Hye Won

That evening, as the office quieted down, Attorney Lin approached Han Chen's desk.

"Your correction was on point. Horizon Biotech's board wants a final review draft by tomorrow morning. Their CFO requested an in-person delivery to address any last-minute concerns."

Han Chen didn't react. It was unusual for an intern to be given such a task. But then, Lin added, "You won't be going alone. Hye Won and another firm representative will accompany you. He'll handle the main discussions if any. You're there for the experience, networking, exposure. Take it seriously."

The next morning, Han Chen arrived at Horizon's headquarters—a sleek, glass-walled skyscraper that radiated efficiency. A different place from yesterday. Digital submissions were the norm, but high-stakes deals required in-person handling.

Hye Won was with him, maintaining a strictly professional demeanor, far from her usual self around him. The three of them were led to the executive floor, where a receptionist directed them to Yue Lan's office.

Her assistant greeted them briefly before stepping away for a call. Han Chen waited, letting his spirit sense drift, sensing the situation around. He seemed carefree while others were not. The tension in the air was minimal, routine business.

He moved first to sit amidst the strange gazes of the rest. He was no fan of waiting for others as servants. Hye won followed and the other guy also went with the flow.

After a few minutes, Yue Lan finished her call and turned to face them.

"You're with Yǔn Hé Law Firm?" Her tone was impersonal.

"Yes." Han Chen handed over the documents. "Senior Attorney Lin requested we deliver the final draft for your review before the board's approval."

She accepted the folder, flipping through the pages with practiced efficiency. For fifteen minutes, she read in complete silence.

Han Chen thought for a few minutes, whether to have her by his side or just save her from her accident if happened in future thus resolving his regret. His initial plans were to gradually develop interest and fall in love, but Han Chen for some reason feel no closeness to her, well easy way is to just let her know, just the question is when?. Any way she is taking her time to read this, I would just do my thing. 

Han Chen, closed his eyes for a moment seemingly in peace. His astral soul extended like a string to Yue Lan opposite. It got hooked like a claw, to her soul. She left an small audible gasp, and returned to her reading after adjusting posture like nothing happened. His soul returned leaving a small mark of his brand. It was a crude attempt, no spiritual arts were involved.

Basically anywhere within his consciousness domain, as soon as his will permeate over it will resonate with her spirit and could temporarily transmit his thoughts at the expense of its removal. It was a very early derivative of soul corridor technique he had developed previously. Anyway, by the time he opened eyes, his soul layer was already healed by his spirit from that minute loss.

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A little while later, without looking up, she asked,

"How long have you been with Lin's team?"

"A month and a half," Hye Won answered.

Yue Lan gave a slight nod before turning her gaze back to him. "The correction you made on Clause 14.2 was accurate and important."

Han Chen's offered a small shrug. "It was my duty as legal assist."

She closed the folder and finally looked up. "If you maintain this level of precision, Yǔn Hé will have a valuable asset in you." A small encouragement for people like us. The official who come with us did the final works.

While others remained in place. When Yue Lan's gaze fell on him, a pause. A flicker of something in her expression.

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

Han Chen hesitated. "I was on TV for a brief time. I ranked well in exams."

"Ah." She dismissed the thought just as quickly as it came. "Well then, you may leave."

Before they left, she instructed her assistant, "Have our in house legal team conduct one final review before submission."

And that was it.

Han Chen walked out of her office, feeling nothing, just like before. No elation, no satisfaction, just distance. "Oh... wasn't that intense, I didn't even know how I got past those fifteen minutes silence. I got to give to you. You are as carefree as ever. "

Hye Won commented by his side with a nervous tone. Any way she didn't like the fact that he was staring at the women who just met for a while. His internship work continued for three more days until it was over.

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He has been training his mind. His spirit sense grew and reached its limit of 12 miles, nearly 19kms after all these months of casual training. His realm climbed to foundation building realm 5th level entry. As he neared the middle level, his senses grew stronger, strength grew further.. He further purified himself in body refining to remove the impurities accumulated during these times, living in the city.

Since there was no spiritual energy present in the void around, he couldn't actively maintain that state. So being like a walking energy storage that depletes over time albeit in years just for maintaining his body refining, he didn't like that fact.

He could access 5th layer rules of law energy, casually manipulating elements to fundamental forces in his palm. The bits and pieces around him on the room he was in, floated themselves. Law energies fully control of fundamental force of attraction within the room, but the consumption was very high and control remained difficult. Rules are supposed to be practiced from Golden core realm. His experience made it easier to grasp law energy easily at lower realm. A loud ringing came suddenly.

As the clatter rang from the side table—his phone, a glass, and a few other objects tumbled onto the floor, shattering something in the process.

He frowned. Who's calling at this hour? When he glanced at the screen, his expression changed slightly.

Hye Won. Now, a quarter past midnight. His brows furrowed as he answered. "Hye Won?"

For a moment, all he could hear was shaky breathing on the other end. Then, her voice came through, small and trembling. "Han Chen... my mother was hospitalized. Neighbor said she is in coma."

He didn't feel anything except for a trace of compassion for her hearing the news. She sniffled. "I don't know what to do…" She was hyperventilating. Han Chen could tell she was trying to stay composed, but the fear in her voice was evident. Yet, as he listened to her voice crack with pain, a strange, unwelcome tightness gripped his chest. It was irrational, unnecessary—yet it refused to fade. Is this....!!

" The hospital only called me now....They ..."

"Where are you now?" he asked in a calm tone. She sniffled. "Still on the train. I just… I just got the call. She collapsed on road… they took her to the hospital."

"Which hospital?"

"Xiangzhou First People's Hospital in our province."

Han Chen checked the arrival time on his phone as he spoke. The train wouldn't arrive for another forty minutes. "Do you have anyone with you?" he asked.

She hesitated. "...No."

"Its going to be alright. Wait for me at the station. Don't worry I am near, I will be there before you reach station." He felt his mind in distress for someone else for the first time. Keeping her occupied on phone by saying random things, he enjoyed that sensation. It was new yet its what he wished for in someone else.

...

There was clearly, a week of leave allotted after internship ended. She left early saying it was a surprise for her mother. Well her mother gave her even bigger surprise before she reaches there. He took his time to arrange everything back, taking a bath and putting on his armor transforming to regular dress and half an hour later, he was ready to fly.

Checking the map one last time, Han Chen left his main phone behind. Instead, he switched to a burner phone—calls would be rerouted there. He had considered this issue during his last flight. If air traffic control picked up another sonic boom or caught a glimpse of his blurred figure, like the Jianwei incident, tracking towers would reveal personal data, even if his phone was off.

Stepping onto the terrace of his rented apartment, he pulled out his twin blade. With a flicker of motion, technique activated he vanished. Instead of only relying on a Qi layer to dampen drag like a typical cultivator, he experimented—channeling his spirit sense to thin the air around him, dispersing energy faster. He climbed higher, pressing the limits of his spirit sense.

Here, the air was extremely chilly, barely breathable—oxygen thin, pressure unfit for survival. This was the edge where normal jets pushed past the sound barrier. Military engineers had long since designed hyper-sonic crafts which go even higher for warriors trained to withstand the pull of more than 18G extreme flight.

Han Chen, however, had no need for a cockpit or thrusters. Pushing forward at nearly Mach 1.5, his spirit sense locked onto the city. In mere moments, he was there. 

He plunged downward, landing in an unmanned area. The force of his arrival cracked the concrete beneath him, his shoe print embedded in the fractured ground, law control negating the reaction forces making him stand upright. His spirit sense already covered the city. He changed back to normal and sword returned to a pendent and walked over.

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