​The next morning, Gu Fan was woken up to the sound of soft, rapid knocking on the heavy door of his courtyard.

​"Mother! Send them away," He didn’t open his eyes, as he reached out with his hand to grab the Matriarch’s breast and feel those soft breasts first thing in the morning.

But his hand met only the cool, slightly damp silk sheets.

Ohhh... ​She was already gone.

​"Ah, playing the busy Matriarch already," Gu Fan grunted,.opening his eyes as he pushed himself up and stretching his broad shoulders.

​The knocking persisted, followed by a trembling voice.

"Y... Young Master Gu Fan? Forgive the intrusion. The Matriarch sent me. You are summoned to the Grand Audience Hall immediately."

​"Summoned?" Gu Fan muttered, tossing the silk sheets aside. "Did she say why?"

​"The envoys from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and the Blood Iron Mercenary Guild have arrived unannounced, Young Master," she stammered.

"They want to renegotiate the trade contracts now that we hold the Bai Clan’s spirit mines."

"The Matriarch insisted you be present there."

​Gu Fan let out a warm chuckle.

"She insisted, did she? Always making sure her man gets a seat at the table."

"Alright. I will be there in a while."

Gu Fan replied and quickly threw on a clean set of robes and tied his black hair back.

As soon as he was done, Gu Fan opened the heavy doors, glancing down at the trembling young maid, "Come... Let’s go."

~~~

​Ten minutes later when Gu Fan walked into the Gu Clan’s Grand Audience Hall, the atmosphere in the massive stone hall was already somewhat tense.

​Patriarch Gu Yangtian sat on his high wooden throne, and the fatigue on his face was gone, replaced by the gleeful smile on his face that was borderline creepy.

The elders sat in a semi-circle below him looking every bit happy as their Patriarch.

But the moment Gu Fan stepped through the doors, all eyes turned towards him, and Gu Fan could sense, none of them were welcoming.

​They looked at him with suspicion.

To them, he was still the shameful, illegitimate trash who just got incredibly lucky by stumbling across a dead stash of beast cores in the forest somehow.

​Gu Fan however didn’t give a shit. He ignored their glares and walked straight to the empty wooden chair on the far end dropping into it and slouching comfortably.

Through the corner of his eyes, he caught the eye of the Matriarch, who sat beside the Patriarch.

She gave him a wink that went unnoticed by everyone else before returning to her haughty facade.

​On the opposite side of the hall sat Gu Chen.

​Back in his pristine white robes. He sat perfectly straight, his chin raised high, radiating the aura of a 9th Stage Spirit Realm cultivator.

​Gu Chen’s eyes met Gu Fan’s.

​Gu Chen looked completely calm and relaxed. His expression was serene, projecting absolute confidence.

He offered Gu Fan a polite nod as if humouring a pitiful child.

Gu Chen was perfectly maintaining his righteous, untroubled facade, acting as if the humiliation at the plaza and his own internal devastation meant absolutely nothing.

​But Gu Fan knew better than this. He himself had decided upon Gu Chen’s never losing and persistent personality. There was no way he will forget this set back.

A storm was brewing.

But Gu Fan just smirked, leaning back in his chair. He was confident he can save his life no matter what Gu Chen threw at him.

So he finally turned his attention to the centre of the room.

​The envoys were already present, standing proudly before the Patriarch.

​There were two distinct groups in the hall.

​Leading the first group was a massive brute of a man, wearing only a heavy iron armour over his bare, bulging chest.

Then there was a massive broadsword was strapped to his back.

And like an identity card of a veteran mercenary, he had a blade scar running from his forehead, through his left eye and slashing his nose.

This brute radiating strong, confident and arrogant aura of a man who would solve all his with the help of his fists and the strength of a 4th Stage of Origin Realm Cultivator was Hu Ba, the envoy from the Blood Iron Mercenary Guild.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, ​leading the second group was an old man.

​Gu Fan’s eyes sized him up. The old man walked with a cane, dressed in lavish, dark purple robes embroidered with gold coins.

He looked frail, but his eyes were sharp, calculating, and entirely devoid of warmth.

This was Elder Qian, the manager of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

Gu Fan knew about this man. He was no ordinary Envoy of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. He was a fallen Cultivator who was no stronger barely stronger than Gu Chen right now at 9th stage of Spirit Realm.

Gu Yangtian stood up from his throne to address them. "Commander Hu, Elder Qian. The Gu Clan welcomes you."

"Patriarch Gu," Hu Ba replied, his deep voice carrying a strong, confident weight. He offered a respectful nod, acknowledging the welcome.

"Let’s skip the pleasantries. We heard about the hunting competition."

"We heard you took the Bai Clan’s Spirit Mines."

"Congratulations!"

"You are too gracious Commander Hu... Indeed we did," Gu Yangtian said, trying to project a strong aura.

"The Gu Clan is back on top. We expect our trading contracts with the Mercenary Guild to reflect our new status."

Hu Ba crossed his massive arms. He didn’t look down on the Gu Clan. He respected the power shift and the victory they had secured. However, his eyes drifted over the elders and finally landed on Gu Fan.

A smirk slowly spread across the brute’s scarred face.

"I respect the Gu Clan’s victory, Patriarch," Hu Ba said, his tone thick with sarcastic amusement as he pointed a calloused finger directly at Gu Fan.

"But you expect me to believe he killed dozens of beasts on his own?" Hu Ba scoffed, shaking his head in a taunting manner.

"I can’t sense a single drop of Spirit Qi on him. He still looks like a weak cripple."

"Did you not think it through, Patriarch? Even if you had to cheat, you could have used a better candidate for that."

The Gu Clan elders shifted uncomfortably. They agreed with the brute, but hearing it said out loud was humiliating.

"The Blood Iron Guild respects strength," Hu Ba continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm but never crossing into outright hostility toward the clan itself.

"We don’t mind doing business with lucky cripples, but let’s not pretend he is a warrior."