"Zhao family troops!"
His voice echoed across the courtyard.
"Withdraw!"
The soldiers hesitated for a moment before immediately responding.
"Retreat!"
The formation lights gradually dimmed.
And the soldiers fell to the ground one after another, their bodies shriveled, their faces sinking with bones, all the armor now oversized on the sickly bodies of the men.
The injured Zhao family elders descended to the ground one by one, their bodies slightly sunken, their breath disorderly, their cultivation unstable, giving the impression of regression—one moment at the first level of Grandmaster, the next falling to the 9th level Martial Master. Although their situation was better than the Zhao family soldiers, it was much better.
Hearing Zhao Chen's command to retreat, it was like being granted divine amnesty. The soldiers labored to stand up with the help of their spears.
Many soldiers supported the wounded as they began withdrawing from the Lin family estate with dejected expressions of defeat.
Before leaving, Zhao Chen cast one final cold glance at the Pavilion Master… and then at Lin Feng.
His eyes were filled with killing intent.
But he said nothing.
Soon, the Zhao family forces disappeared into the distance.
The once chaotic courtyard slowly fell silent.
Only broken buildings, scattered rubble, and bloodstains remained to show how fierce the battle had been.
Many spectators were still in shock.
"Did… did the Zhao family really retreat?"
"That Pavilion Master is terrifying…"
"She defeated them alone…"
"Very strong. Despite all formations and reinforcements, they were still defeated by her…"
Many were still dumbfounded by how things developed. It was clear that despite the deaths of many and the destruction of property, this event would remain a discussion among the people of Qinghe City for a long time. The Martial Pavilion had always been feared due to its mysterious nature, not so much for its strength—but after today's dominant display of strength, that perception changed instantly.
Even Lin Mu stared at the sky with deep respect.
Lin Feng, however, was staring at the Pavilion Master.
His eyes flickered with a little bit of jealousy and yearning.
At this moment—
The Pavilion Master slowly descended from the sky.
Her crimson dress fluttered lightly as she landed gracefully on the ground.
She did not look at anyone else.
Instead—
Her beautiful eyes behind the veil settled directly on Lin Feng.
For several seconds, she simply observed him quietly.
Then the corners of her eyes curved faintly.
"Interesting…"
She murmured softly.
"Lin Feng… it seems Qinghe City is about to become much more lively because of you."
Lin Feng felt a strange chill run down his spine at her gaze.
It was as if this mysterious woman was trying to see through all of his secrets.
"Truly interesting…" she said.
Before he could speak—
She turned around.
"Let's go," she said to the Martial Pavilion guards.
The group began walking away.
But just as she reached the entrance—
She suddenly stopped.
Without turning around, she looked at him again, but this time the look in her eyes was no longer teasing or playful, but extremely solemn. She spoke again, but this time she used voice transmission directly into Lin Feng's ear.
"Lin Feng."
Her voice was calm.
"If you don't want to die early…"
"You should hurry up and improve your strength."
"The Zhao family patriarch is known to be very narrow-minded and protective of his shortcomings. I have embarrassed them today; he will definitely seek revenge, but cannot afford to offend me. So they will definitely find you to settle accounts."
Hearing her voice in his head, Lin Feng was first stunned. Then he remembered that Grandmasters can project their Qi outwards, which also includes condensing Qi into sound and sending out secret messages. Then he calmed down. Upon hearing her advice, he nodded seriously while clenching his fists.
"Oh, and one last thing—I suspect the Zhao family head has already broken through to the Martial Spirit Realm."
'What!' Lin Feng screamed inside of himself, with the color that had just returned to his face draining once more.
After saying that, she continued walking away regardless of his reaction.
Her figure gradually disappeared from the ruined courtyard.
Leaving behind a stunned crowd…
"Hey, do you think the Pavilion Master knows Lin Feng?"
"How is that possible?"
"Then how do you explain her taking action for him, the friendly exchange of words, or the secret message they just exchanged?"
"This… I don't know, but as you say it, I think it's possible."
Everyone then turned to look at the completely silent Lin Feng, who was lost in his own thoughts.
Inside his mind, one thought slowly surfaced.
'Just what kind of woman… did I just encounter?'
Seeing everyone staring at Lin Feng as if they wanted to capture him and pry out information from him, Lin Mu, who had since recovered most of his abilities, stepped in front of him.
"Everyone, the show is over. Forgive this old man for not hosting you—please go back."
He said, then turned to the Alchemist Association search party.
"Are your excellencies, Alchemist Masters, also here to search my Lin family for a treasure?" he said, his voice dripping with coldness and a hint of threat.
Hearing the cold tone, the leader of the group hurriedly waved his hands back and forth, denying it.
"No, no, no! Third Elder Mu is misunderstanding us. Our master simply sent us to check on the situation, which is when we saw the Zhao family, and we decided to follow them. We are here by accident," the man hurriedly explained while sweating profusely.
"Hmm, it seems I have misunderstood. Since it has been verified, you can go and report back to the Branch Master."
He looked at them, then at the rest of the spectators.
Everyone understood that this was Lin Mu ordering the eviction of guests. They collectively bowed slightly and began to disperse to their various destinations.