**Chapter 1: Thirty Seconds of Eternity**
The sun hung low over Wu Tan City, painting the tiled roofs in shades of molten gold. Inside the grand hall of the Miteer Auction House, the air thrummed with anticipation.
Today was no ordinary auction.
Patriarchs and elders from the three great families—the Xiao Clan, the Jia Lie Clan, and the Ao Ba Clan—occupied the most prestigious seats near the front. Even representatives from the reclusive machinery clans had arrived, their sharp eyes scanning every corner. These were the strongest figures in Wu Tan City, men and women whose word could shift fortunes or shatter lives.
And they had all come for one reason: the treasures Miteer Auction House had promised to unveil.
A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd as the stage curtains parted.
Ya Fei stepped into the light.
Her long red hair cascaded like liquid flame down her back. Her jade-like skin glowed under the crystal chandeliers, and the curve of her lips carried the effortless confidence of someone who knew every eye in the room belonged to her.
She raised a slender hand, silencing the hall with a single gesture.
"Esteemed guests," her voice rang out, clear and melodic yet carrying undeniable authority, "thank you for gracing the Miteer Auction House with your presence today. Without further ado—let the auction begin!"
Servants glided forward bearing an ornate blackwood box inlaid with silver spirit runes. They set it gently before Ya Fei and stepped back.
With a practiced flourish, she lifted the lid.
The box was empty.
A stunned hush fell over the hall.
Ya Fei blinked once. Twice. Then her smile faltered for the first time anyone could remember.
"…There appears to have been a slight mishap," she said, forcing calm into her tone. "Honored guests, please allow us a moment to correct this."
Before the murmurs could swell into outrage, a young servant burst through the side door. His face was ashen, black veins of panic standing out against his skin. He leaned close and whispered frantically into Ya Fei's ear.
Her expression changed instantly—from embarrassment to something far colder.
Without another word, she turned and strode off the stage, red robes swirling behind her like spilled blood.
The guests exchanged uneasy glances.
In a shadowed corner seat, a youth dressed in plain black robes watched the scene unfold with narrowed eyes.
Xiao Yan leaned back, fingers drumming lightly on the armrest.
"What in the world just happened…?" he muttered under his breath.
———
Deep within the auction house's secure vault.
Ya Fei stood before row after row of shattered spirit-sealed cases.
Every single one was empty.
Foundation Elixirs.
High-grade Qi Gathering Pills—second and third tier.
The prized Xuan-class Qi Method scroll: *Hurricane Chant*.
Even the space ring containing the house's operating capital—nearly one million gold coins.
Gone.
All of it.
Her nails dug into her palms until blood welled.
"Where. Are. The. Guards?" Each word was a blade.
Two massive figures shuffled forward, heads bowed so low their chins nearly touched their chests.
"Miss Ya Fei… no one entered this chamber," one stammered. "We never left our posts. Not for a second."
"Then explain to me," she hissed, "how an entire vault's worth of treasures disappeared without a single person stepping inside."
The guards could only lower their heads further.
Silence answered her.
———
Word spread faster than fire through dry grass.
By evening, every street in Wu Tan City buzzed with the same unbelievable rumor:
*The Miteer Auction House had been robbed blind—right in front of the city's most powerful people—and no one had seen a thing.*
The three great families were furious.
The machinery groups withdrew their representatives in disgust.
Ya Fei's usually flawless reputation now carried a single, ugly stain.
But on the very outskirts of the city, in a crumbling mud-brick hut hidden among overgrown weeds, a different scene unfolded.
A young man sat cross-legged on the dirt floor, surrounded by a small fortune.
His clothes were threadbare, patched in a dozen places, the kind beggars would turn away from. Yet the treasures piled before him told a very different story.
Bottles of pale-blue Foundation Elixir gleamed softly.
Jade vials of second- and third-grade Qi Gathering Pills caught the fading sunlight.
A rolled scroll bound in black silk—the *Hurricane Chant* qi method .
And resting on his palm: a simple-looking space ring that now held nearly one million gold coins.
Su Chen's lips curved into a wide, unrestrained grin.
He threw his head back and laughed.
"Hahahahaha!"
The sound echoed off the cracked walls.
He had grown up on these same streets—an orphan, invisible, disposable. Everyone had assumed he would die young and forgotten.
They had been wrong.
Because Su Chen was not from this world.
He had arrived here years ago, dropped into the body of a starving street child with nothing but his memories and one impossible gift.
No system.
No ancient ring spirit.
No master descending from the heavens.
Just thirty seconds.
In this reality, a full day lasted twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes, and thirty seconds.
The people born here never noticed the discrepancy.
But Su Chen did.
Those missing thirty seconds belonged to him.
When he willed it, time stopped.
Birds froze mid-wing.
Falling leaves hung suspended.
Breaths caught in lungs.
Hearts paused between beats.
For those thirty seconds, the entire world became his private domain.
And he could save them.
One day's thirty seconds became tomorrow's sixty.
Ten days became five full minutes.
Five minutes had been enough.
Enough to walk calmly through the auction house's heaviest wards.
Enough to open every sealed case.
Enough to sweep every treasure into the space ring.
Enough to walk out again—unseen, untouched, unknown.
All while the strongest experts in Wu Tan City sat less than fifty meters away, staring at an empty stage.
Su Chen wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.
"With these resources… reaching the Dou Master stage is only a matter of time."
He glanced toward the distant silhouette of Wu Tan City's walls.
"Half a year until Jia Nan Academy's entrance exam. If I can break through to Dou Practitoner by then, the path ahead opens wide."
His talent was nothing special—average at best. Without today's haul, spending an entire lifetime to reach the peak of Dou Disciple would have been considered lucky.
Now?
The heavens themselves seemed within reach.
Su Chen lifted the space ring and began the slow process of refining its ownership.
No more carrying wealth in plain sight.
No more tempting fate.
He would hide in the shadows a little longer.
Grow stronger.