Chapter Eighteen: Temporary Calm
"Boom."
The three fiercely collided in mid-air. The scarlet fire eagle was instantly defeated, transforming into a red aura that continued to surge towards the cyan giant wolf and blue long sword with undiminished momentum. The force of the impact caused the cyan giant wave and blue long sword to also quickly dissipate, reverting back into cyan and blue auras.
A cluster of three-colored lights converged in the middle and fiercely clashed with each other.
"Boom."
The three-colored light ball finally exploded violently after a brief stalemate. The force of the explosion directly impacted the bluestone slab located right below it. As the cracking sound grew louder, cracks like spider webs appeared on the rigid bluestone slab. With the continuous impact, the cracking sound also grew louder, and soon a circular pit several feet in diameter appeared before everyone's eyes.
A visible wave of dark energy burst forth from the point of impact, carrying with it a turbulent gust of wind that rippled out in all directions.
The gust of wind that rose was already blowing people's faces sore, let alone the impact wave contained a huge force.
"Fall back."
Qin Feng exerted his full strength in operating the technique, covering his body with a layer of mysterious energy to form a protective barrier while letting out a loud roar towards Qin Hao and others.
At this point, Lin Zhanbei and Lan Yi also made the same action without prior agreement.
Nearly a hundred people on the scene simultaneously activated their Xuan Qi, rapidly dispersing to the edges. The shockwave was so formidable that if one were to be hit head-on, they would either die or have their skin scorched off.
Just as the scene on stage was somewhat chaotic, a loud and clear voice floated in. The sound of energy raging, the howling wind, seemed to be suppressed by that voice in an instant.
"How many household heads are so interested in honing their martial skills here?" A playful and relaxed voice rang out, followed by a handsome man with a composed demeanor walking over from outside the arena.
As the rhythmic footsteps approached, the shockwave that had spread out seemed to have hit an invisible wall. At first, it came to a sudden stop, and then contracted back inwards with the same rhythm, quickly shrinking into a small point before disappearing.
"What's going on?"
Qin Hao's pupils suddenly contracted as he stared at the calm and collected Ji Fan, his curiosity and shock growing even more intense. It seemed that Old Man Chen and the people in his household were even more mysterious than he had imagined.
Almost a hundred pairs of eyes in the field stared at him, and he walked straight to the middle of Qin Feng and Lin Zhanbei, smiling and saying: "Qin Patriarch, what's going on today? I remember that the family competition is still more than a month away, how can't you wait so soon?"
Qin Feng nodded at Ji Fan and said lightly: "The two masters of the Lin and Lan families want to give me some advice, such kindness, I naturally accept with pleasure."
"Oh, I see." Ji Fang nodded thoughtfully and smiled: "Martial arts competitions are not bad, but it's best to avoid having them here. There are too many people around, and the impact is too great."
Qin Feng smiled at Ji Fan, then looked towards Lin Zhanbei, his expression changed, and he said in a cold tone: "It shouldn't happen again in the future. The master of the Lin family won't have such leisure time again, right?"
Ji Fan and Qin Feng were chatting, when Lin Zhanbei, who had been ignored, suddenly interjected with an unusually ugly expression: "Ji Fan, it seems that Old Man Chen didn't prohibit competing in the square either."
Lan Yi's expression also turned slightly unpleasant. Apparently, Ji Fan's neglect of him still left some resentment in his heart.
"Head of the Lin family." Ji Fan turned to Lin Zhanbei and said, "Although Old Man Chen didn't say it explicitly, but not far from here is Tian Nan Fang. Trying to influence things here isn't very good. After all, Tian Nan Fang also belongs to Old Man Chen, I suppose the master of the Lin family wouldn't want to see Old Man Chen unhappy either."
As soon as these words came out, Lin Zhanbei's face was still ugly, but he couldn't say anything. He turned his head to look at Lin Bi, who was being supported by someone, with a pale face and blood flowing from his nose and mouth. In a stiff tone, he said: "In that case, I won't say much either. However, your son's move is so ruthless, shouldn't you give an explanation?"
"Explain?" Qin Feng let out a cold snort: "Of course, I want an explanation. No matter what, Lin family's master spent his energy to teach my son a lesson today, this kindness Qin Feng will remember."
Lin Zhan's eyes swept over Qin Hao, a cold hum, and then he turned around and left. The Lin family children and the Lin family guards also followed him out in a swarm.
Lan Yi no longer lingered and bowed slightly towards Ji Fan before leading all the Lan family members present to leave.
"Ji Fan, today, thank you." Qin Feng said sincerely as the two families left.
"No need to be polite, Patriarch Qin. Besides, even if I weren't here today, I'm sure you would have found a way to handle it." As he spoke, Ji Fan gazed at Qin Hao with a hint of a smile: "I think you should have more important things to attend to now, Patriarch Qin. I won't keep you any longer, so I'll take my leave and head back to Tian Nan Fang first."
After finishing speaking, Ji Fan also left the square without stopping his footsteps.
Qin Feng came to his senses and turned around, first walking over to Qin Yuxian to check on her injuries. After repeatedly checking several times, he confirmed that she had only suffered minor injuries, and his face relaxed slightly.
Qin Feng sternly asked Qin Shan, "Qin Shan, what's going on here?"
His words were directed at Qin Shan, but his inquiring gaze seemed to be wandering around Qin Hao's body.
Qin Hao's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly felt that his crisis was far from over. Although he had not disgraced the Qin family today, he had also revealed his true strength, and now his father should have become suspicious of him.
"It seems like I need to find an excuse to get through this." Qin Hao thought to himself while constantly thinking of a solution.
"Great Uncle." Qin Shan recounted the events from start to finish once again: "Today we were watching the martial artists competing in Tian Nan Fang, and when we came out, we ran into the Lin family..."
Qin Feng furrowed his brow after understanding the whole situation and said, "So, it seems that your actions weren't wrong, but what's strange is that Lin Bi seemed to be much stronger than a normal cultivator of the tenth level of the Condensing Void Realm. This is odd, as Lin Bi isn't usually someone who diligently practices martial arts or makes great progress."
Qin Feng stroked his chin, his eyes scanning the faces of the Qin family's younger generation before shaking his head and saying with a heavy heart: "You're all just too disappointing, even though you had the advantage of numbers, you shouldn't have been beaten so badly, it's really not worthy of our family."
The Qin family's sons and younger brothers all lowered their heads, looking ashamed.
"There's no need to be discouraged, just go back for now. We'll intensify our training later." Qin Feng said as he took a step forward.
Qin Hao let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that his father's attention had been diverted by Lin Bi, which meant he might have escaped this round?
Qin Hao followed slowly behind Qin Shan with a somewhat relieved expression, as the crowd moved towards the outside of the square.
It seemed that his luck wouldn't last long, as he walked out of the square, Qin Feng suddenly stopped in his tracks and gazed at Qin Hao with a serious expression: "Qin Hao, after you return, come to the council hall. You need to explain your cultivation method problem and how you suddenly advanced to the tenth level of Condensing Mystery."
Qin Hao's face turned sour and he replied with great helplessness: "Yes."
