The fall of a Great Empire is rarely a clean affair. Usually, it involves the thunder of a million boots, the screaming of dragons, and the smell of charred jade. But under the "Total Liquidation" enacted by the seventh prince of Lu, the Zhou Empire didn’t fall—it evaporated. It was a corporate restructuring on a cosmic scale, where the currency became worthless and the royal authority dissolved like sugar in a monsoon.

  In the heart of the Ancient Zhou City, within a palace that had stood for ten thousand years, the air was cold. The servants had fled, taking whatever gold they could pry from the walls. The "Blackthorn" assassins were either dead or hunting their former masters for the bounties Lu Lingshu had placed on their heads.

  In the Imperial Bedchamber, Emperor Zhou Mingyuan sat on his high bed, clutching a useless, rusted ceremonial dagger. His eyes were wide with a paranoia that had finally become reality. Beside him, the Crown Prince, Zhou Tiancheng, was frantically trying to burn documents, his face pale and sweat-streaked.

  "It's over, Father," Tiancheng hissed. "The Lu siblings... they didn't even send a soldier. They just stopped our heart. We are the sovereigns of a graveyard."

  A soft, rhythmic sound echoed from the dark hallway. Scrub. Scrub. Scrub.

  A boy walked into the room. He was the youngest son, Zhou Wenhao. He wasn't wearing his royal silks. He was wearing the rough, gray burlap of a low-level servant, and he was carrying a bucket of dirty water and a wooden brush.

  "Wenhao?" the Emperor gasped. "Why are you dressed like that? Get out! Find the secret passage! Save the bloodline!"

  Wenhao stopped. He looked at his father—the man who had watched his sister, Zhou Lingxue, die of poison because her soul-talent was "too dangerous" for his control. He looked at his brother, Tiancheng, who had personally stirred the toxin into her tea.

  "The bloodline?" Wenhao asked. His voice was flat, devoid of the "average" persona he had cultivated for years. "The bloodline ended the day you killed Lingxue-Jie. I've been waiting for this silence for a long time."

  "What are you saying?" Tiancheng snarled, stepping forward.

  Wenhao didn't move. He reached into his bucket and pulled out a small, glass vial. It was empty. "I’ve been the one cleaning your chambers for three years. I’ve been the one preparing your 'restorative' incense. The liquidation of the Lu Prince was just the catalyst. Your meridians have been rotting since the winter of the Great Frost."

  The Emperor tried to stand, but his legs collapsed. He vomited a thick, black bile that smelled of bitter almonds and decayed spirit-herbs. Tiancheng fell beside him, clutching his throat. It was the exact same poison they had used on their siblings.

  "You... you traitor..." the Emperor wheezed.

  "No," Wenhao said, kneeling down to look his father in the eyes. "I am a survivor. And today, I am a benefactor. I am giving you the only thing you ever gave your children: an 'accidental' end."

  As the last of the Zhou royal bloodline (minus one) breathed their last in the dark, Wenhao stood up. He didn't feel joy. He felt empty. He looked toward the South, toward the Lu Empire. He had watched the white pillar of light from Lu Xian’s awakening. He had felt the "Liquidation" take hold.

  "You gave me the chaos I needed to finish the job," Wenhao whispered, bowing deeply toward the distant Luòtiān. "For the rest of my life, my shadow belongs to you."

  The Aftermath: The Lazy Savior

  Back in the Lu Empire, I was currently face-down on a massage table.

  The "Liquidation" had taken a lot out of me. Not physically—my Origin Dao Body was currently humming with more power than a miniature sun—but mentally. I had spent three hours being a "Shark," and my brain was demanding a three-year vacation.

  "Xian-er, you can't stay like that forever," my 3rd sister, Yueran, said, poking my shoulder with a needle that looked suspiciously like a harpoon. "The reports are coming in. The Zhou Empire is in total collapse. The citizens are starving because the merchants won't accept Zhou coins."

  "Not my problem," I muffled into the face-hole of the massage table. "I destroyed the government, not the people. Tell Lingshu to fix it. She’s the one with the gold."

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  "She is fixing it," Lu Tianhao said, walking into the room. He looked refreshed. Since our father had reached the Golden Immortal Realm, the "Throne Pressure" had shifted slightly away from Tianhao, making him annoyingly cheerful. "But she can't do it alone. The Tian Empire has surprisingly sent an envoy. They want to help 'stabilize' the North. They’ve recognized Zhou Wenhao as the legitimate heir."

  I sat up, my hair a mess. "Wenhao? The quiet kid? He survived?"

  "He didn't just survive," Tianhao said, his eyes glinting. "He wiped out the corruption in a single night. He sent us a letter. He’s offered the Zhou Empire as a permanent vassal state to the Lu. He said... and I quote... 'The Emperor of Zhou is but a gardener in the Prince of Lu's backyard.'"

  I groaned, sliding back down. "He’s a fanboy. Great. Just what I needed. Another person to make me famous."

  "He’s coming here to swear his oath," Yueran added. "And Father wants you there. As the 'Monster' who orchestrated the fall, it's only proper."

  "I'm not a monster!" I yelled at the ceiling. "I'm a victim of circumstance! I’m a peace-loving toddler who just wants a juice box and a nap!"

  But I knew I couldn't ignore the citizens. Being a "Shark" meant understanding that a failed market is bad for everyone. If the Zhou Empire turned into a wasteland of bandits and famine, the Lu borders would never be peaceful. To be truly lazy, I needed the world to be stable.

  "Fine," I sighed. "Tell Lingshu to release the 'Grain-Standard' currency I designed. We’ll back the new Zhou currency with Lu Empire spirit-grains. It’ll stabilize their market in forty-eight hours. And tell the Tian Empire that if they want to help, they can handle the physical infrastructure. We provide the brain, they provide the bricks."

  The Council of the Sovereigns

  While I was busy trying to find a loophole that would let me attend the diplomatic meeting via a hologram (I failed; apparently, holograms are "impersonal"), a very different meeting was happening in the Golden Dragon Pavilion.

  Emperor Lu Tian, now radiating the golden light of a Golden Immortal, sat with Empress Fu Meyar and the Consorts. They were looking at a series of reports detailing my "Liquidation" tactics.

  "He used a short-sell on their grain futures to trigger a palace coup," Lu Tian said, shaking his head in wonder. "I've been a cultivator for a thousand years, and I’ve never seen a war fought with 'futures.' Where did he learn this?"

  "He didn't learn it, Tian," Hu Wan said, her eyes glowing with pride. "He is it. Our Xian-er sees the world differently. To him, the Divine Realm isn't a battlefield; it’s a... what did he call it? A 'Market'?"

  "He’s a genius," Consort Li’er added, rubbing her healed wrist. "He saved me, saved the empire, and stabilized a rival power all before his afternoon snack. I think we should give him more responsibilities. Clearly, he thrives under pressure."

  "No," the Emperor said, a cunning smile playing on his lips. "If we give him pressure, he’ll just liquidate us too. No, we must be subtle. We must make him think he’s being lazy, while he’s actually governing. We’ll call it... 'Consultant-Led Governance'."

  "He'll hate it," Empress Meyar laughed.

  "He'll be brilliant at it," the Emperor countered. "Look at how he handled the Zhou youngest. By supporting Wenhao, he’s created a buffer state that is 100% loyal to him. He’s basically expanded our borders without losing a single soldier. My happiness from reaching the Golden Immortal realm is nothing compared to the joy of knowing I can finally hand over the 'Boring Stuff' to someone who can do it in his sleep."

  The Meeting of the Monster and the Ghost

  The day of the official ceremony arrived. I was forced into a set of heavy, gold-threaded robes that weighed more than a small pony. I sat on a miniature throne next to my father, looking like the world's grumpiest doll.

  Zhou Wenhao entered the hall. He looked different. The "servant" aura was gone, replaced by a cold, sharp dignity. He walked to the center of the hall, ignored the Emperor for a moment, and looked directly at me.

  He knelt. He didn't just bow; he performed the Full Prostration of the Soul.

  "Zhou Wenhao, Emperor of the Restoration, greets his Benefactor," he said, his voice echoing through the silent hall.

  "Get up," I muttered. "You’re making it weird. Just run your empire, keep the borders quiet, and don't send me any more letters. We’re good."

  Wenhao stood up, but the look in his eyes told me I hadn't gotten rid of him. He looked at me with the same terrifying loyalty that Qin Chenfeng had, but with ten times the intelligence. Chenfeng was the sword; Wenhao was going to be the shield.

  "As you wish, Prince," Wenhao said. "The Zhou Empire shall be the anvil upon which your enemies are broken. I have already begun purging the remnants of the Blackthorn Sect. Their heads will be delivered to your garden by dusk."

  "Please don't put heads in my garden!" I screamed. "I have flowers there! And a duck pond!"

  The Lu siblings, standing behind me, all started clapping.

  "See?" Lingshu whispered. "He’s already delegating! He’s a natural!"

  I slumped back into my throne, defeated by my own success. I had liquidated an empire to save my family, and in return, I had gained a loyal vassal, a battle-maniac rival, a Golden Immortal father who wanted to retire even more than before, and a reputation as a "Legendary Monster."

  "I'm going to breakthrough to the next realm," I whispered to myself.

  "That's the spirit, Xian-er!" Tianhao cheered.

  "No," I hissed. "I'm going to breakthrough so I can learn the Space-Time Anchor technique. I’m going to freeze time so I can sleep for a hundred years without anyone bothering me."

  But as I looked at Wenhao, and then at my siblings, and finally at my laughing parents, I realized the truth. The Divine Realm was a "Market," and I was the "Shark." And a Shark can never truly stop swimming, even if all he wants to do is float.