One month later, to the outside world, it was just thirty days of gossip.
The Mystic Cloud Sect was buzzing. The "Divine Dragon Peak" had become a legend—a place of infinite money, terrifying explosions, and a mysterious master who made Grand Elders kneel.
But inside the Time-Dilation Chamber on the peak, 300 days had passed.
Jiang Chen stood before the massive bronze doors. His expression was calm, but his heart was racing.
He had spent 300 Million Spirit Stones on pills, gravity arrays, and simulation runes. He had poured resources into these three disciples that could have bankrupt a medium-sized country.
"System," Jiang Chen whispered. "If they come out and they haven't improved, can I get a refund?"
[System: No. But the 'Teacher's Return' protocol is ready.]
BOOM.
The bronze doors groaned. The locking mechanism, made of Star Steel, began to twist.
It wasn't opening. It was being forced open from the inside.
"Master," a deep, vibrating voice echoed from within. "The door... stuck."
CRUNCH.
A massive hand, glowing with metallic luster, punched through the bronze door. The metal tore like wet paper.
The doors were ripped off their hinges and thrown aside.
Three figures walked out of the steam.
The Transformation
First was Ye Kai.
He no longer looked like a human. He looked like a statue carved from compressed diamond. He wasn't overly bulky, but his density was terrifying. Every step he took cracked the floor—not because he was stomping, but because he weighed as much as a mountain.
He had spent 300 days in 50x Gravity. His bones were no longer white; they were dark grey steel.
[Cultivation: Golden Core Level 9 (Peak).]
[Physique: Indestructible Titan Body (Complete).]
Second was Su Ling.
She floated out. Her feet didn't touch the ground. Around her head, twelve small metal spheres whirred silently—Drone Arrays she had invented. Her eyes were different. They didn't blink. They scanned everything, calculating wind speed, threat levels, and escape routes in nanoseconds. She held a stack of golden talismans that hummed with dangerously unstable energy.
[Cultivation: Golden Core Level 9 (Peak).]
[Mental State: The Living Algorithm.]
Third was Wei Wu.
He was the most terrifying.
He had no presence. Jiang Chen looked at him, and his eyes wanted to slide off. Wei Wu felt like a hole in reality. He held his black scabbard loosely. He didn't emit Sword Qi. He was the Sword Qi.
He had spent 300 days cutting "Nothingness." Now, he could cut anything.
[Cultivation: Golden Core Level 9 (Peak).]
[Sword Dao: Void Cutter (Stage 1).]
They knelt before Jiang Chen.
"We have returned, Master."
Jiang Chen smiled. "Good. You didn't die."
Suddenly, the System chime rang so loud it made Jiang Chen dizzy.
[System Alert: Disciple Training Complete.]
[Assessment: Perfect.]
[Disciples Advanced from Golden Core Level 4 -> Golden Core Level 9.]
[Investment Grade: SSS.]
[Triggering 'Master-Disciple Resonance' Cashback...]
[Multiplier: 100x!]
[Host Reward 1: Cultivation Feedback.]
A torrent of golden energy poured into Jiang Chen's body. It wasn't gentle. It was a tsunami.
His Spirit Severing Level 1 barrier shattered instantly.
Level 2... Level 5... Level 9...
CRACK.
The barrier to the next realm—the legendary Void Treading Realm—shattered like glass.
[Congratulations. Host has reached: Void Treading Level 9 (Peak).]
Note: You are currently the strongest entity in this region. You are one step away from the Saint Realm.
[Host Reward 2: The Sky Fortress Blueprint (Divine Tier).]
[Host Reward 3: 1 Billion Spirit Stones (Rebate).]
Jiang Chen looked at his hands. The space around his fingers wrinkled like fabric. He felt like he could crush a mountain by simply closing his fist.
"Void Treading Level 9," Jiang Chen muttered. "I went from a rookie to a god in an afternoon. This System is broken."
[System: It's not broken. It's Capitalism.]
One hour later, at the Main Peak Plaza.
Sect Leader Liu Cang and Grand Elder Feng were waiting impatiently.
"He is late," Feng growled. "We should leave him."
"We cannot," Liu Cang sighed. "He has the strongest disciples."
Suddenly, a shadow fell over the mountain.
It wasn't a cloud.
It was a ship.
Jiang Chen had used his Sect Construction Mode to upgrade the sect's flying boat using the Divine Blueprint.
It was now [The Indomitable Spender].
A 500-foot-long dreadnought made of Black Spirit Iron and Gold. It hummed with the power of ten nuclear reactors.
The ship descended. Jiang Chen stood on the bow, wearing his new Void-Silk Robes.
"Get on," Jiang Chen called out. "We're taking the scenic route."
Sect Leader Liu Cang looked at his own wooden boat, then at the flying fortress.
He silently boarded Jiang Chen's ship without asking questions.
The Ambush in the Clouds
The journey to the Heavenly Sword Sect usually took three days. With Jiang Chen's ship, it would take three hours.
They were cruising at an altitude of 30,000 feet, crossing the Sea of Thunders.
On the deck, Little Black (currently Nascent Soul Level 5) woke up.
It sensed a snack.
A swarm of Thunder-Hawk beasts attacked the ship, led by a Spirit Severing Beast King.
Little Black didn't even transform. It just opened its mouth and activated [Chaos Gluttony].
In one slurp, the Beast King and 5,000 minions were devoured.
Little Black burped, glowed purple, and evolved.
[Guardian Beast Rank Up.]
[Current Rank: Void Treading Level 2.]
It curled back up on its cushion, leaving the Sect Leader and Grand Elder Feng staring in horror.
The Arrival at the Heavenly Sword Sect
One hour later.
The [Indomitable Spender] cruised over the territory of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
The Heavenly Sword Sect was built on a massive sword-shaped mountain. At its peak was a giant glowing portal—the Teleportation Array to the Ancient Small World where the Summit would be held.
The Sword Sect was merely the gatekeeper.
But as the massive black shadow of Jiang Chen's ship covered the mountain, a booming voice echoed.
"HALT!"
A projection of a middle-aged man appeared in the sky. It was Sect Leader Jian.
[Cultivation: Spirit Severing Level 9.]
"The Mystic Cloud Sect?" Sect Leader Jian sneered, his voice booming. "You dare bring a warship to my territory? Lower your altitude! All guest sects must land at the foot of the mountain and walk up the 10,000 Steps of Humility before using the Teleportation Array!"
It was a power play. He wanted the Mystic Cloud Sect to crawl up the stairs like servants to exhaust them before the Summit.
On the deck, Liu Cang turned pale.
"This... this is intentional humiliation. If we walk, we lose face. If we refuse, they will activate the Mountain Array."
Jiang Chen stepped forward. He stood on the figurehead of the ship.
He didn't shout. He just spoke, but his voice—infused with Void Treading Intent—bypassed the array and whispered directly into everyone's ear.
"Walk?" Jiang Chen smiled. "My ship doesn't have legs."
"Insolence!" Sect Leader Jian roared. "You refuse to follow the rules? Then I will smash your toy ship out of the sky!"
"Guardian! Strike them down!"
RUMBLE.
The mountain shook.
From the clouds, a colossal head emerged.
It was the Ancient Sky Python.
It was 500 feet long. Its scales were like green steel. Its eyes were the size of houses.
However, unlike the beasts before, this one radiated a terrifying, warping pressure.
[Analysis: Ancient Sky Python]
[Rank: Void Treading Level 4.]
Description: A legendary beast capable of manipulating space. It is the pride of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
"A Void Treading Beast?!" Liu Cang screamed. "Since when did they have a Void Beast?! We are doomed!"
The Python hissed. The space around the ship began to twist and crack. It wasn't just biting; it was trying to crush the ship with spatial pressure.
"Noisy," Jiang Chen said calmly.
He looked at the cushion where Little Black was napping again.
"Little Black. Main course."
Little Black opened its eyes.
It was currently Void Treading Level 2.
The Python was Void Treading Level 4.
Normally, a difference of two levels in the Void Realm was fatal.
But Little Black was a Primordial Chaos Dragon. Levels were just suggestions.
ROAR.
Little Black flew up.
This time, it transformed.
Black mist exploded. Little Black grew to fifty feet long—still smaller than the Python, but its aura was infinitely denser.
Its scales turned into black holes.
The Ancient Sky Python paused. It sensed something. It sensed a Bloodline Suppression from the era of creation.
"HISSS?!" (A Dragon?!)
The Python tried to use Space Lock.
The air around Little Black froze.
Little Black just crunched.
CRACK.
It bit the empty space, shattering the Space Lock like glass.
Then, Little Black opened its mouth.
[Innate God Skill: Void Devour.]
A vortex appeared.
The Ancient Sky Python screamed as its massive body was dragged forward. It tried to wrap itself around the mountain to anchor itself, crushing rocks to dust.
But the suction was absolute.
"No! Stop!" Sect Leader Jian screamed from the ground. "That is my Ancestor's Beast!"
SLURP.
The 500-foot python was compressed into a stream of green energy and sucked into Little Black's mouth.
The Guardian of the Heavenly Sword Sect... was eaten.
Burp.
Little Black floated in the air, looking satisfied. It hiccuped a cloud of green smoke.
Ding!
[Guardian Beast XP Gained.]
[Assimilation of Void Energy.]
[Rank Up: Void Treading Level 6.]
Little Black shrank back down to the size of a cat and landed on Jiang Chen's shoulder.
Silence.
Dead silence.