In the forest located about fifty kilometers from the city center, stood a small hut I had just moved into. I arrived with full hands—shopping bags hanging from every finger. Seasonings, cooking ingredients, snacks, and several other necessities.
Yes, even though I had stepped into the world of martial arts and internal energy, I was still a human who needed taste. Bland food? No. A harsh life was fine, but this tongue still needed attention.
Sometimes I felt confused myself—this was a modern world, yet it also felt like a medieval one.
'More important than that… I want to know what item I'm going to get.'
My new slime—an Independent Avatar Sacred Gear I obtained from the crazy lab in Osaka—was given the freedom to explore this small house. Sometimes it took the shape of a ball, sometimes a droplet, sometimes even turned into a kind of small cushion. I just let it be. As long as it didn't eat my seasonings, we were at peace.
I sat on the floor of the hut, staring at the translucent screen floating in front of me. A capybara mascot sat lazily on top of a gacha chest with the blank expression typical of the world's most resigned animal. Every time I saw it, I felt judged.
When I opened the gacha menu and pressed the Yes button, the chest immediately glowed—too brightly. The poor capybara was flung somewhere, launched like a projectile with no dignity. The chest then exploded… in a dramatic fashion, of course.
And the item came out.
[Heavenly Demon Cult Martial Arts Book Vol 2 – Rank A]
"Huh!?…"
Honestly, I almost dropped my shopping bags. Volume two. The advanced one. The one that, in the original world, countless cultivators were willing to steal, kill, or sell their souls to obtain.
I already had the first volume and had studied it too—though that one only contained the basics.
But this…
This was like finding a cheat inside a cheat.
Better make sure of the details.
"System."
[I am here, Host]
"For that Heavenly Demon Cult Martial Arts book… how many total volumes are there?"
[Answering… The book was created by the first Cheon Ma himself. It is currently known that four volumes were written. However, the true total is five volumes. The fifth volume was only taught directly to the chosen disciple who would become Cheon Ma's successor.]
I fell silent.
"Wow…"
That was all that came out. Understandable, my brain was busy calculating possibilities: body techniques, Qi techniques, potential increase in killing aura, speed improvement, and—most importantly—I was one step closer to a power level that could make supernatural beings hold their breath.
In the corner of the room, my little slime bounced around as if celebrating a fortune that didn't even belong to it.
At least, today was pleasant.
...
The following days went by with the same pattern: wake up, breathe, train, bathe as best as I could, eat, then train again. After obtaining Volume Two, I had no excuse to slack off.
The advanced techniques in it were truly on another level. Not just strengthening the body and Qi, but demanding a truly solid foundation. Without that foundation, the body could break, meridians could crack, and the result… well, death by stupidity.
Fortunately, I had mastered Volume One down to the roots, so my body was ready—at least in theory.
Every day, I absorbed the technique little by little. It felt like trying to pour a river into a glass. My Demonic Qi was indeed vast, but controlling it… that was another story.
While I meditated, the flow of Qi moved like a wild dragon—sometimes obedient, sometimes rebellious, sometimes even acting like it wanted to devour my body from the inside.
In the end, I stopped mid-meditation and let out a long breath.
'So this… is what hitting a bottleneck feels like.'
An invisible wall. And unfortunately, that wall was solid and mocking me.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling of this wooden hut. The afternoon sun peeked through gaps in the planks, making the room look filled with golden dust. Beautiful, sure, but not helpful at all.
"I need another method… yeah, there must be one," I muttered.
If I remembered correctly, there were several ways to overcome cultivation limits:
Rare Spirit Herbs, or high-quality pills—usually crafted using top-grade alchemical techniques.
Unfortunately, I had neither. And alchemy skills? Don't ask. Even instant noodles sometimes burned on me, let alone refining high-tier cultivator pills.
My slime—who had been rolling around like a tiny blue carpet in the corner—suddenly lifted itself and crawled onto my shoulder. It draped over me like a living scarf, then stared at me with two small "eyes" that only appeared when it wanted to complain.
Truly like a pet judging its owner.
"I'm confused too, don't look at me like that," I muttered while rubbing my face.
Seriously… if this continued, I wouldn't level up, wouldn't strengthen my Qi, and definitely wouldn't be ready to face supernatural problems that were probably already discussing my name in their weekly meetings.
This was a big problem. A serious one.
The slime wriggled again, this time tapping my cheek lightly—as if giving me an idea.
"Hm… yeah, yeah, I get it. Thinking in this hut won't change anything."
I stood up, took a deep breath, and dusted off my clothes.
"I'd better climb a floor in the Tower of Babel. If the outside world can't help, at least the dungeon can."
Yes. The Tower of Babel. The one place that always gave real results every time I entered. Quiet, brutal, full of monsters, but at least straightforward: if you're strong, you climb; if you're weak, you die.
Last time I reached floor 10. Today, my target was floor 20. I wouldn't return before reaching it.
I opened the system screen.
The notification floated right in front of my face with the little capybara dancing like a karaoke mascot.
[Enter Tower of Babel?]
[Yes / No]
I pressed Yes without hesitation. The slime on my shoulder immediately tensed in excitement; it always loved that place, probably because there were many things to eat and many forms to test.
A purple magic circle began forming beneath my feet—its energy swirling around my body like a thin mist. The air trembled, the wooden floor reflected faint light, and gravity seemed to shift.
"All right," I muttered,
"Tower of Babel, floor 20… wait for me."
Light engulfed my body, and in an instant, I vanished completely.
//--//
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