When Felix Vance finally opened his eyes, the sunlight was already hitting the bedroom floorboards at a steep forty-five-degree angle.
He didn't need an alarm clock to tell him the time.
That angle meant one thing: it was at least twelve-fifteen in the afternoon.
Felix let out a long, luxurious groan of pure contentment. He stretched his arms straight over his head until his knuckles popped, then pointed his toes toward the foot of the cedar bed frame.
Usually, waking up after a long sleep brought stiff joints, an ache in the lower spine, and that sticky feeling in the throat.
Today, none of those things existed.
Inside his ribcage, nestled right where his cultivation dantian was supposed to be, a miniature Sol-Class star hummed with silky, effortless perfection.
The heat radiating outward felt like a continuous hot-stone massage. It warmed his marrow, smoothed every knot out of his back muscles, and left his limbs feeling as light as dry balsa wood.
"Man..." Felix whispered to the wooden ceiling beams. "Hands down, that is the best heating mod ever coded."
He rolled onto his stomach, reached out a lazy arm, and snagged the obsidian AetherDeck from the nightstand.
The moment his skin touched the cool casing, the screen flashed with cheerful golden runes:
Felix smiled faintly, swiping away the summary window with his thumb.
"Ten billion units just for drooling on a pillow," Felix muttered approvingly. "That is how games should be played. No twelve-hour grind in dark dungeons just to fail an upgrade roll."
He set the slate aside, swung his legs over the edge of the mattress, and slipped into his scuffed straw slippers.
Perched quietly on the sunny windowsill sat Barnaby the clockwork owl.
The plump brass bird was frozen in low-power idle mode.
His polished gears were locked, his brass feathers were neatly folded, and the thick black rubber stopper was wedged firmly between his open mandibles. Held securely in the slit of that rubber plug was a polished copper coin, catching the noon sun like a tiny star.
Felix strolled across the braided rug, walked up to the sill, and flicked the rubber stopper with his index finger.
*CLINK.*
The copper coin rang softly.
Barnaby’s balance wheel shuddered.
*Whirrrrr-clack!*
His amber crystal lenses lit up with orange sparks. His brass wings flapped twice with a dry rattle.
"M-M-M..." Barnaby crackled, trying to screech through the airtight seal. "Mmmph! Mmm-clack!"
Felix patted the brass automaton on its rounded head.
"Good boy, Barnaby," Felix said dryly. "Keep holding that coin. Silence is golden, but copper is cheaper."
The owl blinked, puffed a wisp of steam from its brass nostrils, and settled back down onto the sill with an indignant squeak.
Felix shuffled through the open bedroom doorway and stepped into the small cottage kitchen.
The morning light streamed through the clean glass window, illuminating the simple room.
Over in the corner, the pine dining table stood completely level and rock-steady.
Shoved firmly beneath its short, wobbly left leg was Grandmaster Vivienne’s Sovereign Heart Seal. The ancient square relic of black dragon jade hummed with faint violet starlight, using its god-like spatial mass to balance four cups and a plate of biscuits without any wobble.
On the nearby wooden counter sat the Nether Soul-Pearl, resting quietly on top of a stack of drawing parchment to keep the mountain draft from scattering them.
Felix opened the small wooden pantry cupboard and pulled out a ceramic plate covered by a clean linen towel.
Underneath rested five thick strips of smoked pepper bacon left over from yesterday's dinner.
The bacon was cold and stiff, but the savory aroma of cured pork and wild herbs was still strong.
Felix took one strip for himself, popped half of it into his mouth, and began chewing lazily as he pushed open the front screen door.
"Morning, world," Felix mumbled around his mouthful of pork.
The warm mountain breeze immediately rolled across the cedar porch, carrying the sweet scent of honeyed vegetables.
Down near the stone well, the five-star Sun-Lotus Cabbage was basking in the full midday glare. Its twelve thick emerald leaves were spread wide across the soil, absorbing the sunlight and venting a steady, invisible wave of sweet heat that kept the entire spire locked at sixty-nine degrees.
Curled up directly beside the cabbage patch was a mountain of shimmering golden feathers.
The Thunder Gryphon was lying flat on its side in the thick patch of four-leaf clover.
Its front eagle talons were tucked under its chest like a house cat, while its heavy lion hind legs twitched in the middle of a pleasant dream. Its massive beak let out soft, whistling snores.
The moment the screen door clicked shut, the gryphon’s feathered ears stood straight up.
The beast’s giant amber eyes snapped wide open.
Its nostrils flared, catching the scent of smoked bacon drifting down the wooden steps.
*Chirp!*
With a joyful, bird-like trill that shook the rhododendron bushes, the eight-ton mythical apex predator scrambled to its paws.
It trotted forward with its belly practically scraping the clover, tail wagging in rapid, thumping circles like an oversized golden retriever. It stopped at the edge of the porch, rested its massive hooked beak gently upon the bottom step, and opened its jaws with an eager whine.
Felix chewed his bacon, looking down at the creature with mild amusement.
【Target: Celestial Thunder Gryphon (Apex Sky-Beast)】 【Current Mood: Starving Hound】 【Loyalty: Absolute (Bribe Threshold: 1x Strip of Pork)】 【Inspector Note: Will gladly incinerate an imperial army if you scratch the itchy spot behind its left ear. Currently begging for table scraps.】
"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses," Felix said.
He picked up two strips of bacon from the plate and tossed them into the air.
The gryphon snapped its beak shut with lightning speed, catching both strips in mid-air with a clean *CLACK*.
It swallowed them whole without bothering to chew, closed its golden eyes in pure ecstasy, and began to emit a deep, reverberating purr.
The purr was so powerful that the porch floorboards vibrated under Felix’s straw slippers, feeling like a heavy diesel generator idling in a basement. The beast nudged its warm, feathered forehead against Felix’s knee, nearly knocking him off balance.
"Down, boy," Felix chuckled, scratching the soft feathers behind the gryphon’s crest. "Go chew on some grass before your cholesterol spikes."
The gryphon gave a contented grunt, collapsed back into the clover, and rolled onto its back with all four massive paws sticking straight up into the sun.
Felix turned his gaze toward the vegetable garden on the eastern terrace.
Standing among the rows of spirit turnips was a tall, shadowy figure clad in a wide-brimmed farmer’s straw hat.
It was the Ghost King.
The ancient specter of the subterranean abyss—a being that had crushed three dynasties during the Second Era—was currently holding a wooden garden rake in its translucent, smoking grey hands.
With meticulous, terrified precision, the ghost lord dragged the wooden tines across the soil, gathering dry leaves and stray clover stalks into neat, tidy piles.
Its hollow eye sockets burned with flickering blue nether-fire, darting nervously toward Felix every three seconds.
Whenever Felix looked in its direction, the ghost’s skeletal shoulders tensed, and it raked the dirt three times faster, desperately trying to look like an indispensable employee.
【Target: Nether Ghost King (Bound Nether Sovereign)】 【Occupation: Senior Groundskeeping Sub-Unit】 【Performance Review: Exceeds Expectations】 【Inspector Note: Terrified that if he leaves a single weed in the cabbage patch, you will compress his soul into fuel for your bedroom radiator. Very motivated to do yard work.】
Felix nodded to himself, thoroughly pleased with the game's automation.
"Man, the automated gardening pet in this patch is awesome," Felix muttered. "Zero fertilizer costs, zero noise, and the weeds don't stand a chance. I should have unlocked this feature two weeks ago."
"Senior Brother Vance."
A soft, melodic voice drifted from the side of the porch.
Felix turned to see Lyra Ashford stepping lightly onto the cedar deck.
She had her long golden hair tied back in a neat warrior’s ponytail, wearing a crisp, sleeveless white training tunic and fitted charcoal trousers.
Her ancestral silver rapier was sheathed at her hip, but her hands were busy carrying a dark bamboo tray.
On the tray rested a steaming ceramic teapot and two small porcelain cups. The fragrance of sweet jasmine and roasted mountain herbs filled the breeze, clean and invigorating.
Lyra looked at Felix, and her amber eyes flared with boundless, religious reverence.
She had watched him walk out onto the porch.
She had watched him casually toss food to the Celestial Thunder Gryphon—a beast that imperial beastmasters spent centuries failing to tame.
She had watched him direct the Nether Ghost King with a single indifferent glance, reducing an ancient abyssal calamity to a trembling gardener raking weeds in straw slippers.
And above all, she felt the faint, god-like resonance humming from Felix's chest.
Though the AetherDeck dampened the star's destructive gravity, the air around Felix felt warm, pure, and infinitely deep. Standing near him was like standing before the primordial hearth of the universe itself.
*He woke at noon,* Lyra thought, her heart racing as she analyzed his posture. *He did not rush to greet the dawn like mortal cultivators. Why? Because the dawn answers to him! He is the sun! A true sovereign does not chase the light; the light waits patiently for him to wake!*
【Target: Lyra Ashford】 【Comprehension: Solar Overlord Inaction (Grandmaster)】 【Status: Hopelessly Brainwashed】 【Inspector Note: Believes sleeping past noon is an ancient cosmic technique that stabilizes planetary rotation. Do not correct her; she brought tea.】
"Morning, Lyra," Felix said, leaning his hip against the wooden rail. "Smells good. What blend is that?"
Lyra set the tray down on the low pine bench, bowing her head deeply.
"It is Cloud-Mist Jasmine, Senior Brother," Lyra replied, her voice soft with genuine respect. "Harvested at first light from the eastern cliffside, boiled with water from the Spirit-Spring well. I hoped it would soothe your meridians after your monumental achievement last midnight."
Felix blinked, taking the warm porcelain cup she offered.
"Monumental achievement?" Felix asked, taking a careful sip.
The tea was hot, sweet, and perfectly brewed, cutting straight through the salty grease of the leftover bacon.
"You mean the bedroom heating mod?" Felix said with a pleased nod. "Yeah, honestly, game-changer. My back feels brand new. Slept like a log. Zero lag, zero stutter."
Lyra’s breath hitched in her throat.
*A bedroom heating mod!* she screamed internally, her fingers tightening against her linen apron. *He calls the birth of a living Sol-Class Golden Crow an internal heating mod! He speaks of the greatest celestial miracle in ten thousand years as if he merely bought a thicker blanket! Such boundless humility... such unfathomable detachment from mortal glory!*
"Senior Brother's realm is truly vast," Lyra said aloud, her voice trembling with emotion. "To treat the cosmic fire of creation as a simple tool for comfort... this disciple can only gaze upward in awe."
Felix took another sip of tea, shaking his head slightly.
"Look, you don't need to overthink it," Felix said, waving his free hand dismissively. "Good hardware should make life easier, not more stressful. If an upgrade doesn't let you sleep better at night, what’s the point of grinding for it?"
Lyra froze, the words echoing through her mind like sacred scripture.
*If an upgrade does not bring peace, what is the point of grinding?*
Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes.
All her life in the Ashford Clan, the elders had beaten one lesson into her skull: *Bleed for power. Kill for advancement. Sleep is weakness.*
Yet here was the supreme sovereign of the world, comfortably dressed in frayed straw slippers, telling her that the ultimate purpose of all strength was simply to sleep in peace.
"I understand, Senior Brother," Lyra whispered, bowing so low her forehead nearly touched the tray. "Your wisdom cuts through all mortal vanity."
Felix stared at her for two seconds, then looked down at his tea.
"Right," Felix muttered, taking another long drink. "Whatever you say. Hey, by the way, do we have any honey left? This jasmine is great, but it could use a little sugar."