"Yes, this is all thanks to you. If I hadn't accompanied you here, I wouldn't have been able to break through so quickly," Chu Feng said.
"Great, great, great — this is truly wonderful news! This is a double celebration! Let's go outside and share the joy with our seniors." As Yaojiao Tingyu spoke, she soared out of the Inheritance Pool.
"Did it succeed?" The Martial Emperor's face lit up with surprise and delight. After all, the transformation in Yaojiao Tingyu was plain for anyone to see.
"I did it, Senior — I really did it! My faction and I can continue to hold power over the Yaojiao King Beasts! And it's all thanks to Chu Feng — he is our great benefactor!" Yaojiao Tingyu declared.
"Good, good, good!" The Martial Emperor was so moved that he repeated the word three times in succession. Then, to everyone's shock, he dropped to his knees before Chu Feng with a thud.
"Senior, what are you doing?" Chu Feng hurried forward to help him up.
"Friend Chu Feng, great kindness need not be spoken of, but the grace you have shown us today — the Yaojiao King Beasts must repay it. In the future, if you ever need anything, just say the word. Even if it means charging through boiling water and walking through fire, even if it costs me this old life, I would gladly give it." The Martial Emperor spoke with utter solemnity, refusing to rise.
"Senior, you're too kind. I've known Princess Tingyu for a long time — we're friends. I, Chu Feng, help friends without expecting anything in return," Chu Feng said.
"Friend Chu Feng, the Yaojiao King Beasts will repay this debt. You don't know how important this is to us," the Martial Emperor insisted.
"Kneeling before a human — how embarrassing for our Yaojiao King Beasts." Just then, a familiar voice rang out from the distance.
"You're not dead?!" Yaojiao Tingyu and the Peace Faction Martial Emperor both stared in shock, their faces draining of color. The newcomer was none other than the War Faction's second-grade Martial Emperor.
He had actually survived the siege of the Hellfire Insects.
"Tingyu, I am your senior after all — did you really want me dead that badly?" The War Faction Martial Emperor sneered as he closed in on the three of them.
"What do you want?" Yaojiao Tingyu asked.
"Simple. You wanted me dead, so now I'm going to make sure you die. Especially now that you've received Lord Dragon King's inheritance — you absolutely must die." The War Faction Martial Emperor's voice was cold as ice.
"Chu Feng, Tingyu, run — now!" At that moment, the Peace Faction's first-grade Martial Emperor suddenly launched himself forward, transforming into a massive black Yaojiao dragon and hurtling toward the War Faction's second-grade Martial Emperor.
He had reverted to his true form — intending to sacrifice his own life to buy Chu Feng and Yaojiao Tingyu a chance to escape.
"You're overestimating yourself." The War Faction Martial Emperor let out a cold snort. As a second-grade Martial Emperor, how could he possibly regard a first-grade Martial Emperor as any kind of threat?
With a single thought, his oppressive aura swept outward, intending to crush the other to death with sheer pressure alone.
Hummmm—
But just as that overwhelming pressure came crashing down, a brilliant golden barrier materialized out of thin air, forming a wall that blocked the War Faction Martial Emperor's aura dead in its tracks.
"A Dragon Mark barrier?" Seeing the golden barrier surging with the patterns of a dragon, the War Faction Martial Emperor was stunned. So were the Peace Faction Martial Emperor and Yaojiao Tingyu.
"Chu Feng — you're a Dragon Mark Royal Cloak Spirit World Master?!" The War Faction Martial Emperor stared at Chu Feng in complete disbelief. He knew that barrier had come from Chu Feng.
"Your life is remarkably tenacious. You must have used some kind of treasure to survive," Chu Feng said.
"Answer my question!" the War Faction Martial Emperor barked, the shock on his face growing rather than fading.
"You've already seen my barrier — why ask what you already know?" Chu Feng smiled coldly, then continued, "Actually, it works out that you survived. For scum like you, I've always preferred to deal with them personally."
With that, Chu Feng walked over to the Peace Faction Martial Emperor and said, "Senior, leave this disgrace among the Yaojiao King Beasts to me."
"Chu Feng, you—" The Peace Faction Martial Emperor was hesitant. Although Chu Feng's cultivation had improved, he was still merely an eighth-grade Half-Emperor — how could he possibly stand against a second-grade Martial Emperor?
"Senior, trust me," Chu Feng said with confidence.
"Be careful." In the end, the Peace Faction Martial Emperor relented. He had no ability whatsoever to stand against the War Faction Martial Emperor himself, and Chu Feng had indeed managed to block that pressure using his barrier arts.
Though he had little confidence in Chu Feng, the reality was that Chu Feng's abilities were currently greater than his own. If the Peace Faction Martial Emperor fought, he knew he would simply die. But if Chu Feng fought, there might actually be a slim chance of survival.