Scene 1 – The Bombshell
Azure Cloud City woke to a perfectly ordinary morning.
Merchants unlocked their shops. Porters hauled crates. The air filled with the familiar clatter of carts and the calls of breakfast vendors—the steady rhythm of commerce as reliable as the sunrise.
Until a single ripple shattered the silence.
A new crimson banner unfurled above Nine Tails Apothecary, billowing like a dragon's breath across the sunlit street. The silk gleamed with a metallic sheen, catching every eye within a hundred paces.
And then the letters ignited.
Gold. Bold. Dazzling.
> "Exclusive Member Launch – The Blood Rejuvenation Pill!"
For members only.
Limited stock.
Guaranteed recovery for mortal cultivators.
Effective even for Spirit Foundation elites.
The words struck the crowd like a thunderclap.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then —
"WHAT?!"
"Another pill?! They just released one last month!"
"Fifty percent body recovery for mortals? That's… that's insane!"
"Even Spirit Foundation experts can restore thirty percent…? This breaks every limit!"
Shock turned to frenzy.
People poured from alleys and shops, some still half-dressed, others abandoning their breakfast, scrambling toward the storefront as if heaven's treasures were falling from the sky.
Within minutes, a line wrapped around the entire street.
Nobles in silk.
Rogue cultivators in battered armor.
Merchants with wide eyes and shaking hands.
Everyone was shouting to register as a member.
The city guards passing by exchanged bewildered looks.
One rubbed his eyes.
"Did a… miracle just drop out of the sky?"
His partner snorted.
"No. Worse. A miracle that will turn the city upside down."
Across the street, the Zhao Clan's flagship store sat in humiliating silence. Its attendants watched, jaws clenched, as customers they once looked down upon sprinted past without even glancing their way.
An old merchant stroked his beard, observing with the casual delight of a man who had lived long enough to see mountains crumble.
> "Heh… they've done it again. That shop isn't selling pills."
"They're selling exclusivity."
The word spread like wind:
"Members only."
"Limited edition."
In a single masterful stroke, Nine Tails Apothecary turned itself from a competitor into a symbol — a badge of prestige the entire city now desired.
And the Zhao Clan could only watch.
---
Scene 2 – One Month Later
The storm did not pass.
It became a calamity.
Thirty days after the crimson banner appeared, Azurecloud City's alchemy market had been reshaped beyond recognition.
And the Zhao Clan… was drowning.
Their stores were barren.
Their shelves untouched.
The scent of unused herbs grew stale in the air.
The doors that once saw thousands now saw none — not even those that are curious, not even the most desperate.
Inside the Zhao Clan's main hall, the atmosphere was suffocating.
Scrolls lay scattered across the marble floor, each detailing their downfall in stark numbers.
Finally, Zhao Feng read the newest report with shaking hands:
> "Alchemy division… total collapse.
Zero customers across nineteen stores."
The hall felt like a tomb.
Zhao Qingtian didn't move for a long moment. His breath was deep, low, animalistic. Then —
CRACK!
His palm smashed into the marble table.
A spiderweb of fractures raced across the stone.
> "A month!"
"One damned month — and our empire collapses?!"
Zhao Rui flinched from the outburst, but still tried to sound defiant.
> "Uncle, perhaps it will recover. Nine Tails may fail to sustain their production. We only need—"
Zhao Qingtian's glare cut through him like a blade.
> "We've tested their pills. Again. And again."
"Every batch is flawless."
Lady Shen's voice trembled as she added:
> "And the Thousand Veil Chamber has publicly reaffirmed their support. No merchant dares question Nine Tails now… not unless they wish to offend Yue Lan."
Zhao Rui spat a curse. "Then we buy someone in the Chamber—"
> "We already tried," Zhao Feng snapped.
"Two of our agents vanished without a trace."
Silence fell.
A chilling, heavy silence.
Zhao Feng whispered the fear none dared voice earlier:
> "Patriarch… the pills are too advanced. Too refined. No mortal realm alchemist can craft them."
"Whoever leads that shop… might be backed by someone from the upper realms."
The implications struck everyone at once.
The Zhao Clan — the city's long-standing tyrant in alchemy — was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well… staring up at a sky it never knew existed.
And the sky was staring back.
---
Scene 3 – Tea, Plans, and a Fat Cat
Far from the chaos, peace reigned in Bai Yusheng's residence.
A serene courtyard wrapped in bamboo and gentle wind.
A stone table beneath a willow tree.
Three figures sharing tea and quiet laughter.
Lin Xian sat calmly, white hair glimmering under the sunlight.
Beside him, the venerable Xu Tian laughed so hard his belly shook.
Bai Yusheng hid a smile behind her teacup — poorly.
A small golden creature hopped onto the table: Xiao Jin, tail swaying with arrogant pride.
Xu Tian wiped tears from his eyes.
> "Young Master Lin, I salute you! 'Members only'?
You turned a simple pill into a legendary treasure!"
Bai Yusheng giggled, unable to maintain her usually composed facade.
> "You didn't just defeat the Zhao Clan… you humiliated them. Entire merchants are praising you as a genius."
Lin Xian only swirled his tea, smile faint and serene.
> "People fear power, but they chase exclusivity."
"Give them something they can't easily have… and they'll burn the world to obtain it."
Xiao Jin let out an approving mewl.
Xu Tian grinned and reached to pat him.
Xiao Jin slapped his hand with a lightning-fast paw.
Xu Tian froze.
"Did… did he just hit me?!"
Xiao Jin stood upright, pointed at himself with his little paw, then puffed up indignantly as if saying:
"I am a divine being. Don't touch me, old man."
Bai Yusheng collapsed over the table in laughter.
Lin Xian sighed with helpless fondness.
> "He dislikes being touched.
And don't call him fat — he'll hold a grudge for a month."
Xiao Jin meowed sharply, tail thumping in righteous agreement.
> Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Xu Tian raised both hands in surrender.
"Alright! Alright! I fear you more than Zhao Qingtian!"
More laughter.
More calm.
Then, Lin Xian set down his cup… and the air shifted.
His aura turned colder, sharper — a quiet storm forming behind his eyes.
> "The Blood Rejuvenation Pill was merely bait," he murmured.
Bai Yusheng blinked, startled.
"There's… more?"
Lin Xian's lips curved into a slow, calculated smile — the kind that could change the city fates.
> "The market was just the beginning."
"The next battlefield…"
He lifted his gaze toward the distant Zhao territory.
> "...will decide who owns Azurecloud City."
Xiao Jin leaped onto Lin Xian's shoulder, golden eyes gleaming like twin suns.
The little divine beast meowed once —
a sound soft, but filled with promise.
A storm was coming.
And Lin Xian was its master.