Quote of the Day: "A victory is only as valuable as the new territory it opens. Consolidate your gains, then immediately scout the next battlefield."
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The power was a drug.
Lin Feng stood in the center of the silent teahouse, the early morning light painting dust motes gold in the air. But he was no longer seeing just dust. He saw the slow, graceful dance of ambient Qi particles. He heard the faint, rustling life-force of the herbs Su Ling tended. He felt the solid, dependable pulse of the earth beneath the floorboards. Qi Condensation Level 5 wasn't just a number; it was a fundamental upgrade to his perception of reality.
His body, once a ill-fitting suit of weakness, was now a precision instrument. The Earth Grade physique granted by the System wasn't about brute strength; it was about resilience, efficiency, and a profound connection to the foundational energies of the world. He could feel the impurities that had clogged his meridians being systematically burned away by the cleaner, more potent Qi now circulating within him.
Elder Bai and Su Ling watched him, their awe a palpable force. The spiritual pressure he unconsciously emitted was no longer that of a struggling ant, but of a young predator taking its first confident steps.
"The debt is cleared," Lin Feng announced, his voice resonating with a new, deeper timbre. "The Serene Heart Teahouse is secure. The Phoenix has risen."
Elder Bai's eyes glistened with unshed tears, but he bowed his head in acknowledgment, not to a grandson, but to a leader. Su Ling clasped her hands together, a radiant smile breaking through her usual nervousness.
"But," Lin Feng continued, the single word dousing their relief with cold water, "this is not the end. It is the beginning. We are no longer a teahouse. We are the foundation of the Serene Heart Conglomerate. And a foundation must be built upon."
The [Franchise Management Console] in his mind was now more detailed. He could see not just loyalty and yield, but the elemental affinities and even minor talents of his teams. Team Gamma, the high-risk reconnaissance team, had finally reported in. Their loyalty was a precarious 55, but their yield was spectacular—a haul of rare, shadow-aspected herbs from a disputed canyon, worth over two hundred stones. The gamble had paid off.
The one thousand Spirit Stones from the Pavilion's licensing deal sat in a secure chest, a war chest. He had capital, manpower, and a unique product. Now, he needed to diversify.
"Su Ling," he said, turning to her. "Your work with the herbs has been adequate."
Her smile faltered slightly at the word 'adequate.'
"You have an affinity," he stated. "The System— my intuition— confirms it. You do not just nurture plants; you communicate with them on a minor spiritual level. This is a rare talent. Wasting it on simple refinement is inefficient."
He gestured to the pile of Shadow Moss from Team Gamma's haul. "I am establishing our first subsidiary: Serene Heart Botanicals. You are its Director. Your first project is not to grow more herbs, but to experiment with cross-pollination and forced mutation using the catalytic solution in minute, controlled doses. I want a new, proprietary strain of spirit herb within three months."
Su Ling's eyes went wide with a mixture of terror and exhilaration. The scope of the task was immense, but the trust and resources he was placing in her were beyond anything she could have imagined. Her loyalty metric in the console flickered and then solidified at a blazing 99.
"Elder Bai," Lin Feng turned to his grandfather. "You understand tradition, ritual, and the 'face' of older cultivators. Your new role is Director of Client Relations and Acquisitions. You will be the public, respectable face of the Conglomerate. Your first task is to identify and approach two targets: a disgraced but skilled formation master, and a pill alchemist who is dissatisfied with the Pavilion's profit-sharing model. Offer them equity, not just salary."
He was building a corporate structure. R&D under Su Ling. HR and Business Development under Elder Bai. Logistics and Resource Gathering under the franchise teams. And he was the CEO, the strategist, the System-host.
He spent the rest of the day in a state of hyper-focused productivity, his enhanced mind processing information at a terrifying rate. He reviewed the franchise contracts, optimizing the profit-sharing ratios based on performance data. He used a sliver of his new Qi to inscribe a basic [Privacy Formation] around the storage closet, his [Immaculate Control] making the task simple where before it would have been impossible.
This was the true reward of the System synchronization. Not just power, but the toolset to manage power.
As evening fell, a messenger arrived, not from the Void-Severing Pavilion, but from a completely different direction. The man wore the insignia of the City Lord's administration.
"Lin Feng, owner of the Serene Heart Teahouse?" the messenger asked, his tone neutral but respectful.
"I am."
"The City Lord's office acknowledges the recent... economic activity centered on your establishment. You are hereby invited to a meeting of the Blue Spirit City Commerce Guild, three days hence. Your presence is requested to discuss your business's compliance with city trade ordinances and its potential contribution to the municipal tax base."
The messenger handed him a formal scroll and left.
Lin Feng unrolled it. It was an invitation, but it was also a summons. He had grown large enough to be noticed by the city government. The Commerce Guild was where the established powers—the Void-Severing Pavilion, the Azure Mist Sect, the Jin Merchant Consortium—met to carve up the market. They were inviting the new wolf to the table, either to be co-opted or to be put in his place.
[New Branch Quest: The Guild's Gauntlet.]
[Objective: Secure a voting seat on the Blue Spirit City Commerce Guild.]
[Reward: Legitimacy, Tax Breaks, Access to City Contracts.]
[Failure: Economic Sanctions, Restricted Trade Licenses.]
A slow, cold smile spread across Lin Feng's face. This was the new territory his victory had opened. The battlefield had shifted from his small shop to the city's highest chamber of commerce.
He had four days to prepare. He needed a show of force, but not the martial kind. He needed an economic one. He needed to walk into that guild not as a lucky upstart who sold a neat trick to the Pavilion, but as the head of a viable, growing multi-sector enterprise.
He looked at the one thousand Spirit Stones. Then he looked at the console with its five franchise teams. He looked at Su Ling, the budding master botanist, and Elder Bai, the seasoned diplomat.
The pieces were on the board. The game was changing.
The Conglomerate had taken its first breath. Now, it was time to make the city listen to its heartbeat.