By dawn on the third day, Sun Yi had secured his position as a doorman for the Main Peak’s Great Hall. He stood rigid in a freshly laundered uniform, looking every bit the loyal, low-level employee.

Getting this spot had required a significant capital injection. The post originally belonged to an Outer Sect disciple, but Sun Yi had negotiated a buyout yesterday. He had liquidated his meager assets and leveraged personal loans from every acquaintance he had.

He had barely escaped the consumer debt of Earth, only to plunge himself into the red in the cultivation world. But this wasn’t spending; it was an investment.

Over the last forty-eight hours, Sun Yi had burned through spirit stones like a startup in its growth phase. He had bribed the older disciples for information, conducting extensive due diligence on the company’s upper management.

The Qingyun Sect was a legacy corporation riddled with inefficiency, but information was cheap. He now held detailed dossiers on the Board of Directors:

Patriarch Qingxuan (Chairman/Majority Shareholder): A rare breed of ethical cultivator. Emotional attachment to the brand. Unlikely to liquidate staff without cause.

Elder Jin Jue (Law Enforcement): The muscle. Impulsive. Zero soft skills.

Elder Qin Chu (Internal Affairs): The auditor. Calculating. obsessed with the bottom line but lacks vision.

Elder Li Tai (External Affairs): The salesman. Slick, but superficial.

Elder Han Yun (Transmission) & Ye Luo (R&D): Technical specialists. introverted. Not CEO material.

Sun Yi had run the simulations in his head a hundred times. He had the slide deck memorized. He had the strategy. He just needed the floor.

“Who are you?” The other guard, an Outer Sect disciple, frowned at him. “Where is Chu Yun?”

“Senior Brother Chu had a scheduling conflict,” Sun Yi lied smoothly, flashing a customer-service smile. “I’m covering his shift.”

The disciple glanced at Sun Yi’s third-level Qi Refining cultivation—the energetic equivalent of a mailroom clerk—and lost interest.

Suddenly, the sky screamed.

Five streaks of light tore through the clouds, descending with a crushing atmospheric pressure. Sun Yi felt his knees buckle. It was the physical weight of authority.

The five Golden Core Elders landed. They didn’t even acknowledge the staff at the door. They marched inside, the air between them crackling with the tension of a hostile boardroom proxy battle.

Moments later, the real pressure arrived.

It wasn’t a sound; it was a sudden vacuum. The air solidified. A figure blurred past Sun Yi, moving too fast for the naked eye to track.

The pressure vanished as the figure entered the hall. Sun Yi gasped, his heart hammering against his ribs. That was the Nascent Soul. That was the Chairman.

Cold sweat trickled down his spine. The fear was primal, biological. But Sun Yi clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

High risk, high yield, he told himself. The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish. If I don’t leverage this now, I’m a salted fish forever.

Inside the hall, Patriarch Qingxuan took the throne. The five Elders bowed in unison.

“Sit,” Qingxuan commanded, his voice resonating with absolute power. “I have returned to settle the succession crisis. The Qingyun Sect cannot operate without a CEO any longer. We decide today.”

The Elders straightened, barely concealing their hunger.

Jin Jue, the Law Enforcement head, stepped forward first. “Master, I am ready to shoulder the burden of executive leadership.”

“Master,” Qin Chu cut in, stepping up from the right. “You know my track record in Internal Affairs. I request the opportunity to streamline our operations.”

Li Tai jumped in next. “Patriarch, the previous CEO groomed me for this role. The market is ready for my leadership.”

The other two followed suit. It was a chaotic pitch session. They were all mid-tier Golden Core managers with identical qualifications. None stood out. Qingxuan rubbed his temples, looking like a tired chairman facing a table of mediocre applicants.

Outside, Sun Yi checked his internal clock. It’s showtime.

“Gods and Buddhas of Huaxia, protect my investment,” he whispered.

He turned and marched toward the threshold.

“Hey!” The other guard hissed. “What are you doing? That’s restricted access!”

Sun Yi grinned, a manic light in his eyes. “I have a quarterly report for the Chairman.”

Before the guard could react, Sun Yi swaggered into the Great Hall. This was it. One step toward the penthouse suite, or one step into the incinerator.

The hall fell silent. Five Golden Core glares locked onto him like targeting lasers. At the far end sat Patriarch Qingxuan—a middle-aged man with the timeless, dignified features of old money.

Sun Yi walked to the center of the room, stopped, and bowed with the precision of a seasoned salaryman.

“Disciple Sun Yi greets the Patriarch and the five Elders.”

His voice was steady, but his internal organs were doing somersaults. He was a mouse standing before a council of cats.

Elder Jin Jue’s face darkened. “A janitor interrupts the Board Meeting? Speak quickly, then get out.”

They assumed he was a messenger. A courier with urgent mail.

“This matter is sensitive,” Sun Yi said, keeping his eyes on Qingxuan. “I request the Patriarch’s assurance of my personal safety before I proceed. I need whistleblower protection.”

Qingxuan raised an eyebrow. “Speak. I am here. No one will touch you.”

Sun Yi straightened his back. He took a deep breath and delivered his elevator pitch.

“I am aware the Board is selecting a new CEO today. This position requires vision, strategy, and innovation. Therefore, I, Sun Yi, am submitting my self-recommendation for the position of Sect Leader. I intend to restructure our assets, optimize our growth, and return Qingyun to market dominance.”

Silence. Absolute, suffocating silence.

The six high-level cultivators stared at him. A Qi Refining Level 3 disciple—a biological equivalent of an ant—was applying for the highest office in the region. It wasn’t just arrogant; it was surreal.

Then, the explosion.

“Impudent!” Elder Jin Jue roared, the air shaking around him. “You dare make a mockery of this council? You are courting death!”

“A bug dreaming of the sky!” Elder Qin Chu sneered, his killing intent flaring. “Audacious to the extreme! I should crush you where you stand!”

Sun Yi felt the pressure slamming into him, but he didn’t flinch. He looked straight at the Patriarch.

“Patriarch Qingxuan is a visionary leader, peerless in his wisdom,” Sun Yi shouted over the noise, laying the flattery on thick. “If my proposal is without merit, you may liquidate me then. But surely a leader of your stature believes in equal opportunity employment? Give me the floor!”

Qingxuan’s eyes narrowed. ‘Peerless wisdom.’ ‘Visionary.’

“A Qi Refining disciple applying for Sect Leader…” Qingxuan murmured. “I have lived for centuries and never seen such a thing.”

He looked at Sun Yi. The boy was shaking, but his eyes were burning with a terrifying sort of ambition. It was… interesting.

“Hold,” Qingxuan said, raising a hand.

The killing intent from the Elders vanished instantly.

“Let him speak,” Qingxuan commanded. “I haven’t made a hiring decision yet. I want to hear his pitch.”

Sun Yi exhaled, his back drenched in sweat. Walking the tightrope. It was the greatest adrenaline rush of his life.

“Thank you, Chairman.”

Sun Yi turned to face the five Elders. He had studied their files. He knew their metrics. He was about to deliver the most brutal performance review of their lives.

“What I am about to say may offend the Board,” Sun Yi said, his voice gaining the smooth cadence of a corporate consultant. “I ask for forgiveness in advance.”

He paused for effect, then dropped the hammer.

“In my professional assessment,” Sun Yi said, looking Jin Jue in the eye, “while your cultivation metrics are high, none of you possess the managerial competency to run this corporation.”

Jin Jue’s eyes bulged. “You—!”

“I am not targeting you specifically, Elder Jin,” Sun Yi interrupted, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “I am saying that all five of you are unqualified. If we promote from within this pool, the Qingyun Sect will face bankruptcy within the decade.”

“You trash!” Elder Li Tai screamed, his face turning purple. “You dare question our credentials?”

If looks could kill, Sun Yi would have been vaporized five times over. But Sun Yi stood his ground, suppressing his panic. He had burned the bridge. There was no retreat.

He had to secure the CEO title today, or he was dead.

Sun Yi took a deep breath and switched into full roast mode.

Let the restructuring begin.