The moment Elder Wu finished speaking, every War Blood and Star Ring member in the hall drew a sharp breath, unable to form a single word for what felt like an eternity. Their faces were etched with disbelief and shock.
"Lin Xie and the others… lost?"
Shixue Zhanhun stared at Elder Wu, refusing to believe what he had just heard. But there was no reason for Elder Wu to lie to him, and he knew full well that Lin Xie had indeed led the Demon Emperor Palace's main force toward Dragonheart Island — the timeline fit perfectly.
But Lin Xie was a genuine top-ten expert on Dragonheart Island. Even if the Sword Fanatic's strength had surged considerably after advancing to Tier 3, there should still be a considerable gap between him and Lin Xie.
What was more, Lin Xie had two Vice Commanders at his side. Shixue Zhanhun had personally felt the strength of those two — in his estimation, only the Sword Fanatic could hope to match them. Everyone else fell short. Add to that the other Tier 3 holders, all of whom possessed exceptional bloodlines and were among the very best of the best, and the combined might of Lin Xie's team was such that on all of Dragonheart Island, only those three peerless monsters and their squads could dare face them head-on. No other superpower's team stood a chance.
And now Lin Xie's team had been forced into retreat — not just that, but Shi Feng had nearly killed Lin Xie with a single strike. How could he possibly believe that?
"I knew you wouldn't take my word for it. I have the battle footage from the fight — see for yourself." Elder Wu looked at the stunned Shixue Zhanhun, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth, then transmitted a video clip directly to him.
War Blood had ignored the Thirteen Kingdoms' warning and still gone after Sky Edge. That had rubbed Elder Wu the wrong way. Now he had no qualms about letting Shixue Zhanhun and his people see exactly what they were up against.
The footage of Shi Feng's battle was still classified information at this point, but for someone of Shixue Zhanhun's standing, a bit of digging after the fact would turn it up easily enough. There was no point hiding it.
"How… how is this possible?"
As Shixue Zhanhun opened the transmitted battle footage, he went completely blank.
The fight was even more outrageous than he had imagined.
In the video, Shi Feng not only nearly killed Lin Xie with a single strike, but then proceeded to chase down the Demon Emperor Palace's main force single-handedly, sending their experts scattering in every direction. It was a one-sided slaughter…
"Do you still think you can take on Black Flame now? With the strength you have, I doubt you'd even last long enough for him to warm up. Of course, if you genuinely believe you can match one of those three peerless monsters on Dragonheart Island, by all means, give it a try." Elder Wu glanced at the horror-stricken Shixue Zhanhun and couldn't help but laugh.
"No wonder he didn't care about us at all before. He already had this kind of power." The Sword Fanatic watched the footage as well, his face draining to a pale white.
He considered himself only slightly stronger than Vice Commander Scorpion, and that was solely due to his higher realm. But in the video, Shi Feng had killed Scorpion in a single move. If it were him in that fight, the outcome wouldn't be any different. Even activating a battle formation would at best put him on par with Lin Xie — and we all saw how that turned out.
Shixue Zhanhun's emotions were impossible to untangle.
There was fear, and there was relief.
Fear, because he had never imagined that Shi Feng could possess the strength of a peerless monster after advancing to Tier 3. Relief, because they hadn't actually fought him — had they, War Blood's losses would have been catastrophic. They might even have been forced to reveal their trump card, and that was the last thing he wanted.
"I've given you fair warning. I hear War Blood and Zero Wing have quite the grudge between them. I'd advise you to tread carefully from here on out." Elder Wu looked at the ashen-faced Shixue Zhanhun, offered a smile, and left the Altar Hall with his people in tow.
Before this, War Blood had relied on the Demon Emperor Palace backing them and hadn't given the Thirteen Kingdoms the slightest bit of respect. But now that Zero Wing had a peerless monster like Shi Feng, War Blood's days ahead were going to be far less comfortable.