Austin’s full-throated shout reverberated through the entire courtyard, silencing every word spoken; everyone present seemed utterly stunned, their minds unable to process the scene.

The Third Prince of the Finlay Empire, here to offer aid personally...

just who exactly was this Lord Chen Feng? When they followed Austin’s gaze and saw the red-haired youth standing there, sword drawn and holding their Clan Leader hostage, every single person felt an overwhelming impulse to end their own lives.

To command such concern from the Third Prince, and yet their own Clan Leader had plotted to kill him—what sort of reckless idiocy was that? “You… he…” Harry stared at Chen Feng, then glanced back at Austin, his voice choked with tension.

He managed only those two words before falling silent.

Even with his intelligence, he knew today’s affair could not end amicably.

A sudden flicker of resolve hardened his previously fearful expression, a savage glint flashing in his eyes as he muttered a series of obscure, incomprehensible incantations under his breath—though Chen Feng, focused entirely on Austin, failed to notice.

Chen Feng turned to the momentarily dazed Uncle Wen and commanded, “Uncle Wen, go over to Austin’s side.” Uncle Wen first saw Chen Feng holding Harry, the foremost expert of Dragon Mountain Town, captive, and then witnessed the Empire’s Royal Highness personally leading troops to safeguard his Fifth Young Master.

The sheer speed of these developments left him feeling as though he were caught in a dream.

He nodded instinctively, rising with a panicked uncertainty, stumbling awkwardly toward the legion’s position.

“Take care of Uncle Wen.

I will resolve my own issues!” Chen Feng called out to Austin.

Austin knew Chen Feng’s temperament.

Without a word, he merely dispatched two soldiers to support and escort Uncle Wen away.

Chen Feng scanned the surrounding crowd, and suddenly, a commotion erupted near the center.

A voice pierced the air from behind the lines of soldiers.

“I need to get in… I must get in…” Upon hearing the voice, Chen Feng’s face immediately darkened to the color of still water.

“Austin, let her in!” Hearing Chen Feng’s command, the troops automatically parted, creating a clear pathway.

A young woman rushed through in a state of utter disarray.

“Chen Feng, it wasn’t intentional! I truly didn’t know I was being followed…” Philia rushed over, saw Chen Feng’s cold demeanor, and two clear streams of tears traced paths down her pale face as she urgently tried to explain.

“Do you think I care for your explanation?” Chen Feng spoke coldly.

Hearing this, Philia collapsed like a deflated balloon, slumping onto the ground less than three meters from Chen Feng.

“Just kill me!” Philia’s voice was filled with profound despair.

“I know whatever I say now, you won’t believe me.

I have hurt you time and time again!” Chen Feng remained silent, staring at her with icy intensity.

Veins bulged in his right hand, and a core of hatred churned within him.

Ever since he was expelled by his family a year ago, Chen Feng had harbored a deep loathing for this woman, which was why he had insisted on killing her in front of Long Qi.

Yet, today, by hesitating at the inn, he had almost caused Uncle Wen’s death.

Being deceived by the same woman twice in rapid succession was an offense that even the most patient man could not tolerate.

Philia seemed to comprehend the depth of Chen Feng’s rage.

With an expression of utter desolation, she turned and knelt before Clan Leader Harry.

“Clan Leader Harry, I am about to die.

I beg you, after I am gone, please spare my father.” “Clan Leader Feng Xi isn’t dead?” Hadn't the entire Bart family been annihilated? How could Clan Leader Feng Xi still be alive? The question flashed through his mind, and Chen Feng instantly understood.

The Bart family controlled numerous assets; without the Clan Leader’s consent, how could those properties have been transferred? To secure the Bart family’s assets, the Leof family had devised this elaborate, multi-layered scheme: capture Clan Leader Feng Xi, then use him to coerce Philia into marrying Gubo, while simultaneously using Philia to control Feng Xi—truly a method to kill two birds with one stone.

However, none of these machinations mattered to Chen Feng.

Regardless of who Philia betrayed him for, he would treat her as an enemy and dispatch her without mercy! Seeing that Harry offered no reply, Philia persisted, “I beg you, spare my father!” As she spoke, she looked up toward Harry.

Harry’s eyes held a strange look.

He suddenly roared, “Ancient Ancestor, your descendant Harry calls upon you!” As he finished, two streams of black blood flowed from his eyes, and he coughed up a mouthful of crimson fluid.

The blood spewed forth instantly forming a Blood Pact, and the infinite magical elements of heaven and earth surged wildly above them the moment the pact coalesced.

“Hah! You arrive just in time!” A great shout echoed from the distance, its resonant volume making the very ground hum.

“A Magister-level expert!” Chen Feng’s face drastically changed upon hearing the voice.

Chen Feng had encountered more than one powerhouse at the Magister level, so judging by the powerful auras radiating from afar, he could accurately determine the opponent's rank.

The magical elements gathered densely in the air, appearing to coalesce into a colossal magic teleportation array.

It seemed the Leof family had constructed such a massive formation in the sky, one that required the blood of a Leof descendant to activate.

The Magister-level expert who had shouted moments before flashed into existence at the edge of the teleportation array, observing the magical fluctuations within with a faint smile.

“Master…” Seeing the powerful figure hovering above, all the Mages on the ground bowed deeply, greeting him in unison.

“The Butler Robin who was just killed… he was this man’s servant?” Chen Feng’s expression grew dreadfully ugly.

Once a cultivator reaches the Magister level, they manifest a unique domain where they are virtually invincible.

Even with the (Myriad Feather Sword) in hand, Chen Feng knew he would be no match for such a person in that space.

Chen Feng had learned all this during his two months of reading in the Loci Empire, which was why seeing a Magister-level powerhouse immediately made him uneasy.

“Be careful…” Just as his face shifting between gloom and uncertainty as he considered whether this Magister would cause him trouble, an anxious gasp sounded next to his ear.

Immediately following was a sickening thwack—the sound of a blade sinking into flesh.

Philia had thrown herself directly in front of him, a short dagger plunged deep into her chest.

Harry stood there, clutching the hilt of the dagger, his face contorted with venomous hatred.

“Die!” Chen Feng roared, bringing the straight down in a cleaving strike that instantly decapitated Clan Leader Harry.

Chen Feng stared at the dagger lodged squarely in Philia’s chest.

A subtle change crept into his cold eyes.

This was a magical artifact, a bloodthirsty magical dagger.

Even with his current Immortal Body of the Divine Race, the speed of his physical recovery at his current cultivation level meant being stabbed in a vital spot would leave him certainly doomed.

“Philia…” Chen Feng cried out.

In that instant of disorientation, all past grievances seemed to vanish with that single shout.

Seeing Chen Feng’s reaction, Philia knew he had forgiven her.

Her voice trembled as she whispered, “I… I am just a… woman… a weak… indecisive… woman…” With that, she tilted her head, and her breathing ceased.

“Just a weak, indecisive woman? Hah… a woman without her own will…” Chen Feng suddenly burst into loud, harsh laughter, a sound so wild yet so utterly heartbroken.

Yes, Philia was merely a woman.

The first time she had betrayed him, she had been forced by others.

The second time, attempting to deliver a vital message, she risked escaping the Leof family only to be manipulated again.

But that underlying intention was always good.

And what did this goodwill earn her? His misunderstanding.

Wouldn't that make Philia even more tragically wronged? Her entire clan slaughtered in a single day, and she herself coerced, threatened with her father’s life, into marrying her sworn enemy—was this the fate of a woman? Just a weak, indecisive woman… True, because she was weak, she lived constantly under the thumb of others, always struggling against her own conscience.

Perhaps the guilt she felt after framing Chen Feng the first time was even more severe! Philia had managed to become friends with Chen Feng when he was still called the ‘Idiot’—this demonstrated her inherent kindness.

Yet, it was precisely this kindness that allowed others to use her repeatedly, to hurt her again and again.

In his daze, Chen Feng suddenly recalled the ashen look on Philia’s face when he was wrongfully accused, and the unshed tears shimmering in her eyes.

How does one choose between a blood brother and a friend labeled an ‘Idiot’? Anyone with a conscience would choose the former; blood is thicker than water, and that is no fault of hers.

“You are not a weak, indecisive woman.

On the contrary, you are a woman who dares to act and takes responsibility for her deeds.

You are the bravest woman I have seen in this entire year!” Chen Feng said, holding the now-stiffening Philia, his words devoid of coldness, carrying only affirmation.

Because of her weakness, she possessed strength; because she feared others would suffer harm, she bore all the pain herself.

As Chen Feng finished speaking, the muscles in his body expanded rapidly, and his dark pupils instantly shifted to a pale white.

In his grief, he had gone into a berserk rage without even using the ‘Rage Potion’! ……………………………………………………………………………… The magic array in the sky had fully formed, and a wave of immense energy radiated from it as a long-robed Mage stepped out from the formation.

This Mage walked through the air as if on solid ground; the elements of heaven and earth remained utterly undisturbed, as though an invisible energy platform was supporting him.

“Douglas, it’s been three hundred years, and you haven’t changed a bit!” the first Magister expert who had arrived laughed heartily.

The expert who emerged from the magic array, Douglas, glanced at the Magister and smiled.

“Alsius, it seems you haven’t changed either!” “I heard you found something, which is why I sent my subordinate to assist.

I did not expect my butler to die here.

How do you plan to compensate me?” Alsius said with a smile, though to him, the death of a Seventh-Rank Magister was hardly significant.

“My descendant urgently summoned me, not hesitating to use a Life Blood Pact.

Let me first see what has transpired!” Douglas finished speaking and looked down toward the ground, spotting Clan Leader Harry, whose head Chen Feng had cleaved off with his sword.

“You killed my descendant?” Douglas’s eyes narrowed with ill intent as he glared down at the now-rampageous Chen Feng.

“Kill yourself.

If you do, I will grant you an intact corpse!” ………………Free Content Below……………… ps:: I am very satisfied with this chapter; it was long in the making.

Philia has finally died.

Was it right or was it wrong? It is impossible to judge, but I know she was a pitiful soul.

When writing this chapter, just like when writing Xiao Hu’s death, I wept, because I felt Philia’s helplessness and sorrow.

That is why her final words were not “I was wrong” or “I am sorry,” but “I am just a weak, indecisive woman.” Philia was a tragic figure; her fate was sealed the moment she appeared.

Her death causes me pain.

The first time she was forced to frame Chen Feng, she had no choice.

The second time, being exploited by others was clearly not her fault.

However, no matter what, she made a mistake: she should never have been so weak, always prioritizing others’ needs over her own… Alas, life is full of disappointments.

That’s all for today, over 9000 characters.

Don’t wait up; read it tomorrow morning.

The next chapter will be tricky to handle, so the update will still be around 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM.

My apologies… (To be continued.

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