Udara di bengkel itu berbau serutan kayu cedar dan debu kuno yang tak tersentuh. Itu adalah aroma berat dan menyesakkan yang menempel di tenggorokan Chen, memaksanya batuk. Saat paru-parunya berkedut, pandangan kaburnya berubah menjadi fokus yang tajam dan menyakitkan. Dia tidak lagi berada di kantornya di gedung pencakar langit. Tidak ada monitor ganda, tidak ada kipas pendingin yang berdesis di latar belakang, dan tidak ada espresso suam-suam kuku di mejanya.Sebaliknya, ia terkulai di atas meja kerja dari kayu ek yang penuh bekas luka. Tangan kanannya kram, jari-jarinya mencengkeram gagang palu berat yang berkarat. Kulitnya, yang dulunya lembut karena bertahun-tahun mengklik mouse dan mengetik laporan volatilitas pasar, kini dipenuhi kapalan, kotoran, dan serpihan kayu baru.Chen menarik napas perlahan dan gemetar. Kenangan itu menghantamnya seperti pukulan fisik, bukan kenangannya sendiri, tetapi kenangan dari tubuh yang kini ia tempati. Ini adalah Kota Kayu Biru, pemukiman pinggi

The night was long, a grueling cycle of sawing, chiseling, and the rhythmic shirp-shirp of a hand plane curling thin ribbons of pine away from the rough boards. Chen’s muscles, unaccustomed to the manual labor of a carpenter’s life, throbbed with a dull, insistent heat. In his previous life, the most strenuous thing he’d done was carry a laptop bag to a boardroom. Now, his palms were blistered, and sawdust coated his lungs until every breath tasted like forest and sweat.He kept his eyes on the floating timer. It was a cruel, digital taskmaster hovering in the corner of his vision, counting down the seconds of Vaelen Kane’s life.08:14:22.04:02:10.00:58:30.By the time the first grey light of dawn filtered through the cracks in the shop’s shutters, Chen was finished. He stood back, wiping his brow with a forearm that felt like lead. Before him sat a simple, unadorned coffin. It wasn’t the masterpiece he’d hoped for, but it was sturdy, the joints flush and the lid fitting with a sati

The heavy broadsword clattered against the cobblestones, the sound echoing through the cramped, sawdust-laden shop like a funeral knell. Ulricar’s hand didn't just tremble; it buckled, his fingers spasming as if the nerves were being systematically unraveled by an invisible hand.He didn't wait for an explanation. With a sudden, violent grunt of exertion, Ulricar seized the porcelain tea cup and hurled it against the far wall. It didn't just shatter. Where the amber liquid splashed against the stone, a thick, acrid grey smoke billowed upward. The stone hissed, bubbling and dissolving into a jagged, corrosive pit. Silver-melting poison. A concoction designed specifically to bypass the reinforced meridians of a Foundation Establishment cultivator by liquefying the very Qi that protected them."Raelith," Ulricar wheezed, his voice cracking like dry parchment.The subordinate, a woman with sharp features and eyes that had always seemed a bit too cold, didn't bother with a denial. The mome

The cold radiating from Sylphara wasn’t just a metaphor; it was a physical weight that caused the moisture in the air to crystallize, dusting Chen’s eyelashes with a fine layer of frost. Her eyes, two orbs of unyielding glacial blue, didn’t blink. She was serious. If he got this wrong, or if he tried to bluff his way through with some vague "cultivator’s fate" nonsense, he wouldn’t live to see the sunset.Chen didn't flinch. He couldn't afford to. He took a slow breath, feeling the frigid air bite at his lungs, and reached deep into the interface of the Destiny Ledger that hovered in his mind's eye.System, initiate Deep Scan. Target: Sylphara Ash. Projection: Final Fate.[Warning: Deep Scan requires high mental synchronization. Projected duration exceeds host's current spiritual capacity. Risk of neurological backlash: High. Proceed?]Chen’s jaw tightened. "Proceed," he muttered, the word barely a ghost of sound.Suddenly, the world didn't just blur; it shattered. The bustling timber

Chen didn't wait for the applause or the inevitable outrage. He simply tucked his notebook back into his apron and turned on his heel, his worn leather boots clicking against the polished marble of the auction house floor. Behind him, Tamsynor Night was a statue of radiating arrogance, his skin flushed with a sudden, artificial vitality that looked more like a fever than a breakthrough."Don't go too far, Master Carpenter!" Tamsynor shouted, his voice booming with a hollow, metallic resonance. "I'll need you to see me ascend to the Core Formation stage by sundown! Maybe then I'll hire you to build me a throne instead of a box!"The crowd erupted in sycophantic laughter, but Chen didn't stop. He pushed through the heavy oak doors of the auction house and stepped out into the humid afternoon air of Azure Wood Town. His cart was exactly where he’d left it, tucked into a narrow alleyway. It was a sturdy, unglamorous thing, laden with a fresh slab of Grade-A Spirit Cedar and a heavy tool c