Lu Jian did not strike openly.
That alone made him dangerous.
The first sign came as paperwork.
Mo Legal Advisory received three complaints in one morning—noise violations, unregistered consultation practices, improper business scope.
Petty.
Deliberate.
"They're probing," Su Qingxue said, scanning the documents. "Not to shut you down. To map you."
"Let them," I replied calmly. "Maps work both ways."
By noon, the second wave arrived.
A client withdrew.
Not angrily.
Not fearfully.
Politely.
"They offered us protection," the man said over the phone. "We don't want trouble."
I closed my eyes slowly.
Lu Jian didn't threaten.
He replaced.
—
The government moved that same afternoon.
I was summoned again, this time to a higher floor.
A woman waited for me—mid-forties, sharp eyes, no insignia.
"Director Han," she introduced herself. "Special Oversight."
She didn't offer tea.
"You're accelerating conflicts we've suppressed for years," she said flatly.
"I'm documenting them," I replied.
She stared at me. "Do you know what happens when documentation becomes evidence?"
"Yes," I said. "Someone loses protection."
Silence stretched.
"Choose carefully," she said. "Because if you fall, we won't catch you."
"I'm not asking to be caught," I replied.
That earned a thin smile.
—
That night, Lu Jian's first real move landed.
A martial-backed conglomerate filed a civil suit against one of my clients—false claims, forged contracts, buried liabilities.
Classic legal suffocation.
The client panicked.
"They're going to bury us," he said. "They've already assigned six firms."
"Good," I replied. "That makes jurisdiction easier."
I stood.
"Prepare everything," I said. "We counter tomorrow."
—
The court session was brutal.
Six senior lawyers.
Endless motions.
Procedural traps.
They expected panic.
Instead, I dismantled them piece by piece.
I didn't argue facts.
I attacked standing.
Half their claims collapsed before lunch.
By evening, the judge postponed the case indefinitely.
The client stared at me in disbelief.
"You didn't win," he said.
"No," I replied calmly. "I taught them it's expensive to try."
—
Lu Jian watched the replay that night, fingers steepled.
"So you chose confrontation," he murmured.
His assistant hesitated. "Should we escalate?"
Lu Jian shook his head slowly.
"No," he said. "We adjust."
—
Su Qingxue's family chose that moment to act.
She returned home for the first time since aligning with me.
The room was heavy with expectation.
"You're gambling your future," her uncle said coldly. "For a man without backing."
She met his gaze calmly.
"He has backing," she said. "He just doesn't borrow it."
They didn't like that.
An ultimatum followed.
Leave the city—or sever access to family resources.
She returned that night without complaint.
"I'm cut off," she said simply.
I nodded. "Then we operate lean."
She smiled faintly. "I expected worse."
—
Cultivation responded to pressure.
That night, True Force surged violently.
Muscle fibers tore and reforged.
Breathing patterns shifted.
Pain sharpened into clarity.
Breakthrough.
True Force — Mid Threshold.
Not explosive.
But stable.
Enduring.
—
Gu Wenhai contacted me for the first time since the registration.
"You're being targeted," he said plainly.
"I noticed."
"Lu Jian is involved."
"I noticed that too."
A pause.
"You're not supposed to win this early," Gu Wenhai said.
"I'm not winning," I replied. "I'm surviving publicly."
Another pause.
Then laughter.
"You're forcing the board to react," Gu Wenhai said. "That's dangerous."
"That's necessary."
"Very well," he said. "Next task. Official."
The location pinged.
Government facility.
Joint jurisdiction.
Su Qingxue read it over my shoulder.
"They're pulling you into the open."
"Yes," I said.
"And Lu Jian?" she asked.
"He'll follow," I replied. "He always does."
—
Across the city, Lu Jian stood before a glass wall overlooking traffic.
"A lawyer," he murmured. "With patience."
He smiled thinly.
"Then I'll remove his time."
—
The city entered a new phase.
Not chaos.
Alignment.
And for the first time—
Everyone understood one thing clearly.
Chen Mo was no longer reacting.
He was setting tempo.