Egg Egg's sweet voice and solemn tone snapped Chu Feng wide awake.
The two figures in the distance were powerful — every one of them far surpassed him in strength — but they were currently fighting each other to the death, with no attention to spare for anything else.
In this situation, opportunity had fallen into Chu Feng's lap. As long as he could withstand the pressure they released and make his way through it, he would reap the benefits and walk away with those ten thousand Mystic Pearls.
"My apologies to you both."
With that thought, Chu Feng didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and began carefully circling around, trying to bypass the perimeter of their battle and make his way toward the exit of the underground palace.
However, the aura of the two fighters was far too overwhelming. It had practically sealed off every path leading to the exit. Under these circumstances, Chu Feng had no choice but to risk being discovered and step directly into the zone engulfed by their residual pressure.
"So powerful — the pressure from these two monsters is absolutely terrifying. I've only entered the outer edges of the residual wave, and it's already this overwhelming. If they directed their full pressure at me, I don't think I could withstand it even with your power, Egg Egg."
Chu Feng clenched his teeth, pouring every ounce of his Mental Power into maintaining the concealment barrier wrapped around his body. If the barrier shattered, those two would spot him in an instant — and that would be the end of him.
Fortunately, the two fighters were drifting further and further apart. With only residual pressure to contend with, Chu Feng could just barely hold on. Under these conditions, he finally managed to make his way onto the path leading to the exit, and before long he stood before the great gate.
In front of the gate sat a jade platform of brilliant green, less than half a meter tall. A golden token was thrust into its surface — on the front was inscribed the character "Supreme," and on the back, "Venerable." It was unmistakably the Supreme Token of the Supreme Villa.
The Supreme Token, embedded in the jade platform, looked like a key. Instinct told Chu Feng that once he pulled it free, the towering gate — a full ten meters high and magnificently grand — would open.
But that wasn't the main thing. Behind the token sat a Universe Bag. Chu Feng picked it up and ran his hand across it, and a single crystal-clear bead, translucent as glass, dropped into his palm.
The bead was beautiful. Within it churned an incredibly dense concentration of Mystic Force — so rich that hundreds of high-grade Mystic Medicines probably couldn't match the power contained in this single pearl.
"So these are the Mystic Pearls — haha, what a treasure!" Chu Feng was absolutely thrilled. Beads just like this one filled the Universe Bag — nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine more of them. This was undoubtedly a massive fortune, the greatest wealth Chu Feng had ever possessed in his life.
"Haha, Chu Feng, pull out that token and get out of here! Let that old pervert and that little brat keep fighting each other!" At the same time, Egg Egg was equally overjoyed.
"Can't do that. If I walk out now, everyone will know I was the first one to pass the trial. That would draw far too much attention — it's extremely disadvantageous for me."
"More importantly, that perverted old man Wang Qiang and that mysterious young man would both know I took advantage of their battle to slip through the cracks."
"I've already offended the Jie clan. I can't afford to make two more powerful enemies here. Otherwise, when I eventually enter the Myriad Monster Mountain, they might be the very first ones to try and kill me — before any demon beasts even get the chance."
"Then what do we do? You can't just leave ten thousand Mystic Pearls behind!"
"There's only one option. Pretend nothing happened — go back the way I came." As he spoke, Chu Feng stashed the Universe Bag brimming with Mystic Pearls and began heading back toward the two combatants.
"No! That's too dangerous! There's no need to take that kind of risk!" Egg Egg protested vigorously.
"Relax. I have the Nine Heavens Dragon Flight on my side. If they spot me, I can always flee. And if they don't spot me, I avoid making two deadly enemies." Chu Feng was resolute.
After hearing Chu Feng's reasoning, Egg Egg had to admit it made sense. If he walked out now, making those two enemies was practically guaranteed, and conflicts would be inevitable down the road. But if he could slip back without being noticed, he could avoid those future confrontations entirely. So Egg Egg stopped arguing.
"Woosh!"
But before Chu Feng had gone more than a short distance back, a tremendous ripple of force swept toward him. After bracing himself against it, Chu Feng was stunned to see that the perverted old man Wang Qiang lay crumpled in the distance, drenched in blood — with one arm severed clean off.
And the youth? His body was radiating a faint golden glow, as though a deity had descended to the mortal world — utterly unstoppable. On his forehead, a single golden character blazed: Emperor.
"That's an Emperor-level Bloodline! No wonder this kid is so terrifying — he's wielding that much concentrated bloodline power," Egg Egg explained.
"You — you — you're from the Jiang Dynasty! You're actually from the Jiang Dynasty!!!" The perverted old man's face was twisted in pure terror, his voice trembling. He had been utterly shaken by both the youth's strength and his identity.
"Now that you know, it's not too late. But it doesn't really change anything — you're going to die at my hands today no matter what." The youth smiled faintly as he closed in on the old man.
"Kill me? It won't be that easy!" The old man suddenly flipped his palm, revealing a black pill — a forbidden medicine. He swallowed it, and the Heavenly Force inside him surged explosively. His figure flickered, and he vanished, fleeing at full speed.
"Hmph. Running? Not so easy." The youth let out a cold snort, then pushed off from the ground with the tip of his toe and disappeared as well, presumably chasing after the old man's escape route.
"So it was someone from the Jiang Dynasty who infiltrated this place. No wonder he was so formidable."
"That aura his body gave off just now was very special — so that's the power of a bloodline?" After the two left, Chu Feng immediately sprinted in the other direction. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy at the youth's extraordinary ability.
The fact that someone at the Xuan Wu Realm could force a Heaven Martial Realm powerhouse into such a desperate state spoke volumes about the bloodline power the Jiang Dynasty possessed. It was no small thing. And it was no wonder that while the Jiang Dynasty allowed various factions to develop freely, no single force had ever managed to challenge the Dynasty's supreme position.
With ten thousand Mystic Pearls safely in his grasp, Chu Feng no longer felt the urge to leave in a hurry. Instead, he found a quiet corner to rest, carefully counting the time. Only when he judged that the five-hour limit was nearly up did he hurry toward the exit.
When Chu Feng emerged from the exit, he found a massive crowd gathered outside. Upon spotting him, many faces showed a flicker of surprise — though not enough to qualify as genuine shock. Most people simply glanced at him before turning their attention elsewhere.
This was because Chu Feng's timing was merely satisfactory — he hadn't been particularly fast. They were mildly surprised only because of his young age; passing the trial at such a youthful age suggested he was quite the talent.
However, talents of this caliber were hardly rare here, so he couldn't draw all that much attention.
Had Chu Feng walked out first with that token in hand, those people's eyes would hold not just a hint of surprise but absolute astonishment. But the very last thing Chu Feng wanted right now was unnecessary commotion. He craved anonymity.
"Brother Chu Feng!" Just then, a familiar voice rang out. He looked up to see Gu Bo and the other junior members of the Spirit World Guild walking toward him with smiles on their faces — they, too, had successfully passed the qualification examination.