"My lady..."
Liu Yianfei still wasn't sure if Bai Fanxian meant it or was just having fun at his expense. He didn't know what to do with himself.
"The General doesn't need to do that. I failed to keep my people in line." The icy-faced man turned and apologized without hesitation. At the same time, he shot a sharp look at his subordinate, who had been causing problems since the moment they walked in.
Li Xinmei, freshly scolded, had nothing to say. She turned her face away with a scowl.
"...Fine. Let's just do it this way."
Bai Fanxian sighed. The handgun on the security chief's waist slipped free and drifted into her hand, its owner powerless to stop it. She turned it over with mild curiosity as every eye in the meeting room followed her.
*BANG!*
Her arm shot straight out. The barrel leveled directly at Liu Yianfei, and the shot rang out before anyone had time to react!
The room erupted. No one had expected anyone to fire a weapon openly inside the military's Central Command. People dove under tables and crouched behind chairs, terrified of stray bullets. But after several seconds passed without another sound, they slowly dared to look up.
What they saw was Liu Yianfei, who by all rights should have been slumped on the floor with a bullet in him, still sitting exactly where he had been. Not a scratch on him. He just smiled dryly.
"Next time warn me first."
He held up his hand as he spoke. Sitting between his fingers was the bullet. He set it on the table for everyone to see.
"...Is that actually possible?"
People began crawling out from behind their cover. Seconds later, dozens of security officers came pouring through the doors. The gunshot had made them assume the building was under attack.
"...Then brace yourself."
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
Bai Fanxian didn't spare the new arrivals a glance. She swung the barrel toward Sword Master Zheng Renyi and fired three rounds in quick succession at the old man, who had no time to prepare.
*Slash!*
This time the room had a clear view. Zheng Renyi raised one finger and flicked it — lightly, almost lazily — and all three bullets split cleanly in two. They lost all spin and momentum and dropped to the floor in pieces.
The newly arrived officers, with no idea what was happening, raised their weapons. But their chief rushed over and stopped them with all his might.
"Stand down! Everything's fine in here."
"But Chief..." One officer frowned, his eyes darting between the woman holding the gun and the fragments of bullet scattered across the floor.
"Trust me. If they wanted to kill someone, they wouldn't need a gun." The chief adjusted his dark glasses and pushed his subordinates back through the doors one by one. The room settled.
"See? It takes two or three people like that just to bring one of those beasts down. Still think it's simple?"
Bai Fanxian tossed the gun back to its owner and settled into her chair. She glanced toward Li Xinmei to make clear who she was talking to.
Li Xinmei flinched. She had been badly wrong about this, and she knew it. She couldn't bring herself to meet Bai Fanxian's eyes and looked down instead.
"Thank you, Grandmaster Bai, for demonstrating that for us."
The presenter bowed. She had solved two problems for him at once: the disruption, and the room full of people who still hadn't grasped what they were dealing with.
"Moving on. The carcasses of these creatures have yielded high-quality materials. And near each of their hearts, we found these."
The screen filled with images showing what the materials could do. Fangs sharp enough to punch clean through hardened metal. Hide so thick that bullets left no mark even after the creature was dead. More than a few people in the room leaned forward. But what drew the most attention were the crystals — three red ones from the bears, two blue from the mammoths.
"These crystals hold tremendous energy. The military is currently researching how to turn them into weapons." The presenter moved through various ongoing experimental approaches for the room to consider.
"Would you be open to letting my company run tests on them?" Someone asked. He was in the alternative energy sector, and those crystals had his full attention.
"I'd rather see universities take the first look. We'd also like to secure the mammoth carcasses." A white-bearded old man added. A professor from one of the country's top universities.
"As I said, we can't make any commitments until the initial research is done." The presenter shook his head apologetically.
As that exchange wound down, a middle-aged man in a civil servant's suit tapped his chin. "What about biological weapons? Could those do anything to them?"
He worked in the military's research division and had been waiting to ask.
"We could try, but contamination would be a serious concern. The cleanest option we've seen is something like Grandmaster Xie's poison qi."
The screen shifted to footage of Xie Suyao using her qi to bring both ice mammoths under control. It had taken a great deal out of her. What made it the cleanest option, as the presenter explained, was that poison qi could be directed with precision. No residue, no environmental damage.
"So that's viable."
"Our analysis also shows these creatures can use their own energy to cloak themselves. Only qi from a cultivator at the same level can get through their defense. That's one reason we specifically invited people who've faced them directly."
The presenter gestured toward Bai Fanxian's group. Several attendees who hadn't been sure why cultivators were at a policy meeting nodded. Direct experience counted for something.
"If cultivators can handle them, isn't that enough? Problem solved."
A thin man pushed his glasses up and leaned forward.
"Not quite. The creatures we've encountered so far require Grandmaster level or above to deal with." Another man, clearly more familiar with cultivation, answered.
"How many Grandmasters do we actually have?"
"Based on current records, approximately twenty across the country." The presenter read from the screen. This was the most recent count.
"...That few?"
Surprise rippled through the room. Bai Fanxian noted it. The cultivation world had become more visible over the years, but the people at the top of it were still largely invisible to those outside.
"That's right. And of those twenty, one is currently missing, one is deceased, and two have recently broken through to the next level — Sage."
The presenter smiled as he turned toward Liu Yianfei and Zheng Renyi. The news of their breakthrough had rattled the cultivation world for weeks. Both had spent days fielding calls until they couldn't take any more.
The room went quiet after he finished. The implication was clear. Twenty was already a small number, and the effective count was smaller still.
Faces tightened. This was beginning to look like a problem without a clean answer.
"Then I suggest we appoint a leader."
Before anyone could voice the uncertainty hanging in the air, an old man in a neat gray suit raised his hand. When he had the room's attention, he went on:
"Not someone who carries the burden alone. We'll need every sector working together. But someone with the authority to make the calls specifically on how to handle these creatures."
The room responded well to that. With such a diverse group in one place, having someone who could cut through the deliberation and decide what came next would make a real difference.
"With that in mind, I nominate — Empr— ahem! Grandmaster Bai Fanxian for the role. Beyond her cultivation ability, she's also someone who has faced these creatures directly."
The moment he finished, every head in the room swung toward Bai Fanxian. Her eye twitched. She had noticed how several people in the room reacted to that first syllable before the old man suspiciously caught himself and changed his wording.
And when their eyes met, he gave her a proud thumbs-up.
...Don't tell me—
"If we're going by cultivation ability, aren't there two Sages right here?" Someone pushed back, gesturing at Zheng Renyi and Liu Yianfei, who both smiled wryly and looked at their lady.
"You might not be aware, but Sage Zheng and Sage Liu have both been with Empr— ahem! Grandmaster Bai for some time now."
From a corner of the room, a young man chimed in. He quickly took a sip of water to cover the word that had nearly slipped out. But once he'd said his piece, he couldn't quite hide his smile. He hadn't expected an ordinary work assignment to double as a chance to publicly stand up for his idol.
He desperately wanted to post about this. But clearly this wasn't something that could go public. He'd have to keep it to himself for now.
— Actually, that old man must be one of us. I'm getting his contact after this.
"I also think... Empr— Lady Bai Fanxian is the right choice."
Another young woman raised her hand. After that, the support kept coming. Some were already fans. Others were people who had been at the eastern Border and wanted to strengthen their connection with Bai Fanxian. Some had even walked through her clinic doors and left completely healed.
"Grandmaster Bai, what are your thoughts?"
Even the presenter hadn't seen this coming. But he had no objection. This situation genuinely needed someone who could make decisions, and the room had made its preference clear. He turned to Bai Fanxian with a dry smile.
"..."
These fools are so diligent about finding me headaches again!