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Chapter 10 - Wooden Badge

As Han Fei suddenly shouted, the sounds of battle that had been echoing throughout the town's lord manor since dusk abruptly ceased.

Lee Zhong turned to Han Fei, flashing a sinister grin as he said, "Brother Han, you're a genius. Hahaha!"

The other practitioners turned their attention to the fighting trio, their gazes fixed intently on the scene. The lord now wondered what his next move should be.

Meanwhile, Lee Zhong, on the verge of collapse from exhaustion, thought to himself, 'Come on, just run... run already.'

Similarly, Han Fei, also hoping the lord would retreat, waited in silence to see how he would respond.

Without further delay, the lord turned his back and bolted toward the northern exit of the manor.

As he ran, he shouted orders to his servants and guards, "What are you waiting for, you fools! Kill those two!"

"..."

The lord's men were still trying to process the whirlwind of events from the last minute. Seeing the lord's retreating figure, Lee Zhong called after him, "Run as far as you like—you won't escape! Your sleep will take at least three days, and we will find you and finish you!"

'That dog!!' Lee Zhong gritted his teeth.

Lee Zhong, barely escaping the clutches of death moments ago, couldn't even savor his narrow escape.

The practitioners around, though they understood the situation, reluctantly turned toward the two martial masters, wondering how they could possibly take them down.

Seeing the men advancing toward them, Han Fei sneered, "A bunch of Martial Seniors—what makes you think you can challenge us?"

"Brother Han," Lee Zhong whispered to the Han Fei beside him, "I've lost too much blood. I need to see one of our family's doctors soon."

"Hmm."

"Take two of our men and get out of here, I'll handle things here. Take this blood pill as well."

Without taking his eyes off the surroundings, Han Fei handed a pill to Lee Zhong, who took it gratefully and nodded as Han Fei signaled him to leave.

"Thank you, Brother Han," he said, gratitude evident on his face as he took the pill and, under the watchful eyes of those around, left the courtyard with two of their men.

Striking the base of his metal staff against the ground, Han Fei scanned the men around him. Seeing the lord's men still hesitating despite their orders, he taunted them, "So, what will you do now? Continue the fight? You don't seem too eager."

Han Fei waited for the lord's men to respond, pulling out a pill identical to the one he'd given to the Lee Zhong and swallowing it himself.

"What do we do now?"

One of the Martial Seniors whispered to another nearby practitioner.

Although he tried to whisper, his question didn't escape the ears of the sharp-minded practitioners in the tense silence of the manor.

Hearing this, the rest of the men seemed to take it as permission to speak freely, and they began to murmur one after another.

"The lord just left us here in the middle of battle."

"Yes... What do we do now?"

"I'm not sure, but if what the young master of the Han family said is true, we're in big trouble."

"What are you all talking about?"

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear?"

"Hear... what?"

"Didn't you hear what the young master of the Han family just said?"

"No, I missed it. What did he say? Why did everyone suddenly stop attacking?"

"..."

"This... sounds strange. I'm not even sure I heard it correctly myself."

While each practitioner mumbled a different concern, one of the town guards, unable to bear the nonsensical chatter any longer, glanced at the young master of the Han family and said aloud, "The lord has started his breakthrough to Martial Peak right in the middle of the battle."

"What?!"

A practitioner suddenly shouted, realizing the weight of the situation.

"If that's the case, aren't we in serious trouble?"

"Doesn't it take at least three days to breakthrough from Martial Master to Martial Peak?"

The same practitioner spoke with a worried expression.

Despite his naive appearance, this young practitioner was absolutely correct. If the enemy discovered the lord during his three-day breakthrough, they would find him defenseless in sleep.

For as long as anyone could remember, a practitioner's most vulnerable moment was the breakthrough process.

When a practitioner began the breakthrough, they would naturally fall into a slumber only to awaken when the breakthrough was complete. If attacked during this slumber, they would be unable to defend themselves in any way.

"Hahaha!"

"This Martial Senior is completely correct. So, what's your plan? I'm growing tired of waiting."

As he thought to himself, "I need to get back to my father as soon as possible. Then, we'll begin the hunt." Han Fei's patience ran out, and he turned to address the lord's men.

Now feeling the effects of the pill he'd taken, Han Fei felt revitalized. "There's no need to fight to the death for a man already as good as gone, is there?"

Confident in himself, he turned his back on his enemies and began walking toward one of the exits.

"Stop! Where do you think you're going?"

One of the town guards shouted after him, just as he had taken a few steps.

Han Fei paused, took a deep breath, and turned back, pointed his staff at the speaker in a cold rage.

"And what will you do, fight me? You? A mere Martial Senior Apprentice?"

The surrounding practitioners fell silent as one of the lord's guards, undeterred, challenged, "So what if you're a Martial Master? I don't believe we can't defeat you with our numbers."

"Hahaha!"

"If you think risking your life is worth it, then come on! But know this—I'll kill anyone who dares try to stop me."

Han Fei dared them to take him on and, without waiting for a response, walked away under the watchful eyes of the lord's men.

With Han Fei's departure, the long-standing battle in the town's center finally drew to an end, while the fight at the Lei family residence showed no sign of resolution.

'Why won't this academy director slip up'

'Damn it! It's like he's mocking us by not even bothering to attack.'

The leaders of the Han and Lee families, who had been attacking Lei To, the leader of the Lei family protected by the academy director, grew frustrated. The academy director effortlessly controlled the fight as if he were instructing students, putting both family leaders in increasingly dire straits.

Tap... Tap... Tap!

"Director.. Academy director!"

A young man named Lei Lei came running into the fray, stopping just short of the academy director and holding out an odd wooden item with strange markings toward him. "The town lord asked me to deliver this to you."

The academy director took the wooden item, and as he examined the carvings, he sighed heavily. 'The worst has come to pass. This battle will now last for days.'

Looking dispiritedly at the two family leaders who watched him with quizzical expressions, the academy director said, "Don't you think it's time to end this night?"