Gu Jin calmly walked inside with a smirk on her face and said in a relaxed manner,
"So, where should I start?"
The two men and the woman glared at Gu Jin. The first man, with fire and earth elements, cracked his knuckles.
The second man, a thunder and space user, smirked.
The woman, silent until now, finally spoke, her voice laced with mockery.
"You should be careful, little girl," she said, tilting her head.
"We’re all Super Rank mages. If you dare to challenge us, we’ll make sure you regret it."
Gu Jin chuckled, her eyes glinting with amusement.
"You think your rank matters?" She stepped forward, unbothered by their threats.
"You annoyed me. Now I’ll make sure you never do it again."
The first man scoffed.
"Enough talk!" With a flick of his wrist, flames surged around his fists, and the ground beneath him cracked.
"Let’s see how long you last!"
He lunged at her, fire roaring in his palm. Gu Jin didn’t even move.
Just as his attack was about to hit, thick vines shot up from the floor, wrapping around his arms and legs like snakes.
His flames flickered and died as the vines squeezed tighter.
"What—?! Let go!" He struggled, but the more he fought, the stronger the vines became.
The second man didn’t wait. He disappeared in a flash of electricity, reappearing behind Gu Jin.
"Got you now!" His palm crackled with thunder as he struck forward.
But his hand met empty air.
Gu Jin had already moved.
She was standing a few feet away, watching with a smirk. "Too slow."
The second man growled.
"Then let’s see how you dodge this!" He raised his hands, forming a massive bolt of lightning, and sent it straight at her.
At the same time, the woman acted.
Her eyes glowed purple, and a sharp ringing sound filled the room. The sound waves distorted the air, aiming directly at Gu Jin’s mind.
But Gu Jin just stood there.
Right before the lightning could hit her, an undead warrior materialized in front of her.
Its rotting greenish skin made it look like an undead, but its glowing eyes burned with dark energy.
The lightning struck the undead, but instead of being destroyed, it absorbed the energy.
"What?!" The second man’s eyes widened.
The undead raised its hand, and a wave of dark fire burst from its palm, swallowing the lightning mage in black flames.
He screamed, dropping to his knees.
Meanwhile, the woman smirked.
"Let’s see you handle this!" She intensified her psychic attack, sending a crushing force toward Gu Jin’s mind.
Gu Jin’s smirk vanished.
Her eyes turned sharp.
She raised her hand, and a powerful energy surged from her fingertips. The air trembled.
"Emperor Rank Spell—Venomous Abyss."
A deep green mist spread from her palm, filling the room in an instant.
The three opponents gasped, their bodies going stiff. A burning, poisonous sensation spread through their limbs. Their skin turned pale.
The fire mage collapsed first, his body shaking. "I-I can’t move!"
The thunder mage clenched his fists, but his strength was draining fast.
"This... this is an Emperor Rank spell?!" His voice trembled.
The woman fell to one knee, her psychic energy dispersing. Her face was pale as a sheet.
"I-impossible... Emperor Rank...?"
Gu Jin tilted her head, stepping closer.
"Did you really think I’d be scared of Super Rank mages?"
The three of them trembled.
One of the couldn’t help but mutter,
"Impossible...they said...she was just a talented alchemist...and her cultivation shouldn’t be high."
Gu Jin, who was about to leave, paused and stared at the man with narrowed eyes.
How did they know that she was an alchemist?
Gu Jin, who had been on the verge of leaving, paused, her gaze sharp as a dagger as she turned back to the trembling trio.
She took slow, deliberate steps toward them, her presence suffocating.
The air in the room seemed to thicken with an invisible force as she spoke, her voice laced with dangerous calm.
The fire mage, still on the ground, gritted his teeth. "No one. We acted on our own."
The thunder mage, despite his weakened state, nodded vigorously.
"Yeah... this was just a little fun of ours."
The woman, her face still pale from the effects of Venomous Abyss, forced a smirk.
"We just thought it’d be entertaining to mess with an alchemist like you."
Gu Jin sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, massaging her temple as if dealing with a trivial headache.
"I see," she muttered, her tone eerily composed. "That’s a shame."
Then, without warning, the vines constricting the fire mage tightened, causing him to let out a strangled gasp.
The thunder mage and the woman stiffened, fear flickering in their eyes as they watched their comrade struggle for breath.
Gu Jin crouched beside them, her expression indifferent.
"Since you won’t tell me the truth, I suppose I’ll just kill all three of you and get some proper rest."
"Wait!" The fire mage gasped, his pride crumbling under the pressure of imminent death.
"We were hired! We were hired by someone!"
Gu Jin’s smirk returned as she loosened the vines just enough for him to speak.
"That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now, who?"
The fire mage swallowed thickly.
"A man named Wei Lin. He told us to make sure you got no rest before the competition."
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"And what were you supposed to do if I switched hotels?"
The woman hesitated before answering.
"Follow you. No matter where you went, we were ordered to ensure you never got any proper sleep."
Gu Jin chuckled, shaking her head.
"Persistent, aren’t you?" Her gaze darkened. "And what if I reported this to the hotel management?"
The thunder mage let out a bitter laugh.
"They’re involved too. The front desk never called to stop us because they were in on it. And if you moved hotels, we planned to bribe the staff there too."
"And if I fought back?" Gu Jin pressed, her voice dangerously soft.
The woman exhaled shakily.
"Then we were to act as if we were gravely injured. The hotel manager would file a complaint against you, making sure you were disqualified from the competition."
Gu Jin’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as she reached into her robes and pulled out a small recorder.
"Repeat everything you just said."
The three hesitated, but the vines pulsed in warning.
Swallowing their remaining pride, they recounted their orders, their voices laced with fear.
Satisfied, Gu Jin deactivated the recorder and, with a flick of her wrist, sent all three into unconsciousness.
The vines slithered around their limbs, dragging their limp bodies behind her as she exited the room.
The grand lobby of the hotel was silent as she entered, the soft rustling of vines the only sound.
She approached the front desk, where the manager, a middle-aged man with a polished demeanor, smiled in faux politeness.
"Miss Gu Jin, how may I help you—"
With a sharp tug, the vines released the three unconscious bodies, dumping them unceremoniously onto the polished marble floor.
The surrounding guests and staff gasped in shock.
Gu Jin crossed her arms, her gaze locking onto the manager’s suddenly pale face.
"Care to explain why your hotel is involved in sabotaging a competitor?" She tapped the recorder in her hand.
"I have everything on record. So what will it be, manager? Your job, or your dignity?"
The front desk manager straightened his posture, his expression morphing into one of feigned indignation.
With a scoff, he folded his arms, his voice dripping with false righteousness.
"Miss Gu Jin, I don’t know what you’re implying, but this hotel has a reputation to uphold," he said smoothly.
"If you dare to throw around baseless accusations, we will have no choice but to file a formal complaint against you for harassment."
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow, her amusement barely concealed.
She knew they were involved, but without concrete proof linking the hotel to the three individuals writhing on the floor, she had no leverage.
Her fingers idly tapped against the recorder in her hand as she contemplated her next move.
Just then, a deep, composed voice sliced through the tension.
"Since the hotel claims to be uninvolved, perhaps the front desk manager wouldn’t mind presenting the call records to confirm that you had warned the three individuals to lower the music?"
Gu Jin turned, her gaze narrowing as she laid eyes on Long Yifan.
Tall and dressed in his usual refined attire, Long Yifan carried himself with an air of effortless authority.
His eyes, sharp yet unreadable, met hers briefly before shifting back to the front desk manager.
The manager’s brows furrowed as he studied the newcomer. "And who might you be?" he asked, barely concealing his irritation.
"This is a private matter between the hotel and our guest. I suggest you mind your own business."
Long Yifan let out a light chuckle, unbothered by the man’s hostility.