Chapter 18: The Signature of the Abyss
The night sky over Suotou City was ink-black, entirely devoid of stars. Inside the heavily fortified Suotou branch of the Blacksmith Association, the night manager was sweating profusely.
Sitting on his desk was a freshly sealed, magically bound scroll bearing the grand seal of President Lou Gao from Gengxin City. The continent-wide monopoly on Heavy Silver slag had been approved.
The manager wiped his brow, glancing at the massive, muscle-bound Spirit King standing by the door. The guild had hired a Rank 54 defense-type mercenary to guard the exchange tonight. If the mysterious buyer tried to take the contract without paying the astronomical sum required, they were ready.
The shadows in the corner of the office suddenly folded inward.
The manager blinked. One second, the corner was empty. The next, a boy draped in pitch-black canvas stood there, his face hidden behind a featureless wooden mask. There was no sound of a door opening. No fluctuation of soul power. He had simply bypassed a foot of solid ironwood and three layers of security arrays as if they didn't exist.
"The eleventh day," a metallic, raspy voice vibrated from behind the mask. It didn't sound human; it sounded like two grinding tectonic plates. "Do you have it?"
The manager swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he slid the scroll across the desk. "S-Signed and sealed by President Lou Gao himself. An exclusive, fifteen-year continent-wide monopoly. All branches are instructed to bag their slag and ship it here to Suotou."
The masked figure didn't reach for the scroll immediately. Instead, he raised his hand, his void-black ring flashing.
CRASH.
Five massive, reinforced iron chests materialized in the center of the office, the sheer weight of the gold buckling the floorboards.
"I do not deal in installments," the metallic voice echoed. "That is the payment for the first five years in full. I will return to this exact room in one month to collect the first continental shipment."
The manager stared at the mountains of gold, his greed warring with his absolute terror. "Five years? Upfront? My lord, this is... this is unprecedented! You have our absolute word, the shipments will be perfectly weighed and ready!"
"Your word is meaningless," the masked figure stated coldly. "So I will give you a name to put to your fear. You may record me in your ledgers as Lord Shenyuan."
Shenyuan. The Abyss.
Shenyuan stepped closer to the desk, the air pressure in the room suddenly growing heavy. "And listen closely. If I return in one month and find that my shipments are light by even a single ounce, or if you think you can take my five-year payment and skimp on my goods... I will not come back to this branch to complain."
The featureless mask tilted slightly. "I know the exact coordinates of the central forge in Gengxin City. I know the layout of President Lou Gao's private sanctum. If I am cheated, I will simply walk into your Headquarters, and I will extract my 'compensation' directly from your President's bones. Do we have an understanding?"
Before the manager could even process the horrifying threat, Shenyuan unleashed a microscopic fraction of his Conqueror's Pressure.
It wasn't an attack. It was a localized atmospheric collapse. The heavy, abyssal weight of a King Beast slammed into the room. The candles instantly snuffed out. The manager choked, his eyes rolling back in his head as his mind was crushed by the sensation of a predator locking its jaws around his throat.
By the door, the Rank 54 Spirit King roared, summoning his Rhino Martial Soul to resist the crushing gravity. Five spirit rings flared around him as he charged forward, intent on defending the manager.
Shenyuan didn't even turn his head. He took a slow, deliberate step toward the charging Spirit King.
As the mercenary threw a massive, soul-powered punch, Shenyuan simply raised his left hand. He didn't block; he just casually tapped his knuckles against the center of the Spirit King's armored chest.
It was a light, effortless punch. But the raw, unsuppressed kinetic density of his Saiyan muscles, backed by a fraction of the Starfall Asura ring, bypassed the physical armor entirely.
Thud.
The kinetic shockwave traveled directly into the Spirit King's nervous system. The massive man's eyes went instantly blank. His five spirit rings shattered into harmless light, and his three-hundred-pound body crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. He was unconscious before his knees hit the wood.
Shenyuan picked up the sealed contract, slipped it into his ring, and vanished back into the folded space.
The Midnight Tour
For the next ten minutes, the Phantom of Suotou executed a terrifyingly swift, perfectly choreographed tour of corporate subjugation. The script was identical, and the terror was absolute.
Stop 2: The Ocean Trade Coalition
The Payment: Five years of solid gold dropped onto the ledger.
The Threat: "I know the exact shipping lanes to the Sea God Island outer hubs. Skimp on my Whale Blubber, and your Chief Director will drown in his own office."
The Demonstration: Shenyuan released his Conqueror's Pressure, freezing the room in panic. He slowly walked up to the scarred, Walrus-spirit sea captain who was acting as head of security. He delivered a light, open-palmed strike to the captain's solar plexus. The captain folded in half, vomiting a mouthful of air before collapsing into a dead faint.
The Schedule: "I return in one month. Have the barrels ready, Lord Shenyuan."
Stop 3: The Apothecary Guild
The Payment: Five years of gold for the Ice Essence Pith.
The Threat: "I know the secure vaults of your Heaven Dou City Headquarters. Cheat me, and I will personally freeze your Grand Alchemist to her throne."
The Demonstration: Shenyuan bypassed a defensive array of poison-gas traps without triggering a single one. He walked directly up to the resident Rank 58 Healing Master, bypassing the man's defensive light shield with a casual, one-finger tap to the forehead. The Master's eyes rolled back, dropping like a stone.
The Schedule: "One month. Lord Shenyuan."
Stop 4: The Antiquities Exchange
The Payment: Five years of gold for the "useless" Star-Luo Stones.
The Threat: "I will tear the roof off your capital branch and use your guildmaster as a paperweight. Tell them Lord Shenyuan has purchased this market."
The Demonstration: The elite, agility-type guard tried to flank him. Shenyuan didn't even look. He casually backhanded the air. The resulting burst of Ki slapped the guard into the stone wall, embedding him in the plaster, entirely unconscious.
The Return to the Stage
Less than twenty minutes after he had left, the shadows in Room 1 of the Rose Hotel folded back open.
Mame stepped out, the heavy, metallic aura of Lord Shenyuan instantly dissipating. He pulled off the featureless wooden mask and tossed it onto the mahogany desk. He quickly unspooled the black canvas bandages from his forearms, letting his skin breathe.
He had done it.
He tapped his silver ring, double-checking his inventory. Four heavily sealed, continent-wide contracts glowed softly in the void space, right next to his towering mountains of Heavy Silver. The logistics of his multiversal ascension were completely secured, paid for five years in advance, and guarded by the absolute terror of the Abyss.
"One month," Mame whispered, stretching his neck until the vertebrae popped. "In one month, the shipments start arriving, and I build the Gravity Chamber."
He walked over to his wardrobe, reaching for his immaculate silver-white silk robes. It was time to put "Young Master Bai" back on and get some sleep.
BOOM!
A massive, echoing crash violently shook the walls of his ground-floor suite. The sound of shattering crystal, splintering wood, and a furious, tiger-like roar ripped through the walls separating his room from the Rose Hotel lobby.
"I told you, this suite belongs to me! If you want it, you'll have to take it from my fists!" Dai Mubai's arrogant voice boomed through the plaster.
"We paid for the room first. I am not stepping aside for a bully." A calm, even voice replied—a voice laced with cold calculation. Tang San.
Mame paused, his hand hovering over his silver silk robes. A slow, predatory grin spread across his face.
The timeline had officially arrived at his doorstep.
Chapter 18: The Signature of the Abyss (Continued)
The heavy, rhythmic thud of soul power clashing echoed through the walls of Room 1. The Rose Hotel's expensive soundproofing, designed to muffle the discrete activities of wealthy nobles, was completely useless against the kinetic shockwaves of Spirit Masters actively trying to kill each other in the lobby.
Mame stood in the center of his room, listening to the destruction. He didn't feel annoyed; a giddy, predatory thrill bubbled up in his chest.
Finally. The show has started.
He moved with superhuman efficiency. He tapped his silver ring, sucking the black canvas, the wooden mask, and his ledgers into the void space. Leaving no evidence of Lord Shenyuan behind, Mame focused a microscopic pulse of his Sun-Ape Ki across his skin. The holy-fire attribute instantly flash-vaporized the lingering sweat, alleyway mud, and grime from his body, leaving him immaculately clean in less than a second.
He reached into his wardrobe and pulled out the shimmering, silver-white silk robes. He tied his wild black-and-purple hair back with the pristine black ribbon, bound his tail tightly beneath his sash, and smoothed out the expensive fabric.
"I have to admit," Mame chuckled to himself, adjusting his cuffs in the mirror. "Being Young Master Bai is just too fun."
He walked over to the plush mahogany armchair positioned near the wall separating his room from the lobby. He sat down, crossing his legs elegantly, and rested his chin on his knuckles. He was waiting for the perfect, dramatic moment to open his door and step out to interrupt the iconic fight.
BOOM!
"White Tiger, Intense Light Wave!" Dai Mubai's furious roar rattled the floorboards.
"Blue Silver Grass, Bind!" Tang San's calm, calculated voice countered.
Mame's Void Instinct tracked the massive spikes in thermal and kinetic energy right outside his door. The fight was escalating much faster and much more violently than the original timeline described.
Wait for it, Mame thought, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. Just wait until Tang San pulls out the hidden weapons, and then I'll—
CRASH!
Mame didn't even get the chance to stand up.
He had severely underestimated the collateral damage of two overpowered protagonists clashing in a confined space. A massive, concussive shockwave of white light and blue vines detonated directly against the interior wall of his room.
The reinforced plaster, the wooden beams, and the expensive wallpaper absolutely exploded inward.
A storm of debris, shattered bricks, and splintered wood rained down across the luxurious suite. Mame didn't flinch. He didn't summon his Martial Soul. He simply let a microscopic barrier of his Iron-Will Armor coat his skin, causing the flying bricks and jagged wood to bounce harmlessly off his silver silk robes as if they had hit solid titanium.
As the thick cloud of plaster dust began to settle, the gaping hole in the wall revealed the ruined Rose Hotel lobby.
Standing amidst the shattered crystal chandeliers and crushed velvet sofas were the three combatants. Dai Mubai was panting, his blonde hair wild, his dual-colored eyes glowing with feral tiger energy. Opposite him stood Tang San, his hands glowing like white jade, with Xiao Wu poised aggressively by his side.
They all froze, their eyes darting through the massive hole they had just blasted into the ground-floor suite.
Sitting perfectly still in his plush armchair, completely untouched by the devastation and not a single hair out of place, was Mame. He looked at the three Spirit Masters with the mild, aristocratic annoyance of someone who had just found a fly in their soup.
Before Tang San or Dai Mubai could even process the boy sitting in the rubble, a blood-curdling shriek echoed from the back of the lobby.
"NOOO! YOU FOOLS! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
The hotel manager, still sporting the massive purple bruise on his cheek from Mame's hand, came sprinting through the lobby. Right behind him was an older, wealthier-looking man in a panic—the hotel's regional supervisor.
They looked like they were having simultaneous heart attacks. They completely ignored the glowing, dangerous Spirit Masters who had just destroyed their lobby. Instead, the manager and the supervisor scrambled desperately over the broken bricks, throwing themselves through the hole in the wall.
They collapsed onto their knees right in front of Mame's armchair, pressing their foreheads so hard into the glass-covered floor that they began to bleed.
"Forgive us, Young Master Bai!" the supervisor wailed, his voice cracking with sheer, unfiltered terror. "Have mercy! We failed to protect your peace!"
"We are doomed!" the manager sobbed hysterically, clawing at the rubble near Mame's pristine boots. "Please, Young Master Bai, do not be angry! Do not order our destruction! We will take care of these... these filthy intruders immediately! We will rebuild the wall with our bare hands!"
The silence that followed was deafening.
Tang San slowly lowered his jade-white hands, his calculating eyes narrowing as he took in the bizarre, impossible scene. Xiao Wu blinked, her rabbit ears twitching in utter confusion.
But it was Dai Mubai whose jaw practically hit the floor. The white tiger aura flickering around his body sputtered and died. His mismatched eyes locked onto the boy sitting in the armchair. He recognized the immaculate silver-white robes. He recognized the wild, dark hair.
It was the exact same arrogant, untouchable noble who had completely ignored him on the street yesterday.
And now, the management of the most prestigious hotel in Suotou City was literally begging this boy for their lives over a broken wall, completely ignoring the three powerful Spirit Masters standing right behind them.
Mame let the silence stretch for five agonizing seconds. He slowly uncrossed his legs, the sound of his silk robes brushing together seeming incredibly loud in the ruined room.
He looked down at the groveling manager, and then lifted his pitch-black eyes to meet Tang San and Dai Mubai through the hole in the wall.
"I explicitly asked," Young Master Bai said, his voice smooth, cultured, and terrifyingly cold, "not to be disturbed."