Global Asset: Rebirth Of The Ruthless Scholar
Chapter 1: The Cold Calculation
The arrival of the Heavenly Ships wasn't a ceremony; it was an occupation. The Inquisitors from the capital, led by High Inquisitor Kaelen, began a "Soul Audit" of the entire province. They were looking for the energy signature of the Fallen God.
Xun Long sat in the back of the clinic, his 1000x Intellect running millions of simulations. "If I kill them all now, the Emperor sends an army. If I hide, they eventually find the Rebirth Mark," he analyzed in French.
He looked at Lin Xiao. She was no longer a "love interest" in his mind, but a High-Value Asset that needed protection to maintain his cover. His empathy was replaced by cold strategic necessity. "Xiao, if they ask about my strength, tell them I am a failed experiment from the Northern Wastes. Do not show them your records," he commanded in Urdu, his voice devoid of the previous warmth.
Chapter 2: The Hall of Interrogation
Xun Long was summoned to the local governor's manor, which had been turned into a torture chamber for "Audits." Zhao Wei, now a powerless mortal, sat in the corner, his eyes full of hatred.
Inquisitor Kaelen, a man with eyes like shards of ice, looked at Xun Long's lean frame. "You have no Qi, yet you broke the mana-nodes of a Governor's son. Explain the physics of this anomaly," he demanded in Mandarin.
Xun Long didn't flinch. He used his Brute Strength to keep his heart rate at exactly 60 beats per minute. "Levers and fulcrums, Inquisitor. Even a god can be toppled if you apply force to the right joint at the right time." He spoke like a true scholar, hiding his monstrous nature behind academic logic. But Kaelen wasn't convinced. He signaled his guards to use the "Spirit-Crushing Rack."
Chapter 3: The 18+ Discipline
The Spirit-Crushing Rack was designed to tear a man's soul from his body using high-frequency mana-vibrations. For a normal person, the pain would lead to instant cardiac arrest. As the machine whirred to life, Xun Long felt the familiar "Sonic Friction" he had mastered in the Echoing Abyss (Volume 17).
He didn't scream. Instead, he used his Brute Force to manually clamp his own nerves. Internally, his muscles were grinding against his bones to absorb the vibrations. It was a 18+ level of physical endurance—his skin started to smoke, and violet blood trickled from his eyes, but his expression remained bored.
"Is your machine broken?" he asked in Russian. "It feels like a light massage."
Kaelen's face turned purple with rage. He had never seen a mortal survive the Rack, let alone mock it. The "Struggle" was no longer about survival; it was about psychological dominance.
Chapter 4: The Strategic Counter-Strike
Xun Long realized that Kaelen wouldn't stop until he saw blood. So, he decided to give him a "Logical Distraction." He used a fraction of his Brute Strength to snap the iron bolts of the Rack, making it look like the machine had malfunctioned and exploded.
In the chaos, he didn't attack Kaelen. Instead, he planted a "False Energy Trace" on Zhao Wei. Using his knowledge of the Rebirth Mark, he projected a tiny, temporary pulse of violet energy into Zhao Wei's dormant mana-nodes.
"There!" Kaelen shouted, pointing his detection jade at Zhao Wei. "The anomaly is coming from the boy! He was hiding his true nature all along!"
Xun Long watched from the shadows of the smoke, a ruthless smile on his face. He had framed his rival and cleared his own name in one move. Zhao Wei was dragged away, screaming in Urdu, while Xun Long walked out of the manor as a "victim."
Chapter 5: The Jealousy Asset
Lin Xiao was waiting outside, her face pale. When she saw Xun Long's bleeding eyes, she rushed to him, but he stepped back, avoiding her touch.
"The Audit is diverted, but the Inquisitors stay," he said coldly in Mandarin. "Mei Ling's father has information about the Northern Wastes. I will be spending the next few nights at their estate to 'verify' my cover story."
Lin Xiao's eyes filled with tears—half from worry, half from the sting of his coldness. "You're using her, aren't you? Just like you use everyone."
"I am a Scholar, Xiao. Everything is a resource," he replied in English. He needed her jealousy to keep her away from the Inquisitors. If she stayed close to him, she was a target. By pushing her away, he was ensuring the safety of his "Human Anchor" without her even knowing it.
Chapter 6: The Butcher of the Night
That night, two Inquisitor scouts tried to follow Xun Long to Mei Ling's estate. They were elite Level 5 Cultivators. They didn't even see him move.
Xun Long appeared behind them, his Brute Strength making him faster than the speed of sound. He grabbed both their heads and slammed them together. The sound was like two watermelons hitting a concrete wall.
"No mana traces. No evidence," he whispered in French.
He dismantled their bodies with clinical precision, burying them deep under the tectonic plates using a single, heavy punch to the earth. He was back to being the predator. The "Love Story" was now a side-calculation, secondary to his goal of reclaiming his throne.
Chapter 7: This Is The Rebirth Of The New God
By the end of the volume, the province was in a state of martial law. Zhao Wei was being executed as a "Fallen God" imposter, and Kaelen was sending reports to the Emperor about a mysterious "Scholar" who survived the Spirit Rack.
Xun Long stood on the balcony of Mei Ling's estate, looking at the Heavenly Ships in the sky. His Divine Bloodline integration was still at 100%, but trapped in a physical shell. He felt the Rebirth Mark pulsing.
"The Down-World is just a larger laboratory," he declared in Mandarin. "And the Inquisitors are the lab rats."
He looked at his hands, which were stained with the scouts' blood. He didn't feel like a lover. He felt like a King who was tired of playing with children. "This Is The Rebirth Of The New God," he whispered, and the wind itself seemed to tremble.