The Standardized Currency Exchange Unit had saved the Imperial economy, stabilizing the gold standard and forcing Head Minister Jihun into open warfare. Jihun, the master of systemic corruption, was now isolated, having seen all his logistical tools—resource fraud, food blockades, and currency manipulation—shattered by Arion's imposition of Order.
Arion had achieved Financial Standardization, meeting the final prerequisite for the Tier 2 upgrade. But before the final unlock, he needed to analyze one peculiar event that occurred during the height of the currency crisis.
LOGISTICS ANOMALY REPORT (SOUTHERN PASS):Event: High-grade Silk and rare Earth metals shipment, scheduled for transfer to the Western Confederacy, was abruptly halted.Effect: This intentional disruption prevented the Western Confederacy from participating in the Grand Merchant Guild's currency speculation, subtly mitigating the market collapse.Pattern: The disruption was executed with high-level efficiency but utilized non-standardized, erratic paperwork. Logistical signature suggests a powerful, singular actor employing intentional chaos.
Arion knew that no loyal Imperial General or logical System response would employ "intentional chaos." This was the signature of a deeply personal intervention, executed with high-stage power—the move of a protector who understood the larger strategic board but was not yet part of Arion's system.
"Lady Seraphina," Arion breathed, a recognition that was purely logical yet triggered a flicker of the original Emperor's memory. She was Stage 8, training in the distant Heavenly Sword Sect, and was the only person who could execute such a precise, powerful, and romantically motivated disruption. She loved the man the Empire rejected, and was now secretly supporting the Emperor who saved it.
Arion needed to understand the full scope of her external protection. He needed a blueprint to map the vast, disorganized trade networks outside the capital.
BLUEPRINT 108: STANDARDIZED REPORTING UNIT (LONG-RANGE ANOMALY DETECTION)A Class 8 surveillance array designed to track logistical deviations across vast distances, integrating satellite data with local trade manifest reports. It identifies patterns of external influence.Focus: External Logistics Mapping, Threat/Ally Identification. Input Required: 15 Units Purified Jade (for enhanced long-range detection), 5 Units Refined Gold Alloy (for stable sensor array).
The unit was a massive, elegant jade compass, embedded with gold filigree, designed to sit atop the Dragon Throne. Its activation immediately expanded Arion's logistical view from the capital to the entire Mortal Realm, showing the flow of resources, power, and political influence across the Empire and into the outer Empires.
The Head Minister's Desperation
As Arion mapped the full, chaotic expanse of the Mortal Realm, he detected a critical, immediate spike in localized energy near the ancient, unused Northern Pass Gate.
TACTICAL ALERT: HEAD MINISTER JIHUN DETECTED.Location: Northern Pass Gate (Unused, historically controlled by Grand Merchant Guild for smuggling).Status: Attempting escape with a small contingent of Stage 4 loyalists and significant personal wealth.Objective: Flee to the outside Empires, secure external forces (Stage 10+), and launch a war of reconquest.
Jihun, the Stage 7 master of bureaucracy, had finally abandoned the field. He was attempting the ultimate logistical retreat—escaping Arion's control to secure greater, non-standardized power. If Jihun escaped, he would return with forces that could potentially overwhelm Arion's Tier 1 automatons.
Arion did not allow the political protocol of "arrest" to interfere with the strategic objective of neutralization.
"Jihun is an existential threat if he leaves the System's jurisdiction," Arion commanded. "General Taeyong, mobilize twenty Iron Standards and your twenty best human soldiers. Objective: Interception and Neutralization at the Northern Pass Gate. Do not allow him to cross the border."
The Final Showdown of Tier 1
The pursuit was a testament to Arion's superior logistics. Jihun, relying on fast, custom-bred horses and chaotic detours, was slowed down by his own lack of standardization. Taeyong's forces, moving in a perfectly synchronized formation, utilized the most efficient routes and maintained an unstoppable pace.
Taeyong's forces intercepted Jihun just as he reached the decaying, overgrown arch of the Northern Pass Gate.
"Minister Jihun, you are commanded to surrender all Imperial assets and return to the capital for trial," Taeyong announced, his voice steady.
Jihun, his eyes wild with fury, was backed by his Stage 4 loyalists. He saw the Iron Standards—the metal ghosts that had destroyed his life's work.
"Fool! I am Stage 7! I created the very laws of this Empire! Your mechanical toys cannot comprehend the insight of Mortal Law!" Jihun roared. He focused his Stage 7 power, attempting to impose chaos onto the Iron Standards' Dantian Coils, trying to make their standardized Qi flow fail and explode.
But the automatons did not even flicker. Their internal arrays were too perfectly engineered, too mathematically precise to be affected by the chaos of Jihun's spiritual law. Standardization defeats subjective law.
"Your law is inconsistent, Minister," General Taeyong stated, a cold sense of certainty in his voice. "The Emperor's Order is absolute."
Taeyong issued the final command. "Formation Omega. Final execution."
The Iron Standards and the human soldiers executed a simultaneous, synchronized pincer maneuver, cornering Jihun's small group. Forty Iron Standards delivered a concentrated Stage 6 Standardized Punch blast, aimed not to kill, but to neutralize the high-stage cultivation.
Jihun's Stage 7 domain shattered under the overwhelming, synchronized force. He collapsed, defeated not by a superior Stage, but by the perfect, coordinated volume of Order.
The Tier 2 Ascension
Jihun was captured, his final, desperate gambit foiled by the System's superior logistics. He was returned to the capital, stripped of his power, his fate sealed by the mountain of audited, irrefutable evidence.
LOGISTICS VICTORY: HEAD MINISTER JIHUN NEUTRALIZED.All major systemic corruption sources within the capital are eliminated.
Arion sat on the throne, the final pieces of the puzzle falling into place. The two major antagonists—Jihun and Gwang—were neutralized. Their supporting Guilds were dismantled. The capital was entirely under the control of the Imperial Growth System.
The jade compass, the Standardized Reporting Unit, glowed brightly, and the System issued the final, triumphant notification.
IMPERIAL GROWTH SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
LOGISTICAL BASE STABILIZED!The Mortal Realm Base (Capital) has achieved 100% Standardization across Resources, Force, and Finance.
INITIATING TIER 2 UPGRADE.
MODULE UNLOCKED: PERSONAL CULTIVATION – STANDARDIZATION PROTOCOL.
Arion felt a massive, tectonic shift in his core. It wasn't the slow refinement of Qi, but the instantaneous, calculated conversion of the capital's successful logistical Order into raw personal power. He had officially transcended the limits of the Mortal Realm. He was no longer just a figurehead; he was the Logistics Emperor.
He stood up, his gaze now sweeping the vast trade routes displayed on the Reporting Unit—the chaotic, unpredictable outside world where Stage 11 emperors and Stage 14 Celestials awaited.
He now had the personal power and the Tier 2 blueprints to begin building his Mythical Dynasty, starting with the immense logistical challenge of the Sect Arc. The capital was only the beginning.
With the conclusion of Chapter 10, Arion has defeated both primary antagonists, successfully integrated the support guilds, achieved the Tier 2 upgrade, and unlocked the crucial Personal Cultivation module.