Lin Beichen sat in the villa's garden, silently watching the fish play in the water, contemplating the past three days.
These past few days, his achievements were substantial, perhaps the most fruitful since the Celestial Gate opened.
Various materials, even with his vast experience, still left him in awe.
These materials were serendipitous products of the world's supernatural transformations, each possessing an unreplicable uniqueness.
A knock on the door sounded.
"Master Lin, may I come in?"
A fragrant breeze swept in as the door parted, revealing an extraordinarily elegant woman. She was dressed in a sleek tailored suit, modified to add a touch of softness and allure, reducing its formal tone.
"You're now the decision-maker of the Zheng Clan Group. There's no need for you to handle these trivial matters; it demeans you. I invited you here to work, not to serve me."
Lin Beichen took the tea, glanced lightly at Zheng Yaxin, his brows slightly furrowing.
"Let me do what makes me comfortable. Serving you is my greatest honor; this is not a punishment to me."
Zheng Yaxin stood beside him, her hands gently placed over her lower abdomen, calmly gazing at Lin Beichen, a hint of fanaticism overlaying her gratitude.
Lin Beichen couldn't understand why, even though he had brought Zheng Yaxin back, she should have hated him. But somehow, when she looked at him, there was a very strange fervor in her gaze.
Now, Zheng Yaxin seemed to respect him even more than Zheng Xinxi did.
Since becoming a spokesman, Zheng Xinxi had reverted to his privileged young master ways, indulging in hedonism and neglect, often seen in various places.
Zheng Yaxin worried he would cause trouble for Lin Beichen, so she proactively confined him at home, hiring a slew of so-called professional tutors to force Zheng Xinxi to learn.
Zheng Xinxi endlessly lamented his misfortune, even resorting to seeking Lin Beichen's help, but how could Lin Beichen care?
Zheng Xinxi's nature was unstable; in times of crisis, he might remember his familial responsibilities, but once the crisis passed, he'd revert to his old ways.
"In three days, I'll be returning to the mainland. If anything comes up, call me. You're in charge of my enterprises on Xiang Island. I won't let anyone harm you."
Lin Beichen said lightly.
Zheng Yaxin and Zheng Xinxi appeared to have weathered the crisis, but in reality, they were precariously poised on a knife's edge.
The closer they got to him, the more they distanced themselves from the local powers of Xiang Island. These people might not dare act now, but someday they will.
Lin Beichen had always been wary of this situation, had even secretly made plans, but he didn't intend to inform the two.
Having a sense of danger is not a bad thing; every action has its price. They should have realized this long ago.
The Southern Feng Shui School's grand celebration was imminent, although various markets were conducting trades, the real ceremony was a little ways off.
Due to the sudden death of Master Zhou, there were some disturbances at this congress.
Zhou Kuangtian was a grandmaster of the Southern Feng Shui School for decades, consistently stationed on Xiang Island and regarded as a grandmaster and a legitimate heir by Southern school cultivators.
Xiang Island, as the headquarters of the Southern schools, had always been the focal point of cultivators' attention.
Within this city of just over a million people gathered some of the world's most renowned commercial groups and interest factions.
Even without branch offices, they maintained various offices here.
In business, major families dominated, but the cultivation realm also needed to contribute, guarding against minor actions from different sources.
The Southern Feng Shui School, represented by Zhou Kuangtian, had silently cooperated with the authorities, helping Xiang Island manage significant affairs. Now, with Zhou Kuangtian gone, other schools harbored ambitions to carve out a piece for themselves.
To the mainland, this piece of Xiang Island was becoming less significant, but less significant does not mean it should be devoured by others.
Especially concerning the neighboring countries surrounding Dragon Country.
The Feng Shui School gathered intelligence daily, previously sent to Zhou Kuangtian, now to Lin Beichen.
After perusing these materials, Lin Beichen found that among various interest groups, the Eastern Forest Kingdom's ambitions were the most blatant.
This small nation shared a border with Dragon Country but, due to its remoteness, had little interaction with Dragon Country.
In past millennia, they were conquered by Dragon Country for a time, only to quickly break free again.
Due to a very complex historical relationship, the Eastern Forest Kingdom remained ambitious, even daring to bite off a piece of Dragon Country.
They always felt oppressed, unaware that historically, they were the invaders.
Back then, Dragon Country merely intended to settle a group of refugees here to rebuild and prosper, eventually guiding them back to their homeland once recovered.
However, due to a century of upheaval, Dragon Country missed the final chance to drive these people away, and by the time they reacted, the Eastern Forest Kingdom had seized vast tracts of land.
While chatting with the Feng Shui Association, Lin Beichen heard of a past event from their history.
Decades ago, the Feng Shui Association collaborated with mainland cultivators to jointly counter the Eastern Forest Kingdom's cultivators.
These cultivators were trained as suicide squads, daring to plan revenge attacks in Dragon Country's borderlands, aiming to poison the water supply and kill millions of civilians.
Due to the excessively brutal methods, Xiang Island's local cultivators could not sit idly by and finally decided to join with mainland cultivators to counter the Eastern Forest Kingdom.
This battle was fought fiercely, reportedly resulting in over a hundred casualties, a significant figure in the cultivation world.
Keep in mind, before the Celestial Gate opened, even with billions of people on the mainland, there were never more than 3,000 cultivators.
For a small nation, 100 cultivators could represent everyone.
After this single battle, the Eastern Forest Kingdom was utterly subdued, not causing any more disturbances for decades. However, for unknown reasons, recently, they started making frequent moves, seemingly plotting something.
In the remote ancient temple of the Eastern Forest Kingdom, the gate was guarded by a statue of the One-Eyed Tiger King, emanating a golden light.
This tiger sculpture was exceedingly sinister; though it was the king of beasts, its entire body was shrouded in black paint with devilish carvings, as if a malevolent spirit had emerged from Hell.
Under the claws of the statue sat four elderly men with gaunt faces.
The four elders sat simultaneously under the tiger's claws, their forms slightly floating, as if an invisible chain bound them together, unable to gather or escape, forced to huddle beneath the fierce tiger.
One elder's hand moved slightly, and the other three elders simultaneously extended their hands, as if they shared a psychic connection, reaching out their palms together.
Four palms from four directions united, forming a black shadow in their hands.
At that moment, a disciple suddenly rushed into the courtyard but, before he could speak, was instantly torn to pieces by the black hole's gravitational pull.
"Elder, Zhou Kuangtian is dead."
At this moment, the courtyard doors opened again, and a burly man slowly stepped inside.
With each step he took, he diminished in height, and by the time he reached the elders, he had become a small, black, thin dwarf.
He was built like a monkey, but his body was covered in muscles as solid as forged steel.
Each step he took caused the ground to tremble slightly, leaving a web of cracks behind.
The man's body seemed to harbor immense force, bearing enormous pressure and pain with every step, but he was long accustomed to this feeling, respectfully kneeling before the elders.
If any cultivators from the Eastern Forest Kingdom were present, they would undoubtedly be terrified.
For this dwarf was the kingdom's most terrifying Ancient Boxing Master, reportedly born under a celestial phenomenon resembling a dragon and a tiger.
At ten years old, he ventured alone into the mountains, using his bare fists to kill dozens of elephants.
As one of the few experts from the Eastern Forest Kingdom, despite his young age, he possessed strength comparable to a grandmaster's.