The black lightning didn't just hit the lodge; it erased it. The wooden structure vaporized in an instant, leaving Akash sitting cross-legged on the bare, scorched earth of the peak.
[WARNING: BLACK NIRVANA LIGHTNING DETECTED]
[DAMAGE ESTIMATE: LETHAL]
[SYSTEM ADVICE: DEPLOY ALL DEFENSIVE MEASURES!]
"Deploy everything? No," Akash's voice was calm, even as his hair stood on end from the electricity. "System, open every meridian. I'm not going to block this lightning. I'm going to eat it."
[SYSTEM: ...LOGIC ERROR... HOST IS INSANE...]
[PROCEEDING WITH 'TOTAL ABSORPTION' PROTOCOL]
The bolt slammed into the top of Akash's head. His skin turned a charcoal black, and for a second, his skeleton was visible through his translucent flesh—glowing with a blinding, violet light.
"Akash!" Meera screamed from below, trying to rush up the mountain, but Master Yun held her back.
"Don't! If you enter that field, the lightning will kill you both," Yun said, his eyes fixed on the peak. "He is attempting a Sovereign's Rebirth. If he survives, he will be the first in ten thousand years to have a Black-Gold Foundation."
Inside Akash's body, the black lightning was a wild beast, tearing through his organs. But the Sovereign Core, now spinning at the speed of light, began to catch the lightning bolts and wrap them around the foundation pillar it was building.
[FOUNDATION PILLAR PROGRESS: 30%... 60%... 90%...]
[FINAL COMPRESSION!]
BOOM!
A shockwave of golden and black energy cleared every cloud for a hundred miles. The pressure on the mountain vanished. Akash sat in the center of a deep crater, his body steaming. His old skin had peeled away completely, replaced by skin that looked like polished marble, etched with faint, glowing runes.
[CONGRATULATIONS! FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT REACHED]
[GRADE: BLACK-GOLD SOVEREIGN (UNIQUE)]
[NEW STATS: QI RESERVES INCREASED BY 1000%]
[NEW SKILL: THUNDERING SOVEREIGN STEP]
Akash opened his eyes. They were no longer just gold; a tiny spark of black lightning flickered in his pupils. He stood up, and with a simple thought, a set of silk robes from his inventory appeared on his body.
"Akash?" Meera's voice came from the edge of the crater.
Akash turned and smiled. "I'm back, Meera. And I think I'm ready for that slaughterhouse."
Master Yun walked up, his face full of disbelief. He reached out to touch Akash's shoulder and instantly pulled back, his hand stinging from the residual lightning. "Level 1 Foundation... but your aura feels like a Level 5. You... you really are a monster."
"There's no time for celebration, Master," Akash said, looking toward the horizon where seven massive airships were appearing in the sky. "The tournament starts today, doesn't it?"
"Yes," Master Yun sighed. "The Tournament of the Seven Sins. The first stage is Greed, and it takes place in the City of Fallen Gold. You will be dropped there with nothing—no weapons, no pills. You must find everything yourself."
Akash looked at his spatial ring, which was now locked by a spiritual seal from the Sect. "Nothing? Fine."
He looked at the Broken Sovereign Blade in his hand, which was the only thing the seal couldn't touch. "I have my blade. That's more than enough."
[NEW MISSION: SURVIVE THE STAGE OF GREED]
[REWARD: SOVEREIGN'S ARMOR SET (CHESTPIECE)] The airships hovered over a massive, decaying city that shimmered with a sickly yellow light. From a distance, it looked like it was made of solid gold, but as the participants were dropped from the ships, they realized the truth: it was a graveyard of greed.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: STAGE 1 - GREED]
[LOCATION: CITY OF FALLEN GOLD]
[OBJECTIVE: COLLECT 100 GOLDEN CORES]
[RESTRICTION: ALL EXTERNAL ITEMS SEALED (EXCEPT SOVEREIGN BLADE)]
Akash landed softly on a ruined rooftop, his Cloud-Walking Boots making no sound. As he looked around, he saw hundreds of other participants falling from the sky like rain. Within seconds, the sound of steel clashing and screams filled the air.
"Every person here is a target," Akash whispered, his Sovereign's Eye scanning the area.
[WARNING: MULTIPLE HOSTILES APPROACHING]
[LEVEL: FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT 1-3]
Three disciples from the Iron-Blood Sect landed on the same roof. They were covered in heavy armor and carried massive spiked clubs. When they saw Akash—a lone boy with a broken, rusty-looking handle—they laughed.
"Look at this brat! He doesn't even have a real sword," one of them sneered, his eyes filled with greed. "Hand over your survival badge, and maybe we'll just break your legs instead of killing you."
Akash didn't say a word. He slowly drew the Broken Sovereign Blade.
"I don't have time for small fry," Akash said.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: THUNDERING SOVEREIGN STEP]
CRACK-BOOM!
A bolt of black electricity sparked under Akash's feet. He vanished. The Iron-Blood disciples didn't even have time to blink before Akash appeared behind them.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
The broken blade moved like a ghost. Even though it was jagged, the black lightning coating it sliced through their heavy armor as if it were paper. The three disciples collapsed, their cultivation bases temporarily paralyzed by the lightning.
[SYSTEM: 3 GOLDEN CORES ACQUIRED]
[REMAINING: 97]
"Wait!" one of them gasped, clutching his chest. "You... you're a Foundation expert? But you're so young!"
Akash ignored them and looked toward the center of the city, where a massive golden tower stood. The air there was thick with the strongest auras.
"The real 'Greed' is at the tower," Akash thought. "That's where the top seeds will be."
Suddenly, a massive shadow fell over him. A giant bird, made entirely of golden coins and sharp metal, descended from the sky. It was a Guardian of Greed.
[BOSS DETECTED: GOLDEN CALAMITY BIRD]
[LEVEL: FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT 5]
[LOOT: 50 GOLDEN CORES]
"50 cores at once?" Akash's eyes flickered with gold. "Now that's a shortcut I can take."
But as he prepared to strike, a familiar cold aura hit his back. It was the white-robed figure from the cliff—the Observer's Shadow.
"Let's see if the lucky lizard can handle a real monster," a voice echoed in the wind.The Golden Calamity Bird let out a metallic screech that shattered the glass of the surrounding buildings. Its wings, spanning ten meters, were made of razor-sharp golden coins that glinted with a deadly light.
[SYSTEM ALERT: BOSS ATTACK INITIATED!]
[SKILL: RAIN OF AVARICE]
The bird flapped its wings, and thousands of golden coins shot toward Akash like bullets. Each coin was infused with high-level Qi, enough to pierce through a regular Foundation expert's shield.
"So, you want to test me?" Akash whispered, sensing the Observer's eyes on his back. "Then I'll give you a show."
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SOVEREIGN SHIELD - BLACK THUNDER VARIANT]
Instead of a golden dome, a chaotic sphere of black lightning erupted around Akash. The golden coins hit the shield and were instantly vaporized or melted into molten liquid.
Akash didn't wait. He used the Thundering Sovereign Step to launch himself into the air, heading straight for the bird's throat.
"Too slow!" the Observer's voice hissed in the wind, and suddenly, the gravity around Akash tripled. The Observer was secretly interfering again!
Akash felt his body being pulled down, but he smirked. "You think the same trick works twice?"
[SYSTEM: CONSUMING 10 GOLDEN CORES FOR INSTANT BURST!]
[POWER OVERLOAD: 150%]
The black-gold Foundation Pillar in Akash's chest roared. The extra gravity became fuel for his descent. He flipped in mid-air and slammed the Broken Sovereign Blade into the bird's head.
"Sovereign Art: Third Strike - Heaven's Judgment!"
A massive pillar of black lightning crashed down from the sky, following the path of his blade.
BOOM!
The Golden Calamity Bird didn't even have time to scream. Its massive body, made of metal and greed, exploded into a shower of gold.
[BOSS DEFEATED: GOLDEN CALAMITY BIRD]
[EXPERIENCE POINTS GAINED: 5000]
[LEVEL UP! FOUNDATION ESTABLISHMENT LEVEL 1 -> LEVEL 2]
[LOOT ACQUIRED: 50 GOLDEN CORES]
[REMAINING CORES NEEDED: 47]
As the dust settled, Akash stood on the headless carcass of the bird. He turned his head slightly, looking toward the shadow where the Observer was hiding.
"Is this enough for your 'Lucky Lizard'?" Akash asked, his voice cold and echoing.
The white-robed figure slowly stepped out of the shadows. He wasn't the real Observer, but a Soul-Clone. He clapped his hands slowly. "Impressive. You used my gravity to increase your momentum. But don't get arrogant. The Tower of Greed is guarded by the Seven Sin-Eaters, and they are Level 7 Foundation experts. You won't survive them with just raw strength."
The clone vanished into white mist, leaving behind a warning: "The first Sin-Eater is already behind you."
Akash felt a cold blade touch his neck. A girl with blood-red hair and eyes filled with madness stood there, smiling. "Your cores... they look so tasty."