Cao Kefei grabbed Liu Fei'er and tried to bolt toward the entrance, but the doorway was already completely choked off. Cao Kefei looked out and saw a crowd so dense it was a veritable sea of people—nowhere to run, nowhere to hide!

Cao Kefei turned to Li Yundong with a wry smile. "I'm sorry, I’ve caused you trouble! What do we do now? Should we call the police?"

Li Yundong smiled faintly. "No need. I’ll handle it." With that, he leisurely stepped to the doorway, spreading his arms wide to block the entrance.

Liu Fei'er, her face pale, watched Li Yundong’s silhouette and whispered to Cao Kefei, "Sister Cao, what is he trying to do?"

Cao Kefei shook her head, completely bewildered. "I don't know."

She glanced around and saw that Su Chan, Zhou Qin, and the others had already clamped their hands over their ears. Zhou Qin was actively gesturing and talking to Feng Na and Cheng Cheng, urging them to cover their ears as well.

Though they didn't know why, Feng Na, Cheng Cheng, and the other students followed the lead of the stunning beauties of Huxian Sect, mimicking them by covering their own ears.

"What is going on?" Liu Fei'er asked, confused.

Su Chan kindly advised the two of them, "Hurry up and cover your ears, or you might go deaf in a moment!"

Cao Kefei instantly recalled the deafening roar Li Yundong had let out when dealing with thugs previously, and she quickly covered her ears.

Liu Fei'er, however, gave a strange look. "Is he trying to subdue them with a shout? Is he insane?" She pointed at the frenzied, excited crowd outside and yelled, "What good will that do? Can one man's voice possibly overpower this many people?"

As she spoke, she turned back to scold Cao Kefei, "Sister Cao, you’ve praised this man to the heavens, saying he’s as tall as the sky is high! Whether he’s tall or not, I don’t know, but I think he’s missing a screw in his head!"

The moment her words fell, Li Yundong suddenly formed a hand seal and uttered a low, resonant True Word: "Om!!"

The Great Seal of the True Word not only struck opponents with its majestic, surging hand gesture, but the True Word it expelled carried an intense power of deterrence and lethality. If shouted in a high, piercing tone, it could even instantly rupture a person’s liver and gall.

To avoid harming these people, Li Yundong intentionally lowered his pitch, making his voice sound deep and sonorous.

The fans crowding before him felt as though they had been suddenly enclosed within an enormous bronze bell, which someone then struck hard. In an instant, their blood and qi churned violently, their minds filled with a deafening hum. They immediately winced, clapped their hands over their ears, and stopped their forward surge!

Cao Kefei, having experienced the near-heart-attack sensation from Li Yundong's last shout, had covered her ears early on.

Liu Fei'er wasn't fast enough. She cried out in alarm. Although she took the brunt of the True Word's impact, it felt as if her chest had been punched by a massive fist, and someone had violently jabbed a chopstick into her ear.

Liu Fei'er quickly covered her ears by instinct, but all she heard was a buzzing roar. She looked at Cao Kefei, who was watching her with concern, her mouth moving as if speaking, yet Liu Fei'er couldn't decipher a single word.

Li Yundong immediately followed with a second True Word: "Ba!"

This utterance sounded like the simultaneous tolling of countless massive temple bells. The sound was rich and long-lasting; though not piercing, it was so powerful it made everyone’s chest feel constricted, threatening nausea. Some people near the front cried out in pain, "Stop shouting! Stop shouting!"

Liu Fei'er, whose chest had been churning from the first shockwave, was now slammed by this second one. She curled slightly inward, her brow tightly furrowed in distress.

Clutching her ears desperately, she screamed, "Stop shouting!"

But her voice, the moment it left her throat, was instantly drowned out by Li Yundong's sound, just like a single wave in a tidal surge, vanishing without a trace.

Liu Fei'er soon felt like she couldn't catch her breath. As she struggled painfully, a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder. The moment the hand touched her, Liu Fei'er felt her breathing normalize, and the suffocating pain in her chest vanished.

She turned in astonishment to see the ethereal and graceful Ziyuan beside her, smiling gently. "Are you alright?"

Liu Fei'er involuntarily shouted back, "I'm fine!" But she couldn't even hear herself speak. A shock went through her as she thought: That’s strange, why can I hear her, but not myself? This lady hasn't covered her ears either—isn't she afraid of this deafening sound?

Liu Fei'er finally realized there was something deeply peculiar about these people around her. She turned her gaze toward Li Yundong with surprise, murmuring to herself: This guy really seems quite magical, doesn't he?

A moment later, Li Yundong finished the second syllable. As he opened his mouth to utter the third, the people at the doorway, whose legs were already weak from the first two sounds, saw his intent and were instantly terrified. They began trembling uncontrollably, wetting themselves, and scattering in panic in all directions.

Seeing the crowd dispersed, Li Yundong smiled slightly, turned back, and said with a smile to Liu Fei'er, who was still clutching her ears, "They’re gone."

Liu Fei'er stared at him, momentarily speechless.

Zhao Yougen, standing outside covering his ears, also stared blankly at Li Yundong’s retreating back. The humming of the True Word still echoed in his mind. He looked left and right, noticing that the street, which had just moments ago been packed shoulder-to-shoulder, was now utterly empty.

Some of the patrons in Zhao Yougen's teahouse, seated near the windows, pointed and whispered amongst themselves as they looked toward Li Yundong's establishment.

Zhao Yougen hadn't quite recovered when a woman in a qipao emerged from the back of his shop and whispered a few words in his ear. Zhao Yougen mumbled an assent twice and said, "I’ll be right back, right back."

Just as he was about to turn, a policeman in uniform approached, pointing at the Lamborghini parked at the entrance. He shouted, "Whose car is this! Move it immediately!"

Seeing this, Cao Kefei called out loudly, "It’s mine, I’ll move it right away!" She then turned to Li Yundong and asked, "Where’s the parking lot?"

Li Yundong spread his hands in a wry smile. "How would I know? As someone who doesn't own a car, why would I care about such things?"

Zhou Qin, standing nearby, chuckled softly. "Ms. Cao, let me park that for you."

Cao Kefei was delighted. She tossed the car keys to her, laughing, "Thank you so much!"

Zhou Qin got into the car and started the engine, but Cao Kefei suddenly remembered something and quickly called out, "Wait!"

Zhou Qin turned back, puzzled, just as Cao Kefei rushed to the car door, retrieved a gift box from the back seat, and held it out with both hands, smiling at Zhou Qin. "I forgot to take the gift."

Zhou Qin smiled faintly, started the car, and drove away.

The police officer nearby stared wide-eyed at the number of beautiful women inside Li Yundong’s shop. He thought to himself: Good heavens, what kind of background does this man have? This turnout is insane!

Cao Kefei presented the wrapped gift box to Li Yundong with both hands, smiling. "A small token of my esteem, not nearly enough, but please accept it, CEO Li!"

Li Yundong chuckled. "Ms. Cao, please don't make fun of me!" He took the box, then casually passed it to Su Chan. Su Chan accepted it with beaming delight and immediately ran off with the little foxes to excitedly guess and bet on what was inside.

Though Cao Kefei had a great deal she wanted to say to Li Yundong, she saw the crowd inside the shop growing larger, making conversation difficult. She forcefully suppressed her feelings, smiled, clasped her hands together, and said, "Wishing you booming business and grand success in the future!"

Li Yundong laughed heartily. "Same to you, same to you!"

The arrival of Cao Kefei and Liu Fei'er finally gave Li Yundong's opening ceremony some substance. The classmates who had come to join the fun began whispering to each other, "When we saw Wang Li earlier, we thought that opening ceremony across the street was impressive, but Li Yundong quietly managed to invite Liu Fei'er—that’s even more impressive!"

"Right, Li Yundong is awesome; he can invite stars like that, almost causing a stampede!"

"Incredible, truly my idol!"

"It’s a shame few officials showed up, or it would have been even livelier."

"Tsk, you don't get it. How could Li Yundong know any officials? Besides, if any real officials showed up, it wouldn't be half as interesting."

"Hey, you’re naive. How many officials show up, and what rank they are, reflects how solid your boss's background is and whether his business will thrive later! If you don’t understand that, how are you going to make it after graduation?"

"Ah, Senior Brother is right, I’ve learned something today!"

As they were talking, another car drove onto the street. Everyone looked and saw a Guangben, but its license plate was registered in the provincial capital.

Just then, Zhou Qin returned to the shop after parking the car. She froze the moment she saw the license plate.

Cao Kefei, who was socializing inside, glanced curiously out the window. Upon seeing it, she gasped, crying out, "Isn't that the Provincial Committee's car?"

At her shout, Liu Fei'er, who had put her sunglasses back on, and Yin Mengfan looked over curiously. They both paused, exclaiming, "You're right, it is the Provincial Committee’s car. Who is that?"

Li Yundong was equally baffled, staring blankly as the car pulled up to the door. A short, stout middle-aged man stepped out.

Not far away, Zhao Yougen spotted the man and visibly flinched, crying out, "Minister Wang?"

Minister Wang turned back curiously and asked, "Do you know me?"

Zhao Yougen rushed forward with excitement, hands clasped. "Minister Wang, I visited the Provincial Organization Department once last year, but unfortunately, I couldn't meet you... I'm Zhao Yougen!"

Minister Wang paused, clearly not remembering Zhao Yougen, but he still shook his hand politely and reservedly before pulling away. "Ah, it's you. Hello."

Zhao Yougen asked excitedly, "Minister Wang, are you here for the opening ceremony of this little shop too?"

Minister Wang chuckled, "You’re opening a shop too?"

Zhao Yougen was stunned. "Too? What do you mean 'too'? Minister Wang, are you not here for my opening ceremony?"

Minister Wang laughed softly. "My apologies, I am here for the opening ceremony across the street." With that, he turned, bent down to retrieve a gift bag from his car, walked over to Li Yundong, and said cheerfully, "You must be Li Yundong?"

Li Yundong was utterly confused, standing there dumbfounded, mumbling, "I am."

Minister Wang presented the gift bag with both hands, smiling. "I heard your store was opening, so I specially brought a small gift. Please don't think it's too meager, little brother!"

Li Yundong was dumbstruck. Who is this man? I don't know him! Is he absolutely sure he has the right person?

Zhou Qin, noticing Li Yundong frozen and unsure whether to accept the gift, quickly stepped forward, took the gift with both hands, and smiled. "Uncle Wang, you’ve gained weight again!"

Minister Wang had frowned slightly when Li Yundong didn't immediately accept the gift, but seeing Zhou Qin instantly broke into a warm smile. "Qinqin! You’ve gotten even prettier! Tsk, tsk, a young woman truly transforms with age! Wonderful!"

Zhou Qin smiled and greeted Minister Wang, her eyes quickly sweeping over the surrounding crowd, who were all staring at her, dumbfounded. She nudged Li Yundong in the side with her elbow and whispered reproachfully, "Are you stunned? Greet the guest!"

Li Yundong finally snapped out of it, realizing this high-ranking official from the Provincial Committee was almost certainly here because of Zhou Qin.

Li Yundong then smiled at Minister Wang and said, "Minister Wang, please, come inside!"

Cao Yi, the senior martial uncle of Huxian Sect, quickly stepped forward. "Let me escort you upstairs." Turning gracefully, he led Minister Wang up the stairs.

Liu Fei'er blinked, watching the scene. She murmured softly, "This Li Yundong has quite the background!"

At her quiet remark, Cao Kefei and Yin Mengfan, sitting beside her, both visibly stiffened. As shrewd as they were, they instantly grasped the political implications underlying this visit.

Yin Mengfan and Cao Kefei exchanged a look, whispering in dawning horror, "Has Zhou Keqiang made a comeback?"

At that moment, Minister Wang poked his head out from the second-floor landing and called down with a smile, "I forgot to move my car. I came out in a hurry and didn't bring a driver. Who can park that for me?"

Zhou Qin smiled brightly. "Uncle Wang, I’ll do it!"

Cao Kefei shuddered internally. Good heavens, I just asked Zhou Qin to park my car for me! Damn it!

She quickly said to Zhou Qin with a smile, "Zhou Qin, let me do it. I feel terrible asking you to park my car earlier! You are needed here more urgently, so don’t bother running errands."

Zhou Qin gave Cao Kefei a meaningful look and did not object.

Li Yundong hadn't registered any of this. He watched Cao Kefei drive off and whispered to Zhou Qin, "Hey, I don't know him. Why is he here to congratulate me? Did you invite him?"

Zhou Qin’s lips curved slightly upward. She shook her head and laughed. "I didn't invite him; he came on his own!"

Li Yundong glared at her. "I wouldn't believe that if the sky fell!"

Zhou Qin laughed. "I truly didn't invite him. If a single word I said is false, may I be struck by lightning!"

Li Yundong looked at her strangely. "Forget it, no need for such harsh oaths. I believe you. But who is this guy anyway?"

Zhou Qin lowered her voice. "Wang Ke, the Minister of the Provincial Organization Department!"

Li Yundong frowned, about to speak, when another car pulled up—also bearing a provincial plate. The driver got out, opened the door, and a slightly balding middle-aged man emerged, holding a delicate gift box. He scanned the scene, paused momentarily when he saw Li Yundong, but his face broke into a smile upon seeing Zhou Qin, and he walked straight toward her.

Meanwhile, across the street, Zhao Yougen’s eyes nearly popped out. He recognized the man and stammered, "Isn't that Director Zhang from the Provincial Health Department? Why is he here too?"

Zhao Yougen's expression shifted rapidly between shock, suspicion, and intense envy, his eyes blazing with jealousy. He simply could not comprehend why such a high-ranking official would attend the opening celebration of some young upstart like Li Yundong.