Li Xiang reveled in the joy of reaching Tier Six. Tier Six was a bottleneck. In his past life, many people got stuck at this stage, unable to advance.

This was because Tiers One through Six were considered Low Tier Extraordinary Beings, Tiers Seven through Twelve were Middle Stage Transcendent, and Tiers Thirteen through Eighteen were High-level Transcendent. Breaking through Tier Eighteen meant reaching the Saint Tier, which enabled one to fly with their physical body.

Below Tier Eighteen, some Extraordinary Beings also awakened the Flying Superpower, but it was quite rare, and they weren’t very fast.

He had died at Tier Five in his past life, so he had now surpassed his former self.

But it went far beyond that. Even at Tier Five, the density of his Spiritual Power had been ten times greater than in his past life at the same Realm. Needless to say, it was even more incredible now. The river of Spiritual Power inside him was like a great, surging waterway, vast and mighty.

This was a point that even the cultivation genius Luo Feifei had acknowledged.

Furthermore, after passing Tier Six, the power of one’s Lifebound Runes would increase along with one’s Cultivation. Before Tier Six, this effect wasn’t obvious.

Tier Six was a watershed moment.

System: "Congratulations to the Host for your Realm breakthrough. Reward: 8,000 Achievement Points. Surprise Reward: The side length of the System’s Otherworldly Warehouse has been doubled."

The warehouse’s side length had been 32 meters, but now it was 64. As a cube, its total volume had expanded to 64m x 64m x 64m, for a total of 262,144 cubic meters.

To use a naval vessel’s displacement for comparison, this was equivalent to 260,000 tons.

The world’s largest aircraft carriers by tonnage, like the Beautiful Country’s Nimitz-class and Ford-class, only had a full-load displacement of about 100,000 tons.

Of course, Li Xiang’s System Space was a perfect cube, while aircraft carriers were typically long and narrow. A Ford-class carrier, for instance, is 337 meters long, 77 meters wide (at the flight deck) and 41 meters wide (at the waterline), and 76 meters tall. For now, Li Xiang’s space still couldn’t fit an entire aircraft carrier.

In the Apocalypse, with most of the world frozen over and the seas covered in thick sheets of ice, an aircraft carrier wouldn’t be very useful anyway.

’This time, my Lifebound Superpower is "Giant Power"?’ Li Xiang’s consciousness sank into the newly formed Spiritual Power Vortex, where he saw a unique, brilliantly glowing Inscription floating within.

Giant Power: Increases physical strength tenfold!

He already possessed the strength of two to three thousand jin. With a tenfold increase, that became twenty to thirty thousand jin.

’Let’s say it’s thirty thousand jin. That converts to 15 tons. Well... I still can’t lift a fully loaded semi-truck. I need to keep my pride in check and continue working hard.’

Li Xiang had redeemed too many Breathing Techniques and Martial Arts recently, leaving him with only fifty to sixty thousand Achievement Points. It wasn’t enough to upgrade the Inscription, so he would have to wait.

In peacetime, the strength of twenty to thirty thousand jin was more than enough.

There was also an upper limit to upgrading Inscriptions, which was constrained by many factors. For example, his speed had previously been increased to 1.5 Mach. Why hadn’t he continued to upgrade it?

The huge number of Achievement Points required was one thing; another was that his physical body wasn’t strong enough to withstand higher speeds.

Fortunately, he had just advanced another Tier and gained the "Giant Power" Inscription. With its creation, his physical body had been greatly enhanced. His bones, muscles, meridians, and internal organs... all were significantly strengthened. Moreover, the Attribute of the Giant Power Inscription would slowly nourish his body, making it even more formidable.

This way, he would be able to withstand higher speeds.

In a way, the Giant Power and Divine Movement Technique Inscriptions were complementary; they would need to be upgraded more or less in tandem.

He returned to his hotel to rest. That evening, he continued his "rendezvous" with Luo Feifei to exchange insights. Luo Feifei was also on the verge of a breakthrough, but she followed Li Xiang’s advice and continued to suppress it for now. She was quite envious of Li Xiang’s incredibly solid foundation.

"Brother, I’m leaving tomorrow. Are you coming with me, or are you going home?" Luo Feifei asked. Despite the awkward misunderstanding the previous night, Luo Feifei was a natural-born actress, so she didn’t betray a hint of anything unusual today.

"I’d better go home. I’ve been away for over a week now," Li Xiang said. He then gave Luo Feifei the Fist Techniques, Palm Techniques, Body Techniques, Swordsmanship, and Spear Techniques he had prepared for her. He also gave her some Spiritual Medicines, all of which were small yet high-Tier, and had her hide them in her handbag.

"Some of these medicines taste fine, but some are pretty bitter. I hope you don’t mind."

"Haha, good medicine is supposed to taste bitter. I’m not that picky," Luo Feifei said with a captivating smile.

She had originally planned to prepare a Return Gift for Li Xiang but changed her mind. She felt it was better to remain in his debt. ’If I owe him,’ she thought, ’he’ll have to keep me in mind and won’t be able to forget me.’

Besides, with all the benefits he’d given her—Breathing Techniques and Spiritual Medicines—it would be impossible to find a gift of equal value to give in return.

’Money? Her personal savings only amounted to twenty or thirty million, and the vast majority of her funds were with her mother, who was holding it in trust for her until she turned eighteen. Besides, Li Xiang didn’t seem to be short on cash at the moment.’

’Once she gained control of her finances in the future, she could invest in Li Xiang, and they could build their future home together.’

’Just as the netizens said, her most valuable asset was herself. But for now, it seemed they were fated to meet but not destined to be together.’

’If Li Xiang truly wanted her, something would have already happened during one of the many nights they’d spent alone together. So, Luo Feifei wasn’t anxious anymore. After all, their union was "ordained by fate." In a little over a decade, their relationship would come to fruition. What was the rush?’

’In a little over a decade, she’d be between twenty-five and thirty. As an Extraordinary Being, she’d probably still look like she was in her early twenties, still at the peak of her beauty.’

This thought greatly brightened Luo Feifei’s mood. She shared Li Xiang’s conviction that they could absolutely reach the Saint Tier before the Apocalypse arrived.

’When that time comes, we’ll join forces. Two Saint Tiers from a single faction—we’ll be at the absolute pinnacle of all powers on Earth. And once you have the lead, you stay in the lead. Who knows, maybe we could even become humanity’s guardian gods, its supreme leaders?’

It started to rain just as Li Xiang arrived home.

The rain continued for several days straight; the plum rain season had arrived.

The rainy season in Sichuan Province typically lasts from May to October, with the heaviest rainfall concentrated in July and August.

It was only mid-June, but the rain was already incessant. This year’s plum rain season seemed to have arrived earlier than last year’s.

It was called the "plum rain season" because this period coincided with the ripening of plums in the Jiangnan region. However, because the high humidity and temperatures caused everything to easily become damp and moldy, it also had the homophonous nickname "moldy rain."

The rainfall in Sichuan Province was often heavier than in Jiangnan. Due to its basin geography, its summers were hotter and more humid, while its winters were damper and colder. This was evident from the Sichuanese love for chili peppers, which are believed to help dispel dampness and ward off the cold.

Li Xiang went to check the accounts at a few of his shops. Business had been decent during his absence thanks to the nice weather, but now that it was raining every day, the number of tourists had naturally plummeted.

With offline business slowing down, they focused on their online operations.

Zhao Xueqing, Yao Yao, and Lei Xiaohui were leading the younger girls in dancing, filming videos, and running livestream sales in the shop. They were bustling with activity, showing no fear of running out of work.

In fact, online business was the main driver of Li Xiang’s revenue anyway.

On rainy days, the "wild men" naturally closed up shop. They changed back into their security uniforms and joined the others in packing, shipping, moving things, and cleaning.

Li Xiang never required them to be busy all day; they did this of their own volition. He had asked Lei Xiaohui about it privately, and she explained they were afraid he’d lay them off if they had too much idle time. Plus, they felt uneasy taking pay without doing enough work.

Li Xiang couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. ’They’re all such honest, down-to-earth people.’

Of course, that was mainly because he had specifically picked honest people when hiring, rejecting anyone who seemed lazy or slippery.

Besides, he failed to consider that with such good pay and such a relaxed work environment, only a fool wouldn’t want to keep the job.

The vegetables replanted in the garden were all growing well. His grandmother had a real green thumb and kept everything in perfect order. They had more vegetables than the family could eat; it was impossible to finish them all.

Some were used for pickling, while most of the leftovers were chopped up and fed to the chickens, ducks, and geese.

Li Xiang began cultivating seedlings for the late rice crop.

In his hometown, the late rice crop was typically sown from mid-June to early July, transplanted from late July to early August, and harvested from mid-October to early November.

Late-season rice was the most delicious. The grains were plump and full, and when washed, they glistened like tiny pearls. He had finished last year’s late rice harvest long ago and was now buying rice from the market.

For some reason, the store-bought rice was never as fragrant as the rice he grew at home.

Cultivating the late rice seedlings was just like with the mid-season rice before. He was familiar with the process and just needed to control the temperature properly.

Even though it was rainy, the temperature was higher than it had been in May, so the rice grains sprouted even faster.

Li Xiang built a more comfortable bamboo house for Tuantuan, along with some toys like a swing set, a slide, and bamboo chairs.

Tuantuan and its mother loved them. They were living happily and contentedly there.

The bamboo chairs were a particular hit. They were designed like roly-poly toys, functioning as rocking chairs. Tuantuan and its mother each had one, and they would lie back, rocking and munching on bamboo shoots in utter contentment. They certainly hadn’t had chairs like these back in the Primeval Forest.

Given their considerable weight, the chairs would probably fall apart after a few months of rocking. It was no problem, though. Li Xiang would just make them new ones when the time came. If there was one thing the mountain had in abundance, it was bamboo.

Tuantuan was exceptionally talented and successfully condensed its first Spiritual Power Vortex, becoming a Tier One Extraordinary. Its first Superpower was also "Giant Power," though of course, it couldn’t compare to a monster like Li Xiang.

Its Giant Power only provided a fivefold increase. Moreover, as it was still a panda cub and not fully grown, its original strength was nowhere near Li Xiang’s—only an estimated six or seven hundred jin. A fivefold increase would bring its strength to about three to four thousand jin.

That was still quite astonishing.