---
Next morning, Li Family's Second Branch courtyard
The dawn mist clung to the courtyard stones like a thin veil.
Li Feng stood barefoot as the faint mist curled around the stone tiles, cool against his bare feet.
The world felt slow, quiet — as if dawn itself was holding its breath.
He inhaled deeply.
Then moved.
His arms swept outward in a controlled arc, tendons tightening and relaxing with practiced rhythm.
Every shift of weight, every stretch of muscle followed the internal cadence he'd carved into himself over the past weeks.
Yi Jin Jing — the classic of muscle and tendon refinement.
His breath flowed in tune with each motion, steady and disciplined.
He could feel the fine tremors of effort deep in his core — not weakness, but awakening strength.
When the final form settled, he transitioned seamlessly into stillness, feet planted firmly, arms curved before him.
Zhan Zhuang.
Standing like a tree.
From a distance, he could have been mistaken for a statue.
But within that stillness, every fibre of his body was alive — adjusting, stabilizing, sensing.
The pressure in his thighs.
The subtle pull in his shoulders.
The faint warmth circulating through his palms.
His heartbeat slowed into a calm, steady rhythm.
This was why he embraced Qigong.
Not for mysticism.
Not for theatrics.
But because it honed breath, strength, focus — the essentials of a body that would one day match his mind.
Only after ten full minutes did he release the posture and draw a long, even breath.
"Not bad…" he murmured, rolling his shoulders.
The system interface appeared at his will, faint blue behind his eyes.
[Skill Update]
• Yi Jin Jing — Lv. 0 (32%)
• Zhan Zhuang — Lv. 0 (25%)
• Meditation — Lv. 0 (34%)
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
'The improvements are stacking well. A few more weeks and my foundation will be solid.'
Yi Jin Jing had begun to condition his tendons and overall explosiveness; he could feel it when he gripped or pushed something heavy.
Zhan Zhuang was reshaping his internal balance, posture, and micro-control.
Meditation sharpened his focus, letting him drop into deep concentration faster than ever.
He rotated his wrists slowly, enjoying the newfound elasticity in his joints.
Three disciplines growing together.
Three foundations reinforcing one another.
'Good… This pace is exactly what I need.'
He left the courtyard, steps silent and steady, ready for breakfast — and for whatever the day intended to throw at him.
---
The dining room was warm with morning sunlight. Li Xue hummed softly to herself as she arranged the dishes, while their father, Li Guohua, scanned a tablet filled with work documents.
"Morning, Dad," Li Feng greeted as he sat.
Guohua looked up, smiling faintly. "Morning. How's the project with your sister coming along?"
Li Xue brightened immediately. "It's going great! Gege finished the first prototype already."
Guohua raised an eyebrow. "So quickly?"
Li Feng simply nodded, sipping his tea. "We'll refine it over the next few weeks."
"How about school? Any trouble?"
"A few baby gangster wannabes," Li Feng said casually. "Nothing to worry about."
His father paused at that — studying Li Feng's calm expression for a heartbeat — then let it go.
As breakfast drew to an end, Guohua set his tablet aside.
"Feng'er," he said quietly, "there have been… unusual movements inside the Li Group recently."
Li Feng's eyes narrowed slightly. "Unusual?"
"Shifts in authority. Meetings behind closed doors. Nothing concrete yet."
His father's tone was mild, but his gaze was sharp.
"But keep your guard up. If you notice anything strange — anything — tell me. And keep an eye on your sister."
Li Feng nodded once. "I will."
They left the house soon after, the quiet warning lingering in the back of his mind.
---
Longhai No. 1 Highschool.
The moment Li Feng and Li Xue stepped through the school gates, whispers rose like wind through leaves. Most students simply watched from a distance — curious, uncertain — but one figure walked toward them with a swagger that reeked of trouble.
Li Han.
Nineteen, dyed hair, designer jacket, and an arrogance so thick it practically walked ahead of him.
He wasn't a student here, but the Third Branch sponsored several "academic programs," which meant he came and went as he pleased. Security guards didn't even look twice when he wandered in.
And whenever he appeared, he made sure everyone noticed.
"Well, well," Li Han drawled as he approached, hands in his pockets. "If it isn't the Second Branch's last hope. Morning, cousin."
Li Xue stiffened beside Li Feng.
Li Feng simply paused, turning his head slightly. "Li Han."
Li Han smirked. "Did you hear the news? Top management at Li Group might be restructuring soon."
He leaned in, voice dropping to a mocking whisper. "Some departments are… underperforming. Someone's father may get kicked out completely."
Li Feng didn't react. His expression remained calm, indifferent — a quiet mirror that reflected none of the tension around them.
Li Han clicked his tongue. "Come on, don't look so gloomy. It's not like you didn't expect it. With what your branch contributes? It's practically charity keeping you around."
Li Xue's grip tightened on her bag.
Li Feng gently pat her head once — subtle reassurance — before finally looking at Li Han directly.
His gaze was steady, unreadable.
Then he spoke:
"Strange."
His voice was calm, almost casual.
"I heard the Pharmaceuticals Division had an... interesting month."
Li Han's smirk faltered.
Li Feng added, tone still mild:
"Something about certain drugs… and certain... inconsistencies."
Li Han went pale.
Li Xue blinked up at her brother, confused and worried.
Li Feng reached over and gently patted her head — a calm, protective gesture that contrasted sharply with the quiet threat he'd just delivered.
"Don't mind him," Li Feng said softly to her. "Some people panic at shadows."
Li Han swallowed, trying to recover.
"You—you don't know anything."
Li Feng didn't bother responding.
He simply guided Li Xue toward the entrance with a hand on her shoulder.
As they walked, she whispered, "Gege… what was that about?"
Li Feng smiled lightly. "Nothing you need to worry about."
Behind them, Li Han tried to recollect himself.
'No, he doesn't know anything. He was just bluffing' he thought, reassuring himself.
---
That evening, Li Feng sat at his desk, notebook open, code frameworks and sketches scattered across the surface — modular hardware blocks, custom routing scripts, air-gapped backup structures, micro-kernel layouts… everything he would need for a complete upgrade of his equipment.
He was outlining the upgrades he needed:
• custom motherboard for a portable terminal
• encrypted kernel
• multi-layer sandboxing
• isolated execution environment
• specialized antennas
• low-noise power system
• multi-route anonymization scripts
• full-spectrum signal scanners
• RF shielding modifications
By the time he totaled the estimated cost, he leaned back slightly.
"One hundred thousand dollars," he murmured.
That was the minimum to start operating at the level he wanted.
He tapped a finger against the desk.
'Low-risk jobs first. Then contests. Before moving on to more advanced contracts.'
His mind drifted briefly to breakfast — his father's warning.
And to Li Han… whose reaction seemed a little too genuine to be purely fear.
'There's unrest in the Li Group… and inside the Li family too.'
He needed to be prepared.
Once his equipment was upgraded, he would quietly map out everything:
Every Li Group server.
Every private network.
Every hidden drive.
Every encrypted channel.
Their secrets would be his.
'Not yet. But soon.'
He closed his notebook.
---
One Month Later
The motherboard clicked into place with a satisfying snap.
Li Feng tightened the final screw, then powered on the new terminal.
The boot sequence was clean — silent, fast, efficient.
***
[Hardware Sync: Optimal]
[Execution Speed: +240%]
[Trace Presence: Near Zero]
***
Mentally opening his system, it's interface flickered.
[Skill Update]
• Cyber Security — Lv. 1 (98%)
• Programming — Lv. 1 (74%)
• Software Engineering — Lv. 1 (70%)
• ML & AI — Lv. 1 (31%)
One month of grinding.
One month of contests, small contracts, and relentless sharpening.
Now, he was a breath away from breaking into Level 2 — a domain only myths touched.
He shut the terminal gently.
Then, leaning back in his chair, he whispered:
"It's about time I got started."
A faint grin touched his lips.
Moonlight filtered through the window blinds in pale silver lines, cutting across the desk in quiet patterns. It brushed against a small notebook lying open on his desk.
On the clean white paper, written in firm, elegant handwriting, were four words:
Operation: The Li Web.
---
Hello, Author here,
Thanks for reading — Leave a comment to tell me what you think about this chapter, and drop a Power Stone if you're enjoying Li Feng's story so far! Let's grow this story together.