Cleansing. It was not a forging heat, or a muscular pressure.
It was a warmth.
It was a deep, heavy, sinking current of pure energy. It didn't flood his limbs; it pooled in his core, his center of mass.
His High-Grade Gongfa instantly took control, guiding the new, massive surge of Qi. It didn't wrap around his skin or his bones.
It soaked into his organs.
His lungs, his heart, his liver, his stomach, his "viscera", all the soft, fragile, mortal parts of him that were still a liability.
He felt the Qi envelop his heart, and his heart gave a single, powerful, steady THUMP. It was no longer a muscle. It was a spiritual engine, infused with a tough, resilient, leathery power.
The energy wrapped around his lungs, and he took a deep breath. It felt as if his lungs were now made of a reinforced, flexible, super-dense fiber.
This was the "Internal Shield."
He had been a fortress of Iron Skin and Forged Bone, but with a soft, vulnerable interior.
Not anymore.
He was now, from his skin to his marrow to his core, a solid, unified, forged being. A punch that got past his external defenses would no longer rupture his liver; it would hit a second, internal wall of Qi-fortified flesh.
He opened his eyes in the dark, a small, cold smile on his face.
He was Level 7.
He checked his final balance: 9330 UP.
He was still short of his sister's upgrade. But he didn't care.
He now had 24 hours to practice at a new, higher realm. And tomorrow... tomorrow, he would have 12,800 UP.
Tomorrow, he would buy his sister's future.