The deep, ancient pocket of Mount Tai Sector 02 continued to hum with the lingering vibrations of Lin Feng’s absolute absorption. The massive floating orb of sapphire liquid was completely gone, its raw geocentric weight fully integrated into the pristine, dual-loop network of his
Stage 2 Meridian Foundation
. High above the subterranean sanctuary, the swirling violet ash clouds had completely slowed their turbulent rotation, solidifying into a cold, motionless slate of dark obsidian stone.
Bai Qingxi took a single, controlled step backward into the dark volcanic sand, her tailored crimson corporate suit rustling softly. The automated holographic visors secured across her eyes had officially ceased tracking his thermal signatures; the data line had flattened into an absolute zero-point reading, indicating that the youth standing before her had completely swallowed the energetic baseline of the entire sector.
"An unconditional digestion," she stated, her smooth, aristocratic baritone maintaining its absolute corporate poise despite the psychological panic freezing her internal network. "You didn't use an external siphon or a federal containment shield, Student Lin. You handled the raw geocentric core with your bare skin. The capital's legacy archives do not contain a single record of an independent commoner possessing a physical container of this caliber."
"The capital's archives were written by mortals who spend their lives counting paper wealth, Director Bai," Lin Feng replied softly, his voice echoing through the massive jade pillars with an unhurried, mountain-like density. He casually let his right hand drop back into his gray utility jacket pocket, his porcelain-smooth palm completely clear of any crystalline frost or chemical burns. "You've spent the last six months deploying drone fleets and automated seismic drills across the northern valley, assuming you could establish a corporate monopoly over the continental fault lines. You failed to calculate that when a true
Qi Circulation
cultivator claims the board, your millions of yuan worth of machinery is no more resilient than common brittle clay."
Han Xue stood perfectly motionless on her fractured jade landing, her long trench coat of midnight-black silk catching the cold, damp draft rolling off the coastal fault lines. Her glacial gaze was fixed entirely on Lin Feng’s straight, blade-like spine. The pristine spiritual paths she had scoured since childhood using her sanctuary’s uncorrupted marrow scripts felt small, hollow, and utterly insignificant compared to the absolute structural mass vibrating within the youth’s frame.
"Director Bai..." Han Xue whispered, her crisp, ringing voice dropping into a low frequency that carried a sudden, profound chill. "The tactical data line is completely dead. The Northern Frost Sanctuary’s tracking relays just logged a total collapse of the regional perimeter. The
Southern Flame Syndicate’s
remaining vanguard units have officially withdrawn their liquidity from the capital board. They aren't retreating to their vaults... they are liquidating their assets to fund an absolute military blockade across the Mount Tai gateway."
Bai Qingxi’s aristocratic fingers tightened around her wrist-mounted interface module, her pale features turning a sharp shade of mottled ash as dozens of high-priority financial alerts began to frantically scroll across her visor's display.
[ STATE SYSTEMIC BREAK: MARKET FREEZE DETECTED]
[Source: Capital Core Financial Directory]
[Subject: Director-General Sun's Vanguard Elite Division]
[Action: A federal military lockdown has just dropped over all corporate servers tied to the Bai Conglomerate's northern distribution pipelines. Code Black administrative isolation implemented across Grid Sector 01.]
"Director-General Sun has permanently chosen his side," Bai Qingxi growled, her calm composure finally cracking into an expression of intense, sharp frustration. She looked through the white steam directly at Lin Feng’s calm profile. "He’s using your explicit blueprints to strip our syndicates of our infrastructure rights before the winter solstice. He thinks a state charter will save the capital from turning into an ash pit once the primary grand rifts split the continent."
"The General understands the nature of the ledger, Director," Lin Feng said smoothly, turning his vacant, bottomless eyes back toward the two legacy heiresses. "He realized that an armored division cannot hold back the fire of an uncorrupted world-rift. He traded dead paper wealth for future mapping. If your family wishes to keep their corporate seat from being permanently erased from the New Huaxia board, tell your board directors to dismantle their automated drills by midnight."
He didn't wait for her verbal compliance. Lin Feng smoothly adjusted the single strap of his worn utility backpack and turned on his heel. His shadow effortlessly blended into the deep purple smoke of the collapsing gateway as he walked back toward the subterranean transit shafts, leaving the two primary bloodline successors standing entirely alone within the ruined primeval cave.
The mishap of the corporate tracking net had been thoroughly scoured from his path. The capital syndicates were fracturing from the internal pressure drop, the state's military columns were operating as his personal administrative shield, and the undefeated path toward absolute dominance was leading him straight toward the primary grand arena—the
Mount Tai Core Inheritances
.