I Just Wanted to Teach Cultivation, But Goddesses Keep Coming!

Chapter 356: Chapter 356 Taking It All Down in One Gulp

Meanwhile, outside the formation, the crowd stood in stunned silence. The swirling barrier of dust and stone had only just begun to settle when a figure calmly stepped out from within.

Lin Feng. Alone. For a moment, no one reacted. Then…

“What? It’s already over?”

“That fast?! It hasn’t even been sixty breaths!”

“Did… did Master Lin Feng win?”

“Where’s Elder Qin Ran?!”

Voices erupted all at once, confusion and disbelief spreading like wildfire through the gathered crowd.

Many craned their necks, trying to peer past Lin Feng, hoping to catch a glimpse of Qin Ran emerging behind him. But there was nothing.

Only Lin Feng stood there, composed and unruffled, as if he had merely taken a short walk rather than engaged in a life-and-death battle. Some cultivators exchanged uneasy glances.

“That formation… it completely blocked our spiritual senses.”

“We couldn’t see anything… not even a trace of their clash.”

“So what happened inside?”

A heavy silence followed that question. Because no one had an answer. And that… Was what made it terrifying. If it had been a fierce, earth-shattering battle, at least they could understand it.

Even defeat would make sense. But this? No sounds. No shockwaves. No signs of struggle. And yet it was over. In less than sixty breaths. All eyes slowly returned to Lin Feng. Their gazes had changed.

The earlier curiosity, doubt, and even ridicule had completely vanished, replaced by something far more profound… Fear. Awe. And disbelief. To them, Lin Feng now seemed less like a person…

And more like an unfathomable monster.

***

Lin Feng returned to the celebration hall as if nothing of importance had happened.

There was no trace of battle on him… no disheveled robes, no fluctuation in aura, not even a change in his breathing.

He simply walked back to his seat, lifted the wine jar, and poured himself another cup with steady hands. The clear sound of liquid filling the cup echoed softly. He raised it and drank.

Unhurried. Composed. As though the confrontation outside had been nothing more than a trivial interruption to his day.

From that moment on, he showed no intention of touching tea again. The fragrance of fine liquor lingered around him as he continued drinking, one cup after another, completely at ease.

But the rest of the hall… Was anything but at ease. Dozens… hundreds of gazes were locked onto him. Some filled with awe. Some with fear. Some with deep, unspoken curiosity. No one dared to approach.

No one dared to speak too loudly. Because no one knew what had truly happened inside that formation.

They only knew one thing… It had ended too quickly.

Five minutes later…

Soft footsteps echoed at the entrance. Qin Ran walked in. The moment she appeared, the already tense atmosphere grew even heavier.

“She’s back…”

“Look at her expression…”

“Who won earlier?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It must be Master Lin Feng…”

“Did master Lin Feng used that technique?” Whispers spread rapidly, but even those whispers were cautious, as if speaking too loudly might offend one of the two.

All eyes fell on Qin Ran. Her face was calm.

The arrogance and cold superiority she had displayed earlier were gone. In their place was a quiet stillness, like a lake whose surface had settled after a violent storm.

No one could read her thoughts. But that only made it more unsettling. Under the weight of countless gazes, Qin Ran moved forward. Step by step.

And then to everyone’s shock, she walked directly toward Lin Feng. No hesitation. No detour. Straight to his table. The murmurs instantly intensified.

“She’s going to him!”

“Is she going to challenge him again?”

“Or… did something happen inside?”

Even some elders leaned forward slightly, their eyes narrowing as they tried to discern the situation. Qin Ran reached the table. She paused for the briefest moment… then sat down across from Lin Feng.

No greetings. No hostility. No words at all. Her hand reached out and picked up the teacup before her. It was filled with liquor. She stared at it for a second then drank. Cleanly. Decisively. She set the cup down.

And waited. Lin Feng glanced at her once, his eyes calm and unreadable.

Then he simply poured himself another cup and drank again, as if her presence changed nothing.

And so without a single word being exchanged a silent contest began. Cup after cup. Drink after drink. Neither spoke. Neither stopped.

Li Zhiyan stood quietly at the side, her heart slightly tense as she carefully refilled their cups whenever they emptied.

She could feel the strange atmosphere between them… calm on the surface, yet filled with something indescribable beneath. She didn’t dare interrupt. No one did. Time seemed to slow within the hall.

The chatter faded. Even the earlier excitement surrounding the birthday celebration dimmed as all attention shifted to this silent exchange. Qin Ran drank steadily, but her gaze…

Her gaze was no longer the same. From time to time, her eyes would lift and settle on Lin Feng. Gone was the disdain. Gone was the suspicion. What remained was complexity.

Shock that had yet to fully settle. Curiosity she could not suppress. Her fingers tightened slightly around the cup. That single moment… That single finger… It replayed in her mind again and again.

The feeling of absolute helplessness. The certainty of death. The realization that everything she had believed in… her strength, her status, her experience… Could be erased in an instant.

And yet… He hadn’t killed her. He hadn’t humiliated her publicly. He hadn’t even demanded anything in return. He simply… walked away. Qin Ran lowered her gaze slightly and drank again.

For the first time in countless years… Her heart was unsettled. No one present could understand what she was thinking. No one… Except one.

At the table with them, Yun Wanqing watched quietly, her eyes never leaving Lin Feng. A faint smile curved her lips. There was a certain familiarity in Qin Ran’s expression.

An obvious shift. A crack in pride. A seed… being planted.

“I know that look…” Yun Wanqing mused inside her heart and her eyes softened, a trace of heat flickering within them.