Quote of the Day: "Authority is not taken, it is accumulated. And with every grain of power, the burden on the soul increases exponentially."
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The joint venture with the Void-Severing Pavilion was finalized. It was a landmark deal, the kind that would be studied in merchant academies for generations. Lin Feng had not just negotiated with a titan; he had bent it to his will, making it a logistical arm of his own vision. The Serene Heart Premium Catalyst would now flow along the Pavilion's established trade routes, its distinctive jade vials appearing in cities a thousand miles away. The Brand Equity metric in his System glowed with a fierce, steady light.
But the crown of empire was heavy.
The serene pulse of the Serene Heart Network was now a constant, low-level hum in his consciousness. The four local franchise teams, the dozen certified partners, the new, long-distance trade nodes with the Pavilion—each was a thread of awareness, a responsibility. He felt every minor dispute, every delayed shipment, every flicker of doubt in a partner's loyalty as a tiny fluctuation in his own spiritual sea.
His cultivation had plateaued.
Reaching Qi Condensation Level 6 had been effortless, buoyed by the tsunami of Karma from his market triumph. But the ascent to Level 7 felt like trying to climb a glass mountain. The vast power was there, swirling in his dantian, but it refused to cohere. The golden Karma stream, once a source of pure strength, now felt… complex. It carried not just the warmth of gratitude, but the faint, cold echoes of a thousand petty anxieties, the weight of a thousand dependent livelihoods.
He was no longer just cultivating for himself. He was cultivating for an entire economic ecosystem, and the spiritual drag was immense.
"The problem is one of focus," Master Yi observed, studying Lin Feng during a rare break from his work on the network's long-range relays. The formation master's loyalty was now a solid 85, his pride inextricably linked to the success of the system he was building. "Your spirit is everywhere at once. It is diluted. A ruler cannot also be the quartermaster, the tax collector, and the street sweeper. You have built the state. Now you must build the government."
The words struck a chord. He had been managing, not leading. He was mired in the operational details of his own creation. The System had given him the tools to be a CEO, but he was still acting like a frantic shop foreman.
The solution was as painful as it was necessary: delegation. True delegation. Not just assigning tasks, but ceding authority.
He started with Su Ling. He called her into his private meditation chamber, a room now shielded by Master Yi's most powerful privacy formations.
"You are no longer the Director of Botanicals," Lin Feng stated.
Su Ling's face fell, a flash of hurt and confusion in her eyes.
"You are the Chancellor of the Life Sciences Division," he continued. "You have full autonomy over the herb gardens, the cross-breeding programs, and the development of all non-catalyst consumables. You control your own budget. You hire and fire your own staff. You report to me only on quarterly results and major strategic shifts."
He was giving her a kingdom within his empire. Her loyalty, already at 99, didn't have room to grow, but the quality of it changed. The grateful subordinate was replaced by the determined partner. "I will not fail you, Lin Feng."
Next was Elder Bai. "You are now the Minister of Internal Affairs and Diplomacy. All franchise management, partner relations, and negotiations with local powers fall under your purview. You are the public face and the administrative heart of the Conglomerate within Blue Spirit City. Your word is my word."
Elder Bai, who had watched his grandson transform from a wastrel to a visionary, bowed deeply, his old back straight with a newfound purpose. "It will be done."
He even formalized a role for Chu Yue, though she was not his employee. Through the network, he sent a tightly encrypted pulse of data—a proposal to establish a Joint Logistics Command, co-chaired by her and a representative of his choosing. He was offering her a seat at his council, acknowledging that the Pavilion was now a vital organ of his body corporate.
With each act of delegation, he felt a tangible release. A thread of spiritual burden was severed from his core, transferred to a capable subordinate. The chaotic hum of the network didn't disappear, but it receded, becoming a structured, orderly flow of information instead of a cacophony of demands.
He was finally free to do what only he could do: strategize, innovate, and cultivate.
He spent the next three days in deep seclusion, not meditating on Qi circulation, but on the nature of his own power. He reviewed the list of 100 traits, focusing not on the ones he had been rewarded with, but on the ones he inherently possessed.
Inner Sovereignty. A complete independence of spirit; they are ruled by their own will alone.
Transcendence Focus.A mindset inherently geared toward higher realms, making them less attached to worldly trivialities.
Non-Attachment (Material).Lack of deep emotional investment in treasures or possessions, easing necessary sacrifices.
He had these traits. They were the bedrock of his old, corporate self. But he had been suppressing them, letting the System's Karma demands make him attached to every employee, every shop, every stone of profit. He had become a slave to his own creation.
He hadn't needed to acquire new traits; he needed to remember his own.
He visualized his Conglomerate not as a fragile construct he had to personally hold together, but as a robust, self-sustaining engine. He was not the engine's fuel; he was its architect. The engine would run without his constant attention. His job was to design the next, better engine.
A profound calm settled over him. The chaotic energy in his dantian stilled, then began to rotate, forming a perfect, brilliant vortex. The glass mountain was no longer slippery. It was a staircase, and he had just found the first step.
A massive surge of power, cleaner and more potent than any before, erupted from his core. His meridians sang with energy, expanding, reinforcing. The world outside the privacy formation seemed to hold its breath.
[Breakthrough Achieved: Qi Condensation Level 7.]
[Trait 'Inner Sovereignty' has been integrated as a Core Dao Pillar.]
[Trait 'Transcendence Focus' has been integrated as a Core Dao Pillar.]
[Dao Heart Stability: 99/100.]
[System Synchronization: 40%. New Function Unlocked: 'Mandate of Heaven (Minor)' - Host's actions that align with sustainable, large-scale order are passively supported by ambient world Qi.]
He opened his eyes. The world was the same, yet utterly different. He could feel the faint, approving hum of the very air around him, the "Mandate of Heaven" gently easing the spiritual cost of his leadership. The crown was still heavy, but his neck was now strong enough to bear it.
He emerged from seclusion to find the Conglomerate running smoother than ever. Su Ling had already drafted a plan for a new greenhouse. Elder Bai had resolved a territorial dispute between two franchise teams without his input. A status report from the Joint Logistics Command, co-signed by Chu Yue, awaited his review.
He was no longer the center of the web. He was the spider that had spun it, now free to climb to a higher vantage point and spin the next one.
The weight was gone. The authority remained. He had learned the final lesson of kingship: to rule, one must first learn to let go.