The mahogany doors of the Imperial Citadel’s shadow chamber swung shut with a muted thud, locking out the relentless neon glare of the Capital Core District.
Inside, the atmosphere was dead silent, saturated with the chilling, oppressive aura of three individuals who effectively controlled ninety percent of the empire’s liquid economy.
At the center of a massive triangular obsidian table sat Lord Marcus Aurelius, the Supreme Master of the House of Aurelius.
His tailored charcoal suit bore the faint scent of ozone, a permanent reminder of the five hundred million dollars that had vanished from his central banking core hours ago.
His fingers tapped a steady, menacing rhythm against the stone surface, his dead black eyes locked onto a holographic display casting Grant Cross’s profile into the center of the dark room.
“A single regional variable,” Marcus spoke, his voice completely soft, yet carrying an unnatural, vibrating resonance that made the ambient temperature drop.
“He bypassed the Imperial Bureau terminal blockade on Platform 9, neutralized Captain Vane, and systematically drained half a billion dollars from our central network vault in a fraction of a single second.
Our top-tier shadow assassin, Ghost, was thoroughly ruined in our lobby.
The House of Aurelius does not tolerate financial or physical slaps.”
“The variable possesses a consolidated Tier 2 Astral Vein Monarch lineage,” a cold, melodic voice drifted from the left side of the table.
Lady Seraphina Vance, the true hidden matriarch of the Vance Main Line and Violet’s aunt, leaned forward into the dim light.
Her silk white robes didn’t feature a single speck of dust, her passive energy creating a localized spatial field that completely blocked the atmospheric pressure in the room.
“My niece Violet has already attempted to shield him using our financial group’s private network.
She believes this youth can challenge the foundational structure of the Three Supreme Pillars.”
“Then we delete the structure before it expands,” the third master, Lord Tyron Crimson, growled from the right.
His broad shoulders shifted, his red-tinted internal energy flaring aggressively, cracking the obsidian edge of the table beneath his palms.
“I have already mobilized our clan’s underground syndicate.
Place an unprecedented, global bounty of five hundred million cash on his head across the capital network.
Let every rogue cultivator and god-tier mercenary in the province hunt him down before sunrise.”
« SYSTEM INTELLIGENCE NETWORK ACTIVE »
• Intercepted Communications: Imperial Capital High Clan Matrix
• Active Status: Global Underworld Bounty Initialized ($500,000,000.00 cash value)
• Target Parameters: Host (Grant Cross) designated as an absolute priority target.
• Tactical Warning: High-density tracking arrays are currently sweeping the Sector 3 perimeter.
Two miles away, inside a sprawling, automated luxury penthouse overlooking the glowing metropolitan skyline of Sector 3, Grant Cross stood perfectly still by the floor-to-ceiling smart-glass windows.
He ignored the frantic digital alerts flashing across his burner phone interface, his golden-ringed pupils focused entirely on the massive, spinning vortex of golden energy processing through his internal pathways.
The automated pneumatic chime of the penthouse entrance suddenly echoed through the minimalist room.
The reinforced steel safety doors slid smoothly into the wall frame, revealing Violet Vance standing in the doorway.
She was breathless, her tailored business jacket slightly disheveled as she carried a heavy, glowing silver briefcase secured with an advanced, biometric lineage lock.
Her face was completely pale, her high-level spiritual senses instantly recording the terrifying, mountain-like weight of Grant’s baseline 18,500 Combat Strength pulsing passively through the room.
“Grant, the high clans have officially crossed the line,” Violet said, her voice shaking violently as she rushed toward the central marble counter, slamming the silver briefcase down. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“My aunt Seraphina just authorized a combined summit pact with the House of Aurelius.
They have placed a five-hundred-million-dollar bounty on your head across the entire capital network.
Every elite assassin in the province is moving toward this sector right now.”
“A half-billion bounty,” Grant replied smoothly, his low voice matching her frantic pace with absolute, unbothered calm.
“They are severely underestimating the cost of my skull.”
“You cannot fight the entire capital with just a blade, Grant!” Violet pressed, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and intense, desperate fascination as she swiped her palm across the briefcase’s biometric sensor.
The silver latches snapped open with a high-pitched digital beep, the heavy lid lifting to reveal an array of five deep violet, crystal-clear glass vials nested in velvet padding.
A dense, fragrant aroma of ancient ozone and cosmic core energy instantly flooded the penthouse, causing the room’s automated air filtration units to violently buzz as they tried to process the dense spiritual mist.
“This is the Astral Sovereign Core Array,” Violet whispered, her fingers trembling as she pointed toward the glowing liquid.
“It is a restricted, capital-grade cultivation resource that my father secured from our family’s private vaults.
With your current $1.7 Billion liquid fortune, you can purchase the entire set from our ledger instantly.
It contains enough unrefined primordial energy to bypass the standard boundary lines of the Astral Vein realm.
If you refine this right now, your system metrics can break through before the bounty hunters bridge the perimeter.”
Grant walked slowly over to the marble counter.
His dark linen shirt drifted slightly in the backdraft of his own energy as his golden draconic pupils narrowed, scanning the high-tier array as the system interface flashed a rapid series of green diagnostics across his retinas.
« SYSTEM TARGET EVALUATION: INVENTORY UPGRADE »
• Object Discovered: Astral Sovereign Core Array (5x High-Grade Vials)
• Energy Density: 98.9% Pure Astral Vein Essence
• Market Valuation Purchase: $500,000,000.00 Liquid Capital
• Evolutionary Utility: Consuming this array will grant +3,000 Primordial Dragon Qi, instantly forcing the Stage 2 Astral Vein Monarch realm to its absolute limit.
• Transaction Status: Pending Host Authorization.
“Authorize the transaction and liquidate the capital,” Grant commanded silently.
Ding!
« SYSTEM TRANSACTION SECURED: MASTER VAULT »
• Funds Deducted: $500,000,000.00 Cash Value
• Remaining Financial Core Reserve: $1,200,000,000.00
• System Ownership Status: 100% Unrestricted Control.
The silver briefcase flashed a bright green data block as the Vance Financial Group ledger processed the automated transfer.
Grant didn’t wait for a long explanation; he reached out his hand, and all five glass vials automatically shattered simultaneously, the dense, glowing violet liquid floating into the empty air before him, guided by a subtle thread of his golden Dragon Qi.
With a single, deep breath, Grant drew the entire floating mass of astral liquid straight into his mouth. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
The moment the cosmic essence dissolved down his throat, a massive, explosive wave of concentrated primordial fire erupted through his main pathways, surging through his limbs like a raging cosmic river.
His bones let out a series of sharp, rapid popping sounds as his skeletal structure reinforced itself to bear the massive, sudden surge of power.
His skin pulsed with a temporary, thick layer of midnight-black obsidian scales that hardened before melting seamlessly back into his flesh as his core transformed into a spinning vortex of absolute gravity.
BOOM!
A silent, massive kinetic shockwave shot outward from his cross-legged form, flattening the remaining interior walls of the penthouse and turning the minimalist furniture into fine wood powder.
The reinforced smart-glass windows of the skyscraper cracked violently, webbed lines expanding across the panes as the atmospheric pressure in the room collapsed into a complete vacuum.
« SYSTEM PROGRESS LOG: SECTOR EVOLUTION »
• Primordial Dragon Qi Accumulated: +3,000 Units
• Experience Points Generated: +1,500 EXP
• Current Experience Progress: 1,000 / 2,500 → 2,500 / 2,500
• Host Cultivation Realm: Tier 2: Astral Vein Monarch (Stage 3 – Master Boundary)
• Combat Strength: 18,500 → 25,000 (Absolute Realm Breakdown)
• Core Attributes Updated:
• Strength: 420 → 580
• Agility: 330 → 490
• Endurance: 460 → 620
Grant slowly opened his eyes, the brilliant golden glow in his pupils gradually receding back into deep black.
He stood up from the shattered slate floor, his baseline combat power now sitting at a staggering 25,000 points.
He felt completely untethered from the limitations of the capital’s common enforcers.
He walked over to the cracked window, looking down at the sprawling neon streets below where the faint red light of hundreds of approaching assassin signatures was beginning to illuminate the dark alleyways.
He willed the pitch-black Obsidian Dragon Blade into his right hand, the dark, light-devouring steel absorbing the ambient neon light from the windows as it hummed with the dark frequency of the Soul Bleed attribute.
“Five hundred million bounty,” Grant whispered, his low voice causing the remaining glass fixtures in the room to vibrate with a terrifying frequency.
He turned his head slightly, looking back at the wide, stunned eyes of Violet Vance.
“Tell the Three Supreme Pillars to prepare a bigger vault.
Because tonight, I am hunting the hunters.”
Chapter 19 is complete!
The Three Supreme Pillars have officially united to place an unprecedented five-hundred-million-dollar bounty on Grant’s head, but Grant has used his infinite wealth to buy out the Astral Sovereign Core Array!
He has officially achieved Stage 3 Astral Vein Monarch status with a massive 25,000 Combat Strength!
The capital’s top killers are surrounding his building, but Grant is drawing the Obsidian Dragon Blade to hunt them down!