"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 pale cheeks.
The Scarlet Queen, a woman who had ordered artillery strikes without blinking, suddenly looked entirely out of her depth. She gripped the edge of the leather sofa, her knuckles turning white.
"Is this... absolutely necessary?" she forced out, her voice tight. "Can't you just transfer the Qi through my hands?"
"The Nine-Yin Frost Poison has crystallized around your heart and the major vertebrae of your spine," I replied smoothly, leaning back slightly to give her space, though my Overlord Aura still commanded the room. "If I push Supreme Yang Qi through your extremities, the thermal shock will shatter your veins before it ever reaches your chest. I need direct contact with your core acupoints."
I let the silence stretch, offering absolutely no compromise. "If your pride is worth more than your life, Commander, the door is right behind you."
She glared at me, her chest heaving. She knew I was right. Her medical division had told her the exact same thing about the poison's location months ago.
With trembling fingers, she reached up.
One button. Two buttons. Three.
She parted the black silk fabric, exposing the smooth, pale skin of her collarbone and the swell of her chest. The air in the parlor instantly dropped a few degrees as the unnatural, freezing aura of the poison leaked from her exposed skin.
She squeezed her eyes shut, turning her head slightly away. "Get it over with."
I didn't mock her. I didn't linger. I leaned forward, my expression shifting into absolute, predatory focus.
I pressed my right palm directly against the center of her sternum, right over her heart, and placed my left hand flat against the center of her spine.
"Breathe out," I commanded.
[Activating Supreme Sun-Flare Physique: Meridian Overload!]
"AHHH!"
Mu Xue'er's back arched violently off the leather cushions as a torrent of liquid fire rushed from my palms directly into her frozen core. The sheer, overwhelming intensity of the Yang Qi crashing against the ice inside her veins was excruciatingly intimate.
She gasped, her hands flying up to grip my shoulders instinctively. Her perfectly manicured nails dug into my suit jacket as the freezing agony in her chest was aggressively burned away, replaced by an intoxicating, melting heat.
"Focus on my breathing, Xue'er," I murmured, my voice a low rumble right next to her ear. I kept my hands firmly planted, pushing the heat deeper, forcing the poison to retreat. "Match my rhythm. Don't fight the heat. Let it consume the ice."
She was panting heavily, a fine sheen of sweat glistening on her exposed skin. The military general was completely reduced to a shivering, gasping mess in my arms. Her ice-cold exterior had entirely melted under my touch.
For ten agonizing, euphoric minutes, the only sound in the parlor was the crackle of the gas fireplace and her breathless, erratic gasps.
Slowly, I withdrew the Yang Qi, pulling my hands back.
Mu Xue'er collapsed against the back of the sofa, entirely drained. Her lips, previously tinted a sickly blue, were now a vibrant, flushed cherry-red. The unnatural cold in the room was completely gone.
I picked up a small, wooden lacquered box from the coffee table, snapped it open, and pulled out a microscopic slice of the billion-dollar Blood Ginseng.
"Chew this," I said, holding it to her lips. "It will stabilize the Yang Qi."
She didn't argue. She leaned forward, her lips brushing my fingertips as she took the ginseng. As she chewed, a fresh wave of vitality flooded her exhausted body. She looked up at me, her blue eyes wide, completely stripped of their usual hostility.
She felt incredible. The crushing weight she had carried for three years was lifted. And the man sitting next to her, looking completely unfazed, was the sole reason why.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice incredibly soft. She quickly pulled her blouse together, her hands shaking as she fumbled with the buttons. "I... I will return tomorrow night at the same time."
"I'll be waiting, Commander," I smiled, standing up to walk her to the door.
[Ding!] [The Scarlet Queen's psychological defenses have been completely breached!] [She is developing a severe physical and emotional reliance on the Host!] [Affection +20! Current Affection: 60 (Infatuated/Submissive).]
[11:55 PM - The Chu Consortium Headquarters]
While Mu Xue'er was driving back to her military compound, wrapped in the lingering warmth of my Qi, someone else was standing in the freezing rain outside my company.
Chen Fan, the Reborn Immortal Venerable, sneered at the towering glass skyscraper.
Mortals and their pathetic security systems, the ancient soul mocked, his hands clasped behind his back.
He formed a quick, complex hand seal. Shadow-Slip Technique.
His mortal body blurred, dissolving into the darkness. He effortlessly bypassed the laser grids, the motion sensors, and the armed night guards, gliding through the concrete walls as if they were made of water.
Within minutes, he descended into Sub-Basement 5.
The room was freezing, filled with humming servers. But Chen Fan didn't care about the technology. He walked directly to the geographic center of the massive concrete room and sat down in a cross-legged lotus position.
"Finally," Chen Fan whispered, his eyes gleaming with greedy anticipation. "I can feel the residual aura. The Ancestral Dragon Vein is right beneath me. With this, I will break through to Foundation Establishment, slaughter that arrogant billionaire Chu Feng, and claim this city for myself!"
He closed his eyes, forming the Heaven-Swallowing Dragon Seal with his hands.
"Rise, ancient energy! Submit to your Venerable!" he chanted, forcefully drawing his breath inward, attempting to suck the golden spiritual energy out of the earth.
He inhaled deeply.
Nothing.
Chen Fan frowned. He opened his eyes, forming the hand seals faster. "I said, SUBMIT!"
He forcefully expanded his divine sense, plunging it deep into the concrete to grasp the massive reserve of energy he had sensed earlier that morning.
But his divine sense hit... empty space.
It was like reaching into a massive treasure chest and finding it entirely swept clean, not even a single gold coin left behind in the corners.
"What?" Chen Fan gasped, his ancient composure fracturing.
He scrambled to his feet, dropping to his knees and frantically clawing at the concrete floor with his bare hands.
CRUMBLE.
The concrete didn't resist. Because I had used the Void Emperor's Devouring Art earlier, the structural integrity of the stone had been completely sucked dry. The floor literally turned to gray ash under Chen Fan's fingernails.
He dug frantically, coughing on the dust, his eyes wide with absolute, primal horror.
Gone. The Dragon Vein was completely, utterly gone.
"NOOOOOO!"
Chen Fan threw his head back and screamed. It was a scream of pure, soul-shattering despair.
Because he had forcefully activated a high-level absorption technique with absolutely zero spiritual energy to feed it, the technique violently backfired.
PFFT!
Chen Fan violently coughed up a massive mouthful of black blood. His meridians twisted in agony, tearing under the strain of a severe Qi Deviation. The Immortal Venerable collapsed into the gray ash of the ruined concrete, clutching his chest, his 500-year-old Dao Heart fracturing into a million pieces.
Someone had stolen his destiny. Someone had eaten his golden ticket.
[Meanwhile... Dragon Bay Estate]
I was pouring myself a glass of scotch, watching the city lights from the reinforced penthouse window, when the System practically exploded in my brain.
[CRITICAL DAMAGE INFLICTED!] [The Third Protagonist has discovered the theft of his Ultimate Opportunity!] [Chen Fan has suffered a catastrophic Qi Deviation due to extreme psychological trauma!] [Target's Dao Heart is heavily damaged!] [Destiny Points -8,000!] [Host gains 8,000 Villain Points!]
I took a slow, satisfying sip of the scotch, a dark, ruthless chuckle escaping my lips.
"Did you enjoy the meal, Chen Fan?" I whispered to the empty room.
[Warning!] [In a state of extreme desperation to heal his ruptured meridians, the Immortal Venerable has locked onto a new target!] [Target Identified: Su Qingran. Her 'Extreme Yin Physique' can be used as a human cauldron to heal his injuries!] [Alert: The Protagonist is planning to kidnap the Acting CEO tomorrow!]
My smile vanished instantly. The scotch suddenly tasted like ash.
I set the crystal glass down on the counter with a sharp, dangerous clack.
The Immortal Venerable was officially out of options. He was cornered, bleeding, and desperate. And he had just decided to target my woman.
"System," I commanded, my eyes turning completely pitch-black as the Overlord Aura flooded the penthouse. "Open the store. It's time to teach a 500-year-old ghost how to die."