The meeting with Yun Ming was held in the sterile environment of a private hospital suite. He looked even frailer than before, connected to more monitors, but his mind was razor-sharp. A man who Ye Xia assumed was a doctor or an aide stood silently in the corner, but the density of his Kai marked him as a bodyguard, a cultivator.
"Cousin," Yun Ming wheezed, a faint smile on his lips. "You glow with health. It is a stark contrast to my own condition."
"The world is not kind to those who are not strong," Ye Xia replied, getting straight to the point. "The Leng family is sending Leng Feng to assess me. I need the Yun family's protection."
Yun Ming's smile didn't falter. "Protection is a transaction. What does the Yun family get in return?"
"You get me," Ye Xia said. "Unopposed. As an ally, I can help you secure your position against Yun Zhong. My financial resources are substantial. And my… potential… as you put it, is growing."
"An interesting proposal," Yun Ming said. "But the Leng are a formidable enemy. Allying with you openly would be a declaration of war. I need a demonstration of your value. A proof of your strength."
"What kind of proof?"
"There is a small matter," Yun Ming said casually. "A rival company, backed by an obscure branch of the Leng family, is attempting a hostile takeover of one of our key subsidiaries. The negotiations have stalled. They have a representative in the city, a man named Jin. He is… unreasonably stubborn. He is also a low-level Body Refinement cultivator."
Ye Xia understood. This wasn't just a business negotiation. It was a test. She was to confront this Jin and force him to back down, demonstrating her cultivator strength and her ruthlessness.
"Give me the details," Ye Xia said.
That evening, Ye Xia walked into an exclusive members-only club. The air was thick with cigar smoke and the smell of old money. She was led to a private room where a bulky man with a thick neck and coarse features was holding court. This was Jin. She could feel his Kai—it was brutish and unrefined, a blunt instrument compared to her own carefully honed energy.
"Well, well," Jin sneered as she entered. "The Yun family sends a little girl to do a man's job? Have they no shame?"
Ye Xia didn't answer. She simply stood there,