The ascent from the floor of the Pacific was not a climb; it was a coronation. As Han Jue rose through the pressurized depths, the water itself seemed to part for him, pushed aside by the pulsing blue light of the Heart of the Deep integrated into his chest. Behind him, Han Ling maintained a protective sphere of violet void-energy around the unconscious Li Chen, the "Celestial Arbitrator" whose golden lotuses were now nothing more than wilted petals.
When Han Jue broke the surface, he didn't splash. He hovered.
The Aegis-7 was waiting, but it was surrounded by a blockade of white-and-gold frigates bearing the sigil of the World Audit Organization (WAO). Drones buzzed in the air like metallic hornets, their cameras broadcasting Han Jue's tattered, glowing form to every television and mana-tablet on the planet.
[Notice: You are being watched by 1.2 Billion 'Secondary Debtors'.] [Passive 'Dread Sovereign's Pressure' is magnifying your presence.]
Elena Sol stood on the flight deck of the Aegis-7, her hand on the hilt of her silver rapier. Beside her stood a man Han Jue recognized from the news—High Auditor Vane, the supreme head of the WAO's legal division.
"Han Jue!" Vane's voice was amplified by a mana-megaphone. "By the authority of the Global Stabilization Act, you are ordered to surrender the SSS-Rank artifact 'Heart of the Deep' immediately. Your actions have destabilized the ecological and economic balance of the Pacific sector. You are being charged with High Treason and Unlicensed God-Slaying!"
Han Jue landed softly on the deck, the metal groaning under the phantom weight of his aura. He ignored Vane and looked at Elena.
"Is this the 'recognition' you promised, Investigator?" Han Jue asked, his voice echoing with the depth of the trench.
Elena's expression was pained. "The council is terrified, Jue. You didn't just kill a boss; you claimed a territory that produces 30% of the world's mana-stone exports. They can't let a private citizen 'tax' the ocean."
"Then they should have killed the Emperor themselves," Han Jue said. He turned to Vane. "You want the Heart? Come and take it. But be warned: the Pacific is now my personal vault. Any ship that enters without paying the Gate Tax... sinks."
"Arrest him!" Vane screamed.
The WAO enforcers moved, but Han Jue didn't draw his sword. He simply closed his eyes and whispered to the System.
"Open the High-Tier Hidden Shop. I have twelve million points and a world that needs a lesson in accounting."
The Emperor's Grade Shopping Spree
Time slowed as the System interface expanded, turning the world into a frozen blur of gold and black. This wasn't the petty shop of F-Rank potions and rusted knives. This was the Emperor's Ledger.
[Welcome to the Sovereign's Marketplace.] [Current Balance: 12,001,250 Soul Points.]
Han Jue scrolled through the items, his heart racing. These were things that could change the geography of the world.
The Tower of the Eternal Auditor (Building - Rank S): 5,000,000 Points.
A portable fortress that serves as the guild's physical HQ. It generates a 50-mile 'No-Magic Zone' for anyone not on the payroll.
The Soul-Link Contract (Consumable - Rank EX): 1,000,000 Points.
Allows you to share your 'System' perks with one person. (Perfect for Han Ling).
Skill: 'Market Crash' (Active - Rank S): 2,500,000 Points.
Instantly drains 50% of the Mana from every enemy within a 1-mile radius and converts it into a physical explosion.
The Void-Breaker Suit (Artifact - Rank SS): 3,000,000 Points.
Upgrades the Dread Sovereign's Regalia. Grants permanent flight and immunity to environmental hazards (Lava, Deep Sea, Vacuum).
"I'll take all of it," Han Jue said.
[Transaction Confirmed.] [Remaining Balance: 501,250 Soul Points.] [Downloading Skills... Manifesting Artifacts...]
The world snapped back into motion.
Vane's enforcers were halfway across the deck when Han Jue's armor began to dissolve and reform. The matte-black metal was replaced by a suit of shifting, liquid obsidian that seemed to exist in two dimensions at once. Behind him, a massive, dark silhouette began to rise from the ocean—the Tower of the Eternal Auditor.
It was a spire of black glass and bone-white marble, rising a thousand feet into the air, rooted directly into the seabed.
"What is that?!" Vane shrieked, stumbling back as the Aegis-7 was dwarfed by the massive structure.
"That's my new office," Han Jue said. He reached out and touched Han Ling's forehead.
[Soul-Link Established: Han Ling has joined the 'Auditor's Board'.] [Han Ling has gained the Skill: 'Abyssal Secretary'.]
Ling-er gasped as her violet aura turned into a deep, regal gold. She looked at her hands, feeling the connection to the System, the ability to see the "debts" of everyone around her.
"Brother... I can see it," she whispered. "Vane... he owes the world for three hundred counts of judicial murder."
"Then let's start the collection," Han Jue said.
The Audit of the WAO
Han Jue stepped forward, activating his new skill: Market Crash.
A wave of grey energy rippled outward. The WAO enforcers, all high-tier A-rankers, suddenly felt their mana-cores turn into lead. They collapsed, gasping for air as their mana was literally ripped from their veins.
The mana didn't vanish. It coalesced into a massive, spinning sphere of white light above Han Jue's head.
"High Auditor Vane," Han Jue said, his voice carrying over the crashing waves. "The WAO has operated for fifty years under the guise of 'Stabilization.' But your books are cooked. You've seized more than 400 'unlicensed' artifacts that are currently sitting in your private vault in Geneva. You've let 12 S-Rank rifts open in third-world nations because they couldn't afford your 'protection fee'."
"Lies! You have no proof!" Vane yelled, though his eyes were darting toward the drones.
"I am the proof," Han Jue said. He pointed the Sovereign's Quill at Vane. "Audit: PUBLIC DISCLOSURE."
Through the drones and the global broadcast, the System didn't just show Han Jue's face. It began to stream the WAO's secret ledgers. Every bribe, every hidden vault, and every "accidental" Hunter death was scrolled across the screens of billions of people.
The world went silent. Then, the comments sections of the global news sites exploded.
User123: Is this real? The WAO killed my brother's team in District 4!
HunterKing: I always knew Vane was a snake. Look at those offshore mana-vaults!
SovereignFan: Han Jue isn't a villain... he's a whistleblower with a sword!
[Reputation Gained: 'The People's Auditor'.] [New Passive: 'Public Trust' - Your power increases by 1% for every 10 million people who believe your 'Audit' is just.] [Current Buff: +120% Damage.]
Vane realized he had lost. Not to a sword, but to the truth. He looked at the drones, then at Han Jue, and finally at the massive tower rising from the sea.
"You've started a war, Han Jue," Vane hissed. "The other Sovereigns won't let you hold the Pacific. The Sovereign of Iron in the West and the Sovereign of Storms in the North... they will come for you."
"Let them," Han Jue said. He raised the sphere of stolen mana and crushed it in his hand. The resulting shockwave cleared the fog for a hundred miles. "I've got plenty of ink left in the Quill. And their names are next on the list."
The First Meeting of the Board
Later that evening, inside the Tower of the Eternal Auditor, Han Jue sat in his new throne room. Elena Sol was there, not as an investigator, but as a guest. She looked at the opulent, dark architecture with a mix of fear and respect.
"The Association has officially disavowed Vane," Elena said. "They're terrified the public will turn on them next. You've effectively replaced the WAO as the primary mana-regulator in the sector."
"It's not enough," Han Jue said, looking at a holographic map of the world. Six red dots were blinking in different continents. The other Sovereigns. "The rifts are getting stronger. The 'Source' is trying to balance the debt by flooding the world with more monsters."
Han Ling stepped forward, holding a tablet. "Brother, we've already received 'Tax' payments from fourteen different shipping guilds. They'd rather pay us 15% than deal with the monsters or the WAO's legal fees."
"Good," Han Jue said. He looked at the Class Evolution Shard sitting on the desk.
[Requirement for Class Evolution to 'Sovereign of the Ledger':]
Own one major territory (Complete: Pacific Trench).
Possess 10,000,000 Soul Points (Complete).
Defeat one other 'Sovereign' in single combat (0/1).
"It looks like I need a fight," Han Jue whispered.
Suddenly, the windows of the tower rattled. The clear night sky was instantly replaced by a swirling, metallic cloud of iron filings. A giant, mechanical dragon—three hundred feet long and made of polished steel—descended from the clouds, landing on the tower's balcony.
A man stepped off the dragon's head. He was clad in steam-punk power armor, a massive wrench glowing with blue electricity strapped to his back.
"I hear the Pacific has a new landlord," the man said, his voice a booming, metallic bass. "I'm Garrick, the Sovereign of Iron. And I've come to see if your 'Audit' can handle the weight of my steel."
Han Jue stood up, the Sovereign's Quill appearing in his hand. A dark, cold smile spread across his face.
"Garrick," Han Jue said. "You're late. I've been looking at your 'Environmental Debt' for years. Your factories have been polluting the mana-stream in the Atlantic. The fine... is going to be very, very expensive."
[Target: Garrick (Level 88 - Sovereign of Iron)] [Status: Ready to Combat.]