The morning after the Rutherford Banquet, the Lockwood family gathered around the long dining table in the main sitting room.Unlike the previous morning, when anxiety had dominated the household, the atmosphere today was filled with cautious excitement.Documents had been spread across the table.Financial projections, company reports, construction proposals, investment records and several pages of notes covered nearly every available space.George Lockwood sat at the head of the table, his expression unusually serious as he studied one of the documents in his hands.Catherine sat beside him, occasionally glancing toward Amelia.Lisa had claimed a seat nearby and was already going through the details of the opportunities they had discussed the previous evening.Amelia sat quietly, listening.Even she found it difficult to believe how quickly things had changed.Only yesterday, the Lockwood family had been worried about their declining business prospects.Now they were discussing proj

The chamber beneath Nine Dragons Valley had fallen completely silent.Sebastian sat cross-legged at the center of the formation, his back straight and his hands resting lightly on his knees.In front of him, the Azure Celestial Vessel stood upon the stone pedestal.Its deep-blue surface shimmered faintly beneath the dim light.For several moments, neither Sebastian nor the vessel moved.Then Sebastian slowly closed his eyes.He took a deep breath.And began.His breathing immediately became slower.Deeper.With each breath, the energy within his body began circulating along his meridians.At the same time, the formation beneath him activated.A faint glow appeared along the intricate lines carved into the stone floor.One line.Then another.Then another.Within seconds, the entire formation had begun operating.The atmosphere inside the chamber changed.The air became heavier.The spiritual energy that had been quietly scattered throughout Nine Dragons Valley began converging toward

Cade kept his hands raised.The woman’s pistol remained trained on his chest, but the tension in her expression had eased slightly.“I’m not looking for trouble,” Cade said calmly.“That’s what everyone says when they’re caught somewhere they shouldn’t be.”“I’m an investigator.”The woman frowned.“An investigator?”“Yes.”“Who are you investigating?”Cade hesitated.“The Blackwater incident.”Her eyes narrowed again.“You expect me to believe that?”“I don't particularly care whether you believe me.”The woman's grip tightened around the pistol.Cade immediately raised one hand slightly.“Easy. I'm not trying to provoke you.”“You're doing a poor job of it.”“I've been told that before.”For several seconds, they stared at each other.Finally, the woman lowered the weapon by a few inches.Not completely.Just enough to make it clear that she was no longer seconds away from pulling the trigger.“My name is Aria Bell,” she said.Cade raised an eyebrow.“So you do have a name.”“Don't

The Lockwood Group headquarters was unusually hectic.Documents covered Amelia's desk.Financial projections.Construction estimates.Material costs.Labour requirements.Timelines.Risk assessments.Everything had been carefully organized into separate sections, and yet Amelia still felt as though something was missing.She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples."This is harder than I expected."Lisa, sitting across from her, didn't even look up from the laptop in front of her."That's because you're trying to make a bid for a sixty-million-dollar subcontract look like a school assignment."Amelia gave her an annoyed look."I'm trying to make sure we don't embarrass ourselves.""There's a difference between being careful and overthinking everything."Lisa finally looked up."Besides, we've been working on this for hours."Amelia glanced at the clock.She hadn't realized how much time had passed."You've been complaining for the last three hours.""I've been supervising.""Y

The outskirts of Cloud City were unusually quiet that evening.Away from the bright lights of the central districts, the roads became increasingly empty, winding between industrial compounds, abandoned warehouses, and stretches of undeveloped land.Sebastian sat alone in the back of a black Cadillac Escalade, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.Bruce was driving.Neither man had said much during the past twenty minutes.Sebastian had been following a lead concerning a small group operating around the Blackwater District.The organization itself wasn't particularly important.At least, not yet.What interested him was the pattern behind their activities.Several incidents that appeared unrelated at first glance had begun pointing toward the same network.Illegal shipments.Disappearing personnel.Unusual movements around several warehouses.And most recently, a series of encrypted communications that had surfaced in the Nine Dragons' intelligence network.Sebastian wasn't convinced that t