The weak morning light crept through the open balcony of the private pavilion, cutting through the heavy, musk-laden air of the chamber.

Shen Yu slowly opened his eyes, feeling the soft weight of Madame Shuying resting peacefully against his chest.

She was fast asleep, her face wearing a surprisingly serene, innocent smile, a jarring contrast to the absolute wreckage of her physical body.

Her slender frame was completely coated in drying fluid and sweat.

Her throat was heavily bruised from his iron grip, and her exceptionally wide hips and ass were painted a dark, angry crimson from the relentless barrage of spanks.

Vicious bite marks marred the pale skin of her breasts and neck, marking her entirely as his territory.

As Shen Yu prepared to slide out from beneath her, the slight shift in weight caused Shuying to subconsciously flinch.

Even in her deep sleep, her arms tightened around his torso with desperate strength.

With that same peaceful, angelic smile still resting on her lips, a hoarse, wanton whisper escaped her mouth:

"Please... fuck me more, Master... go deeper... deeper than my husband ever could..."

Shen Yu looked down at her glazed, twitching features, a low, thoroughly amused chuckle vibrating in his chest.

"This bitch," he muttered under his breath, completely entertained by the sheer shamelessness of the clan patriarch’s wife.

He carefully dissolved his presence and slipped out of her embrace, moving so smoothly that her arms simply closed against the empty silk cushions without waking her.

Leaving the ruined woman to her exhaustion, he strolled into the private adjoining chamber and immersed himself in the deep stone bath, letting the cold water wash away the lingering, musk-laden scents of the night.

As he leaned back against the smooth rim of the pool, he flicked his gaze toward the glowing system screen manifesting before him.

The notification confirmed his breakthrough to the 2nd stage of the Foundation Establishment realm, an explosive surge of cultivation that had triggered the exact moment he spent his final, heavy load deep inside Shuying’s pussy.

Shifting his focus inward to check his dantian, he observed his internal progress with absolute satisfaction.

[Cultivation: 2nd Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm]

A massive new block of 107 meters had anchored itself directly above his initial 108-meter foundation, seamlessly locking in his rapid, dual-cultivated growth.

A satisfied smile played on his lips.

His green pupils gleamed in the rising morning mist as he closed his eyes, he was now one step closer to finalizing his three-month goal.

Ten minutes later, he stepped back into the bedroom.

Shuying was still completely out, her breathing slow and ragged.

Shen Yu casually donned his sleek green inner robes and threw his heavy, pitch-black outer cloak over them, pulling the deep hood over his head to shadow his sharp features.

Without making a sound, he activated his Phantom Void Mirage Step.

His body blurred into a weightless shadow, slipping effortlessly through the open window and leaping silently across the rooftops, racing at breathtaking speed toward the eastern sector of Crimson Iron City.

Exactly ten minutes later, the dark blur materialized in a quiet, narrow alleyway in the eastern commercial district.

Shen Yu stepped out onto the main street, blending seamlessly into the morning crowd before stopping in front of a completely ordinary, plain-looking tea house.

Inside, the morning rush was already underway.

Common merchants and lower-tier cultivators sat around wooden tables, sipping cheap spiritual tea and loudly gossiping about the Cao Clan’s massive price cuts and the sudden disappearance of the union enforcers.

Shen Yu didn’t spare them a glance. Walking right past the tables, he walked straight up to the main reception counter.

A young employee wearing a standard linen apron instantly greeted him with a polite, well-practiced smile.

"Welcome, customer! Are you looking for a private booth, or would you like to purchase our fresh morning leaves?" the employee asked cheerfully.

Shen Yu didn’t speak.

With a subtle flick of his mind, a sharp pulse of Qi rippled into his storage ring. In a flash of dim light, a heavy, circular token appeared in his palm.

It was crafted from a light-absorbing material, completely pitch-black except for a single, elegantly carved character in the center: ’Jin’.

He casually slid the token across the wooden counter.

The moment the employee’s eyes locked onto the black coin, his cheerful expression didn’t falter for even a fraction of a second, maintaining the exact same polite, smiling face as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

However, his eyes sharpened with absolute, chilling compliance.

The worker smoothly swiped the token off the counter, burying it inside his wide sleeve, and bowed his head slightly.

"The premium reserves are kept in the back, distinguished guest," the employee said smoothly, gesturing toward a heavy curtain behind the counter.

"Please, follow me."

The employee led Shen Yu through the heavy curtain and down a narrow hallway, stopping at a completely ordinary-looking wooden door with a small, weathered wooden sign above it that read: Staff Only.

Without saying a word, the worker pushed the door open and stepped inside, holding it for Shen Yu. Shen Yu followed seamlessly, his black cloak whispering against the floorboards.

Behind the door lay a steep spiral staircase built from reinforced black stone.

They descended rapidly, the air turning progressively hotter and more dry as they traveled down at least two full stories beneath the city streets.

At the bottom of the stairs, the path opened into a reinforced stone tunnel.

They walked about ten meters through the dimly lit passageway before the walls expanded into a massive, cavernous subterranean hall.

The underground hall was a hive of quiet, disciplined activity.

Cultivators were rapidly moving heavy ironwood crates, each packed to the brim with rows of glistening glass vials filled with high-purity pills.

Shen Yu’s eyes swept over the workers.

Even under their plain disguises, he immediately recognized the distinct posture and Qi signatures of several individuals, some were elite covert operatives from his own Tang Clan, while others belonged to the Jin Clan.

The employee continued forward, navigating the bustling floor until he reached a heavily warded iron door at the far end of the hall.

The worker deactivated the tracking array, pushed the door open, and stepped to the side, bowing deeply to the waist.

Shen Yu gave a terse nod, and the employee silently retreated back into the main hall, closing the heavy door shut.

Shen Yu stepped into the room, which was arranged like a highly efficient command office.

A massive desk carved from dark ironwood dominated the center of the space.

Two immense, perfectly organized stacks of logistical paperwork and intelligence reports rose like small towers on either side of the desk.

Sitting in the middle of it all was a woman who looked completely out of place behind a desk.

-x-

A/N:

Weekly PS: 10 / 80

Monthly GT: 45 / 30