?Location: The Lower District – "The Drunken Newt" Inn

  Time: Night Cycle (Artificial Moonlight)

  ?The room smelled of stale rice wine and mildew. It was a box, barely ten feet wide, with peeling wallpaper that seemed to move on its own if you stared at it too long.

  ?Aris sat on the edge of the wooden cot, inspecting the room with a critical eye.

  ?"Three surveillance bugs," Aris noted, his voice low. "One in the lamp, one in the mirror, and a primitive audio-stone embedded in the floorboards."

  ?Lin Chen stood by the door, arms crossed. "Shall I destroy them?"

  ?"No," Aris replied, lying back on the lumpy mattress. "If we destroy them, the innkeeper knows we have something to hide. 'Han Xiao' is a cowardly idiot. He wouldn't notice a bug unless it bit him."

  ?Aris waved a hand, and a faint, shimmering dome of violet energy encased them—a Void-Silence Field. It didn't destroy the bugs; it simply fed them a looped audio recording of Aris snoring and Lin Chen pacing.

  ?"We are secure," Aris said, his demeanor hardening. "Let's review the intel we just bought."

  ?He pulled up the map of the Lower District on his system interface. The tracer he had placed on the Orc thug was blinking red, moving slowly through the entertainment district three blocks away.

  ?"The Orc's name is Grot," Aris said. "He works for the 'Red-Fang Gang,' a low-level syndicate that controls the docks. They specialize in extorting newcomers."

  ?"He is trash," Lin Chen dismissed. "Why are we tracking him? He is beneath us."

  ?"Because trash flows downhill," Aris explained. "And in a place like this, the trash knows where the treasure is buried. To enter the Sect Selection Tournament, we need a Sponsor Token. We can't just walk up and sign up; that's for noble clans. 'Han Xiao' has no clan."

  ?Aris stood up and adjusted his robes. He reached into his inventory and pulled out a simple black mask for himself—not his Void Sovereign mask, but a generic rogue's cowl.

  ?"Grot took 50 Spirit Stones from me," Aris smiled coldly. "I'm going to get them back. With interest."

  ?Location: Sector 4 Alleyway – Behind the "Red Lotus" Gambling Den

  Time: 2:00 AM

  ?Grot the Orc was having a good night. He had shaken down three transport ships, beaten a rogue cultivator half to death for looking at him wrong, and was now counting a heavy sack of Spirit Stones while chewing on a roasted beast leg.

  ?He turned the corner into a dark, dead-end alley, humming a tune.

  ?He stopped.

  ?A shadow was standing at the end of the alley. It was a man in dark robes, wearing a simple black cowl. Behind him stood a silent giant with a metal mask.

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  ?Grot squinted. "Lost, little sheep? This is Red-Fang territory. Turn around or I strip you naked."

  ?The figure in the cowl didn't move.

  ?"I said move!" Grot roared, channeling his Qi. His skin hardened like iron—a specialized Body Cultivation technique called Iron-Hide. He raised his club.

  ?Whoosh.

  ?There was no sound of footsteps. Only a sudden displacement of air.

  ?Grot blinked. The giant in the metal mask (Mo) was suddenly standing directly in front of him.

  ?"Too slow," Mo whispered.

  ?Mo didn't draw a sword. He simply lashed out with his prosthetic hand. The black metal fingers clamped around Grot's thick throat like a vice.

  ?CRACK.

  ?The Iron-Hide technique shattered like glass. Grot gagged, his feet dangling off the ground as Mo lifted the 400-pound Orc into the air with one arm.

  ?The cowled figure (Aris) stepped forward calmly. He tapped Grot on the forehead with one finger.

  ?[Skill: Soul Search – Minimal Output]

  ?Grot's eyes rolled back in his head. He didn't scream; he couldn't. His mind was suddenly flooded with violet static.

  ?Aris sifted through the Orc's memories like he was browsing a file cabinet.

  ?Memory: Drinking... (Skip) ?Memory: Beating a merchant... (Skip) ?Memory: The Boss talking about the Tournament... (Stop).

  ?Aris watched the memory play out. Grot's boss, a Core Formation cultivator named "Viper," holding a stack of jade tokens.

  ?"These are entry passes for the Outer Disciple Trials," Viper had said. "We stole them from a courier. We sell them at the Black Auction tomorrow night. Starting bid: 5,000 Spirit Stones."

  ?Aris pulled his finger back. The connection broke.

  ?Mo dropped the Orc. Grot collapsed into a heap, foaming at the mouth, unconscious but alive.

  ?Aris began rifling through Grot's pockets. He took back his pouch of 50 stones. Then he took Grot's pouch (containing 400 stones). Then he took Grot's iron club.

  ?[Item Acquired: Low-Grade Iron Club (Scrap Metal)]

  [System Note: Converting to raw materials...]

  ?The club dissolved into grey dust in Aris's hand, fed into the Naglfar's repair queue remotely.

  ?"We have a target," Aris said, wiping his hands. "Tomorrow night. The Black Auction. We need to buy a token."

  ?"We have the money," Mo noted. "You have a million High-Grade stones."

  ?"We do," Aris agreed. "But 'Han Xiao' doesn't. If a beggar drops 5,000 stones, he gets murdered before he leaves the building. We need to acquire it... creatively."

  ?Aris looked down at the unconscious Orc.

  ?"Leave him. Let him wake up confused and poor. It builds character."

  ?Location: The Lower District Market – "The Medicine Pavilion"

  Time: The Next Morning

  ?To execute the heist, Aris needed supplies. Specifically, alchemy supplies.

  ?Han Xiao walked into the bustling market, his back hunched, clutching his meager bag of stones. Mo trailed behind him, looking menacing enough to deter pickpockets.

  ?Aris approached a stall selling herbs. The vendor, an old woman with snake eyes, watched him lazily.

  ?"I... I need Ghost-Rot Mushrooms," Han Xiao stammered. "And... uh... Sulfur-Beetle Shells?"

  ?The old woman raised an eyebrow. "Making poison, boy?"

  ?"N-no!" Han Xiao waved his hands frantically. "Pesticide! For my... uh... crops back home!"

  ?The woman snorted but grabbed the jars. "10 stones."

  ?Aris paid. As he tucked the items away, his Abyssal Eye scanned the rest of the market. He wasn't just buying ingredients; he was mapping the economy.

  ?Rank 2 Healing Pills: 20 Stones. ?Rank 3 Energy Pills: 100 Stones. ?Trash Pills (Failed Batches): 1 Stone per kg.

  ?An idea formed in Aris's mind.

  ?The Middle Realm was rich in Qi, but its alchemy was... rigid. They followed ancient recipes perfectly. They didn't experiment.

  ?Aris, however, had the System. He could see the molecular breakdown of every pill.

  ?"Mo," Aris whispered via telepathy. "Change of plans. We aren't going to steal the token. We're going to scam them."

  ?"Scam?"

  ?"I'm going to cook," Aris smirked internally. "We're going to take these trash ingredients and make something this sector has never seen before: Performance Enhancers."

  ?Aris bought three kilos of "Failed Pill Slag" for 3 stones. The vendor looked at him like he was insane.

  ?"One man's trash is another man's unstable chemical weapon," Aris thought.

  ?He hurried back to the inn. He had six hours until the auction. Time to brew.