The smoke and dust gradually dispersed, revealing Wang Tianwu’s figure. When the surviving Wang Family guards saw his condition, their jaws dropped. They couldn’t believe the man standing before them was the same imposing Patriarch they knew.

His once-magnificent robes were now in tatters, and eighty percent of his body was covered in injuries from the Forbidden Artifact’s blast.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." Swaying on his feet, Wang Tianwu violently coughed up mouthfuls of blood before collapsing in front of everyone, unmoving.

Seeing Wang Tianwu collapse, Lin Yun finally allowed his taut nerves to relax. ’Although I didn’t manage to kill him, the blast left him half-dead.’

That was a Forbidden Artifact forged by an expert at the Late Stage of the Primordial Ocean Realm. ’If Wang Tianwu had been at the Eighth Layer of Qi Sea instead of the Ninth, he wouldn’t just be severely injured—he’d be dead.’

"Patriarch...!" With Wang Tianwu severely injured and unconscious, the Wang Family guards and Wang Yun’s group rushed forward.

Cradling his father, Wang Yun shot Lin Yun a look filled with venomous hatred. Beyond the hatred, however, regret was already beginning to stir in his heart.

He regretted provoking Lin Yun today. He had never expected that this guy would actually be carrying a Forbidden Artifact.

The Wang Family had suffered disastrous losses today. Not only were nine Qi Sea Realm guards dead, but even the Patriarch, Wang Tianwu, was severely injured and unconscious. If one hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, who would believe this was all the work of a Martial Artist at the Ninth Layer of Opening Realm?

No one dared to approach Lin Yun. He had even taken down Wang Tianwu. The remaining guards eyed Lin Yun as if he were a formidable enemy, forming a protective circle around Wang Yun, who was still holding his father, and his companions.

Just as both sides were on high alert, an aura even more terrifying than Wang Tianwu’s erupted from deep within the Wang Family estate. A gray-haired elder appeared above them, strolling through the air.

The elder surveyed the ruined Martial Arts Training Ground, then the bodies littering the ground. His gaze finally settled on Wang Tianwu—his son, who now cut a miserable figure, terribly wounded by the blast.

As he slowly descended, the elder’s face remained impassive. He addressed Lin Yun in a raspy voice, "Young man, you came to my Wang Family, slaughtered so many of my people, and gravely injured my son. You tell me, how should we settle this score?"

As an expert of the Primordial Ocean Realm, the elder was far more calculating than Wang Tianwu. He didn’t immediately resort to threats of violence. Instead, he tossed the problem back to Lin Yun.

To possess a Forbidden Artifact forged by an expert at the Late Stage of the Primordial Ocean Realm, Lin Yun couldn’t be someone without a powerful backer. The elder simply didn’t know who it was, and he intended to find out. If Lin Yun’s backing was insufficient to oppose the Wang Family, the elder would kill him without a second thought. But if his backer was overwhelmingly powerful, then the elder could only swallow his anger and let the matter go.

"Grandfather, you must kill this brat! Get justice for our Wang Family!" Wang Yun wailed at the elder’s back.

To see him act like this, one would think he was the one who had suffered some great injustice.

Since Wang Yun had called the elder "Grandfather," Lin Yun naturally figured out his identity. ’He must be the previous Patriarch of the Wang Family, and also their strongest expert. According to Wangcai, his grandfather is the only Primordial Ocean Realm expert in the entire Wang Family.’

"Shut up," the elder snapped, clearly irritated by Wang Yun’s wailing.

Wang Yun didn’t dare to be impudent in front of the elder. The man who had been wailing his heart out a moment ago instantly fell silent. Lin Yun secretly admired his acting.

"Young man, you still haven’t answered my question," the elder said, turning his gaze back to Lin Yun.

Lin Yun naturally had no desire to fight a Primordial Ocean Realm expert. ’The power gap is just too vast,’ he thought. ’It can’t be bridged with external items. Even if I had another of Zhong Lin’s Forbidden Artifacts, he’d kill me before I could even activate it.’

"Hmph. I killed your Wang Family members? I think you have it backward—your family tried to kill me! I haven’t even..." Lin Yun deliberately put on an air of arrogance. ’This is no time to be a coward,’ he thought. ’I have to keep the upper hand.’

Before Lin Yun could finish, Wangcai and a middle-aged man rushed in. The first thing Wangcai saw was Lin Yun, who was covered in blood.

Then his eyes fell on the bodies littering the ground and the severely injured, unconscious Wang Tianwu. Wangcai froze on the spot. He had no idea how Lin Yun had done all this, but that wasn’t important. Lin Yun’s Combat Power had shattered his understanding of what was possible.

’Someone at the Ninth Layer of Opening Realm... capable of all this? Are all the students in the Academy’s Genius Class this monstrous?’ A series of questions flooded Wangcai’s mind.

The middle-aged man next to Wangcai composed himself much faster. After a brief, curious glance at Lin Yun, he approached the elder and said, "Father."

"Father, this person is Wangcai’s friend..." he explained to the elder. Hearing that Lin Yun was Wangcai’s friend, the elder called him over.

"He’s your friend?"

"Grandfather, there must be more to this situation! And besides, Lin Yun is a student in the Genius Class at Yanhuang Academy. His teacher is Vice-Dean Zhong Lin!" Knowing how serious this was, Wangcai revealed Lin Yun’s identity without hesitation.

At this moment, Lin Yun’s identity was the only thing that could save his life. In Yanhuang Country, even the Royal Family had to give face to Zhong Lin, let alone the Wang Family.

Sure enough, the elder’s expression flickered when he learned Lin Yun’s identity. ’A student from the Academy’s Genius Class, a disciple of Zhong Lin...’ he thought. ’This complicates things. If Zhong Lin were to learn that his disciple died at the hands of the Wang Family, it would be impossible to explain.’

Lin Yun, who had been observing the elder’s every move, saw the slight change in his expression and chose that moment to speak.

"I only came here today to see Wangcai. Who knew Wang Yun would set a trap to ambush and kill me? Your Wang Family is really something, attacking me without bothering to distinguish right from wrong. In the end, even your Patriarch, Wang Tianwu, tried to kill me. If not for my teacher’s Forbidden Artifact, I would already be dead. So now I’d like to ask *you*, what does the Wang Family have to say about this?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Hearing this, the elder gave Lin Yun a strange look. ’He can’t be more than twenty-five years old,’ he mused, ’yet he has such a formidable Mental Realm, remaining composed even in my presence.’ The elder couldn’t help but see Lin Yun in a new, more respectful light.

An ordinary person in this situation would have panicked, but Lin Yun kept a firm grip on the initiative.

The elder considered for a moment. Wang Tianwu wasn’t dead, merely severely injured. With some healing medicine and a period of rest, he would likely be fine.

It clearly wasn’t worth offending one of Zhong Lin’s students over a few Qi Sea Realm guards. At last, the elder made his decision.

His gaze toward Lin Yun softened slightly. "Since this was a misunderstanding, let’s let it be," the elder said. "The Wang Family is not unreasonable. This matter ends today. In the future, my family will absolutely not trouble you again."