Zhang Wei took a deep breath before picking up the breath mint from the paper plate and placing it carefully into his mouth.
At first, a mild sweetness spread across his tongue, refreshing yet ordinary.
But within moments, the taste shifted—the sweetness faded, replaced by an intense, fiery flavor that burst like a miniature explosion inside his mouth.
A wave of heat rolled through him as if a spark had ignited in his throat and spread downward.
The sensation was strange yet addictive, and Zhang Wei couldn't help but play with the mint using his tongue, rolling it from side to side to savor the growing blaze.
Each movement seemed to release another layer of heat and freshness that mingled and spread across his senses until his entire mouth tingled.
Thirty breaths passed, and just as the last trace of the mint dissolved, something extraordinary occurred.
"This is…" Zhang Wei gasped, his eyes widening as his entire body trembled.
A massive surge of qi erupted from deep within, rushing through his veins like a torrential river.
The energy was so potent that his meridians vibrated violently, and the air around him began to hum.
He could feel the qi accumulating far beyond his expectations, pressing against the limits of his body.
He hurriedly shut his eyes, forcing himself to remain calm as he circulated his cultivation technique.
His breathing slowed, and with each exhale, the rampant qi began to flow in rhythm with his will.
Brilliant threads of spiritual energy moved through his body, strengthening his bones and expanding his dantian.
Minutes passed. Then suddenly…
Boom!
His aura flared outward like a shockwave, rattling the nearby shelves and sending faint ripples through the air.
The atmosphere grew dense, and the faint scent of herbs and spirit energy filled the small shop.
The big fatty has gotten a breakthrough!
Zhang Wei remained seated, sweat trickling down his temple, but his face was calm.
He was deep in meditation, fully focused on stabilizing his breakthrough.
The fiery sensation in his mouth had vanished, replaced by a deep, powerful stillness within his core.
He did not dare be careless and studied his body with careful precision.
He moved not and he seemed to not be breathing. This eerie stillness continued for a few minutes.
Lin Feng frowned. "Hey, don't die on me, fatty! You're my first customer! I prayed two months for you to show up! Two whole months of eating dust and talking to myself in this miserable shop!"
"You don't need to worry, host," the system's calm, robotic voice replied, sounding entirely unconcerned. "Our customer is currently cultivating. Although his cultivation base is low, he's wise enough to take advantage of the residual spiritual essence from our product. He's attempting to use it to reach the next stage of his realm."
Lin Feng blinked. "Wait—so he's trying to break through just from eating a mint?"
"Correction, host. He already had one break through. He's greedy and wants another chance to level up. However, his attempt will ultimately fail. The Breath Mint contains embedded spiritual laws that prevent abuse. He cannot forcibly advance beyond what the system has granted him."
"So basically," Lin Feng sighed, "he's cooking himself for nothing. He's running on empty."
"Essentially, yes."
Lin Feng gave the fatty another look.
The man's body was still shaking violently, his mouth puffing out clouds of white mist as if he had swallowed a blizzard.
"Cultivators really are crazy," Lin Feng muttered, shaking his head.
He turned around, ready to forget about the poor man—until a sudden thought struck him like heavenly thunder.
His eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat, and he froze.
"Wait a damn second…" he whispered, then shouted, "SYSTEM! WHAT ABOUT MY REWARDS?! I finished the stupid task you gave me! I sold the Breath Mint! Now hurry up and give me back my precious little brother!"
"Congratulations, host," the system announced cheerfully.
Main Quest: Sell 1 piece of Breath Mint — Completed!
Reward: Host regains full use of his manhood.
Additional Reward: New product unlocked — Chewing Gum. Stored in system inventory.
Status: Quest complete! Would you like to receive your rewards now?
"Yes! Immediately! Right now! No hesitation!" Lin Feng practically screamed, his face red with desperation. Tears of joy welled up in his eyes.
For two months, he had lived like a monk—no, worse than a monk.
His "little brother" had been nothing but a soft noodle, refusing to rise no matter how he begged or prayed.
He clenched his fists. "Finally… I can stand proud again!"
"Reward granted," the system said flatly.
Suddenly, Lin Feng felt a strange surge rush through his body.
It started from his dantian, spread through his meridians, and then…
BOOM!—it exploded downward. His face went crimson.
"Ahhh—! It's back! It's alive!" Lin Feng cried out dramatically, falling to his knees as heavenly music seemed to play in the background.
"My little brother! You've returned from the dead!"
"Congratulations, host," the system said dryly. "Your manhood has been restored to its peak condition. Please refrain from doing anything that would require me to censor you."
Lin Feng ignored it completely, tears streaming down his face as he raised his arms to the ceiling.
"The heavens are merciful! The dao is just! I, Lin Feng, have been reborn as a man!"
Still, he couldn't help but grin ear to ear. Not only had he sold his first product, but he had also unlocked a new one—chewing gum.
Lin Feng would have wanted to check on the chewing gum product but then he encountered something strange.
"System! What are you doing to me?!" Lin Feng shouted, his voice echoing across the small shop.
His body had suddenly begun to itch from head to toe, like a thousand ants marching under his skin.
Then, without warning, the itch turned into pain—pure, soul-crushing agony.
He fell to his knees, clutching his chest as if his heart was being hammered from inside.
"Arghhh! What's happening?!" he screamed as a strange golden light wrapped around his body.
The sensation felt endless, but after a full minute, the pain slowly faded away.
Lin Feng lay on the ground, panting and drenched in sweat.
When he finally opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that his black robe felt much looser than before.
He frowned.
"Wait… why do my sleeves look like I borrowed them from a giant?"
Standing up, he realized his entire body had changed.
His once-respectable six-foot frame now stretched to a towering seven.
His limbs had grown unnaturally long, and his body resembled that of a bamboo stick—thin, fragile, and utterly starved.
He looked like a man who hadn't eaten in a million years—completely malnourished!
He was about to complain some more but then he noticed another oddity in his body.
He looked down. "Wait a minute... why does it feel... heavier down there?"
A dreadful premonition crawled up his spine. Trembling, he slowly checked under his robes and—
"...What in the heavens?! System!!!"
His eyes widened in horror.
The thing that once made him confident and content now looked like it belonged to some ancient dragon beast.
It was huge.
When he willed it to life out of sheer disbelief, the monstrous thing actually responded—enthusiastically.
He froze. "Oh no… no, no, no, no."
Before, ten inches had made him proud. A true champion among mortals.
But now? Sixteen. Solid. Towering. Fearsome.
It didn't look like something a human should possess—it looked like a divine weapon forged by the gods and cursed to never find peace.
"System! Explain yourself right now!" Lin Feng bellowed, his voice trembling between fear and outrage.
"Don't you want me to get a wife someday?! I was happy with my ten inches! Why would you curse me with this! Bring it back!"
"Negative, Host," the System's calm, emotionless voice replied.
"What is given cannot be taken. Some boons come with unexpected surprises. This shall be a cross you must bear."
"A cross?!" Lin Feng nearly cried.
"This isn't a cross, it's a club! No woman will ever want to marry me now! How am I supposed to explain this? 'Sorry, dear, it's not me, it's the System'?!"
He tried yelling at the System several more times, but it remained completely unresponsive, as if mocking him in silence.
In the end, Lin Feng could only sit down in utter despair. He looked at his oversized "little brother," which was far too intimidating for comfort.
The veins bulged like coiled spirit snakes, the sheer weight of it pulling uncomfortably on his robes.
Even the twin bells looked like they had ascended realms of their own.
He sighed, shaking his head. "Perhaps what they say is true… tall, skinny men really do have monsters hidden between their legs."
After a long silence, he took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "Alright, Lin Feng, calm down. You've survived worse. You were transmigrated into this world, opened a mysterious store, got a talking System, and now this. You can handle a little… oversized problem."
He glanced down again. "Though calling this 'little' feels like a crime."
For a long while, he just stood there, contemplating his life choices. Then he muttered weakly, "Maybe I should start selling pants in larger sizes…"
Lin Feng focused and chose to be proactive with his time.
His eyes were on his system space, and in the next instant, a glowing holographic screen appeared before his eyes.
It was like something out of a sci-fi movie — neat grids, transparent menus, and little icons that shimmered when he moved his gaze.
For a moment, he could only stare in awe.
"This really feels like an advanced game," he muttered, blinking as he scrolled through the empty interface.
Lin Feng adapted quickly.
After all, he had wasted enough time in his past life playing MMORPGs to know how systems worked.
There was only one item in the entire inventory, so he focused on it, and with a thought, a small glass jar materialized in his hand.
Inside were tiny circular pills, each one perfectly shaped and glossy white — like breath mints.
"Why do you love circles and little things so much, System?" Lin Feng asked, turning the jar in his hand and shaking it gently.
The pills clicked together with a pleasant rattle.
Without waiting for an answer, he placed the jar neatly on an empty shelf beside the one he already had Breath Mints.
As soon as he did, faint golden light shimmered in the air, and elegant glowing tags appeared above both products: Breath Mint and Chewing Gum.
"Circles represent no beginning and no end, host," the System's voice echoed inside his head with robotic pride.
"They are symbols of eternity, perfection, and the infinite cycle of existence. That is precisely what you now possess — the power of the System, the ultimate authority across the multiverse and beyond."
Lin Feng rolled his eyes. "Wow, poetic. Did you download that line from the internet or something?"
"The System does not require the internet," the voice replied, as if offended. "The System is the internet."
"Blah blah blah…" Lin Feng waved his hand dismissively. "If you're so great, then why drag me here and take me hostage? Did you run out of volunteers?"
"You are not a hostage, host," the System corrected calmly. "You died. The System merely granted you a second chance at existence. Gratitude would be appropriate."
Lin Feng sighed dramatically. "Fine. Thank you, almighty system, savior of my poor, mortal soul. Now, give me one breath mint and one chewing gum before my gratitude runs out."
"Negative, host. You currently lack the authority to access System products. Please complete more quests to increase your clearance level. In time, all items shall be free for you to consume."
Lin Feng stared at the unyielding jar, then back at the glowing screen.
"Wait—you mean I can't even eat a gum from my own shop?"
"Affirmative."
He felt a vein throb on his forehead. "So let me get this straight. You revive me, stick me in some strange world, give me a store I can't even use freely as I like, and then tell me to work my way up like an unpaid intern?"
"The host is perceptive. Progress requires effort."
Lin Feng slumped against the counter, staring at the jars in disbelief. "I'm alive again, but broke. Great. Just great."
After a long pause, he muttered, "At least let me taste one to make sure it's safe for customers?"
"Unauthorized consumption detected. Attempting to open sealed product will result in disciplinary action."
He froze. "...Disciplinary action? What kind of action?"
The System went silent for a few seconds before replying ominously, "You do not wish to know."
Lin Feng slowly backed away from the shelf, raising his hands. "Okay, okay! Keep your circles and your divine mints. I'll play along… for now. Water tastes fine anyways."
Lin Feng let out a long, exaggerated sigh and cast a glance at the big fatty still seated on his dumb chair, lost in meditation.
The man's face was red, his belly gently rising and falling with each slow breath, yet he remained utterly immobile — a human boulder.
"Good thing he didn't hear any of my yelling earlier," Lin Feng muttered under his breath.
"Otherwise, he'd probably think I'd lost my mind… or worse, that I'm some kind of cursed troublemaker."
He leaned back on the counter, staring at the dusty, dimly lit shop.
It was quiet, too quiet, and the silence pressed against his ears like a heavy cloak.
With nothing else to do, Lin Feng turned to his system interface.
The holographic display floated in front of him, shimmering faintly as it responded to his thoughts.
Lines of icons, text, and glowing grids appeared, each tab inviting him to poke around.
After a moment of aimless scrolling, one section caught his attention: Quests.
His curiosity piqued, he tapped the icon, and the holographic text swirled before his eyes, forming neat golden letters that floated in midair.
Main Quest:
Sell 100 pieces of Chewing Gum
Progress: 0/100
Reward: Unlock new product — Lollipop
Side Quest:
Accumulate 1,000 Spirit Stones
Progress: 1/1,000
Reward: Customizable clothing — durability: infinite
Lin Feng blinked, then muttered, "Sell a hundred gums and I get… a lollipop? Am I running a candy shop in the immortal realms now? What's next, cotton candy for cultivators?" He rubbed his temples and groaned.
"And a thousand spirit stones for infinite durable clothes? Well… at least I won't have to look like a beggar in front of these flashy sect disciples."
He tapped on the main quest, trying to get more details.
There was no description on what the chewing gum and the lollipop would do once eaten.
He scrolled to the side quest next.
Customizable clothing.
The description gleamed with promise: Change color, style, and material at will. Indestructible. Comfortable for all cultivators.
Lin Feng's eyes twitched.
"Comfortable, indestructible, and customizable… now that sounds cool."
Thanks for reading!
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