Chapter 7: Imperial Omen

Chapter 7: Imperial Omen

Dizhong Village, 300 meters below ground.

Qi Sheng stood before the blue crystalline containment wall, his gaze sweeping over the three primordial monsters already imprisoned. Their backs were connected to thick tubes extending from the wall, continuously siphoning a crimson, viscous energy.

Closing his eyes, he summoned a surge of crimson flames that engulfed his body. His head transformed into a blazing crimson inferno, shifting between ethereal and tangible forms, while three glowing orbs began orbiting him.

Switching to Imperial Omen form, data streamed into Qi Sheng’s mind via Guide’s feedback.

[Monster King: Imperial Omen]

Controlled Core Territories:

Dizhong Village (Territory Trait: Life Reshaping)

Black Tide Resistance Consumption: 1,000 Sacrificial Power/Day

Bound Servants: Nine Shadows, Yan Ming, Guide, Hyperdimension

Remaining Sacrificial Power Pool: 130,428

Containment Wall Output: 30 Sacrificial Power/Hour

Contained Primordials: Gargoyle (Petrification), Black-Scaled Serpent (Venom), Hawk-Headed Demon (Vengeful Howl)

Though he had inherited the essence of Imperial Omen, his power remained weak. The previous Imperial Omen had fragmented their strength into countless Primordial Monsters, scattering them across the monstrous world over ten thousand years ago. Now, as the new Imperial Omen, Qi Sheng had only reclaimed the core essence, while the fragmented powers—and their unique traits—remained lost.

This was why he sought players: to explore the Black Tide-ravaged world, locate, and contain these Primordial Monsters. Each captured Primordial would restore a portion of his power and grant him one of the lost traits.

Moreover, every contained Primordial could generate 10 Sacrificial Power per hour. The three already secured—Gargoyle, Serpent, and Demon—produced 30 hourly, or 720 daily. However, Dizhong Village’s Black Tide resistance demanded 1,000 Sacrificial Power daily. His current reserves would deplete quickly. He needed new revenue streams.

Recruiting players wasn’t just about power. He also required more domain nodes. The monstrous world, millions of times vaster than Earth, was stitched together from countless nodes, each containing a fragment of the original rules left behind by Imperial Omen. Dizhong’s unique trait, "Life Reshaping", allowed player resurrection—a power he needed to reclaim across other nodes.

Two goals: contain Primordials, reclaim domain nodes. These were the pillars of his strategy. Success would elevate him to godhood, granting the strength to confront the Black Tide.

[Boss, the first batch of players generated 32 Sacrificial Power in half a day. Not bad.]

Guide’s voice broke his focus.

“Still too slow. Need more players.”

The 32 Sacrificial Power came from Li Zheng’s group, earned by slaying Cursed Soldiers. Qi Sheng skimmed 30% of the yield to Dizhong’s underground pool—a balance he’d carefully calculated. Too much would hinder player growth; too little would fail to offset Dizhong’s daily drain.

Reverting to human form, the flames on his head extinguished, and the three orbs vanished.

[When will the next recruitment begin?]

“Now.”

With a wave, a spatial portal materialized beneath him. Moments later, he stood in his real-world bedroom. He’d already mapped his recruitment plan: leverage Darklands’ popularity to attract budget-conscious players. These were VR veterans who’d spent on high-end games but lacked funds now—ideal for early-world survival.

He had 130,000 Sacrificial Power. Each monster avatar cost 1,000, allowing recruitment of 130 players. But maintaining Dizhong’s defenses would limit immediate expansions.

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[Kindergarten Chat Group (Online: 38 Members)]

Kindergarten Director (Admin): (News Link) Big update! Lunar Eclipse Clan just released a million Darklands licenses to the Human Federation!

Black Ball (Little Kid): Not interested. Those licenses won’t reach us, and the price is insane. (Sigh.jpg)

Iron Hammer (Little Kid): I saw that. Rumor says the Federation begged for more slots, but Lunar Eclipse refused. They’re testing VR experiments in a virtual environment, apparently.

No Nap (Little Kid): Yeah, well, we’ll never develop a hyper-realistic VR game like Darklands.

Drunken Healer (Little Kid): Idea—let’s pool money to buy Darklands for me! I’ll play for all of you, carrying your hopes and dreams.

Cute Toddler (Little Kid) to Drunken Healer: I’m in, but why should you be the lucky one?! (Angry Slam.jpg)

---

As the group grumbled about prices, a new line popped up:

[Welfare Officer joined the group.]

Kindergarten Director: Who’s this? The verification didn’t show a name.

No Nap: Bet it’s some lewd meme guy. Probably “Welfare Officer” because he’s got a stash of, uh… colorful content. Welcome to the group, bro!

Black Ball @Welfare Officer: Newbie, start your show! I’m ready.

Amid the pings, Qi Sheng sent his first message:

Welfare Officer: Got exactly what you want. Sharing now.

Drunken Healer: We know what you’ve got. Free stuff only—we don’t want scammers here.

Welfare Officer: How about Darklands?

Kindergarten Director: Let me guess—you’re selling discount codes? (Lmao.jpg)

Welfare Officer: Just a gift from fate. Here’s a cracked Darklands link. Play anytime. (Link: *)

The group froze. Seconds later, chaos erupted.

Kindergarten Director @Welfare Officer: Get Out. This scam’s older than the internet. Who falls for this?!

[Notice: Member “Welfare Officer” removed by admin.]

Cute Toddler: That was sad. Last year’s fake Blood Berserker guy lasted 3 months, sent red envelopes occasionally too. Then bam—scammed me through a fake top-up channel. Lost 800 bucks.

Kindergarten Director: Haha, remember when Drunken Healer lost 3,000 on a “discount package”?

Drunken Healer: My innocence died that day. Still hurts. Gonna report this link to federal cyberpolice. Maybe they’ll catch this clown.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end