Spiritual pressure was not the same as Mental Power. It was a technique used to assault the mind.
This technique would not directly harm the body, but it could shatter the opponent's spirit, causing them to mentally collapse — or even go mad.
The Battle Faction Elder currently using spiritual pressure on Chu Feng had deployed a particularly powerful variant.
His intentions were obvious: even if he couldn't drive Chu Feng insane, he wanted to break him — to crush Chu Feng's spirit and make him crumble from the inside out.
Chu Feng had no grudge against this man. They were meeting for the very first time. Yet the elder had already struck with such vicious intent. It said everything about how ruthless this Battle Faction Elder truly was.
But while such a technique might work on other juniors, it was utterly useless against Chu Feng — for no other reason than that his greatest strength was his Mental Power.
"Hm?"
When the elder saw that he had already unleashed his most powerful spiritual pressure yet Chu Feng's expression hadn't changed in the slightest, his face shifted. He was clearly caught off guard.
"Senior, this junior is indeed Chu Feng. However, I believe there is a misunderstanding — I, Chu Feng, have never committed any heinous crimes. I'm not sure what Senior means by that." Chu Feng asked calmly, not exposing the elder's malicious act. He acted as though nothing had happened.
In truth, he had no choice. If he called the elder out publicly for using spiritual pressure against him, the elder would certainly deny it — and then turn around and accuse Chu Feng of slandering him. That would land Chu Feng in serious trouble.
"Your evil deeds are known to all," the Battle Faction Elder said.
"Known to all? Those are merely rumors. For a senior to accuse this junior of such things without having witnessed anything firsthand — that is truly unjust."
"Or does that mean... Senior is the kind of person who believes every piece of hearsay on the spot?" Chu Feng asked.
"Hmph." The elder's brow knitted together and he let out a cold snort. He clearly hadn't expected Chu Feng to speak to him this brazenly, on their own territory no less.
But rather than continue arguing with Chu Feng, the elder turned and addressed the others: "I can see this Chu Feng reeks of banditry. He is entirely untrustworthy. Under no circumstances should someone like him be allowed to enter the tomb of the Dragon King."
"Elder, it was previously agreed that as long as I brought Chu Feng here, he would be allowed to take Tingyu into the Dragon King's tomb for a trial. How can you now—" Yaojiao Guang grew anxious. This matter was of the utmost importance.
"Circumstances have changed. When Tingyu's condition was good, a trial was indeed possible."
"But Tingyu grew impatient. She took advantage of the Dragon King's tomb opening on its own and snuck inside alone, soaking in the Inheritance Pool for a full eight hours. Her body couldn't withstand it, and she collapsed within the pool — suffering a severe backlash."
"She has since regained consciousness, but her body is still extremely weak. If she enters the Inheritance Pool again, it would be no different from seeking death," the Battle Faction Elder declared.
"Thank you for your concern, Elder. But Tingyu can still endure." Just then, a graceful figure walked through the hall's entrance. The young woman had a lovely appearance, yet her true form was that of a demon beast — she was none other than Yaojiao Tingyu.
"Tingyu greets the esteemed Elders, greets Father, and greets all the distinguished seniors." Yaojiao Tingyu politely bowed to everyone, then turned to Chu Feng, looking at him with a mixture of joy and wonder.
"Young Master Chu Feng, we meet again at last."
"Princess Tingyu, it's good to see you," Chu Feng replied courteously.
"Young Master Chu Feng is truly remarkable. I still remember when we were at the Immortal Island — your cultivation was only at the Martial King realm, while I was already a third-grade Half-Emperor. And now, though I've reached the fifth-grade Half-Emperor, you've already ascended to the seventh-grade. How am I supposed to keep up?"
"Princess Tingyu, you make this junior blush when you say things like that." Chu Feng could tell that Yaojiao Tingyu was joking and that there wasn't a trace of mockery in her words, so he had no reason to be offended.