The obsidian table felt cool beneath the flickering candlelight, a stark contrast to the simmering tension radiating between the four cultivators. As the heavy, iron-reinforced doors of the study clicked shut, sealing them within the Qi-warded silence, the atmosphere shifted instantly. The veneer of polite society vanished, replaced by the cold, sharp edge of calculated expansion.
Meng Yan leaned forward, her violet silk rustling. "Let's look at the hard truth of the board," she began, her voice losing its warmth and becoming the steel-edged tone of the Jin Matriarch. "Crimson Iron City is an old beast with established territories. Currently, the Golden Cauldron Merchant Union holds a forty percent stranglehold on the alchemy and herb trade. They aren't just merchants; they're the gatekeepers."
