The vault was no longer a sanctuary of ancient relics; it had become a pressure cooker of clashing ideologies. Li Chen, the Celestial Arbitrator, stood bathed in a radiance that felt like a localized sun, yet the shadows cast by Han Jue's new Abyssal Governor form were not retreating. They were encroaching, creeping up the golden lotuses like a slow-acting poison.
Li Chen's jade fan was no longer fluttering. It was held rigid, a conduit for a level of mana that would have vaporized any other Level 22 Hunter. But Han Jue wasn't just a Hunter anymore. He was a systemic anomaly.
"You speak of exchange rates," Li Chen hissed, his voice losing its ethereal calm. "But you forget, Han Jue, that the Heavens do not negotiate with the void. We dictate the value of all things."
"Then your market is about to crash," Han Jue replied.
The black ink of the Ledger of the Lost had fully integrated into his skin, forming intricate, vein-like tattoos that pulsed with a dark purple rhythm. He felt the weight of the ocean above him—millions of tons of saltwater—but it didn't feel like a burden. It felt like collateral.
[Class Evolution: 100% Complete.] [Class: ABYSSAL GOVERNOR (Rank: Unique-Epic)] [New Passive: 'Sovereign Immunity' - Status effects from lower-rank beings are ignored. High-rank effects are reduced by 40%.] [New Skill: 'Liquidate Assets' - Upon killing a target, you may choose to instantly convert their corpse into permanent stat points instead of Soul Points.]
Before the two could exchange a lethal strike, the vault groaned. The sound wasn't the cracking of stone; it was the sound of a living mountain shifting its weight.
The ceiling—the floor of the Emperor's throne room—didn't just collapse; it was vaporized by a pillar of pressurized, boiling water.
[WARNING! WARNING!] [S-Rank Boss: The Emperor of the Trench has arrived.] [Status: Enraged by the 'Theft' of the Ledger.]
A shape descended through the hole. It was twenty feet tall, a nightmare of bioluminescent flesh and chitinous armor. It looked like a fusion of a man and a deep-sea kraken, draped in a cloak made of the translucent skins of fallen dragons. In its hand, it gripped a trident forged from "Frozen Mana"—ice that was colder than the absolute zero of the void.
[Target: The Emperor of the Trench (Level 95)] [Total Debt: 12,000,000 Soul Points (Crimes against the Natural Order).]
"Twelve million..." Han Jue's eyes widened. That wasn't just a jackpot. That was an empire.
The Emperor didn't speak. It raised its trident, and the very air in the vault turned into a high-pressure jet. The shockwave sent Li Chen's lotuses shattering. The Arbitrator was thrown against the wall, his golden shield flickering dangerously.
Han Jue, however, didn't move.
[Skill Activated: Audit of the Divine.] [Level Gap: 73 Levels.] [Damage Reduction Applied: 95% (Hard-Capped).]
The jet of water hit Han Jue with the force of a freight train, but it flowed around him as if he were a ghost. The black ink on his skin glowed. He felt the impact, but it was like a dull thud instead of the bone-shattering annihilation it should have been.
"Impossible," Li Chen gasped, coughing up a streak of golden blood. "He... he took a direct hit from an S-Rank Boss..."
"Li Chen!" Han Jue yelled, his voice echoing with the authority of the Abyss. "You want to talk about merit? The Emperor just put a bounty on his own head. If you want to survive, stop trying to 'balance' me and start trying to 'audit' him!"
The Emperor roared—a sound that vibrated through the marrow of their bones—and lunged. The trident whistled toward Han Jue's heart.
The Unholy Alliance
Li Chen was an elitist, a fanatic, and a snob, but he wasn't a fool. He saw the way the water bowed to Han Jue. He realized that in this environment, his "Celestial" powers were being dampened by the depth, while Han Jue was thriving.
"Fine!" Li Chen screamed, his jade fan expanding into a massive, translucent shield of light. "I will provide the containment! You... you do whatever it is that your 'System' demands!"
"Good choice," Han Jue said.
[New Party Formed: The Auditor & The Arbitrator (Temporary).] [Shared Objective: Liquidate the Emperor.]
Li Chen slammed his hands together. "HEAVENLY LOCKS: NINE SUNS!"
Nine spheres of golden fire erupted in the underwater vault. They shouldn't have been able to burn beneath the waves, but they were fueled by Li Chen's Level 72 mana. They formed a ring around the Emperor, creating a zone of intense heat and light that boiled the monster's chitinous armor.
The Emperor shrieked, its movements slowing as the water around it turned into steam.
"Now, Shadow-Dweller!" Li Chen roared, his face turning pale from the strain.
Han Jue didn't need to be told twice. He activated Shadow Step, appearing directly on the Emperor's massive, pulsating shoulder.
"Audit of the Divine: SEIZURE!"
He slammed the Sovereign's Quill into a gap in the Emperor's armor. This wasn't a physical strike. He was reaching into the creature's status screen.
[Accessing Emperor's 'Account'...] [Asset Found: 'Regeneration' - SEIZED.] [Asset Found: 'Pressure Control' - SEIZED.]
The Emperor's wounds, which had been knitting back together instantly, suddenly stopped. Its bioluminescent eyes dimmed. The monster felt something it hadn't felt in ten thousand years: Vulnerability.
"What did you do?" the Emperor's voice echoed in Han Jue's mind—a deep, gurgling telepathy. "I am the ocean! I am the depth!"
"You're just a debtor whose interest has finally caught up," Han Jue hissed.
He gripped the Quill with both hands, the black ink from the Ledger of the Lost flowing down the blade and into the monster's nervous system.
"EXECUTIONER'S MARK: TOTAL LIQUIDATION!"
The red 'X' appeared, covering the Emperor's entire chest.
Li Chen saw the opening. He poured the last of his mana into a single point. "CELESTIAL SPEAR: JUDGMENT!"
The spear of light and the Quill of darkness struck the 'X' at the exact same moment.
The Aftermath of Greatness
The explosion didn't make a sound. It was too powerful for the medium of water to carry. Instead, a sphere of pure white and violet energy expanded from the center of the vault, vaporizing the water, the rubble, and the remaining Trench Guardians in a five-mile radius.
When the light faded, the Sunken Palace was gone. There was only a massive, smooth-walled crater at the bottom of the Pacific.
Han Jue lay at the center, his armor cracked, his mana completely drained. Beside him, Li Chen was unconscious, his golden robes shredded, his jade fan broken into three pieces.
In front of them, the Emperor of the Trench was no longer a monster. It was a pile of white, calcified ash. And floating above that ash was a single, glowing blue orb: The Heart of the Deep.
[MISSION COMPLETE!] [The Emperor of the Trench has been Liquidated.]
Collected: 12,000,000 Soul Points. Bonus: Class Evolution Shard (Abyssal Governor → ???). Current Balance: 12,001,250 Soul Points.
Han Jue looked at the number. Twelve million. He wasn't just out of debt. He was the wealthiest man on the planet—spiritually and financially. The interest from this single kill would allow him to buy the entire City of District 7. He could buy a country.
But his attention was on the orb.
[Item: Heart of the Deep (Rank SSS - Soul Bound).] [Effect: You are now the 'Owner' of the Pacific Trench. All rifts within this zone must pay a 15% 'Gate Tax' to you.]
Han Jue reached out and grabbed the orb. As it touched his skin, it vanished, integrating into his core. He felt the ocean above him. He felt every fish, every monster, and every Hunter currently swimming in "his" water.
"Brother!"
Han Ling dropped from the sky, her violet aura flaring as she landed beside him. She looked at the crater, then at the ash, and finally at her brother.
"You did it," she whispered, her eyes wide. "The energy spike... the Association thought you were dead. Elena Sol is on her way."
Han Jue stood up, leaning on the Sovereign's Quill. He looked at the unconscious Li Chen. He could kill him now. He could 'Extract' a Level 72 Arbitrator and gain a massive boost.
But he didn't.
"Let him live," Han Jue said, his voice carrying a new, quiet authority. "He needs to go back to the Eastern Coalition and tell them what he saw. He needs to tell them that the Audit is no longer local."
He looked up at the surface, where the lights of the Aegis-7 were visible through the dark water.
"Ling-er," Han Jue said. "Call the office. Tell the remaining staff to prepare the 'Expansion' paperwork."
"Expansion?" she asked.
"We're not a guild anymore," Han Jue said, his eyes glowing with the deep, cold blue of the trench. "We're a Central Bank. And the world is about to enter a recession."