Every guest she passed instinctively moved aside, creating a clear path without needing to be asked. No one dared to block her way, and few dared to even look directly at her for too long.

The pressure she carried was not openly released, yet it was undeniably present.

It made people instinctively cautious, as though their instincts were warning them that the situation had shifted into something far more serious than a simple celebration.

At the same time, Lin Feng remained seated at his table. Calm. Unmoved. As if he had already anticipated her arrival long before she even entered the hall.

The contrast between the two figures... the approaching woman with a sacred yet oppressive aura, and the young man sitting indifferently among his companions only made the tension in the hall grow even sharper. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The air itself seemed to hold its breath. And in that suffocating silence, everyone waited to see what would happen when the two finally faced each other directly.

But contrary to what everyone had expected, Elder Qin Ran did not address Lin Feng directly. Instead, her gaze shifted past him and landed squarely on the two veiled women seated at his table.

The unexpected movement alone was enough to make the already tense atmosphere grow even heavier.

"I can hardly believe my eyes," Qin Ran said calmly, her voice neither loud nor soft, yet somehow reaching every corner of the hall with perfect clarity.

"I did not expect Daoist Heavenly Fate and Daoist Falling Snow of the Nine Peaks Sword Sect to end up bound to a man from one of the ancient clans." Her words fell like a stone into still water.

Ripples spread instantly.

"...." The entire hall went quiet for a brief moment, but interestingly no one showed open shock. This matter was no longer a secret.

By now, it had already spread throughout Clear Moon City that the two women from the Nine Peaks Sword Sect had ended up by Lin Feng’s side after his confrontation with Daoist Limitless Sword.

Whether the rumors were exaggerated or not, the general outcome had been accepted by most. Many had speculated, whispered, and even argued about it countless times before.

So hearing Qin Ran confirm it so openly did not surprise them. What truly unsettled everyone, however, was something else. The Nine Peaks Sword Sect had not taken any action.

For a sect of such status and pride, silence in the face of such a situation was deeply abnormal. Normally, such an incident would have already escalated into open conflict, if not outright war.

Yet... nothing had happened. No retaliation. No public condemnation. Not even a formal demand. That silence was far more frightening than anger.

Several people in the hall exchanged worried glances, their thoughts aligning without needing to be spoken aloud.

"Just what exactly is Lin Feng’s background..."

"For even the Nine Peaks Sword Sect to hold back like this..."

"He’s definitely not someone we can afford to provoke..."

Their earlier envy gradually transformed into something more cautious and something closer to wariness. Of course, none of them knew the real reason behind the sect’s restraint.

Deep within the Nine Peaks Sword Sect, the soul lantern of Daoist Limitless Sword still burned steadily. It had not dimmed, nor had it shattered. Which meant one thing. He was still alive.

Because of this, the sect’s higher-ups had chosen not to act rashly. Instead of escalating the situation and risking further complications, they decided to wait.

To observe.

To let time dull the tension before eventually approaching Lin Feng to negotiate for Daoist Limitless Sword’s return. It was a calculated decision, one made out of caution rather than weakness.

But to everyone present in the Ning Clan hall, that truth remained hidden. All they saw was the result. A powerful sect choosing silence.

And that silence only made Lin Feng’s figure appear even more unfathomable.

Meanwhile, at the center of it all, Lin Feng remained seated, his expression calm and unreadable, as if Qin Ran’s words and the attention they stirred were of no consequence to him at all.

"Ahhh!" A wave of gasps erupted across the hall as the two women from the Nine Peaks Sword Sect slowly rose to their feet and, without hesitation, removed their veils.

For a fleeting moment... Everything seemed to stop. The music faded into irrelevance, conversations died completely, and even the air itself felt still, as though the entire hall had been frozen in place.

Then their faces were revealed. And the impact was immediate. The men were the first to react. Eyes widened. Breaths hitched.

Some even leaned forward unconsciously, as if trying to confirm that what they were seeing was real and not some illusion crafted by spiritual techniques.

"They... they’re both so beautiful..."

"This... this kind of beauty... does it even belong to this world?"

"Are they really human...?"

Whispers trembled through the crowd, filled with awe and disbelief. Daoist Falling Snow stood with her long, pure white hair flowing gently behind her, each strand shimmering faintly like frost under moonlight.

Her presence was cold yet pure, distant yet captivating, like a snow lotus blooming atop an unreachable peak.

Beside her, Daoist Heavenly Fate’s raven-black hair cascaded like a dark waterfall, smooth and elegant, framing a face that was just as flawless.

Where Falling Snow felt cold and ethereal, Heavenly Fate carried a quiet, profound depth... mysterious and refined, like the night sky itself.

The contrast between them only made their beauty even more overwhelming. And yet... It was their faces that truly captured everyone.

Delicate, perfectly sculpted features that seemed almost unreal in their precision.

Smooth skin without the slightest imperfection, calm eyes that held both distance and quiet authority, and expressions that carried neither pride nor submission. They looked like living works of art.

Too perfect. Too refined. Almost like dolls crafted by the heavens themselves, brought into the mortal world for reasons no one could comprehend.

For many of the men present, it was as if their thoughts had been completely wiped clean.