The heavy oak doors of the main reception hall slammed shut, sealing away the arrogant, fading laughter of the Peng Clan duo.
For a long, suffocating moment, the only sound in the grand room was the ominous, splintering crack of solid spirit-wood.
"Those... arrogant, bottom-feeding parasites," Mei Yilan hissed, her voice trembling with a suppressed, earth-shaking fury. The sturdy armrests of the host's chair had been completely pulverized into fine sawdust beneath her grip.
As a Seventh Stage Golden Core expert, reigning in her killing intent against a Fifth Stage cultivator and his mere Foundation Establishment nephew had taken every ounce of her formidable willpower.
Beside her, Lixue's beautiful face was pale with disgust. "Mother, I should have cut out his eyes," Lixue said, her voice dropping to a terrifying, metallic whisper. The latent Sword Sovereign aura within her marrow buzzed in violent agitation, eager to taste blood. "The way that pig looked at me... I could sever his meridians before he could even realized I moved."
"And then what, Lixue?"
Shen Yu's calm, melodic voice drifted through the tense air, immediately drawing the attention of both women. He stepped forward, his crisp white robes flowing gracefully around his newly reconstructed frame. As he spoke, the subtle, magnetic pull of his passive Heaven's Charm washed over the room. It was an invisible, psychological gravity that instantly eased the sharp spikes of anxiety and rage in both Yilan and Lixue, making them subconsciously lean into his presence for stability.
"If you kill Peng Bo, his uncle will instantly signal the main estate," Shen Yu laid out the facts with the cold, calculated precision of a seasoned grandmaster. "The Peng Clan Patriarch, an Eighth Stage Golden Core, will descend upon us with three hundred elite guards.. Aunt could undoubtedly fight her way out, but what if their ancestor comes out, who is said to be in the Nascent Soul Realm?"
"Our loyal servants, our hidden Shen Clan remnants? They would be slaughtered to the last man. The Pengs are actively waiting for an excuse to wipe us out entirely so they can cleanly seize our remaining storefronts and monopoly."
Mei Yilan sighed heavily, rubbing her temples as the golden aura around her slowly retracted back into her Dantian. "Yu'er is right," she admitted, her voice laced with bitter frustration. "We are in hiding from the Liu Clan. We cannot afford to ignite a full-scale war with a local hegemon and draw the eyes of them. But there is absolutely no universe where I hand you over to that degenerate, and not when you are already engaged. I would rather burn Thousand Waves City to the ground."
Lixue looked at Shen Yu, her deep blue eyes filled with absolute trust. "Then what do we do, Yu'er? They gave us one week. If we refuse, they'll cut off our last supply lines of spiritual herbs and send enforcers to smash our shops. We don't have the manpower to guard every storefront at once. They will bleed us dry without ever drawing a blade."
Shen Yu didn't answer immediately. He turned his gaze toward the window, his golden eyes narrowing as his four-hundred-year-old demonic mind spun a deadly web. He rapidly calculated the variables upon the geopolitical chessboard of Thousand Waves City.
He needed a way to reject the proposal openly, flawlessly, and without suffering the immediate, crushing economic and martial retaliation of the Peng Clan. To counter a powerful clan, personal strength was not enough, you needed an equivalent worldly force. You needed a bigger monster to swallow the wolf at your door.
His thoughts instantly drifted to the Jin Clan.
They were also one of the Powerhouses of the city, involved in the restaurant and real estate business. More importantly, their Matriarch, Meng Yan, was a powerhouse in her own right.
Shen Yu's lips curled into a faint, wicked smile. Meng Yan. He had already treated her once, and from what the system has shown, her Subjugation Level sat at a staggering 65%.
She was already spiritually addicted to his touch. The psychological hooks he had meticulously planted in her mind were festering perfectly. She was entirely dependent on his "treatments" to survive the agonizing, burning pain in her Dantian.
He had originally planned to reel the Matriarch in slowly. He wanted to savor the gradual, humiliating collapse of her immense pride over the next month, taking his time to strip away her icy facade piece by piece. It was a refined enjoyment he had been genuinely looking forward to.
But the Peng Clan's brazen threat had forced his hand. He needed to accelerate the timetable.
If Meng Yan belonged to him entirely, bound body, mind, and soul by his Primordial Genesis Seed, the Jin Clan's vast wealth and martial power would instantly become his personal property. They would become the ultimate shield and sword for the Tang Estate. The Peng Clan wouldn't dare breathe in their direction if the Jin Matriarch was standing openly behind them.
"Aunt, Lixue," Shen Yu finally spoke, his golden eyes gleaming with a predatory, demonic light that made Yilan's breath hitch. "Do not worry about the Peng Clan. Let them enjoy their week of arrogance. By the time their deadline arrives, they won't even have the courage to knock on our doors."
Yilan looked up, her beautiful eyes widening in genuine surprise.
"Yu'er... what are you planning?" she asked, finding herself naturally deferring to his authority.
"We are currently lacking a worldly force to back us," Shen Yu said smoothly, clasping his hands behind his back. "So, I am simply going to acquire one. Keep the estate locked down. Do not respond to any provocations or trade disputes from the Pengs. Leave the rest entirely to me."
Just as he finished speaking, a familiar, silent shockwave rippled through his Sea of Consciousness.
Flicker.
The sleek, abyssal-black screen with its pulsing, neon-pink border materialized directly in his field of vision. The ancient, neutral voice of the Jade Tablet echoed in his mind, carrying a hint of mechanical approval.
"Inheritor's strategic intent recognized. Calculating optimal conquest route... Generating new Directive."
A string of glowing text cascaded down the holographic interface, illuminating the dark corners of his mind.
=========================================
[ NEW ACTIVE QUEST ISSUED ]
Directive: The Matriarch's Submission.
Objective: The Peng Clan's threat requires an immediate, overwhelming geopolitical counterweight. The Jin Clan Matriarch, Meng Yan, is currently highly susceptible to the Host's Yang energy and manipulative conditioning. You must completely shatter her emotional defenses, fully conquer her, and successfully inject the Primordial Genesis Seed to awaken her dormant bloodline.
Target Goal: Raise Meng Yan's Subjugation Level to 100%.
Time Limit: 3 Days.
Base Reward: 500 DP, Random item from Shop
Failure Penalty: Dual Cultivation Restricted for One Month.
=========================================