205: I've taken over your national treasury.

The Great Qian Dynasty, Golden Throne Hall.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like solidified iron.

"Your Majesty!"

The Minister of War stepped forward, his voice hoarse.

"Military pay across the regions... has stopped! Thirty thousand troops on the border have begun to mutiny!"

"Your Majesty!"

The Minister of Personnel followed immediately, his face ashen.

"The salaries of all officials cannot be sustained, local governments everywhere have ceased operation, and chaos is erupting in the cities!"

One bad piece of news after another, like heavy hammers, pounded the Golden Throne Hall.

Pounding the heart of this monarch who had ruled this land for thirty thousand years.

The war hadn't even begun.

His Empire was already beginning to rot and collapse from within.

"Myriad Dao Merchant Guild..."

The Emperor of Great Qian squeezed these four words out from between his teeth.

All the secret agents and powerful experts he dispatched vanished like stones dropped into the sea.

This name was like a ghost hanging over the entire Imperial Dynasty, visible yet intangible.

Yet, it was using the cruelest method to suck the marrow dry from his Empire.

"Have you found anything?!"

His low roar was like that of a wounded beast.

Below, the Commander of the Dark Dragon Guards, responsible for intelligence, plopped onto the ground, shaking like chaff.

"Your... Your Majesty... we can't find anything..."

"The opponent's methods are incredible! It's as if... as if they are everywhere!"

...The Great Qian Imperial Capital, Tianyu City.

A new shop had opened on one of the most prosperous streets.

The shop's plaque, inlaid with jade and gilded, bore four large characters written in soaring, dynamic calligraphy.

"Myriad Dao Merchant Guild."

The shop was overflowing with people.

Countless Cultivators and commoners were queuing to exchange something, holding the Great Qian Banknotes that had become worthless scrap paper.

"Don't rush, everyone! Line up properly! There's enough for everyone!"

A chubby shopkeeper was sweating profusely while maintaining order.

He was not Wang Duojin.

He was merely the most ordinary Outer Sect Disciple of the Myriad Dao Merchant Guild.

On the counter of the merchant guild, there were no Immortal Stones, and no Medicinal Pills.

There were only stacks of beautifully printed... notes.

"These are the 'Myriad Dao Banknotes' issued by our Myriad Dao Merchant Guild!"

"Guaranteed by credit, fair dealings for all!"

"One note can be exchanged for one catty of Spirit Rice! Ten notes can be exchanged for one Low Grade Healing Pill!"

Someone in the crowd questioned him.

"Why should we trust you based on a piece of paper!"

The chubby shopkeeper chuckled.

He pointed toward the giant screen at the shop entrance, which was made from a whole piece of Shadow Recording Immortal Crystal.

An image was looping on the screen.

In the image, Eldest Senior Brother Ye Chenfeng cleaved the sky with a single sword strike.

Second Senior Sister Su Linger froze the sea of stars.

Fourth Martial Brother Zhao Wuyou shattered mountains and rivers with his fist.

Every frame radiated a terrifying pressure capable of making even a Golden Immortal tremble with fear.

The chubby shopkeeper cleared his throat and puffed out his chest.

"Based on this."

"Our Boss said, whoever dares to counterfeit our banknotes, or whoever dares to refuse our banknotes."

"These individuals on the screen will personally pay them a visit to have a good chat about the importance of 'financial credibility.'"

Everyone fell silent.

They looked at those figures on the screen, who resembled gods and devils, and swallowed hard.

Is this damn thing credit guarantee?

This is clearly a death threat!

...Late at night, the Ministry of Revenue Official Residence.

The study room was brightly lit.

The Minister of Revenue, an old man whose cultivation had reached the Late True Immortal stage, was frowning over a pile of bad accounts.

Behind him, two Early Stage Golden Immortal Retainers guarded him like door gods.

Suddenly.

A slight breeze extinguished the candlelight.

"Who!"

The two Golden Immortal Retainers roared simultaneously, their Divine Thought instantly covering the entire residence.

But they found nothing.

"Don't be nervous."

A soft laugh sounded in the darkness.

"We're just here to take inventory of the assets."

As the voice fell.

The Minister of Revenue discovered in horror that his body had sunk into a boundless nightmare.

His consciousness was being sliced into a thousand pieces within the Illusion.

As for the two Golden Immortal Retainers, they didn't even have time to react.

A red mark appeared simultaneously on their foreheads.

Their life force was extinguished.

Hua Ying's figure dropped from the shadow of the roof beam, wiping a Short Blade as thin as a cicada's wing.

Chen Qianhuan walked out from behind the bookshelf and placed a forged confession on the table, stating that the Lord Minister had "stolen assets and committed suicide out of fear of punishment."

"Next."

The two exchanged glances, and their figures melted into the darkness... The next day, early morning.

The center of the Imperial City, Sacrificial Altar Square.

Countless commoners spontaneously gathered here, their expressions fearful.

The collapse of the Empire made them lose their last reliance.

Just then.

A figure in white robes appeared in the center of the square, though no one knew when.

He held a brush, his demeanor clean and refined.

Bai Jinnian.

He looked at the numb and despairing eyes below and sighed softly.

He did not speak.

He simply raised his brush, using the void as paper, and slowly wrote four large characters.

"Imperial Grace is Vast."

The four characters shone with golden light, hanging in the sky.

A surge of Noble Spirit instantly dispersed all the gloom hanging over the Imperial City.

All the commoners bathed in the golden light felt a warm current flow into their hearts.

Their hunger, their sickness, and their fear were all completely soothed at that moment!

"A miracle... a miracle!"

The crowd erupted.

Countless people bowed and worshipped those four characters and that white-robed figure!

Inside the Golden Throne Hall.

The Emperor of Great Qian suddenly spat out a mouthful of golden blood.

He felt with horror that his connection to the national fate Dragon Qi was forcibly severed by more than half by a high-level, overbearing Dao!

His subjects were abandoning him!

"Myriad! Dao! Divine! Sect!"

The Emperor of Great Qian let out an earth-shattering roar.

He finally understood.

The opponent's strategy of removing the firewood from under the pot was complete.

Now, they were flipping the table!

He took a single step, and his figure instantly vanished from the dragon throne.

The next second.

He appeared above the still-crowded Myriad Dao Merchant Guild shop.

The terrifying pressure of Golden Immortal Perfection descended with a crash, like the sky collapsing!

"Die for Us!"

He struck down with a palm!

The golden palm print, powerful enough to wipe the entire street into dust, obscured the sun!

However.

Inside the shop.

The chubby shopkeeper calmly pulled out a golden abacus from under the counter.

He chuckled at the sky.

"My apologies."

"My Revered Master has insured this shop."

He injected a thread of immortal essence into the abacus.

Buzz—

A Light Barrier, invisible to the naked eye, rose from the shop.

The world-destroying golden palm print struck the Light Barrier but vanished as if a clay ox had entered the sea, failing to even stir a ripple.

"What?!"

The Emperor of Great Qian's pupils contracted sharply.

He saw that behind the shop counter, a figure had appeared at some point.

That was a chubby man, also wearing a Purple-Gold Daoist Robe.

Wang Duojin.

He was sitting cross-legged, cracking sunflower seeds, and watching the Emperor with great interest.

As if watching a monkey show.

"Oh, Emperor Your Majesty?"

Wang Duojin spat out a sunflower seed shell and grinned.

"Such a big temper?"

"Why don't you come in and get a Membership Card to cool down?"