The lecture hall for "Introduction to Corporate Strategy" was designed like a coliseum.
Steep, tiered seating curved around a central stage where a lone podium stood. The acoustics were perfect—too perfect. Marcus could hear the nervous tapping of a pen three rows down. He could hear the shallow breathing of the guy next to him.
And, thanks to his active Network Sensing, he could feel the terror.
It was Monday morning. 61 hours remaining until the deadline.
Marcus sat next to Daniel near the back. Strategy dictated that the "kill zone"—the area most likely to be targeted by a predator—was the front row and the direct center. The back corners were usually safe.
Usually.
"Settle down," a voice boomed.
The doors slammed shut simultaneously, locked by an invisible force.
Professor Sterling walked to the podium. He didn't look like a teacher; he looked like a shark in a bespoke Italian suit. His aura was suffocating—a heavy, metallic grey pressure that tasted like pennies and old blood.
[Entity Detected: Professor Arthur Sterling] [Cultivation Level: Vice-President Realm (Early Stage)] [Danger Level: EXTREME]
Marcus swallowed hard. Vice-President Realm. That was miles above the Intern Realm. Dean Cross had been terrifying, but she was distant. Sterling was right here.
"Look to your left," Sterling said, arranging his notes. "Now look to your right."
The students obeyed.
"Statistically, one of those people is an asset," Sterling said. "The other is a liability. By the end of this semester, the liabilities will be liquidated."
He tapped the podium. A holographic projection of a balance sheet appeared in the air.
"This is a company," Sterling said. "It is bleeding capital. The stock price has dropped fourteen percent in two quarters. You are the incoming CEO. You have thirty seconds to save the company."
His eyes scanned the room. The pressure intensified. It wasn't just fear; it was a cultivation technique. A localized suppression field designed to crush the will of anyone with a weak foundation.
"Mr. Miller," Sterling barked, pointing a finger at a boy in the second row.
The boy—Miller—jumped. He was a Stage 2, likely a Legacy admission, but he looked pale.
"Uh... I would... I would cut costs?" Miller stammered.
"Wrong," Sterling said.
The word hit Miller like a physical slap. The boy flinched backward, clutching his chest.
"Generic. Uninspired. Weak," Sterling dismantled him. "You cut costs, you signal fear. The market smells fear. The stock drops another ten percent. The board votes no confidence. You are fired."
Sterling made a slashing motion with his hand.
Miller gasped, slumping forward onto his desk. A visible wisp of white energy—his own cultivation base—drifted out of his body and dissolved into the air.
[Witnessed Cultivation Damage] [Observation: Public humiliation in a corporate setting damages the victim's Spirit and drains Qi.]
"Next," Sterling said, stepping over the metaphorical corpse of Mr. Miller's confidence. "Ms. Patel. Same scenario. Save the company."
Ms. Patel, a Stage 3, stood up. She was trembling, but her voice was steady. "I would announce a strategic pivot to AI integration and authorize a stock buyback to artificially inflate value."
Sterling paused. The pressure in the room eased slightly.
"Cynical," Sterling noted. "But effective. Short-term survival achieved. Sit down."
Ms. Patel collapsed into her seat, looking like she'd just run a marathon.
Marcus gripped his pen. This wasn't a lecture. It was a firing squad.
"This is the 'Cold Call'," Daniel whispered, his face white. "My dad warned me about this. It's a combat technique. If you can't deflect the pressure, it cracks your dantian. You can lose days of progress in seconds."
"Great," Marcus muttered. "Just what we needed."
"Mr. Chen," Sterling said.
The room went silent.
Marcus froze. He was in the back row. He was invisible. He was a Stage 1 Blind Candidate.
"Yes, you," Sterling said, his eyes locking onto Marcus. "The blind candidate hiding in the back. Stand up."
Marcus stood. His legs felt like lead. The pressure focused entirely on him now, a crushing weight on his shoulders.
[Alert: Hostile Intent Detected] [Opponent is using 'Executive Presence' to intimidate.] [Willpower Check: Critical]
"You have no background," Sterling said, his voice echoing. "No family connections. No legacy. You are a rounding error in this institution. Tell me, Mr. Chen. Why shouldn't I liquidate you right now to save resources for the real students?"
It was a trap.
Marcus's mind raced. If he argued he worked hard, he'd look weak. If he argued he was smart, Sterling would crush him with a complex question he couldn't answer.
He looked at Sterling. He saw the metallic aura. And then, his Network Sensing—which he'd been keeping active since the coffee shop—picked up something else.
Sterling wasn't looking at Marcus's stats. He was looking at his eyes.
The Vice-President Realm wasn't about facts. It was about frame control.
Marcus remembered the manual. Chapter 1: Establishing Your Network Foundation.
"In the absence of substance, project stability. Reality bends to the one who refuses to flinch."
Marcus took a breath. He didn't try to fight the pressure. He didn't try to block it. He just... stood there. He channeled his meager Stage 1 qi into his spine, forcing himself to stand perfectly straight.
"Because, sir," Marcus said, his voice surprisingly steady, "volatility creates opportunity."
Silence.
Sterling raised an eyebrow. "Explain."
"A room full of legacy admits is a stable portfolio," Marcus said, making up the bullshit as he went along, channeling every corporate LinkedIn post he'd ever read. "Stable portfolios yield low returns. You keep me because I'm the high-risk, high-reward asset. I'm the diversification strategy."
He held Sterling's gaze.
Don't blink. Don't look away. Don't apologize.
The pressure bore down on him. His chest burned. His dantian felt like it was being squeezed by a vice.
[Warning: Mental Stress at 90%] [Determination Stat assisting...]
For five seconds, neither of them moved. The air between them shimmered.
Then, Sterling smiled. It was a terrifying expression, all teeth.
"Diversification," Sterling repeated. "A bold claim for a penny stock."
The pressure vanished instantly.
"Sit down, Mr. Chen. Let's see if you survive the quarter."
Marcus sat. His knees hit the chair hard. His hands were shaking so badly he had to clasp them under the desk.
[Crisis Averted] [Reward: Insight gained into 'Verbal Defense'] [New Technique Unlocked: The Pivot] [Progress to Stage 2: 22%]
"Dude," Daniel breathed, staring at him. "You just bullshitted a Vice-President."
"I think I'm going to throw up," Marcus whispered.
"No, look." Daniel pointed at Marcus's chest.
Marcus looked down. Faint, white light was swirling around him, drawn in from the room. By standing his ground, he hadn't just survived—he had absorbed the ambient respect of the room. The terror of the other students was feeding him.
"You're cultivating," Daniel said. "You're cultivating from stress."
Marcus took a deep breath, feeling the energy settle into his core. It was bitter and sharp, unlike the warm energy from the coffee shop. But it was strong.
He looked up at the board, where Sterling was now tearing apart a Legacy student from a hedge fund family.
Marcus checked his timer.
[Time Remaining: 60 hours] [Progress: 22%]
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and opened his notebook.
"I'm listening," Marcus said.