"Ma...Marshal?"
Zhou Haoyun muttered in disbelief. The young major general stared strangely at the Marshal's name appearing in this situation.
How did Grandmaster Bai Fanxian become the Marshal's adopted daughter?
But that name was definitely the Marshal's! Moreover, it had the rank prominently displayed in front, including a powerful signature marked uniformly.
"Marshal... Zhang Xianyuan?"
Even people not in military circles, if they could sit here, must have heard this Marshal's name at least once.
He was like a living legend.
The cultivator most said to be "closest to the next realm."
"That's right. The Marshal just didn't want complications, and to protect his daughter from those with ill intentions. But now that she's become a Grandmaster-level figure, there's no need to conceal this anymore."
Jin Ling, who brought the information, hurriedly explained as if he'd known everything for long.
When in truth he'd only received orders a few minutes ago!
"It does make sense..." Zheng Renyi muttered while stroking his beard.
If Bai Fanxian was truly that person's adopted daughter, her prowess could be explained. Moreover, there was the matter of her mysterious background like classified national information—if it was Zhang Xianyuan's authority, that was definitely doable.
"Looks like you have no authority to detain Grandmaster Bai anymore?"
Liu Yianfei smiled coldly while glancing at Zhou Haoyun. Major General Zhou felt as if standing atop a frigid mountain peak. Though pressure from three Grandmasters wasn't released at full force, it was more than enough to weaken ordinary people's legs.
Even major generals weren't exempt.
Zhou Haoyun felt his legs lose strength. He collapsed to the floor helplessly.
"...How is this possible?" The young major general still couldn't accept it.
"This must be fake!"
He insisted on his own thinking. This time he'd invested tremendous effort, even arbitrarily cooperating with outsiders. If it didn't succeed, he'd have to pay for that mistake himself.
So his only choice was standing on one leg—no matter what, deny to the end.
Jin Ling felt his phone vibrate slightly. But knowing who that call was from, he trembled. His body involuntarily straightened, his tone serious. He nodded acceptance as if the person speaking stood before him.
"Major General Zhou, there's a call for you."
Jin Ling smiled while handing over the phone. He looked at Zhou Haoyun challengingly. When Major General Zhou took the phone, Jin Ling even raised an eyebrow.
Zhou Haoyun looked at the unfamiliar number. But the moment he placed the phone to his ear and knew who was on the other end, his body stiffened like being cursed to stone.
"Ma...Marshal."
Though Major General Zhou spoke quietly, everyone here was representatives of various powers. Without effort, they could definitely hear what he said.
"Yes... yes... understood."
Zhou Haoyun's face paled progressively. He could only nod stiffly, accepting every word from the other side.
When the conversation ended, Zhou Haoyun looked like a soulless corpse. The young man returned the phone to Jin Ling unconsciously. He knew immediately that his future on this path had ended.
Just what he'd done arbitrarily was more than enough for punishment.
"Black Hawk, receive orders."
"Sir!"
Liu Yianfei turned to command his subordinates with authoritative manner. Jin Ling raised his hand in salute and waited seriously for orders.
"Take Major General Zhou back to base. Looks like people are already waiting for him there..." The young man smiled coldly while speaking. Though Black Hawk members dragged Zhou Haoyun away, he remained unaware.
Only Jin Ling remained beside Liu Yianfei.
"Now... looks like I have matters to discuss with you all."
The young general turned to meet eyes with Han Junpo and allies who were now sweating cold streams down their backs. Earlier he was fairly restricted, but just now Jin Ling secretly whispered something to him.
The Marshal authorized him to handle this matter freely.
And emphasized taking good care of Grandmaster Bai!
Though the young man was surprised, it seemed Grandmaster Bai wasn't just an ordinary adopted daughter of the Marshal.
"This is... a small misunderstanding." Han Junpo tried negotiating.
"I... I'm not involved! Grandmaster Han forced my son and me to cooperate!"
Clan Head An panicked and tried protecting himself fully. His words made Han Junpo turn to stare with hatred. You bastard were still on my side, but seeing things go bad you quickly deflect blame!
But before anything else happened, over ten military personnel burst into the reception hall.
"General Liu, the Marshal sent us to help you handle problems."
The speaker was a middle-aged man in uniform. Liu Yianfei seeing him immediately knew who he was.
The Marshal's aide!
If this person came himself, the Marshal was serious—and what happened was real!
The aide's actions were shockingly swift. Mobile medical units rushed in with much equipment. They examined Han Junpo, Han Xiaoyi, Ting Kangming, Yi Fan, and Master An—confirming they were safely normal with no serious conditions, verifying earlier events were performance. The livestream was suspended immediately upon operation completion, along with them detaining Han Junpo and others leaving the room.
Bai Fanxian watched them go from the corner of her eye.
That aide walked to her and bowed respectfully.
"Young Miss Bai... the Marshal would like to invite you to meet."
"...Alright." Bai Fanxian considered briefly before agreeing. She also wanted to see this "Marshal" who extended help without her asking.
The aide nodded gratefully. He walked out to wait outside without rushing anything. He acted as if Bai Fanxian had higher status than him for real.
"Grandmaster Bai... about those people."
Uncle Huang turned to whisper with his my lady. Those people he meant were Grandmaster Han Junpo and others—if the military released them easily, in future they'd definitely cause trouble for Bai Fanxian again.
The old man's worried manner made Bai Fanxian smile faintly. She spoke softly without turning to look.
"You needn't worry... they won't have chances to trouble me anymore."
The last sentence made Uncle Huang shiver inexplicably.
Right—Bai Fanxian wasn't that kind-hearted.
Before, she merely taught lessons, but they still didn't learn.
Kept troubling her endlessly.
This time her lesson definitely wouldn't be as simple as mere pain or injury like before.
And she wouldn't let anything connect to her. Acting by exploding in anger and striking before crowds including those "livestream cameras"—that was clearly idiotic behavior.
That was why she healed them earlier, healing before the public, and even the medicine used wasn't hers.
Moreover, those mobile medical units came to help confirm for her that those injuries were just "performance."
Before, those injuries were truly her handiwork. They had evidence and witness confirmation. Ting Kangming and Yi Fan's conditions came from her elixir flicked into their mouths that day. So what she did today was actually just "clearing" past stains from herself.
If after this they "got sick," "got injured," or "died" "by chance," it wouldn't relate to her and no one could trouble her.
They recovered already, right? Even people watching cameras saw them recover with "Starlight Dew" obtained from a stranger in the room.
Even doctors confirmed it.
Bai Fanxian smiled coldly.
She learned and adapted. Come to think of it, she'd also changed greatly from the day she asked Tang Tianjie "should I just kill them to cut problems?"
This was mental growth and environmental adaptation?
Bai Fanxian couldn't help thinking of what she'd read in those books...
.
.
.
No one thought everything would end easily like this.
Most disappointed were representatives from various powers who'd bothered traveling and had to return empty-handed. But more important was rumors spreading tremendously. This time not just the cultivator world—even some ordinary people groups learned of this "Marshal's daughter" figure.
As for Bai Fanxian, she left her followers at Cloud Horizon Hotel and departed toward part of the village with that Marshal's "aide."
Bai Fanxian stopped before a large building. It was fairly far from community areas. Her Heaven Sense sweeping through found only two people waiting at the top floor.
The young woman walked up. The aide stopped at the door, bowed, and waited outside—meaning after this she must enter alone.
The moment Bai Fanxian entered the room, she swept her gaze surveying once around. It was like an ordinary reception room, not very luxurious. In that room were two people as she'd initially sensed. One was an old man wearing an old gray robe looking at her with interest.
The other was a middle-aged man dressed in full formal military uniform. The moment he saw Bai Fanxian, his body trembled.
He stood and walked toward her. His eyes showed respect and awe mixed half and half.
"...Bai Fanxian?"
Unbelievable how polite he was. Bai Fanxian nodded once in acknowledgment.
"May I ask... at Sword Saint Zheng Renyi's duel with Eastern King Ma Fufeng, you were there too, weren't you?" The middle-aged man asked. Though he'd confirmed from some evidence, he still wanted the "answer" from her own mouth.
"...Yes."
Bai Fanxian thought back to the day she'd just awakened in this era and admitted straightforwardly.
Unexpectedly, the moment Bai Fanxian acknowledged it, that middle-aged man in full uniform quickly knelt to the floor excitedly.
"This junior Zhang Xianyuan pays respects to the Exalted One!"
It was none other than Marshal Zhang Xianyuan kneeling to her now!
"You may not remember this junior. I'm the one who called out after you released pressure that time..."
Zhang Xianyuan hurriedly explained when seeing Bai Fanxian didn't know who he was.
After that day, he'd ordered secretly searching for that "Exalted One's" identity. Black Hawk's immediate travel to the Tang Clan residence back then was because sensing treasures possibly above Tier 5, but the true goal was actually trying to find that "Exalted One."
Otherwise, how could Jin Ling have received orders to act so audaciously by immediately searching Tang Clan people?
And Bai Fanxian appeared just then. She became the most probable suspect. But what made him uncertain was that power she displayed stayed within "Grandmaster" boundaries only.
Moreover, if you remembered, when Bai Fanxian awakened, she accidentally "crushed" one military observation drone to fragments with her hand, then tossed it away in her Border since then.
Images the drone retrieved before destruction were vague images of Bai Fanxian—except her face wasn't clear. The Marshal couldn't definitively conclude clearly.
So he observed her for a period. But that "Border" caused him no small headache.
He couldn't spy into it. Everything was blocked. Until they traveled to Village Beneath the Clouds, he began further confirming her identity.
And she kept creating miracles—easily subduing the Red Widow Queen, becoming a Tier 4 alchemist Grandmaster. But what made him confirm she was the Exalted One was:
"Intent."
Just like Grandmaster and Martial Master level figures—Grandmasters were those who could fly through air. The clearest difference between Grandmasters and "Sages"—the realm beyond—was this Intent.
Now Marshal Zhang Xianyuan had developed to 9th-stage Grandmaster and was called "closest to the next realm," true. But in his life, Marshal Zhang had encountered "Sage" level figures before.
He was the last Sage Marshal Zhang ever met—and the one who enabled him to perceive Sage Intent even though he hadn't trained to that realm yet.
So when observing Bai Fanxian and seeing when she was "withdrawing" her Intent from the two Han grandfather-granddaughter's bodies, Marshal Zhang confirmed immediately.
Bai Fanxian must be a Sage-level figure for certain!
"Lady Bai Fanxian, I was discourteous solving problems by falsely claiming you as adopted daughter... I truly apologize!"
Zhang Xianyuan bowed his head remorsefully. For a Grandmaster-level figure, what he did to a Sage-level figure like her was rather discourteous.
But at that moment he had to solve problems urgently, so he had his aide prepare a data set. Even his signature on that paper still looked not fully dry.
"It's fine... consider it you solved troublesome problems for me just right."
Bai Fanxian answered calmly. She somewhat understood everything now.
"Lady Bai, besides your matter there's one more thing." Marshal Zhang originally wanted to get to know the Sage-level figure a bit more, but glancing at the hopeful gaze of the old man in gray robe, he had to restrain himself first.
Because this was also a major matter bringing a Marshal like him to travel here personally.
"Exalted One... I'm the village chief of Village Beneath the Clouds."
The old man in robe introduced himself. He walked before Bai Fanxian and suddenly knelt as well. Corner of his eyes showed a tear trail along with pleading gaze.
"Exalted One... I beg you... Village Beneath the Clouds begs you—please save Divine Doctor Wu Jia!"
"..."