Rebirth of the Sovereign: God-Level Wealth System

Chapter 5: The Grand Arrival

The main ornamental gates of San Jose University were choked with students. It was the peak afternoon rush between seminars, but nobody was moving toward the lecture halls.

Everyone was staring down at their screens.

A video had been leaked to the campus internal forum exactly twenty minutes ago. It was shaky, raw footage recorded by a nurse at the hospital, showing Ethan Vance getting shoved onto the linoleum by a bodyguard while Chloe stood by, clutching her new Chanel bag. The headline pinned at the top of the student board was brutal: Scholarship ghost gets evicted by Young Master Brooks. Trash belongs in the bin.

"I always knew Chloe was just waiting for an upgrade," a guy in a varsity jacket laughed, leaning his back against the stone archway. "Vance couldn’t even afford a meal plan half the time. What did he honestly expect?"

"It’s just pathetic," a girl next to him muttered, aggressively refreshing the thread. "Look at him on the floor. He hasn't even shown up for his macroeconomics exam. He’s probably hiding in his dorm crying his eyes out."

A hundred yards down the campus boulevard, a sleek, white Porsche Carrera pulled up sharply to the curb. Leo Brooks stepped out, adjusting his designer sunglasses, though his jaw was clamped so tight the muscles in his cheek twitched. Chloe followed him out, her face a messy mask of heavy makeup applied over a pale, intensely stressed complexion.

Neither of them had uttered a single word since leaving the dealership. The image of that green Approved screen was still burned into their retinas like a brand.

"Leo..." Chloe whispered, tugging at his sleeve as students began to wave and point at them. "What if... what if Ethan really has some kind of secret background? The hospital director, the Bugatti... none of it makes sense."

"Shut your mouth, Chloe," Leo snapped, violently ripping his arm away from her grip. "I told you, it’s a setup. My father is checking into it right now. Nobody gets ten million dollars out of nowhere. He’s running a high-level bank fraud scam, and when the federal investigators catch up to him, he’s going away for twenty years. Today, I’m going to make sure he’s completely blacklisted on this campus."

Before Chloe could answer, a deep, earth-shattering rumble vibrated straight through the asphalt.

It didn't sound like a standard luxury engine. It was a low, mechanical growl that rattled the heavy glass windows of the nearby science building. The chatter at the campus gates died instantly. Hundreds of heads turned toward the main intersection.

A low-slung, matte-black shadow cut through the incoming traffic.

The Bugatti Chiron drifted down the university avenue like a stealth fighter jet rolling onto a crowded runway. The carbon-fiber bodywork completely absorbed the afternoon sun, its massive, custom wheels gleaming as it pulled directly into the red-zoned VIP lane right in front of the administration building.

"Holy hell... is that a Chiron?" someone screamed from the back of the crowd.

"Who is that? Did some tech billionaire just show up to buy out the department?"

Students rushed forward, pulling out their phones, completely forgetting about the forum thread. Even the campus security guards stood frozen, not daring to approach a machine that cost more than their entire department's annual operational budget.

The hydraulic suspension hissed, lowering the car closer to the concrete. The driver's side door swung upward with a smooth, silent mechanical click.

A pair of clean, white sneakers stepped onto the pavement.

Ethan Vance climbed out of the driver's seat. He wasn't wearing his frayed, old jacket anymore. He had thrown it in the dealership trash bin, replaced by a simple, raw-silk black shirt that clung to his newly defined chest. The Asura Refining Technique had completely settled over his cells during the drive—his shoulders were broader, his posture carrying the terrifying, effortless grace of a seasoned combat commander.

The crowd went completely dead silent.

"Vance?" the guy in the varsity jacket whispered, his phone slipping an inch from his fingers. "No way. That's... that's the scholarship kid?"

Chloe’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart hammered against her ribs so hard it felt physically painful. She stared at Ethan’s face—the slight hollows in his cheeks were gone, his eyes dark, deep, and carrying an absolute, suffocating authority. He didn't look like the desperate boy who used to split his dollar-menu burgers with her. He looked like an absolute monarch.

Leo took a step back, his face draining of color until he looked like a corpse. "No... no, this is impossible. He rented it. He used that fake card to lease it for a single day to show off!"

Ethan didn't look at the crowd. He didn't look at Leo or Chloe. He just reached into the leather interior, pulled out a sleek folder containing his legal ownership titles, and walked straight toward the administration office.

But Leo couldn't handle it. His pride was entirely broken. In front of the entire student body, he was being completely eclipsed by the guy he had ordered his guards to beat up three hours ago.

"Ethan!" Leo roared, his voice cracking with pure, unadulterated jealousy as he stepped directly into Ethan's path. "Stop acting! Everyone here knows you're a fraud! You sneaked into Apex Motors and pulled a stunt. Show us the registration! Show us whose name is actually on that paper, you pathetic thief!"

The crowd held its breath, eyes darting between the two.

Ethan stopped. He slowly turned his head, his cold, bottomless eyes locking directly onto Leo’s face. A heavy, invisible weight seemed to drop over the courtyard, making it genuinely hard for the closest students to breathe.

"Leo," Ethan said softly, his voice carrying a calm, terrifying chill. "I gave you a chance to run away at the dealership. Are you really that eager to see how fast your family's company can collapse?"