Chapter 122: The Tyrannical President’s Gentleness, and the Icy Settlement
Chu Feng held the delicate body in his arms, light as if boneless, and for the first time, he felt the meaning of “heavy”.
This heaviness had nothing to do with weight, yet it pressed down on his heart, so heavy that the heart he had armed with countless schemes and cold data cracked ever so slightly.
He lowered his head and looked at that snow-pale sleeping face. Traces of undried blood still clung to her long eyelashes. That head of glaring white hair—every single strand stabbed straight into his pupils.
He had long been used to quantifying everything.
Leng Yanran’s talent in the Dao of Alchemy had been S-tier core technical assets.
Her loyalty had been a high-value employee exceeding 90%.
The profits she had created for the Group had been one immaculate financial report after another.
But now, when this report was on the brink of being “scrapped” due to “overconsumption”, the first thought that leapt into his mind was not to calculate sunk costs, nor to consider how to find a replacement, but an unfamiliar, searing pain that threatened to burn through his rationality.
Chu Feng’s pupils contracted slightly as he realized his hands were trembling faintly. This loss of bodily control filled the usually confident man with a trace of panic.
“Wu Hao.”
Chu Feng’s voice was very light, yet it made Wu Hao—who had just sprinted over from afar—shudder violently.
He had never heard the President speak in such a tone.
Gone was the usual banter, gone was the calm of one who strategized from behind the scenes. What remained was only a coldness excavated from beneath a ten-thousand-year glacier, devoid of all emotion.
“Y-Yes!”
Wu Hao hurriedly bowed, cold sweat already seeping from his forehead. Having followed Chu Feng for so long, this was the first time he had ever seen such an expression on the President’s face.
“Transmit my order.”
Chu Feng carried Leng Yanran and walked slowly toward the Main Peak Hall. Every step he took was steady—so steady it made people uneasy.
“First, activate the Group’s highest-level ‘Red Medical Emergency Plan’. Empty the warehouse. I mean all of it. Every heavenly treasure capable of nourishing the divine soul and replenishing vitality—send them all to me. Regardless of grade. Regardless of value.”
Wu Hao’s heart jolted. The Red Medical Emergency Plan was the highest-level treatment protocol, only activated when the lives of the Group’s core executives hung by a thread. The value of those heavenly treasures alone was enough to buy half a small sect.
“Second, notify Zhao Wuji. His ‘corporate culture training’ can be suspended. Have him lead all the ‘newly onboarded’ family members and immediately conduct an ‘asset inventory’ of the battlefield. All captured Purifiers—categorize them by Golden Core and Foundation Establishment, shackle every single one with spirit-suppressing chains, escort them to the Main Peak Plaza, and wait for ‘asset restructuring’.”
“Third…”
Chu Feng paused and lifted his gaze toward the Nascent Soul battle that was shaking heaven and earth in the sky.
“Tell the Old Ancestor Xuantian that part of his ‘year-end bonus’ can be paid in advance. I only want one result—capture Lingxiao alive, along with those three Nascent Soul elders. Dead ones will suffer a significant loss in value.”
Wu Hao’s heart pounded wildly, especially at the words “asset inventory” and “asset restructuring”. Coming from the President’s icy mouth, they carried a stench of blood.
He secretly glanced at Leng Yanran in Chu Feng’s arms and sighed inwardly. It seemed this Alchemy Genius held a far more important place in the President’s heart than he had imagined.
“President, those Purifiers’ family members…”
“Leave not a single one.”
Chu Feng’s words were terrifyingly brief, yet they made Wu Hao’s entire body tremble.
He dared not ask further and immediately accepted the order and departed.
……
High above the sky.
True Lord Xuantian threw back his head and let out a long howl, his voice shaking the nine heavens. Looking at True Lord Lingxiao, whose expression had drastically changed, his eyes burned with surging battle intent.
“Lingxiao! This is the power of ‘pay-to-win players’! Your ‘free version’ playstyle is already outdated!”
He applied Chu Feng’s crooked logic on the spot, roaring it out as he brought his hands together.
“Ten Thousand Steles Suppress the Soul!”
Rumble—!
That Xuanhuang stone stele dharma form instantly expanded tenfold, blotting out the sky!
Upon its surface, countless ancient runes swam like living beings, transforming into golden chains of order that sealed off a thousand-zhang radius of space in an instant!
True Lord Lingxiao was horrified to discover that his once-proud movement technique had become sluggish beyond belief within this space, as though he had fallen into a quagmire.
That colossal stele, carrying supreme might capable of suppressing all divine souls, smashed straight down!
“Damn it! Just what grade is this pill?!”
True Lord Lingxiao was both shocked and furious, daring not slacken in the slightest.
“Heavenheart Shield! Thunder God Armor!”
He instantly summoned two defensive magic treasures, while simultaneously pushing his Nascent Soul dharma form to its limit, transforming into a towering thunder giant that crossed its arms and met the blow head-on!
“Boom—!!!!”
An unprecedented deafening explosion rang out.
The Thunder God Armor shattered inch by inch!
The Heavenheart Shield let out a mournful cry, its light dimming as it was blasted backward!
True Lord Lingxiao’s Nascent Soul dharma form was smashed by the power of that single stele from a hundred zhang in the air, slammed brutally back into the ground!
“Pff!”
True Lord Lingxiao spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura instantly withering. Struggling to climb out of the massive humanoid crater in the ground, he looked up at the awe-inspiring True Lord Xuantian in the sky, and for the first time, despair surfaced in his eyes.
Defeated.
Utterly defeated.
Not defeated by Xuantian, but by that single pill!
“Will you surrender?”
True Lord Xuantian stood with hands behind his back, looking down from above.
The other three Nascent Soul elders had long been scared out of their wits. How could they dare continue fighting? They hastily withdrew their dharma forms and descended beside True Lord Lingxiao, their faces ashen.
“I…”
True Lord Lingxiao had just begun to speak.
Suddenly, a cold divine sense swept across the four of them.
“Old Ancestor, you’ve worked hard. Package these four ‘non-performing assets’ and send them to the plaza. I have a use for them.”
It was Chu Feng’s voice.
True Lord Xuantian curled his lips. Although he was very displeased with the term “non-performing assets”, taking payment meant compliance. He waved his hand, and four layers of restraints instantly bound the four of them tightly.
“Kid, just what are you planning to do?”
True Lord Xuantian asked via voice transmission. He could hear an unusual killing intent in Chu Feng’s tone.
“Old Ancestor, rest assured. I merely want to discuss a business deal with them.”
Chu Feng’s reply was light and casual, yet it made True Lord Xuantian shiver for no apparent reason.
After finishing all this, True Lord Xuantian felt the surging power within his body and could not help but grin broadly.
This “working stiff” job… seemed to be paying off rather well?