CHAPTER 9: THE ECLIPSE OF HOLY LIGHT AND THE SOVEREIGN'S TAX
The sky above the Sanctuary of the Architect was no longer blue. It had turned into a chaotic canvas of blinding gold and oppressive violet. The three "Void-Sailing Ships" of the Holy Light Sect hovered like vengeful gods, their hulls engraved with ancient runes of purification. From the lead ship, a man clad in radiant platinum armor stepped out into the air, walking on invisible stairs of light. This was Saint-Preceptor Lucius, a peak Void Prying expert and a man who believed his every word was a divine decree.
"Lin Yue!" Lucius's voice boomed, vibrating with the power of the 'Heavenly Hymn'. "You have abandoned your empire, surrendered the Heart of the Sword, and knelt before a demon. The Holy Light Sect cannot sit idly by while the balance of the continent is shattered. Hand over the boy named Li Xiao, or we shall sanctify this mountain with your blood!"
At the mountain gate, Lin Yue didn't even look up. She sat cross-legged, her unsheathed sword resting across her knees. Her aura, however, had changed. It was no longer the arrogant power of an Empress; it was the sharp, desperate, and self-sacrificing intent of a guardian. The regret in her heart had condensed into a domain of silence that Lucius's voice could not penetrate.
"You have ten breaths," Lucius sneered, raising his hand. The ships began to glow with a terrifying intensity, charging the 'Heavenly Purification Beam'—a weapon capable of erasing an entire mountain range.
High above, in the shadow of the Grand Pavilion, Li Xiao watched the scene with a cold, predatory amusement. He wasn't worried about the beams. He was looking at the 'Karma Threads' connecting the ships to the Holy Light Sect's main headquarters. To him, these ships weren't threats; they were massive, mobile spirit stone mines.
[ Ding! Host has detected 'Large-Scale Holy Energy'. ]
[ New Function: Fate Tax - Initiated. ]
[ You can now forcibly convert hostile energy into 'System Currency'. ]
"Lin Yue," Li Xiao's voice echoed in the Empress's mind, devoid of any warmth. "They are loud. Silence them, but do not destroy the ships. I have a use for their hulls."
Lin Yue's eyes snapped open, glowing with a cold, golden fire. "As you command, Lord Li Xiao."
In a single, fluid motion, she rose. The air around her didn't just vibrate; it shattered. She didn't use a flashy technique. She simply performed a basic vertical slash—the same one Li Xiao had forced her to practice ten million times during the first century of the simulation.
*SILENCE.*
For a heartbeat, all sound on the continent seemed to vanish. Then, a thin line of golden light, no thicker than a strand of hair, traveled upward. It bypassed the ships' divine shields as if they were made of paper.
*BOOM!*
The lead ship's main mast was sliced clean off, and its purification beam backfired, exploding within its own hull. The Saint-Preceptor Lucius gasped, his platinum armor cracking from the mere shockwave. "Impossible! Your Sword Intent... it's not from this era! What kind of monster did you serve on that mountain?"
Lin Yue didn't answer. She took a step into the sky, her every movement leaving a footprint of shattered space. She was like a ghost of the Ancient Era, a weapon forged in the furnace of Li Xiao's simulation.
As she engaged the three ships in a whirlwind of golden destruction, Li Xiao turned his attention back to the Hall. Yan Feng, the newly awakened Alchemist, was standing there, his dark, pulsating arm glowing with a sinister red light. He was refining the blood and fear of the falling Holy Light disciples into pure spirit liquid, which was then being siphoned by Li Xiao's system.
"The harvest is bountiful today," Li Xiao murmured. He raised his hand toward the sky, and his violet eyes flared. "Fate Tax: Collection!"
A massive violet vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield. The Holy Light Sect's ships, which were powered by the collective faith and Qi of thousands of mزارعين (cultivators), began to vibrate violently. The energy was being sucked out of their cores—not by Lin Yue, but by a force they couldn't see.
Saint-Preceptor Lucius felt his own cultivation base being drained. "My Qi! My life essence! What is this sorcery?"
"It is not sorcery," Li Xiao's voice suddenly boomed across the sky, manifesting as a giant, translucent face of violet smoke. "It is the price of entry. You have stepped into my domain, and in my domain, all destiny belongs to the Architect. Consider this your first payment."
Within minutes, the once-mighty Void-Sailing Ships became hollow shells, their divine light extinguished. They fell from the sky, crashing into the lower slopes of the mountain. Lin Yue stood in the air, her sword dripping with the golden blood of the 'Saints', her eyes fixed on Li Xiao's manifestations.
[ Ding! Fate Tax Collected: 1,000,000 Karma Units. ]
[ System Upgrade: Version 2.0 - Rebirth of the Architect. ]
[ Host's Cultivation: Breakthrough to 'Nascant Soul' Stage - Imminent. ]
Li Xiao felt the massive influx of energy. His Golden Core was expanding, cracking, and a small, violet infant—the Nascant Soul—was beginning to form within his Dantian. This was a speed of growth that would make the gods tremble.
He looked down at the survivors of the Holy Light Sect crawling out of the wreckage. Among them were geniuses who had been groomed for centuries.
"Gu," Li Xiao commanded. "Go down there. Offer them the 'System of the Redeemed'. Tell them they can regain their power and more, provided they swear their souls to the Sanctuary. I want the Holy Light Sect to become my first subsidiary."
Elder Gu bowed, his eyes glowing with a fanatic violet light. "By your will, Master."
Li Xiao then turned his gaze toward Lin Yue, who was still floating in the sky, looking at him with a mixture of awe and heartbreaking longing. He didn't thank her. He didn't even acknowledge her victory.
"Lin Yue," he spoke, his voice cold and commanding. "Clean the mountain. The blood of these 'Saints' is polluting my soil. And once you are done, come to the Grand Hall. I have a new simulation for you to... witness."
Lin Yue's body trembled. Another simulation? Another life where she could see him, even if he hated her? "I... I will be there, Lord Li Xiao."
As she descended to do his bidding, Li Xiao sat back on his throne. The first great power of the continent had been humbled, and their very energy had been converted into his growth. The 'Fate Tax' was now active, and soon, every sect in the world would be paying it, one way or another.
"The world is just a larger furnace," Li Xiao whispered, the violet light in his eye
s swallowing the sun. "And I am the one who controls the flame."