Chapter 1

Eighteen Years Later

The sound of metal clanging could be heard echoing throughout a large city as a figure with long dark hair and amber eyes made his way down a large, bustling street. His face had a calm expression as his eyes swept from one building to another. That's right, this is Zhao Wei.

 After talking to the godly being and making his wish, he was born into a major sect called the Golden Lotus Sect, and spent his time until now training and studying.

'It's been a long 18 years... But, finally, I'm here!'

Zhao Wei took a deep breath as he walked down the street. 'I've waited so long for this day. The day that I leave that prison disguised as a sect and make a life for my own.'

Unbeknownst to the people around, there was a screen in front of Zhao Wei that only he could see. A holographic panel with the words, "Find a suitable property." printed on it. It seemed like the "shop" he was given was actually a system. 

Super excited when he learned that fact, fourteen year old Zhao Wei immediately ran to his parents and asked about his future independence. Only to be quickly and harshly shot down. The Golden Lotus sect was very strict, and had very high standards for its disciples.

Disciples were allowed to leave the sect once they were eighteen years old, and you could explore the world as a disciple of the Golden Lotus Sect. However, if you didn't meet the expectations placed on you as a disciple, you'd be kicked out and left to fend for yourself.

'That's right... The reason why I had to spend so long in that prison. My parents wanted me to become a core disciple. They were high-ranking members in the sect, and they had very high hopes for me. So I was forced to spend four more years in that place..."

'Once they realized I had no hope in cultivation, they immediately kicked me out to give more attention to one of my relatives." Zhao Wei couldn't help but frown as he thought back on it, but started smiling soon after. "At least I stole some of their money beforehand to buy property..."

Zhao Wei let out a small laugh as he kept walking, before randomly deciding to turn down an alley. As he looked around the alley, his eyes finally focused on the perfect property. A medium sized, somewhat run-down building that had the words "Weapons & Gear" hanging above the door-way, along with a "For Sale" sign written in a very shoddy manner.

Zhao Wei's face broke into a smile as he walked towards the property. He quickly made his way inside, and began looking around the shop. The place was very run down, with dust all over the walls and counters. The windows had cracks and holes, and there wasn't anyone in sight except an old man sitting at what could only be the counter. 

Zhao Wei calmly made his way to the front desk, where the man was sitting. He let out a soft cough, trying to get the man's attention.

"Whaddya want?"

"This building. Is it for sale?"

"Ya. Ya, it's fer sale. For the right price." 

The old man gave Zhao Wei a crooked grin, clearly ready to charge an arm and a leg from what he thinks is a hapless customer. 

Zhao Wei didn't mind though. Since the money he had was stolen from his parents, he didn't mind using it extravagantly.

"Here. Will this do?"

Zhao Wei took out a small pouch, and dropped a pile of spirit crystals onto the counter. He wasn't aware of the outside world's currency, but he knew the sect used spirit crystals and figured this should be enough.

The old man's face froze the moment the pile of crystals hit the table. The thing that Zhao Wei doesn't know is that the shopkeeper would have sold the shop to him for only a few golden coins, if not less. Spirit crystals are so rare in the mortal world that most non-cultivators have never even seen a spirit crystal. 

"Y-Yeah, sure. I'll sell it to ya. This old man'll sell it to ya. Here, l-let me get the contract out fer ya."

The old man hurriedly scrambled off his chair and started looking through the drawers, pulling out a scroll and a brush.

"J-Just write your name down and this ol' man will let ya have it!"

Zhao Wei didn't waste time either. He grabbed the brush and signed the contract. The shopkeeper, clearly ecstatic with the amount of crystals, grabbed the contract and stored it away. Without hesitation, he handed the keys to the shop over to Zhao Wei and hurriedly left through the front door.

Zhao Wei didn't bother stopping the old man, as he already had what he wanted.

'This is great! I can't believe my luck!'

Zhao Wei had a huge smile on his face as he began to explore the building, which was now his. There were three floors in total. The first floor was the biggest, and was set up like a large store. It was divided into a few different sections. One for weapons, one for armor, and another for miscellaneous items.

The second floor was where the shopkeeper lived, and was lacking in personality in comparison to the first floor. There were three simple bedrooms, a kitchen, and two bathrooms. 'Clearly the old man didn't care about decoration...'

The third floor was probably the most intriguing. Just a large, empty space. There was a staircase leading from the second floor to the third, and a ladder leading up from the third to the rooftop.

'I have no idea what to use this for, but it should come in handy sometime in the future.'

Zhao Wei nodded his head, satisfied with the building. Suddenly, the holographic panel appeared in front of him.

'It seems like my shop is finally ready...' 

As he read what it said, his eyebrow twitched in irritation.

The blue holographic panel in front of him, "Suitable property found. Initializing shop reconstruction... Estimated Time Until Completion: 23 Hours, 59 Minutes, 45 Seconds."

Zhao Wei took a deep breath. "Well... At least it won't be that long. I wonder how it's going to turn out..."

He didn't know what was going to happen, and it seemed like the system wasn't going to tell him. Going to the second floor, he looked at the rickety old beds and grimaced. He was getting tired, so ignoring how dirty the bed was, he laid down and slowly drifted off to sleep, peacefully dreaming of the future.