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ArabicChat Group Crossover: My System Simulates Infinite Anime Worlds — Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Another Obsessed One
Itsuka Shiori, or Itsuka Shido?
In a quiet corner of a graveyard, Kurumi Tokisaki found herself pondering the two names. Who were they? Had she encountered them somewhere in the fractured timelines of her past?
[Kurumi Tokisaki]: “Is there some connection between these two names? And more, how did you know I am a Spirit?”
[Group Owner Zhang Mengmeng]: “( •̀ ֊ •́ ) ✧ Because I’m your biggest fan, Kurumi!”
[Kurumi Tokisaki]: “Please, speak like a normal person. What, precisely, is going on here?”
While the chat group’s owner, Zhang Mengmeng, began her enthusiastic explanation for the bewildered Spirit, Nagumo was already stirring from his slumber. Outside, the sky was still a deep, starless canvas of dim gray.
He padded silently into his personal training room.
Settling into a cross-legged position on the floor, he began to circulate the energy in his body according to the principles of the Thunder Breathing Technique—a cultivation method completely aligned with his innate thunder-element abilities.
In this era, such techniques were no longer the priceless treasures of ancient sects, hoarded away for centuries behind locked doors. Those old institutions had long since been converted into modern universities. With the global revival of spiritual energy, the old masters had brought their secrets into the light, exchanging knowledge and developing an explosion of new, diverse cultivation paths.
Of course, the versions available on the public market and taught in schools were merely the introductory forms. To acquire the more advanced techniques, one had to prove their worth on the battlefield, take on dangerous missions from the Hunter’s Guild, and exchange hard-earned contribution points for the next chapter of their training.
This world, after all, did not suffer idlers. Without the warriors fighting on the front lines, there would be no peace or stability for those in the rear.
As the Thunder Breathing Technique began to cycle, a dense web of lightning crackled to life across Nagumo’s body. He guided the volatile energy, using his own divine ability to temper his flesh, pushing it to its limits.
After a long moment, the lightning subsided. Nagumo’s eyes opened, and he let out a soft, almost imperceptible sigh of helplessness. He was so close, just one final step away from a breakthrough, yet he always felt as though some crucial piece was missing.
He suspected his foundation was the problem. He had built it too deep, too wide, and now the resources required to complete it were staggering. It was a good problem to have, in theory, but frustrating in practice.
Gazing at the faint arcs of electricity still dancing over his palms, he recalled his initial, reckless idea when he first awakened his ability. He had devoured every book on electromagnetic theory he could find and then, with more enthusiasm than sense, tried to apply it directly.
That experiment had landed him in the hospital for half a year. Still, he had managed to develop the Current Stimulation Technique from the ordeal. It could elevate his physical capabilities to an astonishing level in an instant, but the backlash was severe, leaving him completely drained and vulnerable for a long time afterward.
Since that painful lesson, he had stuck to the honest, grinding work of martial arts.
With a final, regretful sigh, Nagumo quelled the blue lightning in his hands. He stepped out of the house into the pre-dawn gloom. The sun was still a distant promise below the horizon.
With a light leap, he landed silently on the roof, positioning himself to face the east, where the sun would soon make its appearance. He sat cross-legged, assuming the “Five Hearts to the Heavens” posture, a fundamental stance for absorbing worldly energy.
He began to silently operate his Breathing Technique once more. Faint traces of lightning flickered across his skin as he waited. His goal was to absorb the “Primordial Purple Qi,” the very first sliver of solar energy born at the exact moment of sunrise.
There were, of course, a few “clever” individuals—mostly the obscenely wealthy—who used advanced technology to perpetually chase the sunrise around the globe, keeping themselves in that perfect state of nascent dawn. But it was an absurdly expensive indulgence. Most families wouldn’t even consider it, and even the truly rich clans often deemed it a waste of resources, as the cost-to-benefit ratio was simply too low.
As the first brilliant edge of the sun breached the horizon, streams of ethereal purple energy, invisible to the naked eye, flowed into Nagumo’s body.
He remained seated on the roof, motionless, as the lightning shrouding him began to gather, growing denser and more brilliant. His blood and qi surged like a mighty river, washing through every cell and meridian in his body. He was undergoing a deep, earth-shaking transformation, and a mysterious, powerful aura began to radiate from him before being immediately suppressed and contained by some unseen force.
Under the golden light of the morning sun, his skin took on a faint, metallic sheen.
The breakthrough process lasted for the time it would take to drink a cup of tea.
Then, as suddenly as it began, it was over. Nagumo retracted his aura, and in an instant, he seemed to return to the state of an ordinary person. He then consciously employed a Breath Concealment Technique, a must-have skill for anyone who preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble, lowering his apparent power level to that of a common one-star, eighth-stage practitioner.
He exhaled slowly, a plume of white, turbid air escaping his lips like a puff of smoke.
When he opened his eyes, the world seemed sharper, clearer. He had officially broken through, becoming a two-star martial artist.
In traditional terms, this was the Bone Refining Realm. One-star martial artists focused on skin and flesh; two-stars tempered the very marrow of their bones. Both stages were part of the larger Body Refining Realm.
He closed his eyes again, turning his senses inward to assess the changes. He could feel it immediately. His bones were now far harder than before, possessing a density and luster akin to pure white jade. His skin still held a faint golden glow, and even the muscle fibers beneath seemed to shimmer with a subtle, divine light.
A deep sense of gratification washed over him. This solid, unshakeable foundation was finally complete. Now, he could continue to refine his body, to see just how far he could push past the accepted limits.
Gazing at the rising sun, Nagumo felt a quiet longing for the future. He thought that if he could just become strong enough, he would one day travel to the largest dimensional portal and personally slaughter the Demon King festering within.
He leaped down from the roof. The breakthrough had expelled a significant amount of impurities from his body, and he was suddenly aware of an unpleasant odor clinging to him.
After a quick shower, he pulled several vacuum-packed bricks of beast meat from the refrigerator. In just a few minutes, a sizzling, fragrant meal was ready. There were, of course, military-grade nutritional supplements available, but if he had a choice, he would always avoid the bland, synthetic taste of those nutrient pastes.
Once he had eaten his fill, he resumed his practice of the Thunder Breathing Technique. Even with a system to aid him, he knew better than to waste a single moment.
The sharp ring of his mobile phone cut through the quiet.
Nagumo glanced at the caller ID just as the doorbell chimed. With a flicker of movement, his body tracing a line of faint lightning, he was at the door. He swung it open to find a courier in a green uniform holding a small box.
“Mr. Nagumo, your package. Please sign for it…”
Before the man could finish his sentence, the box vanished from his hands. In its place, a small card bearing a fresh signature fluttered into his open palm.
The courier simply shook his head and sighed.
“Another one obsessed with cultivation,” he grumbled to himself as he turned to leave. “Don’t they know a plain and simple life is the real treasure? Are video games not fun anymore? Is the food not tasty? Are the cartoons not good enough to watch?”
He walked away, still muttering under his breath. As he departed, he cast one last look back at the house and sighed again, this time more heavily. As a courier cleared to make deliveries in a military-affiliated district, he knew a little about the residents. He knew, roughly, what had happened to Nagumo’s family.
Inside, Nagumo had already torn open the box.
He tipped out its contents: ten thumb-sized stones that hummed with contained energy. These were the legendary Spirit Stones. They had gone by many names throughout history, but now the term was standardized. Without hesitation, he offered them all to the system.
[Recharge successful.]
The number displayed on his internal system interface, which previously read ‘0,’ticked over to’1.’
Nagumo’s mouth twitched. These were the same low-grade Spirit Stones he used to pry out of the Spirit Gathering Array back in his early days. Still, one simulation attempt was worth about three months of his own painstaking cultivation. It was a fair trade.
He began to map out his next moves. First, he would go to the Hunter’s Guild for certification. Then, he’d visit the Talisman Master’s Guild and pass the exam for a First-Grade Talisman Master.
With those qualifications, he could open an online shop to sell his talismans, or simply let the guild purchase them directly. also, once he was certified as a two-star martial artist, he would gain access to one-star secret realms.
He could hunt the beasts within, use their blood to draw higher-quality talismans, sell their bones for a profit, keep the meat for his own consumption, and use their crystal cores to charge the system. It was a perfect, self-sustaining loop, killing many birds with one stone.
If not for his fear of attracting unwanted attention so soon after his breakthrough, Nagumo would have gone to the guild to register right now. But considering the potential consequences, he decided it was better to wait a few days. Safety first.
He picked up his phone again and checked his account. The monthly pension had arrived: 10,000 credit points. It was enough to cover his living expenses.
He handled to the guild’s online marketplace, “The Cultivator’s Emporium,” and placed an order for more beast meat from the butcher shop. He also added a selection of materials specifically for drawing talismans—high-grade paper, brushes, and specially prepared ink.
Although he could theoretically make the brushes himself, he simply didn’t have the rare monster parts required. For now, he would have to buy them.