The moment the Lord of the Underworld Manor and the Elf King spoke those words, they struck the crowd like several bolts of thunder, exploding in their hearts.
After all, they had long noticed that the stone armies guarding each of the spatial warships were all Martial Emperors, and their numbers were staggering.
They had initially assumed that those terrifying stone armies were a hidden force of the Ancient Elves, but none of them had ever imagined that the commander of those stone armies would be Chu Feng.
"Really? Those stone armies — they were actually led by Chu Feng?"
"The Ancient Elves fought against the Dark Hall, and Chu Feng's war contributions actually surpassed everyone else's?"
"My goodness! Chu Feng has actually grown to such a level?"
"An emperor — Chu Feng is definitely the emperor of this era! I truly didn't misjudge him."
"Exactly! So many people questioned Chu Feng before, but I always believed he would be the emperor of this era. See? I wasn't wrong."
True to expectation, once the crowd learned of this, the sea of people erupted. Chu Feng's praises could be heard everywhere.
At that moment, no one was willing to hold back their compliments for Chu Feng. They simply lamented that they didn't have enough words to praise him.
Although there were many people here, in the grand scheme of things, true big shots were limited. The majority were nobodies — obscure nobodies at that.
All these nobodies hoped to strike it lucky, hoping that their flattery might earn Chu Feng's appreciation. If that happened, they could rise to prominence overnight.
Yet even as hundreds of millions of people across the venue praised Chu Feng and heaped flattery upon him, quite a few harbored complicated feelings in their hearts.
Take Luo Lian, Grandpa Luo's eldest granddaughter, for example. She was arguably one of the earliest people in the Martial God's Continent to have met Chu Feng, and she should have been the closest to him of all.
However, the first time she had laid eyes on Chu Feng, her attitude toward him had been dripping with contempt. She had even hurled insults at him, looking down on him with absolute disdain.
But now, she was still a nobody. Meanwhile, Chu Feng had become the most sought-after figure in the entire Martial God's Continent — the husband countless women dreamed of.
Regret. She was consumed by regret.
Even though Chu Feng had borne no grudge and arranged for her, her grandfather, and Xiao Ru to settle in Greenwood South Forest — after which they followed Greenwood South Forest into Greenwood Mountain, and thanks to Chu Feng's influence, they were revered by countless people within Greenwood Mountain —
She still felt that she and Chu Feng could never truly be friends. Not because Chu Feng looked down on her, but because she had once looked down on Chu Feng from the bottom of her heart.
And in truth, there were quite a few people like Luo Lian in that vast crowd.
They all harbored resentment — not toward anyone else, but toward themselves for having been so blind. They had been nobodies, yet they had used their meager advantage over Chu Feng at the time to look down on him.
But in the end, Chu Feng had grown into one of the most exalted figures in the Martial God's Continent, while they remained nobodies. Even the little fame they had was merely a byproduct of Chu Feng's shadow.
What they didn't realize was that they were the ones who couldn't let go. If they were willing, they could still become good friends with Chu Feng.
"Everyone, there is something I must tell you."
"First, there is the Master of the Dark Hall. This man has cultivated a demonic art, and the demonic art he cultivates requires him to refine the lives of all living beings in order to increase his cultivation. Every single one of us here is a target he wishes to kill."
"In other words, we are merely resources for his cultivation advancement." Once everyone had stepped out of the spatial warship, the Elven King began to speak gravely.
"He actually refines us to boost his cultivation? This Master of the Dark Hall is truly abhorrent! Isn't that far too cruel? Is he even human?!" Upon learning this, the crowd was both shocked and terrified, though the majority of their reaction was outrage directed at the Master of the Dark Hall.
"Most importantly, the Master of the Dark Hall possesses Half-Ancestor cultivation. None of us here are his match. Should he find this place, every last one of us will surely die," the Elven King added.
"Half-Ancestor? Did you say Half-Ancestor?"
Hearing these words, no one could remain calm. Before, the crowd had simply been cursing the Master of the Dark Hall, but with the Elven King and the Master of Hell's Gate and so many other experts present, they had still felt a degree of security.
However, upon learning that the Master of the Dark Hall actually possessed Half-Ancestor cultivation, they truly could not keep their composure. In an instant, unrest began to ripple through the vast sea of people.
"Calm yourselves!" Seeing the crowd descend into panic, the Elven King let out another thunderous shout that shook the very void.
And after that shout, the people who had already begun to grow frantic did quiet down, for the Elven King's prestige was truly immense.
"Although the Master of the Dark Hall is powerful, we are not—" the reason "we have brought everyone here is that there is someone in this place who can save us, and that person is the Celestial Immortal Tongtian." The Elven King then proceeded to tell the crowd everything about the Celestial Immortal Tongtian and the Gate of Transformation.
He also informed them of how he had pleaded with the Celestial Immortal Tongtian to take them in, only to be refused.