Chapter 10

In her grand castle, the Empress sat in her ornate chair, gazing at her hands, now fully regrown. After all, those in the Nascent Soul Realm possessed the power to regenerate lost limbs. As long as the injury wasn't inflicted by a Dao-related or healing-negation technique, recovery was nearly instantaneous. 

Zhou Lianchen's attack, however, had carried the unique property of healing negation. Yet, she had managed to counter it, her power overcoming the restriction and allowing her body to restore itself.

"That boy is a monster," she muttered, her voice tinged with frustration and awe. "Just who is his mother? Did he sleep with an immortal?"

Her thoughts drifted back to the moment she faced him, the tip of his sword mere inches from her eyes. Zhou Lianchen had claimed he couldn't sustain his Sword World for long, but she now knew that had been a lie.

There was something deeper, an unknown energy sealed within the boy. It had stirred violently during their battle, begging to be unleashed, yearning for a life-and-death clash. But Zhou Lianchen had restrained it, fabricating his excuse on the spot to keep it in check.

That power… it was nothing ordinary. It had felt limitless. Her spiritual sense couldn't even begin to gauge its full extent. The memory brought her back to the day of Zhou Lianchen's talent assessment. Of course, no mortal device could measure the boy's potential. He was a walking enigma, an embodiment of infinite possibility.

"Of course, he fears him," she said, her voice sharp with realization. "Not just because of his talent, but because of his mother. Why didn't he tell me?"

Her fist slammed against the table, cracking its surface with the force of her frustration. She couldn't afford to make an enemy of the child of such a powerful figure. Everything about him made sense now, his strength, his fearlessness. No ordinary child could possess such gifts… unless he was the offspring of an immortal.

Do you want to know what was even more absurd? When Lianchen stood close to her, she could feel his cultivation level, it was only Level 1 Body Tempering. And yet, his strength was comparable to someone at Level 3 Qi Refinement. That kid was a freak of nature. And to think… she had made that freak her enemy.

Then there was his maid. That girl was no ordinary servant. Why else would someone with such presence and power lower herself to serve as Lianchen's maid? She had to be connected to his mother. That would explain everything, her aloof demeanor and her blatant disregard for both the Empress and the Emperor. She didn't even acknowledge their authority.

The Empress sat in silence, her thoughts spinning in a whirlwind of realizations and unease. Eventually, she rose from her chair, her expression cold and determined.

She needed answers, and she intended to extract them from the Emperor himself.

***

"Young Master, no one has returned home. It seems everyone is waiting to see how you will deal with the three clans," Lan Mei remarked with a faint smile, her tone light yet perceptive.

I paused at her words, my gaze lingering on the paper before me. The room was quiet, save for the faint rustle of silk curtains swaying in the evening breeze.

"Have Eternal Blossom Enterprise buy out all the companies working with the three clans. Sever all connections with them," I instructed, my voice calm but resolute.

Eternal Blossom Enterprise had grown exponentially in recent months, its influence spreading like wildfire. What had started as a restaurant business was now a multifaceted powerhouse, offering goods that spanned every conceivable need. Its dominance within the empire's economy was undisputed, the wealth it generated was likened to a boundless sea.

Acquiring those organizations would be a simple task. If any dared to resist, they would soon find themselves isolated, cut off from supplies and business in the cities controlled by the three clans. Resistance was futile against such an iron grip.

The three clans in question were high-tier sects, formidable in their own right but still a step below the empire's noble-grade clans. High-tier clans boasted ancestors in the Nascent Soul realm, while noble-grade clans commanded the power of Nascent Soul clan heads and elders. 

"While they handle that," I continued, my lips curling into a smirk, "I'll ensure the clans start tearing themselves apart from within. Prepare my carriage. We're going to the Mo Clan first."

Lan Mei blinked, confusion flickering in her eyes at my words. She hesitated briefly, as though trying to decipher my intentions, but quickly masked her curiosity. With a swift bow, she left to fulfill my orders without question.

***

Within hours, Eternal Blossom Enterprise began its aggressive campaign, acquiring dozens of organizations at an astonishing speed. By the end of the day, the Three Clans discovered that their trusted business partners had been entirely replaced by another entity, one that treated them as if they didn't exist.

This was no small disruption. While most large clans had systems in place to sustain themselves even under external pressure, it was never a perfect solution. The Three Clans, like any significant power, had their own alchemists, doctors, and herb gardens. However, these internal resources weren't enough to maintain their vast operations indefinitely. At best, they could stretch their reserves for a few decades before facing financial collapse. After all, a major clan could have thousands of members, all requiring constant resources.

Food, water, and medicinal supplies were just the basics. When cultivation resources were factored in, the pressure on the clans became evident. The cracks were already beginning to show. Panic set in among the clan heads, who scrambled to negotiate with Eternal Blossom Enterprise, desperate to halt the devastating isolation.

But Eternal Blossom wasn't merely a passive aggressor. For the organizations that refused to sell, it employed cutthroat tactics. New stores were built alarmingly close to the holdouts, undercutting their prices and luring away their customers. It was economic warfare, and Eternal Blossom had the upper hand.

While the empire's attention was drawn to the chaos caused by Eternal Blossom's swift actions, no one noticed the quiet departure of the Zhou Empire's prince. Unbeknownst to all, he had left the capital, heading toward Redcliff City, the domain of the Mo Clan, one of the three overlords of the region.

***

"How long until we arrive?" I asked calmly, seated in the carriage. My hands were busy working on a human-sized puppet, carefully engraving strange symbols onto its surface.

"One day. Redcliff City is over 200 kilometers away," Lan Mei replied with a faint smile, her gaze fixed on my work. I nodded, acknowledging her words, and continued with my task.

A Saiyan's potential was limitless, and that extended to mastering any skill or path. For me, this meant becoming a jack of all trades, and a master of them as well.

Right now, I was crafting a puppet. In Earth's terms, it was akin to building a robot. The path of a puppet master intrigued me because it offered a practical solution: extra hands to manage the growing resources and demands of my expanding influence. I couldn't do everything on my own, and I didn't trust others enough to delegate sensitive tasks. Puppets, however, were different, they would follow my exact commands without fail.

By engraving symbols, essentially programming them, I could make my puppets perform any task. Cooking, sewing, crafting tools, running errands, whatever I needed, they could do. But my ambitions didn't stop there. I had started infusing my understanding of the Dao into these creations.

Now, about the Dao... In this world, Dao Cultivators were like scholars, focusing on deep comprehension of concepts and philosophies. Unlike typical cultivators who absorbed Heaven and Earth energy to grow stronger, Dao Cultivators studied the heavens themselves, uncovering its secrets and turning knowledge into strength. The tradeoff? They often lacked direct combat power and could easily get stuck in their progression if their comprehension hit a dead end.

Essentially, Dao Cultivators were the scientists of the cultivation world. They explored the Dao of Alchemy, the Dao of Space, and even the Dao of Puppetry. Their abilities might seem impractical at first, but their mastery allowed for miraculous feats. For example, alchemists walking the Dao of Alchemy could create pills of impossibly high purity, defying conventional limits.

For me, comprehending the Dao of Puppets opened doors to a unique power: the ability to create puppets that weren't just tools but extensions of myself. As I deepened my understanding, I could infuse my knowledge, skills, and even my comprehension of the Dao into my creations. This meant every puppet wasn't just functional, they were reflections of me, capable of carrying out tasks with a fraction of my power and understanding.

Impressive, right? With this technique, I envisioned an army of puppets working tirelessly to generate resources. These resources would flow directly into Eternal Blossom Enterprise, where they would be assembled, sold, or utilized by its workforce.

"… Tonight is going to be a full moon, right?" I asked lightly, breaking the comfortable silence.

Lan Mei froze, her expression tightening as memories surfaced. She vividly recalled when I was just a few months old, staring at the moon for the first time, and beginning to transform into a massive ape. Since then, she had made it her mission to keep me far from the moonlight.

"I wish to gain mastery over that transformation," I said calmly, breaking her train of thought.

She hesitated for a moment, concern flickering in her eyes, but eventually nodded in understanding. She knew as well as I did that the transformation was too valuable to ignore. The Great Ape form brought a tenfold increase to my overall power. To leave such a potential untamed would be wasteful.

'I also need to master the Legendary Super Saiyan form while I'm at it…' I thought, a smirk tugging at the corners of my lips. It was a goal I had long set my sights on. That transformation required me to unlock it once more, but its synergy with my cultivation art could make me unstoppable.

The Legendary Super Saiyan form was a terrifying thing to behold. It tapped directly into a Saiyan's unlimited potential, bringing it into stark reality. But that potential came at a price. The transformation forced my power to grow uncontrollably, accelerating at a pace so rapid it could overwhelm me. Without a way to release or control that energy, the body itself could become unstable, potentially exploding under the strain... and my cultivation art?