The low hum of Qi resonated softly around my room, like an orchestra of silent strings vibrating with hidden tension. I stood at the center of it, focused, drenched in the subtle pressure of cultivation. My breathing slowed, synced perfectly with the pulsing rhythm of energy cycling through my meridians.

  Three golden silhouettes stood across from each other, poised and glowing faintly with sword-shaped auras.

  "Begin."

  The moment the word left my lips, they moved. Sword Qi cshed against Sword Qi, each Qi Soldier darting in and out of combat like phantoms. It was like watching a dance of precision and death—my own private martial rehearsal. The cost in Qi was high, but the payoff was invaluable.

  [Qi Soldier: Level 6/10 Proficiency attained.] [Qi Soldier: Level 7/10 Proficiency attained.]

  I grinned, sweat beading down my temple. Every movement, every strike, refined both my control and creativity. I was learning how to deploy Qi Soldiers in yered tactics—two distracting and harrying an opponent while a third maneuvered for a decisive strike.

  More importantly, I was testing limits.

  Could I pour more Qi into a single soldier to amplify its power? Yes.

  Could I coordinate multiple soldiers against a massive, overwhelming threat? Also yes.

  Now I wasn’t just a cultivator—I was becoming a general of my own phantom army.

  But my progress was hitting a wall.

  No matter how much I refined my techniques or honed my Qi Soldiers, I was running into a bottleneck—the sheer amount of Qi I could sustain and replenish. I had even begun experimenting with compressing and refining my Qi cultivation itself, trying to increase capacity and improve the overall quality of the Qi I generated. Still, it wasn’t enough. I needed more Qi capacity, faster regeneration, and higher-quality materials to push toward Foundation Establishment.

  That meant one thing: Vibranium.

  It wasn’t just rare—it was one of the few materials naturally resonant with spiritual energy. Dense, ancient, and practically humming with stored potential, it could be used to forge a Qi-conductive core or even anchor a spiritual array. But most importantly, it was one of the metals that could be used for Foundation Building.

  And I knew exactly where to find it.

  The London Museum of Cultural History had two artifacts I’d studied online weeks ago: a tribal war mask and a ceremonial hatchet—both confirmed to be ced with raw, unprocessed Vibranium. Hidden in pin sight, overlooked by scientists, yet practically screaming to my spirit sense.

  So, I made a choice.

  It was time for a heist.

  Two days ter, I touched down in London.

  The city was cold and gray, but my spirit sense spread like a spiderweb as I strolled near the museum district. It took only moments to scan the vault-like building that housed rare artifacts from around the world.

  There—those exact items. Behind gss. Protected, but not enough.

  Perfect.

  Midnight.

  The guards inside the museum were minimal—half-asleep and bored from what I could sense. I crouched atop the roof, shrouded in spiritual concealment, watching their movements through the thin veil of my spirit sense.

  Time to move.

  I summoned a Qi Soldier to the far side of the museum and gave it one simple command: cause chaos.

  The Qi Soldier glowed gold and dashed rapidly to the far side of the museum, moving with blinding speed. A thunderous BOOM followed as it smmed into the marble wall near the front exhibit, the sound of crumbling stone echoing down the city block as arms bred to life.

  Guards scrambled toward the disturbance like moths to a fme.

  I dropped silently through a skylight, cushioning my fall with a thin yer of Qi.

  Inside, the red emergency lights made the artifacts shimmer with a haunting glow. I moved quickly. A single strike of focused Qi sliced through the gss with surgical precision. I snatched the mask and the hatchet, slipping both into my dimensional pouch gifted by the system. Thank you, tutorial quests.

  I exhaled softly and leapt back to the roof in a single fluid motion, blending into the night sky just as police sirens began to scream in the distance.

  Thirty minutes ter, I sat quietly in the international terminal at Heathrow Airport, sipping tea and scrolling through memes on my phone.

  Mission complete.

  I felt the faint thrum of power from my pouch, the Vibranium already reacting subtly to my Qi as if recognizing a higher purpose.

  Soon, I’d refine some of it into something more—perhaps a weapon, perhaps a spiritual artifact. I’d use most of it as part of my Foundation breakthrough.

  Unbeknownst to me, a SHIELD agent disguised as airport security snapped a photo as I boarded my flight. His fingers danced over a secure phone, sending a message directly to the encrypted network only a few had access to.

  "Package moved. Confirmed Qi signature in Heathrow. Suspect is headed stateside."

  Far away in a dark command room, Nick Fury stared at the alert with a hardened gaze. "So our mystery pyer’s on the move again," he muttered, fingers interlocked. "Get me everything we’ve got on him—background, sightings, power analysis."

  The board was shifting, and Fury wasn’t one to be left in the dark.