Chapter 1969: Ridicule
The battle within Lin Feng's mind was equally ferocious, as Ancient King Ji Shang clashed with the Demon God, while Lin Feng himself used a divine palace to guard the fundamental source of his soul.
"A voice of wonder rolled forth: 'In the celestial palace above, what year is this night?'" The Divine Mind Palace radiated boundless radiance, transforming into countless soul-binding threads that suddenly bound the Ancient King's body. The Demon God of Death stepped forward, his left hand pushing out the Palm of Destruction and Refinement, striking toward the phantom of Ancient King Ji Shang. At the same time, his body instantly charged before the opponent, and the great Sword of Death slashed down fiercely.
The Ancient King let out a roar of agony, punching out with wild, overwhelming force. In an instant, the soul force exploded as the Ancient King and the Demon God collided, then simultaneously shattered and dissipated.
"Pfft..."
Outside, Ji Shang and Lin Feng both spat out a mouthful of blood, their faces deathly pale. The king and the demon god they had visualized both contained their soul power, and with both now extinguished, both were severely injured.
Ji Shang let out a furious roar, and the light of the Azure Dragon blazed across the sky. Meanwhile, a powerful and terrifying life force surged from Lin Feng's body. His eyes of death remained coldly fixed on Ji Shang.
"Boom!" Ji Shang stepped forward again, and a cracking sound rang out. It seemed as if the bones in Lin Feng's body were shattering. His body was forced back a step. At this moment, Lin Feng took a deep breath, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.
"Hmph, this time, he's at the end of his rope," Pei Dongqing sneered. This Lin Feng actually dared to let his younger brother compete with him for a woman. Now that he had enraged Ji Shang, his death was finally at hand.
"Lin Feng!" Meng Qing and many others froze, calling out his name. If he could no longer hold on, they would rather he admit defeat in this battle.
"Ji Shang, at the Upper Emperor realm, you actually resort to secret techniques to deal with me. Are you even worthy of being a War King of the academy? After this battle, your crown is as good as gone. You are unqualified." Lin Feng's demonic voice seemed to pierce Ji Shang's mind, stabbing into his heart. At the same time, light flashed, and a strange power spread out. Within Lin Feng's body, it seemed as if an ancient divine tree seed was faintly visible.
"The Heavenly Marsh Divine Tree." Many knowledgeable people narrowed their eyes, recognizing this divine wood. The surrounding laws frantically surged toward Lin Feng, leaping around him.
"He's only at the Mid-rank Emperor realm, yet he has already gone to the Divine Tree Valley and gained the recognition of the divine tree," the crowd thought with a shudder. This guy was indeed a rare and monstrous genius, too terrifying.
Soon, their gazes focused again. Within Lin Feng's body, a pure white lotus appeared faintly. When this azure lotus bloomed, a shadow of an azure lotus seemed to appear beneath Lin Feng's feet. Not only that, but around Lin Feng, azure lotuses blossomed one after another, extremely beautiful.
"You are borrowing the power of the divine tree and the azure lotus. That is not your own power," Pei Donglai said coldly at this moment, staring at Lin Feng.
"Shut up," Lin Feng roared, turning his gaze to Pei Donglai. His eyes of death were icy cold. "On the day of the Emperor List Inquiry, hosted by the Human Imperial Palace, you have been targeting me at every turn. What is your meaning? I am borrowing the power of the divine tree and the azure lotus, that's true. But isn't Ji Shang's secret technique borrowing the power of the Azure Dragon? Why didn't you speak up then? How ridiculous. If this is the case, then the Emperor List Inquiry might as well not have a host."
The crowd's expressions stiffened, and they sighed inwardly. That was right. Although Ji Shang's secret technique was a unique ability of the Ji Clan, since it was called a secret technique, it clearly borrowed from external forces and was not his own power. Otherwise, it wouldn't need to be called a secret technique. Ji Shang's secret technique must have borrowed the power of the mysterious Azure Dragon. And while Lin Feng was obviously borrowing the power of the divine tree and the azure lotus, Ji Shang had done it first, so why couldn't Lin Feng borrow power?
Pei Donglai was scolded by Lin Feng, and his face turned ugly. As a disciple of the Human Imperial Palace, entrusted by Senior Brother Ren Tianxing to host this inquiry, he was being rudely berated by the very person being inquired. Yet he could only remain silent.
"What can you do even by borrowing power?" Ji Shang said coldly. It seemed as if an Azure Dragon coiled up his arm, and the space ahead seemed illusory, constantly collapsing.
Lin Feng ignored Ji Shang's words. He slowly extended his hand, and in an instant, endless law power gathered in his palm. Wind laws, flame laws, lightning, curses... laws of all types seemed to be drained from the space, causing the entire sky to change color.
The endless laws converged before Lin Feng's hand into a beam of law light that shot into the sky, frantically merging together to form a deathly black lotus. This lotus continuously condensed, but the terrifying law power it contained was unimaginable.
"This..."
Everyone's expressions stiffened. How was this possible? What kind of Dao intent was this? The Heavenly Marsh Divine Tree gave Lin Feng a terrifying affinity for laws, allowing the laws of heaven and earth to gather to him to the maximum extent. And that Dao intent actually caused the laws to merge together. Lin Feng's various laws transformed into a black lotus of death, and the faint pressure it emitted made people tremble with fear.
Ji Shang's advancing steps suddenly stopped, and his expression stiffened slightly. Clearly, he too felt the terrifying threat contained within the black lotus.
After a moment of silence, Ji Shang also extended his hand. It seemed as if Azure Dragon light frantically surged into his body from heaven and earth. His entire body seemed to be coiled with phantoms of Azure Dragons, and the terrifying imperial might radiating from him made people's hearts tremble.
"Ji Shang is preparing for a direct collision with Lin Feng," the crowd sensed the two earth-shattering pressures, their hearts trembling violently. How terrifying would the power of such a collision be?
Lin Feng and Ji Shang's gazes met and clashed in the void, like the Ancient King and the Demon God, eternal and unchanging. As if after a long pause, their steps finally stepped forward.
With this step, the crowd's hearts trembled violently, as if they were leaping.
"Boom!"
The two figures grew closer and closer. An enormous Azure Dragon lunged toward Lin Feng to devour him, while the black lotus gradually expanded in the void, transforming into a destructive lotus of death.
A beam of light that stung the eyes suddenly burst forth. Everything in the void seemed to be submerged. In just an instant, the crowd found that Ji Shang and Lin Feng's bodies had also been swallowed up, disappearing into the destructive currents. That patch of heaven and earth had turned into a dead, silent void. The terrifying force spread outward from the Human Emperor Platform, about to impact the Human Emperor Heavenly Pillars.
"Get down," Pei Donglai shouted. Immediately, many people jumped down from the Human Emperor Heavenly Pillars. All the pillars surrounding the Human Emperor Platform released light, interweaving into terrifying patterns to resist the erosion and collision of the destructive force. But cracking sounds still rang out incessantly, making everyone's hearts race.
"These two guys have gone too far," an anxious voice came from the clouds in the void. Ji Shang and Lin Feng were both people from the War King Academy, and they were literally fighting for their lives.
The deadly currents raged on the Human Emperor Platform. When the smoke cleared, the crowd saw Ji Shang and Lin Feng both sitting cross-legged in the void. Both had changed into new robes, their hair disheveled, with large patches of blood at the corners of their mouths. Ji Shang tossed a pill into his mouth, while surging life force emerged from Lin Feng's body. However, one thing was the same: on both of them, the phantom of the divine tree was faintly visible.
"Mutual destruction," the crowd's hearts trembled. This battle for the third place on the Emperor List was too brutal. Ji Shang and Lin Feng had both suffered severe injuries.
How should the Emperor List be decided now?
Many people's gazes turned to Pei Donglai. The people from the Human Imperial Palace would decide the ranking of the Emperor List.
"In this battle, Lin Feng had the advantage earlier. It was only after Ji Shang used his secret technique that he was able to counterattack. Now that both are injured, the third seat on the Emperor List should belong to Lin Feng," Hou Qinglin said calmly. Some people nodded inwardly; this ranking was reasonable.
"The previous battle was not decisive. Although Ji Shang used a secret technique later, Lin Feng borrowed the power of the Dao Seal and the divine tree, clearly borrowing more power. This battle, Ji Shang wins," another voice said, from someone of the Ji Clan faction.
"Reasonable," Pei Donglai nodded slightly, then looked at Lin Feng and said, "Lin Feng, in this battle, you borrowed more external power. You are ranked fourth on the Emperor List. Do you have any objections?"
Lin Feng's life force surged. He opened his eyes slightly, looked at Pei Donglai, and retorted, "If I had objections, would you place me in third?"
"No," Pei Donglai said coldly.
"Then why are you asking such nonsense?" Lin Feng said calmly, causing Pei Donglai's expression to stiffen.
Pei Donglai snorted coldly, a chill flashing in his eyes. "Although this matter is settled, I am at least informing you. Additionally, after this Emperor List Inquiry ends, Senior Yin Rui of the Silver Clan will announce the marriage between Dongqing and the Silver Moon Little Princess. As for your earlier proposal for your younger brother, I must offer my apologies."
The Silver Clan expert's gaze froze. Yin Rui looked deeply at Pei Donglai. This news was supposed to be announced by him. Pei Donglai had spoken first, cutting off his retreat and also trying to provoke Lin Feng.
But Lin Feng's gaze was extremely calm. He merely looked coldly at Pei Donglai, a mocking smile appearing on his face.
"The Human Imperial Palace has hosted the Emperor List Inquiry and compiled the Emperor List rankings for countless years. It is revered by the Holy City Central Continent because of its credibility. The Emperor List is a symbol. However, when the Emperor List loses that symbol, do you think others will still care about it?" Lin Feng showed a look of contempt. "The third or fourth place on the Emperor List means nothing to me. My strength is here. Whether the Emperor List ranks me or not, I don't need this empty reputation. So, I want you to see the facts clearly. When the Human Emperor List loses those dazzling names, that list is just a piece of waste paper. It is your Human Imperial Palace that needs these names, not these names that need you. If you don't believe me, try removing my name from the Emperor List and see what happens."
Lin Feng pointed at Pei Donglai, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery. Would Pei Donglai dare to remove Lin Feng's name from the Emperor List? Obviously not. If he did, the Emperor List would truly be a piece of waste paper—a useless list controlled by human manipulation!