Chen Xuan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Chen Xuan (陈玄) 3
Alias(es)	Lushan Hermit — name used by Liu Shuyue in her travelogue 27
Species/Race	Human 2
Gender	Male
Age	26 at the time the Ability Store manifests 1
Affiliation	Ability Store; founder of the Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Am Supreme Sect, later disbanded 99 136
Occupation/Role	Shopkeeper; ability trader and proprietor; former sect master; clandestine adviser to Northern Heaven Institute 1 3 341
Status	Alive 50 390
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
The ??? Shopkeeper LV1	2	Legendary, non-tradable shopkeeper ability. Chen Xuan gains access to Ability Butler, the store inventory, and ability transactions.
The ??? Shopkeeper LV2	11	Opens the second-floor residential area for guest callbacks and raises ability synchronization to LV2.
The ??? Shopkeeper LV3	37	Opens the third-floor catering department; unlocks Shopkeeper’s Invitation, Shopkeeper’s Return, and LV3 ability synchronization.
The ??? Shopkeeper LV5	169	Raises his equipped-ability and trade limits to five, grants two interchangeable ability slots, permits two branch stores, and unlocks the built-in shop.
The ??? Shopkeeper LV6	323 329	Removes ability-transaction restrictions and the Performance Point system, allowing Chen Xuan to stockpile abilities for later trades. Unlocks the fourth-floor Control Room and its branch-store administration functions.

Background / History

Chen Xuan repeatedly dreamed of an exquisitely furnished shop from childhood. The dream included an iron box whose countdown finally reached zero when he was twenty-six; upon opening it, he woke as usual, only to later find himself physically transported into the dream shop. 1

Before becoming a shopkeeper, he had worked at a large technology company, unsuccessfully attempted game development with colleagues, and later took odd jobs, including work at a fast-food restaurant. The shop’s licenses name him as its legal representative, leading him to accept that it had been established specifically for him. 1

After finding the Shopkeeper’s Rules and the Ability Butler program, Chen Xuan learned that abilities were the store’s main commodity—and that he himself was initially its sole ability provider. His first visitor, Liu Shuyue, confirmed that the store could shift between worlds and receive guests with extraordinary needs. 2 3

As the store expands, Chen Xuan becomes the founder of a formally registered cultivation sect in Chang’an. Although the Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Am Supreme Sect is later dissolved, its former disciples become influential figures in the Lotus Cloud Sect and Ascension Terrace. 99 136 209 210

His interventions repeatedly alter history. Saving Honglian changes the future worldline and causes Lin Qing to disappear from the memories and records of those around him, though Room 202 remains registered within the Ability Store. Chen later devotes himself to locating Lin Qing in the altered future and restoring the fate and memories she lost. 323 343 419 422 428

Personality

Chen Xuan maintains a practiced customer-service demeanor even in dangerous situations. When Liu Shuyue first enters carrying a bloodied sword, he remains calm, polite, and observant enough to identify the doubts that brought her to the store. 2 3

He is pragmatic about money, inventory, and bargaining. He prices abilities according to urgency rather than rarity alone, treats performance points as essential to the shop’s growth, and looks for practical ways to turn abilities into income. 4 6 36

Despite his commercial instincts, Chen Xuan consistently extends help beyond completed transactions. He treats Joan of Arc’s wounded soldiers, arranges relief supplies for Qingzhou’s refugees, joins Joan’s rescue, and risks himself to save Lin Qing in space. 11 16 22 39

Chen Xuan is cautious about exposing the Ability Store and his own capabilities. He prefers to work from the shadows against the Dimensional Limit Organization, believing public status would make him easier to target and deprive him of the advantage of surprise. 217 341

Although he often frames support as mutually beneficial business, he grows increasingly conscious of his responsibilities as a leader and master. He protects his disciples, treats injured opponents and bystanders, arranges opportunities for Mala Village and Northern Heaven Institute, and recognizes the emotional consequences of long separations from those who regard him as their master. 107 308 377

Abilities & Skills

The ??? Shopkeeper

Chen Xuan’s legendary shopkeeper ability binds him to the Ability Store and governs its growth. It cannot be traded or transferred; its listed status condition is simply that the shopkeeper remains alive. 2 11

• Lets him act as an ability provider and temporarily equip abilities from store inventory. 5
• Initially limits him to four active ability slots at once. 5
• Raises the level at which he can synchronize equipped abilities as his shopkeeper level increases. 11 37
• Unlocks new store facilities and travel functions through promotion. 11 37
• At LV5, expands his active ability and trade limits to five, leaving him with two freely interchangeable slots beyond his standard combat loadout. 169
• At LV6, removes transaction restrictions and the Performance Point system, allowing abilities to be stored before being traded to suitable recipients later. 329

Ability Trading and Appraisal

Using Ability Butler and a scanning gun, Chen Xuan can inspect guests’ abilities, negotiate transactions, and move acquired abilities into store inventory. 4 5

• A non-transactional scan reveals no more than four abilities from a target. 21
• He can freely move inventory abilities into his own active slots, though the number of slots is limited. 5
• Trading away an ability does not completely erase ordinary knowledge or basic life functions associated with it. 6
• He evaluates value by need and circumstance, not rarity alone. 4
• After reaching LV6, he can retain abilities in inventory without immediately matching them to a transaction, greatly broadening his ability to negotiate and supply customers. 329

Alchemy

After acquiring Alchemy LV2 from Liu Shuyue, Chen Xuan learns to distinguish herbs, identify their properties by taste, and refine pills. 4 5 7

• Refines Blood Oranges, healing pills capable of rapidly treating serious wounds. 8 9
• Refines Sweet Jade Clear Pills for pneumonia and respiratory illnesses. 8 12
• Adapts cultivation-world techniques to modern equipment, using pressure cookers as furnaces and a gas stove for controlled heat. 8
• Sells twenty-six pills to Hundred Herbs Hall, gaining the funds needed to sustain and restock the store. 12 13
• Uses Blood Oranges, Colorful Chrysanthemum Pills, and Western alchemical products to treat Xu Xuanling, Mo Shuyun, and other arena casualties. 107
• Reaches an agreement with Xu Yuanqing to exchange medicines for medicinal herbs, supporting future pill development and the training of refiners. 107

Heavenly Cloud Skill

Acquired from Liu Shuyue as Heavenly Cloud Skill LV8, this cultivation method enhances Chen Xuan’s body and allows him to sense nearby auras. 16 23

• Gives him the physical reinforcement needed to withstand Lin Qing’s powerful grip. 41
• Detects strong individuals and locates targets through sensed energy signatures. 23
• Its usable level is restricted by Chen Xuan’s current synchronization limit. 23
• Enhances his speed, endurance, coordination, and fine motor control, allowing him to evade gunfire and perform precise actions beyond ordinary human limits. 38 221
• At higher synchronization, its cultivation strengthens the body enough to improve his combat endurance and support the control of multiple qi swords. 185 186
• His later Heavenly Cloud Life-Bearing True Method further evolves his agility and permits his body to partially synchronize with the Divine Eye Method’s heightened perception. 307 325

Divine Eye Method

The Divine Eye Method grants Chen Xuan a danger-triggered “divine vision” state, slowing his perception enough to observe attacks in extreme detail. 16 25

• Allows him to perceive bullets, muzzle flashes, and projectile trajectories in apparent slow motion. 25
• Lets him react to Fei Wuniang’s gunfire and concealed attacks during combat. 43
• Overuse risks eye damage or blindness; he also loses control of the technique under the pressure of a robot attack. 16 38
• As his synchronization improves, he can maintain slowed perception longer and move more naturally within it. 121
• Combined with the Heavenly Cloud Life-Bearing True Method, it enables near-lightning-speed evasive movement. 325

Thousand Thoughts Sword

Chen Xuan acquired Thousand Thoughts Sword LV10 from Liu Shuyue. Unlike the Spirit Sword Technique, it can form physical qi swords directly in empty space. 16 25

• Blocks gunfire and explosive projectiles with manifested qi swords. 25
• Provides ranged offense against the red-haired witch. 26
• Functions as an anchor and propulsion tool while Chen Xuan rescues Lin Qing in zero gravity. 39
• Pins Fei Wuniang’s marked coin during their final Coin Toss wager. 44
• Destroys the drones launched by the six-legged robot before they can surround him. 38
• At LV5 Shopkeeper synchronization, Chen can control up to eight qi swords at once; at full force, they can cut through iron and steel. 185
• He uses the swords for precision anti-Demon strikes, battlefield defense, and coordinated attacks against mechanized enemies. 116 264 325

Liberty Leading the People

A golden-rarity ability traded from Joan of Arc. When Chen Xuan’s ideas align with another person’s beliefs, it helps him gain their favor and support. 10 11

• He trades it to Liu Shuyue so she can organize the Qingzhou refugees. 16
• Its effect depends on conceptual alignment rather than unconditional control. 11

Voice of Trust

Traded from Joan of Arc as Voice of Trust LV5, this ability lets Chen Xuan sense whether a speaker approaches him with goodwill or malice. 10

• Does not directly expose lies; a well-intentioned lie may still register positively. 10
• Confirms Lin Qing’s goodwill after her arrival at the store. 41
• Reveals Fei Wuniang’s intense malice despite her frightened facade. 43

Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell Technique

A defensive technique obtained from Liu Shuyue, described as allowing its user to evade death once. 16

• Chen Xuan equips it alongside Heavenly Cloud Skill, Divine Eye Method, and Thousand Thoughts Sword for his confrontation with Fei Wuniang. 43
• Its activation requires him to foresee the fatal danger; it is not a fully automatic defense against ambushes. 20
• Chen Xuan consumes the one-use ability while gambling against Liu Zhidong through Coin Toss. 76

Heavenly Thunder Command and Demon Extermination True Sword

Chen Xuan acquires Heavenly Thunder Command and the gold-rarity Demon Extermination True Sword through his transactions with Liu Zhidong. The latter is a Lotus Cloud Sect secret technique designed specifically for exterminating Demons. 74 78

• He uses Heavenly Thunder Command as part of a demon-slaying combat loadout, replacing Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell Technique when he needs stronger anti-Demon offense. 97
• He later distributes useful spells from Liu Zhidong’s collection to Mala Village cultivators. 78
• Liu Shuyue uses Demon Extermination True Sword in the assault on the Flesh Tower, though its immense Spiritual Energy cost leaves her badly depleted. 130

Fission and Fusion

Fission and Fusion is a Forbidden ability capable of merging living beings and objects at the cost of Chen Xuan’s own body. 99

• Chen’s first experiment fuses a grasshopper into a twig at the cost of a hair follicle, demonstrating that more substantial alterations demand far greater bodily payment. 99
• He considers its potential for precise medical use, including the removal of diseased tissue, but recognizes that it cannot be safely or widely distributed. 99
• Against the Flesh Tower, he discovers that separate roots can be treated as individual targets, though their sheer number makes mass use impractical. 130
• After Liu Shuyue returns it to him, its rarity increases and its inventory text begins producing unexplained, growing tendrils that Chen suspects are affecting the Ability Store itself. 136

Curse: Flesh Thirst and Flesh Seed

Curse: Flesh Thirst is a disturbing ability associated with Fission and Fusion. It can increase Chen Xuan’s usable capacity but provokes a dangerous craving for flesh. 130

• Chen refuses to rely on Flesh Thirst during the Flesh Tower crisis because of the threat it poses to his self-control. 130
• After Liu Shuyue returns it, its curse becomes more manageable, particularly when paired with the Heart Calming Incantation; nevertheless, Chen remains wary of its influence. 136
• When the tendrils associated with Fission and Fusion devour Coin Toss, the destroyed Forbidden ability is replaced by Flesh Seed LV9, a white-rarity reserve that stores flesh, Spiritual Energy, and other energy as payment for Fission and Fusion. 140
• Flesh Seed’s capacity is roughly equivalent to the flesh and energy of nine Chen Xuans. Chen concludes it primarily absorbs energy from enemies connected to hostile supernatural powers. 140
• Though useful in combat, Chen unequips Flesh Seed because he does not wish to become identified with the grotesque power behind Flesh Fusion. 140

Living Dead

Living Dead is created by combining the negative traits Frail and Sickly, Respiratory Weakness, and Deficiency of Qi and Blood. 169

• Reduces Chen Xuan’s need to breathe, lowers his body temperature, and appears to lessen the effects of disease. 169
• Requires approximately ten hours of sleep each day. 169
• Strengthens the body’s capacity to bear Spiritual Energy, improving the Heavenly Cloud Skill’s ability to absorb and refine it. 169
• Chen intends to offer it to Mala Village’s Qi-Sensers, whose limited physical potential restricts their cultivation. 169

Dream Master

Chen Xuan possesses Dream Master, a legendary ability that lets him construct convincing dreams and guide participants through controlled scenarios. 390

• He designs Rin’s dream to feel like an immediate, real mission by concealing dates, beginning during combat, and controlling the scenario’s information. 390
• He recognizes that dream experiences can create genuine emotional consequences even when the participant later learns that they were artificial. 390

Abilities Taken from Lin Qing

While rescuing Lin Qing in space, Chen Xuan trades a white-rarity ability for three purple-rarity abilities, enabling her to become a store guest. 39

• Mind Fortress LV5 — reinforces mental resolve and resistance to outside interference. 39 381
• Protocol Birth LV1 — an ability tied to a life mission, inherited powers, and recorded fate. 39 381
• Free Will LV1 — relates to a lifeform’s understanding of the universe, while warning that forbidden knowledge may bring unpredictable destruction. 39
• Chen later uses Protocol Birth and a portion of his own memories to forge Lin Qing’s former fate into a physical form, allowing her to recover memories of their original timeline. 419 422 428

Forbidden Abilities

Chen Xuan acquires Black Magic from Gilles de Rais after trading away Can Eat a Lot. The ability extends life through sacrifice but carries severe curse-related consequences. 30

• He gives Black Magic to the dying Liu Shuyue, using the freshly slain Azure Dragon’s heart as the ritual’s key sacrifice. 33
• He then trades for Blessed Maiden, granting Liu Shuyue protection from curses and allowing her to survive the ritual without suffering Black Magic’s curse. 33
• Coin Toss, acquired from Fei Wuniang, forces a best-of-three wager in which the loser forfeits all abilities; it is also designated forbidden by Ability Butler. 44 46
• Chen later uses Coin Toss against Liu Zhidong, surviving its fatal consequences through Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell Technique. 75 76
• Coin Toss is ultimately devoured by the tendrils associated with Fission and Fusion and disappears from his inventory, producing Flesh Seed in its place. 140

Abilities Taken from Fei Wuniang

After winning Coin Toss, Chen Xuan receives six of Fei Wuniang’s abilities and fragmented memories of her past. 45

• Dance Prodigy
• Innate Charm
• Immunity to Poisons — a green-rarity ability identified as a possible component ability. 46
• Union Technique
• Strong Seize
• Coin Toss 45

Chen later gives Strong Seize to Liu Shuyue during the Yun Prefecture war, allowing her to take abilities from defeated opponents in exchange for passing the stolen abilities to him. 65

Equipment / Store Facilities

• Ability Butler — store-management software handling inventory, transaction records, employee contracts, and ability-provider lists. 2 46
• Scanning gun — used to inspect abilities and initiate transactions. 4 21
• Ability Store — a mobile, reality-shifting shop that adapts its exterior to its surroundings. 2 13 22
• VIP guest rooms — residential spaces with abundant Spiritual Energy; Room 201 can connect to a guest-designated dwelling. 17 34
• Shopkeeper’s Invitation — summons one designated guest to the store per day regardless of distance or difficulty. 37
• Shopkeeper’s Return — returns Chen Xuan to the store once per day regardless of distance or difficulty. 37
• Branch stores — LV5 permits Chen Xuan to maintain two branches, allowing goods and personnel to move more efficiently between his operations and connected worlds. 169
• Built-in shop — an internal Ability Store marketplace funded by a separate balance and selling, among other products, alternate store skins. 169
• Control Room — the fourth floor unlocked at LV6. It provides holographic oversight of branch stores, including location, activation, inventory, transactions, surrounding conditions, WIFI coverage, connected devices, relocation, elevator routes, and branch-to-branch connections. 329
• Main Store designation — the Control Room allows Chen Xuan to designate another property as the Main Store, reducing the danger posed if a known location is compromised. 329

Relationships

• Liu Shuyue — Chen Xuan’s first major customer and a VIP guest. Their relationship develops from a wary ability trade into a dependable partnership centered on refugee relief, Mala Village, and protecting her interests against the King of Qi. Chen later invites her to become both an Ability Store employee and his companion, binding their interests through mutual assistance. 3 16 36 77
• Joan of Arc — customer whom Chen Xuan aids during her military crisis. She regards him as a divine envoy, and he later helps rescue her from Chinon Castle. In later years, she becomes a military commander leading France’s transformed armed forces; Chen ultimately attends her funeral. 8 11 22 24 209 307
• Gilles de Rais — customer seeking to save Joan of Arc. Chen Xuan accepts his abilities as payment and coordinates the rescue effort. 22 30
• Lin Qing — future-era guest Chen Xuan saves in space and later hires as an Ability Store employee. After Chen’s rescue of Honglian rewrites history, Lin Qing disappears from the altered worldline; he finds an alternate version known as Swift and eventually restores her former fate and memories. Their relationship develops through mutual reliance, strategic partnership, and deep emotional attachment. 39 46 47 323 360 419 428
• Fei Wuniang — hostile wanderer and ability thief. Chen Xuan defeats her through Coin Toss, receives her abilities, and is troubled by the memories transferred with them. 43 44 45
• Shen Fang — Prefect of Zhangwei. Initially mistakes Chen Xuan for an assassin, but later works with him and Liu Shuyue regarding Mala Village. 13 35
• Fu Jiaolu — former hunter from Mala Village who asks Chen Xuan to connect his room to the village; he later assists with store renovations and the Shajiang River performance. He also becomes a decisive combatant during the Yun Prefecture campaign. 48 63
• Xu Xuanling — Chen Xuan’s disciple, initially enrolled as Class One, Number Eight. She later becomes vice sect master of the Lotus Cloud Sect, but her loneliness and resentment over decades of separation lead Chen Xuan to invite her to the Ability Store, where she assists him while continuing her cultivation. 107 308 313
• Liu Li — Artifact N21 and a formidable swordswoman who becomes Chen Xuan’s ally. Her artificial body lacks ordinary human vital weaknesses, while her swordsmanship provides overwhelming close-range offensive power. 264 335
• Honglian — a World Mind contractor and former Dimensional Limit Organization agent whom Chen Xuan rescues from a changed future. Her survival rewrites history and becomes central to Chen Xuan’s search for Lin Qing; she later joins him in investigating the altered future and the Organization. 323 341 343
• Northern Heaven Institute — Chen Xuan cooperates with the Institute after treating its patients, helps it cultivate new ability users and cultivators, and later agrees to secretly identify and guide talent while refusing a public leadership role. 159 341 377
• Rin — an Arbitration Court ability user whose interest in Chen Xuan leads him to use Dream Master to investigate the prophet Lotiya and the hidden history of the Dimensional Limit Organization. 380 390

Story Role / Major Arcs

Becoming the Shopkeeper

Chen Xuan discovers that his recurring dream shop is real, becomes its legal shopkeeper, and learns that its business is the acquisition and exchange of abilities. He resigns from his ordinary job and seeks ways to keep the store financially viable. 1 2 6

Transactions with Liu Shuyue

His first transaction with Liu Shuyue earns him cultivation techniques, alchemy, and sword arts. He later supports her Qingzhou refugee-relief effort by providing instant noodles, a VIP residence, ability trades, and access to modern supplies. 4 16 17

Joan of Arc’s Crisis

Chen Xuan trades abilities with Joan of Arc, provides medical support to her troops, and helps alter the outcome of her immediate military defeat. When Gilles de Rais seeks help, Chen Xuan and Liu Shuyue infiltrate Chinon Castle to rescue her from the red-haired witch. 9 11 22 23

Mala Village and the Azure Dragon

After Qingzhou’s refugees are abandoned, Chen Xuan helps Liu Shuyue establish Mala Village in the Myriad Mountain Great Wilderness. Following the Azure Dragon’s death and Liu Shuyue’s near-fatal backlash, he devises a Black Magic ritual protected by Blessed Maiden to save her life. 30 31 33 34

Conflict with the Dimensional Limit Organization

Chen Xuan rescues Lin Qing from space and learns of the Dimensional Limit Organization’s future threat. He defeats Fei Wuniang, hires Lin Qing, and begins planning to expose the existence of abilities rather than confront the organization openly. 39 44 46 47

Public Revelation Campaign

With Lin Qing, Liu Shuyue, and Mala Village residents, Chen Xuan stages a supernatural performance on the Shajiang River to draw public attention to abilities. The Dimensional Limit Organization responds by manipulating online discussion through its AI, “Cow.” 48 50

Yun Prefecture War

When the King of Qi threatens the Liu family and gathers forces around Jiufeng City, Chen Xuan supports Liu Shuyue’s resistance with Mala Village’s cultivators, rifles purchased through Walter, and Strong Seize. The campaign establishes the practical military value of combining cultivation with modern weapons. 60 63 65

Founding the Sect and the Chang’an Crisis

Chen Xuan formally establishes the Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Am Supreme Sect in Chang’an, recruits and guides disciples such as Xu Xuanling, and develops relationships with the Immortal Alliance. During the later Demon crisis, he supports the defense of Chang’an and the campaign against the Flesh Tower while confronting the dangers of Forbidden abilities. 99 107 121 130

The Altered Future and Lin Qing’s Disappearance

After rescuing Honglian from an altered timeline, Chen Xuan discovers that Lin Qing has vanished from everyone’s memories, though her Ability Store room remains. His promotion to LV6 coincides with this crisis, and he makes finding Lin Qing his foremost personal goal. 323 324 343

Northern Heaven Institute Conflict

Chen Xuan organizes allies from Mala Village, Northern Heaven Institute, and other groups to resist the Dimensional Limit Organization’s Jiangcheng operation. Rather than merely defend the Institute, he traps and captures the Mechanism commander Xiao Kanong, significantly weakening the Organization’s local influence. 332 335 336

Journey into the Changed Future

Chen Xuan leads Honglian, Xu Xuanling, Liu Li, and new Ability Store customers into a ruined future Jiangcheng. There he encounters the alternate Lin Qing known as Swift, investigates the Ghost Subway and Nano-Lifeforms, and gradually earns the trust needed to restore Lin Qing’s lost fate. 343 360 375 419 422

Restoring Lin Qing

Using information gained through Dream Master, Rin, Honglian, and the prophet Lotiya, Chen Xuan uses Protocol Birth and his own memories to forge Lin Qing’s former fate into a physical object. He offers her the choice to accept it, ultimately allowing her memories of their shared history to return. 390 415 419 422 428

Notable Quotes

“Because you are a distinguished VIP.” 22

“Of course, serving VIP customers is our establishment’s consistent principle.” 36

“No win, no charge.” 61

“Give me a promotion!” 329

Trivia

• Chen Xuan’s automatic “Welcome!” greeting comes from his previous customer-service work. 2
• He began with four tradeable abilities: Can Eat a Lot, Can Sleep a Lot, Broadly Read Through the Ages, and The ??? Shopkeeper. 2 5
• Liu Shuyue considers his habit of clear pricing reliable, even when the terms are expensive. 16
• He regards Mala Village’s developing cultivators as long-term clients and earned 450 performance points from its first ability-adjustment convention. 36
• He initially regards the shop’s salary and magical wallet as inconvenient compared with ordinary electronic payments and the profits from selling pills. 60
• Chen Xuan realizes after speaking with an elderly customer that he has few close friends in Jiangcheng, a loneliness that contrasts with his later bonds with Lin Qing, Liu Shuyue, and his disciples. 57