The ambushers' attacks all missed. They could see Zhong Yun was at his limit, barely able to stand without swaying dangerously. Yet they remained extremely cautious - Qin's warriors were forged in real combat and knew better than to underestimate an opponent. After all, the man had personally devastated thirty of their fellow fighters with comparable skills.

They still failed as Zhong Yun vanished before their eyes like smoke.

"Y-You-you cheated?" Second Miss Qin's voice trembled with both fear and fury as she suddenly spoke from behind them. The five warriors spun around mid-fall only to find Zhong Yun standing tall beside the girl, the frail, battered image completely erased.

Now he looked a war-torn specter, eyes blazing with cold fury through bruised face. One hand gripped the white whip that once belonged to the girl, while the other held her shoulder as he dragged her toward the door.

"Remove your filthy hands!" one warrior suddenly lunged forward, his eyes bleeding red from rage. The four companions froze - their master's safety was paramount! But by then it was too late.

Zhong Yun flicked the whip with surgical precision, letting the weapon twist like a venomous serpent in midair. His anger left no room for restraint as the leather cracked against the man's shoulder blade.

The warrior reacted instinctively, somehow grasping the whipping tail from shadow itself. But this desperate move cost him - his palm burst open under the force, yet he refused to let go despite the spurting blood.

Zhong Yun narrowed his eyes at this unexpected resistance. Such skill shouldn't exist among these warriors unless... no matter. He didn't pause for reflections as he yanked back with a brutal twist while snapping out his right foot in a vicious kick that struck the man's lower abdomen.

A sickening sound of flesh tearing filled the air. The warrior was sent crashing into the wall, his hand still clamped around the whip which had now flayed away layers of skin and muscle, exposing gleaming bone beneath.

As he crumpled against the wall, Zhong Yun turned to face the remaining four. His eyes flashed with frosty menace that froze them all.

"Let me go!" Second Miss Qin suddenly realized her predicament and began struggling violently. Zhong Yun's gaze darkened as he raised the whip toward her arm...

The four warriors went berserk at this sight, their blood roaring in their ears as they charged forward to protect their master with dying breaths if need be.

Screaming like a banshee, Second Miss Qin screamed again when the whip cracked across her forearm. The refined silk of her sleeve tore away to reveal a purpling bruise blooming on porcelain skin.

Zhong Yun turned toward his final four attackers without hesitation. His eyes glittered with lethal coldness as he swung the whip in an arc that shattered into dozens of near-invisible strikes.

Four bodies arched through the air, each landing in separate convulsions as ribs snapped under the merciless assault.

With a dismissive flick, Zhong Yun released Second Miss Qin and reached into his chest armor to retrieve six egg-sized black spheres. He positioned them strategically on either side of the doorframe before speaking.

Second Miss Qin had always been doted upon since childhood - her unparalleled beauty made her the center of adoration in noble circles. No one dared raise their voice at her, let alone lay a hand. But now this single whip had shattered all she was.

As Zhong Yun turned away, rage and humiliation drove her to madness. She lunged with claw-like fingers toward his back...

Her attack didn't catch him by surprise. The whip snapped up like a living thing, biting into her arm. Instead of retreating, Second Miss Qin shrieked even louder as she launched herself at him.

Zhong Yun pivoted smoothly and let the whip rain down - two more purpling welts bloomed on thigh and abdomen. Still the girl didn't stop. He gave up on restraint entirely, each strike landing with calculated brutality though he carefully avoided bone damage.

The aristocratic princess had never known pain beyond a misplaced tea cup. Now her body bore a map of bruises as she finally collapsed in broken sobs against the floor.

"You'll die if you don't behave," Zhong Yun warned coldly after seeing her shivering form. The girl trembled at his words, her weeping growing fainter with each passing moment.

A strange sensation prickled behind Zhong Yun's ribs - a primal urge to crumple this woman in his hands. He forcefully suppressed it, the unexpected reaction unsettling him.

Of course he was angry - both at being tricked by Second Miss Qin and at himself for nearly falling prey to her. But even rage couldn't cloud his judgment now. Experience had taught him that survival demanded absolute composure.

Drawing another device from his armor, Zhong Yun activated it in the corner to block surveillance. He collected all particle guns into storage while dragging a chair beside the sobbing girl and settling down for wait.

The room soon filled with only distant groans from wounded warriors and muffled weeping - a silent prelude to whatever storm was coming next.