Chapter One: Ning Xin Possesses a Magical Space

When Ning Xin was ruthlessly expelled from the space, she could tolerate the sound of her two younger sisters snoring and grinding their teeth. The thunderous snores of her two younger brothers in the corner—she could endure that too. But the loving noises of her parents in the next room—those she simply could not bear. After all, she was still just a fifteen-year-old child.

She tiptoed to the door, agilely climbed over the courtyard wall, and sprinted toward the outskirts of the village. As she ran, she glanced up at the starry sky, estimating the time. If she ran to the county town and back, her parents would surely be done, and she could snatch a bit of sleep.

But today, she reached the county town two incense sticks earlier than usual. Standing beneath the city wall, Ning Xin gazed upward. She had come here many times, but had never dared to scale the wall. As an ordinary commoner, even though she fancied herself skilled in martial arts, she would never dare to break the law.

She did not dare—but someone else did.

A man dressed in black flew over from not far away, his feet tapping lightly as he stepped up the wall. In the blink of an eye, he landed atop the city wall and vanished from sight.

Ning Xin silently praised him in her heart, "What impressive skill."

One year in the space was equivalent to ten years outside. After being relentlessly trained by the space for five years, she now possessed the equivalent of fifty years of cultivation. She wondered if she could leap up there herself.

She took a deep breath, gathered her strength, and jumped.

Oh my! She overdid it.

She soared right over the high wall and landed inside.

Ning Xin was so stunned by her own strength that she could not help but wave her hands and feet in excitement. Still timid, she dared not linger or wander about, fearing she might encounter the city guards.

She quickly leapt back over the wall to the outside and finally exhaled in relief.

It seemed she had stepped on something.

Ning Xin shifted her foot and bent over to look.

Pale and gleaming.

She picked it up—a beautiful silver hairpin.

Torn between returning it to its owner and keeping it for herself, Ning Xin looked all around. The night was pitch black, not a soul in sight.

She was tempted to keep it.

A silver hairpin was a fortune for someone like her, who had never possessed more than ten copper coins at any one time.

"Antique silver hairpin, valued at one thousand taels of silver. Would you like to sell it?" The familiar voice from the space echoed in her mind.

What? Was that the space's voice?

But she couldn't even bring things into the space!

In the five years since she had obtained the space, nothing except for herself and the clothes she wore could be taken in or out.

"Sell," she replied.

The hairpin vanished from her hand.

Immediately, a bright white barrier appeared before her.

"Congratulations, Host, on completing your first transaction. The space has been upgraded for free. Current space level: Level One."

Ning Xin hurried into the space.

On the endless grassland that was usually empty, there now stood a shabby thatched hut, little more than a few wooden pillars supporting bundles of straw. Beside it was a well. Ning Xin went over to look inside.

It was dry.

"Spirit Spring, currently level zero. Upgrade cost: ten thousand taels of silver."

What?

Ning Xin was filled with a thousand questions.

Ten thousand taels? She barely had eight copper coins to her name.

How many years would it take to gather ten thousand taels?

With a thud, a pile of silver suddenly fell before her.

Ning Xin picked up a piece and bit it—it was real, genuine silver.

One thousand taels.

She now owned a thousand taels of silver.

But soon, a message appeared above the thatched hut: "Upgrade thatched house: ten thousand taels of silver."

"Trading Mall unlocked: five hundred taels of silver."

Ning Xin cursed the space as a wretched thing in her heart, yet her hands moved deftly to tap the upgrade button for the mall.

"Mall successfully unlocked."

Ning Xin was greeted by a dazzling array of items, most of them things she had never seen before.

"Would you like to deposit silver to convert into universal credits?"

Ning Xin decided to deposit one hundred taels, keeping the other four hundred to see if she could withdraw them from the space and buy things in the real world.

One hundred taels of silver converted to two hundred thousand universal credits.

Ning Xin spent five credits to buy a Swiss roll. Tearing open the plastic wrapper, a rich aroma wafted out, making her mouth water.

She devoured it greedily, like a famished pig, taking huge bites and gulping it down.

"Sob, sob, it's so delicious—nothing in the world could taste better than this."