Lian Huiling had many things on her mind, yet one thing came before all. She had to make sure of the situation before proceeding forward. Rushing into things would only come back to bite her. Besides, she was sure the Ma Clan wouldn’t publicize their ownership of that token. Otherwise, the Lian Clan would simply do away with it entirely. While they would lose some leverage in doing so, at least they could retain their credibility.

Lian Huiling made the rounds around her establishment, taking notes of the damage it suffered. As Lian Ling pointed out, the structure was intact, and only the pillars had fallen. This was also why she hadn't felt the tremors even though her office was also present in the building. The large formation in the structure's foundation had prevented the worst from happening.

Still, she was bewildered by the strength Qin Yun had shown. While the third floor was far from the most secure area of all, the formation there was enough to restrain even someone at the peak of the Golden Core Realm. While their information network wasn't as advanced as the Qin Clan, they should have been aware of such knowledge. Unless someone had deliberately had it hidden. It wouldn't surprise her. Who in their right mind would lay all their cards on the table for all to see?

As she walked through the halls, she received report after report of what had occurred, either from firsthand experience or the rumours that circulated. She couldn't help but crush those reports with her Qi; the paper became dust before disappearing completely. She could barely control her rage.

The report from one of the receptionists stated that Qin Yun had requested Lian Huiling's presence using his token, yet the receptionist delivering her message had been intercepted by the security chief. While Lian Huiling was well aware of his relationship with the Ma Clan, she hadn't expected him to be so subservient.

In his younger years, the man had been just another rogue cultivator without roots, drifting from place to place in search of a nest he could call his own. Appreciating his strength, Lian Huiling agreed to employ the man. She had given him a place within Jin City and a goal to work toward. While the work wasn't glamorous, it was infinitely better than just going along with the flow.

Over the years, the man had worked tirelessly and advanced from a lowly guard to chief of security. While many in her family weren’t pleased with letting an outsider take a position of power, Lian Huiling thought otherwise. Nepotism would only stifle the growth of their business. It was much better to allocate people where their abilities could shine.

Furthermore, as the man stagnated in his cultivation, Lian Huiling even supplied him with resources as she believed the man to be loyal to her. The Lian Family valued loyalty much more than talent, after all. Yet, she couldn't believe that the man she once put her trust in would betray her and her family so callously.

What did he have to gain by selling his integrity to the Ma Clan? Whatever it was, she highly doubted the Ma Clan would honour whatever deal they made. Only those who possessed power could make them keep their word. There were already so many stories lamenting how the Ma Clan had reneged on their promises that few wished to interact with them. Only the three other great clans had the means to do so without suffering a loss.

But now, they had crossed the Lian Clan. Lian Huiling highly doubted it would end that simply. While she was practically sure they would attribute this faux pas to the follies of youth, the Lian Clan would never accept this as it would be the same as admitting that the Lian Clan couldn't be counted on. How would the three other holders of the Black Token feel if they could be robbed of it at any time? Would it still hold value?

No, the Lian Clan would never take that chance. Still, Lian Huiling hoped the situation wouldn't devolve to that. She could only curse Qin Yun in her heart. Why did he have to give back the token when he could have simply left with it? It was as if he wanted a war between the Ma and Lian Clan. While she wouldn't put it past him, she hoped it wasn't the case.

Still, Qin Yun could wait. She was sure he was in the midst of gloating as he watched her deal with the mess he left her. That man took way too much pleasure in the hardships of others. Right now, she regretted ever giving him that token. Although he thoroughly deserved it, she wished she could take it back.

Lian Huiling could only tackle a single problem at a time. First was dealing with the internal threats, then they could tackle the external ones. Her first order of business was dealing with her chief of security, so she made her way to the guards' command post located in the building's basement.

Since no windows were present as they were underground, the halls were illuminated by countless glowing stones embedded into the structure itself. While those stones were ordinary, runic characters were carved upon them. Those characters' function was to mobilize the surrounding Qi and absorb it within the rune before transforming it into light and expelling it out slowly, thus making them luminescent.

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While they resembled formations in the effects they created, arrays and runes were two very different disciplines. While formation arrays depended on spatial locations and Qi flow to alter their environment, runes' power originated from the intent and meaning laced within the characters. Arrays used a more physical power, while runes were more ethereal. As for which was better, they both had their places, and they both led to the Dao. Countless cultivators would spend their whole lives without scratching the true depths of these disciplines.

As a layman, Lian Huiling could only marvel at what runes and formations could accomplish. These disciplines were the backbones of the modern world they lived in. Without their existence, much of what they took for granted wouldn't exist as cultivators would be needed to replicate their effects. These two disciplines had liberated so much manpower that society had leapt forward exponentially. Without them, any clan and sect would only be a shell of their former self.

Once near the command post, Lian Huiling frowned. She expected to see the usual guards at the door, yet they were conspicuously absent. Furthermore, her keen senses detected a stench of death and decay lingering in the air, yet she didn’t feel the familiar scent of blood.

She stopped and waited, attentively listening for any foreign sounds that could alleviate her doubts. Unfortunately, the command post's formation was fully activated, isolating it from the outside world as if in a different dimension, making it practically impossible to breach. No sounds could be heard from within.

Lian Huiling regretted having come here alone. She thought that with her strength, there wasn't much she couldn't deal with; this was the hubris all cultivators possessed. Still, she couldn't turn back at this junction. She was in charge of everything in this building and would have to prove it. She took a deep breath and approached the door.

Fortunately, those formations were created with her in mind. There wasn’t anywhere she couldn’t come and go at her leisure. As soon as she reached the door, it opened by itself as if welcoming her.

She stood in the doorway, stunned, unable to step forward. All around her were the dried corpses of those she had employed. She could tell by the golden armours that covered their empty husks. Unsurprisingly, there was not a drop of blood to be found anywhere in the room, only piles of dust scattered around as if some bodies had disintegrated from the lack of moisture.

What shocked her the most was the man standing in the middle of the room with a corpse in hand. Unlike the bodies on the ground, she could still see remnants of its former features on the body in the man's hands. Yet, they soon dissipated as if the man was extracting the body's very life force with his bare hands.

The only man left standing was someone Lian Huiling knew very well. Yet, his features had changed slightly, becoming somewhat more youthful than she remembered, and his short black hair had lost all its colour, becoming a striking white.

“Hou Ping! What have you done!” she barked as fury mounted in her heart.

She had given this man so much and brought him out of the pits of poverty, and this was how he repaid her? She wanted nothing more than to dismember this disloyal dog and let him rot in the deepest of abyss. It hurt her much more knowing that, at some point, she had felt something for this man despite the disparity in their respective statuses.

Now, all she felt was regret to have let this backstabber roam free in her own house. She vowed to never make the same mistake again. As for this being a misunderstanding, the thought couldn't be further from her mind. Even if she were to dismiss the evidence before her eyes, his earlier conduct with the Ma Clan was all she needed and more.

Still, the man only watched her outburst and offered no comments, as if her existence was irrelevant. His expression was impassive even as he reaped the lives of many, the lives of the man who had served under him and those he once called friends. Yet, those lives were meaningless to him now. Even the woman he once had feelings for didn't matter. All that mattered was the newfound strength he had been granted.

“Explain yourself!” Lian Huiling cried in desperation.

While she consciously wished to repudiate this man, years of memories shared together weren't easy to erase, much less the feelings of the flesh and the ache of the heart. She desperately wished to explain his actions through logic, yet rejected them all based on a pure deluge of emotions. She had difficulty thinking straight, much less restraining herself from flinging herself at him in a fit of rage.

Hearing no response, her eyes grew ever colder while her purple lotus spun with a frigid fury that threatened to destroy all its surroundings with its pressure alone. Still, the man stood unperturbed in the face of it all, with no smile or scowl, only a mask of indifference.

Being looked at with such disinterested eyes cut Lian Huiling deeply. She would have much preferred being looked at with scorn or even derision, as it would provide her with an opportunity to cut him down with impunity. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to do so once she realized how little she meant to him. At least, that was what she thought at first, but the more he belittled her with his gaze, the more she wished to prove him wrong.

She flung herself at him, bringing out a fan from under her dress. As the fan spread out, a slight light illuminated this underground chamber. Surprisingly, Lian Huiling used the fan as if a sword while a blade of sharpened wind lay along the edge of the fan. Unfortunately, the blade of wind would fail to make contact as the man was much too quick.

He evaded the blow effortlessly before pressing his palm on her chest, shoving her backwards. While the blow was lighter than she expected, she couldn’t stand her ground and was propelled into the air until she left the room through the opened door. Unable to regain her balance, she tumbled on the ground as a slight trace of blood escaped her mouth.

As her injuries were light, she rose quickly and saw the lotus hanging over the man she once knew. It had lost all its colours, becoming pure white. Yet, much more shocking than that, she could see a white orb hovering over the platform. Lian Huiling's mouth hung open as she refused to face reality. The man who should have been weaker than her had now reached the Golden Core Realm.

"How weak" were the only words to escape the man's mouth.