The Jianghu Practitioners

"Father, Elder Brother, we're here."

Before Su Min could say a word, the doors were pushed open once again. Three youngsters, all in the Qi Refining stage, limped in one after another—bruised, battered, and clearly fresh from a beating.

"My lady, should we prepare some medicinal pills for them?"

Though Prince Yong knew Su Min had taught the trio a harsh lesson, seeing them in such a sorry state still startled him. With the impending war, these three were his trump cards—and their injuries looked rather severe.

"You're not a cultivator, so you don't understand their recovery speed. And you three little brats, stop pretending. These superficial wounds won't even take a full day to heal."

"...Uh."

Sure enough, at Su Min's words, the three immediately straightened up, not daring to utter a single complaint. The scene, however, left the Jianghu practitioners in the room wide-eyed.

Because of their recent beating, the trio's auras were unstable, leaking out uncontrollably. Yet this very instability made it clear to everyone present—all three were genuine Qi Refining cultivators, not artificially boosted like those created by the Demon Queen's forbidden arts. Moreover, they were young, unlike the middle-aged Sect Leader Mo.

Among the gathered experts, some had reached the peak of Body Tempering. But precisely because of that, they knew how difficult it was to advance further. Their gazes toward Su Min grew even more intense. Undoubtedly, this was all because of a single pill—a pill capable of defying fate itself.

"Hmph."

Seeing the expressions around him, Prince Yong smirked inwardly. These people clearly understood the stakes now. No wonder even the Demon Queen and the Emperor, despite suffering such humiliation at Su Min's hands, hadn't dared to issue a warrant for her arrest.

After all, on the surface, Su Min was merely a reclusive wanderer. Though she had business dealings with the Fuding Merchant Guild, she was fundamentally a free agent. Even at the height of her power, the Demon Queen had prioritized recruiting such individuals rather than antagonizing them. The only pity was that only he knew the true depth of Su Min's grudge against the Emperor.

As for the covetous looks directed at Su Min, Prince Yong merely smiled. These people couldn't afford her services. Only he knew just how exorbitant her prices were. Even his family's centuries-old estate struggled to support her demands—let alone these small Jianghu sects. As his business partner, Su Min had only one flaw: she was expensive.

But what a single pill could buy was immeasurable. Just look at Mo Shaosheng, the new leader of the Jianghu after Zhao Yiping. He had only reached the long-dreamed-of Qi Refining stage after consuming one of Prince Yong's pills. And he still had five more of those pills.

The only regret was that Su Min couldn't refine them casually—not due to lack of skill, but because the ingredients were simply too rare. Incidentally, when Su Min had broken through, she'd consumed two pills. These people only needed one to advance. This wasn't because her talent was lacking, but because the quality of the pills she refined for herself was on a completely different level.

"Enough. Since you called me here, let me be blunt—I have no interest in those grassland nomads. I'll only act if the Flame and Earth Elders show up. Of course, you lot must hold off the others and ensure no one interferes in my fight with those two old bastards."

Having said her piece, Su Min leaned back and fell silent. She had no interest in military strategy—though she'd played Paradox games before, reality was a different matter. Besides, she knew one golden rule: If you keep your mouth shut, no one will realize you're an idiot. So she chose silence.

Her demand wasn't unreasonable. Su Min wasn't afraid of facing tens of thousands of soldiers—she could come and go as she pleased within an army. But there was one condition: the enemy couldn't have experts of her level. If she got bogged down in a prolonged battle, things could turn dangerous. If these people couldn't even hold off the grassland army's elite fighters, then this war was already lost.

"No problem. As long as the Danxian can handle—no, delay those two old monsters, it will be the key to victory."

Prince Yong naturally didn't dare refuse Su Min's request. Moreover, her stance was perfectly reasonable. This was precisely why he'd gathered so many experts—to prevent anyone from interfering in her battle. The more he learned about those two elders, the more fearful he became.

Though he'd never met them and wasn't a cultivator himself, he knew his newly advanced Qi Refining subordinates stood no chance against them. Among everyone he knew, Su Min was the only hope. Fortunately, she had her own reasons for intervening. Today, he'd brought his heir along specifically to familiarize him with Su Min.

He'd taken her previous warning to heart: no matter what faction you belonged to, you needed a true pillar of strength. That meant his son couldn't inherit his title—the responsibilities were far too cumbersome. So, he'd discussed matters with both sons. Fortunately, his heir had no interest in rulership, only in pursuing greater power. That made everything much simpler.

~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~

"Gentlemen, the reason I've gathered you all is for this war. The grassland tribes are marching south with nearly two hundred thousand troops—a scale rarely seen in history. But in today's world, numbers alone don't guarantee victory..."

Prince Yong addressed the assembly, noticing Su Min's impatience. His words halted those who'd been scheming to curry favor with her. Despite their illustrious reputations in the Jianghu, these people were nothing before Su Min—not even Sect Leader Mo was an exception.

As for the rest of the meeting, Su Min sat leisurely sipping tea, not uttering a single word. Yet no one dared criticize her for it. Meanwhile, the three unlucky souls she'd beaten up silently circulated their energy in the back, recovering. By the time the meeting ended, they were fully healed.