The cultivator who had dealt Ling Yu a heavy blow was named Gao Feng. With a cultivation realm a full major stage above Ling Yu's, he should have had little trouble winning, yet he had struck with such brutality that it was clear he wanted to leave Ling Yu gravely injured and then capture him. This had enraged Ling Tian completely, which was why he had proposed that challenge.
After agreeing to Ling Tian's challenge, Gao Feng found seven powerful allies. Among them were experts at the fourth level of Quasi-Sage, and even one whose cultivation had reached the peak of the fourth level. It was clear they didn't merely want to defeat Ling Tian—they wanted to capture him alive. Once Ling Tian realized their intentions, naturally he would show them no more courtesy.
Indeed, Gao Feng saw this as the best chance to obtain the Nine Reversals Heavenly Technique, the Phoenix Soul Fruit, and the Enlightenment Sacred Tree. In his mind, if they could capture Ling Tian and trade him away, then even if they failed to get the Phoenix Soul Fruit, they could still obtain the Nine Reversals Heavenly Technique and the Enlightenment Sacred Tree. They would walk away with a rich haul.
Of course, perhaps Gao Feng alone would have little chance of defeating Ling Tian. After all, he had struggled just to defeat Ling Yu on his own, and he hadn't managed to capture him. Capturing Ling Tian would be even harder—perhaps outright impossible. But Ling Tian's "arrogance" had given him an opening. With seven more allies, Gao Feng was confident they could capture Ling Tian with ease.
It made sense. Gao Feng and the other seven had joined forces, and they were confident they could defeat an expert at the peak of the fifth level