RETURN OF THE DRAGON: Made 100 Trillon in A Day

Chapter 11: The Hidden Dragon Academy

The smoke from the front gates of the Han Estate hadn't even cleared before Elder Han turned to me, his newly restored aura flickering like a dying star. He looked at the devastation, then at the black card I’d forced into his hand.

"You’ve turned my life into a debt, Qin Ming," Han rumbled, his voice still vibrating with the power of the Divine Needle. "But a shield is only as strong as the man behind it. The Eternal Spring Sect isn't just a group of monks; they’re the shadow masters of the province. They’ll be back. And next time, they won’t send an envoy. They’ll send an army."

"Let them come," I said, my golden eyes scanning the horizon. "I have 100 trillion reasons why they’ll fail. But I’m not interested in playing defense forever, Elder. I want the source. Who gave the Lin family the formula for the 'Longevity Pill'? Who taught Xinyi how to poison my specific bloodline?"

Elder Han’s expression darkened. He reached into his robes and pulled out a heavy, obsidian token carved with a roaring dragon. "There is only one place where that kind of 'Black Alchemy' is taught. The Hidden Dragon Academy."

"The Academy?" I took the token. It was cold, pulsing with a faint, rhythmic heartbeat.

"It’s the forge of the elite," Han explained. "The sons of generals, the daughters of sect leaders—they all go there to refine their supernatural powers. It’s a sovereign territory. Even my military can’t cross those gates. If the 'Black Alchemist' exists, he’s hiding in the Alchemical Pavilion there, protected by the Academy’s neutrality."

"Then that’s where I’m going," I said.

"Wait," Han grabbed my arm. "You don't understand. At Hidden Dragon, your billions are dirt. They don't use paper currency. They use Spirit Stones, and more importantly, they respect only one thing: Rank. To them, you’re just a man with a checkbook and zero cultivation. They’ll eat you alive."

"I like being the underdog, Elder," I said with a sharp, predatory grin. "It makes the face-slapping so much more satisfying when the bill comes due."

The gates of the Hidden Dragon Academy were two massive pillars of white jade that seemed to touch the clouds. As my black SUV rolled to a stop, a group of students in silver-trimmed robes gathered, their eyes filled with mocking curiosity.

"Look at this," one boy laughed, leaning against a marble lion. He was radiating a Rank-1 pressure. "Some rich brat thinks he can drive a car into the Sacred Grounds. Hey, merchant! The parking lot for civilians is five miles back!"

I stepped out of the car, adjusting my suit. Su Qinghe followed, looking every bit the lethal secretary.

"Secretary Su," I said, ignoring the boy. "What’s the current exchange rate for a 'Rank 0' entrance f*e?"

"According to the charter, sir, a non-cultivator must provide a 'tribute of significance' to enter as a guest student," she replied, her voice echoing off the jade pillars.

The Rank-1 student walked up to me, his chest puffed out. "A tribute? Listen, trash. I’m Lu Chen, son of the City Governor. I’m a Rank-1 Genius. I don't care how many zeros are in your bank account. In here, you’re less than the dust on my boots. Turn around and go back to your office before I test my new 'Flame Palm' on your expensive suit."

I looked at Lu Chen. "You’re a Rank-1?"

"Top of my class!" he bragged.

"System," I whispered.

[System: Targeted Scan: Lu Chen. Rank: 1 (Fledgling). Combat Effectiveness: Pathetic.]

[Would you like to spend 1 Billion to 'Suppress' his aura for 60 seconds?]

Spend it.

[Transaction Confirmed. Balance: 13,499,000,000,000. Activating 'The Sovereign's Silence'.]

Suddenly, the air around Lu Chen didn't just move; it froze. The arrogant flame flickering in his palm vanished as if doused by an ocean. He gasped, falling to his knees as an invisible weight slammed into his shoulders.

"What... what did you do?" he wheezed, his forehead hitting the gravel. "My energy... I can't feel my core!"

"You said money is dirt, Lu Chen," I said, leaning down so my face was inches from his. "But it just bought the silence of your soul. Now, be a good 'Genius' and hold the door open for the 'Merchant'."

I walked past him, the jade gates groaning open as the Obsidian Token in my hand pulsed. The crowd of students fell silent, their mockery replaced by a confused, chilling fear.

The interior of the Academy was a world of floating pagodas and waterfalls that flowed upward. It was a paradise built on the sweat of the "unrefined" world.

"Chairman," Su Qinghe whispered as we walked toward the registration hall. "The pressure here is immense. I can feel at least a dozen Rank-3 masters watching us from the spires."

"Let them watch," I said. "I’m here for the Alchemist. Find out which pavilion handles the high-level longevity research."

"That would be the Forbidden Wing," a cold, melodic voice interrupted.

I stopped.

Standing in the center of the bridge was a woman who looked like she had been carved from moonlight. Her hair was a river of obsidian, and her eyes were a piercing, crystalline violet. She wore the gold-trimmed robes of a Rank-4—a level of power that could level a city block with a thought.

Mu Rong. The Academy’s Top Beauty and the most feared genius in the province.

She didn't move, but the air around her shivered with the intensity of her Spirit Power. A slender, translucent sword rested in her hand, the tip pointed directly at my heart.

"A commoner like you doesn't belong here, Qin Ming," she said, her voice like the strike of a silver bell.

"You know my name?" I asked, unfazed by the blade.

"The man who bought the Grand Hanhai and forced the Su family into servitude? Word travels fast among the elite," Mu Rong replied. She stepped forward, the sword tip grazing my silk tie. "But your money is a sickness here. You’ve brought the stench of the marketplace into the sanctuary of the Heavens. Leave, or bleed."

"I’m here on business, Mu Rong," I said. "And I don't leave until the contract is signed."

"There are no contracts in the Hidden Dragon Academy," she hissed. Her Rank-4 aura erupted, a pillar of violet light that sent Su Qinghe stumbling back. The bridge began to crack under the sheer weight of her power. "Only the strong survive. You have no Rank. You have no Spirit. You are a zero."

"A zero?" I laughed, the golden light in my eyes flaring to match her violet glow. "Mu Rong, do you know what happens when you multiply a zero by 100 trillion?"

"Die!" she barked.

The sword moved—a flash of violet lightning aimed to take my head.

[System: Incoming Rank-4 Lethal Strike. Warning: Physical body cannot survive direct impact.]

[Emergency Protocol: Spend 50 Billion to activate 'God-Body Phase Two: The Diamond Husk'?]

Do it!

[Transaction Confirmed. Balance: 13,449,000,000,000. Activating Phase Two...]

The sword hit my neck.

The sound wasn't of flesh being cut, but of two tectonic plates colliding. The violet energy shattered upon contact with my skin. Mu Rong’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as her legendary blade—the 'Moon-Sliver'—snapped in half, the broken steel spinning into the water below.

I didn't move an inch. My skin was glowing with a faint, crystalline brilliance that made the sun look dim.

"You broke it," I said, looking at the stump of her sword. "That looked expensive."

"How?" she whispered, her Rank-4 aura flickering and dying in the face of my absolute physical defense. "You have no cultivation! You’re a commoner!"

"I’m a customer," I corrected. I reached out and grabbed the broken edge of her sword with my bare hand, crushing the spirit-metal into fine, violet dust. "And I’m looking for the Black Alchemist. Now, are you going to point me the way, or do I have to buy this bridge and throw you off it?"

Mu Rong backed away, her face a mask of shock and wounded pride. This was the Top Beauty, the girl who had never lost a duel, and I had just turned her weapon into glitter.

"You... you monster," she breathed.

"I prefer 'Investor'," I said.

Suddenly, the sky above the Academy turned black. A green flame ignited in the center of the Forbidden Wing, and a voice that sounded like a thousand snakes hissed across the campus: "Mu Rong! Bring me the Qin boy's blood! The pill is failing! I need the source!"

[System: Target Identified: The Black Alchemist. Rank: 6 (King Realm). Would you like to spend 500 Billion to 'Purchase' the Academy's Loyalty or 1 Trillion to 'Level' the Forbidden Wing?]

I looked at the trembling Mu Rong, then at the green flames. "Secretary Su," I said. "Prepare the checkbook. We’re buying ourselves a Sect tonight."