My Children’s Gifts Give Me 1000x Returns!

**ARC 3: THE SOVEREIGN CLAN FOUNDATION & MARCH TO THE CORE**

Night fell over Verdant Haven Citadel, casting a blanket of silver moonlight across the manicured gardens of The Azure Crest Estate.

Inside the private, isolated sanctuary of the Floating Cloud Island—floating invisibly thousands of feet above the clouds—Gabriel sat cross-legged atop a pristine white jade altar. Surrounding him, the dense, ancient spiritual Qi of the pocket dimension swirled like a golden vortex.

Gabriel opened his eyes, two golden dragon pupils burning with intense, imperial power.

"System," Gabriel commanded silently. "Open the System Upgrade & Milestone Panel."

[Ding!]

[System Strategic Balance Adjustment Initiated!]

[Recognizing Host's role as the Sovereign Head of House Sterling. Host's personal strength must absolute-dominate all subordinates and realm factions!]

[Executing Divine Realm Escalation...]

[Host Realm Upgraded: Martial Master (Early) ➔ Martial Master (Peak) ➔ Martial Grandmaster (Early) ➔ Martial Grandmaster (Mid) ➔ Martial Grandmaster (PEAK)!]

(Host is now 1 half-step away from the Martial King Realm! Personal Domain: 'Sovereign Dragon Invincible Field').

BOOM!

A deafening, silent explosion of gold-and-crimson Qi erupted from Gabriel’s Dantian!

His meridians expanded tenfold, turning into shimmering, gold-paved divine channels. His physical body vibrated with the terrifying, mountain-flattening weight of a Peak Martial Grandmaster! His aura alone was now so dense that even General Ignatius—who stood guarding the edge of the altar—felt an irresistible, instinctual urge to bow his knee!

Ignatius dropped to both knees, slamming his fist onto his chest, his eyes burning with absolute reverence. "Congratulations to the Sovereign Clan Master on reaching the Peak Martial Grandmaster Realm! Your power commands the heavens!"

Gabriel took a deep, steady breath, feeling the boundless, world-crushing energy coursing through his fingers. A calm, razor-sharp smile touched his lips.

Peak Martial Grandmaster... Gabriel thought, his hand clenching into a tight fist. By the time House Sterling takes the Core City, I will break through straight into the Martial Saint Realm.

[Ding! Unlocking New System Feature: 'Card Fusion Wheel'!]

(Host can now fuse 4 Summoning Cards of the same tier into 1 Summoning Card of the next higher tier! E.g., 4 Martial Masters = 1 Martial Grandmaster; 4 Martial Grandmasters = 1 Martial King!)

[System Reward Package Issued for Establishing Clan Foundation:]

1. 2x Martial Master Summoning Cards

2. 1x Martial Grandmaster Summoning Card

3. 1x Sovereign Architecture Blueprint — 'The 8 Halls of House Sterling'(Deploys the Shadow Assassin Hall, Celestial Commerce Hall, Sovereign Martial Library, Alchemy Hall, Spirit Herb Garden Hall, Sovereign Forge Hall, Servant Hall, and Discipline Hall).

4. 500x System-Loyal Clan Staff & Specialists(Alchemists, Shadow Assassins, Forgemasters, and Librarians with 100% absolute, immutable loyalty to Host).

Gabriel stared at the glowing rewards with deep satisfaction.

"System, deploy the 8 Sovereign Halls directly into the Floating Cloud Island and the Azure Crest Estate!" Gabriel commanded.

[Ding! Deploying Sovereign Halls & System Personnel...]

BZ—ZZZ-T!

Across the floating island and the subterranean levels of the estate below, spatial structures expanded seamlessly!

In the shadows beneath the estate, the Shadow Assassin Hall materialized—a dark, stone fortress equipped with high-tier intelligence arrays, manned by fifty silent, black-clad System assassins.

Beside it rose the Celestial Commerce Hall, connected to a vast auction house network, managed by a System-forged master merchant named Lord Harrison, ready to quietly build an economic empire under a disguised banner.

High on the Floating Island, the Sovereign Martial Library opened its grand doors, holding hundreds of S-Grade and Imperial-Grade martial manuals.

[System Security Protocol Active: All manuals in the Sovereign Martial Library are System-Bound! If any family member or student attempts to leak, record, or betray the techniques, the memory will be instantly erased from their mind, and the copied scroll will self-destruct into ash!]

Next to the library, the Alchemy Hall and Spirit Herb Garden Hall bloomed with rare, thousand-year medicinal herbs, tended to by twenty master alchemists who began mass-producing high-tier pills for the family.

Gabriel stepped down from the jade altar, his dark dragon-silk coat settling over his shoulders.

He now possessed a Peak Martial Grandmaster cultivation, two Martial Grandmaster subordinates (Ignatius + his new card), two Martial Masters, five hundred loyal specialists, a secret assassin network, an economic hall, and an indestructible floating sanctuary.

"Malakor," Gabriel called out softly.

WHOOSH.

Malakor materialized from the shadows, bowing deeply. "Clan Master!"

"House Sterling now holds absolute infrastructure," Gabriel instructed smoothly, his voice carrying a calm, lowkey weight. "However... we maintain a low profile to the public. Project House Sterling as a quiet, newly risen clan with just 'one mysterious elder.' Do not flaunt our Grandmasters or our halls."

Malakor’s eyes glinted with sharp understanding. "A hidden dragon waiting in the grass. The arrogant noble clans will think we are easy prey... and walk straight into their own graves."

"Precisely," Gabriel smiled faintly, looking toward the distant horizon where the Core City sat. "Tomorrow, Ethan and Elena depart for the Regional Tournament. Let the Core City nobles believe they can push my children around..."

Gabriel’s golden dragon pupils flashed violently.

"...and we will tear their factions down piece by piece."