"Spirit World Masters — this is what Spirit World Masters are. This is the terrifying power of a Spirit World Master. A single one is enough to rival a thousand armies and ten thousand horses."
"Why would we even need to lift a finger? Duan Jidao alone is more than enough to wipe out the four Great Emperor Clans." Yao Jiao Guang was practically vibrating with excitement. In his eyes, the four Great Emperor Clans were as good as doomed.
In truth, it wasn't just him — nearly everyone present felt the same way. They all believed Duan Jidao had the power to single-handedly annihilate the four Great Emperor Clans. Even the four clans themselves thought so.
"If I had known, I wouldn't have been in such a rush to have Lord Duan pass his inheritance to me," Jiang Wushuang's face was full of regret once more. "If his cultivation hadn't been damaged, at his former seventh level Martial Emperor strength, the spirits he summoned today would have been far more powerful than this. Lord Duan probably wouldn't even need to fight — the spirits alone would be enough to destroy the four Great Emperor Clans."
Hearing those words, Chu Feng silently agreed with what Jiang Wushuang had said, because the two of them had reached the same conclusion.
The strength of spirit world beings depended on the strength of their Spirit World Master. The more powerful the Spirit World Master, the more powerful the spirits. The weaker the Spirit World Master, the weaker the spirits would inevitably be.
Spirits would only pledge loyalty to a Spirit World Master stronger than themselves. The higher a spirit's cultivation, the more true this held — they valued power and benefits above all else.
At Duan Jidao's level, while his personal abilities were formidable, the spirits he could subdue were necessarily weaker than his own cultivation.
Just as Jiang Wushuang had said, if Duan Jidao were still at the seventh level of Martial Emperor, the spirits he summoned today would certainly include beings at the fifth level of Martial Emperor — perhaps even sixth level Martial Emperor spirits might be willing to pledge allegiance to him and fight on his behalf.
But once Duan Jidao had fallen from the seventh level to the fifth level, even if he still had contracts with fifth or sixth level Martial Emperor spirits, those spirits would no longer be willing to serve him.
Under such circumstances, Duan Jidao could only dissolve those contracts and grant the spirits their freedom. After all, for a Spirit World Master, harboring spirits that were disloyal yet stronger than oneself was extremely dangerous.
In the end, most spirits served a Spirit World Master for the sake of profit. Those like Egg Egg, who were willing to share Chu Feng's hardships and even sacrifice herself for his sake, were exceedingly rare.
And speaking of which, if Egg Egg hadn't been forcibly sealed within Chu Feng's body by his mother in the first place, given her personality, she never would have been so devoted to him.
Ultimately, Egg Egg had initially helped Chu Feng because she had been sealed inside him — their lives bound together, sharing the same fate. So in the beginning, helping Chu Feng had been helping herself. As for what came after, that was simply the result of emotions that had grown over time, which was why she remained so loyal.
This was also the reason why Chu Feng, despite having the ability to summon far more spirits, had never bothered to do so. In his eyes, spirits that were disloyal and insufficiently powerful were nothing but a burden.
"Wushuang, don't blame yourself," Yin Gongfu consoled Jiang Wushuang. "There were reasons behind Lord Duan's urgency to pass his inheritance to you." He knew that Duan Jidao was gravely ill — an incurable condition. Even without taking his own life, he wouldn't have survived much longer, which was why he had been so desperate to find a successor.
Rumble—rumble—rumble—boooom boom boom boom boom—But right at that moment, a series of thunderous booms erupted, and ripples of destructive energy tore across heaven and earth. The thousand-strong army of spirits had launched their assault, using the unique techniques of the Spirit World to relentlessly bombard the Ximen Great Emperor Clan's fortress.
However, the four Great Emperor Clans had clearly come prepared. A powerful barrier shielded the Ximen clan's fortress, and no matter how furiously the spirits attacked, they could not break through.
Still, maintaining that barrier was costing the four clans everything they had. They could no longer spare anyone to aid Ximen Baiyuan — all of their strength had to go toward sustaining the barrier.
The four Great Emperor Clans' Supreme Elders had even brought out the four Emperor Armaments, including the Emperor Dragon Seal, channeling the power of these artifacts to reinforce the massive barrier.
As their subordinate spirits continued to pummel the Ximen Great Emperor Clan's fortress, sending many of the younger generation and the women of the four clans into tears of terror, Duan Jidao — wielding an Emperor Armament of his own — turned his full force upon Ximen Baiyuan.
And Ximen Baiyuan, now cut off from the power the others had been channeling into him, could only rely on his own Emperor-level bloodline. He was no match for Duan Jidao.