Chapter 2: The Awakening
The midnight air inside the Xiao household pressed like a hush of old secrets, whispers tucked between stone and timber. Xiao Yu awoke with a frantic gasp, heart thrumming as if wrenched from a half-remembered nightmare. The room was shrouded in darkness but for the slim silver wash of the moon across his simple desk. Sweat chilled along his brow.
For one wild moment, he wondered if he had overslept—the kind of mistake that would mortify his careful routine. But then the world seemed to tilt, a golden vortex swirling behind his eyes, visions flickering like candles: collapsing mountains, rivers of starlight, faces both beloved and strange. Knowledge poured into him with terrible clarity.
A sharp, harmonious chime reverberated not in the air, but in his mind.
*"Initializing: Myriad Shop System."*
Xiao Yu sat up, struggling to catch his breath. Words formed in glowing lines across the backdrop of his thoughts, each more impossible than the last.
> [Welcome, Host. You may now access the Myriad Shop—physiques, skills, items, knowledge, treasures, and more. All are available. All are free. Usage limit: none.]
He blinked, feeling the world snap into focus with forbidden clarity. The very fabric of reality rippled before him.
Curiosity drowned out caution. He willed the shop open, a crystalline interface blooming within consciousness, orderly and vast—thousands of categories, tens of thousands of entries, from the mundane (medicinal herbs, worn manuals) to the mythical (Phoenix Physiques, ancient divine armaments, forgotten flame spirits).
He hovered over a basic movement technique—*Cloud-Tide Steps.* With a mental click, energy swirled in his dantian, knowledge settling in his muscles and mind as if he had practiced for years. No pain, no struggle. A surge of both awe and fear prickled each finger.
A second selection: a vial of *Cleansing Marrow Pills*, the glass cool and real in his hand when he reached to grasp it.
Another test—he demanded a rare book: *The Six Paths of Alchemy*. It materialized quietly atop his blanket, pages scented faintly of ink and herb.
He pressed the limits. A demi-divine treasure fit to shatter kingdoms? Instantly available, awaiting his will to manifest. A full set of legendary Dou Techniques? The shop approved with indifferent ease, content to offer everything, refusing nothing.
Xiao Yu's thoughts raced. With this power, there were no boundaries—no need to scrape for every ounce of talent, no fear of being left behind. Yet old habits nagged at him. He resolved to experiment quietly: small boons at first, subtle changes that would escape notice.
By the time the moon had crossed the highest windowpane, Xiao Yu's room was a sanctuary filled with quiet miracles—a scroll of flame cultivation in his hands, a golden pill dissolving medicinal warmth in his belly, old aches and fatigue melting away.
He took to the floor, practicing the breathing patterns from the newly acquired technique, awed by how each cycle felt cleaner and effortless. Muscles thrummed with contained promise. For the first time since childhood, he felt truly alive.
As the artificial dawn in his mind faded, Xiao Yu sat cross-legged, heart steadying. He stared at his plain hands, then up at the cracked ceiling above.
Tomorrow, everything could change. Not just for himself, but for Xiao Yan—and perhaps for their entire clan.
A small, hesitant smile curved his lips. He whispered, "Thank you," to no one in particular, his words swept away by the hush of the pre-dawn hours.
He set his head down, letting dreams come once more, but this time, each vision was gilded in hope and the simmering, earth-shaking possibility of power finally within reach.