Gu Jun swirled his drink lazily, then turned to Li Ming.
"Who's that?"
Li Ming glanced at the newcomer, hesitated a moment, then replied,
"Your Highness, he's somewhat related to you, through your mother's side. His name is Ning Zhe, the son of your mother's cousin. He belongs to the Ning family from the capital."
He paused before continuing,
"The Ning clan ranks last among the Ten Great Noble Families. But Ning Zhe is the eldest grandson of the family head, and a strong candidate to become the next successor, especially with his budding ties to the Zi family."
Li Ming lowered his voice slightly,
"Your mother doesn't have a favorable view of the Ning family. In the empire's long-term capital strategy, they've been assigned a role… and it's not a good one. The Planning Council also suspects they may have had a distant connection to the assassination attempt on you when you were twelve. Your mother is still investigating quietly."
He added,
"Ning Zhe is currently the vice president of the Tianhai branch of Ning Corporation."
Gu Jun chuckled softly.
"Should I go down and give him a dramatic surprise? Something like, 'Hello, cousin. Fancy seeing you here."
Li Ming looked slightly embarrassed.
"I wouldn't presume to say, Your Highness."
Gu Jun shook his head.
"No, I won't. You know how I feel about my maternal side. Besides, this scene will be far more interesting without my interference, for now. Some of the actors haven't taken the stage yet."
His gaze drifted to Zhou Hao, who was calmly observing the growing tension below.
After a moment, Gu Jun said,
"Li Ming, don't stay so stiff around me. We'll be together for a long time. No need for heavy formal distance."
Li Ming exhaled through his nose, clearly exasperated but respectful.
"Understood, Your Highness."
Gu Jun smiled faintly, then turned his full attention to the situation unfolding.
On the floor below...
Bai Xue crossed her arms and glared at Ning Zhe.
"I was wondering who gave Xiao Hao the guts to act this shamelessly. So it's you, smelly Ning Zhe. Birds of a feather really do flock together."
Rong Xi added with a sneer,
"Or maybe cattle from the same muddy pen."
Ning Zhe's smile was cold and unbothered.
"Watch your mouths, little girls. There aren't many in this country who would dare speak to me like that."
Then, it happened. So suddenly, no one had time to react.
A blur of motion—a vicious, lightning-fast kick—smashed directly into Ning Zhe's chest. His body arced through the air with a brutal grace, crashing down several meters away with a heavy thud.
Time seemed to freeze.
All breath stopped. The room fell into a stunned, suffocating silence.
Every eye turned.
It was Zhou Hao.
He stood there, calm but seething, eyes fixed on Ning Zhe with unmasked disdain and cold hatred.
Ning Zhe groaned and struggled to rise. Despite having cultivation on par with Zhou Hao, the ambush had caught him completely off guard. He'd been humiliated, struck before he could even circulate his qi.
As he tried to stand, Zhou Hao stepped forward, ready to strike again.
But before he could land the second blow, a man in a black suit appeared between them, placing himself silently in front of Ning Zhe.
An immense pressure blanketed the room.
The man's aura was sharp and suffocating.
A Dark Realm warrior.
From the lounge, Gu Jun raised an eyebrow, mildly amused.
"That must be Ning Zhe's bodyguard," he murmured to himself. The man's eyes, cold as ice, locked onto Zhou Hao. His killing intent surged forward in a crushing wave.
Zhou Hao staggered slightly, forced to take several steps back.
But before the situation could tip further, another man appeared beside Zhou Hao, seemingly stepping out of thin air.
Also cloaked in pressure.
Also, a Dark Realm cultivator.
Zhou Hao's bodyguard.
The atmosphere snapped tight.
Invisible sparks seemed to fly between the opposing forces. The dance floor of a nightclub had become the stage for a high-level standoff.
As if in answer, several more figures began emerging from the shadows, each one stepping forward silently—protectors belonging to different factions, taking positions behind their respective charges.
The room was now locked in a chilling silence.
Even the average guests, ignorant of cultivation levels, could feel it—the crushing weight in the air, the invisible tide of danger hanging over them.
Not a single word was spoken.
And through it all, Gu Jun sat quietly, sipping his drink.
His expression was calm, thoughtful.
As the pressure churned around him, his thoughts drifted—not to the current drama—but to the assassination attempt from his twelfth year.
If the Ning family was involved… then they'd made a mistake they wouldn't survive.
He tapped a finger lightly against his glass.
He'd have to revisit the Capital Plan.
And so, while tension hung in the air like a blade ready to fall, the only sound in the entire nightclub…was the soft clink of Gu Jun's glass, which is very loud in this silent situation.
Some time later, he came back to his senses.
Almost all of them were looking at him.
Especially Bai Xue—there was fire in her eyes.
Ning Hao glared at him with barely restrained anger, and in the eyes of his roommates and companions, there was clear surprise.
Gu Jun gave them an embarrassed look, then cleared his throat and said,
"Don't mind me. Please, carry on."
"You little—"
The fury in Ning Zhe's eyes only grew more intense.
Zhou Hao did not give him the chance to continue; he snapped,
"Shut up, you bastard! You've got some nerve showing your face after cheating my cousin. I searched all over Tianhai for you. Now you're a dog-like thing, show up on your own and act like nothing happened?"
Ning Zhe then replied with a slight smirk.
"Look who it is… the cousin of that bitch."
Gu Jun turned to Li Ming with a questioning glance.
Li Ming leaned in slightly and replied,
"Your Highness, Zhou Hao is one of the potential successors of the Holy Light Sect. He is the illegitimate son of an elder. Right now, his faction controls the sect, but his status is still weak despite his high talent due to his birth. He was sent to Tianhai as the local head of the sect's influence, but in truth, this was likely a move to push him out of the internal power struggle. There may be other motives, but we haven't confirmed them yet."
"Holy Light Sect, huh…" Gu Jun muttered.
In the current structure of power on Earth, influence came in several forms, but in country X, there are two primary forms: Family and Sect.
Within the country X, the top of the hierarchy was occupied by the Ten Noble Families and the Seven Great Sects.
The Holy Light Sect ranked somewhere in the middle among the seven, but it was undeniably more powerful than the Ning family.
Li Ming continued,
"A few days ago, the granddaughter of the Grand Elder from the Holy Light Sect traveled to the capital. She carried with her a rare, high-grade ginseng. Ning Hao pretended to like her, gained her trust, and tricked her into handing it over."
"That girl lacked social experience, and her companions—just bodyguards—stood aside, hoping she'd gain some real-world exposure. A minor conflict broke out between the Ning family and the sect over the matter. Ning Hao had to pay a penalty, but the incident was officially recorded as a transaction—even if it was deceptive, it happened with consent."
Li Ming's voice lowered.
"The girl has a close relationship with Zhou Hao, so it's not surprising he's furious. But more importantly… we suspect a third party was behind the entire incident. Someone wanted to drive a wedge between the Holy Light Sect and the Ning family. Although the plan ultimately failed, it came dangerously close to succeeding."
Li Ming paused and glanced at Gu Jun with a slightly hesitant look.
"Who is it?"
"The younger sister of your fiancée, she is also your mother's adopted daughter."
Gu Jun became distracted again and accidentally made a loud sipping sound.
At that moment, Zhou Hao and Ning Zhe were on the verge of an all-out clash—
—when that unsightly sipping sound once again broke the tension and disrupted the atmosphere.
Everyone turned toward the source.
Gu Jun looked up from his drink and met their gazes.
With an apologetic smile, he said,
"Sorry again. Please, ignore me. You guys can continue."