"It’s... it’s over?"
The group, including Chang Fei, waiting in the hall noticed the sounds of battle gradually fading and the surroundings sinking into a deathly silence.
"It... it seems so."
Someone swallowed hard.
"Does that mean we... we won?"
"It should be, right? I heard them screaming and begging for mercy. If we had lost, that wouldn’t have happened."
"Yeah, we should have won?"
For a moment, the hearts of the group were filled with both anticipation and anxiety.
What if it was just their illusion?
The opponents came in great numbers, with masters aplenty. Chen Fan was strong, but could one person fend off so many?
"I’ll go out and take a look."
Chang Fei hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
"I’ll go with you."
Shen Si quickly responded.
"I’ll go too."
"Why don’t we all go out and take a look together? At worst, we’ll die. What’s there to be scared of?"
The others chimed in one after another.
After all, daring to stay here today, they were already prepared to die. If not for their worry that going out might instead become a burden, they would have stepped out long ago.
"Alright, let’s go out together."
Chang Fei nodded.
Taking a deep breath, he led the way towards the hall’s exit.
If Chen Fan had won, it would be a joyous occasion, and their lives would be temporarily spared.
If Chen Fan had lost, then it couldn’t be helped.
Before stepping out, a figure appeared in front of the group.
"President!"
"President!"
The group stopped in their tracks, overjoyed.
The newcomer was Shi Tao.
His unharmed appearance here was enough to indicate the outcome.
"President, are you alright?"
Chang Fei hurriedly stepped forward, continuously scanning Shi Tao with his gaze.
The others also inquired eagerly.
"I’m fine."
Shi Tao forced a bitter smile. Despite surviving, there was little joy on his face.
The group exchanged glances.
"President, where is Brother Chen?"
Chang Fei looked outside but saw no trace of Chen Fan.
Undoubtedly, the greatest hero of this battle was Chen Fan.
Yet he hadn’t appeared with the President. Had something happened to him? Or?
"Chen Fan... he left."
"What? He left?"
Immediately, their faces changed drastically.
"How could this be?"
Shen Si seemed to age ten years in an instant.
"Don’t overthink." Shi Tao laughed bitterly, "It’s exactly as it sounds—he left."
The group looked at each other, feeling awkward.
"I know you’re all worried, overthinking is normal."
Shi Tao glanced outside, noticing many eyes watching them.
"This isn’t the place to talk, let’s go inside."
"Alright."
The group nodded repeatedly, following Shi Tao indoors.
Outside, many eyes finally withdrew.
Voices began to discuss everywhere.
"Who’d have thought the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association had such a powerful figure in residence? Luckily, we didn’t push them when they were down those two days, or offending such a master would leave the whole family in unrest."
"Indeed, over ten Celestial Realm martial artists, including mid-stage masters like the Liu Family Ancestor, the Bai Family Ancestor, were defeated in less than half a minute by that kid. The two Song Family Ancestors were directly crushed, completely overwhelmed."
"Sword Qi Domain—is that really a technique Celestial Realm martial artists can employ?"
"Hmph, even so, he killed Feng Country people and even had the guts to kill Elder Council members. I bet this news will reach the high ranks of the Elder Council in less than ten minutes, then that kid will face their relentless pursuit!"
"Hard to say, his strength is unfathomable, only Divine Cultivation Realm experts can challenge him. Do you think the Elder Council can convince their families’ Divine Cultivation Realm patriarchs to fight that kid to the death?"
The surrounding discussions quieted.
Indeed.
That kid named Chen Fan had already proven his strength.
Mid-stage Celestial Realm martial artists stood no chance against him.
Even the Elder Council would find such a foe troublesome.
Inside the Jiangnan Martial Arts Association meeting room, after Shi Tao’s account, everyone present was stunned.
They had thought Chen Fan must have struggled mightily, narrowly winning amidst danger.
But according to the president, it was a complete and overwhelming victory.
In the end, over ten Revival Association strongmen fled in retreat without a fight.
This... this...
They couldn’t believe it.
"Don’t look at me like that."
Shi Tao glanced at them and exhaled, "I’m just as shocked as you. I haven’t recovered yet."
He had received a call from Elder Wang earlier.
The latter informed him that Chen Fan had broken through to the Celestial Realm.
Shi Tao had prepared himself mentally, filled with anticipation.
But he never imagined that Chen Fan, newly ascended to the Celestial Realm, would wield such immense combat power.
It’s likely that even late-stage Celestial Human Realm martial artists would face certain death.
And him, also just breaking through to the Celestial Realm...
Comparisons really are harsh.
"Anyhow, we managed to escape calamity today." Chang Fei laughed heartily.
The others forced smiles. Sharp-eyed individuals could see their laughter was strained.
Because they all knew this event couldn’t possibly end here.