He is from Astor Family!

"Brother, the matter had already been settled. Why must you continue to press this issue so relentlessly?" Despite the excruciating pain, Phen forcibly suppressed it to inquire.

The guard, however, was not in the mood for discussion. He walked straight towards Ethan, saying as he did, "My lord felt that he hadn't vented enough anger on the way here, so he sent me back to give your master another lesson."

"What?!"

As soon as the guard uttered these words, not only Phen, the maids, and the servants, but even Ethan himself stood frozen in shock.

Good heavens, what kind of person was this? Even though the matter had seemingly been resolved, and Ethan had already lost all his teeth, this person still didn't feel it was enough and had even sent someone back to discipline Ethan further!

Ethan's swollen lips quivered, attempting to articulate some form of protest, but he was swiftly grabbed by the guard. Shortly thereafter, the carriage was filled with Ethan's piercing and pitiful screams.

After roughly the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, the guard, having satisfied himself, casually dusted off his clothes. After giving the blood-soaked, mud-like figure of Ethan on the ground, who was barely trembling, one last look, he finally ceased his actions.

"There, I've helped my lord vent his anger. You better get him treated, lest he dies and makes the lesson he's learned a waste." The guard said indifferently to Phen and the others.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and tend to the young master's wounds!" Phen urgently ordered the maids!

The maids, previously cowering in a corner, frantically carried the bloodied and limp Ethan back onto the carriage's bed. Phen wasted no time in checking Ethan's pulse, his fingers pressing down on his wrist.

After a brief moment, Phen's expression drastically changed, and he immediately pressed down on Ethan's dantian area.

"You... you've destroyed my young master's dantian!" Phen turned back in shock to face the guard, who hadn't yet departed.

"So what if I did?" The guard replied with an indifferent tone.

"You…!" Phen's breathing became erratic. While he had managed to remain composed when the guard knocked out all of Ethan's teeth, the revelation of Ethan's shattered dantian completely unsettled him. A broken dantian meant the end of one's path in cultivation.

Despite Ethan not being a cultivation prodigy, he had managed to reach the level of a two-cloud martial artist with the resources of the South Cloud Prefecture's governor. With sufficient financial investment, it was entirely possible for him to advance to a seven-cloud martial artist. However, all hopes were dashed now.

Phen could already foresee the governor's thunderous rage upon learning his son's dantian had been destroyed. In a world where martial prowess was revered, losing the ability to cultivate was akin to being doomed to mediocrity forever.

Taking a deep breath, Phen fixed a cold gaze on the guard, his voice dropping to a low, icy tone. "Brother, we admit our fault for provoking your lord earlier, and you have already made many of our people suffer, including disciplining our young master. But now, you've destroyed the very foundation of his cultivation. Do you realize that by doing so, you've sworn a deadly feud with the governor of South Cloud Prefecture?"

"Of course, I'm aware," the guard replied calmly, nodding slightly.

The guard's composed demeanor nearly drove Phen to madness. After taking several deep breaths to compose himself, he coldly stated, "Does your lord also understand the consequences of making an enemy out of South Cloud Prefecture? Can he and his family bear the weight of such enmity? Is he not afraid of bringing disaster upon his own family?"

Hearing Phen's veiled threat, the guard finally showed a flicker of emotion, revealing a mocking smile. He looked disdainfully at Phen and the now silent Ethan, unable to even utter a word.

"My lord has a message for you all. You won't need to attend the king's birthday banquet," the guard stated plainly.

"What did you say?! Don't push us too far!" Phen roared, unable to believe the audacity of the guard's words, shocked that he dared to prevent them from attending the king's birthday celebration after inflicting such injuries on Ethan.

Ignoring Phen's rage, the guard continued, "My lord said he doesn't want to see anyone who disgusts him at his father's birthday banquet. So, you don't need to bother entering the city."

This statement left everyone momentarily stunned, trying to comprehend its meaning.

Suddenly, realization dawned on Phen, causing his eyes to widen and his body to shudder. "His father's birthday banquet!" Those words felt like a mountain crashing down on him, overwhelming even his six-cloud martial artist's sturdy physique with a suffocating pressure.

As Phen mustered all his strength to ask the identity of the guard's lord, the guard turned and leaped off the carriage, leaving behind a deep voice that lingered in the air, "My lord's name is Magnus."

The moment the name "Magnus" was uttered, it struck like a thunderclap, echoing in the carriage and reverberating in everyone's hearts. Phen, whose physique was robust as a martial artist of the six-cloud level, suddenly felt his knees buckle, causing him to collapse to the ground.

He muttered to himself in disbelief, "Magnus... He is the third son of the Peerless King, Magnus!"

As Phen's whispers spread through the carriage, every servant and maid was struck with terror as if they had seen a ghost. They all knew they had just provoked one of the most powerful figures in the Fengyun Kingdom, the third son of the Peerless King, who was regarded as a war god.

Lying on the bed, suffering from severe pain and unable to move or speak, Ethan's entire body trembled uncontrollably. His sweat-soaked forehead highlighted the intense fear gripping him, now fully aware of whom they had just crossed.

He recalled his earlier threats towards Magnus, including his boast about bringing doom to Magnus's family. No wonder Magnus and his entourage had laughed so heartily at his threats.

Ethan's family, the governing body of South Cloud Prefecture, paled in comparison to Magnus's royal lineage, which included the Peerless King and even the reigning Emperor. His father's power seemed insignificant against such formidable opponents.

In an instant, Ethan was overwhelmed by fear and regret, wishing he could prostrate himself before Magnus, begging for mercy. But it was too late for any reconciliation.

Overcome by terror and remorse, Ethan eventually passed out. Shortly after, Phen ordered the carriage to turn around and hastily return to South Cloud Prefecture, realizing the grave mistake they had made.

Phen knew they had to inform the governor immediately about the incident. Only a profound apology from the governor himself might appease the situation and prevent catastrophic repercussions for their family.

As Ethan's entourage made their hasty retreat, Magnus's carriage continued its journey into Silver City, with Old Leang expertly guiding the carriage through the bustling streets, signaling the end of one conflict and the beginning of their next adventure in the city.