The people of the two empires froze, their expressions stiff. Moments ago, they were mocking the Lanlan Empire, taunting them for being speechless and dumbfounded.
Now, it was their turn to be stunned. Mo Gao, the Martial King prodigy they believed was certain to win, had been defeated in a single move.
Their hopes of a great victory had plummeted into the abyss.
This time, the two empires’ generation had no one left to fight.
“Hahaha, didn’t you say you’d send Ling Hu flying in one move?”
“Someone did get sent flying, but it wasn’t Ling Hu, it was Mo Gao, hahaha…”
“Didn’t you say we were dumbfounded? That we got excited too soon? That we didn’t dare laugh? Well, we’re laughing now, hahaha!”
“The Moyu Empire’s genius is nothing special, and a Martial King is just so-so, the Dongyang Empire’s even worse.”
“Can’t laugh now, can you? Stunned, are you? Hahaha…”
The Lanlan Empire’s youths filled the plaza with booming laughter, wave after wave, brimming with excitement. Even some elders seated nearby stroked their beards with smug satisfaction.
At the start, they had been utterly frustrated. If not for Ling Hu’s emergence, the Lanlan Empire would have lost all face in this first round.
“Heh, who’d have thought the two empires’ youth generation would be so pathetic? Four fighters sent out, and they were dealt with so quickly. I didn’t even get a chance to show my full strength.”
Ling Hu’s mocking laughter rang out, “How about this, I’ll give you another chance this round. Any youth under twenty from the Moyu or Dongyang Empires can step up and try their luck. So, which brave soul dares to fight me?”
Back when Duan Dongfeng defeated Feng Wushuang, he had boasted arrogantly, humiliating the Lanlan Empire. Now, Ling Hu was throwing Duan Dongfeng’s words back at them, almost verbatim.
This turned the faces of the two empires’ people liver-red with shame, especially Duan Dongfeng’s. What was meant to be a moment of triumphant arrogance had become a source of humiliation, leaving him seething with frustration.
The two empires only had a handful of youths present, with no dark horses left to emerge. All had been defeated, and no one else could step up.
The Lanlan Empire’s taunts landed unanswered, leaving the two empires with no chance of redemption this round.
Duan Dongfeng even regretted his earlier words. If he hadn’t spoken so recklessly, the two empires would have won this round.
And it would have been a decisive victory.
But who could have predicted that the Lanlan Empire was hiding such a monstrous talent?
No one could have foreseen this!
The Lanlan Empire’s crowd, meanwhile, was elated, their hearts bursting with joy. They found themselves liking Ling Hu more and more, this guy was just too good at venting their frustrations.
“Since no one’s stepping up, I’m heading off.” Ling Hu chuckled, leapt off the stage, and strode back to his seat.
“Ling Hu, well done!” Lin Xiao nodded in approval.
“I never imagined you could defeat a Martial King, truly impressive!” the cloaked youth said, cupping his hands in admiration.
“Young brother, you’re something else!”
“Didn’t expect you to be such a powerhouse, amazing!”
The other two chimed in with praise.
“Heh, no big deal, just a small thing,” Ling Hu grinned, acting as if it were nothing noteworthy.
“This youth’s talent and strength are indeed remarkable. If there’s a chance later, we should try to recruit him to the Feng family,” Feng Yuntian said, nodding approvingly from the long table.
Others silently agreed, Ling Hu’s actions had saved the Lanlan Empire’s face, and they too considered recruiting him.
After all, defeating a Martial King before twenty was an astonishing feat.
The calmest were Dowager Meng Xi and Meng Ying. Knowing Lin Xiao’s background, they understood that the two masked youths were his friends. Though their displayed cultivation was only eighth-level Tianwu, their combat power was clearly extraordinary.
Defeating a first-level Martial King was within reason.
After all, they knew Lin Xiao had reached second-level Martial Venerable.
A nineteen-year-old second-level Martial Venerable made any prodigy on stage seem far less monstrous.
Of course, only the two of them knew this.
“The Lanlan Empire does have some hidden talents. This generation, our two empires have indeed fallen short,” Dongyang Tian admitted, adding, “But for the next round, I wonder if the Lanlan Empire has any more such geniuses?”
“For the next round, we too hope to see such dazzling young talents,” Mo Long said, speaking as if he were a senior figure.
Then, glancing back, he said, “Deng Jinhai, you’re up first this round.”
“Yes!”
A youth of twenty-two or twenty-three stood, stepping onto the stage with wings of vital energy.
The crowd was visibly shocked. Wings of vital energy meant a Martial King.
And from this youth’s aura, he had reached the second level of the Martial King realm, a rare and formidable strength.
The Lanlan Empire’s crowd was taken aback. This was only the first fight of the second round, yet the two empires had sent out a second-level Martial King.
Were the two empires really this powerful?
But on reflection, the Lanlan Empire’s crowd understood. Each empire had sent their two top fighters, so it was normal for the first to be a second-level Martial King.
The Lanlan Empire, however, fielded four fighters, and the latter two were naturally less formidable.
The two empires’ alliance put them at a disadvantage.
Still, the Lanlan Empire wouldn’t make excuses.
“Feng He, go test his strength,” Feng Yuntian said calmly.
A Feng family youth nodded and leapt onto the stage.
This youth’s strength was only ninth-level Tianwu, and at twenty-four or twenty-five, his talent wasn’t particularly outstanding, with little fame in the imperial city.
But given Ling Hu’s precedent of an eighth-level Tianwu defeating Mo Gao, no one underestimated him.
The two empires felt the same.
As the fight began, Feng He’s strength surprised many. A ninth-level Tianwu, he could fight above his level.
However, the gap in cultivation was too wide. Against a first-level Martial King, Feng He might have had a chance, but against a second-level Martial King, he was ultimately defeated by Deng Jinhai.
In the second match, the Lanlan Empire sent Fan Zhenyu, a disciple taken by Yan Yitian after Chen Yan’s fall three years ago, now the top genius of the Tianxuan Sect. At twenty-five, he had reached the first-level Martial King realm.
He was the only Martial King among the Lanlan Empire’s twenty-to-twenty-five-year-olds.
In the past, reaching this realm at that age was unthinkable, but with the Spiritual Control Masters’ Alliance’s overall strength rising, it was no longer impossible.
Given more time, the Lanlan Empire wouldn’t have just one young Martial King.
But Fan Zhenyu, as a first-level Martial King, wasn’t exceptionally prodigious and was ultimately defeated by Deng Jinhai.
In the third match, Zhou Ruoyi, one of the four great beauties, took the stage. After recently refining a pill, she had reached the initial fourth-grade Spiritual Control Master realm.
Though her realm was largely boosted by pills, as an initial fourth-grade Spiritual Control Master, her combat power surpassed Deng Jinhai, and she defeated him.
In the next match, the Dongyang Empire sent a third-level Martial King youth, who defeated Zhou Ruoyi.
The Lanlan Empire had one fighter left, Wu Gong, one of the imperial city’s five great young masters and an initial fourth-grade Spiritual Control Master.
Wu Gong’s strength was hard-earned, and upon taking the stage, he defeated the Dongyang Empire’s third-level Martial King.
Then, the Moyu Empire sent a fourth-level Martial King youth, who was also defeated by Wu Gong.
Finally, the Dongyang Empire sent a fifth-level Martial King youth, and Wu Gong, outmatched, was defeated.
The Lanlan Empire’s crowd looked grim. This round, they had lost to the two empires again.
As the battles had escalated to the Martial King realm, the arena had been moved to the sky to avoid collateral damage. After defeating Wu Gong, the fifth-level Martial King youth, named Dongyang Hao, didn’t return but landed back on the stage, his gaze mockingly sweeping over the Lanlan Empire’s youths. Arrogantly, he said, “I wonder if the Lanlan Empire has any more hidden talents this time?”
“If there are, come up all at once, I haven’t had my fill of fighting yet!”
As he spoke, his eyes flicked disdainfully toward Ling Hu’s position, brimming with provocation.
