Jin looked at the three dead bodies on his floor. The smell of thick green blood and ruptured organs filled the room. It smelled like a slaughterhouse.
He needed a plan. He needed one right now.
On Earth, Arthur solved problems with data. He built spreadsheets. He analyzed shipping routes. He found the most efficient path from the problem to the solution. He tried to do the same thing here. He closed his eyes. He built a mental spreadsheet.
Column A was his assets. He had Nyx. She was a Level 4 Divinity Realm shadow-guard. She was fast, lethal, and completely loyal. He also had his new genetic cheat. Vanya's poison wiped his flawed DNA clean. He could reach the mythical Level 10 in cultivation. That was a massive asset.
Column B was his liabilities. The list was much longer.
The Emperor was dead. The death knell proved it. That meant the imperial laws protecting the royal children were gone. The succession war was active. First Prince Kaelen had the military. Second Princess Vanya had the poison sects. The other siblings controlled trade routes, weapon foundries, and private armies.
Jin had nothing. He was stuck in a bedroom in the upper Canopy tier of the capital. The entire palace was locked down. The imperial guards took orders from whoever paid them the most. Right now, that was Kaelen. Every hallway, landing pad, and elevator out of this sector was probably heavily guarded.
He ran a simulation in his head. He imagined walking out the front door with Nyx. She could kill the guards in the hallway. She could probably kill a hundred men before they reached the lower tiers. But eventually, the First Prince would send his own Divinity Realm generals. Nyx was strong, but she could not fight an entire army alone while protecting a weak Foundation Level 3 prince.
He ran another simulation. He imagined staying in the room. He could lock the door and try to cultivate. He needed to absorb Aether and reach Level 10 to protect himself. But cultivation took time. He did not have time. The First Prince sent three assassins tonight. Tomorrow, he would send thirty. Vanya might just flood the air vents with neurotoxin.
Every scenario ended the same way. He died.
Jin opened his eyes. He felt a cold sweat on his neck. His corporate logic failed him. He was completely out of his depth. He was a manager trapped in an active warzone with a body that was barely stronger than a normal human. There was no clever political trick to play here. He could not talk his way out of a sword swinging at his neck.
He looked at Nyx. She was still kneeling on the floor. Her black visor offered no comfort. She was just a weapon waiting for an order.
A good manager knew when to ask the local expert for help. He swallowed his pride.
"I have no plan," Jin said. His voice was flat. "My siblings control the palace. I am too weak to fight. If we stay here, we die. If we run for the spaceport, Kaelen's army intercepts us. Give me an option. You have tactical data I do not possess. Tell me how we survive tonight."
Nyx did not hesitate. Her synthetic voice echoed in his mind immediately.
"The palace spaceport is sealed," Nyx said. "The main gates are locked. However, your mother anticipated a purge. She built a bio-smuggling tunnel beneath this sanctum. It leads directly to the Root Wastes at the bottom of the city. From there, we can secure a black-market transport ship."
Jin frowned. "A ship to where? The Empire controls every planet in this sector. They will just track the ship and blow it out of the sky."
"We will not go to an imperial planet," Nyx replied. "We will go to the Genesis Zenith Academy."
Jin searched his inherited memories. The name clicked. The Genesis Zenith Academy was a massive, independent institution. It floated in neutral space on the edge of the Empire's borders. It was a place where the rich and powerful sent their children to learn the Gene-Dao.
"An academy?" Jin asked. "Why would that keep me safe? My brothers will just send assassins there."
"They cannot," Nyx said. "The Academy operates outside imperial jurisdiction. It is neutral ground. More importantly, the Dean of the Academy is extremely territorial. He executes anyone who brings political violence into his school walls. If you are enrolled as a student, your siblings cannot openly attack you without declaring war on the Academy itself. They cannot afford a second war while fighting each other for the throne."
It made sense. It was a political sanctuary. But Jin saw a flaw.
"I am the Trash Prince," Jin pointed out. "I am Foundation Level 3. Why would an elite academy accept me?"
"Because of your aunt," Nyx stated. "Lady Elara. She is your mother's younger sister. She survived the purge of your mother's sect years ago. She is now an advanced instructor at the Academy. She has the authority to grant you emergency enrollment. She is also fiercely loyal to your mother's bloodline. She will protect you."
Jin nodded slowly. An escape tunnel. A black-market ship. A neutral academy protected by family. It was a narrow path, but it was a path. It bought him the one thing he desperately needed.
Time.
"Who is the Dean?" Jin asked. He needed to know exactly how strong this man was to deter the entire Apex Empire from attacking him.
"Dean Valerius," Nyx answered. "He is a half-step True Immortal."
Jin let that sink in. He sifted through his memories to understand exactly what that meant. He needed to grasp the real scale of power in this universe. On Earth, power meant money and lawyers. Here, power was biological. It was an absolute, physical hierarchy.
The Gene-Dao was broken down into major realms. Each realm had nine levels.
At the very bottom were normal humans. They were just workers and slaves.
Then came the Foundation Realm, also known as Helix Tempering. This was where Jin was currently stuck. Cultivators breathed in Aether to rewrite their muscle and bone density. A Level 9 Foundation expert could punch through solid concrete and dodge bullets.
Next was the Core Formation Realm. The dead assassins on the floor were Level 2 in this stage. A cultivator condensed a bio-reactor inside their chest. They spliced beast DNA into their bodies and grew armor, claws, or toxic glands. They were walking tanks.
Above that was the Nascent Soul Realm. Jin's oldest brother, Kaelen, was at the peak of this stage. At this level, the genetic code gained its own spiritual projection. A Nascent Soul cultivator could survive even if their physical brain was destroyed. Their DNA was basically sentient. They could fly and level city blocks with energy strikes.
Then came the Divinity Realm. Nyx was Level 4 in this stage. Cultivators here stopped just modifying their own bodies. They started modifying the world around them. They projected bio-fields. They could manipulate gravity, alter the temperature, and crush weaker enemies just by looking at them. They were strategic weapons.
Those were the mortal realms. Above them sat the Immortals.
The Apex Immortals no longer aged. Their cells regenerated perfectly. They were immune to all diseases and poisons. They could live for tens of thousands of years.
Earth Immortals connected their bio-rhythm to a planet. Jin's late father was one of these. They could draw endless energy from the planet's core and cause global earthquakes with a single thought.
Heavenly Immortals adapted to the vacuum of space. They absorbed solar radiation directly from stars. They flew between planets without ships.
Then came the True Immortals. The apex of the universe. Their bodies were perfect quantum-biological machines. They could bend reality. They could survive a supernova.
The Dean of the Academy was a half-step True Immortal. He was only one small push away from becoming a literal god. No wonder First Prince Kaelen would not dare attack his school.
Jin looked down at his own pale hands. He was at the very bottom of this massive mountain. The distance between Foundation Level 3 and a True Immortal was impossible to calculate. It was like comparing an ant to a star.
But the ant now had a cheat.
Vanya's poison emptied his flawed genetics. He possessed perfect genetic resonance. He did not just have to reach Level 9 in these realms like everyone else. He could reach Level 10. The Genesis State. If he hit Level 10 in the Foundation realm, his physical density would be so pure he could likely crush a Core Formation expert with his bare hands.
He just needed a safe place to absorb Aether and grow. The Academy was that place.
"Alright," Jin said. He made the decision. The corporate manager was taking the new job offer. It was time to relocate. "Show me the tunnel, Nyx. We are leaving the capital."
Nyx stood up smoothly. She walked to the large bio-pod Jin had just escaped from. She pressed her hand against the bone floor behind the machine. She channeled a small pulse of Aether from her palm.
The floor hissed. A circular section of the petrified bone slid downward, revealing a dark, vertical shaft. A rusted metal ladder led down into the pitch black. A foul smell of stagnant water and rotting organic matter drifted up from the hole.
"The Root Wastes are highly toxic, My Prince," Nyx warned. "Your current body will struggle with the air quality. We must move quickly once we reach the bottom."
Jin walked over to the hole. He did not hesitate. Toxic air was better than a mantis blade to the neck.
"Lead the way," Jin said.
Nyx dropped into the dark shaft without a sound. Jin grabbed the cold metal ladder and started climbing down into the dark. He left the dead bodies, the broken door, and his old life behind. The game had started, and he was finally making his first move.