The Dragon-Robed Elder's voice echoed through the great hall.
"How do you intend to run that Cloud Pavilion of yours?"
The twenty-odd Spirit Transformation cultivators behind him had already withdrawn. The hall doors were tightly shut, sealing off everything outside.
At that moment, the magnificent purple-and-gold hall had become a negotiating table for just two parties.
Lin Qingzhu pressed her fingers against the ledger's cover, poised and ready. All she needed was a word from Zhou Xuan, and she could lay out the entire business plan she had long since learned by heart.
Yet Zhou Xuan neither looked at her nor glanced at the Geomantic Map of Central Province on the table, which represented boundless wealth and power.
He leaned back in his chair, relaxed, as though the man who had laid bare his murderous intent in the square earlier had been someone else.
He lifted his teacup and took another sip. Gentle spiritual energy flowed through his meridians, making him narrow his eyes in comfort.
Only when the Dragon-Robed Elder opposite him gave an almost imperceptible frown did Zhou Xuan set down his cup with a soft clink.
"Before we discuss business,"
Zhou Xuan's gaze finally settled on the enormous Geomantic Map, but his fingers tapped lightly against the table as he asked a question that seemed utterly unrelated.
"Alliance Leader, if I may be so bold, where did these seventy-two immortal veins come from?"
At those words, the Dragon-Robed Elder, who had been preparing to hear the business plan, visibly paused.
His cloudy eyes turned toward Zhou Xuan, a flicker of profound astonishment passing through them.
He had imagined Zhou Xuan demanding a lion's share, haggling over terms, or using the Northern Lands' future as a bargaining chip. What he had never imagined was that this young man's