It was late at night.
Lu Chongwei lay in bed, breathing evenly as he drifted off to sleep.
Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the Zanpakuto hanging on the wall.
Suddenly.
"Vrrrr—"
The blade of the Zanpakuto trembled slightly.
A strange red glow seeped from its sheath, looking especially vivid in the dark room.
In his sleep, Lu Chongwei furrowed his brow, as though trapped in some kind of nightmare.
In the dream.
Lu Chongwei found himself standing in a vast, boundless expanse of darkness.
There was nothing around him, only endless darkness.
Strangely, though, it wasn't cold here. Instead, the heat was astonishing.
The heat didn't come from outside. It was as if a scorching warmth surged from the depths of his soul, like magma coursing through his veins.
"Haah... haah..."
Lu Chongwei gasped for air, sweat instantly soaking through his clothes.
The temperature kept climbing.
One hundred degrees... five hundred... a thousand...
The darkness around him began to warp, as though even the void would be burned through by the intense heat.
Just as Lu Chongwei felt he was about to be roasted alive,
an aged, imposing voice boomed through the space, as if it had traveled across the immemorial ages.
"Do you wish to become stronger?"
The voice carried an overwhelming pressure. Every word struck Lu Chongwei heavily in the heart.
Lu Chongwei snapped his head up, trying to find where the voice had come from.
"Who?!"
he shouted.
"Do you wish to wield the power to burn all creation to ashes?"
The voice didn't answer him. Instead, it continued asking as though speaking to itself.
As soon as the words fell, an even more terrifying wave of heat swept over him.
Lu Chongwei felt his very soul tremble.
It was a yearning for ultimate power, and an instinctive fear of destruction.
"I..."
Lu Chongwei was just about to answer.
However.
Before he could even say the word "yes"—
"Crack!"
A crisp sound of shattering rang out.
The entire dark space broke apart in an instant, scattering into countless points of light.
The mysterious voice abruptly fell silent with it, as if it had never appeared at all.
"Gasp!"
Lu Chongwei jerked upright in bed.
He panted heavily, chest heaving, his whole body drenched in sweat.
"That just now was..."
Lu Chongwei wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at the Zanpakuto on the wall, still shaken.
Ryujin Jakka hung there quietly, its red glow gone, as if everything that had just happened had been nothing but an illusion.
But he could clearly feel that something inside him was awakening.
The lingering heat deep in his soul felt terrifyingly real.
"Looks like my power still isn't nearly enough."
Lu Chongwei clenched his fist, a determined glint flashing in his eyes.
He hadn't even met the owner of that voice before being kicked out. That meant he still couldn't fully control the power of the strongest fire-type Zanpakuto.
The next morning.
After washing up, Lu Chongwei changed into fresh clothes and headed to the guild, feeling refreshed.
As soon as he stepped through the door, he sensed that something about the atmosphere was different today.
Everyone was whispering, their faces full of gossip.
"Morning, Lu Chongwei!"
Cana was wiping down the bar. When she saw Lu Chongwei come in, she greeted him with a smile.
"Morning, Cana."
Lu Chongwei sat down at the bar. "The usual. Hot milk."
"By the way, where's Erza?"
Lu Chongwei glanced around, but the crimson-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.
"Erza went to see Grandma Porlyusica."
Cana poured the milk as she spoke, a hint of sympathy in her eyes.
"The guild master said Grandma Porlyusica might be able to fix her eye. She can only give her a prosthetic eye, but at least Erza will look like everyone else."
Lu Chongwei nodded.
That was good news.
A prosthetic eye couldn't restore her sight completely, but at least it could help Erza overcome her insecurity about having only one eye and go a long way toward helping her recover emotionally.
"What about Gray?"
Lu Chongwei asked.
"He's over there."
Cana pointed toward the guild's back courtyard.
Lu Chongwei turned to look.
Gray was shirtless, furiously doing push-ups in the open space in the courtyard.
Sweat ran along the lines of his muscles and dripped onto the ground, forming a puddle.
"Nine hundred and ninety-eight... nine hundred and ninety-nine... one thousand!"
Gray finished a set, sprang to his feet, and threw punches at the air, his eyes burning with the flames of revenge.
"Erza! Just you wait! Next time, I'm definitely winning!"
"And Lu Chongwei! I'm going to beat you too!"
Lu Chongwei smiled helplessly.
That kid really was full of energy.
After finishing his milk, Lu Chongwei headed straight for the mission board on the second floor.
His goal was clear now—make money.
Rent for the guild dormitory cost tens of thousands of J every month. Then there was food, cakes, and the occasional damage bill for the destruction caused by using Ryujin Jakka...
His wallet was already emptier than his face.
"I need to buy a house."
Lu Chongwei looked at the limp wallet in his hand and made up his mind.
Living in the dormitory forever wasn't an option. And if he ever unleashed his power in his sleep and burned the place down, the compensation would be enough to make him sell himself.
"This one looks good."
Lu Chongwei's eyes settled on an extermination job.
[Exterminate the Giant Magic Bear occupying the Eastern Forest. Reward: 500,000 J.]
"Five hundred thousand J. That should be enough for a down payment, right?"
Lu Chongwei tore down the job posting, his eyes sparkling with the gleam of gold coins.
"For a house! So I can stop paying damages! Let's go!"
He took the job posting to Makarov to register.
"Guild master, I'll take this job!"
Makarov looked at the posting, then at Lu Chongwei, brimming with fighting spirit, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Go ahead, but be careful. And remember not to burn down the whole forest, or I'll dock your pay again!"
"Don't worry, guild master! I know what I'm doing!"
Lu Chongwei thumped his chest confidently, then dashed out of the guild.
For the dream of owning a home, time to get to work!
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