"Security? Throw this trespassing garbage onto the street."
For a split second, Chen Fan, the Reborn Immortal Venerable who had once annihilated entire star systems, couldn't process what had just been said to him.
Garbage? Throw me out?
Before his 500-year-old soul could reignite his spiritual pressure, two massive, 250-pound corporate security guards grabbed him by the arms. Because my Overlord Halo had completely shattered his concentration, Chen Fan's physical vessel was currently just that of a malnourished, eighteen-year-old high school student.
"Hey! Unhand this Venerable!" Chen Fan shrieked, his voice cracking embarrassingly as his feet were lifted completely off the marble floor. "You ignorant mortals! I will refine your souls in the Nine Nether Flames! I will—"
Thud.
The guards literally tossed him through the automated sliding doors. The Immortal Venerable landed hard on his backside on the wet concrete of the Jinghai City sidewalk, his cheap high school uniform soaking up the puddle water.
Pedestrians stopped and stared, whispering and pointing at the crazy teenager yelling about hellfire.
Inside the lobby, I casually brushed a speck of invisible dust off my lapel and turned back to Su Qingran.
"Well, that was bizarre," Su Qingran muttered, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the kid outside the glass. "For a second there... he felt dangerous. Like a wild animal."
"A rabid chihuahua, maybe," I smirked, offering her my arm. "Come on, Acting CEO. We have a company to run. But first, cancel my morning meetings. I need to take a trip down to Sub-Basement 5."
"The old archives?" She looked confused but didn't argue, sliding her hand through my arm. "Alright. But don't take too long. Legal needs your signature on the Uncle Yun severance package."
[Meanwhile... Outside the Chu Consortium]
Chen Fan scrambled to his feet, his face burning with a humiliation he hadn't felt in five centuries. He gritted his teeth so hard he tasted blood.
A suppression artifact! the Immortal Venerable rationalized in his mind, his ancient ego desperately trying to protect itself. That billionaire ant must be wearing a high-tier Demonic Soul Artifact! That is the only reason my Immortal Aura was disrupted! He glared at the towering skyscraper, his eyes tracing the flow of spiritual energy bleeding through the concrete.
Laugh while you can, Chu Feng, Chen Fan sneered, turning away and walking into the crowded street. Tonight at midnight, when the Yin energy is at its peak, I will burrow into your sub-basement. Once I absorb the Ancestral Dragon Vein and achieve Foundation Establishment, your pathetic artifact won't save you from being turned into blood mist.
[Sub-Basement 5 - Chu Consortium Headquarters]
The lowest level of the building was a sterile, concrete labyrinth used mostly for cold-storage servers and paper archives. The air was frigid, humming with the sound of massive cooling fans.
I told Old Chen and Su Qingran to wait by the reinforced elevator doors. I walked alone to the exact geographic center of the basement floor.
System, I commanded mentally. Scan the floor.
[Ding! Scanning...] [Target Confirmed: Ancestral Dragon Vein detected 50 feet directly below the Host.] [Status: Dormant. Filled with massive amounts of raw, unrefined Heaven and Earth spiritual energy.] [Warning: The Host possesses a mortal body. Attempting to absorb a Dragon Vein without a Cultivation Method will result in spontaneous explosion.]
"Then sell me a method," I replied smoothly, pulling up the System Store interface. I had 12,000 Villain Points sitting in my bank from executing Long Chen last night. It was time to spend them.
[Filtering System Store for 'Supreme Cultivation Arts'...]
[Purchase Option: 'The Void Emperor's Devouring Art' - Cost: 10,000 Points. Effect: An apex-tier cultivation technique that allows the Host to instantly devour and perfectly refine any form of energy (Spiritual, Demonic, or Elemental) without the risk of meridian damage or bottlenecks.]
Buy it. And activate it instantly.
[Ding! 10,000 Points deducted. Skill bound!]
A profound, ancient chanting echoed in the deepest recesses of my mind. My Dantian—the energy center just below my navel—suddenly ignited, forming a swirling, pitch-black vortex. It felt like a miniature black hole had just been born inside my stomach.
I crouched down and placed my right palm flat against the freezing concrete floor.
"Devour," I whispered.
RUMBLE.
The entire eighty-story skyscraper gave a subtle, deep vibration, like a localized earthquake.
Beneath the concrete, the ancient, golden spiritual energy of the Dragon Vein—energy that had been gathering for a thousand years—was violently violently ripped upward. It bypassed the stone and steel, flooding directly into my palm.
Instead of tearing my mortal veins apart, the Void Emperor's Devouring Art instantly compressed the golden energy, purifying it and feeding it into my cells, my bones, and my blood.
[Ding!] [Absorbing Ancestral Dragon Vein...] [Host has broken through to the Qi Condensation Realm!] [Host has broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm!] [Host has reached the Peak of Foundation Establishment!]
I pulled my hand back, standing up slowly.
The concrete beneath my feet had turned completely gray and brittle, instantly cracking like dead wood. The Dragon Vein was gone. I had sucked the marrow dry.
I clenched my fist. The air around my knuckles literally warped, popping with the sound of compressed kinetic force. I wasn't just a martial artist anymore. I was a Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. If I wanted to, I could punch a hole through a bank vault door with my bare hands.
Have fun breaking in tonight, Chen Fan, I thought, a ruthless smirk curving my lips. You're going to be digging for an empty wrapper.
[9:00 PM - Dragon Bay Estate]
The rain from yesterday had finally cleared, leaving the night sky over Jinghai City crisp and littered with stars.
I was sitting in the private parlor of my villa, pouring two glasses of an impossibly expensive 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The room was softly lit by a modern gas fireplace, casting warm, dancing shadows across the leather furniture.
Exactly at 9:00 PM, the doorbell chimed.
"I'll get it, Old Chen," I called out, walking over to the heavy mahogany front doors and pulling them open.
Standing on my porch, completely alone, was the Scarlet Queen.
Mu Xue'er wasn't wearing her imposing crimson military uniform. For the first time, I saw her in civilian clothes. She wore a high-necked, black silk blouse, dark fitted jeans, and a trench coat. Without the military epaulets and the saber at her waist, she looked smaller. More vulnerable.
But her piercing blue eyes still held that sharp, guarded intensity.
"You're exactly on time, Commander," I said, stepping aside to let her in.
"I am a soldier, Chu Feng. I don't do 'late'," she replied, stepping into the grand foyer. She looked around, her eyes catching the faint, residual scorch marks on the hardwood floor from last night's assassination attempt that the cleaners hadn't fully buffed out yet. She noted it, her military instincts instantly realizing violence had occurred here recently.
"Take your coat off. Have a seat," I gestured to the plush leather sofa in front of the fire, handing her a glass of the dark red wine.
She took it hesitantly. "I shouldn't drink. The alcohol thins the blood, making the Frost Poison circulate faster."
"Drink it," I ordered softly, my Overlord Aura projecting just enough to make her heart skip a beat. "It will relax your muscles. You're going to need it. The treatment tonight isn't going to be gentle."
She swallowed hard, setting her jaw, and took a sip. The rich, heavy wine burned pleasantly down her throat. She set the glass down and unbelted her trench coat, draping it over the back of the sofa before sitting down.
I sat down right next to her. Close enough that our knees almost brushed.
She tensed instantly, her hands resting stiffly on her lap. The fearless commander of the Scarlet Guard was currently sweating in the presence of a single man.
"To completely cure the Nine-Yin Frost Poison, I have to flood your major acupoints with pure Yang Qi," I explained, my voice low, smooth, and entirely professional. I wasn't creeping on her; I was stating a medical fact, which somehow made the intimacy even more suffocating for her.
"I understand," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Do it."
"The major acupoints for the heart meridian are located on your chest and your spine," I continued, my dark eyes locking onto hers. I didn't reach for her. I just let the silence stretch for a agonizing second.
"So, Commander," I said, a faint, undeniable smirk touching my lips. "You're going to have to unbutton that silk blouse."
Mu Xue'er's breath hitched, a brilliant, furious blush exploding across her cheeks.