CHAPTER 225: ZEPHYR LINGXIN

The massive blast that shattered the reinforced titanium gates still echoed faintly across the colossal subterranean chamber. Smoke curled upward in rivers as frightened attendants scurried into corners. The elites of America’s six Super Families and the two World Class families that are present rose in outrage, shock, and disbelief.

And in the center of the devastation stood:

Ling Xia — ice-cold, elegant, dressed in a tailored black combat coat with the insignia of the Chinese Government’s most hidden special force.

Ling Fei — hair whipped by residual shockwaves, eyes burning with the fury of someone who crossed nations for one man.

The Silent Division — thirty masked elites, standing in crisp formation, their presence like a wall of death.

Every single person in the hall felt the killing intent they brought.

Aurelian Dorne slammed his palm on the table, cracking a long fissure through reinforced stone.

"YOU DARE!" he roared.

But Ling Xia ignored him completely.

Her voice was cold and sharp as a knife:

"Release Hutton Maxwell. Immediately."

Gasps erupted — even among the super families.

The Franklin Patriarch stood, face purple with rage.

"A mere First Class Ling Family of China dares intrude on this classified American soil—into an Alliance meeting?! I truly applaud you of your boldness!"

The Silvercrest Matriarch rose next.

"What are you thinking, Ling Xia? Do you wish to start international conflict?"

Ling Fei stepped forward despite the killing intent pressing from all directions.

Her voice was trembling — not from fear, but from emotion.

"Return him to us... he doesn’t belong here."

From the center of the hall, strapped to the chair and dazed, Hutton slowly lifted his head.

His vision swam, but when he saw them — the shock in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Ling... Fei...?"

His voice was low, hoarse.

It hit her like an arrow.

Her fists tightened.

But the Alliance elders moved as one.

The Helion Clan Head released a wave of scorching fire-qi.

"All units — form the containment barrier!"

In seconds, dozens of Intermediate and peak Nascent Soul cultivators surged forward, surrounding the Silent Division on all sides. A golden barrier rose around the hall, sealing every exit.

Ling Xia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"So... this is the stance of the American Alliance."

Aurelian Dorne pointed at her with a cold smile.

"You are trespassing on sovereign ground. You are defying six Super Families with two World Class families. And you expect to walk out alive with our prisoner? Dream."

Two of the Silent Division elites stepped forward, ready to unleash killing formations—

But Ling Xia raised one hand.

They froze instantly.

Her eyes locked onto Aurelian’s.

"Let me make this clear... We did not come to negotiate."

A pressure descended — something that made even some elders lean back unconsciously.

Outside the barrier, Timothy and Hughes were thrown to the floor, tied up and bloodied. They looked up weakly at Ling Fei but couldn’t muster up any strength to speak.

"You... shouldn’t have come..." but it was Hutton who eventually speaked.

Ling Fei bit her lip, tears threatening her eyes — but she didn’t speak.

Not now.

The Dorne Family’s elite squads stepped forward, surrounding them all from every angle — guns raised, qi swirling, sets of chains forged for capturing high-rank cultivators glowing with runes.

Ling Xia muttered, barely loud enough for Ling Fei

"Stay behind me."

Ling Fei’s lips trembled.

"Hutton... we’re here... I promised you."

From the middle of the hall, Hutton strained against the restraints, fury and desperation burning inside him.

’Damn it, this straps is blocking my qi manipulation’

But not long after, Aurelian Dorne cut all emotion from the air with a single statement.

"Capture the intruders alive. Kill anyone who resists."

And just like that —

The barrier sealed completely.

Qi surged like tidal waves.

The Silent Division braced for war.

But their formation shattered.

Not by attack...

But because a new circle of Alliance elites closed in, denser and stronger than expected.

Ling Fei’s eyes widened.

Ling Xia’s jaw clenched.

They had miscalculated.

There were more peak Nascent Soul elites here than any intelligence report predicted — more than the Silent Division could match. The six families had prepared for war-level defense.

One by one, the Silent Division operatives were forced backward, pressed into a tightening sphere.

Ling Fei and Ling Xia found themselves encircled, outnumbered ten-to-one by cultivators of equal or superior rank.

Aurelian Dorne’s voice carried through the hall like a proclamation of doom:

"You came into a lion’s den... and now you finally understand."

He gestured to his men.

"Seal the entire group. Not one of them leaves."

Ling Fei’s eyes darted to Hutton — fear, fury, pain all mixing in her chest.

"Hutton..."

Her whisper cracked.

He stared back at her — a mixture of shock, gratitude, frustration, and rising fury.

But he was helpless.

Strapped.

Drugged.

Bound by runic chains and six great families’ suppressive formations.

The Silent Division elites finally lowered into defensive stances —

But it was too late.

From above, dozens of capturing seals activated at once, locking down the space like a spider’s web.

Ling Xia let out a slow breath — calm, but with a dangerous tremor beneath.

"Fei... brace yourself."

The barrier tightened.

The Alliance’s elites closed in.

The room filled with killing intent.

And Ling Fei choked out the last words before the formation collapsed around them:

"Hutton... we tried."

At that moment, the sealing formation has reached its climax.

Golden chains of qi spiraled down from the ceiling, locking into geometric patterns.

The Alliance’s peak Nascent Soul elites extended their hands, pouring power into the capturing net.

Ling Fei clenched her teeth.

Ling Xia raised her arm for a final counter...

The Silent Division braced—

And then the air STOPPED.

Every sound vanished.

It was as if the world inhaled sharply and forgot to exhale.

A pressure descended.

Not like the weight of a mountain.

No—

Like the weight of a planet.

The entire hall trembled.

Stone cracked.

All the capturing seals flickered violently.

Aurelian Dorne froze mid-step.

The Franklin Patriarch stopped breathing.

The Silvercrest elders and the rest looked up with terror as they all had the same thought in their mind.

’What is that?’

And then—

BOOOOOOM!!!

The ceiling above the meeting dais exploded.

But it wasn’t debris that fell.

It was a man.

A young one.

He landed in a lazy crouch, one hand in his pocket, the other holding...

a half-eaten packet of chips.

He didn’t even bother brushing off the dust.

His hair was slightly messy, his posture relaxed like someone who just woke from a nap he never wanted to leave, his clothes simple and unassuming — and yet his arrival warped the very qi of the chamber.

A cold, heavy, arrogant aura spread outward like a living creature.

In a single second...

Everyone’s knees buckled.

Elite cultivators gasped for air.

The sealing formation shattered into glitter like broken glass.

Even Ling Xia’s eyes widened — the first time she had shown shock in years.

The young man yawned.

Actually yawned.

And the shockwaves from that lazy exhale blew the nearest Alliance elders several steps backward.

He scratched his neck lazily.

"Wow... can’t a guy take a nap in his comfortable bed without waking up to international stupidity?"

The whole hall was dead silent.

Someone croaked:

"W–Who is that...?!"

Aurelian Dorne tried to straighten his back under the crushing aura.

"H-How dare you intrude—"

The young man flicked his gaze toward Aurelian—

And the Dorne patriarch slammed to the ground as if the gravity around him multiplied tenfold.

"Shh," the young man murmured lazily.

"I didn’t say you could talk."

Ling Fei’s lips parted slightly.

Ling Xia stepped protectively in front of her sister, though her eyes narrowed with interest.

The Silent Division elites all instinctively adjusted their posture — not to fight him, but out of reflexive respect toward an overwhelmingly higher being.

The young man finally lifted his head fully.

Light brown hair.

Calm, unreadable eyes.

A lazy smirk tugging at his lips.

He surveyed the hall...

...and those eyes stopped on Hutton, still strapped to the runic chair, stunned.

"Well," the young man sighed,

"looks like I found him."

Hutton froze.

"Found... me?"

The young man tossed the chip packet onto the floor and rolled his shoulders.

"You’re Hutton Maxwell, right?"

He tilted his head with unbothered confidence.

"I’ve been meaning to meet you. A distant friend of mine begged me to help you escape a predicament, but am quite surprised at how bad the predicament you are in is"

’A friend? Who might that be?’ Hutton thought with a confused look on his face. And obviously, the young man knew what was on his mind, but he didn’t answer right away...

Because a moment later, he cracked his neck—

The sound echoed like thunder.

The aura in the room grew even heavier, forcing nearly everyone except Ling Xia and Ling Fei to the floor.

"But before we talk..."

His eyes glowed faintly—

"...let me take out the trash."

Every Dorne elite, every Franklin elder, every Silvercrest enforcer —

all of them found themselves pinned, breathless, unable to muster a shred of resistance.

Aurelian Dorne spat blood.

"Who... ARE YOU?!"

The young man lifted one eyebrow.

"Oh. Right. Introductions."

He casually placed his foot atop a fallen chair, striking the pose of a delinquent who wandered into the wrong classroom.

"Name’s Zephyr Lingxin."

Hutton blinked.

"Ling... Xin?"

Ling Fei gasped.

"That surname—!"

Ling Xia’s expression cracked for the first time.

"...Impossible. Zephyr? THE Zephyr? The one grandfather warned us about?"

Zephyr pointed at himself lazily.

"Yep. The disappointment of the Ling Clan. The one who sleeps all day, farms aura for fun, and skips every family duty known to mankind."

He flashed a grin.

"But also the one who’s about to ruin every single person in this room for touching my sister’s... friend."

Ling Fei froze, cheeks suddenly hot.

"S–SISTER?!"

Ling Xia’s eye twitched.

"...You could have phrased that better."

Zephyr shrugged lazily.

"But hey," he drawled, "we can sort out family titles later. For now—"

He snapped his fingers.

BOOOOOM!!!

His aura surged again, this time like a tidal wave.

Walls cracked.

Lights shattered.

Dozens of peak Nascent Souls screamed as their qi flows reversed.

The Alliance elites were seconds from total collapse.

Ling Fei’s breath caught.

Ling Xia silently admitted:

This man could fight the entire Alliance alone.

And win.

Zephyr looked at Hutton.

"Let me get those cuffs off you. Then..."

His smile sharpened.

"...we tear our way out."