She looked like a seasoned vanguard warrior who belonged on a bloody battlefield rather than managing an administrative office.

She possessed striking, sun-kissed skin and an athletic, tightly toned physique shaped by years of brutal martial training.

She wore form-fitting indigo martial robes that clung tightly to her frame, prominently displaying the sharp curve of her perky, mid-sized breasts tightly wrapped beneath the durable fabric.

As the door closed, she snapped her gaze up from a ledger, her brow furrowing with deep confusion and defensive suspicion at the sight of the unfamiliar, dark-robed figure standing in her private quarters.

Her hand instinctively drifted toward the hilt of the heavy saber resting against the side of her desk.

Shen Yu looked at her guarded posture, a low, amused smile playing on his lips.

He raised his hand, pulling back his deep hood, and let his disguised aura melt away.

When he spoke, the playful tone of "Senior Mo Liu" vanished, replaced entirely by his genuine voice, deep, smooth, and chillingly cold.

"How is it going, Li Na?"

As the deep, chillingly familiar voice resonated through the room, Li Na instantly stiffened.

Her hand froze directly over the hilt of her saber. She remembered that voice perfectly, it belonged to the one man who controlled the strings of this entire operation.

Yet, as she looked closely at the cloaked figure standing before her, a wave of profound confusion washed over her features.

The man she knew was a towering, athletic powerhouse.

The figure currently standing in her office was noticeably shorter, possessing a slender build that seemed entirely different from his true physique, even if the dark aura radiating from him felt exponentially more powerful than before.

Seeing her utterly bewildered, guarded gaze, Shen Yu let out a low, melodic laugh that echoed beautifully against the stone walls.

"Still as cautious as ever, Li Na," he murmured.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he began deactivating his disguise techniques.

The Qi wrapping around his frame dissolved into thin air, and a faint, rhythmic clicking sound of his shifting bones and compressing muscles echoed around the room as his skeletal structure fluidly rearranged itself.

Following that, he channeled a thread of true Qi into the bracelet on his wrist, deactivating the array through which he had been projecting his intimidating, false Nascent Soul Realm aura.

Li Na watched in absolute awe as his entire physical form began to rapidly shift and expand.

The slender, six-foot-tall frame of the disguised alchemist fluidly restructured itself, growing broader, sharper, and vastly more imposing until he returned to his true, athletic 6’5" stature.

Then, Shen Yu reached up with a slow, elegant grace and fully pulled back his deep hood.

The dim lantern light caught his features, exposing the breathtakingly flawless visage of the Golden Paragon.

His long, white hair cascaded loosely over the dark fabric of his cloak, and his striking golden eyes gleamed with an exquisite, absolute authority.

It was a face so unnaturally handsome and beautiful that it possessed the effortless power to make both men and women completely stop in their tracks, entirely paralyzed by his presence.

Recognizing the legendary husband of her master, Li Na did not hesitate for a single second.

She pushed her chair back, stepped around the massive ironwood desk, and dropped smoothly to one knee, lowering her head in absolute, unyielding reverence.

"Young Master Shen," Li Na said, her voice filled with a profound, disciplined respect that befitted a true vanguard warrior.

"It is great to see you again. The operational reports did not state you would be arriving in person so soon."

Shen Yu looked down at her kneeling figure, a low, melodic laugh escaping his lips.

"So you’ve actually learned some etiquette, huh? Getting more respectful... it is good."

He took a slow, deliberate step forward, his heavy black cloak whispering against the stone floor as the distance between them evaporated.

Shen Yu looked at her, an amused chuckle vibrating in his chest.

"So you’ve actually learned some etiquette, huh? Getting more respectful... it is good."

He took a slow, measured step forward, his towering form casting a heavy shadow over her.

"Quite a good progress, from the first time we met," he said smoothly, walking closer until the tips of his boots were practically brushing against her knee.

Before she could even think of anything, he leaned down, completely invading her personal space.

"But I also like those arrogant types of women," he whispered directly into her ear, his deep, velvety voice causing a sudden, involuntary shiver to ripple down her spine as his chest practically pressed against hers.

"And I don’t mind you being like that with me. After all... it suits you, and I like to tame those kinds."

Li Na remained frozen on one knee, her eyes fixed forward, but internally, her veins flooded with a sudden spike of heat.

’This fucking playboy,’ she thought fiercely, her jaw tightening just a fraction as she maintained her disciplined posture.

’First my sister Meng Yan, then all of his other women, and now he’s trying his tricks on me?’

She knew exactly what kind of absolute demon wrapped in a beautiful visage Shen Yu was.

Through Meng Yan herself, Li Na was completely aware of his insatiable nature and the growing list of women who had completely bent their knees, and their bodies, to his whim.

Though Li Na was technically Meng Yan’s personal attendant and vanguard guard, their bond ran infinitely deeper than mere duty.

Li Na had been placed by Meng Yan’s side when she was just a six-year-old child and Meng Yan was fourteen, raised strictly to be her loyal shadow and future martial sister.

Over the span of nearly three decades, they had grown up sharing everything, building a relationship that was far closer than real sisters.

Meng Yan didn’t hide a single secret from her, including the visceral, shameless details of what this man did to her behind closed doors.

Li Na took a steady breath, forcing her sun-kissed skin not to flush under his intense gaze.

She knew that showing even a hint of weakness or submission to Shen Yu was like throwing raw meat to a predator.

"Young Master Shen," Li Na spoke up, her voice steady and retaining its sharp, battlefield discipline as she slowly lifted her head to look into his gleaming golden eyes.

"If Madam Meng were here to see you using your silver tongue on her guard while the union’s logistics are at stake, I am fairly certain she would demand a heavy compensation in the bedchambers tonight."