The morning sun over Bo City was deceptively peaceful, casting long, golden shadows across my room. It had been a few days since my last visit to the Mu family—days spent in a rare pocket of leisure—but the indulgence was over. My brothers would be back from their duties in Yueyang City in just a few hours.
When they arrived, the clock would start ticking on a future that the rest of the world wasn't prepared for.
I pushed myself out of bed, the cool morning air a sharp contrast to the ambitious heat building in my chest. Walking toward the bathroom, I stripped and stepped into the shower. As the hot water hammered against my shoulders, my mind shifted from the mundane to the strategic. I needed a framework. I didn't just want to be a powerful mage; I wanted to be the patriarch of a force that could make the Holy City hesitate.
"First things first," I whispered to the steam. "The family must be established before the World College Tournament begins."
In the original timeline, Mo Fan had the strength of a god but the political foundation of a nomad. Despite his world-shaking contributions, the established aristocratic families and the Magic Association treated him like a talented mercenary rather than a sovereign power. They intercepted his resources, suppressed his growth, and stripped his faction of the rewards they had earned with blood. I wouldn't let that happen.
To truly hold what you earn in this world, you don't just need a seat at the table—you need to own the room.
My 10X Reward System was my greatest edge, but I had finally come to terms with its limitations. It was a scalpel, not a quarry. It could turn one high-grade soul seed into ten, or multiply a singular pile of magic stones, but it couldn't conjure a mana mine out of thin air or multiply the complex, scattered infrastructure of a global supply chain. To support a true force—not just a squad of ten or fifteen elites, but hundreds or thousands of mages—I needed the systematic resources that only a top-tier recognized family could claim.
The World College Tournament was the key. Rankings in that tournament didn't just bring fame; they brought a massive influx of resources from the world's governing bodies. But there was a catch: to even qualify to establish a family, one needed a Super Level Mage.
To the rest of the world, reaching the Super Level was a monumental hurdle. To me, it was merely the entry fee. The real challenge was what came after. A single Super Level Mage could start a family, but they couldn't protect it from the vultures of the long-standing clans. If we wanted to keep the resources we were owed, we needed overwhelming, undeniable strength.
I leaned my head against the cool tile, mapping out the bottleneck: Star Sea Veins.
These were the ultimate gatekeepers.
Without a Star Sea Vein, a High-Level mage could never hope to break through the barrier to the Super Level. Because the Great Families and the Magic Association held a monopoly on them, they controlled who rose and who stayed down. They rarely appeared in auctions, and when they did, the price wasn't just money—it was influence.
"If they won't sell them for gold, I'll buy them with essence," I decided.
The plan formed with cold, mechanical precision. To bypass the gatekeepers, I needed Monarch-level Spirit Essences. They were the only currency rare enough to force a trade for a Star Sea Vein.
Currently, I had ten High-Level mages under my command, including my brothers. On paper, a squad of High-Level mages hunting a Monarch was suicide. But with my system, I could bridge the gap.
"Step one: Hunt the small fry," I thought, turning off the water. "Amass enough Servant and Warrior-level essences to fuel the magic system. Step two: Use those resources to force-upgrade every member of the squad until their primary elements reach High-Level Tier 5."
A squad of ten mages, all wielding Tier 5 High-Level magic, wouldn't just be a team. They would be an apex predator unit. At that level, a Lesser Monarch wouldn't just be a nightmare—it would be a target.
It would be a grueling path. It would take three years, perhaps four, of living in the wilderness and bathing in monster blood. But by the time my brothers and I walked out of those shadows, we wouldn't just be asking for a place among the elite. We would be ready to take it.
I dried off and dressed, feeling the weight of the future settling on my shoulders. I heard the distant sound of a car approaching—my brothers were early.
The gravel of the driveway crunched under the tires of a heavy-duty tactical SUV, a sound that signaled the end of Li Yuzi's quiet contemplation. He walked out of the house. His four brothers stepped out of the car, looking at him with weary smiles.
"Look at him," the eldest, Li Shen, barked with a grin that didn't quite hide the exhaustion in his eyes. He was the first to close the distance, gripping Yuzi's forearm in a traditional warrior's hold. "Living the life of a scholar has made you quite a bit taller than before, Yuzi."
The others followed in a chaotic blur of camaraderie. Li Wei and Li Jun, the twins, were already arguing over who had secured more kills, while Li Han—the youngest of the four and the most hot-headed—let out a boisterous laugh, slapping Yuzi on the shoulder hard enough to rattle a normal man.
Li Zhu, who had come out of the house to greet them, remained a step back, his sharp eyes scanning Yuzi with a quiet, knowing nod.
"The air in Bo City is too still, Yuzi," Jun remarked, his voice low. "It makes us restless."
"That's about to change," Yuzi replied, his gaze sweeping over the five of them. He could see the micro-tears in their combat gear and the hardened edge in their magical auras. They were strong, but they were still playing by the world's rules.
He felt the "ambitious heat" in his chest flare. These men were the foundation of the empire he was about to build.
"Yuzi, where is Grandma Zhang?" Li Shen asked, looking toward the door.
"She isn't at home right now, but she'll be back soon," Li Zhu replied, dragging the twins—who were still bickering—into the house.
"Brother Shen, I need to tell all of you something very important," I said. My brothers stopped, their expressions sharpening as they raised their eyebrows in unison
To be continued.....
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