"Ah! I didn't think Fang Family's dolls could be used this way..."

"Look at that pagoda! It became so big! Can it change its shape freely?"

"Did you see? That pagoda moved so fast, despite its big size! Amazing!"

"That's your Family's treasure―right? Mu Chen? Grandma told me once about it…"

"It's indeed our Mu Family's treasure…"

"Family's heirloom treasure? Shouldn't it be with the head of the family?"

"About that...when they found the pagoda, it didn't have any accompanying control technique. And without any proper technique, only the Old Ancestor can control the pagoda, so―"

"Ah! I see!"

"Look! Isn't that Sir Chen? What are those bright balls of light?!"

"They look like stars! And they are giving off so much pressure! What are they?"

"They transformed into a spear? How? Once cast, shouldn't the form of the technique stay the same?"

"Ahem! You guys may not know this, but it's our Ming Dynasty's Heavenly Dipper Formation technique. You can use it to shape your attacks in almost any form. Be it spears, swords, axe or even shields. The more stars you can conjure, the more precise the shape and the powerful the attack….The one Sir Chen is using is just the basic version."

"You are kidding!"

"Such a powerful and flexible technique―and it's still just the basic version?!"

"Huh? Where did they go? That sound! Did Sir Chen kill the beast? Is the fight over?"

"Look! There they are!"

"Why are they carrying Sir Chen?"

"Did he get injured? The beast...it didn't die?"

"Looks like it―"

"Hey! They seem to be heading in this direction?"

"What? Oh no!"

An invisible flying ship swiftly headed back in the direction of the city. On the ship, the group of young men and women were still talking of the battle they had just witnessed.

"Phew!" Gao Ren heaved a sigh of relief as he stabilized the ship. "That was close!"

Once again, they were above the city once again. The city was still in turmoil. However, it was much quieter than before. Mu Chen and others noticed the change and peered down the deck.

"The beasts..." Li Kun said, "Did they return to normal?" The beasts were no longer as aggressive as before. Some had even squatted down, licking their wounds, exhausted.

"Look!" Liu Ru pointed out. "The beasts are running back to the forest!"

The beasts still outside the city had already turned tail and headed towards the forest.

More and more beasts joined them as they made their way back to the forest. The cultivators fighting also noticed the trend and stopped attacking the beasts that were trying to run away.

"The beast lord must have been defeated." Xia Ping said, excitedly. "That's the only explanation!"

"The city is safe." Li Kun said with a smile. The city had sustained damage, it was mostly limited to the outer perimeter. And even if the lives lost couldn't be brought back, under the current situation, it was already the best result they could hope for.

"Since things have settled, let's get down." Gao Ren said as the ship approached the bell tower. One by one, everyone jumped down into the tower. Everyone waited for a while as Gao Ren remote controlled the ship.

"That should do it." Gao Ren said. "The ship should return to its original position."

"Haha! Brother Ren, you seem really worried right now." Li Kun teased. "Are you so scared about Sir Chen finding out you used the ship?"

"I don't want to get into any trouble." Gao Ren sighed.

"I don't think Sir Chen would have the leisure." Mu Chen said. "He seemed to be injured seriously."

"Even if that's the case. It's best to keep quiet about it. I could get penalized for unauthorized usage." Gao Ren said. "Also, please keep the fact that I was appointed the duty to watch over the ship, a secret from everyone. If Qin Huang knew about this he may become jealous, and cause trouble for me."

"Don't worry, Brother Ren." Li Kun smacked Gao Ren's shoulder. "None of us have a loose mouth."

"Yes, Brother Ren." Xia Ping said. "It's already fortunate you could make an exception for―eh?" The token hanging by his waist flashed and buzzed.

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"Sound transmission tokens are working again! Good!" Xia Ping exclaimed. He grabbed the token and began to read the message.

"Your master?" Mu Chen asked, staring at the token in Xia Ping's hand. "Did he ask you to find him?"

"Ah! You're right, Brother Chen." Xia Ping sighed, putting away the token after reading the message. "I've to go."

Xia Ping wasn't the only one. Li Kun, Liu Fengying, and Liu Ru's tokens also began to flash and buzz. Mu Chen stared at everyone's tokens in turn, his eyebrows raised.

"Mu Chen, I have to―" Liu Fengying began. "Hey, what's with that weird expression?" When Mu Chen didn't reply, she frowned and pinched his side.

"Ouch!" Mu Chen yelped and rubbed his waist. "Huh? What?"

"You spaced out." Liu Fengying frowned, "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Mu Chen shrugged. "Do you have to go back too?"

"Grandma's orders." Liu Fengying nodded. "I've to help her deal with the aftermath."

"Brother Chen, Brother Ren" Li Kun said, "I'm sorry, Sect Master called. I won't be able to stay with you any longer."

"Sorry, Brother Chen, Brother Ren." Xia Ping said.

"You guys don't need to apologize." Mu Chen said. "We can see each other later once everything is settled."

Next to him, Liu Fengying and Liu Riu also said goodbye to Su Rong, Ye Lanlan, and Yi Hanying.

"Mu Chen!" Liu Fengying said. "I will see you later. Liu Ru, let's go!"

Liu Fengying and Liu Ru took out their flying swords and stepped on them. The skies were clear and so flying would not be an issue. After waving everyone goodbye, Liu Fengying flew away with Liu Ru in the tow.

"Brother Chen, Brother Ren..." Li Kun said, "See you later!" He also took out a flying sword and prepared to launch in the sky.

"Ah! Wait for me!" Xia Ping fumbled with the pouch at his waist. He opened the pouch and pointed it in front of him. "Xiao Shen, come out!"

A giant falcon jumped out of the pouch with a screech. With powerful thrusts of its wings that spanned over twelve feet, the falcon circled the tower screeching in joy at its freedom. A saddle was strapped on its back. Xia Ping jumped onto the falcon's back and sat in it.

"Finally...can let you out." Xia Ping patted the falcon, consoling it. "Brother Chen, Brother Ren, see you later. Let's go, Brother Li." Li Kun and Gao Ren also bid everyone goodbye and left.

"Look like it's only us now, Brother Chen." Gao Ren said, after watching Li Kun and Xia Ping leave. "How about we―"

Gao Ren, Ye Lanlan, Su Rong, and Yi Hanying's token's flashed at the same time.

"Excuse me!" Gao Ren said and inspected his token. After a while, he turned towards Mu Chen with an apologetic expression. "We're sorry, Brother Chen, but we have to go. Sir Chen has ordered us to regroup." Su Rong and others also looked at Mu Chen and nodded.

"It's alright." Mu Chen said. "You guys should go."

"See you later, Brother Chen." Gao Ren said, taking out his flying sword. Su Rong, Ye Lanlan, and Yi Hanying followed suit. After bidding Mu Chen one final goodbye, they flew away leaving Mu Chen alone on the bell tower.

"Everyone's gone." Mu Chen sighed, feeling slightly melancholic. The bulge at his midriff squirmed―"Oh, right! There's still you."―the bulge stopped squirming.

"I should leave as well." Mu Chen thought.

Neither Liu Fengying, Li Kun, and Xia Ping probably wouldn't have any time to meet him for the next few days. The city had survived a disaster. As part of their training, they would be required to help assess the damage, appropriate funds, assign and manage personnel for repair, cleanup, and so on. As future successors, this was a rare opportunity for experience. There was also the matter of distribution of the resources recovered from the dead beasts. So they would be very busy.

Unlike his friends, Mu Chen didn't have any responsibilities to fulfill. Since the crisis of beast tide was resolved, he didn't have anything to worry about either.

Just before leaving, Mu Chen scanned the city. Fires had broken out at several places during the tide, the smoke was still billowing in waves. In one particular direction, the fire was roaring to the high heavens.

"That area...isn't that where Grandpa Wu's house is?" Mu Chen's frowned. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see anything clearly due to the blazing fire.

Mu Chen climbed down the tower and walked in the direction of Grandpa Wu's house. Due to a prolonged period of silence, many had people realized that the beast tide was over. One after another, several residents had braved up and come out of hiding.

As Mu Chen continued walking, the damage to the city became obvious. The scene also became more brutal. Broken walls and collapsed roofs were common. Amidst the wreckage, bodies of beasts and humans alike were littered. Mu Chen could only sigh. Even if it wasn't their fault, those who were weak were always the first to suffer.

Due to fire, some of the bodies had partly burnt and were smoking. Worse, the smell was the same as whenever he ate roast meat, and it stimulated his appetite. Mu Chen hadn't had any solid food for several days, felt pangs of hunger as his stomach growled.

"Ugh!" Mu Chen pinched his nose and increased his pace. But the little fox jumped out of Mu Chen's robes and scampered over to the dead bodies.

"You―" Before Mu Chen could stop the little fox, it had already approached the body of a monster beast. With practiced ease, it gouged open the chest of the dead monster beast and ate its heart, hopping towards the next dead body.

"This little fox is really greedy." Mu Chen groaned. He felt nauseous for every moment he stayed here. "Can you hurry?" Mu Chen called out. "There will be people here soon."

After eating several more beast hearts, the little fox trotted back to Mu Chen. Its mouth was still clean. The only evidence that it had eaten the hearts of the beasts was the set of teeth marks left behind on the carcasses.

Mu Chen hurried in the direction of Grandpa Wu's house. The fire got stronger as he continued forward. Mu Chen ignored the searing heat and thick smoke and continued forward. It made his eyes water, and his lungs burn. Fortunately, the little fox seemed to have had its fill and didn't sneak out for snacks anymore. Soon Mu Chen arrived at the familiar dilapidated building, where a very odd scene greeted him.

The neighboring buildings had been razed to the ground by the fire. But Grandpa Wu's house was the same as ever. It was like an untouchable bastion that the fire couldn't touch. Once he was in front of Grandpa Wu's house, the heat disappeared, and the air became breathable again.

"This―" Mu Chen's brow twitched. "Too conspicuous. I've to―huh?" Mu Chen paused and focused his hearing. A faint and rhythmic sound was coming from the second floor. But due to the crackling of burning wood, he had missed it before.

"Someone's here?" Mu Chen gripped his sword, ready to draw it any second. He jumped onto the second floor and looked around. A burly figure was huddled in one of the corners, wrapped in a blanket, with the back facing Mu Chen. As Mu Chen approached the figure, it became clear that he was the source of the sound―that person was snoring.

Mu Chen approached the sleeping figure, thinking how best to resolve the issue. However, when Mu Chen saw the guy's face, he was surprised.

"Hey, wake up!" Mu Chen shook the guy awake.

"I―what?" The burly figure of a man was jolted into action. He waved his arms in panic and scrambled to his feet. When he saw it was another human who had roused him, he relaxed. But his expression soon turned to surprise when he recognized Mu Chen.

"Y―you..." The guy stammered.

"What are you doing here?"

"I―I..."

"The building will collapse soon." Mu Chen said. "Get out of here."

"Y―Yes."