Once out of the building, Yun Jingfei's grin took a sour note. While she gleefully relished in slapping their faces, she hoped this would be the end of it, yet she knew better. The Ma Clan wasn't known for possessing sense. If anything, they were the type to destroy a whole family for simply looking at them wrongly.

"What now?" she asked in a worried tone. "I hope you have a plan for how to deal with this."

Qin Yun, on the other hand, wasn't worried. The Ma Clan would have much more pressing problems than a small character like himself. The Black Token wasn't something they could take at their leisure. It carried weight; it was basically equal to the Lian Clan's reputation. He would be sorely mistaken if that young man thought he could steal it from him simply because of his identity.

If only to save face and retain their reputation as trustworthy, the Lian Clan would ensure this situation wouldn't end like this. Businesses don't run on money but on trust. As long as that trust in their brand image is strong, a company can operate even at a loss. Yet, once that trust is gone, all that remains would be bankruptcy waiting for them.

The upper echelon of the Lian Family knew this long ago, yet it seemed they failed to teach this simple fact to their junior. Qin Yun could only shake his head at how some people refused to listen.

Besides, the young man from the Lian Clan's actions were counter-productive. If he thought grovelling before Ma Zhiqiang would ensure their continued support, he was much too naive to remain in this line of work.

As long as the Lian Clan remained the heart of Jin City’s economy, the Ma Clan would never entertain the idea of crossing them, lest they earn the ire of the remaining two great clans. The Lian Clan was the clan most linked to the city’s prosperity after all.

Once Qin Yun explained all this to his wife, she knew where his confidence stemmed from. Still, she should have inferred the same herself, yet she had been much too isolated from the secular world ever since she had joined the Immortal Phoenix Sect. The Immortal Sects and Cultivation Families operated on two different systems that were much too estranged from each other. She would have to learn all its intricacies if she wished to survive in this foreign world.

With her doubts answered, Yun Jingfei returned to her lodging alongside Qin Yun. According to him, nothing needed to be done. They only had to wait; someone else would do all the work for them. She didn't doubt him as he had never shown that he didn't know what he was doing, and she simply eagerly awaited the resolution of this affair.

******

At the tower's summit, in a large, splendidly decorated office, a young woman seated at a desk poured over countless reports. While she didn't look a day over twenty-two, she was nearly forty years of age.

She wore an exquisite—but modest in exposure—turquoise dress that fell to the floor, revealing only her ankles and light blue shoes. Her long, deep, auburn hair was tied in a bun while a pair of thin, golden glasses were perched on her slender nose.

While no cultivators required glasses once they reached the Qi Refining Realm, she simply liked how it made her look and slightly hid her bright green eyes. She looked the very definition of a prim and proper secretary, yet she was the one in charge.

Her name was Lian Huiling, the daughter of the Lian Patriarch. For many years, she had been tasked with the day-to-day management of the family's main store, which she had acquired after years of dedication and countless achievements. It would be an understatement to say she wasn't the highest earner in the family.

As such, her tasks were countless, and her free time was limited. Her cultivation obviously suffered from it. If compared to her peers of the same age, she was lagging behind, having only reached the 8th level of the Void Core Realm while most have long reached the Golden Core Realm.

Still, nothing could be done about it. While many in the Lian Clan were talented in business, none could take her place. She was irreplaceable and, as such, had to make some sacrifices. While business was good and all, cultivation base was still paramount in this world. This couldn't continue for long.

As such, she had devised a plan to rear her successor so she could cultivate properly. The one chosen was a brother named Lian Ling, who was many years younger than she was. While she still found him lacking in many aspects, she was hopeful he would be up to the task of replacing her one day.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Just as she thought about him, Lian Huiling heard a knock on her door. Without rising from her documents, she prompted the new arrival to enter. As expected, it was Lian Ling coming to report the day's events as he always did. However, this time, his expression seemed wrong somehow.

He usually only showed a calm expression laced with indifference, yet now he seemed nervous and uncertain. Feeling the tension in the room, Lian Huiling rose from her desk and carefully examined this brother of hers. While she felt this man was capable of doing business, he was still young and inexperienced. While she could delegate most of her duties to him, she would always be the one with the final say.

"Do you have something to report," she asked calmly, watching the man's every move closely.

She feared something had happened simply from his body language, and the extended silence after her question didn't help his case. Lian Huiling frowned slightly, prompting the man to fidget in place and sweat slightly, which she found abnormal. Cultivators weren't in the habit of sweating, as it became unnecessary once they reached the peak of the Body Strengthening Realm. Only through internal factors, such as fear or nervousness, would such a thing happen.

Yet, her brother seemed ill at ease, as if something weighed on his mind. Still, she wasn't in a habit of cajoling subordinates, even if they were family. She only glared at him until he was forced to open his mouth.

What she heard left her stunned. While she knew her brother was somewhat spineless when it came to the Ma Clan, she hadn’t expected it to reach such a point. He had left a splendid mess for her to sort out.

She tilted her head backwards before letting out a long sigh. She removed her glasses and rubbed the corner of her eyes, somehow hoping this was a nightmare she could wake up from. Unfortunately, this was reality, and she would have to deal with it.

“It’s not all bad,” Lian Ling said, not understanding the seriousness of the situation. “Although damaged, the formation is still operable. Once we replace the pillars, everything should return to normal.”

Lian Huiling couldn’t help but feel a slight hint of anger over this fool’s obliviousness and spoke in a frustrated tone.

“I don’t care about that!”

Her voice was stern, and her expression gloomy. She wracked her brain, trying to think of countermeasures, yet nothing came to mind. If her family were found lacking due to this situation, it could affect much more than just this business. They might even lose the trust and reputation they had built over countless years.

As such, they might even lose their virtual monopoly over the City's economic strength, in turn losing their own family's power. This involved more than just a couple of young adults' pointless power struggles. It could devolve into full-blown hostilities. Yet, her brother still failed to see her point.

“If you are thinking that the Ma Clan may take advantage of us, there's no need to worry. I've already given them the Black Token in exchange for Ma Zhiqiang's word that this would end here."

The look of pride she saw on her brother's face as he recounted his good deed was the last straw for her. Her temper flared up, and he felt her ire.

“You fool!”

Her voice exploded as her power poured out of her body. A sizeable purple lotus rotated above her head. While most cultivators would try to mask their lotuses' features for fear of revealing their strength, Lian Huiling had no such considerations. Her lotus was seen in all its glory, from its complete platform to the bulb over it, containing eight large and lush petals. Even a ninth could be seen on the verge of opening.

As a large amount of Qi was ejected from her body from her heightened emotions, Lian Ling bore the brunt of it. He felt it all crash into him as it lifted him off the floor before ending his journey into the nearby wall, creating a large dent; the crash reverberated throughout the room.

He felt the impact shakes his internal organs, and a slight trace of blood appeared on the corner of his mouth; feeling the blood stuck in his throat. Although he knew that his sister could sometimes be blunt and direct in her methods, he had never seen her lose control of her emotions, leading to a violent reaction, as much as she did now. While he didn't know what angered her so, he figured it was best to keep his mouth shut for the moment.

Hearing the large crash, Lian Huiling's secretary knocked on the door, asking if everything was alright. Even if the world were to end, the small woman on the other side of the door would never consider entering Lian Huiling's office without her consent.

Lian Huiling took a long breath to calm herself before retracting her Qi. Despite her pressure receding, her brother remained embedded into the wall, which only brought her the smallest of consolation. If anything, she considered making this his permanent place of residence. This way, she wouldn't have to worry so much about her family's future.

While her brother was talented in many aspects, he was still too young and naive to see the greater picture. What did the Ma Clan count for? The Lian Clan could easily replace them as their security details. Even if the Ma Clan wanted to retaliate for this, the other two great clans would step in, and a compromise would be reached.

No, the black token was the real problem. Whoever owned the token was irrelevant; only the token's existence mattered. The token held the same authority as one of the Lian Clan's few elders. Its owner could ask almost anything of the clan. As such, only a few were in existence. Two were spread around the Western Region, while another was in the hands of Jin City's current city lord. This token was the reason the city allowed them to maintain their monopoly. It was vital to the clan.

But now, its authority had been put into question. What if the city lord felt his token couldn't be counted on. Could they retain their power? What about the other two? They had spent countless resources trying to entice those two owners into working with them, and now they could lose it all just as easily. They weren't people the Lian Clan could easily offend.

Despite the authority she possessed in the clan, this wasn’t something she could decide on her own. She would need to escalate this to her father, the current patriarch. However, she would need to acquire an objective account of all that had transpired during her absence.

She barked her orders to her subordinates outside her office before rising, intending to leave the room. Lian Ling tried to extirpate himself from the wall but was stopped beforehand.

“If you so much as think of getting down from there, I’ll slaughter you.”

Her voice was frosty as if winter had arrived early. Lian Ling decided to heed her advice, as he was sure she would keep her promise.

"Just wait for Father to deal with you," she said exasperatedly as she left the room.