Xiao Yin, Shen Guanlan, He Lansong, and the Grand Elder of the Taihua Sword Sect remained seated.
They glanced at her from time to time, hesitation written all over their faces.
This was especially true for He Lansong and the Grand Elder of the Taihua Sword Sect.
From the moment Yun Heng began inspecting the compensation, their bodies had remained tightly strung.
Now that everything had been handed over, they still showed no intention of leaving.
Yun Heng paused, looking at them with a hint of doubt.
“Is there anything else?”
The group exchanged glances.
In the end, it was He Lansong who spoke up first.
He stood up and bowed deeply to Yun Heng, his tone even more cautious than before.
“Little Friend Yun.”
“The compensation has been fully delivered, and you have personally verified every item.”
“So regarding yesterday's matter... may we consider it completely resolved?”
Yun Heng glanced at him, quickly understanding what they were worried about.
She gave a prompt and decisive answer.
“Naturally.”
“Yesterday's matter ends here.”
Hearing those words, He Lansong let out a visible sigh of relief.
The tense expression on the face of the Taihua Sword Sect's Grand Elder relaxed slightly as well.
Had they known Yun Heng acted with such ruthless severity, they never would have dared provoke her under any circumstances.
Yesterday, after the conflict outside the secret realm concluded, the people of the Xuanxiao Sect had boarded their airship with their injured elders and disciples, preparing to return to their sect.
As a cultivator at the mid stage of the Void Refinement Realm, Lu Xuanwei had sustained heavy injuries, but they were by no means fatal.
Upon returning to the airship, he had retired to his room alone to heal his wounds.
To avoid any disturbance, Lu Xuanwei had even personally set up a warding array outside his door.
Everyone assumed that once they returned to the sect, Lu Xuanwei would recover after spending some time in secluded cultivation.
Yet not long after the airship departed from Tianque City, He Lansong noticed something amiss.
The presence inside Lu Xuanwei's room had completely vanished.
At first, he merely assumed Lu Xuanwei was circulating his technique and fully concealing his presence, so he did not immediately disturb him.
It was only after the airship had traveled for quite a while without a single sound from within that He Lansong realized something was truly wrong.
He led several elders to the door and called out repeatedly.
There was no answer from inside.
By the time they forcibly broke through the array and entered the room, Lu Xuanwei was already dead.
A cultivator at the mid stage of the Void Refinement Realm had died silently in his own room.
There were no obvious wounds on Lu Xuanwei's body, nor had any furnishings in the room been damaged.
There were no signs of battle, nor any lingering unfamiliar aura.
Yet every elder present knew that this could not possibly have been an accident.
Although Lu Xuanwei had suffered internal injuries, his cultivation remained intact.
How could he have died suddenly without the slightest warning?
Almost instantly, He Lansong and the other Xuanxiao Sect elders thought of Yun Zhao.
The black-robed female cultivator who had severely injured all the top powerhouses of the two great sects with a single wave of pressure.
If Yun Zhao had truly wanted to kill Lu Xuanwei yesterday, he would never have left alive in the first place.
Everyone had assumed that since Yun Heng accepted Xiao Yin's intercession and agreed to the compensation offered by the two major sects, the matter was considered settled.
None of them imagined that Yun Heng would make her move after they left.
The elders of the Xuanxiao Sect had guessed the truth, but not a single one dared voice it aloud.
Originally, the two sects had promised to deliver the compensation within three days.
Now that Lu Xuanwei was dead, how could the Xuanxiao Sect possibly dare delay for three days?
He Lansong had not even accompanied the airship back to the sect.
He immediately tallied the resources with the remaining elders, gathered everything promised yesterday, switched to their fastest airship, and rushed back to Tianque City overnight.
His only desire was to deliver the compensation to Yun Heng as quickly as possible and bring a true end to this affair.
Yet when He Lansong arrived at Wanbao Tower, he discovered that the Grand Elder of the Taihua Sword Sect had already arrived as well.
The moment they met, both caught the subtle anomaly in each other's exhausted and somber expressions.
After a brief conversation, they learned that the exact same thing had happened to the Taihua Sword Sect.
Wei Quechen had also died on the airship returning to his sect.
Though the Taihua Sword Sect could find no hard evidence, they too immediately guessed who was behind it.
The masters of two major sects had died on the very same day, in almost the exact same manner.
Only then were the two Grand Elders so utterly terrified that they dared not show the slightest negligence.
Now, hearing Yun Heng explicitly declare that yesterday's matter ended here, they were finally certain she would not drag the rest of the Xuanxiao Sect and Taihua Sword Sect into it further.
This was also the final line of life Yun Heng had extended to them.
Yesterday, Yun Heng had deliberately asked Yun Zhao to stay behind precisely to carry out this task.
Both Lu Xuanwei and Wei Quechen had developed genuine intent to kill her.
Such people, even if forced to bow temporarily due to superior strength, would never truly let go of today's grudge.
Given half a chance, the two would undoubtedly strike again.
From this journey to the secret realm, Yun Heng had thoroughly understood a truth.
When cutting grass, one must eradicate the roots.
Otherwise, no one knew when those temporarily spared enemies might resurface to stab her in the back.
When facing Su Mingyuan in the past, Yun Heng lacked absolute power.
Even though she knew full well the other party tried to harm her time and again, she could only react to each scheme as it came, unable to eliminate the threat once and for all.
But now things were different.
With the cultivation level Yun Zhao had demonstrated, no one in the entire Eastern Region could match her.
Now possessing power sufficient to handle any trouble, Yun Heng naturally would not leave behind two future perils like Lu Xuanwei and Wei Quechen.
As for the remaining elders and disciples of the Xuanxiao Sect and Taihua Sword Sect, she had no intention of pursuing them for now.
During yesterday's battle, most of them had merely been obeying their sect masters' orders.
Now that the two major sects had paid heavy compensation and most of their strongest cultivators were injured, as long as they did not actively provoke her again, this matter could be considered completely over.
Having received Yun Heng's promise, He Lansong and the Grand Elder of the Taihua Sword Sect finally lingered no longer.
The two bowed to her once more before departing from the reception room one after the other.
Xiao Yin and Shen Guanlan stood up as well.
When they first heard of the bizarre deaths of Lu Xuanwei and Wei Quechen, they too had been thoroughly startled.
Outside the secret realm, although Yun Heng had maintained an unyielding stance, she had not actively driven the two major sects to total extermination.
She had even been willing to accept Xiao Yin's mediation and grant the two sects a way out.
This had led them to subconsciously assume that Yun Heng was not an overly ruthless person.
It was only when both sect masters died one after the other on their return airships that they realized how mistaken they were.
Yet upon reflection, they felt this was only normal.
If someone were truly soft-hearted and allowed those who wished to kill them to go on living, they would never be able to hold onto their current standing.
To accomplish great things, talent and cultivation alone were far from enough.
When the time came to be decisive, one must leave no future troubles behind.
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