Feng Yun watched the back of Qiang Lu as he faded off into the distance. Then, he stared at the group of audience members that had gathered as a result of the battle. Among them were the Death Singer Mercenaries as well as the Zhou Clan members. Feng Yun glared at the Zhou Clan members and whispered,

"Scram."

Though it was but a mere whisper, the Zhou Clan members could hear it clearly and frightened faces filled their countenance. They ran away faster than a fleeing bird! Zhou Yanling was on the ground and upon seeing her clansmen leaving, she yelled,

"Are you all going to abandon me? I am your Young Miss! We must avenge my father!" The Zhou clansmen turned around and stared at the pitiful body of Zhou Yanling on the ground.

"Are you an idiot? The Zhou Clan is over...finished. No one in their right mind would go up against someone who has an extremely powerful backer! Foolish little girl, did you think that after your father died, we would respect you and bring you back in with warm hugs? NO! You brought calamity upon our clan because of your own pride being wounded. Furthermore, your attitude has angered many of us clansmen! We do not owe you anything at all!" Zhou Yanling was shocked upon hearing these words coming out of the mouths of her own clansmen. 

There was a time when these people would kneel before her and give her tons of respect. However, with the death of her father and the Zhou Clan's humiliating defeat, she had now fallen far. No one would be willing to care for her now that she had offended Feng Yun and brought her own destruction.

"Wait! Don't leave me here! My father too you in, he took care of you. He provided you cultivation resources and strength. Are you not grateful for him?!" Zhou Yanling was desperate and called out to them numerous times, to no avail.

The Zhou clansmen didn't even take a single look back as they left the battleground completely. They all had slumped backs and faces filled with humiliation. Their dignity had become absolutely squashed as of today. If they stayed with the Zhou Clan any longer, they would only die of shame.

Her grandfather however, stayed and walked over to Zhou Yanling's pitiful figure and placed a hand around her shoulder. He too was drowned in sorrow and looked as if he had aged ten years. His own son had been mercilessly executed and he was unable to do anything to stop it. Now, he only embraced Zhou Yanling to comfort her. The girl realized that her grandfather had stayed behind and began to weep tears of loss. Gone was her pride, arrogance and strength. 

All that was left was a weak little girl.

Feng Yun looked at them for a moment before declaring, "From now on, the Zhou Clan has been eradicated and shall never exist again. Those who stand by them will be executed."

Now everyone in the entire city would know that the once powerful Zhou Clan was now completely terminated. They would stop trying to have relations with them and instead abandon them. Feng Yun was ruthless with his methods, leaving no escape for Zhou Yanling.

He then turned towards the Death Singer Mercenaries, who watched him with stunned and joyful looks. Feng Yun brightly smiled and walked back towards them. The reception that he got was incredibly dramatic.

As soon as he got there, the mercenaries began to cheer and yell at him with tears of joy flinging from their eyes. They were all clearly happy for him.

"Feng Yun...the greatest brother of all brothers."

"Indeed. His strength is something that is nearly incomparable!"

Feng Yun reacted to this with a sheepish look. He wasn't exactly sure how to proceed. He wasn't one for attention and drama, but he rather liked the feeling of being treated well by his fellow mercenary friends. Some of them even hoisted his body up, chanting his name like he was their father or something.

"Alright, alright, put him down you dramatic bastards!" Dong Fuzhen's cheerful voice sounded through the air and the mercenaries placed his down carefully. The two commanders were now face to face.

"Feng Yun, I must thank you for everything," Dong Fuzhen said and bowed at the same time. "You saved all of our lives and thought about us, even when you, a distinguished young master could have escaped."

Feng Yun was scared out of his wits upon seeing Dong Fuzhen bow to him. He immediately tried to pull him up frantically, panic clear in his eyes.

"Hey hey, don't bow to me like I'm your great ancestor! Hell, I don't deserve thanks; I brought you so much trouble!" Feng Yun truly didn't understand why they would bow to him. He had offended a major figure and because of that, his mercenary group had been implicated.

"Haha, does that really matter? Even when things got tough for you, you didn't abandon us, instead choosing to stay and protect us. Most young masters would just leave us for dead and never pay a second thought but you did no such thing. It must be said that I truly admire you! You are the only young master whom I would bow down to!" Dong Fuzhen smiled widely as he said this. Feng Yun felt surprised and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. 

"I see. It was nothing much. I just didn't want to implicate you all because of me."

Feng Yun didn't say anymore and instead turned his head away, trying to be modest. However, the fact remained that he was a true comrade to his mercenary friends. While he let his guard down, Xia Qing managed to sneak up behind him and smack him in the head. 

"It hurts!" Feng Yun exclaimed as he recovered and turned around to look at Xia Qing's sweet smile. "Why'd you do that?!"

"That...is because you were being so modest. Jeez, just accept our compliments won't you." She paused to deliver him a warm smile full of affection. The smile absolutely stunned Feng Yun, who thought that he had just interacted with a goddess. The others were stunned as well. This sort of smile...would purify even the most corrupt of hearts and make the faces of all men flushed. 

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This was a smile that Xia Qing would only show towards Feng Yun.

"I...alright fine." Feng Yun gave up and stopped trying to argue with the girl. Xia Qing let out a happy sound of approval as she grabbed his arm affectionately. Dong Fuzhen saw this and stared at Feng Yun with a very weird glance, one filled with old man perversion.

"Hehe, it seems like you have some things to do Feng Yun. Well then, I'll be...just uh...over there." Dong Fuzhen was about to leave after saying it but he was too late.

"Damn old man, stop right there. What the hell do you intend by those words?!"

"Ah...forget I said anything." Feng Yun sighed and then said,

"Old man, you got the money from the mission right?"

"Hm, yeah we did. What about it?"

"Well, you lost some men in the mission however, now that the Zhou Clan has vacated the place, the treasury should still be there. The treasury of a great clan from a First Class City is absolutely full of wealth. You should loot it before anyone else comes along." Dong Fuzhen's eyes widened as realization dawned upon him.

"Of course, you're entirely correct. If we manage to loot the Zhou Clan's treasury, then the Death Singer Mercenaries' strength will surely soar! Will you be joining us for the looting?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot participate. Xia Qing and I should really get going. We only promised to stay until the mission was over. We're a lot closer to the Holy Continental Academy than before." Dong Fuzhen had a sad look on his face as he processed what they were saying. It could be said that he had truly developed a strong sense of brotherhood towards Feng Yun because of his great deeds. To part here after so much time was truly saddening.

"I see. Well then, I wish you, Young Master, a very safe trip. To us Death Singer Mercenaries, you will always be our commander no matter what. The spot you leave behind will never be filled as long as I, Dong Fuzhen is alive. I bid Commander Feng Yun farewell on his journey!" Dong Fuzhen saluted him. Feng Yun's eyes were almost turning misty but he lowered his head in order to hide the tears that were forming. In a low voice he replied,

"Yeah. One day, we will return." 

"That's what I like to hear," Dong Fuzhen smiled and said.

He then turned around and gave instructions to the mercenaries to search the Zhou Clan treasury for loot and to plunder them as much as possible. The mercenaries were more than happy to comply; they had been treated improperly by the Zhou Clan and had to put up with it before, but now that the clan was finished, they could finally have their revenge. They all rushed towards the gates and entered without any restraint.

"YES, THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT PEOPLE! TAKE IT ALL! LOOT EVEN THEIR ANCESTORS' GRAVES! IN FACT, SPRINKLE SHIT ALL OVER IT IN THE PROCESS!" Dong Fuzhen was relentless with his commands and became quite animated. Naturally, this made the group even brighter in terms of morale.

Feng Yun chuckled softly to himself and motioned to Xia Qing to follow him. The girl stopped clutching his arm after a while as they passed the astonished guards, who didn't even hesitate to open the gates. Apparently, news traveled quite fast and despite the incident happening extremely recently, many of them had been there to witness the City Lord getting trashed through his own city. As news circulated through the city, many of the people became aware of Feng Yun's name and the incident that happened. This obviously caused shock and disbelief to become apparent on the faces of everyone who heard.

"Xia Qing, there's only six months left on our journey together. Then we'll be there." Feng Yun smiled kindly at her. Xia Qing nodded but pursed her lips, clearly dissatisfied with something. 

"What's wrong?"

Feng Yun had stopped walking outside of the gate and asked Xia Qing. The girl had pointed her head to the side, as if she didn't want to talk to him. It had happened as soon as he had mentioned the date until they reached the Academy.

She looked at him with a pouting expression and said, "Yes we will be there in six months. But you won't be there with me."

Feng Yun smiled wryly. Xia Qing was quite correct, essentially, Feng Yun was leaving her to survive in the academy by herself. Even Feng Yun himself felt that it was somewhat irresponsible.

"However," she continued. "I also realize that cultivation is more important and that we will have plenty of chances to meet in the future. I am not stupid. At this point of time when we are young, we must use the time to cultivate diligently. I would do the same thing if I was offered an opportunity."

She smiled sweetly at him as she said this. Feng Yun felt a surge of emotion welling up in him. Xia Qing truly was...the best friend ever. However, Feng Yun at this point felt that Xia Qing was more than just a friend. She was something else to him. Nowadays, when he interacted with her, his heart would start beating slightly faster. He wasn't really able to identify why it was happening, but he knew that with time, he would understand it.

Unknown to him, Xia Qing actually felt the same way.

Feng Yun walked over to her and placed his hand on her face. It was a gesture of affection and sadness. With a soft tone he said,

"Remember that we made a promise. It is one that I absolutely intend to keep even if my life depends on it. When we both reach the age of fifteen years old, I shall join the academy and accompany you."

Xia Qing nodded her head and did not speak anymore. The two traveled along until they were beyond the range of sight from the city. They were obscure figures, walking calmly towards whatever destination fate may bring them.