The Fifth Chamber trembled under the rage of a God.
The Sky Sovereign (Remnant Soul) floated in the air, his mummified robes flapping in a wind that didn't exist. Blue soul-fire erupted from his eyes, turning the golden clouds above into a storm of spectral skulls.
"Evict me?" The Sovereign's voice was a sonic boom that shattered the Celestial Jade floor tiles. "I am the Creator of this Realm! I am the Law! You are nothing but a rich ant!"
He raised his hand.
[Sovereign Law: Soul Crush.]
An invisible giant hand, formed from pure Willpower, descended on Jiang Chen. This attack ignored physical defense. It was designed to extinguish a soul instantly so the body could be taken vacant.
The Righteous Ancestors watched in horror.
"He's dead," Sword Ancestor Wuji coughed blood, unable to stand. "That is a Dao-Level Soul Attack. Not even a Void Treading expert can survive it."
Jiang Chen didn't dodge. He didn't circulate Qi.
He just stood there and smirked.
"System. Auto-Purchase: [Soul Insurance Policy - Premium Coverage]."
DING.
[Payment Accepted: 10 Million Spirit Stones.]
[Effect: Absolute Soul Immunity for 60 seconds.]
BOOM.
The Sovereign's invisible hand slammed into Jiang Chen... and shattered.
It was like throwing an egg at a diamond wall. A golden barrier materialized around Jiang Chen, flashing with the hologram of a dollar sign.
"What?!" The Sovereign recoiled. "My Law... shattered?"
"Your policy expired," Jiang Chen dusted off his shoulder. "Now, let's talk about property rights."
The Acquisition of Real Estate
Jiang Chen stepped forward.
"You claim this Tomb is yours because you built it 3,000 years ago," Jiang Chen yelled over the howling wind. "But according to the Universal Laws of Real Estate... if you are dead, you lose ownership."
"I AM NOT DEAD!" The Sovereign roared. "I AM RESURRECTING!"
"Legally, you are a squatter," Jiang Chen corrected.
He held up the [Sect Master's Authority] token.
"System. Scan the Sky Sovereign's Tomb."
[Target: Pocket Dimension (Unclaimed).]
[Current Admin: Sky Sovereign (Remnant).]
[Ownership Status: Disputed.]
[Buyout Price: 100 Million Spirit Stones.]
Jiang Chen's eyes lit up.
100 Million.
It was an astronomical sum. It was more than the net worth of the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Violet Mist Pavilion combined.
But Jiang Chen had just extorted every major Ancestor in the region. His pockets were deep.
"I'll take it," Jiang Chen grinned.
"CONFIRM PURCHASE."
RUMBLE.
The entire Floating Island groaned.
The golden clouds stopped swirling. The constellations on the ceiling froze.
A new energy rippled through the dimension. It wasn't the rotting, ancient Qi of the Sovereign. It was the crisp, clean scent of fresh money.
[System Alert: Ownership Transferred.]
[New Admin: Jiang Chen.]
[Ejecting previous Admin...]
"ARGH!"
The Sovereign suddenly screamed.
The throne behind him—the throne he had sat on for three millennia—suddenly rejected him. Golden spikes shot out of the seat.
"My Throne! Why does it reject me?!"
"Because it's my chair now," Jiang Chen sat down on a conjured lawn chair. "And I didn't invite you."
The Asset Stripping
The Sovereign panicked. He could feel his connection to the dimension fading. The gravity, the weather, the traps—they were no longer listening to his commands.
"Kill him!" The Sovereign shrieked at the Heart of the World. "Heart! Destroy the intruder!"
The Heart pulsed. It gathered a massive beam of destruction, aiming at Jiang Chen.
"Su Ling," Jiang Chen checked his watch. "Cut the power."
Su Ling adjusted her glasses. She threw a handful of metallic discs onto the floor.
[Formation: Spirit Circuit Breaker.]
"Hacking the local Ley Lines," Su Ling typed furiously on a holographic keyboard projected by her drones. "Rerouting flow... Bypassing admin privileges... Done."
ZZZT.
The Heart of the World flickered.
The beam of destruction fizzled out like a dying flashlight.
The Heart stopped pulsing. It went dormant.
"My Heart!" The Sovereign floated backward, terrified. "You... you turned it off?!"
"I pulled the plug," Jiang Chen shrugged. "You really should have invested in a backup generator."
The Beatdown
The Sovereign was now isolated.
He had no Tomb. He had no Heart. He had no energy source.
He was just a very strong, very angry ghost.
"I will tear you apart with my bare claws!" The Sovereign lunged at Jiang Chen. "I am still a Half-Step Dao Sovereign!"
"Ye Kai. Wei Wu," Jiang Chen snapped his fingers. "Rough him up. But don't break the merchandise."
"YES, MASTER!"
Ye Kai roared. [Titan Form: Limit Break.]
He didn't care about pressure anymore. He launched himself into the air like a cannonball.
SMASH.
He punched the Sovereign in the face.
"This is for the gravity stairs!"
The Sovereign flew back, but he didn't bleed. He was a corpse.
"Insolent worm!" The Sovereign clawed at Ye Kai, tearing chunks of metallic skin.
But then, a shadow appeared behind him.
Wei Wu.
The blind boy didn't have any killing intent. He was completely silent.
"You are a ghost," Wei Wu whispered. "Ghosts are just memories stuck in the Void."
[Dao Art: Void Severing.]
SLASH.
Wei Wu's rusty sword cut through the Sovereign's spectral arm.
"AHHH!" The Sovereign screamed. The arm didn't fall off; it dissolved into grey mist. "My Soul Body! You can cut souls?!"
"My disciples are built different," Jiang Chen yelled. "Ye Kai, aim for the knees! Wei Wu, clip his wings!"
For the next minute, the Righteous Ancestors watched in stunned silence as the terrifying Ancient God was bullied by three juniors.
It wasn't a fight. It was a mugging.
Finally, the Sovereign crashed onto the jade floor.
He was flickering. His blue soul-fire was dim. He tried to crawl back to the Heart, desperate for a recharge.
"Help..." The Sovereign wheezed, looking at Sword Ancestor Wuji. "Help me... I will give you the Legacy... just kill the boy..."
Wuji looked at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen was holding a Void-Grade Spirit Cannon (purchased just now), aiming it at Wuji's head.
"Don't even think about it, Old Man," Jiang Chen warned.
Wuji looked away. "I saw nothing."
Jiang Chen walked up to the crawling Sovereign.
He placed a foot on the Sovereign's back.
"Game over," Jiang Chen said.
He pulled out a scroll. It glowed with golden system runes.
[Slave Contract: Eternal Servitude.]
"You have two choices," Jiang Chen leaned down.
"Option A: I let Wei Wu cut you into confetti, and you vanish from history forever."
"Option B: You sign this. You become the Guardian Spirit of my Sect. I give you a salary (in Spirit Stones), and you get to live."
The Sovereign trembled. "Me? A Sovereign? Serve a mortal? NEVER!"
"Okay," Jiang Chen raised his hand. "Wei Wu, finish him."
Wei Wu raised his sword.
"WAIT!" The Sovereign screamed. "I'll sign! I'll sign!"
Survival was the strongest instinct. He had waited 3,000 years to live. He couldn't die here.
The Sovereign touched the scroll.
HISSS.
The scroll burned. A golden chain manifested around the Sovereign's neck, then vanished into his spectral flesh.
[System Alert: New Pet Acquired.]
[Name: Sky Sovereign (Remnant).]
[Role: Sect Guardian / Battery.]
[Loyalty: Forced.]
Jiang Chen rolled up the scroll and smacked the Sovereign on the head with it.
"Good boy. Now, sit in the corner."
Jiang Chen walked up to the Altar.
He looked at the Heart of the World. The dormant red crystal.
This was the item everyone had died for. Xie Molin had turned to dust for it. The Ancestors had humiliated themselves for it.
Jiang Chen grabbed it.
"System. Integrate."
[Processing...]
[Item: Heart of the World (Small World Core).]
[Integration Successful.]
The Heart dissolved into red light and shot into Jiang Chen's chest.
He didn't scream. He didn't explode.
The System acted as the perfect buffer, filtering the raw power into usable currency.
RUMBLE.
The entire dimension shifted.
Jiang Chen felt it. He could see everything. He could see the Star-Iron Tribe in the jungle. He could see the remaining Demon ships hiding in the clouds. He could see the panicked Sect Leaders cowering in the corner.
He was now the God of this world.
He turned to the Righteous Ancestors.
They were terrified. They expected Jiang Chen to kill them. He had the power. He had the Sovereign. He had the Heart.
Jiang Chen smiled.
"Don't look so scared," Jiang Chen said benevolently. "I'm a businessman, not a butcher."
He pulled out a stack of invoices.
"However, you did enter my property, damage my floor tiles, and assault my staff."
He handed a bill to Sword Ancestor Wuji.
"That will be 50 Million Spirit Stones for emotional damages."
"Payment due in 30 days. Late fees apply."
Wuji looked at the bill. He looked at the Sovereign chained in the corner. He looked at the God-like aura around Jiang Chen.
He bowed. deeply.
"Thank you... Sect Master Jiang. The Heavenly Sword Sect will pay."
Jiang Chen laughed.
"Pleasure doing business."