The raw scent of scorched earth and pulverized ancient marble filled the flattened courtyard of the Cross Clan Ancestral Hall.
Grant Cross stood like an immovable pillar of black obsidian in the center of the ruins, the tip of his Obsidian Dragon Blade resting mere inches from the Grand Ancestor’s trembling, wrinkled throat.
The glowing trail of molten stone beneath the flat of the blade slowly hissed, casting a deep crimson hue over the old man’s torn golden ceremonial robes.
“I ask you one final time,” Grant’s voice dropped into a low, terrifying growl that resonated through the cracked bedrock of the mountain ridge.
“Hand over the seal of the family throne.”
The Grand Ancestor swallowed hard, his eyes wide with unadulterated panic as he stared into the swirling golden rifts of Grant’s draconic pupils.
His Stage 10 Iron Body cultivation was completely shattered, the internal energy pathways within his chest leaking mist like a punctured valve.
Trembling, he reached into the silken folds of his sleeve and pulled out a heavy, intricately carved piece of ancient white jade—the Sovereign Clan Seal that controlled every hidden asset, bank vault, and martial contract in the province.
Grant reached out and snatched the jade emblem from the old man’s grasp.
The moment his fingers closed around the cold stone, the system interface flashed a rapid series of green database updates across his retinas.
« SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: CONQUEST SEALS INTEGRATED »
• Core Asset Identified: Cross Clan Sovereign Lineage Seal
• Control Matrix: 100% Unrestricted Sovereignty Established
• Financial Capital Liquidated: $1,200,000,000.00 (Transferred to Master Vault)
• Total Accumulated Experience: 3,500 / 2,000 (Overflowing Threshold)
• Automated Prompt: Initialize Tier 2 Boundary Ascension Sequence?
[YES / NO]
“Yes,” Grant commanded silently.
“Ascend.”
A blinding flash of pure, celestial gold erupted from the center of his chest.
The Primordial Dragon Core inside his heart cavity exploded with immense pressure, absorbing the overflow experience and compressing his energy until it crystallized.
The thick obsidian scales covering his forearms and shoulders melted cleanly back into his skin, leaving his arms flawless, smooth, and radiating a faint, divine warmth.
His blood vessels glowed like molten neon through his flesh as his core transformed into a spinning vortex of stellar energy.
Ding!
« SYSTEM BOUNDARY BREAKTHROUGH COMPLETE »
• New Cultivation Realm: Tier 2: Astral Vein Monarch (Stage 1)
• Core Combat Strength: 5,500 → 15,000 (Average Human Baseline: 10)
• Skill Evolution Unlocked: [Sovereign Domain – Tier 2] (Passively locks the spatial movement and energy circulation of all hostiles within a 100-meter radius) Visit novelping dot com for the full chapter.
Grant exhaled a visible cloud of golden steam, his baseline power now sitting at a staggering 15,000 points.
He felt completely untethered from the limitations of the mortal world.
He turned his head slowly, his gaze landing on the far corner of the ruined courtyard where his cousin Bradley was trying to crawl away through the rubble, his expensive Italian suit torn to shreds and covered in mountain mud.
“Bradley,” Grant spoke, his voice snapping across the empty space like a physical whip.
Bradley froze, his entire body trembling violently as he slowly rolled onto his back, looking up at Grant with wide, bloodshot eyes full of absolute terror.
He clawed at the dirt, his voice cracking into a high-pitched whimper.
“Grant…
please!
We’re blood!
It was the Elders who forced me to use the meridian spike!
They wanted your inheritance!
I was just a pawn!”
Grant walked over to his cousin, his boots making heavy, echoing thuds against the fractured marble.
He stopped, looking down at the man who had stolen his identity and left him to bleed out in the harbor gutters five years ago.
“You called me trash when you threw that hundred-dollar bill into the mud,” Grant said softly, his golden pupils locking onto Bradley’s chest.
“You wanted to see how the mud tasted.
Now, you’re going to live in it.”
Grant casually extended his right foot, tapping his boot directly over Bradley’s lower abdomen.
A sharp, microscopic needle of Primordial Dragon Qi shot from his toe straight into Bradley’s dantian.
CRACK!
A horrific, hollow sound echoed from Bradley’s torso as his internal cultivation base was thoroughly and permanently imploded.
His eyes bulged out of his head, his mouth opening in a silent scream of agony as the energy pathways he had stolen withered away into dead ash.
He was no longer a martial artist; he was less than an ordinary human, his physical strength reduced to absolute zero.
“The northern harbor docks require a new manual laborer to haul the eighty-kilogram crates for the next fifty years.
Overseer Vance will ensure you never miss a shift.”
Bradley collapsed face-first into the dirt, weeping hysterically as two lingering dock workers from the harbor stepped out of the mountain shadows, grabbing him by his torn sleeves and dragging his limp, broken body down the mountain road toward his new eternal punishment.
The sound of soft clapping suddenly drifted from the ruined entrance of the compound.
Grandmaster Vance stepped through the settling dust cloud, followed closely by his daughter, Violet Vance.
The Grandmaster’s face carried a look of profound, unadulterated respect as he looked at the completely flattened palace, then back at Grant’s pristine, glowing form.
He dropped to one knee, lowering his head completely.
“The Vance Lineage pledges its absolute, undying allegiance to the new Monarch of the Province,” Grandmaster Vance declared, his powerful voice echoing through the mountain ridge.
Violet Vance stepped forward beside her father, her ice-cold corporate shell completely shattered.
She bowed her head deeply, her heart racing as she looked at Grant’s dominant figure.
“Monarch Cross…
the city’s financial markets and underworld syndicates have been fully consolidated under your name.
Your empire is secure.”
Grant looked out over the sprawling neon lights of the city below, the wind drifting through his dark hair.
The local tyrants had been cleared from the board, and his baseline strength had breached the Tier 2 boundary.
The province was officially his throne.
But his eyes drifted past the city borders, toward the distant, massive capital city gleaming on the northern horizon, where the true supreme imperial clans and ancient gods ruled the world.
“This province is just the first step,” Grant whispered, his hand tightening around the white jade seal as the system screen flashed a final, monumental alert before his eyes.
“The capital is next.”
« SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: VOLUME 1 CONCLUDED »
• Current Domain: Province Overlord (Status: Complete)
• Next Objective Initialized: Infiltrate the Imperial Capital Sector
• Threat Level Assessment: S-Tier (God-Realm Cultivators Active)
• Status: Prepare for Volume 2: The Capital Eclipse.
Grant has achieved the legendary Tier 2: Astral Vein Monarch realm with 15,000 Combat Strength, permanently crippled Bradley to a life of hard labor at the docks, and forced the entire province to kneel before his throne!
The Vance Clan has sworn undying loyalty, and our launch stockpile is officially established!
Volume 2 is heading straight to the Imperial Capital where the true gods of the world reside!