Global Asset: Rebirth Of The Ruthless Scholar
Chapter 1: The Return To The Soil
The Heat Of Multan Was Different From The Cold Neon Streets Of Tokyo Or The Industrial Gray Of Beijing. It Was A Raw, Ancient Heat That Felt Like It Was Hiding Secrets Beneath The Dust. As The Sovereign One Descended Into A Secret Hangar Built Beneath An Old Industrial Estate In Multan's Outskirts, Xun Long Looked At The Arid Landscape Through The Reinforced Glass.
This Was The Heart Of The Pakistan Project.
"The Local Authorities Are Curious, Master," Li Mei Reported In Urdu. She Had Perfected The Language Under Xun Long's Tutelage. "The Government Thinks This Is Just A Massive Foreign Investment In Infrastructure. They Don't Realize That Every Brick We Are Laying Is Infused With Mana-Conductive Alloys."
Xun Long Stepped Out Of The Craft, Adjusting His Lightweight Carbon-Fiber Suit. He Didn't Look Like A Conqueror; He Looked Like A Tech CEO. But The Way The Local Workers Bowed—Not Out Of Respect, But Out Of A Primal Fear They Couldn't Explain—Showed His True Influence.
"Let Them Think It's Just Economics," Xun Long Said, His Voice Steady. "By The Time They Realize This City Is A Dimensional Anchor, It Will Be Too Late To Object. Li Mei, Contact The Ministry Of Interior. I Want The Entire 'Zone B' Declared A Private Restricted Area. Use The 'National Security' Card. If They Hesitate, Remind Them That I Am The Only Reason Their National Power Grid Hasn't Collapsed Yet."
Chapter 2: The Scholar's Diplomacy
Xun Long Attended A Private Dinner With The Local Political Elite In A Lavish Villa. These Were Men Who Had Ruled The Region For Decades Through Corruption And Land Ownership. They Saw Xun Long As A "Genius Kid" With Too Much Money And Not Enough Street Smartness.
One Landlord, A Man Named Zafar Who Owned Thousands Of Acres Near The Project Site, Leaned Forward With A Smirk. "Beta, You Are A Scholar, A Genius In Books. But Here, The Land Speaks Its Own Language. You Want My Land For Your 'High-Tech City'? The Price Just Tripled."
Xun Long Continued To Eat His Dinner With Methodical Calmness. He Didn't Get Angry. He Didn't Bargain.
"I Speak Five Languages, Zafar Sahab," Xun Long Said In Flawless, Sophisticated Urdu, His Tone Chillingly Polite. "And One Of Them Is The Language Of Mathematics. Mathematically, Your Value To This Project Is Zero. In Fact, Your Existence Is A Statistical Error In My Growth Projections."
He Tapped His Tablet. Immediately, Zafar's Phone Blew Up With Notifications. His Bank Accounts In Dubai Were Being Frozen, His Land Titles Were Being Disputed In Every Court Simultaneously, And A Hidden File Detailing His Thirty Years Of Crimes Was Being Sent To Every News Outlet In The Country.
"In The Time It Took You To Finish Your Drink," Xun Long Continued In English, "I Have Erased Your Legacy. You Are No Longer A Landlord. You Are A Debtor. Now, Sign The Documents, Or I Will Let The Omega Detail Handle The 'Manual' Liquidation Of Your Estate."
Zafar's Face Turned The Color Of Ash. He Realized Then That The Boy In Front Of Him Wasn't Negotiating. He Was Recalibrating Reality.
Chapter 3: The Brutal Infrastructure
Building The "Forbidden City" Required More Than Just Money; It Required A Level Of Brutality That The World Hadn't Seen Since The Pyramids. Xun Long Didn't Use Slave Labor, But He Used The Omega Security Detail To Ensure Absolute Efficiency. Anyone Caught Sabotaging The Project Or Leaking Information To Foreign Spies Was Not Handed To The Police.
Xun Long Walked Through The Construction Site Of The Central Reactor. He Spotted A Group Of Foreign Mercenaries Disguised As Engineers Trying To Plant A Bug Near The Core.
"I Gave Everyone One Chance To Work Honestly," Xun Long Whispered In Russian.
He Didn't Order His Guards To Shoot. He Stepped Forward Himself. Using The Void Sovereign Class, He Created A Small Localized Gravity Field Around The Spies. Their Bodies Were Crushed Slowly, Bone By Bone, Under The Weight Of Their Own Weight. The Brutality Was Methodical—He Wanted The Other Workers To See What Happens When You Try To Cheat The Architect.
"Throw Them Into The Foundations," Xun Long Commanded In Mandarin. "Let Their DNA Be The First Sacrifice To The Anchor. This City Needs To Know That Its Creator Has No Mercy For Insects."
The Message Was Clear. The Forbidden City Of Multan Was Not Being Built On Sand; It Was Being Built On Blood And Precision.
Chapter 4: The Tunnels Of The Sleeping God
Deep Beneath The City, The Tunnels Of The Pakistan Project Were Finally Fully Excavated. Xun Long Walked Down Into The Darkness, Accompanied Only By Li Mei. The Walls Here Weren't Made Of Rock; They Were Made Of A Strange, Pulsing Organic Material That Resembled Petrified Muscle.
"This Is It," Xun Long Murmured In French. "The Artery."
As He Touched The Wall, A Massive Surge Of Golden Energy Rebounded Through His Arm. His Infinite Talent Reacted Violently. A Blast Of Power Erupted From His Body, Lighting Up The Tunnels For Miles. The Ground Beneath Multan Shook, An Earthquake That Was Felt As Far Away As Lahore.
[Divine Bloodline Integration: 7% Complete.]
[New Trait Detected: Earth-Shaker's Resonance.]
Xun Long Fell To One Knee, His Veins Glowing Gold Through His Skin. He Could Feel Something Huge Shifting Deep Underground—The Sleeping God Mentioned In The Ancient Data. It Wasn't Awake Yet, But It Was Dreaming. And Its Dreams Were Beginning To Leak Into Xun Long's Mind.
"Master! Your Eyes!" Li Mei Gasped.
Xun Long's Left Eye Had Turned Completely Gold, While The Right Remained Silver. The Balance Was Shifting. He Wasn't Just A Human Scholar Anymore. He Was Becoming The Key To The Very Lock He Was Building.
Chapter 5: The Scholar's Lectures In The Fortress
Despite The Underground Chaos, Xun Long Established A New "Institute Of Advanced Physics" Within The Forbidden City. He Invited The Top Minds Of Pakistan And China To Study Under Him. It Was His Way Of Cultivating A New Generation Of "Mana-Scientists."
He Stood In Front Of A Class Of One Hundred Ph.D. Students, Many Of Whom Were Twice His Age. He Didn't Use A Textbook. He Wrote Directly On The Holographic Air.
"Everything You Know About Energy Is Wrong," He Said In English, His Voice Carrying An Unnatural Authority. "The Law Of Conservation Of Energy Does Not Apply When Dimensions Are Bleeding Into One Another. I Will Teach You How To Harvest The Apocalypse."
One Student, A Young Woman From Karachi Who Was A Genius In Her Own Right, Asked A Question In Urdu. "Sir, If We Use This Power, Aren't We Just Fast-Forwarding The End Of The World?"
Xun Long Looked At Her, His Golden Eye Flashing. "The World Has Already Ended, Student. You Just Haven't Received The Memo Yet. My Job Is To Make Sure That When The Old World Dies, Our Foundation Is Strong Enough To Become The New One. Now, Calculate The Decay Rate Of Violet Particles In A High-Gravity Environment. You Have Ten Minutes."
He Was Creating An Intellectual Army. He Knew That When The Dungeons Fully Opened In Volume 10, He Couldn't Be Everywhere At Once. He Needed Minds That Could Manage The Fortress While He Fought The Gods.
Chapter 6: The Venom Agency's Ghost Hunt
The Venom Intelligence Agency Reported A New Threat. The Remaining Factions Of The Xun Clan, Now Reduced To Mercenaries And Rogue Assassins, Had Hired A Group Of "Shadow Walkers" To Infiltrate Multan. These Were People Who Had Gained Early Access To Mana And Could Move Through Walls.
Xun Long Sat In The Iron-Yard's Command Center, Monitoring The Perimeter. "They Think Stealth Will Save Them," He Said In Russian.
He Didn't Send Guards. He Simply Adjusted The Frequency Of The City's Energy Grid. Suddenly, The Very Air In The Perimeter Became "Solid" To Anyone Moving Through The Shadow Realm. Three Shadow Walkers Were Instantly Trapped Inside The Concrete Walls Of The Outer Gates, Their Bodies Fused With The Stone.
Xun Long Walked To The Gates And Looked At The Trapped Assassins. They Were Still Alive, Screaming In Agony As Their Molecules Mixed With The Cement.
"I Like The Design," Xun Long Remarked Coldly To Li Mei. "Leave Them There. It Will Serve As A Decorative Warning For The Next Group. The Forbidden City Does Not Accept Uninvited Guests."
His Brutality Had Become A Form Of Art. He No Longer Needed To Get His Hands Dirty; The Very Environment He Had Created Was An Extension Of His Will.
Chapter 7: The Overture Of The Forbidden King
By The End Of Volume 6, The Forbidden City Of Multan Had Become The Most Advanced Settlement On Earth. While The Rest Of The World Was Struggling With Failing Power Grids And Monster Attacks, Multan Was A Beacon Of Violet And Golden Light.
Xun Long Stood On The Balcony Of His Central Tower, Looking Over The Modernized Streets. He Could Feel The God-Tier Bloodline Within Him Stabilizing.
"China Is The Shield. Pakistan Is The Sword," He Said In Urdu. "And I Am The Hand That Wields Both."
Suddenly, A Massive Rift Opened Directly Above The Tower—A Portal Much Larger Than The One In Tokyo. But Instead Of Monsters, A Single Message Was Transmitted Into Xun Long's Mind, A Voice That Sounded Like Grinding Metal.
"The Sovereign Of The Void... You Are Early. The Games Haven't Even Begun."
Xun Long Didn't Flinch. He Looked Directly Into The Rift, His Eyes Blazing Gold And Silver. "Then Tell Your Masters To Hurry Up. I'm Getting Bored Of Ruling Over Insects."
As The Portal Vanished, Xun Long Knew That The Struggle For The Global Throne Was About To Turn Into A War Against The Heavens.